]PORT EYNON COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Draft – Unconfirmed
Minutes of Monthly Council Meeting held on
Monday 15th September 2014 at Port Eynon Village Hall.
The meeting commenced at 7:30 pm.
Present: Mr. G.Evans, Mr. R. Fisher, Mr. G. Jones,
Apologies for Absence: Mr. Tom Roderick. and Mrs. L. Newland.
In attendance: Mr. B. Stubbings (clerk),
Chair person: Cllr. Fisher chaired the meeting.
071/14. Declarations of Interest: Cllr. Fisher with respect to planning applications 2014/1329 & 2014/1527
072/14 Minutes of Last Meeting (September 2014):
The minutes were proposed to be accepted as a true record by Cllr. Evans, the proposal was seconded by Cllr. Jones and agreed by all. The minutes were then signed by the chairperson.
063/14. Matters Arising:
Scurlage Green. Flower beds to be programmed for next spring. Clerk was requested to research names of local persons who could be included in a war memorial.
Defibrillators. Clerk advised that he was in process of preparing a grant application to Lotteries Fund.
Port Eynon Village Hall : Clerk advised that he had written to the Village Hall Management Committee to clarify the matters of ownership and management of the existing hall but had to date received no response. Clerk was also requested to obtain copies of insurance policies taken out by the management committee in respect of the hall building and hall activities. Cllr Newland advised that the management committee had identified a budget of £500,000 to £600,000 for a replacement hall building assuming nil land costs. Chair advised that he had obtained information from the Land Registry with regard to the areas of land occupied by the hall and the present village green.. He would pass these to the Clerk.
Llandewi Hall – Clerk advised that Council stranding orders permitted expenditure up to £2,000 based on two written quotations. Council Considered the two quotations provided by the hall Management committee via Cllr. Jones and agreed by majority to provide £1,000 to the Hall to facilitate replacement of the large window. Clerk to progress.
Stoney Forge, Knelston
Council noted that the problem reported concerning the blockage to the footpath between Knelston and Llandewi, did not occur within the caravan park, but arose from the adjacent lane becoming impassable. In fact a temporary bypass ahd been provided through the caravan park to facilitate pedestrians.
064/14. Finance:
Clerk advised that the bank balances were presently as follows:
Current Account £82
Savings Account £15,253
Knelston Burial Ground Account £675
The following funding commitments have been made:
Wooden bench seat (1 no) – £500
Replacement window at Llandewi hall – £2,000
Scurlage Green Improvements – £1,000
Defibrillators (3 no) – £3,000
Port Eynon village green improvements – £2,000.
065/14. Planning:
From previous applications:
2014/0417 Monksland Road, Scurlage – 14 units of new housing.. Councillors had raised concern on the following-
The density of the development and the lack of provision of gardens.
The overlooking issues between the new units and the established properties in Salisbury Close; The reliance of soakaways for drainage which are sited below the ground water table;
The failure to acknowledge the flooding which had occurred for several years;
The extensive hard paving which would further exacerbate flooding;
The reliance on Monksland Road for access which is of substandard width and already suffers from parking and access problems;
The loss of seven existing communal car park spaces which would exacerbate current difficulties; The lack of parking spaces within the planned development;
The failure of similar developments to provide long term social housing as they had been purchased and sold on the open market, most often for holiday homes.
Council were unanimous in recommending that planning approval should not be given until these issues had been addressed. Decision pending.
[ Chair advised that revised plans had been submitted (see planning portal web site) but
Clerk noted that revised plans had not been circulated for comment.
2014/0960 The Elms, Port Eynon – Alterations to elevations, garages and driveway.
Council considered that the proposed alterations were generally acceptable and recommended approval (Cllr Fisher declared an interest and abstained from the decisions). Decision pending.
2013/1034 Burry Dairy Farm – New agricultural building.
Council expressed surprise at the size of the proposed barn, but noted that the new owner had purchased the land of Burry Dairy Farm without the benefit of the existing farm buildings. Cllr Jones advised that objections had been raised by residents in Burry Alley as to the size and location of the building and that these had been forwarded to the Planning Dept at C&CS. Council by majority recommended that the proposal should be approved. Note: Determined as Permitted Development on 12th August 2014.
2013/1263 Ash Croft Scurlage – Removal of planning conditions.
Council noted that the planning considerations referred to were for environmental aspects of construction and that these had subsequently been discontinued. Council were unanimous in recommending that the application be approved. Decision pending.
New Applications:
2013/1318 Scurlage farm Grain Storage Building
Council noted that the proposed storage building was essential to the continued viability and development of Scuralge and Great Pitton Farms. Concern was expressed over the size of the building and the visual impact on the surroundings. Concern was also expressed over the likely increase in surface water run-off as a result of the building mass and extended paved areas around the building, and the contribution of the existing farm area to recent severe flooding at this location.. It was noted that these issues had not been addressed and considered that any approval should be conditional on improvements being made to the surface water drainage of the area. Approved by majority subject to these conditions.
2014/1329 No 18 Monksland Road – single storey extension.
Council noted that the planned extension would replace the existing single storey structure with a larger structure extending to the rear of the main house. It was noted that the mass and appearance of the planned extension were similar to the existing. Also noted that as there was no planned increase in occupation there would not be adverse effect on current problems with vehicle access/parking and with drainage. Approval recommended by majority.
2014/1527 The Bower, Port Eynon – Two new Dwellings.
Council noted that this application superceded a previous application in 2003 for a larger new single dwelling on this site. The Council found that although this application was more sympathetic in scale and siting to the previously approved application it still could be considered as over-development of a relatively constrained site. Some recommendations were made in respect of elevational treatment. Approval was recommended by majority.
076/14 Highways & Footpaths.
Cllr Evans advised that the large posts for signs at the roundabout in Port Eynon had now been removed, although he had received no indication from C&CS as to whether smaller signs or any signs would now be erected.
077/14 Correspondence:
Clerk provided a resume of correspondence received from mid-July to date.
Council considered a letter received from South Gower Sports Club advising of their intent to make planning applications in respect of further development of the site and its facilities. Clerk was directed to respond advising them that all planning applications would be considered on a case by case basis and that they would be welcome to make a supporting presentation to the Council in respect of each or any application.
078/14 Knelston Burial Ground.
Clerk advised that he had placed the recently purchased bench seat just inside the access gate, at the same time he had carried out some minor tidying up of the entrance area. There were no other matters to be considered.
069/14 Notice Boards & Web Site
Clerk again reminded Councillors to provide a suitable photograph (head and shoulders) that could be included in the web site detail page on the councillors.
Cllr. Fisher advised that the public notice board on Scurlage Green needed replacement. Council noted that this borad was additional to the nearby Community Council Notice Board, but that it did provide a public facility and as such agreed to provide moderate funding for a simple timber board to replace the existing.
070/14 Any Other Business:
Cllr. Fisher requested all Councillors to exercise their maximum endeavours to recruit new Councillors as any further loss of members could result in the Council being discontinued.
Cllr. Fisher advised that he had received representations as to the possibility of establishing a village hall in the Scurlage area.
Date of Next Meeting: Monday 24th November 2014 at 7:30 pm. at Port Eynon Village Hall.
Meeting closed at 9:30 pm. Chairman
B. J. Stubbings, (Clerk) R. Fisher