Bishop's Castle Town Council Meeting 21/07/2009

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF BISHOP’S CASTLE TOWN COUNCIL HELD IN THE TOWN HALL ON TUESDAY 21st JULY 2009 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, W. J. Morris, Dr. G.N.St.J. Penney, and R.D. Wright.
In attendance: Mrs. M. Denton

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:
Resolved The following apologies were accepted: Cllr M Stanley, on holiday, proposed by Cllr Gaffney, seconded by Cllr Hird.

2. DECLARATION OF INTEREST:
a) Declaration of personal interest:
Cllr S Farr declared a personal interest in item 6a as he is a personal friend of the applicant.
Cllr N Hird declared a personal interest in item 6b as he has made the listed building consent application.
Cllr N Hird declared a personal interest in item 9 as he is a member of the Wasteless Society.
Cllr Hird declared a personal interest in item 17 as he called for the survey and quotation from Domestic & General Insulation Ltd.
Cllr J Gaffney declared a personal interest in item 11 as he is an executive director of Co-Create.
b) Declaration of prejudicial interest:

3. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS
a) Minutes of the Council meeting held on Tuesday 23rd June 2009, having been circulated, were proposed as a true record by Cllr J Carroll with the following corrections: Item 4 no 10, remove “Community Officer” and replace with “Police Constable”, item 8 the first sentence should read “...Cllr Carroll proposed that this Council approve the £3000 business plan...” Seconded by Cllr Hird and resolved. Three payments missed off these minutes will be on July 21st Minutes.

The minutes were approved and signed by the Mayor.

4. MATTERS ARISING
1. The clerk has received an email from Cllr Peter Phillips concerning the Haining Croft development. It is lengthy so is in circulation.
2. The Clerk has received a reply from Nick Taylor concerning Haining Croft. He will be able to attend on August 18th but only to discuss planning in the general context of how Shropshire Council deals with things.
3. The clerk has received an email from Inspector Mackaill concerning the King’s Head and the change of licensee.
4. The clerk has received a reply concerning the polling stations from Mrs KM Smith Elections Officer. She has obtained a list of auctions from Halls and will arrange to visit the Public Hall to observe the impact the auction has on the Hall and the area around it. Item 12 (23.6 09)
5. The clerk has received a form for LJC grant funding.
6. The clerk has received supportive emails from Cllr Peter Phillips concerning our requests for the extension of the allotment lease and the request for extra land.
7. The clerk is still in correspondence with Eon concerning No 13 Welsh Street. The residents have assured the clerk that no way leave is necessary as numbers 13/15 used to be one house, so all communication from Eon has always come to No 13.

5. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO SPEAK:
Mrs Rita Coxall,(Planning Application 09/01040/FUL) Mrs Coxall is very angry about the development at the Bakery. She is concerned that the materials used are not in accordance with the original plans, and that the height is now 8.1 metres.
Amy Burns (Co Create Item 11) CoCreate have planned a week-long event involving music,drama,dance, storytelling and costume workshops. The event will take place in August. They are seeking a donation from the Council for this to go ahead.
Karen Baverstock (Crowgate Business Park item 9) Ms Baverstock is concerned about the lack of use at the Crowgate Business Park. She has been in communication with Shropshire Council who reiterate that they will not make any decisions on this land until after the Biomass Inquiry Report. Ms Baverstock has ascertained that the Biomass Plant does not have any option on any land at Crowgate. She feels the Town is losing money as this land is not being utilised economically.

6. TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT:
a) 09/01192/FUL Extension of single storey side and rear extension. Mr M Love c/o Mr H Jones 45 Grange Rd Bishop’s Castle Cllr Carroll proposed no objection, seconded by Cllr Hird.
b)09/00930/LBC Installation of 2 no. photovoltaic renewable energy cells on roof. Town Hall High St Bishop’s Castle. Cllr Gaffney proposed no objection, seconded by Cllr Hird.
c) Any Other Plans:
09/01040/FUL These plans have only just arrived and were not on the Agenda. Therefore, Cllr Gaffney proposed that the clerk should ascertain whether they could be discussed at the next full meeting on the 18th August even though that is beyond the 21days consultation period. Cllr Gaffney also proposed that a site meeting should be arranged one week before the meeting. If Shropshire Council refuse to extend the consultation period, Cllr Gaffney proposed a special meeting on the 4th August to discuss the plans, with a site meeting next week. Seconded by Cllr Dr. Penney and resolved.
7.REPORT BY COUNTY COUNCILLOR.
Whilst the clerk has not received a report, there are many emails included in relevant items and in the circulation.
8. INSTALLATION OF A BENCH ON THE RECENTLY ACQUIRED LAND AT KERRY LANE.
The clerk informed the meeting that this transfer still has not gone through. Cllr Penney proposed that this item should be left on the table, seconded by Cllr Gaffney and resolved.
9.USE OF THE CROWGATE BUSINESS PARK.
Cllr Carroll proposed that the clerk write to Shropshire Council to ascertain the situation concerning plots on the Business Park, and to request that the Bishop’s Castle Town Council could take over its management. Seconded by Cllr Dr Penney and resolved.
10. CANCELLATION OF BUSES.
Cllr Wright proposed that the clerk should write again to the Transport Authority over the timetable issue, and whether Shropshire Link could adequately take over from the deregistered buses. Seconded by Cllr. Hird and resolved.
11.REQUEST FOR FUNDING FROM CO-CREATE
Cllr Gaffney proposed that this Council should donate £300.00 to enable this event to go ahead. Seconded by Cllr Hird and resolved.
12.REVIEW OF REGISTER OF MEMBERS INTERESTS.
Cllr Gaffney explained that this register needed to be updated at regular intervals. The clerk gave out the new forms to all present.
13.FARMERS’ MARKET MOVE TO THE PUBLIC HALL.
Cllr Carroll is in the process of finding interested people in the Town who would be willing to help with the Farmers’ Market.
Cllr Dr Penney proposed that the new system of organising the Farmers’ Market should continue for two months, and then Councillors will re-assess the situation. The clerk should look into the possibility of renting the Public Hall. Seconded by Cllr Carroll and resolved.
14. ARE THE CURRENT ARRANGEMENTS FOR STREET CLEANING IN BISHOP’S CASTLE SATISFACTORY.
Concern was expressed that Andrew Wallace is not doing his job as well as he could. There was also some concern at the level of litter following the beer festival most of which emanated from the local takeaways.
The Mayor suspended the meeting to allow Mr Neville Richards to add his views. As a licensee he felt that the Beer Festival brought a lot of business into the town, and he agreed that most of the litter was not generated by the pubs.
The Mayor reconvened the meeting.
Cllr Carroll proposed that the clerk should write to Shropshire Council concerning Andrew Wallace, and that we could request extra, temporary bins at Festival time. Cllr Carroll also proposed that Shropshire Council could put some pressure on the takeaways concerning this litter problem. Seconded by Cllr Wright and resolved.
15.ENTERPRISE SOUTH WEST SHROPSHIRE (ESWS) : REVIEW OF WEBSITE HOSTING.
Cllr Wright proposed that the fee should be kept at £200.00 seconded by Cllr Hird. Cllr Carroll as an amendment proposed that the fee should be raised to £250.00. seconded by Cllr Gaffney. Cllr Wright withdrew his proposal, and Cllr Hird withdrew his second. The amendment was passed and resolved.
16.INSTALLATION OF BOLLARDS OUTSIDE THE MEN’S TOILETS AT THE TOWN HALL.
Cllr Carroll proposed the installation of bollards in this place to be used on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays when there are markets in the Town Hall. Seconded by Cllr Dr Penney and resolved.
17. QUOTATION FOR INSULATION OF THE TOWN HALL ROOF.
Cllr Hird explained that he needed this quotation to obtain a grant for the photovoltaic cells. Cllr Carroll reminded the meeting that the Heritage Lottery Fund does not accept any form of insulation in the roofs of listed buildings except sheep’s wool or hemp. Cllr Dr Penney proposed that Cllr Hird should consult with Mr John Yates and this can come back as an agenda item next month. Seconded by Cllr Hird and resolved.
18. ROAD CLOSURE APPLICATIONS BULL STREET AND CASTLE ST.
Electricity works in Bull St, from 24th August for 6 weeks, diversions in place.
Electricity works in Castle St. from 1st September, diversions in place
Both closures taken down for the weekend of the Michaelmas Fair (19th and 20th September)

Cllr Carroll requested an extra 5 minutes

19. REPORT OF RECENT MEETINGS ATTENDED BY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES.
20a) CORRESPONDENCE
1. Consultation on Local Development Framework Core Strategy will commence on August 19th and last for 8 weeks.
2 Grant Funding Local Joint Committee Application Form
3. Letter from Dr J. Gray
4. Public Transport News is now being published monthly and is available at:
www.shropshire.gov.uk
-Transport & Streets
-Public and Passenger Transport
-Shropshire Link
-Public Transport Latest News.
Circulation
1. Speed Management Strategy - Consultation on Vehicle Activated Signs Policy.
2. Wasteless Society Newsletter
3. AMT (Action For Market Towns) National Convention.
4. Shropshire Hills AONB Management Plan 2009 - 14
5. Consultation on the Visions, themes and cross-cutting issues for Shropshire’s new Sustainable Community Strategy 2009 - 2020
6. SALC Special General meeting: Saturday July 25th
7. DEFRA bio-diversity Survey
8. Correspondence re Haining Croft.

The Mayor declared the meeting closed at 10.07pm

***PLANS/DETAILS OF ANY PLANNING APPLICATIONS BEING CONSIDERED WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO INSPECT DURING TWENTY MINUTES PRIOR TO THE MEETING, BETWEEN 7.40 P.M. AND 8.00 P.M., OR OTHER TIMES BY ARRANGEMENT WITH THE TOWN CLERK****

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