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Minutes December 2018

WOLSINGHAM PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF   MEETING HELD

TUESDAY 11TH DECEMBER   2018  

7.00 PM TOWN HALL, WOLSINGHAM

 

PRESENT:    Chair: D. Sugden, Mrs. Y. Bell,   J. Norman, Mrs. A. Savory, S. Palombella, J. Wilson

PUBLIC:       Mrs. J. Henderson, D. Stephenson, M. Emerson, Mr. & Mrs. Bell,

Mr. & Mrs Thompson, Mrs. S. Martin Denham, G. Limbert, T. Buckle, J. Clark

GUEST SPEAKER: MR. FERSTENBERG Head Teacher, Wolsingham School

Mr. Ferstenberg was welcomed to the meeting and gave a Power Point presentation on his vision for Wolsingham School, based on his varied experience. He had chosen Wolsingham School because of his commitment to high standards in state education, and his belief that this school has a strong history and outstanding opportunities for development.

His Vision was based on four Pillars of Principle: Academic Excellence, Extra Curricular Activities, Character & Citizenship, and Pastoral Care.

Research was underway to create a financially viable sixth form, by being more creative with funding options and modern teaching methods for a sustainable sixth form. Changes in Government funding meant that it was not currently viable.

It was important that the school was able to communicate well within the community and various avenues were adopted to reach the wider community i.e., School Blog, Town Crier, Weardale Gazette, Northern Echo. He regards engagement with the community as paramount, and the school will continue to serve the community in many ways.

A local residents group was already formed, and a parents reference group.

Mr Ferstenberg was thanked for his presentation. 

  1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:  A. Vipond, K. Tippins, R. George, Mrs. A. Nelson
  2. POLICE REPORT None present.
  3. TO RECEIVE QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC:  

A resident raised the question of the out of hours service provided by the Clinical Commissioning Group for the area, as they were planning to withdraw the out-of-hours service in Weardale as it was poorly supported at Stanhope. Service would be provided at Bishop Auckland hospital only. The reason it was poorly supported was that not many residents knew of its existence. It was a similar scenario to the recent consultation on the matter, which was not well attended because again no one was aware of the meeting. Only 11 people attended. Cllr. Palombella advised the meeting that another course of action would be to contact Health Watch County Durham with their concerns.

          4. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: Cllr Wilson declared an interest in the correspondence received from Weardale Whippets, asking for funding.

          5. MINUTES OF MEETING HELD 13TH NOVEMBER 2018; accepted as a true record.

          6 MATTERS ARISING;

  1. An estimate had been given by Makepeace Motors to repair the drainage at Demesne Mill for £720. Agreed to accept.
  2. Olivers Tree Services had looked at the trees in Demesne Mill, Churchyard and Recreation ground and had offered to survey the three areas for £390 , accepted.
  3. The first speed ramp at Demesne Mill had been removed , the repair to the second ramp would be undertaken when the drainage work was being done.
  4. The culvert at the west of the recreation ground had been “dredged” by Durham C.C. drainage team. The Environment Agency had been involved and cameras had been put into the culvert to ascertain where the sewage was coming from. They had confirmed that there was a problem at the Leazes estate , in so far as the foul pipe lines and surface water piping had been plumbed incorrectly and it could take two months to resolve.

         6 CORRESPONDENCE:

  1. Sports provision Mrs. S. Martin Denham; (Cllr. Mrs. A Savory declared an interest as she was Chairman of Governors at the school.) This was a request to the Parish Council to identify a suitable space for a hockey pitch and help with any funding options. As previously reported the recreation ground at Wolsingham had no available space large enough to accommodate a hockey pitch. The pitch needs to be synthetic, which costs a great deal for installation and ongoing costs, so the Parish Council could not directly help on the matter. We would support the wish for suitable facilities however, in any way possible. However Durham County Council were tasked with identifying a pitch plan by 2019, as the hockey club had been displaced by virtue of the existing facility at the school being sold for housing development.
  2. Barclays Bank Re ATM; a reply had been received from Barclays, apologising for the poor service from the ATM machines but indicated that any LINK machines would be available for free cash withdrawals. The reply appeared to miss the point entirely, as in this area there are no LINK machines available, and prospective customers would have to travel to Crook or Stanhope to access cash.
  3. Cllr R. Manchester re Flower planter Thornley; this had been discussed with the Parish Council insurance company and as the Parish Council do not own the land in question then they cannot give permission to site the planter or cover for Public Liability Insurance. However the Durham County Council Clean & Green Team could install and insure the project, a course of action which would enable the planter to be positioned at the entrance to Thornley.
  4. Hooked & Cooked: request to site mobile Fish & Chip Van Market Place on Tuesday evenings when other facilities are closed. This was agreed to for a trial period of a month to commence January 2019. Adequate rubbish facilities to be provided, noise levels to be kept to a minimum. After the trial period the venture will be assessed, and a fee for the right to sell on the Market Place may be agreed.
  5. Mr. Bell Complaint; as the complaint was of a personal nature a Panel should be set up to deal with it, and held in private. It was deferred to the end of the meeting.
  6. Mr. Stephenson; e mails had been exchanged on a query about the minutes from Mr. Stephenson and the matter had been resolved to his satisfaction.

          7. RECREATION GROUND:  Skate Park update, the way forward.

  1. As permitted development rights had been given, and there being no need to have any Building Regulations approval, the project could start as soon as the remaining funding was in place. A date of 22nd January had been given by Leader for the final appraisal and if successful the necessary funds would be released by WAAP. Sport England funding was already assured.
  2. Those councillors present gave their unanimous support for the continuing project, as the skate park had been promised for Wolsingham.
  3. As the floodlighting had not been included in the original planning application, this would be subject to a future separate planning application. Provision for floodlighting ducting etc. would be part of the initial development.
  4. As there was possible doubt as to planning permission being granted for floodlighting, which would limit the available time to use the facility, Cllr. K. Tippins, albeit not at the meeting, wished to have his name recorded as being in favour of delaying the project until lighting had been agreed.
  5. A resident was against the skate park as in his opinion they were no longer popular or fashionable with young people. He was interested in the exact location, as was another member of the public, and that a specific location should be provided by the contractor.
  6. The potential for noise issues was raised, what noise attenuation measures were proposed and what noise acoustic surveys had been undertaken. Acoustic surveys have not been required by DCC, but steps had been taken to keep noise to a minimum by lowering the skate park a further 50cms. into the ground, which creates earth bunds, landscaping and planting was planned. Noise from this skate park would be similar to other skate parks of between 30 – 50 decibels at 20m, which is lower than the noise from other activities which already take place, such as football. The planned location would also be a further 7 metres east from the tree canopy at the west side of the recreation ground.
  7. Another resident, who was also unclear as to the exact location, was concerned at the loss of more open green space where families were used to having picnics. He felt that the facility should be managed and not “free for all” and more screening and landscaping was necessary. 
  8. The plans and images of the skatepark are available to view in the Library entrance.
  9. A project manager is to be appointed to oversee the project, working alongside the Clerk and Councillors.

 

Cllr. Palombella left the meeting at 20.50 hrs.

          8. MEMBERS REQUESTS ;

  1. a number of complaints had been received regarding the Christmas tree lights not being evenly spaced, clerk to speak to contractor to have them adjusted.
  2. Cllr Mrs. Savory raised the subject of organisations using the Town Hall not paying for setting up and break-down time. The clerk assured the councillor, all times were taken into consideration and charged appropriately.

 

: 13 .PLANNING:           

13.01  The following applications have been approved:

DM/18/03185/TCA     The Old Barn , Grange Cottages T1 ornamental cherry, reduce crown by up to 25% T2 Hawthorn, prune back the spread and height of crown by 10-20%

                                    T3 Whitebeam/Sorbus fell

DM/18/03079/TCA     45, The Causeway, T1,T2,T3 Ash  prune to reduce crown by 50%T4,T5,T6,T7,T8 and T10 Plum , fell & T9 Pear Fell

DM/18/03024/TPO     Unit 2D  Durham Road Ind. Est, crown lift to 5 m, excluding large diameter branches and a lateral reduction to give a clearance from adjacent buildings of 2 meters

DM/18/03034/FPA     31, Lydgate Avenue, single storey side extension

DM/18/03309/FPS      Millstream Cottage, 9 ,West End Tree works in a conservation area

DM/18/02999/TPO     Demesne Cottage, 8, Rectory Lane T1 sycamore , crown raise and crown reduce , branches overhanging conservatory and crown thin canopy by 10 – 15%       

DM/18/02884/LB       8, Meadhope Street, replacement of 4 windows to front  elevation

DM/18/02824/FPA     Rivendell, 2b The Causeway, Pitched roof to front porch and extension

DM/18/02675/FPA     8 Silver Street, single storey rear extension and porch to front

DM/18/ 02305/FPA    7, Angate Street, roof light to rear ( Retrospective)

13.02 The following applications have been notified

DM/18/03392/FPA     33, West End  replace 3 windows and door to front

DM/18/03360/PND    Wolsingham School & Community College prior notification for the demolition of all buildings within the site

DM/18/03357/FPA     7, Stanhope Road, two storey side extension

DM/18/03161/FPA     Deneside Lodge Park, The Causeway, 6 no. starter business/industrial units B1/B2/B8 use

DM/18/03531/VOC    Bowlees Farm, variation of condition 2 of application  DM/16/ 03666/FPA to amend design of western unit

DM/18/03447/TCA     50, Front Street, T1 T2 & T3 Holly & T4 Cherry, crown lift by 1m.

14 Finance Reports End November 2018 , were presented and accepted.

As the budget / precept needed to be finalised  in January it was proposed and agreed to start the January meeting at 6.30 pm with budget setting.

Weardale Whippets  request for funding , Cllr. Wilson had declared an interest in the matter and took no part in the ensuing discussion. The club had been formed some time ago and had been initially funded by Durham C.C. This funding had ended, but the club now had 25 members.Some of the organisers had been DBS checked, and were qualified first aiders. Apart from keeping the younger generation fit and healthy it also acted to reduce anti social behaviour and gave them a sense of citizenship. It was agreed to grant £250 to the club under the 2011 Localism Act.

15 Complaint; the council (in private) considered letters of complaint from Mr Bell, and agreed a way to respond appropriately to the issues raised.