Quarley Parish Council Minutes

Quarley Parish Council Minutes - March 2012

Minutes of the Quarley Parish Council Meeting held on 20th March 2012 in the Quarley Village Hall at 7.30 pm.

Present :	Cllr Mrs J Ferguson - Chairman Cllr Mr W Marshall - Vice Chairman Cllr Mrs G Tubbs Cllr Miss C Cross Mr R Whiting Richard Waterman - Parish Clerk Members of the public - 4
Apologies:	Cllr Mr M Venables PC Roger Kitson Borough Councillor Mr Ben Few Brown County Councillor Mrs P West

WELCOME.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST.
Cllr Mrs J Ferguson declared an interest in the Quarley PCC
Cllr Miss C Cross declared an interest in Home Farm.

POLICE REPORT.
PC Roger Kitson has stated that Quarley remains to be quiet and if anyone wishes to report matters of a non urgent type they should ring 101. PC Kitson and PCSO Dave Trowbridge hope to get to the June meeting.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING.
The Chairman signed the minutes of the previous meeting as a true record. Matters arising from those minutes :-

ROADS - The build up of gravel on the road to Grateley has still not been cleared and there are still pot holes on the village roads. The grit bin by Lains Farm has also not been moved further down towards the junction with the A303. It was felt that the recent road repairs by Home Farm are sub standard. The Chairman and the Clerk have not yet met with Mr Thompson from Highways.

The Parish Council discussed at length the state of the roads, it was agreed that a site meeting should be held as a matter of urgency and that County Councillor Mrs P West and Borough Councillor Mr Ben Few Brown should be invited to attend.

WAR MEMORIAL - The Clerk still had no news to report on the grant to refurbish the War Memorial.

NOTICE BOARD - The cork backing has been fitted to the Notice Board by the telephone box.

QUEENS DIAMOND JUBILEE - The Chairman reported that Steven Goddard has given permission for a beacon to be lit on Quarley Hill on the 4^th June 2012 to celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee. The cost of the gas beacon and gas bottles will be split with Grateley, permission has been granted for two parishioners from each parish to man the beacon. Cllr Mr M Venables and Mr Jim Wiltshire have offered their services and vehicle to get the gas beacon to the site.

The Chairman reported that Quarley will have party with live music. Residents will be asked to bring food to the event.

MEMBERSHIP OF HAMPSHIRE ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL COUNCILS (HALC)
The Chairman reported that she had attended a further Chairman’s meeting to discuss membership of HALC. HALC was represented by Dr Colin Mercer (board member), Mr S Lugg (CE) and Mr C Milner Williams. The possibility of joining HALC as a cluster group was discussed but has not progressed. It was noted at the meeting that membership fees are set to rise again.

PLANNING

12/00149/FULLN - Erection of detached garage and office building - Kingston Lodge, Quarley. The Parish Council had NO OBJECTION to this planning application.
12/00490/FULLN - Replace office buildings C, D & Da with the erection of a dwelling, garage and access. Change of use of offices A & B to become residential ancillary to Quarley Manor House - Quarley Manor Farm. The Parish Council had NO OBJECTION to this planning application.
Cllr Mr W Marshall declared an interest as he had carried out contract work for the applicant.
11/02253/FULLN - Retrospective application - Boundary fence, bike shed/store and parking area - 3 Christopher Court, Quarley. The Parish Council OBJECTED on a majority of 4 to 1 to this planning application. Comments were made that the fence entirely changes the aspect of Christopher Court and a shed would be unsightly and intrusive in the proposed position.

Ms Hatchet, the applicant addressed the meeting and stated that she had asked the contractor to erect the fence to a height of 1m, the height allowed under permitted development. The contractor ignored this and the fence was erected at a height of 1.22m. To soften the effect Ms Hatches intends to paint and possibly plant a hedge to screen the fence. Ms Hatchet felt that the precedent had been set in the village for high fences at the front of properties.

The position of the proposed shed is well away from any windows and the parking position has been altered. Ms Hatchet stated that she is willing to make reasonable alterations to get this planning permission.

The Parish Council asked Ms Hatchet if there was enough space to plant a hedge? Ms Hatchet assured the Parish Council that there was. The Parish Council stated that they were a bit shocked when the fence was erected as the front of Christopher Court has always been Open Plan.

The Chairman thanked Ms Hatchet for coming and stated that the Parish Council had submitted their comments late February to the Planning Department, the decision is now with the Planners.

COUNCILLORS REPORTS
CLLR MR W MARSHALL - Reported that Skew Road is in a bad state at the Amport end and in need of repair. Highways have repaired a particularly bad pot hole outside his property but have not done other ones in the vicinity. Cllr Mr Marshall felt that it was high time that Quarley received a ‘tar and chip’ treatment through the village. This will be mentioned at the Highways Site meeting.

CLLR MRS J FERGUSON - Reported that she had a pack from a recent CPRE event on Localism. Parish Plans were discussed at the meeting and the literature make interesting reading, whether Quarley is big enough to have a Parish Plan rather than a Village Design Statement is a question that needs to be investigated.

MR RICHARD WHITING - Spoke about improving Broadband in the Village. He had attended a presentation held by Hampshire County Council and DEFRA who are promoting the scheme. A public meeting is to be held in the Quarley Village Hall on the 28^th March 2012 to find out how the Village can improve their Broadband service. Leaflets will be distributed through out the village during the next few days.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
Mrs J Venables stated that she has come into contact with Parish Plans while carrying out her duties on one of the Test Valley Borough Council Committees . A parish Plan sets out the vision for the community and is solid evidence that the community knows which way to go for the future. A Village Design Statement is solely about planning and the way the village looks.

The Parish Council noted this and will seek advice from TVBC as to what would be best for Quarley.

Mrs J Venables spoke about fly tipping in the village, especially on the corner in Bush Lane. TVBC Environmental Services have looked into the problem and have managed to track down one of the culprits and is in the process of taking the matter further. The Parish Council are concerned about the increase in Fly Tipping.

CHEQUES ISSUED IN JANUARY AND MARCH 2012

Mr B Pearce	Ditch Clearing	£100.00
Mr B Pearce	Repairs to the Notice Board	£55.00
H.C.C.	Street Lighting	£102.19
TVBC	2011 Election Expenses	£37.57

CLOSE OF THE MEETING
The Chairman thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting.

DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
19^th June 2012 in the Village Hall at 7.30pm