Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting held at The Flyford’s Hall on Tuesday 9th January 2024
Present
Sadie Densham
David Waide (Chairman)
David Rhodes
Andrew Short
Richard Davey
Linda Robinson
Mark Broughton-Taylor attended as clerk
1. Apologies
None
2. Declaration of Interest
David Waide declared a non-pecunery interest in item 12.
3. Public Participation
The meeting was live streamed but there were 3 online participants.
There were fifteen members of the public in attendance.
Relevant comments from the public are recorded under the relevant items below.
4. Minutes of the meeting held on
Meetings held on 5th December 2024 were approved.
Proposed: David Waide
Seconded: Sadie Densham
All in agreement
It was noted that the minutes were not up to date on the website.
5. Matters Arising from the Minutes
It was noted that the minutes were now up to date on the website.
6. Bio-diversity
The council was reminded that from 1st January 2024 it had a legal obligation to consider bio-diversity in all its decisions. Andrew Short will develop a draft policy to be submitted to council.
It was agreed to publish the Carbon Footprints of the villages on the website.
7. Local Police and neighbourhood Watch
It was noted that the Policy and Crime Commissioner elevations will be on 2nd My 2024.
8. Flyford Green
It was reported that the annual inspection of the play equipment had been completed by ROSPA and everything was in order.
The outside of the hedges have been cut but the swale hedge and the inside need to be cut by hand. The clerk to arrange this.
It was reported that there had been no further news from the Land Registry.
The clerk reported that legislation had come into force this year that required parish councils to consider biodiversity in all its decisions. It was agreed that the clerk would provide a briefing note to councillors over the next few weeks.
Flyford Pond
Again, we are still waiting for the Land Registry.
9. District and County Councillors Report
Please find below my first report for your parish council in 2024. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New year and a productive one for your community.
Flooding and Rainfall
This week has been disruptive to most with travel and homes being affected by the flooding of the rivers.
Only days ago there were 14 flood alerts in effect in Worcestershire, with multiple road closures including major bridge crossings on the Avon & Severn.
From earlier this week, we discovered that the total rainfall for 2023, recorded on the Civic Centre weather station, is 1036mm – this is the first time it’s exceeded the 1 metre mark. Looking back through archive local rainfall totals, this is the highest on record certainly for at least 60 years.
Highlights from our data (since 2008) are record rainfall for October and the second-highest December total.
We will no doubt find out soon enough how 2023 has gone down nationally and while it may not be the wettest on record across the board, it certainly looks that way for our locality.
During the latest flooding County’s Highways & Transport Control Centre were working from 8am till 8pm.
For future reference see below for useful contacts:
To report an urgent issue you can call 01905 845676 and speak to one of their advisors.
Alternatively you can find flooding advice and how to report issues at
worcestershire.gov.uk/council-services/environment/flooding
School placements
A reminder for parents of all children starting school this year to submit their applications. The deadline for a place at a Worcestershire Primary, First or Middle school is January 15th at midnight.
Applying online is recommended on the council’s dedicated School Admission’s pages.
Call [01905 845900](tel:01905 845900) or visit worcestershore.gov.uk/schooladmissions for more info.
Call To Action
Does someone in your community want to plant a Community Orchard in Wychavon?
Through the Trees Call To Action Project (TCAP), Wychavon District Council and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund partnered with The Heart of England Forest are offering Wychavon Community Groups & Schools, trees to plant an Orchard.
Orchard planting will be supported by TCAP officers, who offer free advice and guidance throughout the process.
If you are a Community Group or School who may have space for an Orchard and you would like to know more about this offer or if you are considering a community or large-scale tree planting project, please get in touch.
For tree planting advice in your community, please contact our team: [email protected]
You can find out more about the Trees Call To Action Project here: bit.ly/3QNALQW
SWEP
The Sever Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) will be in effect again this coming Sunday and Monday due to the expected cold weather.
The public are asked to make sure that if they see homeless people, to share the details with StreetLink.
Residents are reminded that if they come across a rough sleeper, to report the information such as the location to the StreetLink service at bit.ly/3GSDTXf
StreetLink will then share the details with us and our partners, and together, we will make sure that the person in need receives the support they deserve.
10. Planning Matters
10.1 W/23/02162/FUL
Mr & Mrs Kember
Lower Church Farm
Bishampton
Flyford Flavell
WR7 4BX
Refused.
10.2 W/23/01778/PIP
Meadow Croft
Bishampton Road
Flyford Flavell
WR7 4BT
The meeting with the planning department had still not been arranged.
Mr Broderick attended the meeting and reaffirmed his offer to seek the preferred option for development from the parish council. It was reaffirmed from the chairman that the council would facilitate a public meeting but was not in a position to offer any advice of preference.
Members of the public spoke up vociferously on this matter and were in agreement that a public meeting before any technical application was made would be beneficial.
10.3 Radford Road Appeal
Members of the public showed considerable interest in this matter and contributed to the discussion. Comments were taken into account in the comment below. An extension of time had been agreed with the inspector and the following comment was agreed:
- The Flyford Flavell, Grafton Flyford and North Piddle Parish Council has opposed all the applications on this site and continue to maintain its position. The parish council would draw the inspector’s attention to the three comments that were made at the time of the determination. All three comments are fairly similar but do make some specific points.
- We would also draw attention to the considerable public interest that these applications generated. The response is unprecedented in our experience and serves to show the depth of local concern raise by these applications. The parish council would like to emphasize the following points that have been raised in the application objections:
- The site is still outside village boundary even though the appellant has sought to draw a new boundary in his appeal statement for W/23/00431/FUL (Yellow Line).
- This is downplayed by saying development is allowed in the open countryside and quote policies. All of these policies are clearly for rural workers, farm buildings, etc where other criteria pertain and do not apply to this type of development. They have not shown that local rural workers need this type of development.
- It develops the village along Radford Road (W-E) and this is not “natural” as they themselves say. They mention the Green as an example of W-E development but the access for this is on Bishampton Road, the N-S axis.
- They keep saying it is sustainable, but with no data to justify this statement. Locally sewerage, broadband, footway access, school places and parking and electricity supply are already at their limit. N.B. The development of Flyford Green had to have LPG heating as the local grid could not support electric power for heat pumps.
- The 12-house allocation in the SWDP at Meadowcroft off Bishampton Road (recently approved as PIP) and say this proves things are sustainable. In fact, this going ahead (in principle) makes their proposal even less sustainable and adds to the excessive number of houses already approved above the allocation in the 2016 SWDP so it is the opposite argument.
- The appellant draws attention to the application at Meadowcroft W/23/01778/PIP (referred to above) which was recently approved. The parish council also objected to this application and would like to draw the inspector’s attention to the comment that was submitted for that application. It should also be noted that this site has been promoted in the RSWDP which has not yet been approved and is at inspection stage. It is felt that although Wychavon planning committee felt unable to oppose this application, at the technical stage previous impediments to development on this site will still remain and it is likely to be refused. Please see the planning history for this site which goes back to 2014 and appeal APP/H1840/A/14/2221630 which was dismissed.
- The parish council notes that the new NPPF introduced on 19th December 2023 has reduced the land supply to four years and we are now told that Wychavon exceed this supply. This supports the parish council’s contention that there is no pressure on housing needs in Flyford Flavell.
- The parish council has a duty under the Environment Act 2021 to consider biodiversity in all its decisions. Section 40 came into force on January 1st 2024 and is now a material consideration in making comments about planning applications.
- Flyford Flavell has a carbon footprint about three times the national average. (31 t CO2e per-household) An explanatory note is submitted with this comment. It can be seen that housing and transport contribute most of the carbon footprint and thus it begs the question whether Flyford Flavell is a sustainable location for furtherdevelopment. Fromanenvironmentalpointofviewhousingshouldbe located in areas where the average footprint is much lower. This can be because of geographical reasons as well as many others.
- Development of this sort is not going to enhance biodiversity in our parish. As we have pointed out in our submission to the LPA this land has not been ploughed for over forty years and the pasture and hedgerows are of considerable importance to our Neighbourhood.
- When weighing up the balance between the good and harm that this application represents, the new provisions of the Environment Act need to be taken into account. Under the geographical circumstances, the very high carbon footprint of the area and the loss of bio diversity, the parish council respectfully considers that these applications fail on all accounts. No amount of mitigation, be it by high insulation levels, renewable energy or compensatory planting can compensate for the loss of the natural environment that will be caused by these applications.
10.4 W/23/02364/HP
Mr Ryan Tolley
Belmont
Bishampton Road
Flyford Flavell
WR7 4BX
Remove existing access to highway and create new access.
No objection.
Andrew Short took the chair for the next item.
10.5 W/23/02135/FUL
W K Lewis & Partners
Yewtree Farm
Libbery
WR7 4PE
Extension to Existing Agricultural building.
No objection.
11. Highways and Footpaths
The clerk reported that the pothole on the A422 on the north side of the road near Piddle bridge had been reported.
A report has been forwarded from WCC Highways concerning speed limits on Radford Road. No changes were recommended. The chairman considered that in his reading of the design guide specification for setting speed limits there was a case for a reduced speed limit on this stretch of road. The parish council will consider challenging this report.
It was agreed that the residents should continue with the proposed petition.
Andrew Short offered to help with the extraction of the data from the TAS camera. The camera is also to be moved to Bishampton Road as a matter of urgency.
Cllr Robinson is still awaiting a response from Mike Rouse concerning the proposed public meeting. The charman stated in no uncertain terms that the council was now running out of patience and could only think of one other alternative and that was to take the matter to the press.
12. Treasurer’s Report
Appeal Fund: £1,570.00
Deposit Acc: £14,761.25
Current Acc: £2,121.05
It was agreed to set the budget requirement at £16,600 which represented an increase of approximately 5%.
13. Flyford Church
It was reported that the Remembrance Day Service had been held at Naunton Beachamp this year. Anne Howarth, chair of Naunton Beachamp Parish Council had presented a wreath on behalf of both parish councils and this had then been brough back to the hall and put on the war memorial in the hall during the month of November.
14. Flyfords Hall
Christmas events at the hall had gone very well and there were good on going bookings for 2024. Redecoration of the hall had taken place in the first week of the year.
15. Any Other Business
The clerk reported that the review of the polling station will take place during January.
16. Date of Next Meeting
6th February 2024 — An extraordinary meeting to discuss appeals that had been received on land adjacent to Flyford Arms and a planning application for Church Farm in North Piddle.