Minutes of the Meeting held at The Flyford’s Hall on Tuesday 21st March 2023
Present
Sadie Densham
David Rhodes
Andrew Short
John East
Daivid Waide
Richard Davey (Chairman)
Anna Toivola
Mark Broughton-Taylor attended as clerk
1. Apologies
Linda Robinson (DC and CC Councillor)
2. Declaration of Interest
None
3. Public Participation
Jenny Fazliu gave a presentation about the forthcoming Coronation celebrations in Flyford Flavell.
4. Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the meeting held on 14th December 2022 and January 17th 2023 were approved as an accurate record of the meeting.
Proposed: David Rhodes
Seconded: Anna Toivola
All in favour
The minutes of the meeting on 14th December were help over to next meeting as there seems to have been a problem with the distribution.
5. Matter arising
None
6. Climate Change
It was agreed that Andrew Short establish a sub-group, separate from the PC but managed by him, for this topic and Andrew would report progress at PC meetings.
It was agreed that the Parish Council initiatives will be communicated via the Flyford Flavell Facebook page.
7. Local Police Officer and Neighbourhood Watch
No report had been received from the local police officer but the clerk noted that the PCC newsletter had been circulated to councillors.
A letter had been posted through letter boxes by Sadie Densham and Anna Toivola to all properties in North Piddle and Grafton Flyford but as yet only 4 extra people had signed up. The clerk noted that he had problems signing up but further details were circulated at the meeting which allowed people to sign up without signing into Facebook.
It was agreed that there will be a presentation about Smartwater at the meeting in May.
8. Report from District and Councty Councillor
Please accept my apologies for your meeting as I am away this week.
Budget updates.
A five per cent rise in Worcestershire County Council’s share of the Council Tax has been approved.
The £935million budget for the year ahead will fund delivery of a wide range of essential services including services to keep the most vulnerable people in the county safe.
As part of the budget, the council will be putting in place an uplift to its Council Tax.
The 2.94 per cent rise in Council Tax will help to fund the increased costs of delivering improvements for residents and businesses while an additional two per cent uplift in the rate for the Adult Social Care levy will support vulnerable adults.
Major improvements for Worcestershire residents which includes improving roads, pavements and street lighting, in addition to funding a brand-new school in Worcester to help with school places.
County Hall will spend £268million over the next 12 months to ensure residents who need Adult Social Care support will continue to receive it.
A total of £146million has been allocated to ensure the County Council can continue to improve the lives of children and young people across the county.
£91million is being invested into supporting people to live independently for longer, through the dedicated work of the county’s Public Health and Communities teams.
The budget also includes investment to maintain bus services with £3.5million invested on top of the £1.5million commitment made this year.
An additional £500,000 to enable minor highway works to be actioned more quickly such as the pruning of trees and the replacement of damaged street furniture and signage.
The council is facing similar challenges too, from both the impact of inflation on costs of materials and services to increasing demand for services, all of which adds significantly to the pressure on our budget.
“With more vulnerable people needing our support than ever before and with the cost of this care increasing significantly, our budget for next year reflects this added pressure.
“Our Council Tax is one of the lowest of any County Council in the country and with most councils predicted to increase their Council Tax due to similar pressures, we will remain one of the lowest,”
Wychavon:
Their share of your Council tax bill is already the fourth lowest of any District Council in the country. From April their part of the bill will be frozen for the sixth year running which is good news in fact Wychavon keep just 6p in every pound they receive in Council Tax.
Voter ID - videos and leaflets
Wychavon have produced some explainer videos to help raise awareness of the new photo ID requirement at this year’s local elections.
The videos can be viewed on our elections web page as well as on our social media channels. There are two Wychavon videos available for you to share:
Following a change in the law you will need to show a photo ID when voting in May's local elections. Watch our guide to everything you need to know about Voter ID. You can find out more on our website at https://www.wychavon.gov.uk/elections
If you don't have an acceptable photo ID then you can apply for a free Voter ID
Authority Certificate. You will need to supply us with some basic details and a picture. Watch our guide to how to take an acceptable photo for your Voter Authority Certificate. Find out more about Voter.
An list of acceptable ID can be found: https://www.wychavon.gov.uk/elections#voter_ID
Wychavon Design Code consultation
Consultations for all parts of the district are now open and the deadline for residents to have their say is 31 March 2023.
You can find the consultation links and more information at https://www.wychavon.gov.uk/consultations
Smart Water rollout
Our community Safety Team is starting the rollout of Smart Water in Peopleton, with the aim of making it a Smart Water village.
SmartWater is a colourless liquid solution that can be applied to the surfaces of belongings and valuables, leaving a unique code which is almost impossible to remove and can only be viewed under ultraviolet light. Marked items are registered with a national database and if stolen it can conclusively prove the ownership, ensuring they are returned to the rightful owner.
The aim is to get all homes and businesses in Peopleton signed-up to SmartWater. People Charity Lands has agreed to fund seventy-five percent of each kit for every household in the Parish of Peopleton. The other twenty-five percent funding will be coming from the Police Crime Commissioner.
South Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership will also be putting up signs informing people it is a Smart Water protected area.
Peopleton Parish Council has arranged a public meeting with Inspector Wise to discuss the recent crimes in the village and Smart Water, on Thursday 2 March at 7.30pm and Thursday 16 March from 4pm to 6.30pm at Peopleton Village Hall.
If there is a village in your area interested in becoming a SmartWater village then please ask them to email [email protected]
Fly Tipping
We’re tyred of fly-tipping, aren’t you? A load of 500 used tyres were dumped on a layby off the A44 between Broadway and Wickhamford on 25 November.
This cost £6,000 of public money to clean up.
We are appealing for people to come forward who might have information or have seen something to contact our Community and Environmental Protection Team [email protected]
Residents and businesses can help to stop fly-tipping by following the SCRAP code. Only use properly licensed waste disposal companies, refuse offers from those who aren’t, ask how they will dispose of your waste and get paperwork and receipts from them.
You can report fly-tipping and find out more at https://www.wychavon.gov.uk/fly-tipping
9. Footpaths Officer
No volunteer had yet been found.
10. Flyford Green
There had been no more volunteers for the management group and so it was agreed that a working group would be set up and the two volunteers co-opted to the group.
Proposed: David Rhodes Seconded: David Waide All in favour
The clerk reported that he had started the process of registering the green with Fields In Trust but a full resolution from the council was required. The following resolution was put to councillors and after approval was signed by the chairman and vice-chairman:
Resolution of The Flyford Flavell, Grafton Flyford and North Piddle Parish Council
The Flyford Flavell, Grafton Flyford and North Piddle Parish Council state that it is the owner of land known as “The Flyford Green” and shown on Land Registry title TP1 WR152896 dated 1st September 2016
The Flyford Flavell, Grafton Flyford and North Piddle Parish Council resolve to register the land known as “The Flyford Green” with Fields In Trust in order that the land can be enjoyed by the residents of Flyford Flavell and the general public in perpetuity.
The Parish Council will enter into a Deed of Dedication with Fields In Trust once the agreement has been negotiated to both parties satisfaction.
The Parish Council authorise the Clerk – Mark Broughton-Taylor to act in its behalf in all matters with Fields In Trust and to bring a suitable Deed to Parish Council in due course for ratification and to be signed by the Chairman and Vice Chairman at such time presiding.
Proposed: David Waide Seconded: Sadie Densham All in favour
11. Planning Matters
11.1 W/20/02435/S106
Mr & Mrs Farmer
W/20/02435/S106
Hilltop Farm
Old Hill
Flyford Flavell
WR7 4DA
No further developments had been reported to the parish council.
An interjection was made by a member of the public intimating that negotiations appeared to be going on behind the scenes about the access. Councillors consider that this matter has been going on long enough without resolution and the clerk was asked to write to Wychavon asking if the application could be refused on the basis that sufficient information has not been provided in time.
11.2 W/23/00121/HP
Ms Catherine Rainey
The Orchard
Radford Road
Flyford Flavell
Conversion of loft space and extensions.
A discussion took place concerning the merits of this application and it was agreed that the clerk and chairman would formulate a comment. It was considered that a condition should be aske for to control traffic during busy school times and ask for a Environmental Management Plan to minimize disruption during the building process.
11.3 W/22/02456/PIP
Dr & Mrs Short
Stedefield
Church Lane
Flyford Flavell
Permission in Principle for 1No. self-build dwelling has been granted.
11.4 W/22/01616/FUL
Mr & Mrs Redman
Church Cottage
Church lane
Flyford Flavell
This application has been withdrawn.
11.5 W/22/02163/FUL & W/23/00431/FUL
Land on Radford Road
Development of 4No. bungalows.
The clerk reported on a very well attended public meeting held at Flyford Church on 16th February. This had resulted in over 60 objections being posted on the Wychavon Website concerning application W/22/02163/FUL. The applicant has subsequently submitted a revised application (but not retracted the first) and the parish council resolved to make the following comment:
This is the official comment from the Flyford Flavell, Grafton Flyford and North Piddle Parish Council.
The parish council oppose this application for very much the same reasons that it opposes application 22/02163. It is noted that there are now two live applications for this site.
The density of the development is not in keeping with the surroundings and would have a detrimental effect on the visual amenity of the area. It would extend beyond the present boundary of the village but create a green gap where in time it would be difficult to resist further development.
A justification is made that Flyford Flavell is a category 2 village and so the criteria can be extended to this site. The parish council wish to point out that since the inception of the SWDP, Flyford has lost some of its facilities and does not now fully comply with category 2 status. Notwithstanding this, the site is outside the village boundary and should not be connected with the village for planning purposes. It is also noted that in the Village hierarchy in the emerging SWDP Flyford Flavell has been downgraded to a category 3 village. (Emerging SWDP Annex A page 329).
There is very poor drainage in the area and the opportunities for dealing with foul water waste is limited. (The Flyford Flavell sewage system is presently overloaded). No suitable details of how foul waste and surface water are to be dealt with have been included in the application.
Para 50 of the NPPF requires the L.P.A. to identify the size, type, tenure and range of housing required in a particular location. The PC does not believe that any such need has been identified in respect to this application.
Para 64 of the NPPF requires that permission should be refused for development of poor design that fails to take the opportunities available for improving the character and quality of an area and the way it functions. The P C does not consider that this application improves the character and quality of the area. The planning statement suggests that the properties will be set well back from the road and that existing hedging will be retained thus disguising the development. If the development was appropriate for the area then there should be no need to disguise it. The planning statement is simply admitting that this is not appropriate development and offers nothing to the village.
The proposed development would encourage dependence on the motor car which is contrary to environmental policy of the local planning authority.
Since the inception of the present SWDP the housing stock in the parish has increased by 30% but there is no measurable improvement in the sustainability of the village. The village shop has closed, and other services have a very uncertain future. Present bus services amount to the Redditch – Worcester service which passes by on the A422 4 times a weekday and the Village Hopper service which is once a day. These are very intermittent services and frankly all inhabitants use their own transport. It is very unlikely that people of working age would be able to make use of these services and so would rely on their own transport.
The parish council held an open meeting for residents to express their concerns about application 22/02163. A considerable number of people highlighted the issue of parking in the village. There is a primary school very close to the proposed development site and it is now over subscribed. Amongst other issue this creates a very real traffic problem in the village with cars parked along the lane and in the vicinity of the school. Further development along here without the requisite infrastructure improvements are going to exacerbate an already fraught situation which could create a danger to school pupils and members of the public.
The planning statement argues that the thread of sustainable development as envisaged in the NPPF is met by this proposal. The parish council begs to differ. As previously stated, the area cannot see any discernible economic benefit for the development in the village over the past ten years and see no reason why this should change because of the development of 4 more bungalows.
The applicant suggests that a social need can be met by providing much needed housing. The parish council accept that there is need for further housing in the area but consider that this proposal without any affordable housing is stretching the credulity of the argument to its limit.
In paragraph 4.3 - 5 of the Planning Statement the applicant refers to the lack of a 5 year land supply. The parish council understand that the 5 year land supply for Wychavon has technically defaulted but the overall situation is complicated. Overall, the South Worcestershire Councils have a five year land supply of 5.76 years but under the standard method, Wychavon is not allowed to take into account the oversupply in the past few years. The applicant quotes selectively from the December 2022 Five Year Land Supply Report. The SWDP area has overall provided 15,980 completions since 2013 against a requirement of 11,172 . Furthermore, Wychavon proposed that a number of windfall sites should be included in the 5 year land supply figures. In 2021-2022 Wychavon predicated 82 dwellings on sites of less than 10 units but in reality 140 completions were delivered. The Parish Council understands that where a 5 year land supply cannot be demonstrated then decisions should be taken on the basis of sustainability under the NPPF. As stated in para 9 above the village has seen considerable development over the past few years without any discernible improvement in sustainability. Increasing housing on its own does not increase sustainability and there has been no increase in services or infrastructure in or around the village as a result of the recent development. Given the fact that there is no pressure on the area as a whole to deliver more housing – there are 4808 more houses than planned and an over supply of windfall sites in particular- the parish council cannot see how this proposed development improves the overall need for housing.
Following on this argument in paragraph 4.6 of the Planning Statement the applicant quotes the Parish Council as follows: “The P C accepts that there is a need for further housing in the area” and goes on to suggest that the bungalows will be suitable for “elderly occupiers”. The parish council would argue the exact opposite to the argument mounted by the applicant. This is a remote site for elderly people who are likely to have impaired mobility and will almost certainly rely on the motor car contrary to the SWDP policy. A walk to the local shop on the A422 entails a round trip of 1.2 miles along lanes without footways, a steep hill and a busy A road where the footway is on the opposite side of the road. It can be noted here that the increase in housing in Flyford Flavell has not lead to any community transport initiatives or demand- responsive forms of transport and we see no prospect of anything developing in the near or medium future.
Recent developments in the village have offered tangible assets to the community. The village green was created in 2016 as a result of the provision of 16 houses. Four affordable houses were provided for the village, two of which are bungalows suitable for elderly people. The developments have either added to the sense of community or infilled in vacant gaps. This proposal does nothing of the sort. It seeks to create disjointed ribbon development and provide isolated dwellings which will be dislocated from the village. Nothing is offered to the community. The number of houses is deliberately kept under the threshold for affordable housing and no dialogue has been held with the community.
The parish council is aware that emerging policy for South Worcestershire is almost ready for presentation to the inspector. This policy takes a very different line to development and seeks to concentrate housing into four strategic zones. In future there will be little reliance on development in unsustainable locations such as this application and therefore the concept is out of step with new, fully consulted policy.
The land around Flyford Flavell is generally classed as Grade 3 agricultural land which is deemed to have “moderate limitations that affect the choice of crops to be grown, timing and type of cultivation, harvesting or yield.” The parish council consider this site to be of agricultural value and the loss of the and would outweigh the gain offered by the development. It is known locally that this particular field has not been ploughed for about 40 years. It has therefore likely developed a very particular ecosystem which could include rare wild flowers and orchids. These are known to exist on the Portway Farm SSSI located 0.34km to the east, pasture behind Tolley’s Garage, The Piddle Brook Meadows and on the SSSI in Naunton Beachamp on North Piddle Lane. At the very least the site should be subject to a detailed ecological survey as part of the planning determination.
The hedgerows are also known to have been undisturbed for a considerable length of time. The hedge on the opposite side of the road belonging to the Parish Council is dominated by elm, hawthorn and blackthorn and scores a high value of +2 for natural conservation when assessed with the HEGS criteria. Again the parish council would suggest that a full ecological report on the hedgerows is required before determination of this application.
Should the planning officer be minded to approve this application the parish council respectfully ask our district member to refer the application to committee.
Proposed: Sadie Densham Seconded: Andrew Short All in favour
12. Highways
The clerk reported the potholes on the A422, and repairs had been carried out by Highways. It was also noted that the repairs carried out in January had to be redone and that they still looked as if they would not last very long.
A complaint was raised from a member of the public concerning speeding traffic on Bishampton Road. This included “Royal Motorway” coaches from Radford. It was agreed that the Clerk would write to Royal Motorways about these reports.
It was understood that an approach had been made to the police concerning a residents’ scheme to check speeding traffic, but the clerk had received an email from the police indicating that there were safety issues with this. A member of the public has offered the use of their drive to facilitate a scheme. It was agreed that the clerk should write to the police inviting them to look at the residents’ scheme again and attend the next parish council meeting.
It was agreed that the parish council would accept the offer made by Linda Robinson to pay for an extra pole on Bishampton Road so that the VAS camera can be shared between the two places.
13. Treasurers Report
Balances
Deposit - £11,504.35
Current - £2,196.53
The balances include:
- £1,570.00 as a reserved fund for planning issues.
- £ 630.00 from Linda Robinson’s WCC fund for a bench on the green.
- £5,395.61 from Wychavon for cycling infrastructure.
This leaves a balance of £3,047.02 as the Parish Council general funds.
The clerk reported that the chairman and himself had been working on a budget for the next financial year (starting 6th April 2023) and this would be made available to councillors before the next meeting.
14. King’s Coronation
It was agreed to support the two initiatives to celebrate the King’s Coronation in May. This would be an open door hog roast in Flyford Flavell on the Sunday and a ticket only afternoon tea at The Flyfords Hall on bank holiday Monday. It was also agreed to provide coronation pin-badges to be distributed to the children of the parish. There will be a church service at Grafton Flyford in the late afternoon on the Monday.
The approximate costs will be:
- Flyford Flavell event £750.00
- Flyfords Hall Event £400.00
- Badges £85.00
The parish council has already received a grant of £200 from Wychavon and the clerk was asked to see if any further grant aid is available.
It was agreed to cover the cost of the badges and hall event in full and provide £650.00 towards the Flyford Flavell event as requested.
15. Any Other Business
It was agreed to hold a litter pick on the weekend of 15/16 April. A further litter pick will take place in May in response to the Coronation volunteering day initiative.
The Parish Meeting (for all 3 parishes) will be held at 7.00pm on 16th May followed by the Parish Council AGM and a Parish Council Meeting.
18. Date of Next Meeting
16th May 2023