COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT
* – Attendance; A- Absent; N – No Apologies Received
Cllr Mrs N. Turton – Mayor (in the Chair) *
Cllr. M. Fice *
Cllr Mrs C. Bricknell *
Cllr T. Lang *
Cllr Mrs L. Sinnott *
Cllr K. Baker *
Cllr P. Lafferty-Holt *
Cllr M. Long A
Cllr Mrs Kemp A
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
Kristen Bounds Kingsbridge Gazette *
39. 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.
40. OPEN FORUM
Police Report – Nothing reported.
District and County Councilors’ Report.
Dist Cllr Wright and Mrs Pearce had nothing to report but responded to issues raised now and at previous meetings.
The public litter bin summer collection cycle was instigated the week commencing Good Friday so all should now be getting two daily collections. Cllr Fice advised that he had observed the bin collecting on Easter Sunday when Victoria Quay rubbish was removed at 7a.m.but the final collection was at midday when the bin was basically empty. Therefore on the Monday morning they were overflowing again. A second collection needed to come after lunch and not midday or before.
Dist Cllr Wright had met with the FCC director and questioned the colour of the bleach being used now being pea green and was told that it was the colour of the product and the company had only received one complaint, from Salcombe. Those present at the meeting had not seen the earlier problem since but acknowledged it had at least been raised. With regard to the removal of out of date planning notices District had recently had an issue with locality officer capacity as one was on holiday and another on long term sick leave. Therefore the officer covering Salcombe was incorporating three areas. The notices should be removed in due course when the service was no longer stretched. It was noted that the Whitestrand car park Marine Awareness Day poster was out of date and should also be removed.
The Mayor raised a complaint that the bin lorry “stank to high heaven” and had spewed out foul smelling liquid along the road. This was felt to be the commercial waste collection lorry from District Council. Dist Cllr Wright noted this and would report back.
Cllr Fice noted that the previous year he had complained about the advertising flags that had appeared on District property advertising the Cliff House Garden cafe. Town Council were told it was going to be removed but now the flags had reappeared mounted on the wall so people no longer had a view along the estuary over the bar or of the War Memorial. Dist Cllr Wright noted that he had already been approached on this matter and had reported the flags and spotlight to planning and assets. Cllr Fice continued that he had not seen mechanical road sweeper going around Salcombe for months. Cllr Lafferty-Holt acknowledged the vehicle had been seen but it was driving past and not sweeping. Dist Cllr Wright was requested to obtain dates as to when this vehicle was supposed to be cleaning in Salcombe and was questioned whether there only one operator. It was advised there were a number of drivers.
Cllr Lafferty-Holt noted that on Easter Sunday the Whitestrand car park attendant arrived first thing in the morning at about 8a.m. He placed tickets on two cars which proceeded to remain there all day and another car opposite his shop arrived after the attendant and was also there all day, but he never got a ticket. The attendant never returned to deal with these vehicles. It was questioned whether the hours for operatives were different on Easter Sunday and Dist Cllr Wright would check. As a short-term car park, it should be monitored more often. Also, the lines painted all over the road and around the car park, to enable the District survey on 10th April in relation to the harbour office and toilets, should have washed away by now but were still untidily visible.
Cllr Lafferty-Holt noted an email from Dist Cllr Wright regarding the hair braiders and was disappointed with this response and questioned what Dist Cllr Wright believed town council’s concerns were. Dist Cllr Wright responded that he felt town council did not want them in this area but advised they would be there in some form or another. District officers had felt there could be better control by licensing the usage and they could then monitor the hair braiders and ensure they were insured, and it gave them a degree of control. Cllr Lafferty-Holt continued that he could not understand whether the hair braiders had a specific pitch within their licence or if he set up a stall there could they move him on? Or did they only have a licence to operate on District Council property not a divine right to be in that one place. As it was a public space and District Council actively sold advertising space that they could not deliver as it was blocked by the hair braiders they should be stopped, and District find them a more suitable place. Cllr Fice noted there were three elements to this problem. It was not just blocking the view of the advertising, but they were using a public available seat to run their business from, cluttering the flower bed so it could not be seen and narrowing the pinch point at the entrance. Dist Cllr Wright advised he had struggled to find a way to get officers to deal with this. The response was that the Licence agreement should stipulate what they were entitled to do. Clarification was sought as to why the hair braiders were still able to use that area and block an amenity space. District Council were in breach of the Trades Description Act as they were selling advertising that could not be seen and this was an amenity space meant for the public to use and not a permanent place of business. Cllr Lang questioned whether anyone checked that the traders in situ were the ones eligible under licence, to which Dist Cllr Wright confirmed they did. Dist Cllr Wright advised that the green bin behind this area could be moved back and he had asked the hair braiders if they would move their sign to that point which they said they could do. Town Council noted that they had no objection, in principle, to the braiders but that they should move away from that public space to allow access.
Business rubbish was often put out on the street at night when the workers left but it was suggested it would be good to find a way to contain it so that the seagulls could not rip it to pieces. Perhaps seagull proof bags for the businesses but others around the table advised that there were already seagull bags for businesses but often the rubbish was too bulky. Dist Cllrs Wright and Mrs Pearce had noticed on their walk around the parish that a tremendous amount of businesses were dumping their rubbish in District public bins along with tenants who were using holiday property. Cllr Fice enquired what had happened with regard to investigation by District into compressor bins.
Cllr Mrs Bricknell highlighted a problem with Shadycombe Road signage. The nameplate could be seen travelling one way, coming down Onslow Road, but the one on the kerb by the wall was missing. The error on administering the Devon Court planning response was raised again but town council were advised by Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce that it had been caught in a glitch. The planning portal not registering response happened to several applications at that time and she advised nothing more could now be done. It was not an officer as the information was just not available to him.
The Mayor responded to Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce’s request at the previous meeting and had feedback on the District Neighbourhood Plan link. The links and downloads page was overwriting itself but that was the only problem she found. Going on she asked about the Watch House Listed Building application and consent and the town council previous query as to whether planning permission was required. Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce advised that Richard Gage, planning officer, felt that the Listed Building application was enough in that instance. Town Council questioned this as the Listed Building application showed they were demolishing and had substantive alterations which were internal, but the balustrading was external and the changes involved moving a wall and increasing glazing. They were told this came under Permitted Development, but the applicant would have to get Building Regulations approval.
41. MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting dated 10th April 2019 were approved and duly signed by the Mayor as a true and correct record.
42. PLANNING APPLICATIONS:
The following applications were considered and such observations from town council submitted to District.
- 0453/19/HHO Householder application for garden building (revisions to approved application 1931/17/HHO) 16 Church Street, Salcombe, TQ8 8DH – Response 10th May 2019 – Objection This annex was felt to be overdevelopment and would affect the light amenity of the building on the other side of Church Lane. The replacement of the side wall with a wooden fence had an adverse impact on the Conservation Area. Any permission granted would require a condition that the annex remained ancillary to the main building and was not used separately.
· 0782/19/FUL Proposed reconstruction of garage with extensions to form sail loft, boat storage and ancillary residential accommodation to basement (re- submission of 0025/19/HHO) The Weald East Portlemouth Devon TQ8 8PU – Target Determination 3rd May 2019 – Objection This was overdevelopment of the site and the extent of glass on the northern elevation (facing the sea) would have a serious light impact on the AONB. Replacing a garage with a house would reduce parking provided for the existing property and the new property. - 1026/19/HHO Householder application for use of outbuilding as habitable accommodation Midships, Knowle Road, Salcombe, TQ8 8EQ – Response 17th May 2019 – Objection This garage had only just been built as part of a recent planning application and conversion to habitable accommodation could be seen to be contrary to NDP policy SALC ENV 7 re infill development
- 1125/19/FUL Demolition of existing dwelling and erection of new dwelling and associated landscaping Tides, Bennett Road, Salcombe, TQ8 8JJ – Response 10th May 2019 – Objection This was overdevelopment of the site with a large amount of glass on the southern elevation which would give major light pollution and have an adverse impact on the AONB. There was also a major concern regarding the new vehicle access as this would have a major impact on the street scene and also would not allow a good visibility splay onto a busy road
APPEAL
- 2242/18/FUL Appeal reference: APP/K1128/W/19/3223954 Proposal: Change of use from ancillary accommodation into a separate residential dwelling with associated access, parking and residential curtilage “Long Park Studio”, Long Park, Higher Batson, Devon. Appellants name: Mr & Mrs Keeler Appeal start date: 12th April 2019. Town Council wished to affirm their objection as the Appeal statement revolved around the proximity of the new dwelling to Salcombe stating that journeys would not need to be made by car which Town Council by local knowledge disagree with. It also referred to NDP policy SALC H2 and stated the policy began with ‘this plan supports Market Housing in the Parish within allocated sites of the Plymouth and South’ but did not add in the conditions of H2.
The District Councillors left the meeting.
PLANNING CORRESPONDENCE
Nothing further received.
43. MAINTENANCE CONTRACT
This was DEFERRED as the councillor, expected to speak to it, was not in attendance.
44. EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT
The proposals from the Finance Working Party to update the Town Clerk’s contract were tabled and it was AGREED to proceed as proposed to include current legislation and pension arrangements.
45. MAYOR’S REPORT
The Mayor thanked the outgoing councillors for all their sterling work during their term of office.
46. COUNCILLORS REPORTS
- Cllr Fice – Requested that the project officer circulate the dates when the contractor would be carrying out town weed spraying. He would be attending a licensing hearing relating to the Gin Distillery the following day and would report back at the next meeting.
- Cllr Lang – Enquired which fitment had fallen off the gates at the park and ride. This was currently with the project officer to be repaired and it was noted that the bus service worked very well over the Easter weekend.
- Cllr Mrs Bricknell – Noted that the Whitestrand planters looked awful and the planting was again discussed and District owned these and were supposed to be dealing with this so town council would wait and see what is put in. At Jubilee Park where grass seed had been sown it was still stony and the area had not been cleared of larger stones and the planning group would look at this again. The Mayor and Cllr Fice thought from their previous visit that the area was not that bad and wondered if the stones were working their way up with usage. The Fish Quay defibrillator had been reported as not working and she just wanted to highlight this as it had been broken for some time. It had been reported but there was no response and the officer was leaving South West Ambulance. Town Council were not responsible and not able to deal with this maintenance.
CLERK’S REPORT
- Concern had been raised regarding weeds along Footpath 26. The Footpath Officer advised that being a tarmacked footpath this was not within their cutting schedule and as County no longer did weed spraying was probably why the weeds had advanced. He asked if this could be cleared within the P3 works. It was noted that most weeds were emanating from the highway wall above and that it was thought maybe District Council owned the land that the path was on. This would be investigated.
- A meeting took place with the owners, Fifield and their scaffolding contracts, affected businesses and town council representatives at The Salcombe and Ferry Steps. An outline of proposed works, the effect on the steps and timings to do such works was awaited from Fifields so that a response to Devon County could be sent with regard to an extension of the licence.
- Stuart Taylor External Relations Officer for the Post Office had spoken to the relationship manager who worked with Post Office partner Gilletts who run the Salcombe branch and associated store. Gilletts advised they had no plans to either close or make any significant changes to the Post Office service, so they could only assume that the comments they were removing this service must have been as a result of local rumour. Stuart advised that if Gilletts wanted to give-up providing Post Office services in the town then under their contract they would be required to provide six months’ notice to do so, which would allow his network colleagues to engage with other retailers around the impending Post Office vacancy. On behalf of the Post Office he advised they were committed to providing Post Office services in Salcombe and in any eventuality that the current operator advised of their intention to cease providing service then they would do all they could to maintain or restore service for their customers.
- A resident had raised concern that the owners of houses backing onto Allenhayes Road, just below Combehaven and to the rear of Devon Villas, Devon Road had basically adopted the whole lane by placing parking restrictions into the ground so that Salcombe workers who had used this road for years no longer could. It was not a private road but there were now posts in the ground stopping other users and the resident requested that town council assist. Town council noted that these posts had been there for years but town council working party for planning would look again to ensure nothing had changed.
47. FINANCE
Bank Balances
Current Account £500.00
Deposit Account £380,025.84
Received: Nil
Councillors APPROVED Internet payments to:
Totnes Hire Shop – Jubilee Play Area Heras hire Final Invoice £258.48
N. Turton – Mayor’s Allowance £13.30
M. Fice – Travel £46.00
Fiona Cranford Smith – Cliff House Gardens Memorial planters October – April £166.92
Wages – April £1765.96
HMRC – Tax and NI £787.06
NEST – Pension £202.30
48. NEXT MEETING
The next meeting would be the Annual Meeting held on Wednesday 8th May 2019 in the Library at Cliff House, Cliff Road, Salcombe following the Annual Town Meeting which would commence at 6.00p.m.
Meeting Closed: 19.49p.m.
…………………………………………….. 8th May 2019.
Town Mayor.