Bishop's Castle Town Council Meeting of 14 Nov. 2000

Bishop's Castle Town Council Meeting 15 September 2009

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF BISHOP’S CASTLE TOWN COUNCIL HELD IN THE TOWN HALL ON TUESDAY 15th SEPTEMBER AT 8.OO PM.

PRESENT Councillor K.E.C.Pinches, Mayor, in the Chair.
Councillors: J. M. Carroll, S.A. Farr, M. Furber, J Gaffney, N. Hird, M. E. Holton, J.A. Magill, M. Stanley and R.D. Wright.

In attendance: Mr. T Ward (Acting Town Clerk), Unitary Councillors Phillips & Mrs. Kidd, Representatives of The Bishops Castle Group, and about 50 members of the public.

In opening the meeting the Mayor advised that he proposed to suspend the meeting for 30 minutes after agenda item 5 to enable members of the Bishops Castle Group to make a presentation to the meeting.

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.

Apologies for absence had been received from Cllr W J Morris (work commitments) and Dr. G.N.St.J. Penney (delayed on holiday)

It was proposed by Cllr Gaffney and seconded by Cllr Holton and duly resolved that the apologies be accepted

2. DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Cllr Hird declared a personal interest in agenda item 6 as he was Treasurer of the Bishops Castle Group

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

It was proposed by Cllr Gaffney and seconded by Cllr Hird and duly resolved that the minutes of the Council Meeting held on Tuesday August 18 2009 be signed by the Mayor as a true record

It was proposed by Cllr Stanley and seconded by Cllr Hird and resolved that the minutes of the Special Council Meeting held on Tuesday 1 September 2009 be signed by the Mayor as a true record subject to the following corrections -

The addition of Cllr Magill to the list of apologies received

The addition of “or extra if required” to minute 3 to read “It was proposed by Cllr Dr Penney that Mr Tim Ward, who is employed by Shropshire Council and is also Clerk to Chirbury with Brompton Parish Council be appointed the Council's temporary clerk for six weeks working five hours a week or extra if required, on a salary of £8.661p per hour. Seconded by Cllr Carroll and resolved.”

4. MATTERS ARISING.

The Clerk informed the meeting that a letter had been received from the Assistant Director of Strategy and Development at Shropshire Council in response to the Councils letter to Keith Barrow, Leader of the Council. It was agreed that this should be circulated to Councillors

The Clerk informed the meeting that he had contacted the person who had enquired about the possibility of metal detecting on the playing fields informing him of the decision of the Council to not to allow this

Cllr Carroll reminded Councillors that the Council had agreed to pay half the cost of the new lighting system to be installed in conjunction with the works in Bull Lane and Castle Street. She went on to say that she had been informed that the scheme would now not take place and that the lights would be left as they are, but that the tops of the poles would be removed.

Cllr Gaffney inquired as to whether there had been there had been any progress regarding the white lines in Station Street. He was informed that there was nothing to report

5. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO SPEAK

Mr Alex Simmons spoke in support of The Kings Head. He introduced himself as one of the partners in the business and stated that they were aware of the problems and were working to alleviate them. He asked that the town bear with the Licensees whilst they were addressing the problems. The Mayor thanked him for his contribution.

Ms Sarah Halliday spoke in support of the application for 2 dwellings at Watermead, Woodbatch Road. She urged the Council to support the application, which would mean that two members of a local family could remain to live and work in the town.

It was proposed by Cllr Gaffney and seconded by Cllr Wright and duly resolved that the meeting be suspended for 30 minutes to allow the presentation by the Bishops Castle Group on the subject of the Biomass Plant

Ms K Baverstock Chair of the Bishops Castle Group spoke of her disappointment that despite the powerful case made by opponents the Inspector had seen fit to grant planning permission for the Biomass Plant. She added that she was proud of the case that the group had made and claimed some moral victory in the addition of several new conditions. She went on to thank the Town Council for their support both financially and in other ways and also thanked the residents of the town for their support. She went on to say that the group looked to the Town Council for guidance in the way forward and that there was need to be realistic as there was risk of failure and award of costs against the Group.

Mr Hugh Band informed the meeting that it was a fact that there was a fundamental issue regarding the land at the Business Park. He went on to say that the Bishops castle Group had received assurances that BCBPC had no option on the land at the Business Park and that this meant that the granting of planning permission had lead to a planning gain to the owners of the land - AWM and Shropshire Council and that in order to fulfil their duty to obtain the best price for the land it would be expected that the land should be advertised nationally. He went on to say that some of the gain should come back to the Town Council. He then outlined other options which included The Town Council lobbying Shropshire Council not to sell the land for the purpose for which planning permission was granted and possibly getting the Council to sell the land to the Town Council for some sort of community use, money being raised through fund raising possibly in conjunction with the Bishops Castle Land Trust.

Mr Dawes explained that there were two routes that could be followed
1. An appeal under planning law which would have to be lodged within 6 weeks of the date of the decision or
2. A judicial review of the decision. He went on to say that notice of a request for a judicial review would need to be lodged within 3 months.

He added that whatever route was taken expert advice would be needed in the form of a specialist barrister which would not be cheap and that to get preliminary advice as to whether there was a case for a judicial review would cost in the region of £750 - £1000 and that if the decision was taken to go forward costs could amount to upwards of £30,000.

Cllr Wright asked whether costs could be awarded against the Group if the Judicial Review failed. Mr Dawes said that there was always the possibility that costs could be awarded but that it may be possible to argue public interest and get a protected costs order
Cllr Phillips commented that following the planning appeal route had small chance of success and that it was a big leap to ask for a judicial review but there may be the possibility of finding a solicitor to do the work pro-bono but that would still leave the threat of costs being awarded. He went on to say that it was clear that the Unitary Council need to obtain the best benefit from the sale of the land but that it was not obliged to sell the land and added that the Town Council should press the Unitary Council to attach tough conditions on the sale of the land which would make it unattractive to buyers

There was further discussion regarding the way forward and then the Mayor thanked the Bishops castle Group for their presentation and for all their hard work.

It was proposed by Cllr. Gaffney, seconded by Cllr Holton and duly resolved that the meeting resume.

6. BIOMASS PLANT

It was proposed by Cllr Gaffney and seconded by Cllr Wright that: -

1. The Town Council underwrites the cost of obtaining expert legal advice as to the potential success of an appeal or judicial review up to a maximum of £1000.00
2. The Town Council appoint a member to attend the meeting between the Bishops Castle Group and Shropshire Council on 18 September 2009
3. The Town Council write to Shropshire Council to ascertain whether they would be willing to sell the land to the Town Council for community use
4. The Town Council continue to work with other organisations to explore other avenues.

This was resolved with one vote against.

It was also resolved that Cllr Magill would attend the meeting with Shropshire Council

7. TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING ACT:

The following Planning applications were considered: -

09/01864/FUL Application under Section 73a of the Town and Country Planning Act for erection of a shed (retrospective) at 16 Castle Green Bishops Castle.
It was proposed by Cllr Carroll and seconded by Cllr Gaffney and duly resolved that the Town Council has no objection to the application.

09/02106/FUL Erection of extension to existing office accommodation at Ransfords Sawmills, Station Street, Bishops Castle.
It was proposed by Cllr Wright and seconded by Cllr Gaffney and duly resolved that the Town Council has no objection to the application.

09/02183/LBC Installation of a satellite dish; existing aerial to be removed at Harp House, 26 Church Street, Bishops Castle. SY9 5AA.
It was proposed by Cllr Wright and seconded by Cllr Holton and duly resolved that the Town Council has no objection to the application.

09/02215/FUL Erection of 2 dwellings at Watermead, Woodbatch Road, Bishops Castle. SY9 5AS.
It was proposed by Cllr Hird and seconded by Cllr Holton and duly resolved that the Town Council has no objection to the application.

09/02404/TCA To selectively clear stems of self set sycamore, elder and ash trees, to remove 1 hawthorn tree and to prune away from wires one sycamore tree within Bishops castle Conservation Area at Castle Land, Communal Green, castle Green Bishops Castle.
It was proposed by Cllr Carroll and seconded by Cllr Stanley and duly resolved that the Council has no objection to the application subject to the work being carried out by a qualified tree surgeon

09/02360/COU Change of use of part of premises from A1 - Retail to A3 - for sale of food and drink at 32 Church Street Bishops Castle
It was proposed by Cllr Carroll and seconded by Cllr Wright and duly resolved that the application be considered at the next meeting of the Town Council.

Reports of Planning Applications.

The Clerk reported that the Council no longer received the detailed reports that they received from the District Council. It was agreed that the Clerk should write to the planning department to request that details reports are sent in future.

Email from Planning Enforcement Assistant Shropshire Council asking Councillors to identify any areas of concern regarding planning enforcement.

The Clerk reported that following concerns expressed by Councillors at the last meeting he had received an email from the Planning Enforcement officer asking them to identify area of concern with regard to planning enforcement. He asked Councillors to advise him to let him know and he would pass them on to the relevant officer. It was also agreed that an item be put in the next newsletter asking members of the public to alert Councillors to any areas of concern.

8. REPORT BY UNITARY COUNCILLOR

Councillor Phillips reported that Enterprise South West Shropshire was concerned regarding the length of time it was taking to relet the space formerly occupied by Embrys. He reported that this was having an effect on the finances of ESSW, as they were not receiving their part of the rental.

He went on to say that Teme Leisure had altered their charging strucutre and that this was penalising season ticket holders and items that had previously been included were now charged for separately.

Mr Phillips informed the meeting that he had concerns with regard the number of Arts Officers in the County as previously there had been 7 and this was being reduced to 5.

Cllr Carroll commented that the Town Council had appointed a representative to the SPARC user group. The Acting Clerk informed Councillors that he had advised Teme Leisure of the Councils representative and that he had been informed that they would inform her of meetings directly

9. FORMER EMBREY’S FACTORY

Cllr Hird expressed concern with regard to the roof of the building, as there was a lot of asbestos and stated that the Town Council should not consider taking over the building until this was resolved.
Cllr Carroll commented that the board of ESSW would like to take over the running of the whole building and to reinstate the small units that were originally there.

It was proposed by Cllr Gaffney and seconded by Cllr Hird and duly resolved that the Town Council does not take over the units but supports ESSW in their wish to take over an management of the building and the letting of units for small businesses, and that any remedial work needed should be undertaken by Shropshire Council prior to ESSW taking over the building

10. UPDATE PARISH OF PARISH PLAN

Cllr Carroll informed Councillors that the Parish Plan, which was completed in 2005, was in the process of being updated and asked would Councillors be prepared to distribute questionnaires with December newsletters. Councillors agreed to do this. Councillor Carroll asked whether any councillors would like to join the Steering Group to help compile the questionnaire. Cllr Stanley agreed. Cllr Holton asked that museums be included in the questionnaire. Cllr Carroll agreed to this.

11. INCIDENTS AT KING’S HEAD.

The Mayor commented that recent events at the Kings Head had lead to a request that the Town Council ask for a review of the premise licence. Cllr Wright commented that there was need for firm evidence before a review could be requested. Cllr Carroll commented that she was aware that the police, the Environmental Health Department and the Licensing Officer were aware of problems. Cllr Gaffney commented that he had had a long conversation with the co-licensee who had only recently taken over the pub and that he was taking action to try to alleviate the problems. Cllr Carroll commented that she welcomed the steps the licensee was taking. Cllr Holton suggested that a small item be put in the next newsletter asking residents to log any incidents.

It was proposed by Cllr Gaffney and seconded by Cllr Carroll and resolved that the Council do not request a review of the Premises Licence at this time but continue to monitor the situation, and that the Clerk write to the Licensee advising him of this decision

12. PEOPLE WORKING IN THE PLAYING FIELD

Cllr Carroll informed the meeting that it had been brought to the Councils attention that people working on the playing field should have CRB checks and that Clive Pritchard and Petra Bindloss should have formal contracts regarding their work.

It was proposed by Cllr Gaffney and seconded by Cllr Magill and resolved that those people working regularly on the playing field should have valid CRB checks and that the Town Council should pay any costs associated with obtaining the CRB checks, and that Clive Pritchard and Petra Bindloss should have formal contract.

It was agreed that the Clerk should contact Shropshire Council to see if they could get the CRB checks done on the Councils behalf.

13. OAK MEADOW PLAY AREAS

It was proposed by Cllr Carroll and seconded by Cllr Gaffney and resolved that following the transfer of the 2 Oak Meadow play areas to the Town Council they be added to the annual ROSPA inspection.

14. ROAD CLOSURE APPLICATIONS
Closure of Market Square between Union Street Junction & High Street Junction on 17 October 2009, 21 November 2009, 19 December 2009, 16 January 2010 and 20 February 2010 for the Farmers Market (Diversions in place)

Closure of High Street, Church Street, New Street, Harley Jenkins Street, Union Street and Station Street on 8 November 2009 between 10.30am and 12.15pm for the Remembrance Sunday Parade (Diversions in place)

Closure of Market Square, High Street, Church Street and Harley Jenkins Street on 5 December 2009 between 12.00 noon and 11.00pm for the Christmas Lights Festival. (Diversions in place)
It was proposed by Cllr Carroll and seconded by Cllr Magill and duly resolved that the Town Council has no objections to the road closures.

15. ACCOUNTS –
a) It was proposed by Cllr Gaffney and seconded by Cllr Farr and duly resolved that the accounts listed below be approved

Salaries £863.78
Andrew Wallace £ 24.24
Bishops Castle Building Supplies
£ 11.64
Fastrack Maintenance £180.55
P Bindloss £ 80.00
Shropshire Council - Annual Fee Premises Licence Town Hall

£180.00
Shropshire Council - Annual Fee Premises Licence Town Centre & Adjacent Streets

£ 70.00
Mazars - Annual Audit Fee £655.50
D W Cole - investigation of water leak at allotments
£ 60.00

Cllr K Pinches - cutting of duplicate keys
£ 16.00
Clive Pritchard Playing Field Maintenance
£109.00
Payment made by Direct Debit

Atlantic Electric and Gas
£361.53

Councillors expressed concern at the large bill received from Atlantic Electric and Gas and agreed that the meter should be read and the bill adjusted accordingly.

Councillors noted receipt of the external audit and the comments made regarding the need for accuracy when completing the form.

16. TO CONSIDER LETTER FROM INSURERS REGARDING WORK REQUIRED IN THE TOWN HALL

The Clerk reported that a letter had been received from the insurers regarding the work required in the Town Hall following Mr Davies’ accident. It was agreed that quotes for the work should be obtained and brought back to a future meeting of the Council

17. REPORT OF RECENT MEETINGS ATTENDED BY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES.

There were no reports.

18. CORRESPONDENCE.

a) Letter from Mr Kerswell regarding ragwort growing at the Business Park. It was agreed that the Clerk should write to Shropshire Council asking that they attend to the problem.

b) Copy of letter from Ransfords to Shropshire Council regarding the need for improvement to the crossroads adjacent to the Community College. It was agreed that this should be included on the agenda for the next meeting.

c) Shropshire Housing - Annual Report
d) Shropshire Council Rights of Way User Survey. The Clerk has copies of the questionnaire if anyone would like to complete one.

There being no further business the mayor closed the meeting at 9.58pm