At the start of the March meeting of Penally Community Council, new member Mr.?Stephen Cavill read out his Declaration of Acceptance of Office, after which the chair, Clr. P. Bradbury, welcomed him as a councillor. The clerk was to advise the returning officer at Pembrokeshire County Council accordingly.

Mr. Carl Willett was also due to make his declaration, but was unable to attend due to a prior commitment.

Among matters considered and discussed at the meeting were the following:

Planning

Lily Pond Farm, Whitewell Lane, Penally - two agricultural workers dwellings and an office/storage building with parking area. Clr. Cavill advised the council of the excessive length of hedgerow that had been removed to enable an entrance to be formed from the byroad. The council also addressed the fact that part of this application was for retrospective planning permission appertaining to the application which Penally Community Council raised major concerns and objected to and the Planning Authority rejected in October 2018. The council considered that they had major concerns regarding this planning application.

The clerk was to contact the planning officer and arrange a site visit.

(Post meeting note - the vlerk contacted the planning officer who advised her that a site visit would not be appropriate at this time as she, as planning officer considering this application, was likely to recommend this application for refusal in the next seven days and the council’s major concerns and objections were duly noted.)

Correspondence

• Clr. Preston requested that the council consider placing a bench at the location of the bus stop adjacent to Holloway Court (on the same side of the road as the walkway through to Holloway Court). Clr. Preston was to make enquiries with Pembrokeshire County Council as to whether a bench could be placed there. The clerk was to ascertain prices of benchesand the item was diarised for the April agenda.

• Email received requesting information regarding the ownership of certain trees within the village which the writer considered in need of pruning. Discussion took place regarding the ownership of these trees. Clr. P. Bradbury was to make further enquiries as to the ownership of the said trees.

• Email received, from a resident, requesting clarity from the council regarding the consideration of certain planning applications appertaining to a single property in Penally. The clerk advised the council of the timeline regarding the council’s consideration of these applications and the confirmation of correspondence between the clerk and the planning officer at Pembrokeshire County Council. Councillors considered this information and concluded that the council did not act inappropriately regarding these planning applications.

County Clr. Jon Preston’s Report

Petanque/boules area update: Following consultation with the Planning Team, I can provide the following update. The drawings provided by the club appear to be suitable for what is needed, but for the full application, the following detail must be covered/provided:

1. A site location plan on an OS base covering a sufficiently wide area to identify the site in relation to adjacent properties and nearby features such as hedges, etc.

2. A block plan of adequate detail to show existing and proposed site layout. The plan needs to identify adjacent features to permit positive identification of the site and how it in turn relates to existing features and impacts the area.

3. Elevations drawings (if appropriate) and details of materials to be used in connection with the construction and any fencing or other boundary treatment.

4. In certain circumstances, an ecology report will be required assessing impact on wildlife and the wider environment (I have explained that in this instance it is unlikely that any trees, hedgerows or habitats will be impacted as the work is entirely confined to the field surface).

5. Pre-application advice is available, but attracts a fee of £250. The change of use application is likely to attract a fee of £380 (charges set by the Welsh Government).

The Community Development Officer has also been consulted regarding the Improving Pembrokeshire Grant.  It is possible that the planning application fee can be included in the grant application. However, this needs to be discussed in further detail with the Community Development Officer as part of the application process. 

In the case of insurance, the community council would need to ensure its public liability policy to which the court facility could be added whereas with the club, it is something they would need to start from scratch.  Also, there would be processes already in place to ensure that the community council would not overlook renewing insurance. However, the cost of that premium would need to covered which will also need to be agreed,

The Property Team would also need to recover any surveyor costs in dealing with matters of this nature against a set scale and this is something which will need to be claryfied. Also, PCC would normally charge an annual rent for land even if used for community recreational use.  This charge will be assessed once the exact area for the court is established.

County Council budget: Full council agreed the final budget at its meeting on February 21. The 9.92 per cent increase will add an estimated £100 per annum to a Band D property, £1.92 pw over 52 weeks The Council Tax premium for second homes started in 2017-18 and PCC will be introducing a Council Tax premium for long-term empty properties in 2019-20. Since the introduction of the premium, the local authority has agreed to progress with a target of 10 affordable homes each year, with Solva, Llangwm and Fishguard/Goodwick being identified as priority areas for building. Also the introduction of the Enhancing Pembrokeshire Grant fund, which provides resources to support local organisations to offset the impact of second homes within their communities. All other council services have been asked to identify cost reductions and efficiency savings of eight per cent (of their controllable net expenditure budget for 2019-20).

PCC ran several seminars for council members and proposals were looked at in detail by all five of PCC Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

They also ran a public consultation from December 17, 2018 - January 18, 2019, in which over 500 people took part. Over 8,000 Facebook users also viewed the three Facebook Live sessions PCC held to publicise the consultation and to answer people’s questions. Relevant documents can be viewed via the council’s website.

Long Course Weekend: The cabinet member for infrastructure has informed members that Activity Wales are looking at road closures for this year’s cycling element of the Long Course Weekend on July 6. The formal legal process for the road closure has not yet begun, but Activity Wales have already issued letters to town and community councils and other community groups.

PCC will be holding detailed traffic management meetings with Activity Wales, so any concerns raised by the communities can be reviewed. The Long Course Weekend has grown in popularity and there is a need to review the current ‘open road’ policy for the safety of the motorists, athletes and the public.

Litter enforcement: The statistics that have been provided by District Enforcement, who are the company working with Pembrokeshire County Council to address enviro-crime, shows Milford Haven to be the location where most Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) for dog fouling have been issued (12 in total).

Dog walkers in Pembroke Dock and Tenby are the joint second worst offenders in Pembrokeshire for not cleaning up after their dogs, with four FPNs issued in each town across the same period.

Fixed Penalty Notices for environmental offences such as dog fouling, littering, fly-posting and graffiti carry a charge of £150 reduced to £75 for early payment.

Agenda Items

Update on the Grange Development: Meeting held at County Hall, Haverfordwest. Present: Cl. P .Bradbury, Mrs. Lavender (planning officer, Pembrokeshire County Council planning department) Pembrokeshire County Council planning enforcement officer and the clerk.

Clarity was requested regarding planning permission being granted with ‘conditions’ - Mrs. Lavender advised that some planning conditions were not mandatory and if a contractor, when challenged, could provide sufficient reasoning as to why these conditions had not been adhered to, the majority of conditions were not enforced.

Questions were raised regarding the payment of the £15,000 agreed under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) and when the agreed development works (additional pathways) for the community of Penally would be completed. The clerk advised that contact had been made with the Section 106 monitoring officer, Mrs. Forrest, who was unaware that construction works had indeed commenced, but now she had been made aware of such, she would prepare the appropriate paperwork and advise Penally Community Council when payment had been received. Mrs. Lavender confirmed that once this payment was received by Pembrokeshire County Council, it was assigned to the relevant department to pay for the agreed works, as per the agreement. These agreed works were required to be completed within five years of the start of the development. In this development, the agreement was to provide a pedestrian link to existing pathways in the vicinity of the development.

Also raised were the major problems regarding the unloading of large lorries which took place with the reported blocking of the village road causing the diversion of the local bus service with the lorries then parking within the Paddock housing etate causing further access and egress problems for the residents and refuse collection lorries. The enforcement officer advised that, although this was not a planning enforcement issue, he would request that no lorries park on or obstruct the village road or the Paddock housing estate and that all delivery drivers consider using the large open space to the front of the old Night Owl.

The enforcement officer also confirmed that he would be visiting the site more regularly to ensure that the planning approval was being adhered to and that the issues regarding the unloading of large lorries had been addressed. Also, that the fencing protecting the badger runs remains in situ and following the completion of construction a permanent fence is erected.

Consideration of the future funding of Penally Crow News: Clr. D’Arcy gave a report on behalf of the Village Hall committee stating that they had agreed to manage the very popular Penally Crow News leaflet and the printing thereof and requested that the council consider making a donation towards the printing there of.

It was agreed that Penally Crow News is a massive asset to the village, run by volunteers, and although the council fund such, the Village Hall committee have more of an overview regarding the contents and number of the issues printed throughout the year. Following discussions, Clr. Rilstone proposed that the community council donate £60 in April 2019, July 2019, October 2019 and January 2020 to the Village Hall committee, providing at least one Penally Crow News is printed in that quarter. Clr. Cavill seconded the proposal, with all in full agreement.

Consideration of a ’preferred contractors/suppliers’ list: The clerk confirmed that a list of preferred contractors was being drafted. If any handy persons, electricians, grounds maintenance contractors, painters, decorators or home maintenance contractors would like to be considered for the list, they should contact the clerk for further details (07525 007068).

Responsibility for the maintenance of public footpaths: Clr. Bradbury brought to the council’s attention that public footpaths around the village were becoming unpassable by fallen trees and debris.

Clr. Preston confirmed that he would seek further information from Pembrokeshire County Council regarding where the liability lies to ensure that public footpaths remain passable.

Clr. Cavill confirmed that he would photograph footpath 33/3 and forward his photographs to Clr. Preston for onward submission.

This heading has been diarised for April.

Annual meeting: The annual meeting of Penally Community Council will be held on Wednesday, May 15, 6.30 pm, at the Village Hall. The May general meeting of the council will follow this.

Date for next meeting: Wednesday, April 10.