Present:
Cllr C. Neville - Chairman
Cllr S. Carryer
Cllr M. Herbert
Cllr R. Seeckts

Several members of the public wanted to present their views on planning application F20864/006/FUL/KO Southview, Main Rd, Kingsley. Cllr Seeckts declared a personal and prejudicial interest and left the room.

Mike Charles described the proposed development as significant and one that would dominate this area of the village, the size of one of the double garages being equivalent to three-quarters of the size of the Spindle and equal to each of Dean Cottages. He quoted from the Inspector’s refusal of the appeal on the previous application where reference was made to development to the rear being at odds with the established pattern of dwellings and the contribution of the deep gardens to the rural setting of the village. He advised the Council that both Westerkirk House and The Spindle were listed as Hampshire Treasures in the County Council’s survey of features of the county which “are of public interest…and whose deterioration or destruction would represent a serious loss to our heritage.” He quoted from the Listed Buildings Act 1990 to support his argument that the proposed development would both harm the setting of a listed building and fly in the face of the District Council’s resolve, as expressed by quotations from the Local Plan, to protect the historic and architectural heritage of the District as much as possible. He also referred to issues concerning sustainability and the potential road safety hazard arising from vehicles reversing out onto the B3004 due to the narrow width of the access road. He raised the issue of loss of amenity in relation to the nuisance caused by the access track being so close to 1 Dean Cottages and serious overlooking of both Dean Cottages and The Spindle in particular. He said that the photos in the design statement prepared by the developer were taken with a wide-angle lens and the positioning of the houses is much nearer the existing properties than the photos suggested. He said that the design statement belittled the potential for flooding, which had certainly happened in the gardens of Dean Cottages in the Winter of 2000/01. He concluded that in his opinion the application and design statement had failed to address the issues in the Inspector’s report and disregarded both the Listed Buildings Act and the Local Plan.

Hakan Lucas referred to Policy HE13 of the Local Plan which states that buildings that are not listed but are of importance to the local area will be protected. He described The Spindle as dating back to the 16th Century and one of the oldest cottages in the village with many original features still intact. He referred to its entry in the list of Hampshire Treasures and advised the Council that it was currently being considered for listing by English Heritage, an application that had the support of the County Council Conservation Officer. He then referred to the loss of amenity he felt would be suffered by The Spindle. The double garage in Plot 2 would be less than one metre away and it alone was about three-quarters of the size of The Spindle which would be dwarfed by the proposed development. The hedge at the rear of The Spindle was low and thin and would not provide a shield from overlooking and there would be clear sightlines into all the rear rooms from the new houses. Finally he referred to Policy HE1 of the Local Plan concerning the need for development to harmonise with the surrounding area. He said that the Inspector had recognised the current settlement alignment with the Main Road and said that this application if allowed would set a precedent for backland development in the village.

Cllr Neville asked if the total mass of the proposed development was known. Mike Charles said he did not know but if the garage was the same size as Dean Cottages, the total mass must be large. Mrs M Comber said she believed that new legislation had been or was about to be introduced which protected views.

There being no further views to be expressed on this planning application, Cllr Seeckts re-joined the meeting.

Mrs M Comber asked what had happened about the request for the rail at Coldharbour to be removed. The Clerk advised that nothing had been heard from Hampshire County Council in response and she would contact them again. Mrs Comber then asked about Tank Alley to which Cllr Herbert replied that she and Gary Marshall had dealt with more fallen elms that had blocked it and that Mr Blaber had agreed to move the electric fence surrounding the sheep at the end so that the footpath would be fully open all the way to the Straits. Mrs Comber said that the path was covered by the Binsted Enclosure Award of 1857 which designated it a private carriage road that must be at least 3 metres wide. Cllr Herbert agreed to look into this.

Councillors were provided with a copy of a draft letter to Hampshire County Council seeking clarification of their responsibility as the highway authority to ensure public rights of access to land subject to a S193 declaration under the Law and Property Act 1925 and requesting them to take action if they are so required.
It was agreed to send the letter as drafted
Proposed: Cllr Herbert
Seconded: Cllr Carryer

Councillors were provided with a copy of a draft letter to the Minister with responsibility for Post Offices. This had been prompted by a campaign by the Countryside Alliance to lobby government on the importance of rural post offices to local communities. The letter affirmed the importance of the facilities provided by the post office to Kingsley villagers, especially to those who would otherwise be reliant on public transport to collect pensions etc. Cllr Seeckts commented that the content of the letter demonstrated the sustainability of Kingsley as a location.
It was agreed to send the letter as drafted
Proposed: Cllr Seeckts
Seconded: Cllr Herbert

Cllr Neville read out PC Truan’s response explaining that a mean average speed of 30mph during the speed survey would have been required for Hampshire police to support a change in the speed limit. Cllr Neville said it was quite obvious that there was no chance of ever obtaining such a result in a survey on a road where a 40mph limit was in place.

He then explained that he had been trying to get information from Dockenfield PC’s contact with legal expertise on how they had been able to secure a 30mph limit through alternative means but he was still waiting for the information.

The management accounts had previously been circulated together with a bank reconciliation. Councillors had no questions.

The draft budget was presented based on maintaining the annual precept for 2007/08 at £10,000. The precept had last been increased in April 2004 so this would be the fourth year at the same level. Cllr Seeckts asked how much was available within the budget to deal with unexpected costs such as necessary repairs and the Clerk replied that £900 was set aside for such purposes; if it was not required, it would be carried forward in the reserves.

It was agreed to adopt the budget and to set the precept for 2007/08 at £10,000.
Proposed: Cllr Seeckts
Seconded: Cllr Carryer

F24117/019/FUL/KO RETENTION & CONTINUED USE OF LAND AS CAR PARK AREA WITH EARTH BUND, KINGSLEY CROSS COUNTRY LTD, DEAN FARM, MAIN RD, KINGSLEY
Kingsley Parish Council has no objection to this application

Cllr Neville advised Councillors that a draft of the next newsletter would be included in the next correspondence with the aim that it would be distributed before Christmas.

Cllr Neville reported that he had attended the meeting of HCC’s Regulatory Committee the day before at which the Grundon’s planning application had been considered once again. The application had been passed on the Chairman’s casting vote, however since it involved a departure from policy and plan, there was automatically an appeal to the Inspector on the decision. So it was not over yet and further responses would be necessary once the appeal process started.

Cllr Neville reported that, with Alain Marchand (a resident on the Common) he had met with Colonel Andy Westcott to discuss the problems on Kingsley Common of trail bikers etc. The Colonel was now aware that the campaign of enforcement had not been covering the Common. Apparently the problems were much greater in the Broxhead area. At any permitted trail biking events, it will now be required for the organisers to hand out leaflets to all participants stressing that the Common may not be used for trail biking at any other time. The Colonel is also considering increased signage and the possibility of building a wooden structure at the bridge by the old dog kennels that will allow access by horses but not by trail bike. Cllr Neville said he hoped that people living on the Common would see some improvements in due course. He said that the army was committed to achieving a favourable SSSI for the Common and that the problems must be seen in the context of their need to train soldiers, some of whom were very inexperienced, and their need to find ways of raising revenue to help with the management of huge areas of land.

Cllr Carryer reported that St Nicholas Church had been broken into, at a date unknown in November, with the chain (which was supposed to be impossible to break) being cut through and the wooden door chiselled through to remove the lock. As far as she could tell, the only thing missing was the strimmer. The break-in had been reported to the police and a crime reference number obtained. It was agreed that Andy Cox should be asked as a matter of urgency to secure the door and provide an estimate for its repair. It was further agreed that Cllr Neville would loan a temporary chain for the iron gate with keys to be provided to the Clerk and Cllr Carryer. Cllr Neville suggested speaking to the Vicar about what measures had been taken to protect other isolated Churches in the area; he also suggested putting up signs on the Church door in future to make it clear there was nothing of value inside. Cllr Herbert suggested asking for professional advice from the locksmiths in Alton.

Cllr Seeckts asked if the work on Upper Green to deadwood the oak trees was now completed. Cllr Neville said he had been down to check the work and it appeared to have been done very well. The Clerk advised she had received the invoice which was already authorised to pay under Minute Ref 06/89 so this would be done shortly.
Cllr Seeckts reported that a further complaint had been received about the state of the footpath between Kingsley Cross Country and the Tarmac site. The Clerk said that it had previously been reported to Hampshire Highways who had agreed to sort it out, even though they had advised it was actually EHDC’s responsibility. Cllr Neville suggested that Sid Newman should be asked to deal with it and it was agreed that the Clerk should ask him to do this.

Cllr Herbert reported that she had attended the Community Forum meeting earlier in the week at which the Parish Council’s request for £200 to provide planting on Upper Green had been approved. At the meeting, there had been a presentation by the Alton District Youth Club about the setting up of a youth café in Nursery Road and a minibus being arranged to bring in children from the villages in the evening. Cllr Herbert asked if the Parish Council had ever considered a youth shelter for the village. Cllr Carryer replied that it had been discussed when Mike Symons was Chairman and it had been rejected on the grounds that it would encourage anti-social behaviour. Cllr Herbert said she would like to explore provision of such a shelter further. Cllr Neville asked her to come up with a proposal to include possible siting and cost so that this could be put on the agenda for a future meeting.

Cllr Herbert asked whether a welcome pack could be provided to new villagers. Mike Charles advised that one had recently been introduced by the Church and he offered to provide a copy for Councillors to see what was included.