HOBY WITH ROTHERBY PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 4 SEPTEMBER 2006 AT 7.30PM IN THE HOBY AND DISTRICT VILLAGE HALL

Present: Mrs Sue Miles, Ms Carole Clohesy (Chairman), Mrs Grazyna Whittaker, Mr Terry Fleming, Mr Michael Tilling, Mrs Diane Horsfield (Clerk), Mr Joe Orson (County Councillor), Mrs Nicky Ainscoe (Hoby Play Equipment Committee) and eleven members of the general public.

1.  Apologies: none

2.  The minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2006 were approve and signed

3.  Matters arising from the June meeting

3.1 Hoby Play Area: Nicky Ainscoe gave the following report: “The summer has gone smoothly. The mowing rota is up to date but it is too wet to mow at the moment. One incident occurred where a group of boys were playing football at 8.30pm but they dispersed quietly when reminded that the play area closes at 8pm. The committee remains the same”

3.2 Brooksby Quarry: Following confirmation that Brooksby Quarry has been short listed for landfill, a meeting was held between representatives from Hoby with Rotherby, Frisby and Gaddesby Parish Councils to co-ordinate opposition. Leicestershire County Council (LCC) is holding an exhibition re the proposal in Hoby and District village hall on Wednesday 6 September between 2pm and 7.30pm. The Parish Council has organised a public meeting on Friday 22 September at 7.30pm in Hoby and District village hall to collect opinion prior to sending their comments to LCC. A letter was send to all households publicising these meetings and urging people to write letters of protest and giving the relevant addresses.

Nicky Ainscoe has agreed to be publicity officer to the campaign. A road side banner is being organised by Frisby Parish Council and “Stop the Pit” posters will be available by the end of the week. The Melton Times and Leicester Mercury have both run articles on the campaign and will send reporters to Wednesdays exhibition.

Joe Orson told the meeting that his and Nigel Angrave role was to ensure that everyone was aware of this proposal, had all the information available and knew how and where to state their views. They must listen to all sides of the argument. They had also sent a letter to all households urging them to get involved and have their say.

The Parish Council has received correspondence from LCC stating that the initial consultation period closes at 5pm on 6 October 2006. The final version of the Waste Management Framework will then be submitted to the Government for an independent public examination. There will be another period of public consultation conducted at the independent examination. This is expected to take place in early 2007 and adoption of the final framework is expected in April 2008. Hard copies of LCC reports have now been received.

Terry Fleming proposed that the Parish Council establish a fighting fund to cover expenses and it was agreed that an initial sum of £500 be set aside from funds.

Carole Clohesy has been given a copy of a conveyance document which contains a restrictive covenant dating from the 1950’s stating that the land purchased by LCC from the original landowner must only be used for educational purposes. Terry Fleming will give this to David Farrer for a legal opinion.

As various Councillors and the Clerk all have holidays between now and 6 October it was agreed that Terry, Sue, Diane and Nicky will meet after the exhibition to draw up the Parish Councils draft response.

3.3 New Notice board for Hoby: Jeff Rainbow did not want to undertake the work. Sue Miles knows a good local joiner and will ask him to quote. If he does not want to undertake the work then a board will be purchased from a commercial supplier

3.4 Alteration to bridge on road between Brooksby and Hoby: This work is almost complete and the road has reopened. LCC decided not to increase the height of the parapet.

3.5 Footbridge over River Wreake between Brooksby and Thrussington: Following the June meeting Melton and Oakham Waterways Society contacted Sue and Carole but repairs to the existing bridge remain prohibitively expensive. Footings for the new bridge have been pegged out. It will be bigger to allow disabled access. Work is expected to start in October and the Parish Council will be kept informed of progress.

3.6 Proposed Caravan Park at Brooksby Road Hoby: the Parish Council has had sight of an e mail from the Camping and Caravanning Club stating that they have decided not the grant the owners a CL license. The Planning Enforcement Officer at Melton Borough Council has stated that the owners in fact need planning permission for the work they have already carried out to the bridge and field entrance. He has written to them informing them of this and will keep the Parish Council informed of progress.

Terry Fleming told the meeting that Melton Planning Department and LCC Highways Department had been fully aware of the work the owners were doing but did not take any action. He requested that the Parish Council write to the Planning department and to the Highways Department to lodge the Parish Councils concern at the lack of enforcement action.

3.7 Hay store on Brooksby Road Hoby: The enforcement officer has confirmed that the metal container breaches the planning permission granted and has written to the owners requesting removal or a planning application to keep it there. A planning application has been received that incorporates the container into the wooden hay store. The Parish Council registered concern at the retrospective nature of the application and have received a letter in response stating that it will still be subject to normal planning considerations.

3.8 Speeding on A607 Brooksby: In response to the Parish Councils letter following the March meeting, Leicestershire Constabulary monitored speeds along the 50mph section of the A607 between 15th and 17th May 2006. Vehicle count was 23,458 and mean speed recorded was 47.2mph. No further action will be taken.

Grazyna Whittaker drew the meetings attention to the Community Speed Watch Scheme. Ragdale would like to take part but the application has to be via the Parish Council. To take part, villages must collect 200 signatures or for small villages signatures from 20% of the population. The Council agreed that if Ragdale can organise the required signatures the Parish Council will apply on their behalf.

3.9 Statement of Consultation on Village Envelopes: In view of the large number of representations received, the Borough Councils MLDF Task Group has decided to organise a programme of meeting to deal with them. They will take place before the end of the year and the Chairman and the local ward councillor will be invited to attend.

4.  Leicestershire County Planning, Electronic consultation: LCC’s pilot programme was noted.

5.  Local flood Warden Scheme: The Parish Council has been invited by the Environment Agency to consider introducing a flood warning plan and flood warden scheme as our parish boundaries fall within the flood plan. Mike Tilling pointed out that the majority of property within the villages is on high ground. The Council declined the invitation.

6.  Bus Service Changes: The Parish Council has been informed that Hoby will loose its hourly bus service in the New Year. Certain buses are not viable because they have so few passengers. Although no details of the new timetable are available it is likely that the under used times will disappear and the well used times will stay.

7.  Financial Matters: The councillors reviewed the cash flow up to 31 August 2006 and noted that finances were in good order but spending on electricity may go slightly over budget if there were further tariff rises.

8.  Planning Application since the last meeting: See attached. Since this list was issued approval has been granted to 8 Hoby Road Ragdale and Brooksby Melton College for the disabled access work.

Carole noted that Mr Stirton had been sent a letter of reassurance by Brooksby College that the avenue of chestnut trees would not be removed to make way for the new path, which is part of the work on improving disable access. The meeting was told that none of the trees on Brooksby College land are subject to preservation orders. The clerk will alert the tree warden to this situation

9.  Correspondence: Various correspondence not requiring action was noted by the meeting

The meeting noted Anne Giles thank you letter.

The Mayor of Melton would like to visit our villages during his period of office. The councillors agreed that he should be invited to the public meeting dealing with Brooksby landfill on 22nd September.

Mr Hamdorff the MD of Ragdale Hall has invited a member of the Parish Council to have a guided tour of the Spa. Carole will represent the Council and will liaise directly with Ragdale Hall on this.

10. Any Other Business: Terry Fleming has been advised by a number of Hoby residents that two cars had been racing at considerable speed through the village in the early hours of Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Several people had phoned the police asking for assistance. On Monday morning several residents had contacted Police Constable Caroline Round.

Note: During the meeting one of these cars raced along Main Street, lost control just beyond the junction with Church Lane, hit the Church wall and crashed in a car parked outside Rose Villas. Residents restrained the 3 passengers until the police arrived, the driver ran off towards Ragdale and was arrested later. No one was injured but the car that was hit suffered considerable damage. It is understood that the youths live in Leicester. If the other car returns residents must phone the police immediately.

11. Open Questions:

Jean Morris asked the Parish Council to investigate the positioning of the sign for the Methodist Chapel that has recently been erected at the junction of Chapel Lane and Main Street. It is very close to the Manor Farm hedge, it may well be on Manor Farm land and prevents proper hedge cutting. The sign had been erected in accordance with proper procedure but the Clerk will write to the highways department asking them to look into the matter.

Jean Morris asked if anything could be done about cars parked in the street when the owners have ample off street parking. Parking was permitted in Hoby and the Council felt that nothing could be done about it.

Jean Morris asked if the Council could look into the regulations governing firework displays as fireworks were going off at Brooksby College at 11pm at night. The clerk will investigate and write to the college if they have breached regulations.

Jean asked the meeting to note that there had been attempted burglaries of sheds in Frisby.

Liz Buxton enquired about the cutting regime for the verge next to the footpath on Brooksby Road as this was looking very unkempt. A cutting regime had been agreed with Melton Council and the Clerk will look into this. The meeting noted that wild flower verges are cut twice a year, in early spring and in late summer when the wild flower seed has dropped.

Sandra Danahar asked if anything could be done about cars speeding down Thrussington Road. Terry has spoken to the Community Support Officers about this and they are willing to attend with a speed gun. If this shows that speeding is a problem, the police will then conduct a survey. Terry will contact them again.

Sandra asked if residents could do anything themselves and was referred to the Community Speed Watch Scheme.

12. Date of Next Meeting: Monday 4 December 2006.