Minutes of extraordinary meeting of 29th October 2019
Minutes of the extraordinary meeting of Minting and Gautby Parish
Council held on 29th October 2019 at 7.30 at Gautby Village Hall
Present: Councillor E.B.Clark, Chairman, Councillors H.Padfield, J.H.Padfield, J.Stuchfield, W.Hughes and C.Bruntlett.
[1] Chairman’s welcome.
The Chairman welcomed Councillors to the meeting. No members of the public were present.
[2] Apologies and declarations of interest.
There were no apologies for absence, and no declarations of interest.
[3] Public forum.
With no members of the public present, the meeting moved on to item 4
[4] To confirm or amend the draft minutes of the meeting of 1st October 2019.
There were no amendments suggested. Cllr.Stuchfield proposed that the draft minutes be signed as a true and correct record of the previous meeting. Cllr. Bruntlett seconded the motion, which was then unanimously agreed.
[5] Matters arising from the minutes.
The Chairman reported that he had contacted Mr. Ian Jones regarding the painting of Gautby telephone kiosk.
Regarding Item 11[d] in the previous minutes, concerning outfall from the many septic tanks in the parish, it was evident that there is widespread ignorance of the impending change in the regulations that will ban such outfall into watercourses.
Action: The Chairman will contact District Cllr. Gray to request that ELDC take a lead in alerting residents to this change in the law, and to provide advice as to what action to take.
[6] To agree a response to planning application S/122/01701/19 – proposed erection of a garden wall at New Farm Bungalow, Minting.
Councillors agreed that they did not wish to formally object to the proposal, but they thought that it would be a rather urban feature for a very rural location. They would prefer a fence or hedge instead from the visual point of view. The Chairman would forward this response to ELDC.
[7 a] To agree a response to Hedge Removal application Ref: HR/151/57 [ Gautby].
In a detailed discussion, appreciation was expressed for the substantial amount of hedge planting done by the applicant in recent years, and the need for efficient working of large machinery. However, Councillors concluded that they could not agree to removal of the hedge in question, on both visual and ecological grounds. As well as providing a ‘wildlife corridor`, the hedge contains an attractive oak tree that is a feature of the eastern approach to Gautby.
[7b] To agree a response to Hedge Removal application Ref: HR/152/122 [Minting]
Councillors considered that this Application had less merit on the grounds of working efficiency, as the hedge in question appears to be parallel with the normal direction of machinery working, therefore does not constitute an obstruction.
It was unanimously decided to oppose both Applications on visual and ecological grounds. An additional comment was that if either Application was successful, then Councillors hoped that it would be on the basis that the applicant would agree to establish an equivalent environmental feature in the near vicinity.
The Chairman agreed to convey the Council’s decisions to the relevant department of ELDC.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.15pm.