Stoke Trister with Bayford Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 10 January 2019
in Bayford Village Hall at 7.30pm
Public Forum:
Mr Millican and Mr MacFarlane made a presentation for revised building plans for Windmill Farm on Bayford Hill. They have made a reduced revised plan from having 150 dwellings to 90 dwellings. It is uncertain at this time how many houses will be sited within the Wincanton boundary and how many within Bayford. These units were to include affordable housing at 33% of the overall site. Mr MacFarlane suggested having a Public Meeting to show all interested parties and this will be arranged in the near future.
Mr Whitmarsh spoke about the reasons he was getting mail from the Council re his vehicles on the land in Riding Gate and also why there were complaints about this and also someone living in a mobile home on the site. The Chairman explained that the Parish Council had complaints from parishioners about this and consequently it was followed up by the Council. He also explained that it was no longer in the Parish Council’s hands and was under enforcement with SSDC.
Present: Cllrs: E Parsons (Chairman) N Linsley and J Macfarlane, M Grant and A Smith.
Clerk in attendance: Mrs P Gillman
Public: Mr Millican, Mr MacFarlane and Mr Whitmarsh.
56. Apologies – Cllrs: T MacCaw and M Summerfield.
57. Declarations of Interest – None
58. Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting of 8 November and 10 December and Planning Meetings of 2, 16 November and 14 December 2018
A resolution is sought to approve and sign the minutes as a true record
Proposed: Cllr. Linsley Seconded: Cllr. Parsons
59. Financial Matters
a. Statement of Account and bank reconciliation
b. Bank Balances 31 December 2018. A resolution is sought to accept the financial statement as at 31 December 2018. Stoke Trister & Bayford PC Current A/c £6474.16; Stoke Trister & Bayford PC Reserve A/c £7988.06; Leigh Common Savings A/c £5101.24.
c. A resolution is sought to sign the following cheques
Cheque No: 000457 Donation to Bayford Book 50.00 ®
Cheque No: 000459 Wessex Water 11.91 ®
Cheque No: 000460 Poppy Wreath 21.00 ®
Cheque No: 000461 Cancelled
Cheque No: 000462 Clerks salary, expenses & Council expenses 553.91
Proposed: Cllr Grant Seconded: Cllr Smith
60. Planning Matters
a. New Planning Matters
Planning Application No: 18/02838/FUL
Applicant: Mr & Mrs Davis
Location: Willow Tree Farm, Stoke Trister, Wincanton. BA9 8NQ
Proposal: Change of use to sui generis to include agricultural /equestrian and animal rescue charity. The erection of a building for use as a training centre for dog and cat grooming and in association with all elements of the rural enterprise.
Planning Application No: 18/03347/S73
Applicant: Mr & Mrs Davis
Location: Willow Tree Farm, Stoke Trister, Wincanton. BA9 8NQ
Proposal: Application to vary conditions 02 of approval 13/001459/FUL – occupancy.
Decision:
At a site planning meeting on 16 November 2018 Stoke Trister with Bayford Parish Council made the following observations.
The applicants, Mr and Mrs Davis, are applying for change of use to “sui generis to include agriculture/equestrian and animal rescue charity, and the erection of a building for use as a training centre in association with all elements of the rural enterprise at (Willow Tree Farm, Stoke Trister, BA9 8NQ). 18/03347/S73 They are also asking for the current occupation restriction on the dwelling on the property which is “limited to a person or mainly employed, or last employed, in the locality in agriculture …, or in forestry …, to be altered so as not to restrict occupation by any “rural worker”.
Stoke Trister with Bayford PC (STWB PC) were told by Mrs Davis that she intended to run a Pet Grooming business and Mr Davis would run a alpaca farming business.
Under South Somerset’s Local Plan 2006-2028 policy EP4 asks the question:-
1. Is the business needed in this location and if the nature and volume of traffic generated by the development would have a detrimental impact on the character or amenity of the area and would compromise the safety and/or function of the road network in terms of both volume and type of traffic it would not be allowed.
Willow Tree Farm is sited on a busy A road with a speed limit of 60 mph and with two difficult bends limiting visibility.
The applicants plan to run as one of the many businesses proposed on this site training courses for up to 30-40 students per year and in addition to employ 2 fulltime staff and 4 volunteers on a daily basis.
STWB PC do not consider this site suitable for the increased amount of traffic on a busy and dangerous road. The current owners in their previous application in 2013 received permission for parking 3 cars on site and it stated that they must be able to turn and not reverse onto the main road. There would be on average eight cars a day and more when the courses proposed by the applicants are running and if this application were approved turning would not be an option and reversing onto the main road would be inevitable and dangerous.
STWB PC do not consider this application qualifies under Policy EP5 Farm diversification. The previous “alpaca business†conducted at Willow Tree Farm is now defunct, and there is little evidence that alpaca farming nowadays on such a small acreage (approx 4 acres) could be made commercially viable. Pet Grooming on the other hand, which is what Mrs Davis said would be the main enterprise she would be wishing to start at this property, is not considered as agricultural use. The site is situated in a predominantly rural landscape and as such only limited development is allowed.
The new training centre structure envisaged in this application although quoted as being modest in size would be far larger than the existing barn on the site.
Stoke Trister with Bayford Parish Council accordingly unanimously recommends refusal of these applications.
Planning Application No: 18/03260/HOU
Applicant: Mr & Mrs N Perrott
Location: School House Farm, Bayford Lane, Stoke Trister.
Proposal: Demolition of outbuilding and the erection of a replacement building to be used as an annexe (revised application) – No objections.
Planning Application No: 18/03272/FUL
Applicant: Hopkins Estates Ltd
Location: Land OS 3969 Part Devenish Lane, Bayford, Wincanton
Proposal: The erection of three dwellings with ancillary works and new access.
Decision:
With reference to planning application 18/032772 on Land 0S3969 Part, Devenish Lane, Bayford for the erection of 3 dwellings with ancillary works and new access.
The site is on a narrow single track lane which according to local residents already suffers traffic stress on a regular basis from large delivery vehicles with no passing bays (other than by pulling into other residents front drives) and the only turning place being at the end of this no through lane. Local residents report that they already frequently have to back up as a result of meeting other traffic in the lane, and we would therefore challenge the assertions in the applicants’ Planning Statement that “The probability of two vehicles using the narrowest section of Devenish Lane at the same time is 1 in 289†and that “There are at least 5 passing places where in the unlikely event two vehicles meet travelling in the opposite direction.â€
Contrary to what is stated in the Planning Statement for this application the site is NOT within the boundary of the market town of Wincanton so all references on pages 11-24 of the planning statement are irrelevant. The land is in the rural settlement of Stoke Trister with Bayford where different housing criteria apply.
The development plan which applies to this application is one of a rural settlement (South Somerset Local Plan (2006-2028). The policy most relevant to this application is:-
SS2 which states that developments will be strictly controlled and limited to that which:-
Provides employment opportunities appropriate to the scale of the settlement, and/or
Creates or enhances community facilities and services to serve the settlement and/or
Meets identified housing need, particularly for affordable housing.
This application fails to fulfil any of the above requirements.
Moreover the scale and design of the proposed dwellings are totally inappropriate in our rural settlement.
We also note that the recent Wincanton town plan which was adopted by referendum earlier in the year, and has been independently verified by an impartial planning inspector and has been formally adopted by SSDC, clearly states the direction of growth should be away from Bayford not towards it.
In an Appeal Decision APP/R3325/W/17/3180025 Land OS 1200, Bayford Hill dated 9th January 2018 the Inspector appointed by The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government dismissed the developer’s appeal stating “Notwithstanding that LP Policy SS5 provides for the consideration of housing proposals adjacent to the development area, the proposed development would conflict with LP Policies SS1 and SS2â€.
We would also maintain that it is not the responsibility of Stoke Trister with Bayford parish (STWB) to fulfil the wider housing needs of the district but only to fulfil the housing needs sufficient to sustain its rural settlement.
Further, we would contend that as Policy SS2 relates to the sustainable development of rural settlements not the wider housing needs of the district, it does NOT necessarily become “out of date†with the rest of the Local Plan.
In view of the above, and in particular having regard to the fact that the development is clearly within the parish of Stoke Trister with Bayford and therefore the criteria that should be applied are those for rural settlements, the unanimous opinion of the Parish Council was to recommend refusal of this planning application. The boundary between Stoke Trister with Bayford and Wincanton should not be blurred.
Planning Application No: 18/03668/FUL
Applicant: Mr & Mrs Shane Scammell
Location: Riding Gate Cottage, Riding Gate, Stoke Trister, Wincanton. BA9 8NQ
Proposal: Conversion of barn to dwelling.
Decision:
At a Site meeting at the above application Stoke Trister with Bayford Parish Council made no objections to the initial application as it complies with the NPPF regulations regarding rural development. Councillors would however like to see the immediate area in front of the property softened with some gentle landscaping.
Councillors noted a barn within the curtilage owned by the applicant is being used as an extension to his business premises in Bennett’s Field Garages by doing mot testing. We would be concerned if there were plans to increase the workload at this site.
Councillors also noted a static caravan on the site which seemed well established with a small garden on the site and we question whether conditional on this caravan being removed once the habitation certificate has been granted.
There were no new planning matters
b. Outcome of planning matters already considered:
Planning Application No: 18/03422/COU
Applicant: Dr Robert Jones
Location: The Vale Centre, Manor Farm, Stoke Trister, Wincanton.
Proposal: The change of use of premises from cake making business (Use Class B1) to a photographic studio, sales and presentation, tuition and design. – Application permitted with conditions.
Planning Application No: 18/03260/HOU
Applicant: Mr & Mrs N Perrott
Location: School House Farm, Bayford Lane, Stoke Trister.
Proposal: Demolition of outbuilding and the erection of a replacement building to be used as an annexe (revised application) – No objections. – Application permitted with conditions.
d. Any other planning matters received since the agenda was prepared
Planning Application No: 18/02392/COL
Applicant: Mr Roger Perry
Location: Farmageddon, Bayford Lane, Stoke Trister, Wincanton.
Proposal: Application for a certificate of lawfulness for the existing use of the building for storage and distribution (Class B8) (Revised Application) – Permission refused.
Planning Application No: 18/01991/FUL
Applicant: Mr Chris Bellars
Location: Land at Sycamore Farm, Stoke Trister, Wincanton.
Proposal: The conversion of existing domestic storage building into a single dwelling and the erection of a car port. – We recommend refusal of this application since the applicant has not demonstrated that the proposal would meet the requirement of SS2 in the local plan. However, we understand that the barn conversion proposed would be for family use only and we would be sympathetic to this if a new application was made for conversion ancillary to the existing dwelling on the property. – No further information.
61. Highways
Cllr Smith reported some of the potholes in Bayford had been repaired also the drains had been cleaned out.
Cllr Macfarlane spoke about the altertation of the ROW in Devenish Lane stating that the boundary should not be changed. Cllr Linsley spoke about the email from Lauren Edlrid who in dealing with the ROW diversion. Clerk to contact Lauren Eldrid to an update on the ROW and a plan of the new diversion.
b. SID.
It was unanimously agreed not to have the yearly SID installation.
62. Footpaths
Cllr Grant has received paper from Taunton SCC stating he is officially the Footpaths Officer. He also reported a dangerous stile WN/28/22.
63. Riding Gate
As discussed in Public Forum
64. Defibrillator
Cllr Linsley has applied for an up to date price of a defibrillator. She also needs 2 people to do small tasks to do with the defibrillator which she has in mind at present.
65. Unicorn Inn
Clerk to contact Mark Warren for an update.
66. Precept
Chairman signed the Precept form.
Proposed: Cllr Linsley Seconded: Cllr Grant
67. Emergency Plan
It was unanimously agreed to insert Cllr Summerfield in place of Cllr Andrews on the Emergency Plan
68. Date of Next Meeting
14 March 2019
Meeting closed at 8.43pm
Chairman………………………………………………………………Date……………………