None on known agenda items.

3. Public Participation

Mr Steve Tainton, of Dragonflyer Mobility Ltd, gave a presentation explaining how car clubs operate, and how such a club might work in Wrington. The objective of a car club is to reduce overall car use and to make a car available to those who only require one for occasional use, thus avoiding the costs of car ownership. Membership of the club is free, and open to people aged between 21 and 75. The cost of hiring is £4 per hour, which includes 40 free miles, with additional mileage costing 12p per mile. Bookings can be made on line, and administration is carried out by Dragonflyer. A number of car clubs are operating in the area, and one is about to be launched in Yatton, supported by Yatton Parish Council.

The main requirement for a car club is a central and reasonably secure permanent parking place, and Steve explained that he was hoping that the Parish Council would be able to identify such a place. There was a brief discussion, which concluded that a space could be made available in the Memorial Hall car park.

It was proposed by Cllr Irving, and seconded by Cllr Matthews, that Dragonflyer should be asked to set up a car club in Wrington on the basis described by Steve Tainton. All were in favour of the proposal. Steve thanked the Parish Council for their endorsement, and said that he would now make the necessary arrangements. He then left the meeting.

4. The Minutes of the Meeting held on 20th August 2008 were reviewed and signed as a true record.

6a Police Report: it was agreed to take this item next, as PCSO Yvette Jordan was in attendance. A breakdown of reported offences had been circulated immediately prior to the meeting. It was noted that problems are occurring because people travelling from Bristol International Airport are parking their cars in various parts of the parish and leaving them there while away on holiday. There have been incidents of such cars having their tyres let down. Yvette explained that as long as the cars are parked legally, there is no action that the police can take, and it is the case that interfering with a vehicle is an offence. A number of incidents of thefts from vehicles in car parks in the area adjacent to the airport have also been reported.

Yvette reported that she had been able to attend some of the activities held during Wrington Youth Week in August, and is now establishing a good relationship with Wrington School, whereby she is able to go into the playground at any time and this helps to build up contacts with the pupils.

The Chairwoman thanked the PCSO for her report and she left the meeting at this point.

5. Correspondence

a. Countryside Alliance – Best Rural Retailer competition: letter received inviting nominations and/or promotion of the competition. It was agreed to contact the Countryside Alliance to request publicity material that could be circulated to local businesses.

b. Plastic bag use: a letter had been received from Cllr Yamanaka, in her District Councillor role, regarding the use of plastic bags and encouraging parishes to run campaigns to reduce the number of bags in circulation. It was noted that a number of retailers in the parish already use biodegradable packaging. It was agreed to write to Bristol International Airport requesting that retailers at the airport should avoid the use of plastic bags where practicable. Cllr Dunn Morua also suggested asking the airport to carry out a further litter clearance around the airport area.

c. Village of the Year Competition: the Clerk read out a brief report from Jeremy Birkett, including the judge’s comments which had been provided as feedback. The comments were not felt to be very helpful, as they focussed entirely on the appearance of the village, rather than the overall ethos of the community. It was agreed to write a letter to the organisers asking for clarification of the criteria, and for feedback on the community involvement element of Wrington’s entry.

6. Reports

a. Police Report: taken earlier in the meeting.

b. Clerk’s Report and Financial Report: The Clerk’s report had been circulated previously. The Financial Report, circulated at the start of the meeting, was received and the following payments were approved:

E Wrest – village orderly (6 months) £425.00
S Arrowsmith - village orderly - August £96.00
Connaught Environmental (dog bins) £70.50
Clerk’s salary September – to be calculated

Invoices to be set against Memorial Hall grant:

Uphill Building Contractors £3,561.43 inc VAT (Stage/Backstage renovations)
Backwell Carpets – backstage flooring £1,500.00 inc VAT

c. Working Groups

i. Finance – Cllr Gallop said that a meeting is to be set up for early October.

ii. Highways – Cllr Matthews reported that he is currently working through the GBSTS report. A meeting is scheduled with PC Tacchi to discuss the yellow lines in Broad Street. Later in the week, accompanied by Cllr Irving, he is due to visit Chudleigh in Devon, where work on a shared space project is just starting. NSC has identified Mr Frank Cox as the Parish Council’s contact on shared space issues, and a meeting is to be held with him shortly. Cllr Yamanaka said that she had been contacted by a resident who has a farm adjacent to the A38 and is concerned about the speed of traffic coming down the hill when slow farm vehicles are turning onto the road. It was agreed that a warning sign would be appropriate, and the Clerk is to contact Frank Cox accordingly.

iii. Airport – Cllr Matthews had circulated a report of a recent meeting with airport personnel. Cllr Bigg commented that it was disappointing that a planning application had been submitted within a few days of the meeting, and this had not been mentioned.

iv. Environment: nothing to report at present. Cllr Bigg and Cllr Irving will be meeting to finalise the copy for the Parish Plan.

v. Emergency Planning: Cllr Thorn had circulated a report of the initial meeting of the group which was held on 12th September. The main issue is to establish the principle of a ‘duty officer’ who would hold a mobile phone for 24-hour contact in case of emergency. This would involve a rota of people who would be willing to remain close to the area during their period of duty.

Some members felt they would not be able to participate in this, due to work and other commitments, and this was recognised, although they could make themselves available overnight or at weekends.

It was agreed that more people would be required than those on the Parish Council, in order for the system to be viable. Cllr Thorn will therefore produce an item for the next available copy of the Wrington Journal, inviting volunteers to come forward.

d. District Councillor’s report

A written report had been circulated previously by Cllr Yamanaka, and this was received. Cllr Yamanaka reported that she had attended the South Area Committee earlier in the evening, and was able to provide feedback on the planning application for the Richard Garage site. She had asked for the number of dwellings to be reduced from nine to seven, to allow space to be provided for refuse collection, etc., but this had been unsuccessful. However, the proposed entrance gates, which the Parish Council had objected to, had been dropped. Otherwise the application had been passed. Cllr Glynn commented that many of the points raised by the Parish Council had been included in the conditions. A drainage scheme will also have to be agreed prior to the development taking place.

7. Flooding issues – update on present position

Mark McGregor, Parish Liaison Officer, explained that the contract of the consultants originally engaged, Johnston Smith Ltd, had been terminated. NSC had decided that the survey of Wrington needs to be carried out over a larger geographical area, and this will require additional funding, which will have to be agreed by Cllr Elfan ap Rees.

It was generally agreed to be very disappointing that the work by Ted Smith had been stopped, and in particular that the Parish Council had not been informed of this decision by NSC. Cllr Yamanaka suggested that a letter should be written to David Turner at NSC expressing the Parish Council’s concern and this was agreed. Mark McGregor suggested that Paul Croft be invited to attend a meeting with the Parish Council to explain the position, and it was agreed to arrange this.

8. Rights of Way

The Clerk reported that the Rights of Way section at NSC had confirmed that the land where the footpath runs between Lawrence Road and School Road is now owned by North Somerset Housing. A response is awaited from North Somerset Housing, but if they have no objection, it should be possible to have the footpath registered.

9. Local Aggregate Levy Sustainability Grant

Details of the grant and the criteria had been circulated previously. A major constraint is that any proposed project must be completed and paid for within the current financial year, ie. by 31st March 2009. This allows very little time for a new project to get off the ground.

Cllr Glynn suggested reviving a previous project to improve footpaths in the parish, as this would require minimal work to prepare an application, which must be submitted by 13th October. Cllr Berkley felt that this could work well alongside a project that is being undertaken by the Venture Scouts. Cllr Matthews proposed that an application should be submitted as suggested, and this was agreed.

10. Consultations

a. Draft South West Regional Spatial Strategy – comments on proposed changes

Cllr Glynn agreed to draft a submission for consideration at the next Planning Committee meeting.

b. Review of Civil Parish Boundaries

Following consideration at the previous meeting, it was agreed that the position with regard to Downside Road being divided between two parishes was unsatisfactory, and that it would be desirable for dwellings on both sides of the road to be in one parish. This could be either Wrington or Backwell, but as there are often airport-related issues in this area, it would be sensible if it were to be included in Wrington Parish.

It was agreed that the Clerk should respond to the consultation accordingly, and also contact the Clerk of Backwell Parish as a matter of courtesy. The deadline for comments is 24th September.

c. Street Café/Outdoor Seating Licensing

The Clerk reported that NSC are considering a system of licensing for outdoor seating, and are inviting comments on the proposals. After discussion, it was agreed not to make any comment on this.

11. Open Forum

* The Chairwoman outlined the efforts that are being planned to achieve better representation from the NE Ward, and encourage residents from that area to take the vacant places on the Parish Council. This will take the form of a flyer to be delivered to houses in NE Ward, and also an entry in the St Katharine’s magazine. Cllr Glynn commented that a number of issues will be coming forward in the near future that particularly affect that part of the parish.

* Cllr Thorn said that he would need to take a new set of photographs of Parish Council members, as the previous ones had been lost. It was agreed to do this prior to the next Planning Committee meeting.

* Cllr Thorn reported from the Patient Practice Partnership that the doctors at Wrington Surgery are now considering building only one surgery to cover both Wrington and Churchill/Langford, possibly siting this in a central area.

* Cllr Phillips said she had been approached by the Goblin Combe Centre, who can provide people to work on environmental issues. The contact is Andrew Tandy, and it was suggested possibly inviting him to speak at a future meeting.

There being no other business the meeting was declared closed at 10.15 pm.