MINUTESOFORDINARY MEETING

LANGSTONE COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Date: / 10 March 2014 / Time: / 7.00pm
Present / Cllr A Henderson (Chairman)
Cllr D Barradell
Cllr C Bryant
Cllr M Griffiths
Cllr G Hancock
Cllr T Jeffery
Cllr W Routley
Cllr P Verity Davies / In attendance
Apologies / Ms H K Jones (Clerk)
Cllr K Dew
Cllr Y Edwards
Cllr C Meredith
Cllr C Pike

ORDINARY MEETING

  1. Apologieswere received and accepted fromCllrs Dew, Edwards, Meredith and Pike.
  2. Declarations of Interests - No declarations of interest were made.

Due to the number of absences, the Council resolved to incorporate the business of the Council Committees into the Full Council Meeting.

Events & Amenities Committee

  1. Park End Play Area – inspection reports to be examined fully at next meeting. Details for signage required by contractor. Action GH
  2. Litter bins – 4 bins have been ordered from NCC. These will be sited according to Litter Defence Volunteers’ suggestions, at: bus stop near Lydia Beynon Gardens; Near shortcut exiting Priory Gardens; near Catsash Road bus stop; A48 lay-by between Hillcroft Garage and road leading down to The Glen. This will concentrate the current campaign on the A48 between the Coldra and Hillcroft Garage. A further 4 bins may be ordered provided NCC agree to empty them. Action HJ
  3. A bench is to be sited near the Village Hall bus stop provided NCC does not object.

A second bench may be sited near the Maplewood short-cut to the A48. Action GH

  1. Future events – A quiz is planned for April.

[Cllr Routley arrived at this point]

Finance Committee

  1. Financial Activity (1-28 February 2014)

The Committee noted the following payments and receipts:

Current Account Balance

Opening balance49,693.81

Closing balance 47,698.59

Receipts

03/01/14 Bank interest8.46

06/01/14 Cllr C Meredith300.00Donation re War Memorial

Scheduled Payments

06/01/14 BT58.78Telephone/Broadband

29/01/14 Clerk’s salary524.62Staff costs

The Committee noted and gave retrospective approval to the following payments made by the clerk using delegated authority:

100401 HK Jones re Currys249.99Projector

100402 G Hancock11.49Quiz prizes

100403 HK Jones re Staples44.42Ink & Stationery

100404 One Voice Wales349.00Membership fee

100405 NCC435.00Purchase of litter bins

The following payments were approved:

100406 Langstone Youth Group190.41LCAG – repayment of balance of funds

100407 Macmillan Cancer Care60.00Replace lost chq 100231 17/12/12

100408 K Roderick52.00Park inspections Feb 2014

Petty cash

Opening balance5.94

Cheques cashed57.10

Expenditure(16.00)

Closing balance 47.04

The balance of £47.04 matched the cash in the cash box.

  1. The budget report was not considered due to lack of time.

Planning Committee

  1. The Council noted that the following planning applications were dealt with by the Clerk using delegated authority:

Ref / Application / Address / Notes / Response to NCC
13/1226 / ERECTION OF DETACHED DWELLING AND GARAGE WITH ASSOCIATED ACCESS AND PARKING / Land To Rear Of Danesbury, Chepstow Road, Newport / No instruction from Cttee. No response to email. / No objection
13/0742 / PROPOSED RESTORATION OF AGRICULTUIRAL BUILDING FOR USE AS HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION / Treclover Cottage, Coed-y-caerau Lane, Kemeys Inferior, Newport, NP18 1JR / No instruction from Cttee. No response to email. / No objection
13/1239 / RECONFIGURATION OF DRIVE THRU LANES AND CAR PARK TO PROVIDE A SIDE-BY-SIDE ORDER POINT AND ASSOCIATED WORKS (AMEDNMENT TO PLANNING PERMISSION 13/0858) / Mcdonalds, Chepstow Road, Newport, NP18 2NX / No instruction from Cttee. No response to email. / No objection
14/0094 / RETENTION OF BOUNDARY FENCE TO WEST SIDE OF GARDEN / Priory View, 8 Silure Way, Langstone NP18 2LZ / No instruction from Cttee. No response to email. / No objection
  1. There were no planning appeals.
  2. The Council considered the following planning application:

Ref / Application / Address
14/0141 / DEMOLITION OF EXISTING GARAGE AND CONSERVATORY, CONSTRUCTION OF TWO STOREY SIDE EXTENSION, SINGLE STOREY REAR CONSERVATORY AND FIRST FLOOR ALTERATIONS INCLUDING EXTENSION OF EXISTING DORMER AND 1NO. NEW DORMER TO FRONT AND 2NO. NEW DORMERS TO REAR / Montrave, Catsash Road, Newport, NP18 2LZ
The Council had no objection to the planning application and felt that the plans represented an improvement to the visual impact of the building.

Full Council Meeting

  1. Previous Minutes
  2. Theminutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 10 Februarywere accepted as a true record and signed by the Chair withno amendments.
  3. The Clerk’s report was received and accepted for appending to the minutes.
  4. The minutes of the Finance,Planning and Events & Amenities Committee Meetings held on 10 Februarywere accepted as a true record, with one amendment to the attendees at the Amenities & Events Committee meeting, and subsequently signed by the Chairman.
  5. Gwent Police
  6. Police report for February 2014 not received prior to meeting.
  7. There was no police representation at the meeting.
  8. Training in use of the portable speed monitor arranged for13 March.Cllrs Jeffery, Bryant and the Clerk plan to attend along with one member of the public.
  9. No update available.
  10. Ian Johnston, Police Commissioner for Gwent, will attend April’s Council meeting. Councillors plan to raise the issue of generic police reports with him. It would be more useful if reports contained an update on the outcome of investigations as well as a list of incidents. Councillors to forward any other questions to the Clerk. Action ALL
  11. City Councillors
  12. The next NCC Ward Meeting to be held on 25/3/14 at St John’s Hall, Penhow. Police representatives will be there and may be able to provide an update on NATO Summit plans which may affect local residents.

Schoolchildren from Langstone School had attended a meeting with the Mayor in Newport.

Cllr Mogford had met with Llandevaud resident re flooding. Welsh Water has a map of “hotspots” andhas made some progress in the area.

  1. Issues to be raised with Cllr Mogford:
  2. Roadworks on A48 /Magor Road– There had been no forewarning of roadworks to LCC. Complaint re safety concerns was dismissive. If LCC were forewarned of works, Councillors could talk to residents. NCC does not operate Community Charter re communication and consultation.
  3. Operation to remedy damage to grass verges inadequate. Grass had been planted but not impacted so other vehicles driving on verges had further damaged the newly sown area.
  4. More visibility of dog-wardens and PCSOs needed in the evenings. New signs re penalties needed.
  1. Public Participation

No members of the public were present.

  1. Oak Court Estates

Mr Lindsay Williams gave an update on the position re Oak Court Estates. Plans are for a housing estate with a new village centre. The LDP inquiry starts on 1 April 2014. The Welsh Government will examine the LDP to determine its soundness. The Inquiry Agenda includes (on page 9 item 16) alternative housing sites at sites including Langstone. It is possible for the Inspector to instruct NCC to approve plans for specific sites. On Friday 9 May at 10am, representatives of Oak Court Estates plan to make a presentation to the Inquiry.

LCC’s village survey showed that most residents were against development of the Gorelands land. However, Oak Court Estates wishes to work with residents and LCC if permission is granted.

The Council noted that objections to any future planning applications would need to be on the basis of planning issues not emotions.

A copy of the village survey results to be forwarded to Mr Williams. Action HJ

  1. Village Plan

A booklet of the survey results has been produced together with a covering letter and supplementary questions on a separate sheet. These will be sent to residents via Royal Mail together with a Freepost reply envelope. Awaiting a revised quote from the printers.

  1. Litter
  2. Clerk to write to NCC to establish whether LCC has authority to impose fines for littering / dog-fouling, and also whether dog-wardens can patrol the area in the late evenings. Action HJ
  3. LCC now has 5 Litter Defence Volunteers. An article will be written for Community First to recruit more volunteers. Cllr Routley also volunteered. Cllr Barradell to obtain a litter picker tool for him. Clerk to purchase hi-vis vests with LCC logo.
  4. Projects
  5. Inter-generational IT learning in Langstone - Cllr Dew absent. She plans to speak to Langstone Seniors Group re working with young people
  6. First World War Centenary – The Working Party hadmet for the second time. A strong and sound application for funding from the Lottery Heritage Fund is needed. Formal permission to build a war memorial on LVH-owned land is required from LVH Trustees. Further potential sources of funding include the Armed Forces Community Covenant Fund. In order to qualify, LCC would need to sign an Armed Forces Community Covenant. NCC signed one in 2012. Letter to be written to establish whether LCC could “piggy-back” on NCC covenant. Action HJ
  7. Website improvements – Awaiting response to requirements from Vision ICT.
  8. Commemorative Boards

The Council agreed that the brass plaques on the LCC commemorative boards in the Kennett Room were illegible and that the plaques needed to be replaced. Research into options to be carried out by the Clerk and the Chairman. Action HJ / AH

  1. Data Protection Policy

The Council resolved to adopt the draft policy subject to 2 minor changes. Action HJ

  1. Correspondence

The Council noted correspondence from:

  • Howell’s School: declining to be involved in Langstone’s First World War Centenary project as the school will conduct its own project
  • Admiral Insurance: declining to sponsor a litter bin in Langstone
  • NCC: wildflower planting will be repeated on grass verges as in 2013. Suitable additional locations to be suggested were each end of Old Chepstow Road and the bus stop on Magor Road Action HJ
  • St Peter’s Hospital (formerly Llanbedr Court) – the Council extended thanks for the donation of £150 to sponsor a litter bin in Langstone
  1. Planning Application to erect Solar Voltaic Panels at Court Farm, Magor Road

The Council considered the location of the proposed solar farm and noted that access is likely to be a problem. The sunken lane (currently a footpath & bridle way) is the only existing access and would be inadequate for construction vehicles. The Council agreed that a public information meeting would be beneficial. Clerk & Cllr Griffiths to liaise re arranging meeting. Action HJ / MG

  1. Reports

i)GAVO-Cllr Pike not present.

ii)LVH Trustees Meeting -No report.

iii)Langstone Primary Governors Meeting -Cllr Bryant had attended lessons and breakfast club.

iv)NCC Liaison Meeting –No report.

v)One Voice Wales (OVW) -No report.

vi)Community First – Due to be printed next week and delivered soon after. This issue will contain a page on the First World War Centenary project.

vii)Planning Training – LCC needs to construct a “wishlist” of what is needed in Langstone to seek S106 funding from NCC. The Council resolved to create a costed list for priority spending on leisure facilities in Langstone.

  1. Training

i)The Council approved the attendance of the Clerk on a course organised by OVW at Undy on “Use of IT, website and social media”. The Council also approved the attendance of Cllr Routley on the same training course.

ii)Councillors were urged to consider attending future OVW training courses.

  1. Items for inclusion in next Agenda - none

There being no other business the meeting concluded at 21.50 with the date of the next ordinary meeting of the council being confirmed as Monday 14 April 2014.

Minutes of the Full Council Meeting 10 Mar 2014 Page 1