1 Apologies for Absence – Mr J Broughton, Mrs C Forsey, Mr P Mottram, Mr R Shutler, Mr C Willy and Mr P Robathan

2 Youth PC

No report

3 Declaration of Interests

a) J Johnson has already responded privately to the planning application for 36 South Street.

b) J Johnson declared an interest in the Police Post

4 Late Correspondence

a) The Merriott Play Scheme on 28 October 2008

b) The decision to approve the planning application for 31 houses at Hayes End.

c) Planning application for Boots the Chemist.

5 Agreement of Minutes

The minutes of the monthly meeting held on 1 September 2008 were approved and signed as a correct record.

6 Matters Arising

The Football Project discussed at the last meeting is now fully funded with out any financial contribution from SP PC. R Cooper will be leading on this for SP with two community volunteers. The initial meeting for this will be held on 13 October 2008.

7 New Planning Applications

a) 03788ful Erection of a front porch and rear extension at The Firs, Over Stratton. SP PC recommended approval.

b) 03376ful Repositioning of front boundary wall to enclose part of the lay by and the erection of a 1.8metre high fence at Montpellier, 36 South Street. SP PC recommended refusal. 1 for, 7 against and 2 abstentions. The lay-bys in South Street had been put in originally to ease the flow of traffic in a narrow road where many properties did not have off road parking. There was still a need to have some pull-ins/lay-bys and agreeing to the removal of one could set a precedent. SPPC were further concerned about the visibility splay this would create from the property on to South Street.

c) 03778con and 03775ful The demolition the existing dwelling and garage and the erection of six new dwellings and the conversion of the existing barn into three dwellings all with associated garages/carports. SP recommends approval but only if certain conditions are applied as this is in the centre of the conservation area. 10 for and 1 against. The conditions being that all the material should be hamstone and not rendering and this should be a condition not delegated to the planners to agree. There should be no permitted development rights. Whilst recognising that Somerset Highways are the experts in such maters SPPC had serious concerns about the safety of the access on to Prigg Lane. Ensure that contributions are requested towards education (infants school is already over subscribed) highways, recreational, sports and play facilities in SP. Consideration should be given to their being adequate drainage from the area which being so close the brook has in the past been known to flood. Ideally there should be a walk through to the St James Street car park if the strip of land which is in different ownership could be incorporated

d) 04067ful Alterations to widen the existing driveway to provide two parking spaces at Drill Hall Cottage, Crown Lane, South Petherton. SP PC recommended approval.

e) 03970ful The installation of replacement air conditioning at Boots the Chemist, 6 Market Square. SPPC recommended refusal because this installation is inappropriate in George Lane which is in the centre of a conservation area and is one of the most attractive parts of SP. This is not a replacement as stated on the application as there is currently no air conditioning unit on this wall. This unit cannot be mounted at a high level as suggested because of the pipes and windows of the property; the base would be about 5 feet above street level. This is the narrowest part of George Lane where it is approximately 5 feet wide and a protrusion of at least 13 inches at this height above street level would present a hazard to predestinations. This part of George Lane is narrow and enclosed which will emphasis the noise emitted from the unit. P Kidner offered to check “Rights of Way - Guide to Law and Practice" on this matter.

8 Highway Matters

a) R Neve reported on the site meeting with Somerset Highways to discuss the problem of speeding traffic in Harp Road and the dangerous Over Stratton junction. The outcome was agreement to:

· Improve the warning signs for the junction.

· Put speed markings on the road surface.

· Put hatching in the middle of the road which will highlight the junction and hopefully slow traffic because of the narrowed lanes.

· Put speed monitoring cables on the road to monitor the speed before and after so we can judge the effectiveness of the proposals.

Somerset Highways has a budget to do these things this year. It was also agreed that Somerset Highways would discuss linking SP up with Lopen and Seavington for the use of a temporary flashing speed sign. This is separate to the application that ahs been made to the Market Towns Investment Group for a flashing speed camera

The police are also keen to have a no right turn at the Over Stratton junction and it was agreed that if a formal request was made by SPPC asking for a sign, this would be reinstated.

b) Improvements to the signing and road markings at the roundabout at the top of Harvey’s Road and Hayes End have been requested

c) A review of the number and need of all road signs from the A303 to the Coles Lane round about has been requested.

9 Footpaths

a) Signs were put up last year on some of the footpaths in Over Stratton that are regularly being used by horse riders. The landowner has created an area on the edge of the field next to the footpath where horse can be ridden as this is effectively still the field. Both SCC and SSDC Rights of Way teams have been contacted for advice about this. There are a number of other footpaths in the parish that are used as bridleways.

b) There are new temporary diversions at the Persimmon site to prevent walkers being in the area of site traffic and equipment. It is recognised as not being ideal but does seem to be the only option as it is a safety issue. The SSDC planner will be asked if there is any restriction on the time that this can be done now that the developments is progressing more slowly

10 Recreation Ground

a) The recreation ground is recovering well after the damage caused by the fair after the heavy rain.

b) C Willy, S Dickie and P Mottram (to be asked) will meet to discuss what needs to be done to reinstate the area that was the Garden of Remembrance.

c) £400 has been awarded by the Mendip and South Somerset Community Safety Partnership to purchase a litter bin to be positioned by the new youth shelter. It was agreed that the balance of the cost would be paid by SPPC and the bin ordered.

d) The fire engine on a spring in the play area has been damaged and temporarily removed. S Boarder from SCC has agreed to order the parts and carry out the repair.

11 Cemetery

a) All of the contractors that have been contacted about removing the rabbits from the cemetery have said that shooting them is the most effective option. SPPC are against shooting in the cemetery so will first try to find someone with ferrets to reduce the rabbit population. P Kidner can arrange this through a contact in Exmoor and this was agreed.

b) J Broughton and S Dickie will read the tree inspection report and decide which work to get done and which to defer.

12 Churchyard

a) Work on the pier has been completed, including reducing the problem of water gathering at the church yard entrance.

b) Rev Jasper is concerned that the path through the churchyard is uneven. Resetting just some slabs could result in other problems so the contractor has suggested resetting all the slabs and Rev Jasper would like them replaced with reconstituted blue lias.

c) The quotes for the tree felling has been agreed and West End Tree Services have been asked to carry out the work

13 Approval of Cheque Payments

a) Approval was given for cheques 3759 – 3774; drawn as indicated on the list attached to these minutes.

b) The cheque for West End Tree Services was signed and will be posted as soon as the repair to the damaged headstone has been carried out.

c) A transfer of £20,000 from Bath Building Society to the NatWest account was approved

14 Donations

a) Donations were agreed for the Bowling Club, SP Art Group, SP Infants School, and the Youth Club.

b) The earlier donation to SP Youth Club was a for a junior youth club on Friday evenings but that is not going to happen so the cheque had been returned. SP Youth Club will be asked if they would like to supply a copy of their accounts so that SPPC can better understand how they are funded and will then reconsider the donation made.

c) No request was received from The David Hall.

15 District Councillor’s Report

a) M Duplock was congratulated on his recent success in the Langport triathlon.

b) Travellers have moved their caravans on to land at Eggwood Hill. SCC owns the land but has said they will not give permission for the travellers to stay.

16 County Councillor’s Report

a) The contract for the youth extension work through the Local Area Initiative has been received and £6,000 is bieng made available for this project.

b) The possibility of reopening Somerton railway station is being considered.

c) Ordnance Survey is working on improved maps of the SW region to make it clearer on ‘sat navs’ which smaller roads area not suitable for lorries. The comments submitted by SPPC two years ago will be considered for inclusion.

d) Substantial savings have been made by the Waste Partnership and through the district and county councils working together. Door to door plastic and cardboard collections have been requested and trails are being carried out but there have been problems with the design of the vehicles. The trail will last a further six months.

e) A new bus timetable is now available and now would be an appropriate time for SP to press for improved direct services to Taunton and Crewkerne. This will be an agenda item at the next meeting.

f) It has been reported that SCC is supporting Transition Towns. J Sharpe was asked what this support amounted to.

g) J Sharpe was asked about wind generation projects in this area. He was able to confirm that progress is being made on the Bridgwater Bay project but grid connections could be problem as most of the supply is required in east of England.

17 To Consider

a) Police Authority Awards – Both Michelle Haimes and Jon Watson will be nominated by SPPC.

b) Disused Shops in South Petherton – With the Co-op planning to move to an extended Balfours site, concern was expressed about another empty shop in SP. The shop next to the Co-op is already empty. Also concern about deliveries to the new Co-op in what is the narrowest part of St James Street. The SSDC Enforcement Officer will be asked to investigate what business in being operated in the premises of what was the baker's, as this does not appear to run as a shop which is what this premises has permission for.

c) Land tot the North of Hayes End Future – SPPC will respond to say that they will not be supporting any proposed development for inclusion in the next local plan until it can consider all the possible developments in SP.

d) Market Towns Audit – N Greenleaf explained the purpose of the audit. It was agreed that it was a good idea subject to cost and SP will sign up to be part of the audit on the condition that at least four market towns are involved in order to make sensible comparisons.

e) Market Towns Projects – It was reported that there has recently been a meeting with B Norman from Somerset Highways but there was little progress to report on the two SP projects. The Radio Links project is progressing but that does not affect SP and the deployable CCTV cameras have been ordered.

f) Pioneer Somerset Questionnaire – R Neve, S Dickie, S Nevitt and S Blake offered to meet to complete this.

g) Planning Application Contributions – following a recent meeting with representatives from SSDC it is clear that the contribution to SP in relation to the recent developments could have been greater if SPPC had been made aware earlier of how the planning process worked for larger developments. A number of lessons learnt but too late to affect the current developments. SSDC will be asked how/when the contributions from Persimmon to SP will be paid.

h) Sites for Bulb Planting - The Lengthsman will be asked to co-ordinate this and suggested sites were the landing in Lightgate Road, the grass outside Catholic Church wall, SP Junior School, Summershard by the bench seat, West Street entrance to the village, SP churchyard and the Hayes End Roundabout.

i) Time Out Bus – There is some funding from last year that was intended for the Time Out Bus but not used.

J Sharpe offered to give £150 to enable the Time Out Bus to be in SP alternate Mondays from November through to March 2009

f) Withdrawal of Donated Seat – Although previously agreed that a seat would be sited by the Catholic Church on a temporary basis; the siting to be reconsidered after six months, after receiving objections from four people it has now been withdrawn. Many residents would still like to have a seat here, so there is a view that this was ‘giving in’ and that a perceived youth problem should not set the agenda for everything that happens in the village.

18 Meetings

a) Flood Awareness Workshop – This is not considered to be a particular problem in SP.

b) Remembrance Day – P Kidner offered to attend to represent SPPC.

c) SCC, Council Question Time Event on 26 November 2008. J Johnson will attend.

d) Somerset market Towns Forum on 6 November 2008. No one was available to attend the AGM but would welcome receiving the minutes.

Meeting closed to the public

19 Police Post

The lease for the Police Post will be discussed again at the next SPPC meeting after discussion with the police.

Chairman……………………… Date…………….