]PORT EYNON COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Draft – Unconfirmed
Minutes of Monthly Council Meeting held on
Monday 15th September 2014 at Port Eynon Village Hall.
The meeting commenced at 7:30 pm.
Present: Mr. G.Evans, Mr. R. Fisher, Mr. G. Jones, Mrs. L. Newland
Apologies for Absence: Mr. Tom Roderick. and Mrs. P. Pritchard.
In attendance: Mr. B. Stubbings (clerk),
Chair person: Cllr. Fisher chaired the meeting.
061/14. Declarations of Interest: None
062/14 Minutes of Last Meeting (July 2014):
The minutes were proposed to be accepted as a true record by Cllr. Evans, the proposal was seconded by Cllr. Jones and agreed by all. The minutes were then signed by the chairperson.
063/14. Matters Arising:
Jubilee Commemoration Bench Seats – Clerk reported that the three MMT bench seats had been placed at Vine Cottage, Port Eynon, Scurlage Green and Knelston Burial Garden. Clerk had obtained plaques to be affixed to the benches and this would be done as soon as possible. An order was still to be placed for a timber bench, Clerk advised that he had received a letter of appreciation from residents in Port Eynon.
Bus Shelters. Clerk advised that MMT bench seats, each 180 cm long, had been placed in each of the brick built bus shelters at Port Eynon, Overton and Llandewi Corner.. Cllr Evans advised that persons who use the bus shelter at Port Eynon had already expressed their appreciation.
Scurlage Green. Clerk to write and advise Sketty Housing Association (C&CS) of proposals for improvements to the green and to seek their assistance. Flower beds to be programmed for next spring. Clerk was requested to research names of local persons who could be included in a war memorial.
Defibrillators. Clerk advised that he had been in contact with Mr Hugh Jones who had arranged the grant funding obtained by Reynoldston Community Council and was awaiting details from him. Cllrs were advised that it would be necessary to have firm details on the location of each funded installation and whether it would rely on a mains supply of electricity.
Port Eynon Village Hall : Clerk was directed to write to the Village Hall management Committee to clarify the matters of ownership and management of the existing hall. Clerk should also request copies of insurance policies taken out by the management committee in respect of the hall building and hall activities. Cllr Newland advised that the management committee had identified a budget of £500,000 to £600,000 for a replacement hall building assuming nil land costs. Chair advised that he had obtained information from the Land Registry with regard to the areas of lane occupied by the hall and the present village green.. He would pass these to the Clerk.
Llandewi Hall – Council considered a second quotation for replacing the main window at the hall, It was agreed that a third quotation should be obtained if possible and pending this a sum of £1000 should be reserved for funding this work.
064/14. Finance:
Clerk advised that the bank balances were presently as follows:
Current Account £1,102
Savings Account £15,483
Knelston Burial Ground Account £675
In the past two months the Council had received a precept instalment of £1833 and had made payments as follows
268 Bench seats (3 no.) – £1,071
268 Bus shelter seats (3 no.) – £463
266 One Voice wales membership – £103
267 Port Eynon Village Hall – £200
269 Clerk – £800
270 St David’s Church £200
271 St Cattwg’s Church £200
The following funding commitments have been made:
Wooden bench seat (1 no) – £500
Replacement window at Llandewi hall – £1,000
Scurlage Green Improvements – £1,000
Defibrillators (3 no) – £3,000
Clerk advised that expenditure should be reserved for possible improvements to Port Eynon village green.
065/14. Planning:
From previous applications:
2014/0417 Monksland Road, Scurlage – 14 units of new housing.. Councillors had raised concern on the following-
The density of the development and the lack of provision of gardens.
The overlooking issues between the new units and the established properties in Salisbury Close; The reliance of soakaways for drainage which are sited below the ground water table;
The failure to acknowledge the flooding which had occurred for several years;
The extensive hard paving which would further exacerbate flooding;
The reliance on Monksland Road for access which is of substandard width and already suffers from parking and access problems;
The loss of seven existing communal car park spaces which would exacerbate current difficulties; The lack of parking spaces within the planned development;
The failure of similar developments to provide long term social housing as they had been purchased and sold on the open market, most often for holiday homes.
Council were unanimous in recommending that planning approval should not be given until these issues had been addressed. Decision pending.
[ Chair advised that revised plans had been submitted (see planning portal web site) but
Clerk noted that revised plans had not been circulated for comment.
2014/0677 2, St. David’s View Llandewi. Cahnge of use of detached workshop to domestic accommodation for holiday letting. Council were unanimous in that permission should not be granted as the permission for the workshop obtained in 2011 was specifically on the basis that the workshop shall not be sold, let or otherwise occupied. Application refused 2nd September..
2014/0617 Berry Farm, Scurlage Replacement of existing telecommunications mast and cabinets. Council noted that the applicant, Vodafone Telecommunications, intended to replace the exiting mast and cabinets with a taller and larger mast. Concern was expressed that the new mast would be visible from further afield, but Council was in agreement that the proposal should be approved. Application approved 14th July..
2014/0690 The Countryman, Scurlage. Alterations to front elevation. Council by majority considered the alterations to the front elevation were acceptable; but noted that this application should have also included the recent alterations to the flat roof which have created a sloping roof.
Council also noted with concern the proliferation of roadside signs in the vicinity of the Countryman which were creating a hazard to traffic safety and a deterioration of the visual environment. Application approved 14th July..
The Ship Inn, Port Eynon Council noted the alterations currently being carried out to the external façade of The Ship Inn and that no planning application had been raised. Clerk was requested to raise this with the C&CS Environment (Planning) Department. C&CS advise that alterations are for minor decorative works.
New Applications:
2013/960 The Elms, Port Eynon – Alterations to elevations, garages and driveway.
Council considered that the proposed alterations were generally acceptable and recommended approval (Cllr Fisher declared an interest and abstained from the decisions).
2013/1034 Burry Dairy Farm – New agricultural building.
Council expressed surprise at the size of the proposed barn, but noted that the new owner had purchased the land of Burry dairy farm without the benefit of the existing farm buildings. Cllr Jones advised that objections had been raised by residents in Llandewi as to the size and location of the building and that these had been forwarded to the Planning Dept at C&CS. Council by majority recommended that the proposal should be approved.
2013/1263 Ash Croft Scurlage – Removal of planning conditions.
Council noted that the planning considerations referred to were for environmental aspects of construction and that these had subsequently been discontinued. Council were unanimous in recommending that the application be approved.
056/14 Highways & Footpaths.
Cllr Evans advised that he had been in discussion with officers of C&CS concerning the proposed road signs to be erected at the roundabout in Port Eynon. He had received assurances that the existing proposals would be amended to ensure that any signs were sympathetic with the location and the work carried out under the Green Seas Project to improve the street scene at Port Eynon.
Cllr Newland reiterated her concerns over the roadside verges which had become inaccessible by pedestrians resulting in a traffic danger to pedestrians.
Cllr fisher reiterated his concern over the proliferation of advertising hoardings at the road junction in Scurlage and which create a traffic hazard.
067/14 Correspondence:
Clerk provided a resume of correspondence received from mid-July to date.
068/14 Knelston Burial Ground.
Clerk advised that he had placed the recently purchased bench seat just inside the access gate, at the same time he had carried out some minor tidying up of the entrance area. There were no other matters to be considered.
069/14 Notice Boards & Web Site
Clerk again reminded Councillors to provide a suitable photograph (head and shoulders) that could be included in the web site detail page on the councillors.
070/14 Any Other Business:
A representation was made to the Council concerning the size and operation of the Camp site at Gower Farm Museum in Llandewi. It was considered that:
- The site had been progressively expanding beyond the provisions of the issued license.
- There were static units which were in continuous occupation contrary to the license.
- There were many touring units which were not removed from the site for two months as required by the license
- The site had been expanded into a new field which is an elevated position and highly visible from all parts of Knelston.
- The footpath from Knelston to Burry was obstructed by caravans and associated decking.
- Fairfield Farm was using the existing agricultural buildings for long term storage of caravans this surely constituted a change of use and the Council Rates appropriate for industrial use should apply.
Concerns were also expressed about traffic and road drainage:
- Following road resurfacing surface water now drained into the Stoney Forge lane whereas it was previously constrained within the road verges.
- Surface water drains running from the school, past the garage to Pucks Hollow were blocked and required cleaning.
- Speed of drivers on the stretch of road past the school was excessive and this section should be designated a 20 mph zone.
- The hard standing created opposite the garage was encouraging parking at a dangerous location and forced pedestrians to use the road rather than the verge area.
- Soil and grass has built up on the edge of the road which again discouraged pedestrians from using the verges.
Cllr Newland advised that many residents were angered and concerned to receive advice from the Scurlage Medical practice for reduced hours of operation. Clerk was directed to write to the Medical Practice with copies to C&CS and to Bro Morganwg Health trust.
Cllr Evans expressed his concerns over the extensive disruption to the beach area by works in vicinity of Salt Cottage and the Youth Hostel. He also questioned as to why the refuse receptacles in the beach area were rusty oil drums and not more suitable units. Finally he observed that the storm water pipe in the vicinity of Salt Cottage had been broken in several places and the sharp edges constituted a severe hazard to beach users.
Cllr Fisher advised that he had written to C&CS Planning Section concerning recent public events at South gower Sports Club which had involved the erection of a large marquee and considerable disturbance to residents from noise, parking and camping. Cllr Newland commented that there was now clearly an excessive number of sites offering temporary camping facilities and that this was adverse to maintaining Gower as a premium holiday venue.
Cllr fisher commented on the extensive engineering works and erection of logcabins that had been carried out within the Carreglwyd camping site and the absence of any formal planning approvals. Council noted that provided any material moved to create the platforms, remained within the site there was no applicable environmental controls. Council also noted that there was an overall planning provision to permit the replacement of static caravans with log cabins; and that the only conceivable control was to carry out periodic site counts of the total number of units on the site and the periods of occupation.
Date of Next Meeting: Monday 27th October 2014 at 7:30 pm. at Port Eynon Village Hall.
Meeting closed at 9:15 pm. Chairman
B. J. Stubbings, (Clerk) R. Fisher