St Just in Roseland Parish Council Minutes – December 2016

Minutes of the Meeting of St Just in Roseland Parish Council held in the Millennium Rooms,

St. Mawes, on Monday 5th December 2016. The meeting commenced at 7.00pm

 

Councillors Present:

The Chairman Cllr. B. Chenoweth, Cllrs. J. Benney, P. Farmiloe, R. Giles, R. Hall, B. Sadler, P. Salter,

  1. Teague and K. Warren.

 

Also, Present:

  1. Penhaligon (Clerk), S. Chenoweth (Assistant Clerk) Cornwall Cllr. J. German & 4 members of the public

 

  1. To accept apologies for absence – Cllr. S. Black and C. Williams

 

  1. Declaration of Interest:
  2. a) Disclosable Pecuniary Interest – None declared
  3. b) Non-Registerable Interest – None declared
  4. c) Of gifts to the value of more than £25 – None declared
  5. d) To consider requests for dispensation on items on the agenda – None declared

 

  1. Open Period – Public Participation

Mrs S. Goldsmith expressed her concerns regarding the proposed conversion of St. Mawes Primary School to an Aspire Academy. She was concerned that the decision was being made by a comparatively small group of Governors. Mrs Goldsmith also would like for the Governor’s to slow down in making the decision.

 

Mrs J. Curtis also spoke expressing her concerns with the proposal for St. Mawes Primary School. She has done a lot of research on academies and is worried the wrong decision may be made.

 

Mrs K. Hutchinson, whose children attend St Mawes Primary School, also spoke regarding the proposal, saying that she was very impressed by the Aspire Academy model presented to the parents. She believes that the consultation has been poor, but parents must do what is right for the children.

 

  1. Confirmation of the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 7th November 2016

The Council RESOLVED, by a show of hands by those who had attended the said meeting, that the minutes of the 7th November 2016 meeting be approved and they were duly signed by the Chairman.

 

  1. Matters arising from the minutes not on the Agenda – for report only
  2. a) Parish Council website – Assistant Clerk has had no time to work on the website
  3. b) Carols in the Castle – 17th December 2016 – It was agreed that a pre-lit Christmas tree should be purchased for this and future Carols in the Castle events. Cllr. Williams has offered to act as compere on the evening.

 

  1. Report from the Clerk – No report received

 

  1. Report from Devon and Cornwall Constabulary – No report received

 

  1. Report from Cornwall Councillor

Cornwall Cllr. German reported that St Just in Roseland Outdoor Education Centre will be holding a public meeting to take things forward, the date will be advertised in the Roseland Magazine. There is no immediate movement from Cornwall Council on the future of the Centre.

 

The Roseland Community Land Trust (CLT) have their AGM coming up, and the pre-app for behind Porth View is nearly complete.

 

St. Just helicopter landings are beginning to be discussed, there will be more meetings coming up, with noise levels being the biggest concern.

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Report from Councillors as representatives of other Committees

Roseland Community Land Trust (CLT) – Cllr. Giles reported that the CLT have expressed an interested in the St Just in Roseland Outdoor Education Centre. The AGM is to be held on Wednesday 14th December.

 

St. Mawes Co Partnership Housing Society – Cllr Teague reported that a meeting had been held with members of the society, based on the finances, as there has been a sewer problem at number 1 Kennerley Terrace.

 

AGENDA ITEMS (for decision and discussion)

 

The Chairman requested standing orders be lifted to bring forward item 18 and to allow a discussion with interested parties to take place. All in favour by a show of hands

 

  1. St Mawes County Primary School

To consider the proposal to convert to an Aspire Academy

 

Mr M Carden, Chair of the Board of Governors, outlined the background, process and structure of the proposal for the St Mawes Primary School to convert to an Aspire Academy. The School has been considering the proposal for some 9 months but had to wait for the approval of the Department for Education before consulting with the parents prior to consulting with the community, which they did on 17th November, and a decision must be made by 1st January 2017. The Aspire Academy is a Charitable Trust run by Teachers with its own budget. There are 19 local primaries in the Aspire Academy Group in Cornwall, the nearest being Probus.

 

The Parish Council Chairman was concerned about the future of the school in case the Aspire Academy decided it was not financially viable. Mr Carden confirmed that the School would have its own representative members on the Aspire Academy Hub to ensure that the future of the School was secure.

 

Cllr. German said he was cynical about Academies from the start, but finances were pushing them. There are some 70 schools in Cornwall still under the Local Authority and the Cornwall Council role is much bigger than any Academy Trust and no Schools have been closed for ten years. Cornwall Council owns the freehold of the building and will retain it. The School will be leased to the Aspire Academy on a 125-year lease for educational purposes.

 

Concerns raised by members of the public and councillors to the Aspire Academy proposal including: the level of staff pay; the use of unqualified teachers; and the lack of local control.

 

Positives included: financial efficiencies; better curriculum for children; better safeguarding; and the same ethos.

 

Mr Carden was asked if the Governors had considered becoming a Co-operative Trust School. He confirmed that this had been considered but it was felt that there are no such schools nearby to join in with.

 

There was a consensus that the decision had been rushed through and that the communication with the community had been handled very badly. Mr Carden agreed to furnish the Parish Council with all the documents relating to the Aspire Academy conversion.

 

Cllr. Chenoweth asked if there was any way that the final decision could be delayed whilst the Parish Council digests the information in the documentation. Mr Carden advised that, to delay the conversion, may put the school in jeopardy at being included in the Aspire Academy Scheme.

 

The Parish Council Chairman thanked Miles Carden for attending the meeting and asked him to relay the sentiment of the meeting back to the Board of Governors.

 

Normal Standing Orders resumed

 

 

 

 

10a. Accounts and Finance (Appendix 1)

  1. i) To consider Income and Expenditure for November and approve the payments of accounts

The Council was asked to approve the following payments:

The total cheques numbered 7086 to 7098 were approved                               £36,602.76

Direct Debits/Debit Card/ Standing Orders shown as paid in November           £17,258.87

Salaries for November paid by FPO and transfers 1st December 2016               £ 3,752.20

Cheque payments paid since the last meeting                                                   £ 2,478.57

Income shown as received during November                                                     £ 6,901.80

 

Approval of the payments of accounts was proposed by Cllr. Giles. Seconded by Cllr. Hall. All in favour by a show of hands. RESOLVED by the Council.

 

  1. ii) To consider the request from the Roseland Plan Steering Group for financial support towards administration costs and hall hire for the next financial year.

Cllr. Warren proposed to approve the request from the Roseland Plan Steering Group for financial support of £192 towards administration costs and hall hire for 2017/18. Seconded by Cllr. Farmiloe. All in favour by a show of hands. RESOLVED by the Council.

 

10b.     Finance Committee (Appendix 2)

To consider the report and recommendations from the Finance Committee meeting on 28th November 2016

The Chairman of the Finance Committee, Cllr. Hall reported on the meeting, highlighting the following;

 

(6.        VAT

A meeting with the Internal auditor is planned for the new year to discuss the vat account.

 

(7.        Scribe Accounting System

A liaison is planned with Scribe to consider the best way forward with the system.

 

(8.        Election 2017)

Cornwall Council has issued the following costs of an election in May 2017:

Contested election costs: St Just £1,794.92 and St Mawes £2,092 45

Uncontested election costs: St Just £244.99 and St Mawes £319.96

The Clerk advised that CALC is negotiating with Cornwall Council to reduce costs for Parish’s with two wards.

 

(9.        St Mawes Public Conveniences)

  1. a) The Clerk reported that the current estimated costs of running the facility are:

Cleaning and consumables total estimated at £9,500

Rates £3,370, water and sewerage £5,000, electricity £460, repairs £500 total estimated – £9,330

The costs of running the St. Mawes public conveniences were estimated at £20,000 per year.

 

  1. b) To consider the income from the payment tariffs

The total income that has been received from the payment tariffs since installation 3½ months ago, was £3,721 and the cost of employee’s time was £208.

 

(10.      Lloyds Bank, St. Mawes closure

Lloyds Bank will supply a mobile banking service for 3-4 hours per week for personal customers when it closes its St Mawes branch on 6th March 2017. The Clerk is seeking assurances that the Parish Council will be able to deposit over £200,000 worth of coinage per annum at the facility. If not, the Parish Council will need to consider other options.

 

(11.      Forecasts for 2017/18

The first draft of the forecasts for 2017/18 was drawn up by the Clerk who advised that she had estimated the figures for the Roseland Visitor Centre and Millennium Rooms, but will be liaising with the RVC Manager and Chairman regarding more accurate figures. Cllr. Hall noted that, even

 

 

with the same good income, the forecasting still breaks even, this does include contingency’s but they may not need to used.

 

(13.      Precept for 2017/2018

Councillor Hall proposed that Parish Council raises the Precept by a modest 2{c8c3b3d140ed11cb7662417ff7b2dc686ffa9c2daf0848ac14f76e68f36d0c20} from £24,514 to £25,004 for 2017/18. Seconded by Cllr. Sadler. All in favour. RESOLVED by the Council

 

11a.     Car Park

  1. i)           To consider the monthly income for November
  Pay & Display Pay & Display       Permits Permits Total
  Monthly Cumulative       Monthly    Cumulative   Cumulative
Nov-15 3, 275.00 152, 821.65       90.00 22,740.80 175, 562.45
Nov-16 3, 180.85 175, 359.51       0.00 25,094.00 200, 453.51
  Nov 2016 comparable with Nov 2015            
Up   22, 537.86         2, 353.20 24, 891.06
Down -94.15         90.00    

Including £213.00 gross on card payments

 

11b.     Car Park Committee (Appendix 3)

To consider the report and recommendations from the Car Park Committee meeting held on 28th November 2016

                       

The Car Park Committee Chairman, Cllr. Giles reported:

(6.        Parking tariffs in St Mawes Car Park – as these were only raised on 1st April this year, there should be no further increases for 2017/18.

 

(7b.      Warranty contract on the new CWT machine

It was agreed to accept a warranty contract of £199 to run alongside the maker’s warranty through a preventative maintenance programme.

 

(8a.      St Mawes Car Park Maintenance

  1. It was agreed that the best option would be to instruct Phil Green and Tom Glanville to undertake the

hedge trimming and cleansing of the car park as in previous years at a total cost in the region of

£938.

 

iii)        It was agreed to accept the costings from Cormac Ltd to clean out the storm drain and the general drains in the car park once it has been cleaned.

 

(8b.      St Just Car Park

  1. It was agreed that Luke Dunstone is asked to trim the hedges and that Phil Green is asked to attend

to the water pipe.

 

  1. ii) It was agreed to purchase coping stone from Building Supplies Ltd at a net cost of £359.00 to complete the boundary wall.

 

(9.        To consider purchasing a coin counting machine for the Car Park Office

It was agreed to have a trial with a coin counting machine.

 

12a. Planning

  1. To consider decisions and recommendations from the Planning Committee meeting held on 9th

November 2016 (Appendix 4)          

 

Cllr. R Giles, Chairman of the Planning Committee reported:

 

 

 

 

 

(6.        Westcountry Land Public consultation 3rd November on proposed housing development of seven open market and 8 affordable homes off Newton Road, St Mawes

Melanie Chiswell Brooks, the Westcountry Land PR, confirmed that over 80 people, with a mix of ages, attended the consultation. 36 feedback sheets had been completed with the following responses:

27 said yes – reasons were mostly focused on the need for affordable housing.

6 said yes with reservations – increased traffic, design of houses, desire for higher proportion of affordable homes for sale, desire for more 3 or 4 bedroom affordable homes.

3 were against – included insufficient level of affordable housing, design of the houses, impact on traffic on Newton Road, Newton Road has no footpath for pedestrians and is dangerous for children.

 

The Planning Committee felt that the consultation was positive. However, the following observations were made in addition to the ones already spoken about at the consultation (plenty of parking and storage and to make the 4 two bedroom flats into 6 one bedroom flats):

  • It lacked the local element about design and materials.
  • The layout was rather monotonous.
  • Hips and half hips would be preferable instead of gables.
  • Chimneys should be added to make the site more attractive.
  • Reference should be made to the Cornwall Design Guide for the requirements of the Roseland Plan.

 

(7.        Proposal to establish a helicopter landing area and workshop at the rear of DL Marine Ltd. In Trethewell, St Just in Roseland

The Committee agreed to put forward proposals, including a temporary trial period to allow a public consultation with neighbours to take place, and for comprehensive noise level checks to be carried out; and to follow the British Helicopter Association Guidelines re health and safety.

 

(8.        PA16/09153 – Ventongassick, Trethewell, St Just in Roseland – Demolition of an existing bungalow and proposed replacement dwelling – Cllr. Farmiloe proposed that the Parish Council raise no objection to the proposal on condition that there was a blanket Tree Preservation Orders around the site and that the solar panels on the roof were of conservation type materials. Seconded by Cllr. Salter. All in favour by a show of hands.

 

(9.        Tranters, Trelawney Road, St Mawes – pre-application to sub-divide the plot to build a detached single dwelling unit – objection

 

(10.      PA16/Chamnery Fair, Trelawney Road, St Mawes – the response from Planning to the complaint. Members of the Planning Committee felt disappointed with the response, regarding the suggestions of hips instead of gables, and particularly with the decision to not have a construction management plan in place, and the fact that drainage would only be considered on occupancy of the dwelling. The Clerk felt that the communication throughout the planning process was almost non-existent.

 

  1. ii) The Council considered the following planning applications:
  2. PA16/06286 – Lowen Meadow, Newton Road, St Mawes – Change of use from storing agricultural trailers to boat trailers on part of field – under consideration by Cllrs. Chenoweth, Giles and Farmiloe – no objection subject to conditions

 

  1. PA16/10008 – Greenwaters, Freshwater Lane, St Mawes – works to a tree subject to tree preservation order. Felling of Monterey Cypress and replacement with Holly – under considered by Cllrs. Giles, Benney and Chenoweth – no objection subject to approval by the Tree Officer

 

  1. PA16/101202 – Teg Dowr, Freshwater Lane, St Mawes – lift canopy by 2 meters and reduce by 15{c8c3b3d140ed11cb7662417ff7b2dc686ffa9c2daf0848ac14f76e68f36d0c20} to six Beech Trees – considered by Cllrs Benney, Chenoweth and Giles – no objection subject to approval by the Tree Officer

 

  1. PA16/09910 – Bryher Cottage, 4 St Austell Row, St Mawes – alterations and extension involving replacing an existing two storey extension. Outbuilding: alterations and replacement roof – considered by Cllrs Benney, Giles, Salter, Farmiloe and Warren – no objection to extension if

 

small windows were used on upper windows, total objection to raised decking and alteration to garage

 

  1. PA16/10061 – St Mawes Castle – installation of two new parking meters and related instruction signage – considered by Cllrs Chenoweth, Giles and Salter – no objection

 

  1. PA16/10664 – Pasco’s Boatyard, land at junction A3078 – advertisement consent in respect of the repositioning of a company logo sign showing direction arrow – considered by Cllrs. Sadler, Teague and Warren – no objection on condition that the sign is placed on Trewithen Estates’ land as marked in the plan presented

 

iii   To note the decisions of the Planning Authority:

PA16/07704 and 41. PA16/07703 (40/41) – 1 Chapel Terrace, St Mawes – Listed Building Consent for a side extension and minor internal alterations – approved with conditions

 

PA16/08527 – Puffin Cottage, 4a Chapel Terrace, St Mawes (47) – replace and upgrade windows and doors – approved with conditions

           

PA16/09451 – Chenoweth, Sea View Crescent, St Mawes (50) – proposed double garage/workshop – approved with conditions

 

PA16/09932 – Land opposite 31 Lower Castle Road (53) – non – material amendment following the grant of planning permission PA14/11071 (the demolition and reconstruction of the existing garden room and residential annex, to widen doors facing south for both garden room and residential annexe – not acceptable as an amendment

 

Discharge of conditions

PA16/04171 – Gwel Dowr, Freshwater Lane, St Mawes – discharge of condition 3 in respect of proposed extensions and alteration works including terraced area – discharged

 

PA16/06248 – Summers, 4 Pedn Moran, St Mawes – removal of condition 2 (demolition cannot take place between end of November and end of March) to allow demolition to be undertaken during winter months’ subject to obtaining an EPS licence – pending

 

  1. iv) Enforcements

OPEN – EN16/00842 – 4A Bohella Road, St Mawes – alleged works not built in accordance with the approved plans PA15/11175; namely size of Juliet balcony – The owners (leaseholder) must revert the ‘bay window’ back to as approved on the approved plans or to what it previously looked like prior to any works taking place by the end of November. A compliance visit will be carried out sometime in December

 

  1. v) To consider planning correspondence – considered, no issues were raised.

 

12b.     Affordable Housing

            To receive an update from the Roseland Community Land Trust (CLT)

St Just Self Build Group have confirmed that they have insurance cover on plots 7 & 8 Trevennel Close, St Just. Cllr. Giles stated that the Roseland CLT have also taken out an insurance policy on the two plots.

 

  1. Millennium Rooms Management Committee & Roseland Visitor Centre Committee

To receive a report from the meetings held on 16th November (Appendix 5)

The minutes have not yet been completed. Cllr. Williams stood down as Chairman for the Committees and Cllr. B. Sadler was elected as the new Chairman.

 

  1. Cleansing of the Parish

            To further consider the Cornwall Council’s Waste Reduction Incentive Scheme

Cornwall Council have confirmed that the recycling of plastic pots, tubs and trays, to all residents in Cornwall will be rolled out from next March 2017.

 

  1. The installation of new on-street parking restrictions and speed reduction on Upper Castle

Road, St. Mawes – To consider the plans of the proposals from Cormac Ltd

The set of maps of areas concerned have not yet been received. The costs of design are £6,500 and the costs for works to be carried out are £7, 000.

 

Cllr. Sadler proposed the costs of the design and the works totalling £13,500 be approved. Also, that the maps are circulated to Members for approval as soon as they become available. Seconded by Cllr. Giles. All in favour by a show of hands. RESOLVED by the Council.

 

  1. 19. Correspondence (Appendix 6 information only) – no matters were raised

 

  1. Staffing Matters
  2. a) To receive a report and recommendations from the Personnel Committee – No report was given

 

At this point the Clerk and Assistant Clerk left the meeting (9.20pm).

 

  1. b) To consider any honorariums to Parish Council employees

Cllr Sadler proposed that the Clerk and Assistant Clerk be awarded honorariums in respect of the additional work they undertook during the year, relating to the takeover of St Mawes Public Conveniences and the implementation of card payment facilities in the St Mawes Car Park.

 

After some discussion, it was proposed by Cllr Warren and seconded by Cllr Hall to make one-off honoraria payments totalling £650 to the Clerk and the Assistant Clerk in recognition of their commitment and valuable service throughout the year relating to the takeover of St Mawes Public Conveniences and the implementation of the card payment facility in St Mawes Car park. All in favour by a show of hands.  RESOLVED by the Council.

           

  1. Agenda items for the next Parish Council meeting – No items were put forward

 

  1. Date of next meeting – The Parish Council meeting will be held on Monday 9th January 2017 in the Parish Millennium Rooms, St Mawes commencing at 7pm

 

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.45pm

 

Signed as a true record……………………………Chairman Cllr. B Chenoweth

 

Date…………………….9th January 2017

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