1 Apologies for Absence: Mrs M Davidson, Mrs S Dickie, Miss N Greenleaf, Mr C Hockey, Mr P Mottram, Mr R Palmer and Mr K Ronaldson.

A letter of resignation from the Parish Council has been received from Mr W Davis.

2 Declaration of Interests

There were no declarations of interest but Mr and Mrs Beale declining from participating in any discussion on the planning application for Hardings Court.

3 Late Correspondence

SCC Lighting have said that it is the policy that the payment must be made in full before the light for West End View is ordered; it was agreed that this would have to be accepted and the order would be placed. The SCC conservation officer has selected and approved a different style of light for George Lane and will not approve the lantern style that the Parish Council wish to purchase. Another letter explaining the Parish Council’s choice will be sent.

4 Agreement of Minutes

The minutes of the monthly meeting held on 13 December 2005 were signed as a correct record of the meeting.

5 Matters Arising or Raised by Members

a) A mobile phone was purchased to be used as a contact for the Village Plan, as it is no longer required it was agreed that it should be sold.

b) A J Sharpe indicated at the last meeting that the funding for seats was not conditional on purchasing seats with metal ends, P Stratford from the SP PP group would like to suggest that wooden seats similar to the one purchased for the cemetery should be purchased. This was agreed with the funds already pledged for seating.

6 Young People’s Parish Council

Four members of the YP PC gave an update on what they have been doing in recent months and apologised for not attending the Parish Council meetings recently. They will be having a presentation evening on 24 February 2006 at a venue to be decided to explain their work funded by the Sparkplug Initiative. All Parish Councillors are invited to attend. A buffet will be provided.

b) They have recently been away on a residential team-building course, which included an assault course, raft building and working on their presentation.

c) The YP PC is arranging a village litter pick between 9 and 11 on 19 February 2006.

d) The YP PC have been invited by the National Association of Local Councils to attend one of their meetings and they have forged a link with the SW Government Officer who was behind the Sparkplug Initiative.

7 Planning Verdicts

The verdicts on planning applications received during the month were reported.

8 Stoodham Development

a) R Beale reported on the site meeting held to discuss the green area within the Stoodham development. After discussion, looking at the site, the proposed situation of the green area and considering the options now available in the timescale it was agreed to recommend that the green area should not be pursued but should be included in the gardens of two f the properties. It was further agreed that one of the paths would be included in the gardens as without a green area would not be required. To meet the requirement to provide recreational facilities, South Somerset Homes have offered £17,000 to South Petherton Parish Council towards maintenance and improvements at the recreation ground. This was agreed by all.

b) It was also agreed that SPRUG could start thinking about how this should be spent at the recreation ground. The money will not be received until the end of the financial year 2006/2007 but it was agreed that this amount could be spent from the Parish Council reserves, but there should be no financial commitment until the Section 106 Agreement has been signed.

c) The question of the Parish Council revisiting matters on which a decision had already been reached without thee being new facts to consider was raised.

9 New Planning Applications

a) 03362ful Installation of dormer window and roof lights and rebuilding existing dormer at Printers Cottage, 24 St James Street. The Parish Council recommended approval

b) 03047ful Retrospective application for an agricultural shed on land adjacent to 50 Compton Road. If the applicant can demonstrate an agricultural need, the Parish Council would support this planning application.

c) 03322ful Alter two window positions approved under 02436ful at Old Harp House. The Parish Council recommended approval.

d) 03326ful Erection of three detached dwellings at Hardings Court. The Parish Council recommended refusal, repeating its earlier comments when permission was granted for two dwellings.

e) 03309ful Demolish single storey extension and conservatory and erect a new single storey extension at 48 Compton Road. The Parish Council recommended approval.

f) 03304rem Approval of reserved matters for detached dwelling with garage, resubmission at 24 Lightgate Lane. The Parish Council went out of committee and Mr and Mrs Thayer were invited to speak. As it is now reduced in size although still larger than the property for which outline permission was granted, the Parish Council recommended approval.

g) 03294ful Use of land as residential at Appletrees, Harp Road, Watergore. The Parish Council recommended approval.

h) 03186ful Erection of one dwelling at 23 Silver Street. With the agreement of the SSDC planning officer this was deferred until the next meeting.

10 Draft South Petherton Parish Plan

A draft was circulated for consideration and comment from the Parish Council before it is printed. The timescale is tight and comments should be with David Lingham or Sue Wallis by 15 January 2006. The final version will be presented to the parish at 2pm and repeated at 7pm on Monday 30 January at the Blake Hall.

11 Recreation Ground

a) It was agreed to subscribe to the Annual Play Inspection being offered by SSDC.

b) Quotes for repairing the rubber matting are still being sought.

c) One quote has been received for creating footpath from the car park to the bowling club, but due to the level two more quotes will be sought.

d) Three companies met with C Hockey to look at the fencing but only one has provided quote and this was accepted.

e) C Willy will obtain quotes for levelling the soil and burning the rubbish by the memorial garden.

f) There are some silver birch trees that might need to be removed next year.

g) The private footpath behind the memorial garden has been cleared and it was confirmed that the gate is still in place. The memorial garden will need spraying regularly.

h) The Tennis Club hope to have their third court in place this year an have asked if the Parish Council will act as Paymaster for them and to submit the planning application on their behalf as that halves the fee. Both were agreed.

i) The Busy Bees Pre School have proposed some outside decoration, but there was concern that as it aged it could look like graffiti. The Busy Bees will be asked to reconsider and seek advise of the SCC Early Year Advisor and to consult with the neighbouring residents.

12 Highway Matters

a) There are still some repairs outstanding since February 2005 and there are some more to be reported.

b) It was noted that if the contractor is not doing repairs properly, they should be reported to Somerset Highways, as under the new contract they have to be redone.

13 Police Post at The David Hall

Gerard Tucker from SSDC gave an update on the Police Post. Both the Community Safety Panel and the Parish Council have pledged funds towards this but the application made to SSDC in December was deferred, as SSDC Area North Committee felt there should be a financial contribution from the police. A revised grant application will be resubmitted in January now that the police have agreed to a contribution of £1, 500.

(J Sharpe arrived)

It was agreed that the £1,000 already pledged by the Parish Council should go towards the computer rather than the building aspect of the project.

It was noted that this was a one off charge for IT with on going maintenance costs etc being met by the police. The project has to be completed by 31 March 2006 or the funds from the Community Safety Panel will be lost.

14 Public Conveniences

S Wallis reported on the site meeting to discuss the proposal from Quionstone to move the public conveniences from Prigg Lane car park to St James Street car park and move the recycling to Prigg Lane. The public conveniences are currently owned by SSDC. B Tufton from SSDC had said that similar projects had cost in the region of £80,000. Recently there has been no problem in Prigg Lane car park. Consideration was given to moving the recycling regardless of the decision on the public conveniences but it was decided that for the moment the recycling should remain where it is but the possibility of a plastics bin should be investigated again. This would have to be sited in Prigg Lane because of the size of the lorry used for the collection. P Robathan will investigate this.

SSDC have a budget of approx £12,000 to refurbish the toilets in Prigg Lane this coming year. B Tufton will be advised that, despite the proposal being an attractive building, the idea will not be pursued at the present time.

15 Lengthsman

a) There were positive reports from all the parishes at the recent Lengthsman’s meeting.

b) Funding has still not been received form SSDC. The proposal to introduce one new Lengthsman scheme each year will go to the District Executive on 2 February 2006.

c) Lopen residents have heard about the Lengthsman Scheme and wanted to know why their parish is not involved. Although Lopen was invited to the initial meetings, they had declined the invitation.

16 Footpaths

a) The damage caused by the badgers in Lopen Lane in Over Stratton is causing concern.

b) SCC have gone through the formal process relating to the gates in Barcroft Lane and it will now be going to court on 31 January 2006.

c) A decision has not yet been made about the gates at Compton Durville, due to the workload of the SCC Rights of Way group.

d) J Sharpe reported that the government is reviewing the legislation relating to footpaths.

e) SSDC have some funding available for signage of footpaths and P Kidner has been helping them by completing a survey of the parish.

f) The new gate at Mere Linches has now been adjusted by the contractors who installed it and now closes properly.

g) The bridge works on the footpath at Isle moor was due to be open in December 2005, but the work has not yet been done.

17 Allotments

a) Fourteen allotment holders attended the recent meeting.

b) It is hoped to have a water supply in place before the spring, but this is proving t be more costly than anticipated with the first estimate being £2,000.

c) There will be a best allotment competition in June.

d) The allotments are to be numbered and there will be a notice board.

e) With the continued vandalism and thefts the police have been invited to the next allotment holders meeting

18 Cemetery

a) C Willy will get a quote for spraying the cemetery.

b) New fees with effect form 1 April 2006 were approved. There is no change for residents of South Petherton, but the fees have increased for those who live outside the parish.

19 Churchyard

Nothing to report

20 Pavilion

a) The pavilion committee will be asked to ensure that the pavilion is cleaned before each booking.

b) The utilities bill for last year is due but there will be a delay in payment until the pavilion has more finds.

21 County Councillor’s Report

a) The Local Transport plan is being considered at a meeting at 2pm on 3 February 2006. S Wallis will attend to represent SP PP and M Davidson will be asked to present the Parish Council.

b) The review of market towns is complicated with implications for transport, development etc. IT was agreed to invite Charlotte Jones, the SSDC Community Regeneration Officer to the next Parish Council meeting to explain the benefits or otherwise of being designated as a market town. Some information will be requested to read before hand.

c) J Sharpe said the £800 he was giving towards the seats could not be released until he received a formal request from the Parish Council. There is still some money available in his Divisional Fund, and a formal request for funding towards the water supply at the allotments would be considered.

d) The Flood Defence Levy has been halved, but the Environment Agency will be spending more money in Somerset in the coming year.

e) The funding for the Nippy Bus is to be reviewed; it should have been reviewed at the end of December 2005 but has been postponed. It is anticipated that the introduction of free bus services will change the usage patterns. It was suggested that the SP PP could discuss this with M Pedlar in the SCC Integrated Transport Unit or N Collins in SSDC.

22 District Councillors’ Reports

a) The SCC short fall in their budget is greater than the total SSDC budget. SSDC have received more from the government than is needed to fund free transport and as this is not ring fenced it is anticipated that the SSDC part of the Council Tax is likely to be at the level of inflation, without any cuts to services or grants.

b) It has been announced by the Local Government Minister that SSDC has three months to decide whether it wants to become a Unity Authority, with a reorganisation similar to the police and ambulance service.

c) The reorganisation of the SSDC management team is now complete with a saving of £250,000 with only one appointment to be made, that of Head of Development Control.

d) The planners are now only available at set times, but it was noted that there was a problem making contact with the planners as their calls go through the switchboard even when direct dialled. P Robathan offered to look into this.

23 Review of Parish Boundaries

This has come about because with development there are now some parish and ward boundaries that do not match and it is ten years since the last review. After discussion it was agreed that no change to South Petherton Parish would be the recommendation. Ward boundaries are also likely to be reviewed.

24 Approval of Cheque Payments

Approval was given for cheques drawn as indicated on the list attached to these minutes.

The meeting closed 9.15pm

Minutes Approved by: Chairman……………………… Date…………….