MINUTES OF COMPTON MARTIN ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
HELD ON 24 APRIL 2019 AT 7.00 P.M.
IN COMPTON MARTIN VILLAGE HALL
Present
Councillor C Craig (CC) (Vice Chairman)
Councillor J Halling-Brown (JHB)
Councillor A Jurkiw (AJ) (Chairman)
Councillor K Moore (KM)
Councillor P Shipman (PS)
Councillor P Walton (PW)
District Councillor Victor Pritchard (VP)
Jane Griffiths – Clerk
28 members of the public
1. Apologies
· Apologies were received from Councillor Chapman who was unable to attend due to illness. A number of apologies were also received from members of the public unable to attend
2. To receive the Annual Chairman’s Report from Andrij Jurkiw
Andrij Jurkiw introduced the current team of Parish Councillors and explained that Paula Walton had replaced Erica Taylor who moved away from the village at the end of 2018. He thanked both Erica Taylor and Axel Palmer who resigned from the Parish Council in September 2017, for their major contributions to the work of the parish council.
The Parish Council nominated Mrs Helen Palmer and Mr Andrew Owst for Community Awards run by B&NES. During 2018/19 grants of £500 were awarded to Compton Martin Parochial Church Council to assist with the maintenance of the Churchyard and Compton Martin Village Hall to assist with the maintenance of the Amenity Field.
The Chew Valley Neighbourhood Plan, continues to be used as a working document. This document will need to be reviewed by the seven participating parishes.
The Parish Council were awarded a grant from B&NES to assist with the Herringbone Wall project. In 2017 The Parish Council was awarded
The Foundation Award demonstrating that the council meets the minimum requirements for operating lawfully and according to standard practice. This award is valid until January 2021.
All of the Parish Council’s accounts, policies, interests, agendas and minutes are published on the Parish Council website.
HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT LAND AVAILABILITY ASSESSMENT
Chris Craig reported on the Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (HELAA). He confirmed there was one proposed site which had been put forward by the land owner. The Parish Council held a public meeting on the 25 June 2018 to discuss with parishioners and gain their views.
The B&NES site assessment says:
· Suitability not proven
· Flood Zone 3 along the watercourse to the west of the site. Remainder of site is flood zone 1. Flood Risk Assessment required.
· Prior to an allocation of this site, further work would be needed to assess the impact on the conservation area.
· Further work to establish that a suitable access can be created would be required.
· The site is large in relation to the existing village it would not be acceptable in landscape terms to develop the whole of the site. There should be no development to the west of the tree belt which follows the stream and it may not be appropriate to extend any development beyond the existing buildings.
B&NES proposed options are:
· Option 1. Focused approach avoiding the Green Belt (Midsomer Norton, Radstock & Timsbury + 50 additional houses)
· Option 2. More dispersed approach avoiding the Green Belt (option 1, Temple Cloud & Clutton + 100 additional houses)
· Option 3. Combination of locations outside and within the Green Belt (least preferred option. All non-Green Belt options to be explored first)
Note: Primary School capacity and ability to expand is now recognised as a key limiting factor.
Current B&NES Local Plan Programme
· Consider comments on Options document, undertake further technical work & prepare Draft Plan (now to autumn 2019)
· Draft Local Plan published & consultation (November/December 2019)
· Publish pre-submission Local Plan for formal consultation (spring 2020)
· Local Plan Examination (autumn 2020)
· Inspector’s Report & Adopt Local Plan (end of 2020)
Compton Martin Pond
It was necessary to cut the pond weed twice in 2018, mainly due to weather conditions encouraging the growth of the weed on the pond. One cut has been arranged for May 2019, with a provisional date put aside in September 2019 should a cut be necessary.
Broadband
Truespeed - Ultrafast Broadband has been available to the majority of parishioners since June 2018.
Gigaclear – There have been significant delays in the planned roll-out, with many issues concerning groundworks. This situation is ongoing.
BT – No further activity.
Highways Team
The Highways Team confirmed that potholes etc can be reported to B&NES via Council Connect or the Report It button on the B&NES website, speeding up a resolution.
Coombe View/The Batch
Regretfully the contractor, Peter Havard, who cut the grass on Coombe View and The Batch for the past 3 years has now left the village. A new contractor has been engaged to cut the Coombe View and The Batch for this year giving time for the new parish council to assess the situation.
Overgrown Vegetation
Last year, the Highways Team contacted a number of parishioners requesting overgrown vegetation be cut back. Without exception everyone responded positively and the Highways Team would like to thank them for their help and cooperation.
Herringbone Wall
B&NES introduced a Community Empowerment Fund whereby Parish Councils could apply for a grant to achieve certain projects in their parish provided the grant money was match funded by the parish council in either money and/or time. The Parish Council asked parishioners their views on possible projects and the overwhelming response was for the herringbone wall/bank to be weeded and the wall repaired. This project was completed in May 2018. The Parish Council wished to thank all parishioners who assisted with this project. It is hoped the Community Empowerment Fund will be made available by B&NES in 2019.
Annual Footpath Walk
The Annual Footpath Walk took place in June 2018. Very many thanks to all parishioners who supported the parish council with this event, enabling footpaths in our parish to be walked and issues reported back to the parish council who in turn produced a footpath walk report which was passed to B&NES. Thanks also the members of the Parochial Church Council who provided breakfasts and lunches in aid of the Disabled Access Fund.
Compton Martin Frog/Toad Patrol
March/April is the time of year when frogs and toads are active and can be found on the roads surrounding the pond. In particular Mill Lane. A village rota was organised to retrieve the frogs and toads from roads and taken to a place of safety. Thanks were extended to the parishioners who gave up their time to rescue the Compton Martin toads and frogs.
Future Projects
The Village Pump and Railings.
Parishioners have been asked for their preferred colour choice and the painting of the village pump and railings has been scheduled to take place in 2019.
The Bus Shelters
The Parish Council are responsible for two bus shelters in the village. One at Mendip Villas and one adjacent to the pond. Both are in need of repair and it is hoped this project will be completed in 2019.
Durnhill Parking
The Highways Team particularly wanted to thank Victor Pritchard for his assistance with achieving additional parking for those residents in Durnhill.
Reports were received from
- Compton Martin Village Hall
- Compton Martin PCC
- Ubley Primary School
- District Councillor Victor Pritchard
2018/2019
Because the number of candidates applying to be a parish councillor for the next 4 year term is lower than the number of seats required, Compton Martin is one of the parishes with an uncontested election. For this reason it is possible to confirm who are elected to serve on the Compton Martin parish council for the next 4 years.
They are:
Rex Chapman, Chris Craig, Julia Halling-Brown, Terry Maggs, Paul Shipman, Paula Walton.
There is a vacancy for a Parish Councillor.
Thanks were extended to all Parish Councillors and the Clerk for their hard work during the past 4 years. Particular thanks were extended to Axel Palmer, who chaired the Parish Council until his resignation in September 2017 and Erica Taylor for her work on planning and HELAA who resigned in February 2019 having moved away from Compton Martin. Victor Pritchard was thanked for his help and assistance during the past 4 years.
On behalf of the Parish Council Chris Craig particularly thanked Andrij Jurkiw and Kath Moore who were standing down.
The meeting closed at 8.15
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