Minutes of an interim meeting of the Parish Council, held on Monday 6th August 2018 in the Village Hall, at 7.30pm.

1. Apologies: Cllrs. Martin Baker and Terry Oxman.

Present: Cllrs. Martin Allen (Chairman), Brian Gale, Patricia Lennard, Katrina Maxwell and Ray Triggol.

Also present: the Clerk together with 2 members of the public.

The Chairman requested the Planning Application should be considered before the Affordable Housing item.

2. Planning.

Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (As Amended).
Application no:  18/18/00004/DT.
Proposal:  Erection of storage building.
Location: Old Rectory Farm, Fry’s Lane, Chedzoy, Bridgwater, TA7 8JW.
Applicant:  Mr Farmer.

The Chairman invited the applicant to outline the proposal. The application is for an aesthetically pleasing two-bay open-fronted storage building with a tiled roof, to be sited in the corner of the field further along Fry’s Lane from Old Rectory Farmhouse, near the corner garden/allotment separated from the field by a hedge. The closest neighbouring property with a clear view of the building is Old Rectory Farmhouse itself. It will house various tractors and play equipment currently stored in a room actually beneath Victory-V Cottage, which cannot be let until the store is cleared out, as it would represent a health and safety breach.

The Chairman called for a vote, and the councillors unanimously supported the application.

The Clerk has subsequently submitted the following comments to Sedgemoor District Council's planners:

'Chedzoy Parish Council supports the application on the following valid planning grounds:-

No additional traffic will be generated and road safety will be unaffected. The proposed building will not have any detrimental effect on neighbouring properties. There will be no overshadowing, overlooking or loss of privacy involved. The aesthetically pleasing appearance will blend in well with the landscape and no additional noise will be generated.'


2. Affordable Housing.

The Chairman said he felt the matter had been canvassed and discussed at length, and he felt it was now time for the councillors to vote on the motion before it.

'Does Chedzoy Parish Council agree to tackle the affordable housing shortfall in the Parish?'

A lengthy discussion ensued, with each councillor giving their opinion. It was felt the motion was heavily loaded. It was felt that although some minor individual infilling could be accommodated, any sizeable development, (and any development to include affordable housing will necessarily be sizeable), would severely strain the parish infrastructure, services (such as they are), drainage and flood risk issues. The Dolton’s Farm development had only recently taken place. Traffic from the parish and neighbouring parishes is already heavy and could only increase under the scheme. It was felt that, at the end of the day, those parishioners who expressed a need for assistance from affordable housing in the survey may well not be guaranteed to benefit from it.

The public meetings have shown the vast majority of parishioners are vociferously opposed to the plan. Plans such as 'Help to buy', 'Shared ownership' and the 'Home Finder Service' were national schemes, available to all and not exclusively related to affordable housing.

The motion was proposed by Cllr Pat Lennard and seconded by Cllr Ray Triggol, with the ensuing vote unanimously defeating the motion, with all councillors being opposed to it.

The Clerk was asked to convey the decision to the Affordable Housing team.

There being no other business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.40 pm.

The next regular meeting will be held on 17th September 2018 in the village hall at 7.30 pm.