MINUTES OF ORLETON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ONLINE AT 7.30PM ON THURSDAY 18 JUNE 2020
PRESENT B Gandy – Chairman; P Smith – Vice Chairman; J Hobson; J Page; and E Clanzy-Hodge.
IN ATTENDANCE Mrs M Pritchard, Orleton Village Hall Committee; Mr S Myers, Orleton Recreation Association; Ward Cllr. Bowen; and R Hewitt (Clerk). There were three (3) members of the public present.
1. Apologies for absence – M Morrison.
2. Declarations of interest and written dispensations on agenda items – Cllr. B Gandy declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in item #4 request from village hall committee for £13,500 donation for toilet refurbishment, and #14 proposed assets of community value.
3. The minutes of the annual meeting held on 21 May 2020 were agreed to be a true record.
(Cllr. B Gandy left the meeting. The Vice Chairman chaired the meeting.)
4. Request from village hall committee for a £13,500.00 donation for toilet refurbishment – Mrs M Pritchard said the village hall committee intends to refurbish the toilets and that the specification has changed to take account of Covid 19. The parish council voted to donate £13,500.00 towards the £22.500.00 cost of the work.
(Cllr. B Gandy rejoined the meeting and resumed chairing the meeting.)
5. Invitation to members of the public to address the council (limited to 15) – There were no matters raised.
6. Receive report on Herefordshire Council – Balfour Beatty have been asked to clear the sludge under the bridge on Millbrook Way, to resurface Kings Road and deal with the spring on Deakins Lane. The velocity patcher is back in action. The leasehold for Maylords Orchard has been purchased by Herefordshire Council.
7. Clerk’s report and reports on meetings attended by parish councillors – The speed indicator devices (SIDs) received fresh batteries on 7 July and will be in operation up to 21 July 2020. The lengthsman and P3 footpath contract has signed. The bank is undertaking a review. The Core Strategy Settlement Hierarchy review document has been submitted. A grant application has been made for the cost of printing the Good Neighbour Scheme’s Covid 19 letter (£75.00) in March.
8. Plans
201570 Pavilion At The Recreation Ground, Orleton Village Hall, Millbrook Way, Orleton, SY8 4HW – Proposed new sports pavilion and alterations to car park area. Demolition of the existing pavilion. The planning application was supported.
201816, 29 Mortimer Drive, Orleton, SY8 4JW – Two Leylandi trees to be felled. The proposed tree work was supported.
201553, 1 Mortimer Close, Orleton, SY8 4PG – Proposed removal of Fir tree as nuisance because of growing across pavement outside the home, and of little amenity value. The proposed tree work was supported. The parish council requests that a condition is included for a suitable tree to be planted in mitigation in an appropriate part of the property.
201395 Land at Perseverance Cottage, Orleton – Outline application for the erection of a 4 bed dwelling and access egress vehicular turning and parking. The parish council was concerned that the parking provided is not sufficient to meet the needs of two four bedroom houses and separate self-catering accommodation. There are four spaces shown on the proposed block plan, however the parish council believes that seven parking spaces are required (three spaces per four bedroom property and a space for people using the self-catering accommodation) to ensure the road is not used for parking. The proposed block plan shows four spaces but two of these parking spaces will need to be used by the existing property, Perseverance Cottage, which would otherwise be turned into a property with no parking spaces. In addition the proposed dwelling appears to straddle the settlement boundary in the Orleton village policies map as set out in the neighbourhood development plan.
201525 Townsend Farm, Orleton, SY8 4JA – The proposed erection of an agricultural livestock building. It was agreed to support the application subject to confirmation that there is not a problem with surface water run off given the significant size of the proposed roof and location alongside a low lying area of the Ashley Moor lane that has had a history of surface water flooding.
201593 The Knoll, Orleton, SY8 4JA – Erection of 2 storey rear extension to include demolition of existing lean-to extension. The parish council objected to the proposed plans which are considered to be out of proportion to the original dwelling. An extension should be subservient to the original cottage and the proposed application is overbearing and out of keeping with the character of the dwelling.
Herefordshire Council has granted planning permission for 201072 Eagle House. Planning application 180517 Land to the north west of Kings Road is ‘pending section 106 agreement’.
9. Accounts
i) Financial Statement to date: The balances of the parish council accounts on 30 May 2020 were noted: Treasurer – £23,247.70; and Money Manager – £20,385.97. The first half of the 2020-21 precept (£12,750.00) has been paid by Herefordshire Council.
ii) The following payments were agreed: D C Gardening Services, lengthsman/ P3 footpaths (£264.00); Orleton Village Hall, donation for renovation work (£1,058.00); Herefordshire Council, admin for uncontested election (£85.02); Clerk, NDP domain fee (£16.68); and Leo Pest Control, dog waste removal (£45.60).
iii) New parish council laptop and Office 365 subscription: Prices for three laptops were considered. A budget of £780.00 was agreed for the purchase of a new parish council laptop. A budget of £25.00 was agreed for the purchase of a new laptop case. A single Office 365 for business licence will be purchased separately.
10. Road Safety scheme – Updated detailed design drawings of the Orleton road safety scheme from Balfour Beatty were approved. The drawings show the existing 40 mph signs marking the start of the speed limit at Comberton already have a yellow background.
11. Herefordshire Council drainage grant – The parish council agreed to make an application to Herefordshire Council for a drainage grant. The grant will pay for the digging out of ditches and reinstatement of grippers as appropriate along roads in the parish. Where there are pipes instead of ditches, these will be jetted.
12. Lengthsman/ Highways/ Footpaths – The Chairman highlighted where footpaths have been blocked by crops, and also where the landowner has provided a path through their crop. The Clerk read a note of thanks to the parish council for strimming grass at God’s Acre off Millbrook Way. Balfour Beatty has been asked to fix loose kerbstones at the entrance to village hall, and the spring at Deakins Lane, which has been referred to the drainage team by the locality steward. The lengthsman is to repair several footpath defects, including a stile on OL2 and repairs to a bridge between the recreation ground and Mortimer Way.
13. Neighbourhood Development Plan review – A quotation from a planning consultant to support the NDP Review was noted. A meeting of the steering group will be held before the next parish council meeting in July 2020.
14. Assets of community value – A proposal to apply to Herefordshire Council to list the village shop and post office as an asset of community value was supported.
(Cllr. B Gandy left the meeting. The Vice Chairman chaired the meeting.)
The village hall committee will be asked to confirm that their land is held by the Charity Commission as Official Custodian before considering listing the hall as an asset of community value.
(Cllr. B Gandy rejoined the meeting and resumed chairing the meeting.)
15. Community resilience plan – Deferred.
16. Matters raised for next meeting (no discussion) – None.
17. Information items – Noted.
18. Date of next meeting – 16 July 2020. The meeting will be held online.
The meeting closed at 9.40pm.