Minutes of the meeting of Walford Parish Council on 27 November 2019

Held at Walford Village Hall

Wednesday 27 November 2019 at 7.30pm

 

Present: Councillors: Monica van Lienden (Chair), Joanne Akers, Karen Chinn, Simeon Cole, Ruth Dolman, Heather Evans, Sian Newbert

In attendance: Richard Abolins (Parish Clerk), Yolande Watson (Ward Councillor) and 8 members of the public.

 

  1. Apologies: – Councillors Eric Drummond, Richard Jackson, Elizabeth Jordan, Ian Matthews, Bob Puzey, Guy Smith

 

  1. Declaration of interests: – Cllr Chinn re item 6.7 Warryfield Farm Cottage

 

  1. Adoption of Minutes of previous meetings:

It was resolved to adopt the amended minutes of the meeting on 16 October 2019 as a true record of the meeting. The Chair signed the amended minutes.

 

  1. Public participation session:
    • The Ward Councillor presented her report (see attached). Cllr Evans had raised concerns over a couple of a recent accidents and the WC suggested that the Council might want representation at a forthcoming meeting in Whitchurch with Highways England. It was agreed to pass this to the Safety Working Group Action – Cllr Newbert
    • The Chairman of Walford Village Hall reported that having operated for many years, all the key officers were about the stand down but WVH were struggling to recruit new committee members. He appealed for anyone interested to contact the Secretary
    • The WCSS co-ordinator presented her final report (see attached). The Chair thanked her for all her hard work in the post.
    • A representative of the Howle Hill World War Centenary Memorial Project gave a brief report on the memorial (attached). They had reached the point where no further progress could be made unless an asset transfer could be arranged with Herefordshire Council. It was agreed to put the question on the next agenda for Council consideration. Action – Clerk

 

  1. Policies and procedures: – it was resolved to approve the amendment to the Safeguarding Policy.

 

  1. Planning: –
    • 193565 Middle Park, Coughton, HR9 5SF; there was no objection.
    • 193777 Hazelhurst Nursing Home, Bishopswood, HR9 5QX; there was no objection, but the Council would like to see new trees being planted.
    • 193637 Barn House, Coughton; there was no objection, subject to good visibility splays
    • 193638 Barn House, Coughton; there was no objection, subject to good visibility splays
    • 193580 Laburnum Cottage, Walford; there was no objection
    • 194020 Home Farm, Bishopswood, HR9 5QZ; there was no objection, but the Council would like more information on the impact on residents and wildlife.

Cllr Chinn left the room

  • 193451 Warryfield Farm Cottage, Walford, HR9 5QW; there was no objection.

Cllr Chinn returned

  • 192949 Cyder Barn, Walford, HR9 5SB; there was no objection.
  • 90316 Waters Edge, Sharman Pitch; erection of 8 dwellings and associated works
  • The Clerk summarised the objections received from residents so far and a resident also produced a summary report of the objections. Two other residents also voiced objections. After considering all of these points, the Council objected to this application on several grounds: –
  • It is outside the settlement of Howle Hill. Precedence was set in application 171105 which was deemed to be outside the settlement area. This puts the application under the stricter criteria of RA3 which it does not meet.
  • This is not a proportionate development. The proportion of 14% required by the core strategy has been met already within the settlement of Howle Hill.
  • This is major development, so is under AONB protection. 8 houses in an estate configuration in a hamlet of single dwellings on large plots represents an increase of 25%. Being a major development in the AONB means it must be refused.
  • Howle Hill is not a sustainable location for this size of development. There are no services in Howle Hill. With no bus service, residents must drive on narrow, dark and winding roads to access services in Ross-on-Wye.
  • This is detrimental to the visual impact within the AONB. The houses will still be visible especially given the wider opening on Sharman’s Pitch necessary for the visibility splay. Five of the six houses in the lower section would be clearly visible from the entrance and to passers-by.

The Council felts that if these objections are not upheld, it would create the wrong precedent for future developments in the area. It was understood that the case will be heard in Planning Committee and the Council would like to send two representatives to that hearing.

 

 Resilience Co-ordinator: – it was resolved to appoint Dave Berry as Resilience Co-ordinator

 

  1. Highways / Rights of Way:
    • The Lengthsman Co-ordinator reported that blocked drains continue to be cleared. He reported that Balfour Beatty had replaced fencing on WA50. The Rights of Way Officer was confused about there being no ROW update on the agenda and WA50 reports not coming to her. The Clerk apologised for the oversight – it was a simple error and not intentional.

Cllr Cole left the room

The ROW Officer had been in a meeting with Balfour Beatty and spoke to Mrs White who believed that planning permission had expired on the site and she could, therefore, push for enforcement to complete. This is positive news but will need following up. In future, Balfour Beatty should refer all ROW matters to Cllr Evans.

Cllr Cole returned

  • The Clerk will liaise with the Lengthsman Co-ordinator and Rights of Way Officer on the detail of the lengthsman’s contract and will check on the hourly rate. It is intended to put this out for tender for 2020/21.

 

  1. Finance Committee: – it was resolved to approve the Finance Committee terms of reference.

 

  1. Personnel Committee: – it was resolved to send Cllr van Lienden on two HALC training courses, Lawful Pursuits and Cat Flaps, in the new year and Cllr Newbert on one, Highway Patrol.

 

  1. Neighbourhood Development Plan: –
    • The steering group co-ordinator presented his report (attached). There were no questions
    • it was resolved to approve the appointment of the NDP planning consultant and the agreement was signed by the Chair.

 

  1. Safety: – it was resolved to appoint Cllr Cole and Bill Cansdale to the working group.

 

  1. Environmental: –
    • It was resolved to appoint Cllr Dolman and Yolande Watson to the working group.
    • It was resolved to appoint Cllr Newbert as environment co-ordinator for the canoe launch.

 

  1. Items for next meeting agenda: –
    • To receive a presentation on “We Don’t Buy Crime”
    • Draft budget 2020/21

 

  1. Next meeting: – Wednesday 18 December 2019 at 7.30pm in Bishopswood Village Hall

 

It was resolved to ask members of the public to withdraw from the meeting for the confidential closed session

 

  1. Confidential closed session: –
    • The Community Support Scheme working group recommended running the scheme until March, using that time to assess potential volunteers and advertise in the newsletter and social media. It was resolved to accept this recommendation.
    • it was resolved to approve the Walford Community Support Scheme terms of reference.

 

The Chair closed the meeting at 21:41.

 

SIGNED      Monica van Lienden              DATE            18 December 2019

 

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