1 Apologies for Absence – Mrs J Derbyshire, Mrs S Dickie, Mrs C Forsey and Ms N Greenleaf

2 Declaration of Interests

a) J Johnson and R Neve declared an interest in the grant application from Petherton Arts Trust for The David Hall.

b) B Cotterill declared an interest in the planning application for Middle Cottage, Over Stratton.

c) R Shutler declared an interest in the Community Woodland quotes.

3 Late Correspondence

Letter from J and V Jewsbury reference the appeal for 5 Roundwell Street

4 Agreement of Minutes

The minutes of the monthly meeting held on 6 October 2008 were approved and signed as a correct record.

5 Matters Arising

a) Bus services will be an agenda item at the next meeting. SSDC are to receive a presentation about bus routes and proposed changes, eg bus routes to Crewkerne.

b) P Robathan reported that SSDC officers have been asked to give support to all Transition Towns initiatives.

c) It was noted that there will be a wind generator in Yeovil despite concerns expressed by Yeovilton and Westland.

6 County Councillor’s Report

a) SP Youth PC was congratulated on being one of only two groups to receive the SCC Chairman’s award for Community Service. There were eight winners in the SP Ward including another three in South Petherton, Herbert Bollam, Reg Denman and Mary Robinson.

b) J Sharpe presented a cheque for £200 from his Divisional Fund towards the Time Out Bus.

c) There is to be a review of schools in Somerset in the New Year, but it is unlikely that schools in SP will be affected. The report on this will not be until after the County Council elections n May.

d) It was queried why there were no buses in SP on a Sunday. It was noted that for this to be possible there would have to be both patronage and a subsidy and currently all those in the county are operated a commercial basis. If there were an imaginative proposal eg linking National Trust properties or a group of parishes working together, might attract other funding.

7 Youth Parish Council

a) Apologies for missing so many meetings but they have been busy working on a grant application for refurbish the Youth Club. The application has been successful and they will receive £40,000.

b) The new members of the SP YPC introduced themselves.

c) They are holding a coffee morning at the Youth Club between 10am – 12noon on 13 December 2008 and parish councillors are invited to attend.

d) They have been helping K Parkin with digging the holes for the new trees at SP Junior School.

e) J Sharpe congratulated the SP YPC on receiving the SCC Chairman’s Award for Community Service.

8 New Planning Applications

a) 05275s73 To remove condition number 56 for the decision notice 782137 dated 19 September 1979 (removal of agricultural occupancy condition) at Corner Farm, Compton Hill. SP PC recommended refusal.

b) 04336out Erection of a dwelling at 25 Hayes End. SPPC recommended approval but there should be a condition that it is hamstone not rendered. (S Nevitt arrived)

c) 04508ful Demolition of outbuilding and extension and the construction of a new extension to the convenience store and removal of four trees at Balfours, 4 St James Street. SPPC are supportive of the development built need to find a solution to unloading; various suggestions were made, widening the road, a lay-by in front of Balfours and the car park, used of the strip of land between the car park and Flamberts, consideration of compulsory purchase, move the pavement to the car park side of the car park wall. A site meeting will be requested with the planning officer, Somerset Highways and the Co-op to look at ways to resolve this problem.

SPPC also recommend that more should be done to that already proposed to improve the appearance from the car park along the length of the development and finally consideration of the arrangements during building to minimise the impact on the village and parking.

d) 04422ful Erection of a conservatory to the rear of Orchard Lea, Over Stratton. SPPC recommended approval.

e) 0425ful erection of a replacement studio building at Middle Cottage, Over Stratton. SPPC recommended approval

9 Planning Appeal, Roundwell Street

SP Pc will respond with the points made previously to explain why they recommend refusal of this planning application.

10 Highway Matters

a) C Fletcher from Somerset Highways has visited to discuss issues in SP including parking at Coles Lane roundabout by SP Junior School and a review of the signage along Hayes End between the roundabout and Coles Lane.

b) Potholes in Compton Road and Market Square have been reported to Somerset Highways as has the poor visibility at the roundabout at the top of Harvey’s Road. Hill...

c) The poor state of Doctors Lane has already been reported to Somerset Highways who have agreed to carry out repairs when funding is available, but it will now be reported again as a safety issue.

d) Gilbert Vaux was instrumental on their being a bridge over the Ilminster By pass and it has been suggested that the currently un-named bridge should be called Gilbert Vaux Bridge. After some discussion, SP PC agreed to it being called Vaux Bridge as the family had done much to help SP over the past century.

11 Footpaths

SCC are redefining the footpaths along the canal at West Port near Hambridge as the definitive map shows a bridge that des not and has not existed.

11 Recreation Ground

a) A proposal for what should be done at the Garden of Remembrance will be made at the next meeting.

b) It was agreed that C Willy, S Dickie and P Mottram would meet with B Swainson to discuss the proposal for a new scout hut before the planning application is submitted.

12 Cemetery

a) A complaint about the cemetery has been received. J Broughton has checked and can see nothing obviously wrong so meeting will be arranged with the person who wrote the letter.

b) The Community Woodland looks untidy with the high growth around the trees. Last year R Shutler arranged for it to be cut. Parish Councillors were asked to look at the Community Woodland prior to the next meeting when it will be discussed again. Should it be cut or left for the wildlife whilst the trees grow.

c) Memorial Woodland. The tree warden is proposing that the tree planting should take place in November subject to grants being obtained. It will be planted with trees around the outside with a chequered pattern inside. The meeting was opened to the public and k Parkin explained that grant applications have been made but to date the only ones that have been successful are £150 from Wessex Water and £500 from SCC, which is not enough to cover the cost of this project. The trees being planted are large enough that they will be able to be leased after three years. R Shutler said that February would be the latest for planting this season, so this will be discussed again at the next meeting.

d) A request has been received a for a seat to be placed in the cemetery. Before the decision is made it was agreed that there should be a policy on what will be allowed going forward so J Broughton. S Nevitt and S Blake will meet at the cemetery to discuss what options are possible and report back to the meeting.

e) The work to be carried out following the tree inspection will be discussed next month when J Broughton and S Dickie have considered the report.

13 Churchyard

a) The tree by Hele Lane has been felled and the stump will be removed in December and the flower bed will then be maintained.

b) The rector is concerned about the walkway from the West Street entrance to the porch and would like to see this replaced with reconstituted blue lias stone. K Dexter has obtained one quote to either repair with existing stone or to replace with re constituted blue lias and was asked to obtain two more quotes.

c) The stone mason has said the cost to move the memorial plaque would be relatively small, but K Dexter has been asked to find out how much.

14 Approval of Cheque Payments

a) Approval was given for cheques 3775 – 3798 drawn as indicated on the list attached to these minutes. The cost of the litter bin was queried; SSDC Community Safety Group is donating £400 towards this and the cheque for Play Safe is the quarterly account for the youth worker.

b) More signatories are required for the account and the necessary forms will be obtained

15 District Councillor’s Report

a) K Ronaldson is meeting with PC Jon Watson and is aware of improvements in SP although there were problems after Ilminster carnival and he asked if there were any other points to raise.

b) There is illegal trespass by a family with excess of twenty vehicles on land between Lopen and Eggwood Hill, with reported thefts of livestock and of land. The police support the eviction for trespass. The family say that they were evicted by South Somerset Homes, so there is concern about where they will now be moved to.

c) K Ronaldson reported that he has been investigating the history of Westdown Orchard Touring Caravan Park and has taken advice from the SSDC solicitor who is of the view that the current conditions are not enforceable as it allows for a family to stay on a different pitch every four weeks so a new application is needed that can be controlled by SSDC. His view is that the current site is well maintained and managed in a quiet and efficient way and could be a profitable business if it were a mix of touring and residential caravans, which are needed during the recession.

The comments from SPPC included whether there was a need for further residential sites in the area when there are already two locally. Also that planning conditions have been flouted and these should be enforced by SSDC, who should sort out the existing regulations before any new application is considered. There has been a history of not adhering to the planning conditions on this site and K Ronaldson wants to see an application with conditions that can be enforced. It was questioned whose fault it was if the planning conditions that had been imposed that were unenforceable? It was noted that P Robathan was a neighbouring land owner, but he did comment to say that he did not agree with what was being proposed.

d) P Robathan said that SSDC Area North had instructed the David Hall to make a request to the SPPC for more money and by making the request they had satisfied the condition of the SSDC grant.

e) Yeovil and Chard are already ‘towns in bloom’ and if SPPC pursed this idea they would be supported by SSDC.

f) From January there will be joint meetings between SCC and the District Councils to discuss the issue for each area. This will be phased and will start with planning applications and transport. The police are changing their policing boundaries to reflect these same areas.

g) The new planning legislation came into effect on 1 October 2008 and SPPC has requested a training session on the new rules but SSDC do not yet know fully how the rules should be interpreted. Householders can make certain changes without planning permission, but until that has been tested it is not clear exactly what that means. The rules are not rigid so a planner cannot say what will be acceptable; it is based on the impact it will have on the neighbourhood. Enforcement has not changed, so a complaint could be made that there is no planning permission and it would be investigated. Rather than applying for planning permission the applicant made choose to apply for a ‘certificate of lawful use’

h) The ‘Sustainable Community Strategy’ for Somerset has been approved and SCC and SSDC will now be measured against this. The Sustainable Communities Act allows an individual to ask the governamt to do something and support local councils with funding. This will be managed by the Local Government Association

i) SCC has applied for money from the government for the Henlade by-pass so it has been accepted that the A303 upgrade is not being progressed.

j) SCC and PCT have provided some funding for free swimming for over 60s.

16 To Consider

a) Play Safe Contract – The change to a different service provider with the same team delivering the youth service, that SPPC pay for, was agreed.

b) Christmas Tree Lights - As the cost of repairing the existing lights was more than anticipated, a further £250 was agreed to purchase more white rope lights. The Christmas trees outside each shop were previously arranged by the Business Association.

c) David Hall Grant Application – P Mottram took the chair and opened the meeting to allow T Charman to explain the current situation and the need for a further grant. He explained that the grant from SSDC was based on a budgeted cost of £20,000 but the final cost was likely to be £15,500. The initiative of buying a slate has raised £1,400 which demonstrates community support and SPPC may like to purchase a slate. SPPC agreed to donate a further £250 towards the roof.

d) Interpretation Boards- The maintenance contract has not been signed as it is felt that the initial; standard of the boards provided is poor, eg no base preparation of the paint work so they chip easily

e) Sunshine Nursery - SPPC agreed to submit the planning application with Sunshine Nursery as the agents as suggested by SSDC planning officers.

f) TA13 Price increase – The increase in printing costs with effect form February 2009 was agreed.

18 Meetings

a) Community Safety Workshop, 17 November 2008, S Blake, J Derbyshire and S Nevitt will attend.

b) Precept Meeting at 7.30pm on Thursday 27 November 2008

Meeting closed to the public

19 Police Post

As discussions with the police were continuing this was deferred.

Meeting closed at 9.15pm.

Chairman……………………… Date…………….