Agenda and minutes

1.1  The Chair welcomed members and guests to the meeting and explained the order of business for the meeting.

1.2  The Chair set out the aims of the Forum which were to improve collaboration and engagement.  It is important that all consultations and engagement are fed through the Forums to ensure its effectiveness.  The Forums will need to set out their priorities and develop an action plan however it is important to be realistic about what can be achieved.  They will need to focus on common issues across the Forum area rather than specific parish issues.  All members have an important part to play and it is for members of the group to ensure they report back to their organisations.  Communication must be two way.

1.3  The Chair continued by explaining that there may be issues that the Forum need to resolve themselves rather than looking at others to do this for them.  It is important to be positive and look for solutions rather than focussing on the problems.  It is essential that the Forum works together to achieve the same goals, there is a voice for the Chew Valley and it is important that members use this Forum constructively.

1.4  The Chair welcomed the guest speaker, Richard Daone from Planning Policy.

1.5  Roundtable introductions were made.

2.1   Apologies were received from Louise Fradd (Sponser), Derek Quilter (Sponser), Tony Heaford (Vice Chair), Councillor Paul Crossley, Councillor Tim Warren , Rod Podger (Chew Valley Chamber of Commerce) and Chew Stoke (Parish Council).

3.1   The notes from the last meeting that took place on 24^th July 2014 were agreed as an accurate record.

4.1   4.4 of the Ask the Leader – Question raised by Councillor Tony Hooper, regarding whether outline planning permission that have not been signed off can go back to be re-appraised now that the Core Strategy is implemented. Feedback was given that this issue had now solved.

5.1   Sara Dixon provided a verbal update to the group on working groups, membership and promotion of meetings.

5.2   The Forum covers the geographical area of 14 villages and 4 Wards.  It will meet a minimum of four times a year with an annual general meeting to be incorporated into these arrangements.  The Terms of Reference (TOR) have been agreed and circulated to Forum Members.  The Forum may set up working groups, to take projects forward and the TOR allow for this to happen.

5.3   Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES) have dedicated senior officers to help the Forums resolve outstanding issues.  They are Louise Fradd (Strategic Director for Place) and Derek Quilter (Divisional Director for Project Management).

5.4  The arrangements for the meetings will be published on the B&NES Council meeting calendar. The agenda and minutes papers will also be available from the same websites page. http://democracy.bathnes.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=527&Year=0

(i)  Outstanding Parish Council Cluster issues

(ii)  Reporting future issues and Q&As

 6.1   A verbal update on how local issues could be raised was provided by Sara Dixon.  There was a discussion about how members of the public could be encouraged to attend future meetings and have the opportunity to raise local issues.

6.2   It was agreed that the meeting would be split into two halves.  The first halve will be an informal open session (Ask the Forum) where members of the public would be able to ask questions to the Police, Council, Curo or any other Forum member.  Organisations, such as the Police, could provide a brief update if required.

6.3  Sara agreed to prepare an advert and publicity for the Chew Valley Gazette encouraging people attend the next meeting.

(i)  Core Strategy Update – presentation by B&NES Planning Policy

The Core Strategy forms part of the Development Plan for the area and will be used in the determination of all planning applications submitted to the Council alongside other key strategies

7.1  The Chair introduced Richard Daone, B&NES Council Planning Policy  Team Leader who presented an update on the Core Strategy.

7.2   The Core Strategy as it stands is available online.

http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/core-strategy-examination

7.3   The attached presentation that accompanies these minutes covers the full presentation that was provided at the meeting.

7.4   Question and answers raised during this item were as follows:

Question 1: On what date does the plan start and how long does it run for?

Answer 1: The plan started on 1^st April 2011 and runs for 18 years until 2029.

Question 2: What happens when multiple applications are received that are not linked (for example - different land owners) which result in a total of more than 50 homes being provided to an individual RA1 village?

Answer 2:  The Council would be able to use the controls in the Core Strategy to decline applications if requirements have already been met.

Question 3: What is the definition of ‘affordable housing’?

Answer 3: There are numerous definitions, (i) Homes that are built for the purpose of social housing rental dwellings. (ii) Homes that provide an opportunity for shared ownership. (iii) Dwellings that are made available at 80% of the normal market value.

Question 4: Where a development straddles village boundaries, is there the ability for the boundaries to be adjusted for the provision to be met?

Answer 4: Limited affordable housing can be built on green belt land where there is a shortage, as set out in the Core Strategy. Rural exceptions also allows for smaller market developments. Where objections are made regarding green belt usage, the national policy now states that schemes can go ahead where there is a need for affordable housing.

Question 5: Does HDB give the same level of protection as given to the Green Belt?

Answer 5: There is less protection given to HDB sites, the form of development is where the protection is used.

Question 6: Where applications require an inclusion of 15% affordable housing how are the actual number of homes determined, when they are calculated as partial figures?

Answer 6: There is case law that determines that partial figures will need to be rounded up.

Question 7: What is the date that CIL becomes applicable?

Answer 7:  CIL will be adopted by April 2015.  There will be two levels of income from CIL, 15% is the standard amount and 25% to areas that have a Neighbourhood Plan in place.  The date that an application is determined is what counts to whether CIL is applicable.

7.5   The Chair thanked Richard for his presentation and attendance.

(i)  Presentation and discussion – priorities for the local Forum

This will build on the work already undertaken by the Forum and develop a shared agreement of priorities and actions

 8.1  Sara Dixon provided a short presentation on the future challenges and priorities for the area.

8.2  The meeting split into three groups to discuss further.  A summary of the discussion is shown in appendix 1.

8.3   Sara Dixon agreed to take away the feedback and build a profile based on this information and then bring it back to this forum at the next meeting.

8.4   It was agreed by the group that the two priorities that have the greatest urgency are Access to Services and Transportation.

(i)  Community safety report

Update from the Police, opportunity to highlight any issues or concerns within the Forum area.

(ii)  Health issues – Your Health, Your Say (attached briefing)

Opportunity to have your say about local health services

9.1   PC Gemma Hill and PC Stuart Peard provided an update.  A summary of the key points raised:

·  The Police Station in Bath has been sold to The University of Bath for re-development. It is presently still in use and open until 8pm. The plan to use the One Stop Shop opposite is not going to happen as the space available is not great enough for the needs.

·  Radstock Police Station remains open Monday – Wednesday and Friday – Saturday 10am – 2pm.

·  The Beat Officers will be located in the new civic centre in Keynsham.

·  The Keynsham Police Station will remain but this will not be open to the public.

·  The new Custody Suite at Ashmead is now open.  There are 48 cells, the Custody Suite in Keynsham is now operational as are the centres at Patchway and Bridgewater.

·  It was confirmed that the PSCO will continue to carry out duties.

·  The initial Community Speed Watch that was setup continues to be built upon.

·  Farmwatch is now operational across 250 farms in Bath and North East Somerset.

·  Crime Prevention - there has been a number of shed breaks that have increased due to the time of year. General care and awareness is needed and needs to be reiterated.

·  A vehicle stop check resulted in £20,000 worth of cannabis being found.

·  There have been a number of dwelling burglaries in the area, suspects have been identified and there are ongoing investigations.

·  Bishop Sutton has been highlighted as a hot spot for anti-social behaviour and the police are continuing to deal with these issues. 

·  The DVLA online provides the ability for anybody to check a vehicle for a valid Tax or MOT.  This information was provided following discussion regarding abandoned vehicles.  https://www.gov.uk/get-vehicle-information-from-dvla

9.2  A request was made to all members where regular newsletters were sent out to local residents or contacts that Crime Prevention messages were included where necessary.

9.3  It was suggested that future agendas would give the Police an earlier slot to allow for them need to leave the meeting if they were called away on operational duties.  It was agreed that this would be incorporated in the Ask the Forum session.

9.4  Health related issues – Sara Dixon provided an update on Your Health, Your Voice.  The Clinical Commission Group (CCG) has recently set up a public and patient participation group.  It is made up of local people with an interest in healthcare who provide feedback on the latest proposals and consultations. 

9.5  They are keen to make the group as representative of the local population as possible and need people to help with disseminating information about future CCG’s consultation to a wider audience and also feedback to the CCG on local people’s views regarding the local health service. 

9.6  There is limited space on these groups and it has been agreed with the Public and patient participation group lead that the Forum Chair’s will initially attend these meetings on behalf of the area.  The Vice Chair’s  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.1   Mark Hayward explained that this group are invited to take part in the Council Budget Fair meetings that are planned for the first week in November. Further information is with the minutes of this meeting. 

·  Thursday 20th November 2014, 6.30pm, The Wellsway, West Harptree

·  Thursday 12th February 2015, 6.30pm, The Wellsway, West Harptree

11.1   The next two meetings of The Chew Valley Forum will take place at The Wellsway, Harptree Hill, West Harptree, BS40 6EJ on:

·  Thursday 20^th November 2014

·  Thursday 12^th February 2015