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BRENT KNOLL PARISH COUNCIL
ANNUAL REPORT TO THE PARISH MEETING
APRIL 2004
Introduction and Membership
This report presents a summary of the activities of the Brent Knoll Parish Council for the year 2003/4.
The Council year under review started in May 2003, following the local Council elections, and ended in March 2004. The Council wishes to take this opportunity to record its thanks to former Councillors Morris, Watts and Woodward who retired at the start in April 2003.
There are 11 seats on the Council. No election was held in 2003 as only 6 valid nominations were received, and the following Councillors were therefore declared elected:
Cllr R D Filmer, Wascelyn, 48 Brent Street, Brent Knoll, TA9 4DT
Cllr E M House, Laurel Farm, Burton Row, TA9 4BY
Cllr M W Jackson, Birkdale, Church Lane, TA9 4DG
Cllr J J M Owen, Anvil Cottage, 86 Brent Street, TA9 4EQ
Cllr S J Rich, The Orchard, Burton Row, TA9 4BX
Cllr D R Wootton, Chelsea Farm, Harp Road, TA9 4HQ
The following Councillors were subsequently co-opted to fill the remaining vacancies:
Cllr J E Baker, Wick Farm, Wick Lane, BS24 0HG
Cllr B D Freestone, Bramcote, 135 Brent Street, TA9 4BB
Cllr E Lamb, Coppins, Burton Row, TA9 4BW
Cllr P T Osborn, Underknoll, 142 Brent Street, TA9 4BG
Cllr J E Wright, Windyridge, Hill Lane, TA9 4DE
At the first meeting of the new Council year (the Annual Meeting) the Council elected Cllr Filmer as Chairman and Cllr Owen as Vice-Chairman.
The Parish Council had always traditionally met on the second Monday of each month, except in August. However, from the start of 2003 Sedgemoor District Council introduced a 21-day deadline for response to planning applications. At that time the Parish Council decided against setting up a Development Control Committee but opted instead for holding, when necessary, short meetings to consider any such applications with response deadlines expiring before the next full meeting. These short meetings are only convened if required.
Over the course of the 2003/4 Council year the Council met on 12 occasions for main meetings and on a further 9 occasions for short meetings restricted to planning applications and any other urgent issues. The record of attendance of Councillors is shown in Table 1 attached.
At the first Meeting the Council re-adopted resolutions acknowledging its duties with regard to Race Relations and Equal Opportunities Policies. The Council now operates under the new Model Code of Conduct and members have completed Registration of Interests forms which are available for inspection if required. During the year the Council also adopted a new Code of Practice for Handling Complaints.
The Village Green and Village Maintenance
The Parish Council maintains the Village Green, and the children's play equipment thereon, and also arranges for the cutting of various areas of grass verge in the village.
Councillors take it in turns, a month at a time, to be responsible for keeping the Green tidy and for checking the condition of the play equipment. This equipment is also checked annually (each June) by RoSPA and any works recommended by the Inspector are carried out. In the past year repairs have been carried out to the areas of safety surfacing and the play equipment has been refurbished and repainted where necessary. Also, additional trees have been planted to screen the slide area of the Green from adjoining properties and some re-turfing carried out by the football goal.
The Contractor appointed to trim the areas surrounding the Green, and the various village verges, experienced difficulties earlier in the year and it was necessary to revise the contract slightly. A new contractor has been appointed for the 2004 cutting season.
The Council also acknowledges, with thanks, the gifts of a tree in the Cedar Close triangle and the Jubilee Commemorative Stone, both funded by the Golden Jubilee Committee from the profits made from the celebration activities which they organised.
The problems caused by dog fouling continue to be the cause of many complaints to the Council, especially as regards the area of footway by the School and despite the provision of a dog waste bin. Brent Knoll is in fact covered by the provisions of the Sedgemoor District Council (Dogs Fouling) Order 1999 and owners who fail to remove dog waste from public areas are liable to prosecution. The Council has been in touch with Sedgemoor District Council about further publicity initiatives to tackle this menace, and has also provided a second dog waste bin near the old telephone exchange.
Highways
The Council has been pressing for some years for the implementation of a 30mph speed limit in Burton Row and is pleased to note that this has at last been introduced. It has also continued to maintain pressure on the highway authority for the improvement of conditions at the Fox and Goose Junction. Following earlier work by the Council, in 2002, which included conducting a detailed traffic survey, a scheme for the installation of traffic lights has been added to Somerset County Council's minor improvements programme. Unfortunately, and despite arguments put forward by the Council that it should rank higher, the scheme is currently about No 35 in priority (out of over 100 candidates) and, at present, only the first three or four schemes in the list are undertaken each year. The Council was also instrumental in arranging the installation of "No Entry" signs opposite the north exit from the BWOC garage in an effort to curb the hazardous practice of rat-running between Harp Road and the A38 northbound via the Fox and Goose car park and the garage forecourt; the installation of additional warning markings at the approach to the Brent Corner bend; and additional warning signs to be provided shortly at the approaches to the Brent Street/Church Lane junction.
The Council also maintains a watching brief on the condition of all highways in the Parish and reports any matters needing attention to the highway authority.
Finally, the Council has also encouraged the setting up of a Community Speedwatch initiative and has obtained a speed measuring gun which will be made available for the use of the Group when it is ready to commence its activities. The Group is, however, totally independent of the Parish Council even though some Councillors are members.
Footpaths
The Parish Council also maintains a watching brief over the condition of footpaths in the Parish and deals with issues such as obstructions etc either by direct action or by contacting Sedgemoor District Council. During the past year the Council funded a number of repairs to stiles.
The Council also investigated the possibility of diverting the path leading eastwards from Wick Lane, in order to eliminate the present crossing of the railway on the level and the consequent noise from train horns being sounded as a warning. Unfortunately, it did not prove possible to evolve an acceptable scheme for such a diversion.
Finance
The precept for 2003/04 was £15,000, which meant that the approximate cost of the Parish Council to a Band D household was slightly less than £28. A surplus of £1,300 (which had arisen because not all anticipated expenditure on play equipment had taken place) was carried forward from 2002/3. The largest single item of expenditure in the year was the Clerk's salary which accounts for about 30% of the budget: the salary is based on 12 hours work per week at an hourly rate set annually following negotiations between the National Association of Local Councils and the Society of Local Council Clerks.
Other main items of expenditure in the year under review include Public Liability Insurance at almost £550, footpath maintenance (mostly the stile repairs mentioned earlier) at £700, Village Green and Play Equipment Maintenance at £830, Village Maintenance (verge trimming, etc) at £900, and various grants to local organisations. Chief among these were £1,000 to St Michael's Church for churchyard grass cutting, £1,000 to Brent Knoll Parish Hall towards their rebuilding project, and £500 towards the St Michael's Church new boiler house/toilet project.
Despite unavoidable increases in costs in such areas as public liability insurance, it has proved possible to slightly reduce the precept for 2004/5 to £14,750, equivalent to about £27.30 for a Band D dwelling.
Planning
The Council is consulted by Sedgemoor District Council on all planning applications, and applications for Listed Building Consent, falling within the Parish. As mentioned earlier, special meetings are held if this is necessary in order to enable the Council to respond before the Sedgemoor District Council deadline. Two site inspections were also held during the year.
51 planning applications were received for comment during the year, the same number as in 2002/3. The 2001/2 figure was 43 and that for 2000/1 was 25.
Among other cases, the Council spent some time considering the implications of the proposed Sanders Garden World expansion plans and made a number of comments thereon to Sedgemoor District Council. (The planning decision on the expansion proposals is still on hold pending consideration of "calling in" of the case by the Government Office for the South West.)
Village Design Statement
With the active encouragement of the Council, a "Welcome to Brent Knoll" leaflet was produced by a small group under the Chairmanship of one Councillor, and the Group is now going on to look at the drafting of a Village Design Statement (this is a document setting out the principles governing consideration of proposed developments in the Village, which would then be taken into account by Sedgemoor District Council in the consideration of planning applications)
Village Website
The Council has been pleased to support the introduction of a Village Website and records its very grateful thanks to Matthew Warnes for all the work he has done to establish it. The website contains pages featuring information about the history of the Village, news and events, local facilities, local walks, and the activities of the Parish Council. Interest in the site is growing and it was accessed 798 times in March 2004.
On a related note, the Council has also supported the campaign to bring Broadband to Brent Knoll and is pleased to note that this has now been successful.
Crime Reduction
The Council gratefully accepted an offer from the local police to mount a Crime Reduction exhibition which was held in the Parish Hall in October and attended by many local people. Close liaison is maintained with the local police.
Consultations
Comments have been offered during the year on various consultation documents and questionnaires initiated by central and local government and by other organisations, including for example the proposed Sedgemoor Local Transport Plan, the consultation on revision of Burial Law and Policy, the draft Knoll Management Plan prepared by the National Trust, and a questionnaire from the Audit Commission on the performance of Sedgemoor District Council.
M A Endacott
Clerk to the Council
April 2004
TABLE 1: PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS - RECORD OF ATTENDANCE
During the year under review the Council met 12 times for main meetings and 9 times to consider planning applications and any other urgent matters.
Those Councillors who were co-opted (shown marked with an asterisk* below) did not take office until the second main meeting and could therefore only attend a maximum of 11 such meetings.
The record of attendance is as follows:
|
Councillor |
Main
meetings attended |
Main
meetings apologies
accepted |
Planning
meetings attended |
Planning
meetings apologies
accepted |
|
Baker* |
11 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
|
Filmer |
12 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
|
Freestone* |
9 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
|
House |
11 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
|
Jackson |
12 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
|
Lamb* |
9 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
|
Osborn* |
10 |
1 |
7 |
2 |
|
Owen |
11 |
1 |
7 |
2 |
|
Rich |
11 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
|
Wootton |
9 |
3 |
7 |
1 |
|
Wright* |
8 |
3 |
8 |
1 |
TABLE 2 - PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Statistics for the period April 2003 - March 2004
Total number of applications received for comment 51
Applications for new buildings, extensions, etc
Total received
45
Supported by Parish Council
16
No observations from Parish Council
25
Opposed by Parish Council
4
Granted by Sedgemoor District Council
32
Refused by Sedgemoor District Council
4
Withdrawn
3
Decision pending
6
Applications for outline consent
Total received
2
Supported by Parish Council
1
No observations from Parish Council
0
Opposed by Parish Council
1
Granted by Sedgemoor District Council
0
Refused by Sedgemoor District Council
2
Withdrawn
0
Decision pending
0
Applications for Listed Building Consent
Total received
2
Supported by Parish Council
0
No observations from Parish Council
2
Opposed by Parish Council
0
Granted by Sedgemoor District Council
2
Refused by Sedgemoor District Council
0
Withdrawn
0
Decision pending
0
Applications for consent for works to trees
Total received
2
Supported by Parish Council
0
No observations from Parish Council
2
Opposed by Parish Council
0
Granted by Sedgemoor District Council
2
Refused by Sedgemoor District Council
0
Withdrawn
0
Decision pending
0 |
