Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Laugharne Township Community Council

held on Thursday11th January2017in the Millennium Hall, Laugharne.

Present:MayorI. John

Cllrs.D. Avery, P. Pearce, P. Jones, S. Brown,J. Bradshaw, R. Stevens

L. Brown & A. Thomas

ClerkChris Delaney

Public: A representative of the Laugharne Newsletter was present.

1 / Apologies
Cllr. D. Gunther,
2 / Disclosures of personal interest
There were none.
3 / (a) / Approval of the Minutes of the last Ordinary Meeting – 14/12/2017
The minutes wereagreed as a true record.
(b) / Matters Arising from the Minutes
12/10/2017
Other matters
Members expressed further concern about the changes in the surgery and the lack of response to invitations to attend a meeting. The clerk was asked to pursue this further.
04/12/2017
5d) Members were shown a number of potential designs for a sign banning motor homes from the car park. The design was agreed and also the time frame for the ban from 20.00 – 06.00. Four signs would be ordered.
4 / Accounts for payment and a note of income received
Payments
2419
2420
2421
2422
2423
2424
Total / CJD Salary Dec.
CJD Office Costs Dec.
HMRC
JRB Dog Bin & Bags
R. Thomas
Avery Electrics / £
£
£
£
£
£
£ / 369.57
40.00
92.40
507.60
420.00
576.00
1985.57
Income
Precept £ 9666.17
Total Income £ 9666.17
Balances31stDecember 2017
Current account £ 19070.71
Reserve Account £ 663.52
Gratuity £ 1239.07
Total £ 20,973.30
5 / Policy issues
(a)
b)
(c)
d)
e) / Planning
W/36559 Extension to Ant’s Hill Caravan Park.
Members discussed this further and were shown photographs of the site both before and after the clearance of the trees. In addition they had received copies of objections from residents, which had been sent to CCC planning. Following a lengthy and detailed discussion, it was agreed that the council would object to the development on the basis that; the trees were a sight and sound barrier and should be replanted,there would be increased traffic on the junction with the main road and pedestrian access from the site into the township was dangerous, and the proposal involved an extension into adjacent agricultural land and was therefore in breach of the policy for this type of site in the LDP.
W/36558 Construction of a writer’s studio and workshop, The Ball, Victoria Street.
This was discussed further and members raised a number of issues about the size and height of the building, which incorporates a bathroom and appears more substantial than a studio workshop. Effectively it could be seen as a separate dwelling.It was felt that because of the scale of the building it would impact on the conservation area and location, so should be designed in this context and be subject to the same constraints. The clerk was asked to convey these views to CCC.
W/36653Mapsland. Change of use of an existing ancillary building to a granny annex
Members had no issues with this application
Community Award
The clerk showed members a design for a certificate, which was approved with amendments. The clerk was asked to also approach the Ferryman as a possible venue for the presentation.
Budget Monitoring
The clerk present accounts up to the end of December 2017. These showed an expenditure of £25111 with income of £37801. However no further income was expected and there were still expenditure commitments. It was anticipated that there would be a small surplus of income over expenditure at the end of the year.
Precept and Budget 2018/2019
LTCC Draft Budget 2018 - 2019
Expenditure Heading / Budget
Admin / 8000
Street Lights / 3500
Foreshore / 4500
Grants / 6600
Chair’s allowance / 2000
Christmas / 2800
Dog & bins / 2500
Seats / 500
Planters / 2100
Tourism / 0
Other/Misc / 200
Vat / 2000
Total / 34200
Income
Interest / 5
Misc / 200
Car boot / 1800
Foreshore Assets / 3500
VAT / 2229
Total / 7734
Net Budget / -26,466
Precept / 29,533
The tax base figure for 2018/19 given by CCC was £552.75. Members felt that it was necessary to increase the precept slightly to maintain reserves at an appropriate level. It was agreed that the Band D rate should be raised to £53.43, an increase of £1 to generate a precept of £29533.43.
Co-option
Two applications had been received from Ms. Julie Hutton and Mr. Morgan Lewis. It was agreed that they would be interviewed and an appointment made at the start of the February meeting.
6 / For information
(a) / Reports on Groups and Meetings
There had been no meetings.
(b) / Clerk’s Report
The clerk informed members that DŵrCymru would be replacing a pipe under the car park leading to the treatment works before the end of March. He had met the officer and contractor involved and the work would be carried out with a minimum of disturbance and the car park made good.
(c) / County Councillor’s Report
Cllr. Tremlettinformed members that consultation on the new Local Development Plan (LDP)would start soon. She outlined a partnership project between CCC, Hywel Dda Health Board and Dyfed Powys Police which was supporting the Alzheimer Society’s Dementia Friends initiative. The idea is to raise awareness and create dementia friendly communities through attending an hour long briefing session. She asked members to attend the sessions planned and members volunteered to do this.
Other matters
  1. The clerk was asked to contact a contractor to dig a small channel to drain water ponding on the foreshore path.
  2. Members were still concerned that contractors with large vehicles were still accessing the Season’s site and felt that there should be notice given to residents to allow time for cars to be moved and disruption limited. It was felt that there should be more cooperation with the community.
  3. Members were pleased with the Christmas lights and event and all involved were thanked.
  4. It was agreed that the slipway should be marked out in order to prevent it being blocked by parked cars.
  5. The clerk was asked to contact CCC regarding more visits by enforcement officers tackling the dog waste issue.
  6. Welsh Government was consulting on the provision of public toilets and members were asked to visit the web site and complete the questionnaire.

The meeting closed at 9.15pm

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