Baydon Parish Council meeting 21st September 2015
News report by Barbara Furber
At the Parish Council meeting held on Monday 21st September 2015 Mr Andy Knowles was in the chair.
Three councillors and Wiltshire Councillor James Sheppard were in attendance. There were 9 members of the public and 2 persons representing Mr M Lloyd of Baydon House Farm.
Apologies were received from Cllr John Cockcroft.
The minutes of the last meeting were approved and signed.
There was no police report, but Cllr Tony Prior said that he had made contact with the appropriate department who suggested that a report be sent in the future. PC Anthony Boardman has now replaced PC Batchelor (“Batch”).
In Public Question Time Mrs Debbie Moxon voiced concern about dangerous parking, particularly at school time. She also asked if a public toilet could be made available in the village, as it was a question she was often asked. Wiltshire Cllr James Sheppard noted that it costs Aldbourne £3,000 each year to maintain their public toilet. Cllr Knowles said that he did not know where one could be sited.
Mr Jim Grove asked where the “Plaque” from the old bus shelter is stored. No one seemed to know. Mr Grove also voiced concern about the dangerous parking at the end of Downsmead, particularly when the St. John’s bus was due. Some days the road was grid-locked. Cllr Knowles replied that the traffic problem was one that couldn’t be solved except by asking drivers to be more responsible.
Mr Grove also announced that the Cricket Field would be open from Saturday 26th September for garden rubbish. The key can be obtained from Baydon Stores in exchange for a donation. Please no non burnable rubbish or soft furnishings, he added, or the field would be closed for good.
Mr Dick Maycock said that he was concerned, as a resident of Manor Lane, about the speed at which some cars travel in the lane, and asked for some form of traffic calming i.e. 20 mph restriction. He added however that in his opinion the volume of traffic had not increased since the Ermin Street chicane had been introduced. Cllr Knowles replied that the situation had been looked at before, but future concerns will be passed on to the appropriate parties.
Electoral register changes were noted.
The temporary closure of Downsmead for re-surfacing on 20th to 26th October were also noted.
A letter was received from 4 children requesting the Event shelter on 17th October to fund raise for Cancer Research on the Green. It was agreed by all councillors.
Planning:-
There was much confusion between councillors as to what the removal of conditions set on 3 Ermin Street really meant. The decision was deferred until a copy of the original planning had been viewed.
There was lengthy discussion about the revision of plans for Baydon Valley Farm as the public were also able to take part. Cllr Cockcroft had sent a letter stating his views that the whole project was unnecessary as facilities were available at the original site. Cllr Knowles said that the council had not received all of the attachments from the Planning Office, but the site is to be re located further south, by Paines Lane, the height of the barn is less, and that Highways were happy that the lane could cope with any increase in traffic. Cllr Prior said that once trees were planted around the barn, it wouldn’t be seen from the village. He felt that business should be encouraged. Cllr Kevin Howell was against, stating that the proposed building(s) was outside the village boundary, and there was no need for extra staff accommodation, as stated in the planning document. Cllr Tamsin Witt voiced concern over the access as six trips a day down Manor Lane seemed excessive. Cllr Knowles also felt there was an issue with traffic in Manor Lane. The representative from Baydon House Farm, Mark, was asked to speak, which he did, hesitantly. He repeated that highways were happy about traffic through Manor Lane and the proposed widening of parts of the track passed the Sewage Works. The public voiced their concerns at length on various aspects but mainly about effects on Manor Lane by heavy vehicles. A vote was taken, one councillor supported the motion, one supported with conditions and two objected. When asked for his opinion, C Cllr Sheppard said that unless there was a real planning reason the permission would be granted, and it is hard to come up with a good planning reason. Mrs Chris Whale asked if the proposed plans would go to committee and C Cllr Sheppard replied that they too would need a sound planning reason to turn it down. Forestry and farming are allowed outside village boundaries, he added.
The next two items were deferred, laptop and printer and a trolley for the event tent containers, as Cllr Cockcroft was responsible for these items.
The handrail off Manor Lane was also deferred again.
Cllr Witt announced that Baydon had been granted £9,000 funding towards new traffic calming west of the village. She will meet with Highways to discuss that time scale etc. soon.
Cllr Howell gave quotes for signage stating “Pedestrians in Road” and “Litter Picking”. It was agreed to go for the larger signs (1050 x 750) at a cost of £280 + VAT
There was no update on the swings for the play park. The chair suggested that it be put in motion this winter, so that the swings would be ready in the spring.
It was noted that the post had been replaced in the allotment.
Cllr Prior recommended that the new maximised noticeboard to accommodate the local footpath map be situated at the Baydon Stores
Mrs Debbie Moxon reported favourable comments on the new byways map. A request for a key on the map was agreed upon.
Cllr Knowles stated that a Clerk is still needed and Cllr Prior put in a plea for new councillors especially representatives from different parts of the village. He also added that retired people were particularly useful as they were available during the daytime.
Finance:-
£25.17 had been received from the previous Clerk’s overpayment. The Treasurers A/c £28,111.55; Reserve a/c £4,530.13; Petty cash £3.06; Total including the Cricket Club monies £32,644.74; Total Parish Council monies £31,444.74.
Payments approved: £38.26 to Mark Austen for Baydon website external hosting costs; £72.00 to Pittams for BYPA grass cutting and £2,250.00 annual village grass cutting.
Cllr Prior announced that finally the Council were on Internet banking with Barclays.
Land owned by the Parish Council (1.9 acres) was added to the Asset Register.
It was noted that Aldbourne’s roads would be closed for resurfacing in 3 phases;
Phase 1. West Street, South Street and The Square, 22nd Sept nightly for 1 week.
Phase 2. The Square 29th September for 1 week
Phase 3. Lottage Road Oct 6th to 13th daily.
More details can be obtained from Wiltshire Council website via clicking here
Cllr Witt reported that 24 people attended the Ladies Night at the Red Lion and that it had been very noisy.
The meeting closed at 9.16pm.
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