ST GORAN PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES FOR DECEMBER 2007

LINKS

MINUTES OF A MEETING of the St Goran Parish Council held on 6^th December 2007 in the St Goran Church Schoolrooms at 7.00p.m. with Mr Grose in the Chair.

Present were Messrs Ayres, Bullen, Church, Husband, Lobb, Mrs Crouch, Mrs Gouldsmith and Mrs Stokes, Mr Paul Roberts (Police Community Support Officer) and 16 members of the public.

PUBLIC SESSION

Mr Grose welcomed the members of the public and thanked them for attending in order to give their opinions on issues concerning the running of the beach next summer. The first issue to be considered was that of dogs on the beach. Currently there is a notice stating that dogs must be kept on leads between Easter and September. Most of the members of the public did not want to see dogs banned but if this is done then it should only be for the busiest 2 months of the year. It is only a small minority who do not keep their dogs on leads, visitors are generally good and banning dogs may stop some visitors from coming to Gorran Haven which would have an adverse effect on the economy of the village. One member of the public expressed concern that a local farmer allowed his dog to run loose on the beach. The other aspect that causes concern is the few dog owners who do not clean up after their dogs. Mr Roberts (PCSO) stated that he will soon be able to help with this problem and issue a fine to offenders. The second issue was the operation of the restricted launching of boats. The majority considered that the hours restricted last year were right although some felt it started too early and some that it finished too late. The café owner stated that if it started any earlier then she would have serious problems with deliveries. Mrs Gouldsmith requested that the scheme be continued for a further week at the end of the season. The next issue discussed was that of the operation of the kyaks. Although these are popular there were problems last year. They take up too much beach particularly at high tide when there is very little beach. Most people felt that they should not be kept on the beach but on the hard standing at the back of the beach. There was some discussion about charging for launching and having a beach warden in order to insist that boat owners had relevant third party insurance. Mr Wilkinson stated that the line of buoys separating boats and swimmers needs repositioning several times during the summer. Mr Grose thanked him for doing this and stated that any expenses incurred by the Fishermen’s Society would be reimbursed by the Parish Council. Mr Grose thanked the members of the public for their input.

Mr Grose then introduced Mr Paul Roberts who explained that he works as a support to P.C. Orton.  It is not known yet what will happen when P.C. Orton retires next May. Mr Roberts wants to be pro-active in the area. He also informed the meeting that people should be careful as there have been a lot of incidences of cold calling by people believed to be Polish and looking for accommodation. This may be a scam. He also reported that in 2 months there were 11 crimes 2 of which were domestic incidents.

Mr Pascoe commented on the amount of rubbish in the streets in Gorran Haven and Mr Lobb stated that there is always a problem with cars parked so that the street cannot be swept properly.

Mr Grose thanked Mr Roberts and the members of the public for attending the meeting. Mr Roberts and 12 members of the public then left.

The meeting then went into formal session.

APOLOGIES

Mrs Crouch who was late, Mrs D. Mutton and Mr P.Trevarton (District Councillors).

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE  1^st NOVEMBER 2007

 The minutes were agreed.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

Cemetery – all the hedge cuttings have now been cleared by Restormel.

R.B.C. – Staffing concerns. Letter from the Chief Executive stating that he is aware of the problem and measures are being taken to ensure that front line services to customers are maintained and that there is a smooth transition to the new Unitary Council. Letter from Matthew Taylor who is raising the issues with the Chief Executive.

Highways. Letter stating that leaves are cleared once a year and this year it should be done at the end of November. They have not been done to date.

Footpath – Bell Hill. A meeting was held with the landowner, his agent, the Highways Authority, the County Councillor and Parish Councillors. The landowner is happy for a footpath to be constructed and a Cornish hedge to replace the existing hedge. This may be too expensive. If any development is allowed there the provision of a path could be included. The County Councillor has now reported that the cost of a Cornish hedge is too expensive for him to include in his budget but he will agree to pay for a ‘walking pavement’. Full details to be asked for.

Mr & Mrs Sturgeon. Letters in connection with the development at Blue Point. The problems that had occurred have now been resolved.

One Cornwall Team. Questionnaire for P.C completion. To be put on the agenda for the next meeting.

COMMITTEE REPORTS  

Footpaths. Nothing to report

Beach.  Nothing to report. This item is on the agenda separately

General Purposes. Nothing to report.

CORRESPONDANCE

South West Water. Consultation on the periodic review for 2010 to 2015.

C.C.C. Details of road closure Rescassa to Penvergate.

R.B.C. Details of the first draft of the Sustainable Community Strategy 2027 for the Restormel area.

One Cornwall Team. Newsletter

Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Community Safety Partnership. Consultation on the Plan for 2008 to 2001.

C.C.C. Consultation on options for street lighting.

C.C.C. Consultation on weak structures.

PLANNING

Mr John Allen. Siting of a mobile home (twin unit) for use as a temporary occupational dwelling in accordance with PPS 7 Annexe A criteria at Woodwick Farm, St Ewe. Full Planning. No objection as long as it is removed at the end of the project.

Mrs Grace White. Re-slating and repair and maintenance to rainwater goods at The Barley Sheaf, Gorran. Listed Building Consent. No objection.

Dr James Whetter. To cut down 1 x Monterey Cypress, 1x Monterey Pine, 1 x Ash at Sea Breezes, Trewollock Lane, Gorran Haven. No objection as long as 3 new trees suitable to the area are planted.

 BILLS FOR PAYMENT                                              RECEIPTS                                                                                                           

All the bills for November have been paid. Agreed to pay the bills for December and to transfer £1,000.00 from deposit account to current account.

CO-OPTION OF PARISH COUNCILLOR

Mr P. Trevarton was co-opted on to the Parish Council. There were 4 votes for, 2 against and 1 abstention.

BEACH

Mr Grose asked the Parish Council to think about what arrangements should be made for the beach next summer and the item to be put on the agenda for next month.

PRECEPT 2008

The Clerk presented figures on expected expenditure and receipts for the year 2008 to 2009. This year £1,500.00 had had to be included in the precept to cover the cost of a possible election. This had not been needed. However it needs to be kept in case of the need for an election. This means that there is now £2,500.00 put aside for election purposes. It was agreed to put a further £1,883.00 in the development fund and to put £3,000.00 in next year. The precept could then be kept at the same level as last year £13,000.00. This was agreed.

PARISH PROBLEMS

Mr Grose reported that he has received a letter of resignation from the Clerk. He thanked the Clerk for all her work for the P.C. and it was agreed that notices should be put on the notice boards and in the Cornish Guardian.

Mrs Gouldsmith reported that the pavement up Bell Hill is overgrown, the edges need trimming and the path itself may need re-tarmacing. There are also sections where the hedges are very overgrown, there is a light missing at the top of Foxhole Lane, road markings and yellow lines in Gorran Haven need repainting and there are loose setts at the cobbled area at the bottom of Foxhole Lane. There is also a road direction sign missing at the top of Bell Hill. South West Water has completed the work at the bottom of Lamledra Hill but no-one knows what has been done. S.W.W. to be asked what all the works in the village are and to see whether they have sorted the problem with the manhole on the beach. If not this needs doing before next summer.

Mr Bullen reported that he has received complaints about the proposed alterations to the lych gate at the church. As planning permission has been given for this there is nothing that the P.C. can do.

Mr Ayres reported that there has been some fly tipping in Sheeps Lane.

Mrs Crouch believes that spring bulbs can be provided free of charge. She suggests putting some at the entrance to Gorran village. To be looked into.

Mr Church asked whether it is known whether the Youth Hostel at Boswinger has been granted its licence. This is not known.

 IN COMMITTEE: CLERK’S SALARY

It was agreed to increase the Clerk’s salary in line with the national agreement, backdated to October, from £4079.92 a year to £4181.32 and the expenses from £53.79 a month to £55.13 a month. This represents an increase of approximately 2.5%.

 The meeting closed at 9.20p.m.