COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT
* – Attendance; A- Absent; N – No Apologies Received
Cllr. M. Fice – Mayor A – *
Cllr. A. Biggs – A
Cllr Mrs C. Bricknell – A
Cllr. R. Wheeler – A
Cllr D. Cohen – *
Cllr T. Lang (in the Chair) – *
Cllr R. Whitfield – *
Cllr Ms J. Clark – A
Cllr Mrs L. Sinnott – *
Cllr Mrs A. Clacy – *
Also in attendance:
Dist. Cllr S. Wright – *
Dist. Cllr Mrs Pearce – *
Cty. Cllr. R Gilbert – *
Gill Claydon (Clerk) – *
Pete Robinson (Cemetery Manager and Project Officer) – *
WPC Jo Pengilly – A
PCSO D. Gibson – A
Chris Derrick – Kingsbridge Gazette reporter – N
624. ELECTION OF CHAIR
In the absence of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor it was AGREED that Cllr Lang would chair the meeting.
625. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Members were invited to acknowledge any declarable interests, including the nature and extent of such interests that they may have in any items to be considered at this meeting. Cllr Lang declared an interest in 1926/15/F the applicant being a customer of his.
626. OPEN FORUM
Police Report – emailed by PCSO Gibson. No crimes to report other than the recent spate of outboard motor thefts which now totalled seven, he believed, with all these probably occurring on two2 occasions
The traffic theme this month was seatbelts. He advised the police still see people driving without belts almost every time they are out. Failing to wear a seat belt was one of the primary contributors to collision injury. He highlighted that it was important that not only the driver but every passenger in a vehicle used a seat belt when and where required. Research showed higher levels of offending amongst young adults who travelled as passengers in cars and failed to wear seat belts. Over recent years many lives across Devon and Cornwall may have been saved and injuries prevented if seat belts had been worn by those in vehicles involved in Road Traffic Collisions.
County Councillor Report – Cty Cllr Gilbert advised that the initial Bonfire Hill development Section 106 payment of £30,000 was still held by County. They were waiting to hear from the street lighting engineer as to whether lighting and roadside railing could be installed using this fund. The First Responder vehicle issue was now resolved and Cty Cllr Gilbert said a huge amount of work had gone on behind the scene and the First Responder had accepted the proposal made. There was however a lot more work to do around Devon on this subject. No fines had, had to be paid as these were covered by County and the problem was the length of time it took to sort the problem which was typical of Government. The outcome he stated was what counted.
He further noted the town council proposed letter with regard to A frames on the highway and that legislation was very tight on this and Kingsbridge Town Council experienced a lot of trouble on this over the years. He explained that on requesting removal town council could not pick and choose and if any A frames or other street furniture was there they all needed to be cleared. During a recession this decision was difficult. The legislation stated there had to be 2 metres between an A frame/furniture and the curve of a kerb. Also the seller may not place an A frame a distance away from their shop/business just because there was an open area. Where a shop owned the pavement this was different but there must be access. Eventually the over population of signs does get so bad that something had to be done as otherwise towns could look tatty. There was a leaflet available on the County website on this. Kingsbridge Town Council wrote to the Kingsbridge Chamber of Trade and asked them to write to their members which they did.
Cllr Lang noted he was glad about the First Responder result but was upset about how Cty Cllr Gilbert intimated that Town Council should have dealt with the problem. Cty Cllr Gilbert agreed his message could have been misinterpreted in that vein but had re read it and it was not meant that way.
With regard to potholes Loring Road was particularly bad and all such problems had been reported to County and had white marks around them which had been there for some time. Cty Cllr Gilbert agreed he would chase these up if he was provided with a list. Also it was recorded that County had refused the Balfour Beatty earlier scheduled Road Closures which town council had input into to ensure that the town was inconvenienced less. This was not joined up working as Devon Highways had stuck to their need for a 3 month notice. Again Cty Cllr Gilbert would look into this matter..
Cty Cllr Gilbert apologized for not making the previous town council meeting due to other commitments.
Cty Cllr Gilbert left the meeting.
District Councillor Report
Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce – There was nothing much to report from District apart from the results of the Development Management meeting.
The Spion Lodge application went through although there was some concern but due to town council not objecting to the second revised plans this was taken to mean the whole application. Richard Jackson had requested a Traffic Management Plan and Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce had said there was to be no parking outside the development. She went on to note that the Netherwood proposal was a larger structure than existing but was smaller than Spion Lodge which she felt was a huge and building. The development was to be constructed from the top down and therefore there would be no quarry to drive into. Cllr Lang explained that town council felt Netherwood would have a higher negative impact as it was further back into the site and more visible from the estuary although Dist Cllr Pearce felt Spion Lodge was of greater impact.
The Gas works site proposal also went through at District because it was felt there was nothing to object to as the District policy in the area plan said it was reserved for employment use which was ‘wishy washy’. Town Council had stated that marine employment use was the point but sadly it would be a food store and District could not do anything to push for marine use. The applicant noted within the Development meeting that they had signed a mid-range food store up so at least there was definitely a business coming in. Her feeling was that District was lucky to win the appeal on the first round but would not have carried it off a second time and there permission had been granted. She noted she had also visited the owners of Jilmar.
She had considered the application for Midships which was next door to May Crimp and the officers were minded to approve the second set of plans. On consideration she had asked District planners to go back to the architect to request them to illustrate how this new building would affect the light in the house and back garden. This proposal was taller, much bulkier and nearer the neighbouring boundary and she felt shadowed it for a considerable amount of time. Those drawings were awaited and then she and Dist Cllr Wright must decide.
Dist Cllr Wright – He supported Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce as District was floundering as there was no actual objection on the Spion Lodge second plans. Dist Cllr Pearce further noted that there would be 20 full and part time jobs within the Gas Works supermarket so she questioned whether a boat yard could have perhaps been better paid but there were more jobs from this. Employment use can include mixed use so it was employment on the ground floor with maisonettes above. Cllr Mrs Sinnott asked if the owners could go for change of use if the shop was not successful? Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce advised that James Spencer of the Chamber of Commernce had a list of people wishing to bring business and employment to Salcombe and she felt the design of the self-contained maisonettes above the retail unit would be hard to convert into purely residential. This use could impede the highway even with the car park adjacent but highways planning were not interested. Arguably there were people arriving on boats who could come in but this was very seasonal! She apologised for District weakness in their policy there was no way out for them. There was a condition for three years in which to commence building but Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce thought they would do so fairly quickly. She did however question whether there might be another planning application forthcoming to change the frontage as it was only one unit.
Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce went to see Heather Nesbitt, planning enforcement, last week and Matt Jones stated that there were two extant permissions which they were considering for The Grange. She would check this before the end of the week. However she was asked to view the property as it now had a massive scaffolding structure which was causing concern.
627. MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting dated 9th September 2015 were approved by council and then duly signed by the Mayor as a true and correct record.
628. CO-OPTION
DEFERRED due to no further applications.
629. PLANNING APPLICATIONS:
The following applications were considered and such observations from town council submitted to District.
• 0750/15/F READVERTISEMENT (Revised plans Received) Demolition of existing dwelling and rebuild 2no. new houses Meriden, St. Dunstans Road, Salcombe TQ8 8AR – Applicant North Sands Development Ltd. – Objection. This was felt to be an overdevelopment of the site and would still cause a loss of amenity. It was also felt that the design was out of keeping and character with the area.
Cllr Lang left the meeting whilst the following application was considered.
• 1926/15/F Installation of roof lantern, introduction of external cladding, creation of bin store and associated alterations Church Hill Flats, Market Street, Salcombe TQ8 8DE – Applicant Mr A Harding. – Objection. The materials were felt not to be in keeping with a Conservation Area and therefore would look out of keeping with the wider street scene. The roof lantern was felt to be too dominant in this situation and would further impact on the AONB and CA.
• 1927/15/F Householder application for first and second floor extension over existing bay window and alterations to ground floor bay window Trafalgar House, 19 Coronation Road, Salcombe TQ8 8EA –Mr and Mrs D. Gunn – Objection. There was a concern raised that this proposal would cause a loss of light to the neighbours amenity and would also introduce overlooking. The materials were also not in keeping with the property and the windows at the front were felt to be out of place with the windows on the same property but fronting Forster Road.
• 1928/15/F Replacement dwelling and landscaping Monte Petri, Bolthead, Salcombe TQ8 8LL – Applicant Mr A. Brown – Objection. The overall mass of the proposed development was felt too large and an overdevelopment of this site. However if reduced in mass it was noted that the proposed design was welcomed and endorsed by town council. Consideration should also be given to protection of neighbouring and lower properties with regard to their concerns on drainage and falling building materials and due to the siting of their location. In view of this also detail should be given with regard to a Traffic Management plan during demolition and construction with consideration especially to affecting the tourist season.
• 1961/15/F Householder application for demolition of existing conservatory and erection of new, replacement of 2no. existing windows with glazed doors and internal alterations including new wood burning stove with external flue Patchways Cottage, Higher Batson, Salcombe TQ8 8NF – Applicant Mr and Mrs J. Taylor – No objection.
• 2024/15/F Change of use, extension and redevelopment to form residential dwelling The Garden Store, Cottles Quay, Thorning Street, Salcombe TQ8 8DW – Applicant Mrs S. Hosking – Objection. The materials and design were felt not to be in keeping with a Conservation Area and AONB notably in particular the ‘glass wall’ overlooking Shadycombe Creek. The proposed structure was felt to obstruct windows in the neighbouring property and it was noted that the plans did not state that this was in fact two self-contained properties. It was not stated how this would affect the setting of the adjacent listed building and there was concern that this would be more possible employment space in this area lost.
• 2028/15/F Conversion of existing substandard garage/store to self-contained annexe/ancillary unit Batson Hall Barn, Shadycombe Road, Salcombe TQ8 8NE – Applicant Mr and Mrs Tucker – Objection. This was felt to be a self-contained unit and therefore not ancillary to the main dwelling. Due to the size of the annexe it was felt to be back garden overdevelopment.
• 2029/15/F Householder application for construction of replacement garage with games room over Batson Hall Barn, Shadycombe Road, Salcombe TQ8 8NE – Applicant Mr and Mrs Tucker – Objection. This was felt to be overdevelopment when the current garage provided adequately for this property. There was a concern raised that this could provide potential for creation of a separate dwelling, if approved, and therefore should such proceed there would need to be a condition for this to remain ancillary to the main property.
Dist. Cllrs Mrs Pearce and Wright left the meeting.
WORK TO TREE PRESERVATION ORDER TREES
• 2062/15/TW (No. 44) Site: Kinrara, Sandhills Road, Salcombe, TQ8 8JP Proposal Holm Oak. Overall crown reduction as indicated, approximately 5 metres in height. Removal of overhanging branches to reshape and balance the tree. Town Council would rely on the Tree Officer’s recommendation.
PLANNING CORRESPONDENCE
• All emails for information with regard to planning applications had already been sent to town councillors.
• Email from District Council advised that with regard to the new prior notification applications (under the General Permitted Development Order 2015) regulations for these types of applications no longer required them to consult Town Council. There had been emails from Ugborough, Milton Abbot Grouped and Bratton Clovelly who had suggested that best practice should still use local knowledge as to whether the location and siting of such would make any change impractical or undesirable. Other parishes had since called for this consultation to continue. Town Council wished to write to request that they were still consulted on these types of applications
630. TOWN AND PARISH FUND
The changes to application and revised allocation of this fund were noted and it was AGREED to consider ideas to put forward for application to such fund .
631. CONSULTATIONS
It was AGREED to respond as below to the following consultations:
• District Gambling Statement of Policies
• District Licensing Policy
• County Mineral Plan
With regard to the Gambling Statement and Licensing Policy an overview was provided and it was felt that the recommendations were mainly due to changes in legislation and therefore updating to the current documents. The Licensing draft picked up on large scale events and safety items with regard to alcohol and drugs together with comments and responses being able to be made through internet usage.
Having reviewed the County Mineral Plan the closest areas affected were nearby to Sparkwell and the Bovey Basin and thus responses were more pertinent from areas closer thereto.
It was AGREED that the proposed changes needed no further comment from Town Council.
632. ITEMS OBSTRUCTING THE PAVEMENT
It was AGREED that delivery of the town council letters to businesses requesting removal of such items on the pavement and highway would be carried out by Cllr Mrs Bricknell.
633. MAYOR’S REPORT
The Mayor provided a written report in his absence. He wished to advise town council that Balfour Beatty had liaised with himself and Cllr Lang with regard to suitable dates for various areas around the town for Road Closures in order to carry out their works. Whilst test holes had been dug under Road Closures the actual phase of work needed Closures also but due to the timings County Council was not allowing the dates applied for to go ahead as they felt they were not given enough advanced warning. This unfortunately meant that even though town council had asked for the dates applied for to stand in order to have as little disruption as possible within the town Balfour Beatty had been refused. Therefore it appeared that if the works were to go ahead the closures would continue until the end of June 2016 rather than April as hoped for.
Chris Rook of County Highways had written to the First Responder to acknowledge his need for on street parking in order that the vehicle was not blocked in but parked near enough to allow easy access. For now one of County’s new dispensation permits was to be provided to allow the vehicle to be parked in limited waiting bays (without time restriction) and trialled in the hope that residents would support this use and valuable service. This provision would be reviewed in future if any comments were received and if a problem in the longer term consideration might be given to a specific bay. The current Penalty Charge would be null and void on the challenge already provided by the First Responder.
634. COUNCILLORS REPORTS
Cllr Mrs Bricknell – Attended the Salcombe Information Centre meeting and noted that Monday 16th November they were to have their AGM at the Harbour Hotel . There was to be a Crab Festival in May 2016 which was to be sponsored by the Favis’ and will be held on Island Street involving all businesses in town. March was to be when they were holding their dinner dance and tickets were going quickly. She had seen the Information Centre’s new website which she felt was very good and much easier to access and notably was easy enough to maintain in house. On another point a drain at the top of Coronation Road was completely blocked. A question had been raised as to whether there would be railings installed along the Main Road from the Jubilee Gardens to the top of Onslow road and the town clerk explained the wishes for the Bonfire Hill County Section 106 £30,000 usage and such need. She and her group of volunteers had carried out further works at the Fairweather Fountain and there were a further 25 bags of rubbish for District to collect. It would probably take another 3 or 4 days to completely clear.
Cllr Cohen – Peter Tobin was still to attend town council to explain about the money required for the Swimming Pool and matched funding.. Works on the North Sands plaque was still pending and the information on the meetings he attended with regard to Locality and Development Management were still to be provided to town councillors. He had received a complaint about the cleanliness of Whitestrand toilets but this was felt to be unfair and probably due to the timing of occurrence and cleaning schedule.
Cllr Mrs Clacy – Had noted that there were not enough bins on Whitestrand for the rubbish created.
Cllr Lang – Noted the community path from Onslow Road up to the Spar had been cleared by the probationers team. The tree halfway down did not appear to be causing a problem now that the vegetation had been removed. Cllr Mrs Sinnott enquired if there was any signage available as some pedestrians were crossing from Piggy Lane and going straight up through a resident’s garden rather than along to this footpath. A remedy would be sought. Cllr Lang continued that Forster Road residents were concerned with regard to the state of Shadycombe cemetery wall at their end as they felt it was disintegrating. It was noted that Richard Seal had visited the Council Hall and was worried how he would gain access to the upper window to assess the problem. Cllr Lang suggested that the trough on Jubilee Gardens cycle path could be filled in with hard core and then planted with flowers/shrubs to take away the concern of water collecting within it and being a health and safety problem for youngsters.
CLERK’S REPORT.
• Devon Highways Parish and Town Council Conference to be held Wednesday 14th October 2015 9.30 to 15.30 at Ashill Village Hall, Ashill, Cullompton. No councillors offered to attend.
• Devon County Grass Cutting on highway verges and visibility splays information provided together with advice on volunteers being encouraged to carry out works where maintenance is no longer done by County. Parish Paths Scheme and Snow Wardens are to be expanded so that local people can maintain such together with the promotion of Community Road Wardens. Under this scheme works must be approved under a formal legal agreement before County Council insurance covers such.
• Devon Association of Local Councils annual conference and AGM to be held Thursday15th October 2015 at Westpoint Conference Centre, Exeter. Cost per delegate £20. No councillors offered to attend
• Devon Wheels 2 Work offer hire of a scooter or motorcycle to those aged 16-65yrs to assist them in accessing training, education or employment. Information can be obtained at www.devonwheelstowork.co.uk
• Pebbles of Salcombe wished to again arrange to erect a Christmas tree at the top of Beadon Cross. This year they wished to invite other Salcombe businesses to assist and ‘grow the tree’. The intention was that if town council were content with this proposal they would approach other businesses and put up a sign beside the tree showing all those businesses who had contributed. It was to be ascertained whether there was now enough room for a larger tree with the Welcome Gardens in place.
635. FINANCE
Bank Balances
Current Account £500.00
Deposit Account £288025.80
Income: 2nd Precept £34752.00
Councillors APPROVED the following cheques for signature:
Cheques approved at this meeting:
003402 Mrs Hillman – Reimbursement of Parking Charge £3.00
003403 HMRC – Tax & NI £739.26
003404 and 05 Wages £1774.99
003406 Concorde I Ltd – Copies used on copier £16.80
003407 SHDC – Bonfire Hill Refuse £14.59
003408 Tally Ho! Coaches Ltd – Cost of bus for Park and Ride £13708.00
003409 Parish Online – Annual fee for mapping £33.60
003410 Greenspace – Invoice 278 Contract and Invoice 282 Two loads of refuse from allotments £549.33
003411 Hawthorns Accounting Services Ltd –Payslips April to September £90.00
636. NEXT MEETING
The next meeting would be held on Wednesday 14th October 2015 in the Library at Cliff House, Cliff Road, Salcombe at 6.30p.m.
Meeting Closed: 8.57p.m.
……………………………………………….. 14th October 2015.
Town Mayor.