BEPTON PARISH COUNCIL

Chairman: Mr. Howard Ewing
Clerk: Mrs. Lorraine Grocott, BEM, BA Hons (Local Policy)
23 West Meade, Milland, Liphook, Hampshire, GU30 7NB
Tel 01428 741393… Email: postmaster@milland-wsc-pc.gov.uk
Website – http://www.bepton.org

MINUTES of the Meeting of BEPTON PARISH COUNCIL
Thursday 23 November 2017 at The Park House Hotel, Bepton Road

Present: Mr H Ewing (in the Chair), Mrs R Hart, Mrs Alex Cunningham, Mr J Beckett
Cllr K O’Kelly (County Councillor)
2 Members of the Public – Mr Gerry Ryan, Mr John Cherry

590. Apologies – Mrs C Bower, Dr J Wilkinson, Mrs L Milner

591. Declaration of Interests of Members on Agenda –
• Mrs Hart – Item 9c) – Outreach Youth Action – donation 2018/19

592. Casual Vacancy – Co-option of new councillor – The District Council had advised that there had been no request for an election consequently, the Parish Council could co-opt a person to fill the vacancy. Mr. John Beckett was nominated by Mrs. Hart and seconded by Mrs. Cunningham. Agreed.
The Clerk would provide Mr. Beckett with the necessary papers for him to complete.

593. Presentation to Mr. Gerard Ryan –
The Chairman presented Mr. Ryan with a bowl of orchids in thanks for his time as a councillor. Mr. Ryan has been on the Council for 15 years. He has been a great strength on the Council and has been valued for his wisdom, advice, good humor and modern approach.
Mr. John Cherry a previous District Councillor, said that Bepton had been very lucky in having someone with such knowledge and breath of wisdom on their council.

594. Minutes of the Meeting 14 September 2017 were agreed and signed.

595. Report County Councillor – Cllr Kate O’Kelly
• The County Councillor attended a Health and Adult Social Care Project Day on 9/11/17 for an update from the Coastal Commission Group which is currently in special measures. The group which was previously activity based is now looking at how to keep people out of hospital and cared for in their own homes.
• Schools – There is a consultation now open regarding the proposal of expansion of primary spaces at Easebourne Primary School. This is because of a new funding formula. There may be implications for Midhurst Primary School. The deadline for responses 28 November.
• Meeting on 23 November regarding improvements to the cycle crossing at the Half Moon on the Midhurst/Petersfield Road. There are problems with moving it into a 30mph zone however, some ideas were put forward for new signage to make the crossing more visible.
• Community Green offer – Midhurst will be the pilot area for the next 6 months. Darren Rolfe will be providing training for volunteers to support parishes who wish to undertake local Highways tasks including cleaning ditches, washing signs, clearing vegetation.
• The What If programme contact is Martin Funnell at WSCC – He will provide help and support to communities who wish to develop their own Resilience or Emergency Plans.
• Boxes of De-Icing Salt are available to support vulnerable people this winter – the contact is Sue Furlong at WSCC.
• Cllr O’Kelly has arranged a drop-in session in Milland Stores – 4 December, 10.30am—12.30
Minutes of Bepton Parish Council meeting 23 November 2017
————————————————————————————————————————–

596. Public Participation –
Bepton Conservation Group – Beatrice Potter and Simon Verrall gave a presentation regarding their concerns over the management of Bepton Down, which is a public amenity land and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The land is owned by the Cowdray Estate. The Parish has, previously, been involved in this project and meetings have been held with Natural England (NE) and the Cowdray Estate. There is an agreed Management Plan for the site which has recommendations from a specialist in managing these types of site. Unfortunately, this Plan is not being adhered to and through this neglect the site has become overgrown thus destroying a nationally important area of chalk grassland. The UK has already lost 95% of its chalk grassland.
The meeting discussed the problems of management of the site. Whilst the council had some sympathy for the Conservation Group it was felt that the best way forward would be to deal with Natural England (NE) who developed the plan, point out to them that the plan hasn’t been followed and that they, as the responsible authority, need to pursue its management of the site with the Cowdray Estate. It was agreed that the Chairman would write to the Cowdray Estate and Natural England.

597. Chairman’s Items –
Operation Crackdown – Abandoned Vehicle November, Report Status update – Inquiries indicated that the vehicle was not abandoned, was claimed at the location and had been removed. The report is now closed.

598. Finance report – Mrs. Grocott, RFO
a) Statement of Accounts – Payments for approval

The above payments were approved by the Council.

b) The new legislation on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force in May 18. The Council is required to register at the Data Protection site and this will cost £35. Registration reference: A8229536. More information can be found on the website http://www.ico.org.uk

Minutes of Meeting, Bepton Parish Council, 23 November 2017
————————————————————————————————————————-

c) Precept for 2018/19 – The following precept was agreed.

The Precept was agreed.

599. Planning Report – Mrs Hart

COUNCIL’S RESPONSE TO APPLICATIONS: –

SDNP/16/06305/FUL
Bepton Hotels Ltd (Park House Hotel) requests permission to change the use of field into an overflow car park. Written appeal by the Planning Inspector. As at mid-October, the appeal is still in progress. (N.B. Since the meeting, the Inspector had published his report which dismissed the appeal and planning permission was thus not granted).

SDNP/17/03260/FUL
Mr Abu Chinwala of Wayside Cottage requests retrospective permission to change the use of the outbuilding to a holiday let and/or annex. This outbuilding was permitted under SDNP/15/05618/HOUS to build a traditional oak framed garage/workshop/home office/ attic store to replace the existing one. Permit at SDNPA committee meeting.
Minutes of Bepton Parish Council meeting 23 November 2017
—————————————————————————————————————————

SDNP/17/04314/HOUS
Mr & Mrs Paul McCulloch of Upper Farmhouse, Bugshill Lane requests permission to build a traditional oak framed carport garage over the footprint of a former lean-to. Refused.

SDNP/17/05033/TCA
Dr. Abu Chinwala of Wayside Cottage requests permission to lift the crown of one oak tree by 5m, reduce overhang bow by 3.5m and to cut back a single branch. Permit.

SDNP/17/05050/HOUS
Mr. Mark Bilsland of Padwicks Farm requests permission to change the use of the cart barn to facilitate use as home office/studio. Await decision.

SDNP/17/05619/CND
Mr James Keyes of Hopkiln, Bell Lane requests permission to vary conditions 1, 6 and 7 from planning permission SDNP/14/02424/FUL. Await decision.

OTHER PLANNING MATTERS: –

SDNPA Local Plan
We made a comment about the proposed site at WSCC depot and the Old Brickworks site, where the intention is to build 65 to 90 houses, regarding the access. We also stated that the recycling centre should be re-sited to a location with good access for Midhurst and surrounding residents.

For your information, SDNP/17/05545/CND requests variation of conditions on a previous application to allow flexibility for the Bepton Road amenity depot to open for longer hours and on Sundays.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
Some planning applications – such as Padwicks, Wayside Cottage – are coming through stating that the development may be liable to CIL payments. Parishes without a Neighbourhood Plan will receive 15% of the total money collected capped at £100 per dwelling. SNDP have requested bank details of all parishes so that, if any CIL payments are due, the money will be banked into our account at the end of every April and October (from April 2018). They are also in the process of putting a booklet together with guidance notes about how such payments can be spent, etc.

600. Telephone Kiosk – Mrs Cunningham supported by Mr Beckett advised that the application to the National Lottery Fund has been completed and will be submitted. Thanks were expressed to Community Heatbeat for their help and support. Thanks were expressed to Mrs Cunningham, Mrs Milner and Mr Beckett for their excellent work in driving this project.

601. Draft Data Protection Policy – A Draft had been emailed to Councillors. It is understood SALC will provide more information for councils in the new year.

602. Parish Plan – Update by Chairman – The Chairman had updated the Plan. There were still some aspects to be confirmed. Once these had been done, the next stage would be to put adraft copy on the website for people to comment on.

603. Highways & Byways & Environment
Mr Ewing and Mrs Milner met in early October and looked at all roadside areas within Bepton. They established that the hedges are cut by the land owners and the verges in most cases are cut at the same time, in many cases also by the land owners. Carl Wallis, not only keeps the Severals Green immaculate but also strims the verge from Frogmore to the Allotments as and when required.
Minutes of Bepton Parish Council meeting 23 November 2017
————————————————————————————————————————
Item 603 continued

He has also strimmed some large overhanging stinging nettles on the Midhurst Common side of the road from Bepton Common down to Rose Cottage to help visibility. They didn’t see any further areas which need to be included in his regular cutting rota. It was noted that the road signs with the four approach roads to Bepton needed to be cleaned and Mrs Milner had hitherto undertaken this . It was agreed to budget £600 in the precept for grass mowing + miscellaneous environment work.

604. Other meetings
a) Joint Meeting of North West & North-East Community Forum – 6 December at Lodsworth.

605. Date of next meeting – 7pm, 25 January 2018, The Barn at The Park Hotel, Bepton.

Chairman: …………………………………. Date: ……………………

These Minutes are unconfirmed untiled signed by the Chairman