Ticehurst Parish Council
The Village Hall, Lower High Street, Ticehurst, East Sussex,
TN5 7BB 01580 754 090
Draft Minutes of Ticehurst Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 7 Dec2010 at 7.30 p.m.
The Council met on Tuesday 7th December 2010 at 7.30 p.m. (Thirty minutes were allowed at the start of the meeting for public questions and comments on relevant matters on the agenda). The Chairman then reminded the public that they had a right and were welcome to stay to observe the rest of the meeting.
Matters raised:
The Chairman introduced Richard Brett, the architect for the Bell Hotel, who briefly outlined the reasons for the recent planning application RR/2010/2638/P as he had been unable to attend the Planning Committee Meeting due to the bad weather last week. The Planning Committee felt that the design of the application was inappropriate to the surrounding area in that it would be a large expanse of black weatherboarding in a highly visible area of the village centre, where the majority of the buildings in this conservation area are brick and tile hung or of white weather boarding with slate or tile roofing. The recommendation to Rother was for refusal of the application and a request that any permissions given should be tied with a 106 agreement to the main Hotel building.
Present: Cllrs. Goodall (c), Maynard, Hastings, Mitchell, Burley, Cook, Rigby, Yeo and Young.
In Attendance: C.Cllr. Barnes. The District Councillors had given apologies for their absence and wished all Councillors well for the Christmas period.
AGENDA
455.0 Declarations of Interest: Cllr. Cook declared a personal interest in any matters pertaining to the Beatrice Drewe Trust.
456.0 Apologies for absence: Apologies and reasons for absence were accepted from Cllrs. Seemann, Jones, Cocking and Langdown and recorded in the attendance register.
457.0 Minutes of the meeting held on 2nd November 2010: Cllr. Rigby proposed and Cllr. Hastings seconded that they were an accurate record of those proceedings and the Chairman signed each page of the minutes.
458.0 Additional Agenda Items: There were no such matters.
459.0 Youth Forum: The Youth Group were successful in obtaining their bid for capital funding and had asked for a donation towards their project. It was resolved that a plan of the proposal be made available to the Council and public and that the £3000 reserved for Youth projects in any one financial year be made available to them. They were unanimously congratulated for their successful bid.
460.0 Traffic Calming Group: Cllr. Young reported that the group would be meeting with Mr Davies, an independant consultant on Thursday 9th December at 11 am in the Institute.
Cllr. Barnes was asked for an update on the proposed speed restriction for Wallcrouch which ESCC have recognised as needing a 40 m.p.h. It was resolved that the Clerk should request immediate implementation - via Cllr. Rupert Clubb with a copy to Cllr. Barnes.
461.0 Appendix of Outstanding Matters:
| Topic | Update |
| War Memorial Trust | Clerk provided Charity Commission document to CCLA to request unit holding to be released |
| Finger Post | Now mended at Corner Farm. |
| Affordable/Exception Sites | It is understood that Hastoe will appeal the decision at RDC re Upper Platts site. |
| Audit | Only one request for external Auditors report was made – copy of the report on the Notice boards. |
| Hedges | Dale Hill – ESCC have been asked to write to householders. |
| Newsletter | December News and Views has four page article. |
| Pavements | Someone has had a nasty fall need the phone box in the Square and there is a report of more uneven stones near the Chemist – Clerk has reported to ESCC |
| Chilmington Green and Bewl Water | Cllr. Rigby informed the meeting that the Bewl Group were collating material evidence to fight the applications. |
| Notice Boards | It was felt that the Police should pay for the installation of their boards. |
| Matters Arising (Having asked other Sussex Clerks). | Alfriston, Rye, Sedlescombe, Robertsbridge, Etchingham, Rother DC and Camber do not use this as an agenda item - Hurst Green do still have this item. |
| Bin at Steelands | The Clerk was instructed to purchase a new bin for approximately £100 and have it installed on the basis that the Primary School will empty it. |
| Oak at Flimwell | It was resolved that the complainant be invited to cut back growth over her boundary as is her right, but that as the tree is not unsafe, the Council would not consider paying for the work. If works are carried out, they should be sympathetic to the symmetry of the tree. |
444.0 District Council Report: There were no D.Cllrs. present.
445.0 County Council Report: Cllr Barnes reported that County still took the view that the Bexhill/Hastings link road was vital to the economic regeneration of the area. Hastings is benefitting from new enterprise jobs and the expansion of the new University. County Council finances are complex due to Government cut backs, and projections are based on 20% cuts over a four year period, the first year being the most difficult with the loss of some 150 jobs. ESCC are working with six other areas to negotiate better contracts/prices and it is hoped (with Government incentives) that there will be no increase in Council Tax.
446.0 SALC and RALC Reports: There had been no meetings.
447.0 Emergency Planning – Report circulated by Cllr Langdown.
Cold Weather – Requests for Salt Bins – Forge Fields Stonegate – Clerk has asked ESCC to replace this bin. Cllr. Langdown has started to compile a of list of volunteers with four wheel drive vehicles.
448.0 Finance Report:
A bank reconciliation was tabled at the meeting and signed by the Chairman.
The following cheques were sanctioned for payment.
| Cheque | Amount | To whom | For: |
| 2653 | £5500.00 | B D Trust | Half year payment |
| 2654 | £72.00 | M Giles | Clearance Recreation Ground |
| 2655 | £9.62 | SALC | Vat on training |
| 2656 | £220.90 | RBS | Annual fees |
| 2657 | £370.65 | HM rev | PAYE |
| 2658 | £1209.86 | Nowne | Wages and expenses |
| 2659 | £690.00 | Thyme/Garden | Hedges at Flimwell Church Yard |
| 2660 | £543.79 | Wealden BC | Dog bin emptying. |
| 2661 | £248.51 | Wealden Ironcraft | Mending the Flimwell fingerpost. |
| 2662 | £270.00 | D Butcher | Final Invoice – Recreation Grounds |
| 2665 | £213.25 | Hedleys | Land registrations |
| 2666 | £30.10 | Green Ins | Legal cover |
449.0 Planning Report:
Planning applications considered since the last meeting and the recommendations forwarded to RDC:
RR/2010/2551/P Sommeton St Mary’s Lane – Porch - Recommendation for approval
RR/2010/2281/P Stonegate Hall – alteration to car park – Recommendation for approval
RR/2010/2499/P Heartwood, Pashley Rd. – Replacement garage – Recommendation for approval.
RR/2010/2508/P Orchard Place, Stonegate – retrospective for retention of wall – Recommendation for approval.
RR/2010/2550/T The Yett – Various tree works – recommendation for approval.
RR/2010/2366/P Holly Cottage Lymden Lane – new access – recommendation for approval.
RR/2010/2582/P Forge Cottage Lymden Lane – extension – recommendation for approval.
RR/2010/2650/P 10 Eden Court – conservatory extension – recommendation for approval.
RR/2010/2708/P Hopvine Cottage Pashley Rd – new 3 bed eco home – recommendation for approval.
RR/2010/2755/P The Chalet Flimwell – single storey extension – recommendation for approval.
RR/2010/2491/P Pickforde Lodge – decking area - recommendation for refusal.
RR/2010/2638/P The Bell Hotel – alterations to original plan – recommendation for refusal.
450.0 Railings : Cllr. Cook declared a personal interest as a member of the Beatrice Drewe Trust. It was resolved that the dangerous tips should be ground down around the recreation ground boundaries.
451.0 Village Square Competition: Cllr. Maynard suggested that a competition be held for a good design of the Village Square to be run through the News and Views. It was felt that this was a good idea, and Council resolved that it be launched in the February 2011 edition. Entries could then be displayed at the April Annual Assembly.
452.0 Request for mediation via Police with Mrs May: It was resolved that two Councillors would attend if this goes ahead.
453.0 Correspondence:
| 1 | Bewl Water – planning application – Dealt with under Appendix |
| 2 | RDC – Fair Trade – Ticehurst to follow this route? |
| 3 | Chessons Farm – Conservation Walk – on notice board |
| 4 | RDC – Rubbish collections in bad weather |
| 5 | RVA – Welcome letters – It was resolved that the Clerk should check that this information could be passed on to the Church |
| 6 | J Quenzler – complaint – insufficient information – supplied |
| 7 | Red Cross – Home loans of equipment – on notice board |
| 8 | RDC Complaint - request for review sub-committee to carry out assessment |
| 9 | SALC Section 137 – value is now £6.44 per electorate |
| 10 | RDC - Enforcement notice re land at Hillcrest Stonegate – improper use |
| 11 | Newington court – bin provision |
| 12 | Nat West – movement of funds confirmed – no answer re charges |
| 13 | Fire Service - outcome of fire cover and resilience review in Lewes |
| 14 | ESCC Youth Bank confirmation of funds for Youth Forum |
| 15 | ESCC Changes to bus services – no change to 254 service |
| 16 | Affordable Rural Housing – guide for parish councils |
452.0 Recreation Ground: The Clerk had sent Mr Butcher a thank you card for his work and a replacement might have been found.
453.0 Items for the January Agenda:
Notice Board for the Village Square.
453.0 The Bell Field: (Confidential). The Council will move to exclude the press and public for this item on the agenda by reason of the confidential nature of the business, as stated in section 1 of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 and amended by Section 100 of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the confidentiality is due to on- going litigation matters.
454.0 Date of the next meeting It was resolved that the next meeting would be on Tuesday 11th January 2011