Spaxton Parish Council – Meeting MINUTES

Minutes of the meetings held on Monday 8 May 2017 at 8pm at Aisholt & Merridge Village Hall

Members present: The Chairman – Simon Stretton, Di Wilson, Chris Knight, Bruce Porter, Carol Harmon, Robert Adcock, Pete Williams, Alan Cable and David Jeanes.

County and District Councillors present: none.

Members of the public present: none.

1. Apologies for absence: Cllrs. M Caswell and J Pay, Josh Schwieso.

2. Dispensation requests: none.

3. The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 April 2017 were approved and signed.

4. Matters arising:

·  Parish Plan: Simon Stretton had discussed this at some length with Ashcott PC, who explained that the project had proved to be far larger and more costly than anticipated – some £15k in all. Nevertheless, they felt it was an exercise worth doing for the additional planning legislation that it conferred, although this had yet to be put to the test.

After some discussion it was felt that possibly an update to Spaxton’s Village Design Statement might adequately fit the bill, although it was decided to pursue the option of grant funding with Somerset Community Council and invite Esther Carter to the June meeting to discuss local housing needs and the forthcoming Spaxton survey.

5.  Reports: SALC: QHJAC: Parish Cluster: Hinkley Point SSG (as appropriate) – nothing to report.

6. Financial items:

·  None, as no bank statements had been received for reconciliation since the April 26 meeting.

·  There were no payments to confirm.

7. Planning items:

Applications decided since last meeting: as per the published agenda.

New applications:

45/16/00027 Mrs J Sapey, change of use of annex to holiday let at The Woods, Road through Lower Merridge, Lower Merridge – no observations.

8. Correspondence received: the PC had been approached by Bridgwater Town Council for assistance in manning the water points in Spaxton for The Forces March on 26 May. Members wished to help, and Carol Harmon felt that she could probably be available. A small budget of £50 was allocated for the purchase of snacks for the runners, such as bananas and chocolate.

9. Matters of report and items for the next meeting:

·  It was stated that Tim Roe had given a presentation to the Nether Stowey Probus meeting regarding various pipeline proposals that might possibly alleviate traffic concerns. Members felt that any such measures could be very welcome, and looked forward to hearing more at an appropriate time.

·  Simon Stretton agreed to check the SDC website periodically for planning applications during the clerk’s absence on holiday, so that none are missed.

10. Date & time of next meeting: Monday June 26, at 8pm at Spaxton Village Hall. The meeting closed at 8.36pm