Minutes Jan 2008

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January 2008

DRAFT MINUTES OF A MEETING OF MAWNAN PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON THURSDAY, 17th JANUARY 2008 IN THE MEMORIAL HALL

PRESENT : Cllr Gartside (Chairman), Cllrs Barlow, Gilmore, Mrs Lawry, Mrs Loomes and Sadler.

353/05 TO ACCEPT APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllrs Odell and Dearnley, plus C Cllr Hatton, who would be arriving late.

354/05 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
a) In Items on the Agenda
Cllr Mrs Lawry declared a prejudicial interest in agenda items 5(g) and 5(h).

b) Of gifts of a value of more than £25
There were no declarations of gifts of a value of more than £25.

355/05 TO CONFIRM MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS
a) Meeting of Parish Council, 20th December 2007
Cllr Sadler pointed out that in Comments from the Public, item (b) should have stated Carwinion Road, rather than Carlidnack Road. It was proposed by Cllr Barlow, seconded by Cllr Mrs Loomes and

RESOLVED that, subject to this amendment, the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 20th December 2007 be approved as a true record and duly signed.

356/05 TO REPORT MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES NOT ON THE AGENDA
a) Councillor Resignation
The Chairman stated that the council had received the resignation of Cllr Mrs Harris, for personal reasons, and that a notice from the District Council’s elections officer was currently on the parish notice board. The Clerk was asked to write a letter of thanks to Mrs Harris.

b) Oil purchasing consortium
The Clerk stated that a notice concerning this had been displayed on both the website and the notice board.

c) Resurfacing of Penwarne Road
The Clerk reported that he had been in touch with County Highways, and asked for the white line at Penwarne to be extended, so that it was in front of all the houses at Penwarne, as had been agreed. He had also expressed residents’ concerns that some of the patches and resurfaced area were already wearing, only a month after repair.

357/05 AGENDA ITEMS
a) To consider the response to Cornwall CC’s consultation document on the Fire Service
This item had been deferred from the December meeting, for more information to be obtained. This had been circulated prior to the meeting.

Following discussion, the council agreed its response to the document, and it was proposed by Cllr Gartside, seconded by Cllr Gilmore and

RESOLVED that the Clerk should submit the response to Cornwall CC, along with a covering letter stating that the council disagreed with the proposals to use retained fire-fighters to provide night-time cover, and to switch to a single regional control centre for the South West.

b) To consider asking Kerrier DC to use its Street Naming Powers in respect of the small close off No Man’s Land Lane / Penwarne Road
The Clerk stated that he had been passed a letter from local residents to the Vice Chairman. This stated residents’ concern that having a postal address of Penwarne Road might lead to emergency vehicles not being able to locate their houses.

It was proposed by Cllr Mrs Loomes, seconded by Cllr Gilmore and

RESOLVED that the Clerk should request that the District Council use its street naming powers, and consider changing the name to Penwarne Close.

c) To agree the content of the formal tender to be issued in respect of Footpaths Maintenance from April 2008
The Clerk stated that he had prepared the formal tender document, which was the first one post-PPIP (Cornwall CC’s Public Paths Improvement Program), and that it would be for 2 years.

He had been in communication with Cornwall CC, regarding the revised cutting regime, and had been surprised to find that, although this appeared to have changed very little, the grant offered had been substantially reduced. He had a meeting with Cornwall CC the following day, which councillors were welcome to attend.

In the meantime, the tender had already been advertised, and 8 responses had been received. He had made minor changes to the tender document, and requested approval to issue this. He stated that membership of the County Council’s LMP (Local Maintenance Partnership) scheme was not mandatory, although it was preferable, as local control over footpaths cutting would be lost should the council decide to opt out.

It was proposed by Cllr Gartside, seconded by Cllr Mrs Loomes, and

RESOLVED that the content of the tender be approved, and that consideration of the responses be made at the February meeting of the council.

d) To consider whether to put forward any nominations for honorary and representative positions at CALC
Information concerning these positions had been circulated prior to the meeting. Any members who might be interested were asked to submit nominations via the Clerk.

e) To agree the content of the January Web Newsletter
A draft set of headings had been circulated by the Clerk, prior to the meeting. The Chairman offered to assist the Clerk with some of the copy.

It was proposed by Cllr Mrs Lawry, seconded by Cllr Barlow, and

RESOLVED that the Chairman and the Clerk complete the Web Newsletter, based upon these headings.

f) To consider changing the supplier of electricity to the Public Toilets in Mawnan Smith
The Clerk stated that the existing supplier had been the one inherited when ownership of the public toilets had been transferred from Kerrier DC, and that the contract he had verbally agreed apparently had penalties for payment not being made before the 11th of the month. He had considered suggesting moving to a different supplier, but the existing rates were much lower than could be obtained elsewhere, so switching to Direct Debit might be a better option.

It was proposed by Cllr Gartside, seconded by Cllr Gilmore, and

RESOLVED that payment for the electricity supply be switched to Direct Debit.

g) To discuss the vandalism to the Christmas Lights, and to consider making an additional 2007/08 S137 Grant
Having declared a prejudicial interest, Cllr Mrs Lawry left the room for discussion of this and the following item.

The Chairman stated that the Christmas Lights had been improving, year on year, but that there had been £300 of vandalism this year. He suggested that councillors might wish to consider whether it was appropriate, without setting a precedent, that an additional S137 grant might be made to cover this cost. The Clerk stated that there was a small contingency left in the S137 budget, and that expenditure under other budget headings was forecast to be lower than anticipated.

Following discussion, it was proposed by Cllr Gartside, seconded by Cllr Gilmore, and

RESOLVED an additional S137 Grant of £300 be made to the Christmas Lights Committee.

h) To consider 2008/09 S137 Grant request from the Mawnan Panto Group
The Clerk stated that he had received an additional request for assistance with the purchase of a portakabin, for storage of costumes. The total cost was estimated at over £3,000.

The Chairman added that, since the application had been submitted, he had discussed other options with the Chairman of the Panto Group, and that these were ongoing. It was agreed that consideration of this request be deferred until these discussions were complete.

Cllr Mrs Lawry returned to the meeting.

358/05 CORRESPONDENCE
The Clerk reported on correspondence received, a schedule of which is attached to the minutes as a record.

359/05 REPORTS FROM COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS
a) County Council
C Cllr Hatton reported that :-

• The Mawnan speed visor was now at the “design stage”, and he was pushing to progress it quickly, as all local member budgets had to be spent before April 2009.
• There had been further problems at Mabe, caused by university parking, and that a bus had recently been held up.

b) District Council
Cllr Sadler reported that :-

• He had recently attended a “One Cornwall” meeting, and that it was likely that the next Parish Council elections would be in 2013.
• Public speaking at Planning Committee meetings appeared to be well managed and working well.

C Cllr Hatton added that :-

• In the near future there would be a major push on affordable housing in communities outside the Camborne/Redruth/Pool area.
• With respect to the affordable homes application in Castle View Park, he understood that Kerrier DC’s legal department were awaiting the return of the S106 agreements.
• He had some information on community grants, which he would drop off at the Parish Council office.

360/05 PLANNING APPLICATIONS
a) To Note Planning Decisions received from the Planning Authority
The Clerk reported on decisions received, a schedule of which is attached to the minutes as a record.

b) To Note Planning Enforcement Complaints received by the Planning Authority
The Clerk reported that no enforcement complaints for Mawnan had been received by the planning authority since the previous meeting.

c) To Consider Planning Applications Received From the District Authority

i) PA07/012074/F – Mr & Mrs K Terry, Sunrise, Trelawney Close, Maenporth, Falmouth – Erection of a replacement dwelling (amended design)
It was considered that this revised application required a further site visit. The Clerk agreed to arrange one, plus a meeting of the Planning Committee.

ii) PA08/00036/F – Mr N Tinson, 2A Roscarrick Villas, Carwinion Road, Mawnan Smith – Erection of a single storey timber garden building
It was considered that this was a contemporary wooden building, which was not too large.
OBSERVATION : No objections.

iii) PA08/00069/TPO – Mrs J Turnbull, Bar Cottage, Bar Road, Helford Passage – Felling of one Spruce tree and crowning of one Eucalyptus tree
The proposal was to replace the felled tree with native species.
OBSERVATION : No objections.

361/05 FINANCE AND PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS
a) Payment of Accounts
It was proposed by Cllr Barlow, seconded by Cllr Mrs Lawry and

RESOLVED that accounts totalling £1,577.06 be approved for payment and duly signed. A schedule of these is attached to the minutes as a record.

362/05 REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES AND REPRESENTATIVES
a) Police Report
PC Cormack reported that, during the past month, there had been 2 incidents reported. One was the damage to the Christmas Lights, and the other resulted in 3 crime reports being raised. In the same period in the previous year, 4 crimes had been reported.

He also reported that PCSO Huddlestone had been trained in the use of the speed gun, and that there would soon be two other handheld devices for non-Police use at Helston station. It was envisaged that these could be used by community groups, such as school children, with appropriate supervision, but would be non-enforceable.

A PACT Meeting was scheduled for 6th February 2008 (venue as yet undecided), and police “surgeries” would be held in Budock and Mawnan in the near future.

b) MCA Hall
Cllr Barlow reported that he had attended the MCA Committee Meeting on 7th January 2008. He had agreed to join the MCA Committee, as had representatives of the Playgroup and the Youth Club. Following the resignation of Cllr Mrs Harris, the Chairman agreed to attend any MCA meetings which Cllr Barlow was unable to attend. However, neither could attend the February meeting, and other members were asked whether they could stand in.

c) Footpaths
Cllr Mrs Loomes reported that she had contacted Cornwall CC concerning the fence alongside Footpath #15 (Grove Hill to Penpol), and that they would check whether the County Council owned it. If not, the Clerk agreed to contact the landowner.

d) Trees
Cllr Mrs Loomes also stated that she had spoken to the County Tree Officer concerning possible trees for the graveyard extension. Ash or Irish Yew, which has a more upright habit than English Yew, were his favoured options.

363/05 DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of Mawnan Parish Council will be held on Thursday, 21st February 2008, commencing at 7.30pm, in the Memorial Hall.

COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC
a) Helford River / Anna Maria Creek
Cllr Sadler was thanked for getting involved in this situation, which appeared to be close to being escalated to the Standards Committee.

b) Dog Bins
The lack of response from Kerrier DC to the Parish Council’s repeated requests for these to be repaired meant that several were now in a disgusting state. The Clerk stated that he had already escalated the situation to the relevant Head of Service at the District Council, but would again press for some action.

c) Red Lion “smoking area”
A complaint was made about its appearance, especially as it was attached to the exterior of a Listed Building. The Clerk was asked to contact Kerrier DC’s Planning Enforcement team.