MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CATERHAM VALLEY PARISH COUNCIL
(INCORPORATING VALLEY AND HARESTONE WARDS) MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY
11TH DECEMBER 2013 AT THE SOPER HALL, HARESTONE VALLEY ROAD, CATERHAM
Attendees:Cllr. M Lincoln – ChairmanCounty Cllr. S Marks
Cllr. P Roberts
Cllr. J Servant
Cllr. M Dean
Mrs M Gibbins – Clerk
AGENDA – PART 1
1.Apologies for absence
Parish Cllrs. J Gaffney and M Jones, DistrictCllrs. J Ingham, J Caudle, M Cooper and B Connolly.
2.Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interest: To receive any disclosure by members of
personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interests, and whether the member regards the interest to be prejudicial under the terms of the new Code of Conduct. Members are reminded of the need to repeat their declaration immediately prior to the commencement of the item in question. Anyone with a prejudicial interest must, unless an exception applies, or a dispensation has been issued, withdraw from the meeting.
There were none.
3.Public Participation – issues raised by members of the public.
A representative from the Caterham and District Horticultural Society attended the meeting and
gave a brief report on the years activities. The society has set up a facebook page and has
many followers. A request was made for continued sponsorship which the Parish Chairman
would be discussed later in the meeting. The representative left a copy of the audited accounts
with the Clerk.
A few residents from Harestone Valley Road and HarestoneDrive attended the meeting to raise
further concerns regarding the planning application for the former Marie Curie site in Harestone
Drive. The new planning application is still overdevelopment of the site and does not comply
with the Harestone Valley Design statement. The Independence Homes proposed buildings
are 50% bigger than exisiting buildings. Density of site is very close to the upper end
recommended under the Core Strategy. Access to properties is via a car park which is also
not acceptable. There are no refuse areas shown or areas for the plant equipment for heating.
The residents requested possible funding for the legal process however the Parish Councillors
agreed they do not wish to set a precedence for future applications.
A resident from the Valley area attended for information.
4. Reports Part 1
4.1County Councillor’s Report
County Councillor Marks reported that the parking restrictions and recommendations will be considered
at Local Committee on Friday 13th December and all comments pertaining to the report should be
submitted to her prior to that date. Parish Councillors agreed to communicate their views. The Chairman
highlighted the issues pertaining to Tillingdown Lane.ALL
Councillor Marks stressed that the recommendations are the most that can be done and may be altered
or reduced however they could be no increase on what had been circulated. The full list can be
seen at the attached link.
Councillor Marks highlighted that the issue of inappropriate HGV’s on smaller roads is being tackled
however this needs to connect with SatNav organizations.
The Soper Hall lottery has been launched and all encouraged to join. Congratulations to all for
the success of the Christmas lights switch on in Croydon Road.
A new grit bin has been installed at the bottom of Beechwood Gardens.
4.2District Councillors’ Report
There were no District Councillors present.
5.Planning
5.1Current Planning
The Following planning applications to be discussed at the Council Meeting on Wednesday
11th December 2013.
Applications acknowledged as valid Monday 4thNovember – Friday 8th November 2013
TA/2013/1557/TPOBishams Court, Church HillCase Officer: Mr A Durkin
TPO 24 (C & W) – Reduce row of Lawson Cypress (GI) to height of approx. 4.5m. Reduce 2 Lawson
Cypress (G2) to height of 5m. Prune back Wych Elm (T3) to clear building by 3m. Reduce height of row
of Lawson Cypress (G4) to height of approx 6m.Leave to arboculturist
Applications acknowledged as valid Monday 11thNovember – Friday 15th November 2013
TA/2013/1604/TPO1 Harestone DriveCase Officer: Mr A Durkin
TPO 3 (C & W) – Cut back 2 Yew trees to leave 2m clearance from building.Leave to arboculturist
TA/2013/159931 Markville GardensCase Officer: Mr W Spencer
Erection of single storey side and rear extensionNo Comment
TA/2013/157050 Church WalkCase Officer: Ms M Taylor
Installation of air conditioning unit to rear elevation No Comment
Applications acknowledged as valid Monday 18thNovember – Friday 22nd November 2013
TA/2013/1669Land rear of 11a and 15 Crescent RoadCase Officer: Ms V Riddle
Variation of condition 5 of planning permission TA/2012/666 for the layout of driveway and parking to
be varied to meet parking and turning standards. Decking area to be added to provide level area for
wheelchair use. No Comment
TA/2013/1477131 Weald WayCase Officer: Mrs S Field
Erection of double bay garage, formation of hardstanding and patio and widening of existing entrance.
No Comment
TA/2013/1400381 Stafford RoadCase Officer: Mr W Spencer
Erection of single storey extension to rear elevation No Comment
Applications acknowledged as valid Monday 25th November – Friday 29th November 2013
TA/2013/1598Former Marie Curie HospiceCase Officer: Mr T James
Harestone Drive
Apartment building comprising of 24 apartments of 12x2 bed apartments and 12x1 bed apartments, a 14
bed care home, 3 terraced houses (1x2 bed and 2x3 bed) A detached 5 bedroom house and an office
building for support staff. Clerk to précis and circulate
Independence Homes have failed to overcome the inspector's objections to the part of the site with the care home and office block having an "urban" feel. The office block is horrendous - the design inappropriate and out of character and an overdevelopment of the site; this application does not respect the Harestone Design guidance or the site DPD. There is a reduction from the previous rejected scheme from 20 to 14 rooms in the care home, but this still only translates into a reduction of 12% in floor area and the new proposals are still a massive 112% increase on the present buildings on the site and a footprint much larger than existing buildings.
The residents at the top end of Loxford Way are most severely affected by the new proposals and the changes Independence Homes have made to the eastern part of the site. This largely arises from the greatly increased volume and floor area of the Care building and offices to Rose Cottage and the temporary offices that are on site at present. The Inspector supported this argument in his refusal on the previous scheme albeit that the Care Home was then in a different location than is now being proposed. It was not right in the previous scheme and it is most certainly not right in the new scheme. Rose Cottage was not a Care home but was a nurse’s home; the estimates regarding vehicular movements during the life of the hospice is far too high. There is no provision for the siting of refuse bins or plant machinery.
This is one of the last important sites in Harestone Valley and how it is developed will have a lasting effect on the Valley. It should be remembered as is now clear from the application documents and became clear on the previous application, this is not about epileptic care or Independence Homes being nice people or not, it is a straight forward speculative application for residential, B1a Offices and C2 Residential Institution. Once planning is granted it can be used by anyone for uses within these catagories now and into the future.
TA/2013/17186A Aldercombe LaneCase Officer: Miss S Milne
Conversion of existing garage to habitable space and erection of new double garage.No Comment
TA/2013/150573 Croydon RoadCase Officer: Mrs S Field
Change of use from A1 retail to include A1 retail, hair & beauty No Comment
Applications acknowledged as valid Monday 2nd December – Friday 6th December 2013
TA/2013/158132 Croydon RoadCase Officer: Ms M Taylor
Erection of retaining wall and raised platform to form car parking area at the end of the rear garden.
(Retrospective) Leave to Officers
TA/2013/176151 Dome HillCase Officer: Mr Robin Evans
Erection of two storey rear extensionNo Comment
All planning applications including supporting documents and plans can be viewed at the Caterham Valley Library and on the Tandridge Planning website on:
. Just log on and follow the instructions.
5.2Planning Appeals
TA/2013/878 – 3 Godstone Road
5.3Planning Decisions by TDC
TA/2013/13317 Weald WayCLOPUD – PP NOT REQUIRED
Erection of two storey rear extension
6.Minutes of the previous meeting held on 13th November 2013 were agreed and signed as a true record.
7.Reports
7.1Clerk’s Report – Part 1 for action
•Christmas Lights feedback - clerk read feedback from CllrJones .a meeting to be
held to discuss the pros and cons of the format and plan for 2014.
Christmas market and other events.Clerk to write letter of thanks to all
contributors of raffle prizes and all traders who helped on the day.Clerk
•Newsletter –distributed in last edition of the Caterham Independent. The
next copy to be planned for March/April 2014
•Notice Boards –to be kept up to date. New notice boards being erected over the
school Christmas holiday.
Part 2 for information
8 January 2014Parish Council Meeting - Soper HallALL
12 FebruaryParish Council Meeting – Soper HallALL
12 MarchParish Council Meeting – Soper HallALL
9 AprilParish Council Meeting – Soper HallALL
6 MayAnnual Parish Meeting – Soper HallALL
14 MayParish Council Meeting – Soper HallALL
11 JuneParish Council Meeting – Soper HallALL
9 July Parish Council Meeting – Soper HallALL
13 AugustParish Council Meeting – Soper HallALL
10 SeptemberParish Council Meeting – Soper HallALL
8 OctoberParish Council Meeting – Soper HallALL
12 NovemberParish Council Meeting – Soper HallALL
10 DecemberParish Council Meeting – Soper HallALL
7.2Chairman’s Report
Chairman attended the Rose and Young meetingheld at Soper Hall. Lot of discussion including suggestion of a hotel. One resident commented on their sadness at the demise of Caterham Valley.
Attended the Annual parish seminar at TDC. Clerk has circulated presentation slides to all the Parish Councillors.
Attended and assisted with the switch on of the Christmas lights
7.3Parish Councillors’ Reports
Cllr. Jones attended the switch on of the Christmas lights
Cllr. Roberts attended the switching on of the Christmas lights
Cllr. Dean attended the switch on of the Christmas lights
Cllr. Servant attended the switch on of the Christmas lights and the Steering Group meeting.
Cllr Geoff Duck was present at the Parish Council meeting and updated the Parish Councillors
that all reports should be completed by the end of January. There is a working session on
11th January to undertake environmental sustainability appraisals.
8.Finance
8.1Payment of Accounts – The following cheques to be signed at the meeting
Knights Garden CentrePlanters maintenance£ 60.00
M GibbinsNet Salary/Office Allowance/Expenses£ 754.76
Fluffy FunCandy Floss/Face Painting£ 190.00
M B GibbinsExpenses£ 86.98
Downlands TrustAnnual Subs£ 15.00
Caterham PublishingDistribution of newsletter£ 105.00
Soperhall Community CtreNovember Hall hire£ 20.00
Surrey County Playing FieldsAnnual Fee£ 10.00
Ridge radioChristmas Lights switch on expenses£ 36.96
Soper hall community December Hall hire£ 20.00
8.2Review of Expenditure – November 2013 (already circulated)
8.3Other Financial Matters – Budget 2013/14 was approved and the precept being increased to
£55,000 was agreed.
The councillors discussed the request by Caterham and District Horticultural Society for funding and agreed to increase the donation to £100.
9. Correspondence – to be noted but all documents available for the meeting
Meeting closed at 2100
MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS CAN BE VIEWED ON THE CATERHAM VALLEY PARISH COUNCIL WEBSITE.