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Chairman

Bob Burrough

Vice-Chairman

Graham Harvey

Tony Davies

Tony Reed

Sue Prideaux

Chris Dale

Julia Wright

....................................

Clerk to the Council

Gillian Midworth

Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting of the Beercrocombe Parish Council held at Curry Mallet Village Hall on Monday 16th May 2011

Councillors: Mr. R F Burrough, Mr. A Davies, Mr. G Harvey, Mrs. S Prideaux Mr. A Reed, Ms. J Wright.

The minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 17th May 2010 were received and approved.

"This is my first report as Chairman and I would like to start by thanking you, the Parish Councillors, and our Clerk, Gillian, for your excellent support. Although local elections were held on the 5th May, Beercrocombe did not need to hold an election for Parish Councillors as there were only 7 nominations, all from the sitting Councillors. I am thankful that you all chose to continue your service for the Parish, as I believe we are an effective and balanced team that has worked conscientiously for the good of the Parish. I take the absence of new nominations as a silent verdict that our parishioners are broadly content with our efforts.

Financially, not requiring an election has saved some £700. Although we will continue to maintain this sum in our reserves it is comforting that we do not need to replenish this commitment. Over the course of the year our balance dropped by some £180 to £1,591, as we exceeded our planned shortfall of £125 by some £55. In the forthcoming year our precept was set at £1,050, a £10 rise on the previous year. Again a shortfall over planned expenditure is forecast, this time some £45.

The Parish Council received 10 Planning Applications for comment, although 4 applications related to one development. I would like to thank Tony Davies for his thoroughness in preparing the planning applications for Council review, which all bar one took place at Beercrocombe bus shelter. I think it is fair to say that we find the District Planning Department a difficult organisation to comprehend and many of its decisions have been contrary to the views of this Council. In particular, we were extremely disappointed with the handling of the planning applications relating to the development of a new farmyard at Manor Farm. Although we support Mr Hale's wish to relocate his farmyard, the planning application process was flawed. Our concerns have been recorded in a letter, dated today the 16th May 2011 that has been sent to Mr Norris, the South Somerset District Council Development Manager.

During the year the Telephone Kiosk was extensively renovated and refurbished. It now stands proudly with a new coat of red paint and is used as a Book Swap facility. Our thanks go to Julia Wright and her Kiosk Support Team for making the kiosk an attractive and interesting addition to our village.

Regarding our roads and footpaths I thank Graham Harvey for taking over these responsibilities, the two most prominent issues at our regular Parish Council meetings. Although Somerset County Council has reduced the funding on both the roads and the footpaths we continue to enjoy their support. Stock's Lane and Stewley Lane have been recently top-dressed and are now in good condition. Our remaining lanes are in an adequate condition with the major problem being the erosion of the highway edges by over-large vehicles. This problem will only increase. Damage to the verge on Broadmead remains unrepaired, as is the damage to the verge along Beer Street. Both are ongoing issues. On the positive side Graham Harvey obtained 4 large loads of planings, all free, from County Highways, which has been used to resurface the Village Hall Car Park.

As with the rest of the country, the village endured a period of extreme winter weather in December. It raised questions regarding local resilience but in today's centrally controlled and highly regulated society there are no easy solutions.

Our footpaths remain in a satisfactory condition for our rural location. Again our thanks to Graham Harvey for establishing a fruitful relationship with the new County Rights of Way organisation.

Our Village Green continues to be the showcase for the Parish and I would like to record our thanks to the parishioners that maintain it in such good condition.

Our Parish continues to enjoy a low crime rate and the Neighbourhood Watch, overseen by Tony Reed, provides an effective network of self-support within the Parish and an effective relationship with our local constabulary. The only disagreeable issue has been the nuisance caused by some dog owners leaving pooh bags on our lanes. We hope action taken by this Council over the course of the year has resolved this issue.

Finally I would like to congratulate our District Councillor, Sue Steele, on her re-election on the 5th May, and to thank both Sue and County Councillor Derek Nelson on their generous support and excellent advice given to our Parish and Parish Council."

Mr. Reed reported that he was not aware of any instances of crime in the Parish for the past year. A 'No Calling' zone had been established in Curry Mallet, but Beercrocombe Parish Council had decided such an initiative was not required in the Parish. Details of the 'Scam wise' initiative had been advertised and leaflets were available to householders, but no requests for information have been received.

Mr. Burrough thanked Mr. Reed for his work as Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator.

The vegetation cutting programme carried out by SCC has been restricted this year due to cutbacks.

The Beer & Curry Takeaway continues and there are sufficient funds available to support this for the next twelve months.

The refurbishment programme of the Hall has continued. Volunteers have redecorated the hall: the emergency doors have been replaced and upgraded with toughened glass. The committee is seeking to improve the storage facilities at a cost of £21,000, of which £13,500 has already been raised.

The village fete made a profit of £800, and following the Parish Council's lead insurance costs were reduced by £300.

Mr. Burrough thanked Mr. Harvey and all the members of the Village Hall Committee, expressing his admiration and appreciation of their achievements.

Grants amounting to £4,025 had been paid in 2010. This included grants made to Beercrocombe PCC for the car park improvements, and a contribution to the salary of the Youth Worker employed by the Benefice.

Funds have also been given to the Social Committee for the purchase of new tables, which will be available for parishioners to borrow, and the purchase of mugs to celebrate the Royal Wedding.

Mrs. Davies reported that she intends to stand down as Tree Warden at next year's Annual Meeting and would be interested in learning of anyone wishing to replace her. As Tree Warden she receives regular updates and information, and visits and talks are often arranged.

Mrs. Davies advised that as a result of the harsh winter and dry spring, any trees planted last autumn will require lot of watering to ensure their survival.

Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting of the Beercrocombe Parish Council held at Curry Mallet Village Hall on Monday 16th May 2011.

Mr. Burrough was elected Chairman. His nomination was proposed by Mr. Davies, and seconded by Mrs. Prideaux. There were no other nominations and Mr. Burrough was elected unanimously.

Mr. Davies thanked Mr. Burrough for his excellent work as Chairman for the past year.

Mr. Harvey was elected Vice Chairman. His nomination was proposed by Mr. Burrough and seconded by Mr. Reed. There were no other nominations and Mr. Harvey was elected unanimously.

Minutes of the Ordinary Parish Council Meeting of Beercrocombe Parish Council held at Curry Mallet Village Hall on Monday 16th May 2011.

Councillors: Mr. R F Burrough, Mr. A Davies, Mr. G Harvey, Mrs. S Prideaux Mr. A Reed, Ms. J Wright.

Minutes of the Ordinary Parish Council Meeting held on 21st March 2011 were approved and signed.

The Royal Wedding was celebrated by a tea party at Muskay. This was a very successful village community event with approximately 60 parishioners attending. The Parish Council thanks the Beercrocombe Social Committee for organising and running the event. At our next Parish Council meeting, Monday 18th July, we will be discussing the village celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on 2nd/3rd June 2012. We would warmly welcome members of the Beercrocombe Social Committee and of the parish to this meeting so that the Parish Council may gain from the experience and enthusiasm generated by the Royal Wedding celebrations.

A parishioner present informed the Parish Council of his concerns regarding the Highway drainage opposite Halfway House. Over time, heavy vehicles have eroded the grass bank and damaged the drainage pipe. As a result water is running straight off the fields down to Halfway House, causing a risk of flooding. The Highways department will be carrying out remedial work to improve the drainage and a new ditch is to be cut. This may result in more water collecting in the ditch, which may have an implication for the use of the footpath that straddles the ditch. It is hoped that the work will be completed during the summer, and the Chairman advised the parishioner that if no progress had been made by September, the Parish Council would pursue the matter on his behalf.

The Parish Council was informed that there is to be a new Parish archive installed in the vestry of the church. The Chairman will investigate whether there are any items of historical importance held with the Parish records which should be placed in the archive.

The footpath from the church to the canal is currently difficult to walk as the crop has been planted right up to the fence.

The Chairman has continued to try to resolve the issue of the collapsed verge along Broadmead Road. The contractors have been contacted but they have denied all knowledge of the incident. Cllr. Steele suggested that the Parish Council contact Highways yet again, and he will arrange a meeting between Mr. McWilliams and representatives of the Parish Council.

A parishioner has advised the Parish Council that a rail situated on the edge of the road near Mushroom Farm is damaged. The rail, which is set in two concrete posts, is leaning and either needs to be repaired or removed. It was agreed to bring this matter to the attention of Mr. McWilliams.

The Clerk presented the year-end figures to the Parish Council. Total income for the year was £1,042, with expenditure of £1,222. However, the expenditure figure includes the redecorating costs of the telephone kiosk, which was covered by funds earmarked in a previous year. After allowing for this cost of £181, the income was fully matched by expenditure. The Council's reserves amount to £1,591.

The internal auditor has carried out his review and made a number of observations. Recoverable VAT should be separately identified in the Cashbook and all payments made by the Council should be supported by invoices.

The Annual Return and Annual Governance Statement were approved by the Parish Council. The Clerk presented the risk assessment that had recently been completed, and it was agreed that the Parish Council was taking all necessary measures to minimise its risks.

11/000540/FUL - erection of two agricultural buildings for accommodation of livestock and general purpose use at Manor Farm

11/0067910/03972/FUL - erection of a new outbuilding to replace existing outbuildings at Holmans Farm, Stewley.

11/00662//FUL - development of a Photo-Voltaic Solar Park at Bushfurlong Farm, Isle Brewers

11/00690/FUL - use of land as a site for two gypsy traveller pitches, replacement agricultural barn and composting toilet at Crimson Orchard, Curry Mallet.

This application has been amended and the request for two traveller pitches and toilet withdrawn. The Parish Council had no comment to make on the application for the replacement barn.

The Clerk has received a request from the Countywide Dementia Awareness Raising Worker to attend a future Parish Council meeting and outline the services available to persons with dementia in the area. It was agreed to invite the representative to the July meeting.

Somerset is to be the subject of a further electoral review by the Local Government Boundary Commission (LGBC). The review will take a year to complete and it is likely that a meeting will be held for Parish Council representatives shortly.

The next SALC meeting will take place on 13th June 2011 at Mudford Village Hall.

Chairman	Bob Burrough
Vice-Chairman	Graham Harvey
	Tony Davies
	Tony Reed
	Sue Prideaux
	Chris Dale
	Julia Wright
	....................................
Clerk to the Council	Gillian Midworth