24/90. Public recess. 15 members of the public, which included Chris Minors from Hannick Homes.
Resident 1.
Objects to the application. Reasons – outside village boundary. In National Landscapes area. No precedent locally for building outside the village boundary. Lose attractive views. Disruption of walking and cycling views. Beech hedge lost from view. Loss of hedge to the south side. They believed that this application would lead to other similar sites being built on. Access on the corner dangerous.
Resident 2.
Sewerage issues. Overburdened system, would not cope with extra levels. Icknield Way runs alongside. Only clear part of the route within Chiseldon. Other councils along the route work to sensitively place developments. How will the council preserve the history of the area?
Resident 3.
Safety on the road an issue. Sewerage system at capacity, already manually pumping in the area into tankers. Concerns that sewerage route would be via Washpool rather than through Home Close pipes which is suggested on the plans.
Chris Minors from HH.
SBC have a duty to work with applicants to overcome objections. Application can still be adjusted to mitigate local concerns and objections. Will take on board the comments and look at access/vehicle movements. They can provide further input to this by using their contracted advisors.
Sewerage network – can also get consultants advice on this issue. Thames Water have an obligation to ensure their network has the correct capacity. It may involve enhancements to the system by Thames Water. A planning condition would state that work could not start until this was completed.
Beech hedge. A maintenance strip is to be included in the proposal. The SBC and landscape officers will confirm the width of this.
Ward Cllr Gary Sumner. Who previously held the post of Strategic Planning with SBC. The National Landscapes organisation should be making their own comments on the application which will go on the planning portal. Sewerage issues and their rectification will be a planning condition so houses cannot be built until this is completed.
The new Labour Government has set a target of 20% more homes being built by authorities. Swindon’s original target was 22,000 new homes. The SBC Labour administration have paused the consultations on the new Swindon Local Plan. The new deadline for submission of new plans is 2026.
SBC would be looking at new sites where there are not major infrastructure changes needed – ie no new schools.
When commenting on the planning portal/via email need to consider the wider implications of the Labour Gov changes to planning legislation and consider what conditions could be included to make the development feasible.
Cllr Jefferies noted that Chiseldon Primary School was below capacity for children attending, and the need to have new families moving to the area to allow the school to be viable.
24/91. Approval of apologies given.
Absence with apologies: Cllr Jackson is unwell.
Ward Cllrs Elliott and Hopkins also sent their apologies.
No apologies from Cllr Whitehead or Cllr Quidwai.
A proposal was made to approve the apologies given with the reasons stated. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.
24/92. Co-option of Parish Cllrs.
2 candidates Anthony Howlett and Matthew Hinton.
Both candidates addressed the council to advise on their reasons for joining the council and their experience/knowledge.
The Clerk had previously confirmed both candidates were eligible for co-option and were not prevented by legislation from doing so.
A proposal was made to approve the co-option of Anthony Howlett and Matthew Hinton. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.
Cllrs Howlett and Hinton signed the acceptance of office book and took their place at the meeting.
24/93. PLANNING. Discussion only on planning application S/OUT/24/0982.
Outline planning application (with all matters except access reserved) for the erection of up to 42 no. dwellings, open space, landscaping and associated engineering works. Land at Hodson Road, Chiseldon.
Comments from Cllrs were as follows:
Cllr Jefferies – there is a need for new families to move to the area.
The PC cannot force the sewerage company or SBC Highways to take action – we can only lobby them for sensible solutions.
Cllr Ford – Statistics for the Parish show a disproportionate age range of 40-80 year olds. The average house price in the Parish currently is £480,000. (11 properties currently for sale). This is not affordable for young families.
Cllr Howlett – Can we gather FB comments and provide them to SBC? No. This is not permitted. Each comment must be supplied by the resident with a name and address given.
Cllr Kearsey – the Council has 2 duties. If the development does go ahead, the PC need to ensure any adverse effects are mitigated and also represent the public and what they need locally.
The PC has been in discussions with HH to discuss mitigating items such as road safety, sewerage, waste management etc.
The PC need to take the concerns the public have raised and try to find solutions with the developer and SBC to mitigate them in the event that the application is approved.
It was noted there were 4 public comments on the portal so far and that around the parish many services such as waste water removal needed updating.
The public, apart from 1 person left the meeting at 20.08
The Clerk will add this planning application and related matters to each full council meeting.
24/93. Declarations of interest. None
24/94. Approval of minutes from 12th August 2024. No changes.
A proposal was made to approve these minutes as an accurate account of the meeting. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.
24/95. Action points from previous meeting.
Clerk
23/29. Chase up Badbury hedge cutting and white line painting issues with Ward Cllr Sumner. NO UPDATE
24/32. Get quotes for walking leaflet for the Parish. DONE
24/66. Reply to HH on their public consultation. DONE
24/72. Staff to arrange for newsletter to be written, printed and distributed. PENDING.
24/73. Advise Sanders to proceed with both items of work. DONE
24/75 and 76. Advise the RFO of the decisions made ref the CCLA fund. DONE
24/77. Contact BDN with results of the vote on paying the May invoice and advise the RFO on what funds to transfer. DONE
24/81 and 82. Advise the NHP Consultant of these 2 decisions so the next steps can be worked on. DONE
24/83. Respond to SBC with the vote on this planning application. DONE
24/85. Respond to consultant to approve their quote for DF survey. DONE
24/86. Respond online with the PC’s vote on the boundary commissions proposed changes. DONE
Ward Cllr Hopkins and Elliott
20/16. Investigate end of Badbury footpath being blocked. Waiting for SBC officer update. WITH MARTIN FRY AT SBC.
24/96. Police and Community report. Cllr Sunners.
August crime stats for the area (Which includes Badbury Park). 27 incidents 12 incidents in Chiseldon.
The pop up police event at Strouds Hill went well.
There is a meeting with PCSO Trueman on Thurs 12th Sept at 9.00am
Overgrown street lights reported to SBC.
Cllr Kearsey noted that the police had given permission again for Speedwatch to run sessions on New Road near the Station Road junction.
24/97. Ward Cllrs reports. Ward Cllr Sumner – Ridgeway Ward.
The draft Local Plan at SBC is not going out to consultation Autumn 24. There is a new deadline to submit for examination in 2026.
To note that developers around Swindon are already challenging the 30% requirement of affordable housing.
Reminder for PC’s to consider whether to increase the precept level to provide residents with an enhanced level of service for residents. Extra street sweeping or weed clearing etc. Many SBC services will stop so pride in our local area may be lost.
Ward Cllr Sumner leaves the meeting at 20.26
24/98. Discussion and vote on the current position of the council with regards to SBC’s proposed transfer of services.
The Swindon Local Councils Forum working party voted to recommend to the main SLCF that discussions with SBC be closed until the required information is provided. This will go to the 19th Sept SLCF meeting for a vote. If SBC do come back with specific information then discussions can continue.
A proposal was made that Chiseldon Parish Council support the view of the SLCF working party. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.
24/99. Approval of Policies. There were none.
24/100. PLANNING. Discussion & vote on what to request from SBC with regards to S106 developer funds.
Specific suggestions included requesting S106 funds to improve/create a footpath running along Hodson Road from the edge of Chiseldon to the Burderop T junction and funds to assist improving the recreation ground facilities. Cllrs should send further examples to the Clerk for inclusion.
A proposal was made to approve these S106 requests and add the improvement of the Hodson Road path to the planning response to S/OUT/24/0982. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.
24/101. PLANNING. To vote on any applications provided by SBC after the agenda was published. There were none.
24/102. Annual review of handyman’s hourly rate. (item confirmed at Dec 23 Full Council meeting.
A proposal was made for no change to the hourly rate. The proposal was seconded but did not achieve a majority vote in favour.
A proposal was made to increase the hourly rate by the latest % increase of the national living wage. The proposal was seconded and the majority was in favour.
This will be implemented from Dec 24.
24/103. Vote to approve a walking map quote for walks around and in/out of the parish.
A proposal was made to approve the quote from Parsons Creative of circa £1000. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.
If the amount required for completion goes over £1000 then the item will be brought back to Full Council.
24/104. Approval of insurance provision for the council.
A proposal was made for the 3 year quote from Community First – Zurich to be accepted, costing £2785.31. (this is liable to change if the policy cover requirements changes). The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.
24/105. To approve the council’s bank reconciliation for July 24.
A proposal was made to accept the details of the bank reconciliation. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.
24/106. To approve the August 24 Finance figures.
A proposal was made to approve the August 24 financial reports as an accurate representation of the councils finances. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.
24/107. Committee reports, Correspondence and risk assessments.
Finance – Cllr Kearsey. The councils 1 remaining bad debtor has completed their payments to the council. The credit card limit for Unity/Lloyds was checked but no changes made. The budget vs expenditure report was checked and no issues were found.
EGPA – Cllr Sunners. Nothing to report.
Planning – Cllr Jefferies. The committee will be writing a robust letter to SBC asking for action/deadlines for the various Highways projects to be considered/scheduled in/completed.
The risk assessments completed were noted (There were no issues identified) The Clerk will deal with the September assessments.
24/108. Items for next agenda. None.
Meeting closed 21.14
Actions
All Actions to be completed by the next Full Committee meeting unless otherwise specified.
Clerk
23/29. Chase up Badbury hedge cutting and white line painting issues with Ward Cllr Sumner.
24/72. Staff to arrange for newsletter to be written, printed and distributed.
24/92. To include planning app S/OUT/24/0982 on all Full Council agenda’s until further notice.
24/100. To include the S106 requirement for Hodson Road pavement when their consultee comments are sent to SBC for S/OUT/24/0982. A list of further S106 requirements to be maintained.
All Councillors.
24/100. To provide the Clerk with a list of specific S106 requirements that can be used to improve the parish.
Ward Cllr Hopkins and Elliott
20/16. Investigate end of Badbury footpath being blocked. Waiting for SBC officer update.