Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the
Penrice Community Council held
on Wednesday 19th May 2010
at the Horton Village Hall at 7.30pm
Members Present: Councillor G Roberts (Chair)
Councillor J Bowen
Councillor M Barnett
Councillor A Glass
Councillor T Methuen-Campbell
Councillor B Richards
Councillor A Lewis
1 member of the public was also present.
14/10 Apologies
for Absence.
None
15/10 Declarations
of Interest.
Cllr B Richards declared a personal interest in items to be discussed
under Planning relating to Bank Farm, due to being the owner.
Cllr T Methuen-Campbell declared a personal interest in Planning
Application no’s 2010/ 0638 and 2010/ 0640.
16/10 To
confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 21st April 2010.
Amendment:
Item 194/10 no 4
Amend Police Constable to Chief Constable.
With the amendment the minutes were a true and accurate record of events,
proposed Cllr A Glass,
seconded Cllr M Barnett, carried unanimously.
17/10 Matters
arising from the minutes.
191/10 (164/10)
The barrier near Pembroke Cottage had been repaired, but still needed
painting.
(164/10)
The pot holes are getting very dangerous at the Sanctuary. Many letters have been sent to the Highways
Dept with a copy to Bob Fenwick. A reply had been received to show that the
CCS is aware of this problem and hopefully this will be rectified.
194/10 no 2
The risk assessment has been completed and needs to be given to J Ellis.
Cllr J Bowen reported that the grass is very overgrown around the bench
at Slade Cross. Resolved : Clerk to call
Lincoln Bennett to see if he can also undertake strimming this area. SC
194/10
No 2
The area at Horton Green has been cut, but not by J Ellis.
No 3
The Byway that runs to the North of Horton Green is the responsibility of
the CCS and has been since 1987.
No 3
A meeting had been arranged with the CCS 28th May at 2.30pm to
discuss the removal of the sycamores to the South of Horton Green. Cllr G Roberts to contact Martin Appleby to
advise which trees are going to cause a problem in the future.
17/10 Matters
arising from the minutes cont….
GR
No 6
Cllrs G Roberts, A Glass, A Lewis and B Richards attended the
inauguration of the Lord Mayor . The
Council wishes the new Lord Mayor Cllr R Lewis well in future charity work.
No 7
The National Trust Booklet – There have been problems with e mailing this
due to the volume of information. The
National Trust are looking into rectifying the problem.
18/10 County
Councillor R. Lewis.
No report.
19/10 Community
Councils.
None
20/10 Correspondence.
1
CCS Response from
Matthew Painton, Rights of Way Officer
The suggestions offered by the CCS were to either cut the vegetation at
the side of the path and create a new road or repair the road where
required. Council considered the options
and decided to accept an offer of a meeting to discuss this further. Cllr A Lewis, B Richards, G Roberts and M
Barnett to attend. BR/AL/GR/MB
2
AONB Management
Plan – Workshops offered to Stakeholders. Noted
3
The Adjudication
Panel for
4
Rural Development
Plan – Booklet Noted
5
CCS - Official notification of Diversion of
Footpath no 23. Noted
21/10 Financial.
Clerk salary & expenses 422Information
protected under the Data Protection Act
E E Humphreys (Bench repair) 423 950.00
Horton Hall annual rent 424 70.00
Microsoft windows software 426 69.99
Cllr A Glass proposed to pay, seconded Cllr J Bowen. Carried unanimously.
Cash @ bank £ 6, 544.89
22/10 Planning.
It had come to the attention of the Council that Reynoldston Police
Station had submitted a planning application that had not been sent by the CCS
to the PCC. Plans had now been requested
and received and Councillors viewed these at this meeting,. but unfortunately
this had already been passed so no comment was able to be made.
A Application
no: 2010/0542 High Kiln Bank, Slade
Change of
use of garage /bedroom (class c3) to self-contained holiday let (class c1) with
external alterations
Local Comments had been received that local residents did not want any
other holiday homes in the area.
Council considered and discussed the application and decided that there
was no objection to the application.
22/10 Planning
cont…
B 2010/0638 Mr
M
Application for a
lawful development certificate for an existing use or operation or activity
including those in breach of a planning condition.
(To seek established
use permission for the garden curtilage that has been extended into the adjoining field in 1998 and also a
swimming pool that was constructed in
2004/05, which was originally in the front of the house.)
C 2010/0640 Mr M
Erection of an open
style field shelter for four family horses.
Cllr T Methuen-Campbell declared a personal interest in items B and C and
withdrew from the meeting.
1. A Letter of objection had
been received from Mrs J Methuen-Campbell and was read to the meeting.
2. Comments made were that it
was unreasonable to allow land owners to extend their gardens into
agricultural fields.
3 Council referred this subject
to the Legal Department of the CCS
Council had no objection to the Horse Shelter.
D 2010/0564 The
Camping and Caravanning Club Bank Farm, Horton
Caravan
Rally 160 units 22nd July –
14th August 2011
E 2010/0568 The Camping and Caravanning Club Bank Farm, Horton
Caravan
Rally 160 units 22nd April –
3rd May 2011
Cllr B Richards declared a personal interest in items D and E and
withdrew from the meeting.
Council decided to submit comments as previous that as long as the CCS
are monitoring the number of caravans in Gower at any one time then there are
no objections.
Planning application
received in the 21st April 2010 meeting
Planning Application no 2009/1575
Bank Farm
Cllr B Richards declared an interest in this item and remained withdrawn
from the meeting.
.
The Chairman gave a verbal account of the situation.
CCS had omitted to send complete plans, which therefore made it very
difficult to understand the details of the application. The new building was to be used as a reception,
office and laundry and residential flat.
A condition on the application was that the existing flat which was
located in the main building was to cease being used for residential purposes,
but could be used as staff accommodation.
The ridge height of the new building had been lowered from the original
application.
Council resolved that
there was no further comment needed on this application.
23/10 Code
of Conduct.
1 The Chairman
gave an overview of the situation.
The length of time taken to investigate a complaint seemed
excessive. This is an unreasonable
length of time for Councillors to have situations such as this undecided. Edwina Hart had been contacted by Cllr J
Bowen and had written to the Ombudsman expressing concerns. Should the Council make a comment on the
length of time taken to complete investigations, as the complaint was regarding
an incident that happened in July 2009?
Decided Clerk to send a letter expressing the Councils concerns on the
unfair length of time as a procedural matter.
SC
23/10 Code
of Conduct cont…..
2
The Ombudsman had
sent a letter to the Clerk asking if it was normal practice for the Council to
hold an extra-
ordinary meeting to discuss a planning application and if it was not then
why had the Council deviated from normal procedure?
Following a discussion, Council agreed and decided to reply explaining
that due to having received the Application after the July meeting had been
held and the fact that the Council only having a statutory 21 days to respond to applications, then it was
necessary to call an extra-ordinary meeting to allow the Council to make
observations as is their right as a Statutory Consultee. The letter will also explain that this is on
occasion the normal practice of the Council. SC
24/10 Surveyor
Quotation for the Identification of the Boundary adjacent to Shore Cottage.
The Surveyor had provided a second quotation following receipt of a large
amount of documentation concerning the boundaries.
The increased quotations had been circulated prior to the meeting and
were considered.
Following a discussion Council decided that the Clerk to contact the
Surveyor and explain that the quotation had increased so much, it was now out
of proportion. Clerk to try and get
element 1 and 2 of the quotation agreed for £600. SC
25/10 Marquee
in the Oxwich Bay Hotel
Cllr B Richards declared a personal interest in this item and did not
speak or vote.
The Planning Application for an extension to the duration of the Marquee
had recently been withdrawn.
Cllr A Glass had met with Mr I Williams and reported:
1 The Marquee needed to be white as it hosted weddings and this was
appropriate.
2 The CCS may decide this on a delegated decision which therefore would
mean it would not be considered by the Area 2 Planning Committee.
3 £20,000 was being spent on a special green marquee which would be white
inside for marketing purposes through the winter months, which would reduce the
visual impact in the area.
4 If there is no marquee in situ, then this is causing difficulties when
prospective customers view the location.
5 Mr Williams is in the process of re-applying for planning permission.
There is currently no application on which to comment, however Council
thanked Cllr Glass for providing this report of the situation.
26/10 Road
Verges
Cllr T Methuen-Campbell had looked at the location in question in Oxwich
and advised that it would be impossible to remove the earth as the bank would
collapse and it slows the traffic in this area.
Cllr Glass would advise the resident who raised this query. AG
27/10 Dog
Litter Bins at Horton Green
The public had been leaving dog litter in bags on the Green. Following a discussion on the pros and cons
of these bins Council resolved to write to the CCS to request a small sign to
be erected to advise that there is a litter bin in the Horton Car Park. SC
28/10 Matters
Outstanding
The Council purchased a new laptop and will need to purchase the correct
windows software to install. Prices are at
PC World are approx £69.99.
Proposed to pay Cllr J Bowen, seconded Cllr T Methuen-Campbell, carried
unanimously.
29/10 Public
Questions relating to the agenda. (limited to 10 minutes)
1 Mr Roberts from
the floor advised the Council that he had been approached in order to honour
Cllr R Lewis on
his appointment as the Lord Mayor of
A function was being considered to be held at Bank Farm in September and
it would be appreciated if the PCC would support this.
Council agreed that they would support in whatever way they were able.
2
Mr Roberts from the
floor felt that it was sad that the PCC’s attitude to the tourist trade in the
area was not more positive. Tourism brings
money into the area and employment. He
could not understand why the Council were objecting to the tourist trade.
The Chairman responded that the Council did not object to tourism and
always tried to find a balance as the area has to have a local economy. The CCS seem to be policing planning
applications and expansions more effectively now than in previous years.
The Clerk advised that objections that the Council had made in recent
years were to local businesses that did not have the proper planning permission
and this is what the Council had objected to.
Cllr A Glass reiterated that the Council try and achieve a balance when
responding to applications, in order to support the businesses and at the same
time ensure that they operate within the bounds of the law and the restrictions
laid down as Gower is a AONB designated area.
Cllr B Richards pointed out that Gower was declared an AONB when there
was three times the amount of tourism in the area as there is today. Hotels that were in Horton have now gone.
Where is the balance?
Cllr T Methuen-Campbell stated that tourism is not depleted in the area
and that it had expanded extensively in the 1960’s. The impact has changed Gower and Gower
villages completely. People are now only
trying to protect what is left in order to preserve future tourism.
The Chairman, Cllr G Roberts stated that the hotels have gone from the
area, not as a result of any actions taken by the PCC or any other body, but
that they were not economically viable.
Holidays abroad became cheaper etc.
30/10 Date and
venue of next meeting.
16th June 2010 7.30 pm
at Oxwich Community Hall
Date :
_____________________Chair____________________________