COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT
* – Attendance; A- Absent; N – No Apologies Received
Cllr. M. Fice – Mayor (in the Chair) – *
Cllr Mrs C. Bricknell – *
Cllr T. Lang – *
Cllr R. Whitfield – *
Cllr Mrs L. Sinnott – A
Cllr Mrs M. Kemp – A
Cllr K. Baker – *
Cllr Mrs N. Turton – *
Cllr P. Lafftery-Holt – *
Cllr M. Long – *
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 P. O’Dwyer – A
Charley Adams Kingsbridge Gazette – *
169. 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. None given.
170. OPEN FORUM
Police Report – None received.
Stephen Alcock advised he had returned to speak about the electricity pole which had been proposed for installation in February. He was pleased to note it had been removed yesterday. He and all his neighbours’ wished to convey their thanks to town council for the letter of support provided. When they had asked Western Power if they could see a pole as proposed they were directed to a site in Plymstock and had never found one of this style within the AONB and they were pretty sure there were none. They raised this point to express concern that this industrial style structure had no place in Salcombe and town council needed to be vigilant with regard to future installations.
County Councillors Report – Cty Cllr Gilbert apologised for not attending the civic lunch due to a previous engagement. He reminded council that there was a parish highways conference on Wednesday 16th November at Rattery. This was a workshop, not conference, on all matters relating to highways and he urged any councillor interested in why things were not happening that this was the place to air these points. Cllr Mrs Turton was booked to attend.
Another £30million needed to be shaved from the 2018/19 budget for County which equated to £100,000 per day of cuts. He would let town council know what was being proposed as it went through discussions, highlighting things which might affect Salcombe. He was hoping that highways would be protected and particularly work on gullies. He explained that gullies had usurped potholes for the most complaints and concern received from residents. There were supposed to be two gulley suckers in the whole of Devon but it appeared there was only one. Therefore this matter had moved up in political importance and most of his fellow County Councillors were pressing this point.
With regard to schools every child in Devon would receive an extra £80 allocation as previously it had meant they received £260 per pupil whereas in metropolitan areas they received circa £500 per pupil. On a positive point however for Devon 95% of Devon schools were rated outstanding or good. This must be down to the teachers, parents and pupils.
He requested that all town councillors, and as many members of the public who could be made to do so, please report potholes online. Do not assume that something has been reported, as everyone could add to these online reports. He had received countless compliments from people in the communities he served that within 24 hours of reporting such matter online the work was done. Devolution for Somerset and Devon was back in the running this time without the need for elected Mayors as both Districts and County did not want Mayors.
Stephen Alcock left the meeting.
Five points of interest on Devon issues
• 19.5% of people in Devon have a disability,
• 11.5% were carers
• 61.5% were Christian
• 2.5% were from ethnic minorities
• 6-10% had a non-heterosexual orientation.
The Mayor asked what happened with regard to removal of the A boards. Cty Cllr Gilbert advised that he believed town council was going to come back to County on this point but as Town Council went quiet over the summer he assumed it was not a good idea to do this at that time. Adam Keay and he were happy to meet and have a walk around and talk over the problems on site. It was noted that Captain Morgans sign was blocking the road and photographs produced. Cllr Gilbert explained that no business could erect an A frame further than within 3 metres of their property. There must also be pavement 2 metres wide to put A frame up as it must leave 1.8metres clear. Removal had been highly contentious in Kingsbridge and it became really unpleasant with traders so he warned town council to be prepared and they could not pick and choose, it was removal all or nothing. This would be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.
The Mayor highlighted that there was to be a discussion on the gulley survey at this meeting so hopefully that information collected would be coming forward now. Cllr Gilbert agreed that roads deteriorated because water was not getting off the road through these gullies.
Cty Cllr Gilbert left the meeting.
District Councillors Report – Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce noted the planning workshop with Pat Whymer on 14th December. She also referred to the works carried out on the top of the toilet building at Cliff House Gardens. Scaffolding would definitely be down for Remembrance Sunday although there was more work to go on underneath with tiles to the top of the steps and the contractor must lay an asphalt surface. The joiner would be installing hardwood windows and the electrics were coming on.
Dist Cllr Wright referred to the Kingsbridge Development Plan consultation and advised that all but two areas had been withdrawn and noted the proposals for the two main areas on Ropewalk and the Community Land Interest. Employment units were to be placed at the top of the slipway following comments when the old boatyard had received planning permission as this caused some to be concerned another boat builder was to be lost. District had started to look at their financial strategy and members had attended a workshop as they had a deficit of £584,000 so were looking for various ways to address this but he feared a lot would be covered through cuts. Consideration was being given to statutory and non-statutory obligations.
The One Council consultation results were now online. Cllr Wright had set up a meeting to meet with Town Council representatives to discuss maintenance issues and then meet with officers responsible. Dist Cllrs Wright and Mrs Pearce would meet with officers 3 or 4 days later so officers could come up with proposals to respond to these concerns. Cllr Wright wanted to deal with these issues this season so next year it was sorted.
The Mayor noted that with regard to Creek Car Park he had received many comments this week as people had difficulty parking as the area had been closed for boat parking even though it was half term and the fenced off area had just one boat within. Cllr Wright was unable to comment as he had no idea. Closure dates, it was noted by Cllr Baker, were set by the Harbour Office. Cllr Long advised he had spoken to Vanessa at the Harbour Office and in previous years they had worked through and put heras fencing up but due to access now being through the crab quay with additional parking by the crab shed people do not know about it. Motorists entered the section down by the day centre and could not find any parking so drove out. This caused chaos. Cllr Long had counted 16 -17 spaces free for boats to go into but they were still lifting boats out today to go in these and if they had kept the fence further up they would have been lifting boats near cars. It was the half term that was the issue as so many people just could not park.
Also the weekly passes for car parks were not allowed to be used (due to District Council paperwork) in Shadycombe until 1st Nov and it also stated the Creek car park was closed from 1st Oct but there was a month gap between these dates. However the machine in Shadycombe allowed use from 1st October. District Council officers did not know the answer when questioned. All understood the issues for boats needing to come out of the water but next year they needed to space this out with greater understanding of usage of the area as half term covered three weeks and this was the prime period but insurance on boats in the water usually runs out on 31st October. To compound this the Harbour had moved all the finger pontoons so there was nowhere to leave boats either.
The Mayor noted he was asked why the Park and Ride bus was not running and he had explained about cost and suggested if businesses wanted it to be run longer they could approach Town Council to sponsor the bus. This year though they could not do this either because it has to be registered as a scheduled bus service. Cllr Long wondered whether the Park and Ride could be run in October half term as it would have been heavy use. The weekly Park and Ride started one week at the end of June then running July to August and he wondered whether the period next year could not be moved from the end of June to October half term as from May the whole of the Creek car park was open. It was clarified that the businesses were only complaining because the people were complaining about trying to park to come into town. Cllr Wright agreed the car/boat closure should be around half term but not a date that interfered.
Cllr Lafferty-Holt noted that someone parked in Whitestrand car park at 5.30p.m. and paid £1 and found this ticket stopped at 6p.m. So having paid they could not park for an hour but would they then have to pay for the overnight fee. He questioned what parking wardens were instructed to do in this case. Machines should know that an hour could not be bought and not provide a ticket but how is this interim period dealt with. It was further noted that it was inappropriate for District Council to allow Kier contractors to have use of two parking spaces in Whitestrand over half term and they were only using these areas for dumping builders’ rubbish. Further vans were brought into the car park too.
The bench on Victoria Quay had been replaced by a plastic one. Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce had noticed the taped area and broken bench at North Sands and was pleased that the Victoria Quay bench had been replaced. Cllr Lang questioned the wooden benches that had been removed/disappeared from Whitestrand and where they had gone.
171. MINUTES
It had been advised and noted that the 13th September Minutes incorrectly stated that Paperbird Island was squatting. The tenant had a Lease and was paying rent under it. Pebbles had relocated to a property that they already owned and in fact when Paperbird left it went into Pheonix Charter. The Minutes of the meeting dated 11th October 2017 were considered and Cllr Long raised concern with regard to 3(a)(iii). He felt that reference to Whitestrand Car park and other resources was not relevant at this stage and the Town Clerk responded she would need to clarify this statement with the solicitor and this was noted before the Minutes were APPROVED by council and then duly signed by the Mayor as a true and correct record.
172. PLANNING APPLICATIONS:
The following applications were considered and such observations from town council submitted to District.
• 2861/17/HHO Householder application for formation of new balcony off first floor master bedroom, over part of existing rear courtyard Poll Cottage, Robinsons Row, Salcombe TQ8 8EU – No objection.
• 2862/17/LBC Listed building consent for formation of new balcony off first floor master bedroom, over part of existing rear courtyard Poll Cottage, Robinsons Row, Salcombe TQ8 8EU – Objection on the basis that the impact of this proposed amendment on this Listed Building was significant enough to not be acceptable. Formation of a balcony with French doors and seating outside requiring breaking through the facade installing doors at this point in the building was felt to be detrimental to its appearance.
• 3040/17/FUL Alteration and extension of existing dwelling to form two dwellings Vantage One, Sandhills Road, Salcombe TQ8 8JP – Objection. The plans provided were not felt to be reflective of the proposal as town council could not see the impact of works. The current and proposed drawings had no height measurements or comparison between the two and there was no block plan of the proposed dwellings to illustrate how much of the property it would take up. The proposed elevations had an extra storey which without levels could be lower or higher so no decision was possible. Another concern was that there was no visible additional entrance for the other property.
• 3077/17/HHO Householder application for proposed extension to dwelling The Old Sail Loft, Bonfire Hill, Salcombe TQ8 8ED – Objection as town council could not visualise how the extension proposed could fit within the property owners boundary and therefore no consideration could be given to the proposal
• 3147/17/FUL Rebuilding of 2no. existing dwellings (resubmission of 0395/17/FUL) Hill Cottage, Herbert Road, Salcombe TQ8 8HN – No objection. There was however concern raised with the creation of a design that introduced a three storey property in a current line of two storey properties with dormers. This also raised concern with regard to the eventual feasibility to provide this living space within such height limit.
• 3192/17/HHO Householder application for new balconies and rearrangement of storage facilities Topside, Fore Street, Salcombe TQ8 8BY – No objection.
• 3294/17/HHO Householder application for changes to an existing stone boundary wall Start House, Devon Road, Salcombe TQ8 8HQ – Objection due to the impact of the height of this proposal on the street scene within a Conservation Area and it would remove a public amenity view of the estuary. There was a request made to retain this current wall at its existing height and repair the damaged areas.
• 3355/17/VAR Variation of condition number 2 following grant of planning permission 3440/16/HHO to allow changes to approved plans to include a sun room to the rear 3 Loring Road, Salcombe TQ8 8BL – No objection.
• 3419/16/FUL Demolition of existing garages and erection of 1no. dwelling (revision of 0877/17/FUL) Land at Baptist Lane, Salcombe – Objection. This proposal remained an overdevelopment of a small plot which would change the style of the area. The only amenity space proposed was a small corner of grass where currently there was a tree and this was not felt to be enough for a four bedroom property. There would also be a loss of parking spaces in an area where parking was of a premium and thus would affect the locality. The proposal did not blend with the street scene and the wall along Devon Road being in a Conservation Area should not be changed. The design was not felt appropriate for the Conservation Area as it did not blend with locality.
• 3486/17/LBC Listed Building Consent of new balconies and rearrangement of storage facilities Topside, Fore Street, Salcombe TQ8 8BY – No objection.
PLANNING CORRESPONDENCE
• TREE PRESERVATION ORDER – 3376/17/TPO Proposal T1: Beech – Fell, rotting at main stem from ground level, adjacent to busy road, no re-plant as heavily wooded area; T2: Holm Oak – Fell, leaning heavily over seating area at beach, root system exposed on cliff edge, re-plant n/a, surrounded by other Holm Oaks, owners will re-seed with grass; T3: Scots Pine – Fell, previously supported by adjacent sycamore, over 3 years lower branches broken off, now safety concern as leans heavily over highly populated beach, deadwood present in main crown, re-plant n/a as heavily wooded area. Location – The Moult Cliff Road, Salcombe TQ8 8LE. No objection to felling from a safety point of view. As this is felling under a TPO town council would ask the Tree Warden to request clear identification of the oak and beech in this area and ensure that they are in turn protected and marked against any further clearance to allow them grow back to replace these trees.
• APPEAL – 1411/17/HHO and 1412/17/LBC Appeal Ref: APP/K1128/Y/17/3186054 and APP/K1128/Y/17/3186075 Proposal: Application to retain external straight steps and install a balustrade to match the colonnade; and, application for retrospective permission to retain natural oak finish to columns The Grange, Cliff Road, Salcombe TQ8 8JQ. Town council wished to consider this in detail at the following meeting and thus it would be placed on the agenda.
• Notification received from District Planning that the Development Management Committee was to consider the Tides Reach Hotel application 2826/15/FUL on 1st November 2017 commencing at 2p.m. Cllr Long agreed to attend to speak to this application. .
Dist Cllrs Wright and Mrs Pearce left the meeting.
173. WILDLIFE RESOURCES MAP AND SPECIES RECORD
A request by the Neighbourhood Plan group for town council to obtain the above report from Devon Biodiversity Records Centre at a cost of £77.40 inc. VAT was duly AGREED and would be paid out of the town council Neighbourhood Plan money.
174. DRAINAGE
Main Road, Sandhills Road, and Beadon Estate still remained to be surveyed for blocked drains and Cllr Long took on Beadon. Cllr Whitfield offered to collate all results on a single map with colour coding, for which he was duly thanked, and it was AGREED that this information then be sent to County Highways to seek their assistance on clearance.
175. BATSON PARKING
The District Council proposal to introduce residents parking bays at Batson was tabled and objection noted as a large number of workers and walkers used this area so this would take away necessary regular parking. One suggestion was a pay and display but a machine was not felt acceptable in a Conservation Area. Also it was noted that motorists park in the passing places further along behind the yellow lines which compounded access. Trailers could still be dumped but this was rare. It was AGREED to suggest as an alternative that clearer marked bays, set on the diagonal to allow more spaces, would be suggested but not to become residents or permit holder spaces.
176. OPEN SPACES SPORT AND RECREATION
Cllr Baker outlined the problems encountered with obtaining feedback and projects. This seemed to be a problem across all parish and towns and therefore a draft document with the information obtained so far was required. This item was DEFERRED for a draft document to be produced for discussion at the next meeting.
177. REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
Cllrs Mrs Bricknell and Lang would man the road closure.
It was AGREED;
(a) there needed to be provision of music for the parade and Kingsbridge College and the Silver Band would be approached to ask if they had a bugle player available
(b) that Rob Wheeler would be asked to provide installation and operation of the PA for the Remembrance Sunday service at a cost of £150.
178. MAYOR’S REPORT
The Mayor noted that the Civic Service and Lunch all went well although the church service commencing at 11a.m. when it should have been 10.30a.m. seemed to mean that people did not congregate in the bar and socialise beforehand.
Cllrs Turton, Long Whitfield and the Mayor along with the Town Clerk attended the Shadycombe and Batson Creek District Masterplan workshop. There were also attendees from various agencies, organisations and local business. The workshop commenced with the architect/designers presentation overviewing work so far but they imparted no ideas. Group discussions around tables injected points put forward and if all these were applied the cost would be high. There were some good ideas but whether they would get taken forward remained to be seen. The Mayor felt that the event had been very vague but Cllr Whitfield felt that the organisers were trying to bring all other ideas into the pot to see how these tallied with the forum ideas and then compare everything. The plan going forward was to expand the consultation through more of the town but they were starting with the rules currently in place and cascading down. Cllr Long noted there was consistency of opinion in maintaining parking and looking at units to be affordable for local businesses within the boat, marine, fishing area and the potential of Shadycombe car park being multi-storey. There was a need to maintain or increase parking space and keep it situated on the creek because of the dual use by cars in summer and boats in winter. Community housing could be provided by a Community Land Trust at rates not set by the Government formula.
An email received from Andy Barsby with regard to the draft Neighbourhood Plan had gone to all councillors. This draft plan was in its infancy and not yet in the public domain as it was being worked on by the plan group. Cllr Lang questioned the Shadycombe/Batson meeting and this draft document not being an open meeting and it was explained that this was not the right forum yet as some things might be removed or changed through discussion. Ideas and proposals needed input before going to the public otherwise wrong or mixed messages could be imparted. The Mayor asked all councillors to reply by email with their thoughts and then there could be a brief discussion on these points and a decision how to respond to the draft plan. Cllr Lang wanted everything in the public but everyone else felt the draft plan was just going through tidying at present and was not for circulation.
179. COUNCILLORS REPORTS
Cllr Lafferty-Holt – Noted that the benches in Devon Road had shrubbery in front of them which obscured the view. This was privately leased and the benches were on the pavement but the Town Clerk would advise the owners of this concern.
Cllr Whitfield – Requested an article on the Citizen of the Year and Civic Dinner plus photo for the website along with any other appropriate articles.
Cllr Lang – Noted that builders had obtained dispensation passes for parking on the highway which seemed to mean they felt they could claim a space for parking and then stick cones there by night reserving such. Employees of District Council had responded that they had paid for the space but when challenged did start to move their equipment off. The Mayor noted he had mentioned builders leaving a van in a parking space and going off in another van to secure this space. Highways enforcement were turning a blind eye as it was suggested they were being bullied and an incident was highlighted. This would be mentioned to County Highways and Cty Cllr Gilbert to explain to users the spaces could be used while there and were not guaranteed spaces. A local builder at Courtney Street also parked and blocked the street.
Cllr Mrs Bricknell – Had cut back the overgrown vegetation on the path and steps from the Spar shop down to Onslow Road. She was duly thanked.
CLERK’S REPORT.
• Letter dated 18th October 2017 received from Devon County Definitive Map Review Officer advising that the Schedule 14 application for a public footpath claimed from Shadycombe Road to Gould Road, Batson Creek would be heard by the Committee on 9th November at 2.15p.m. in County Hall, Exeter. Cllr Long to attend and advise some town representatives of the date.
• Letter of thanks received from David Stevens Cliff House Trust Ltd with regard to the Civic Sunday.
• Dist Cllr. Mrs Pearce advised that Pat Whymer had agreed to provide a planning workshop for town council on the evening of 14th December. Town Clerk would advise this would be held in Cliff House Library at 6.30p.m.
• The contractor who carried out works to repair the wall fall in at Jubilee Gardens had advised that there were remaining dangerous sections which needed to be rebuilt matching the existing wall to include installing a buttress at a weak point to stop further falls.
• Complaint directed to District Council received from a resident with regard to a loud droning noise heard in Knowle Road. This was sent to town council as the District Council system for such reports had not worked.
• The Highway Engineer had asked what the local opinion was with regard to removing the humps at the point along Fore Street outside Bonningtons when resurfacing takes place next year. He felt that with the flood gate now in place these were no longer required. Town Council confirmed the humps should be removed.
FINANCE
Greenspace had been contracted to carry out the lifting and replacing of the Jubilee Park play equipment matting. As this work was costly for materials with little outlay for labour a request had been made by the contractor for town council to pay £800.00 up front to allow the materials to be purchased. This was accepted.
Bank Balances
Current Account £986.85
Deposit Account £303,475.47
Receipts:
Bonfire Hill – Grimson, Murrary, Menzies £445
Bonfire Hill Allotment Association – Further subs £41.85
Councillors APPROVED Internet payments to:
Mike Fice – Travel Mayors, NDP, Coastal Action Group and DMC meetings at Totnes £69.92
Harbour Hotel – Civic Lunch £1947.00
Sandover Associates – Neighbourhood Plan Consultancy fee – 1st Invoice £4176.00
Devon Wildlife Management – Vermin control £35.00
HMRC – Tax & NI £757.93
NEST – Pensions £145.26
Wages and sundries – £1742.13
Krystal Hosting Ltd – Website hosting £95.93
Parish Online – Annual subscription £33.60
Cheques: None
180. NEXT MEETING
The next town council meeting would be held on Wednesday 8th November 2017 in the Library at Cliff House, Cliff Road, Salcombe at 6.30p.m.
Meeting Closed: 20.50p.m.
……………………………………………….. 8th November 2017.
Town Mayor.