Minutes of the Ordinary Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 3rd September 2024 at 7.00pm in Bradford Abbas Village Hall
Present: Cllrs Robin Legg (Chairman), Jenny Thomas, Dave Furby, Sally Jenkins, Peter Clark and Jo Barber, Diane Coffin
Others Present: Mrs S Hillier (Parish Clerk) and 19 members of the Public
1 Welcome and receive apologies: The Chairman welcomed Councillors and members of the public to the meeting.
2. Declarations of Interest. There were no declarations of interest.
3. To approve the minutes of meetings held on 2nd July 2024. They had been circulated to Councillors and were agreed by those present and signed accordingly.
It was agreed to move Agenda Item 11 – Wyke Solar Farm Proposal up the Agenda at this point as a number of residents were present for this item. Simon Schofield from RWE communications company addressed the and indicated that there was to be a meeting consulting on the proposal in Bradford Abbas Village Hall on 16th September 4pm-7pm and that consultation closed on 23rd September. An application to Dorset Council was expected in December. The plan was for a 49.9MW solar farm producing enough electricity to power 20.000 homes. Two Project Managers from RWE were also present who then answered questions from members of the public and Councillors present (see appended)
4. Matters Arising from the Minutes. i) The bench had been moved from outside the Village Hall. It was initially thought that it would be re-sited in the Recreation Field but there were concerns regarding vandalism. The Church had expressed an interest in it being sited n the Church grounds, Agreed. ii) A letter to Velcourt had been circulated to Councillors and it as agreed that this should still be sent and signed by the Chairman on behalf of the Council.
5. Public period for comments and issues. T474 footpath modification was coming up for appeal. The land owner had formally objected to the plan and disputed the evidence. Councillors and residents to try to find if those who had given evidence/objected were willing to speak again. The Officer to be invited to meet with Councillors and residents and ask her to suggest dates in October to meet.
6. To consider any Planning Applications and Decisions.
1. P/HOU/2024/02418 Yorkfold Churchwell Street - convert attic and install juliet balcony and roof lights – withdrawn
2. P/FUL/2024/03357 - Carry out alterations to block up existing door openings and install new doors to rear elevation Location:3 Peel Centre Retail Park – Granted
3. P/FUL/2024/03281 - Erect plant and bin store cage/compound and installation of plant. Form 3 no. openings in external wall/cladding. Location:3 Peel Centre Retail Park – Granted
4. P/HOU/2024/04220 - Erect two storey rear extension and front porch. 7 Queens Road, Bradford Abbas – No decision
There were no further comments on these applications.
5. P/HOU/2024/04961 - Yorkfold Churchwell Street Bradford Abbas DT9 6RG - Erect single storey rear extension. This was a modified re-application, that had been circulated to Councillors.
An application from the Food Warehouse – 3 Peel Centre for a licence to sell alcohol had been received. Tere were no comments.
7. Financial Accounts. The list of payments due had been circulated. The Grant from Groundworks UK for the Neighbourhood Plan had been received and transferred into the Deposit Account. Annual Insurance Premium to Clear Councils due. The Clerk requested permission to purchase a wreath for Remembrance Sunday. Approximately £20.00. Clerk requested permission to attend Clerk’s Conference on 1st October. Attendance fee split with Thornhackett PC. Agreed
Financial Information for Council meeting 3rd September 2024
Current Account
£6504.81 Account Balance as at 30TH June 2024
Payments made since
£164.60 HMRC – PAYE Direct Debits Paid
£219.60 Salary Month 2 0.30 AWS EMEA July
£219.80 Salary Month 3 0.29 AWS EMEA Aug
£176.17 KM Dike Inv 1971
£176.17 KM Dike Inv 1994
£13.60 Postage (NP) Receipts
£219.60 Salary Month 4 £8729.00 Groundwork UK (NP Grant)
£400.00 Internal Audit
£40.00 DAPTC Training (Cllr Jenkins)
£176.17 KM Dike Inv1917
Transfer to Deposit Account
£8729.00 Groundwork UK (NP Grant ring fenced)
£4698.81 Balance in Current Account as at 31st August 2024
Proposed payments from Current Account Future Payments – Prior to November meeting
£33.73 Telephone Box Group £219.80 Salary Month 6
£219.60 Salary Month 5 £164.60 HMRC – PAYE
£375.00 Savills (Allotments) £25.00 Wreath for Remembrance Sunday
£176.17 km Dike Inv 2022
£595.40 Clear Councils (BHIB)
Deposit Account
£22348.43 Balance reported at meeting on 30th June 2024
£22.73 Interest July
£8729.00 Transfer from Current Account (NP Grant)
£24.04 Interest August
£31124.20 in Deposit Account as at 31st August 2024
NP denotes Neighbourhood Plan expenditure monies held in Deposit account and transferred out as required
Total in accounts as at 31st August 2024 is £35823.01
8. T474 DMMO East Farm. Discussed under item 5.
9. Grant Application. There had been a request from Life Education for a grant towards Health Education course in the school. Pay this year but talk to the Head Teacher.
10. Defibrillator Contract. South West Ambulance Service no longer supporting defibrillators. Need to look for alternative providers for a Maintenance Plan. Thornford use Community Heartbeat. This needs investigating.
11 Wyke Farm Solar Panel Proposal. Discussed at start of meeting
12. Wriggle Valley Bus Project. This project had gained funding for 6 months from Dorset Council. It was hoped that it would commence in late September/October. A draft Budget had been circulated. Councillors agreed to contribute towards the £500 required for the initial 6 months. Clerk to talk with Yetminster PC who were leading on this.
13. Reports from Representatives to outside bodies. Tree Officer – nothing to report. Fingerposts – more letters needed for Overcompton and Clifton Maybank sign posts and a new ‘finger’ needed on the Overcompton Post. Councillors agreed to proceed with the necessary expenditure. Cllr Coffin to contact company. Pennant – Nothing to report. Rights Of Way Officer – Footpath at Mill Farm had been diverted and moved away from the wall maintained by the land owner. Village Hall – Meeting later in the week. DAPTC Rep Annual Meeting to be held in November.
14. Reports from Working Groups. Neighbourhood Plan - Monthly meetings continue consultants to examine work to date. Looking into 20mph zone idea to combat speeding in the village. Telephone Box Group – Nothing to report. Recreation Field – Nothing to Report. Web Site – Quotation received regarding on-going maintenance. Costs seem high. To look at alternatives. A new domain name could be purchased Hugo Fox could be used for a web site (a number of local councils use this company already) and E-mails could be hosted for £12/m. Data migration would need to e investigated if Hugo Fox were to be used. Clerk to Investigate other alternatives as well.
15. Items for Pennant Cllr Barber to produce an article.
Communications – Heart of Wessex line closed 23rd September for a week. Cllr Legg following up problems regarding motorcyclists on Babylon Hill area. Cllr Legg also requested a special cut of A30 around the areas of the junctions.
16. Date of Next Ordinary Parish Council Meeting – Tuesday 5th November 2024 at 7.00pm in Bradford Abbas Village Hall
Summary of Questions and comments to RWE re Wyke Solar Parm Proposal 03/09/1014
- Is there a possibility of 1:1 meetings? It will depend. The aim is to improve the plans based on input from public and Councillors.
- Were any other sites looked at as the area is rich in wildlife? Yes, another field locally was ruled out because of archaeological remains, and some do not have the right orientation.
- Why this site it is rich farming land? It has a good access to the Grid at Pen Mill. The majority of the site according to soil surveys is 3b/4 which is moderate to low grade. The majority of the present crops are for biofuels. Look to issue grazing licences for sheep grazing.
- What are the heights of the panels and the surrounding fences? The maximum height of the panels is 10m, the surrounding fencing is not security fencing, it is deer fencing and is approximately 2m. Hedging will be maintained at approximately 3-4m.
- Who will maintain the hedging? A landscaping contractor will be employed to maintain the site.
- The extra footpaths and community orchards if they fail to appear who will enforce them? It is expected that the Parish Council will act as a watchdog and Dorset Council will be the Planning Enforcement Authority to ensure that the approved plans are followed.
- When will the Parish Council determine its opinion? Once the formal application is received.
- How many other sites do RWE have? There are 11 other sites being developed.
- CPRE have indicated that present solar farms produce more electricity than is needed for Dorset already. This energy will go into the Grid for distribution.
- Is this the most suitable site while there are plenty of brownfield sites and roof top spaces on factories, office blocks etc? Roof tops are often not strong enough and are more expensive to develop.
- The quality of the land has recently been intensively cultivated without crop rotation this may have led to a decline in soil quality.
- We would welcome Ilchester Estates to come and explain their decision to use good land in this way.
- This is 49.9 Mw why this size? Any larger the development would have to go to the Secretary of State for determination which is time and resource intensive, in order to be viable it would need to be much larger in the area of 800Mw.
- Why use cables to Pen Mill along the A30? There is insufficient capacity on the pylons already present and we do not want to construct more pylons.
- How will you mitigate construction traffic in the area? We are investigating possible access off the A30.
- What is the life expectancy of the site? 40 years
- How will you get cables across the railway? Either by burying them or attaching to the bridge