1 Apologies for Absence: Mr B Davis, Mr P Mottram, Mr R Palmer, Mr H Warden and

Mr P Robathan (District Councillor), Mr K Ronaldson (District Councillor), and Mr J Sharpe (County Councillor)

2 Declaration of Interests

J Beale and R Beale declared an interest in the quote for the cemetery.

3 South Petherton Village Plan

Gerard Tucker from SSDC gave a short presentation explaining the next stage with SP VP, having a new core group drawn from the SP VP team and the Parish Council and then dividing the tasks between the nine key areas of the SP VP. The task will be to work through the information gathered, to define the projects from the ‘wish lists’ for the next 5 – 10 year. G Tucker has offered his help and support to finalise the SP VP, which will probably involve meeting with each of the groups looking at the key areas, two or three times during the next few months.

4 Young People’s Parish Council

Three representatives from the YP PC gave an excellent presentation on what they see as the current problems with the BMX track. They had looked at:

· What is wrong with the BMX track

· Why put it right

· How to put it right

As part of the maintenance the weeds and excess grass have already been sprayed, but it was noted that some more gravel was needed, as it is currently very muddy. The YP PC were asked to carry out a survey of what improvements are needed and who would then use the BMX track and the clerk will investigate possible funding with Somerset Community Chest.

5 Late Correspondence

a) The ‘Time Team’ will be at Dinnngton Docks from 27 June 2005.

b) Change of licence for Provender.

6 Agreement of Minutes

The minutes of the monthly meeting held on 10 May 2005 were signed as a correct record after altering item 24c to read ‘plastic flowers’

7 Matters Arising or Raised by Members

a) The sign about the removal of artificial flowers at the cemetery has not yet been put up, as there needed to be clarification on what would happen if the artificial flowers were not removed. A copy of the cemetery rules will be sent to the family each time a grave is purchased. In addition to the notice on the gate, a note addressed to the families will be placed on the appropriate graves.

b) It was confirmed that the new bank mandate is now in place.

c) The Lengthsman will be asked to clean the graffiti of the lamp posts in Prigg Lane.

8 Planning Verdicts

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

9 New Planning Applications

a) 01269ful Erection of a conservatory at rear of Willow Cottage, Hele Lane. The Parish Council recommended approval.

b) 01312ful Extension to a detached garage at 3 Lightgate Road. The Parish Council recommended approval.

c) 01360ful Erection of two detached dwellings with garages and new access on land adjacent to Wesley Cottage. Subject to querying where the new access road will be, the Parish Council recommended approval.

d) 01474ful Extension to Harp Farm Cottage, Over Stratton. The Parish Council recommended approval.

e) 01482ful Proposed first floor extension at rear of 19 South Street (resubmission) The Parish Council recommended approval.

f) 01503ful Erection of a PUCv conservatory at Little Mynd, Over Stratton. The Parish Council recommended approval.

g) 01490ful Erection of a bedroom extension and conservatory at 1 St Peters Rise. The Parish Council recommended approval.

h) 01414ful Alterations for light industrial use in connection with adjoining agricultural land at The Salt Box, Compton Hill. The Parish Council recommended approval.

i) 01338ful Extension at rear of property and construction of first floor extension above the existing dining and utility room at 2 Old Vicarage gardens. The Parish Council recommended approval.

10 Changes to Planning Procedures

The Parish Council is concerned about the proposed changes to the planning procedure particularly that there would be no automatic referral to Area North Committee if the Parish Council disagreed with the planning officer’s recommendation. It was considered that the Parish Council’s comments could be disregarded. The clerk will write to SSDC to express the serious concerns of the Parish Council on this matter.

11 Recreation Ground

a) The weeds have been sprayed at the Garden of Remembrance. The difficulty with cleaning the stonework is that the nearest water is at the scout hut.

b) C Willy will get quotes for the remaining rubber tile areas under the play equipment to be repaired.

c) It was agreed that the weeping lime tree near the Busy Bees Pre-school would be trimmed to raise the lower branches at a cost of £100.

d) Plans for the Green Fair are in hand and John Hill will open and close the main gates etc.

e) The official opening of the MUGA will be at 2pm on Sunday 19 June 2005 during the Green Fair.

f) The fence along the side of the car park has been sprayed and the caretaker will be asked the clear the remaining vegetation.

g) The Lengthsman will pin down the link fence around the play area. He needs to purchase some ‘loops’ made to length, estimated cost £250. It was agreed that this should be done

h) The Lengthsman will also be painting the gate to the play area between the car park and the houses.

i) Graffiti on the play equipment is a problem. It was agreed that Beales would purchase an appropriate solvent for this task, estimated cost £10.

j) Broken glass has been a regular problem in recent weeks.

12 Highway Matters

a) The three Parish Councillors who liaise on highways, have divided he village into three sections and will survey their area and provide a report for each Parish Council meeting.

b) The area around the landing is badly overgrown and the finger sign is missing.

c) Somerset Highways have agreed to install a dropped kerb at the corner of St James Street and the car park. A request for dropped kerbs from residents at West End View is being investigated by B Davis, H Brunton and a representative from the Somerset Disability Forum. Initially it appears that a dropped kerb at the junction of West End View and Compton Road is essential in order to help. Somerset Highways have a small budget available for additional dropped kerbs this year.

d) S Dickie will discuss the Silver Street questionnaire with H Warden when she visits him

e) There have been some problems with the new lights in Compton View and Pitway, which do not give such a wide range of light. In Over Stratton the new lights were at irregular heights and of different designs.

13 Footpaths

a) There is the opportunity to bid for up to £2,500 to improve footpaths from the Community Access Fund, there is £400 from the Divisional Community Fund, via J Sharpe and some funding from SSDC. S Wallis, B Priddle and H Brunton will liaise on what the current priorities should be for improvement, not maintenance and report back to the next meeting. S Wallis offered to approach landowners as necessary.

b) Pot holes along The Droveway require attention and the footpath from Hospital Lane to Pitway needs same scalpings put down.

c) The diversion of footpath Y24/69 around Putt Cottage was supported by the Parish Council.

d) The original definitive footpath maps of South Petherton are still missing and the map provided by L Port at the March 2005 meeting is no longer available as it was used by B Herrick to complete his recent footpath survey. The clerk was asked to write to all parish councillors including past councillors and clerk to try to establish the whereabouts and request its return.

e) B Herrick has completed a survey of the footpaths in South Petherton, which was sent to SCC, but he later requested the return of the copy he had provided for the Parish Council. He should be thanked for completing such a comprehensive survey of the footpaths in the village, but there was concern expressed that this had been done under the SP VP banner with out consultation with any of the SP VP team.

f) In a response to a request for information from SCC Rights of Way group, the Parish Council will respond to say they believe the recent comprehensive review of footpaths in South Petherton, was a private initiative, and had not been carried out on behalf of the Parish Council or SP VP team. The Parish Council would like to se the issues of safety dealt with as a matter of priority and the remainder prioritised and dealt with as funding allows.

14 Lengthsman

a) Following the successful introduction of the Lengthsman Scheme, a meeting to share ideas and best practises between the five parishes is being held on 20 June 2005.

b) An offer will be made to the David Hall for the Lengthsman to clear the grass/gardens around the David Hall on a one off basis, if the David Hall could find someone to continue with their up- keep.

15 Car Parking

SSDC requested a meeting with South Petherton Parish Council and the Business Association to discuss whether car parking charges should be introduced at Prigg Lane car park. South Petherton was being invited to make a case that that there should continue to be no charge for this car park. S Wallis is carrying out a survey of car park usage to support this case.

16 Somerset Village of the Year Competition

The judging for Somerset Village of the Year Competition will be on 15 June 2005. Thanks to S Wallis for co-ordinating this entry.

17 Cemetery

a) The grass is still not being cut properly and few of the other jobs as specified in the contract are being done, despite the letter sent to the contractor after the last meeting. A final letter will be sent and if the work is not up to standard by the end of June, the contract will be terminated. Another contractor has indicated that he could take on the work for July whilst the parish Council went out to tender again, should this be necessary.

b) It was agreed that the cheque for May 2005 should sent to M Davis

18 Churchyard

There has been a problem with glass being left in the churchyard.

19 Pavilion

Nothing specific to report except the amount of cost and work needed to obtain the new premises licence.

20 South Petherton Hospital

Approximately 180 people attended a meeting on 31 May to discuss South Petherton Hospital. The Chief Executive gave a full report and explained that a decision had been made about the preferred access, which will be from Martock Road, two way with no buildings and no precedent for any future building. There rather than

b) There was report from the STARS team, who have received national recognition for their work.

c) The Reference Group will be meeting in July before making a decision on who the developer should be.

21 SP Infant School Play Area

C Hockey, J Beale and R Beale will attend the opening of the new Infants School play area.

22 SSDC Country Breaks

It was agreed that the clerk should up date the entry in the SSDC publication Country Breaks for 2006.

23 SSDC Corporate Plan

Having been circulated there were no comments/additions from the Parish Councillors. A reply will be sent to this effect.

24 Review of Caretakers Salary

Following receipt of the confirmation of the minimum wage, which is £5.05 from October 2005 and £5.35 from October 2006, it was agreed that the caretaker’s salary should be increased with effect from 1 June 2005 to £5.05 per hour. The clerk will write to confirm this.

25 Audit Report

a) The internal auditors’ report was accepted by the Parish Council.

b) In future S Dickie will check and sign the quarterly accounts, as she is not a bank signatory.

c) After discussion it was agreed to increase the Fidelity insurance to £75,000.

26 Donations and Grants

Additional grants were agreed as:

Young People’s Parish Council £150

Citizen’s Advise Bureau £100

It was agreed that each member of the Parish Council would attend the YP PC meetings at some time during the coming year.

27 Approval of Cheque Payments

Approval was given for cheques drawn as indicated on the list attached to these minutes, plus £136 to the Environment Agency for the Lengthsman's waste licence and £700 to Iconography for work on the SP VP website.

28 Quotes for Cemetery Work

It was agreed that these would be deferred until the next meeting.

The meeting closed 10.28pm

Minutes Approved by: Chairman………………………

Date………………………..