Parish Council Notes

Bunbury Parish Council Meeting – 19 April 2023

Open Forum

Two residents from Wyche Lane spoke to the Parish Council, objecting to the proposed planning application for a bungalow on the land at Long Acre using the same access. They accepted that the proposal falls within the settlement boundary but pointed to the very narrow approach along Wyche Lane to the entrance. Construction traffic using the very narrow Lane and the current state of repair of the road, including a very large pothole, were also raised. A representative for the land owner also spoke to the Parish Council in support of the application pointing out this is a retirement bungalow for the current owner of Long Acre, which has been designed with local residents in mind, including a flat roof; and will generate one additional car using the driveway.

Ward Councillor Report

The Clerk reported that he had received a letter from the Ward Councillor explaining that she is not standing in the upcoming local election and thanked the Parish Council for their work, complementing the Council on its organisation.

Parish Councillor Reports

The consultation on the Neighbourhood Plan has now closed, and the Steering Group is working on updating the draft in light of the comments received. Once this is complete, the draft will be sent to Cheshire East along with the Design Guide.

The planting of a tree celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee took place on 13 April 2023; the event was advertised on social media.

An information session on the use of defibrillators will be held with user groups of the Pavilion and Village Hall. The defibrillator based at the Pavilion was used earlier in April and now needs the pads replaced. The feasibility of the defibrillator based at the Dysart Arms and the cricket club being located outside was discussed. One drawback of siting defibrillators outside is the effect of the cold on the life of the battery; heated cabinets are recommended, which come at an additional cost. The Yew Tree has also expressed an interest in having a defibrillator. It was agreed to run the awareness sessions and have further discussions about the location and cost of maintenance of defibrillators, followed by a communication to the village.

A new gate has been installed at the entrance to the playing fields. A ‘no dogs sign’ will also need to be put up on the gate.

Work has started on the development of the Oak Gardens site. The footpath has been closed with no notice; the requirement is for a 2.5m wide path on the inside of the fence that has been erected.

The heating at the Pavilion, although repaired, is still proving to be unreliable. The boiler is old, and parts are difficult to get. A new thermostat is required as is a new remotely operated time switch for the boiler. The recovery of electricity costs for the pop-up Co-op shop from two years ago is still outstanding and is being pursued.

It was reported that the shed at the Yew Tree has been broken into and cycles and tools stolen. Used vegetable oil has also been stolen from outside pubs. The police are urging residents to keep their sheds locked. The PCSO and Chair of the Parish Council are due to call on elderly residents to give advice about when not to answer the door to unwanted callers.

Planning Applications

23/0988N erection of bungalow at Long Acre

The Parish Council acknowledged the concerns of residents, particularly the narrow Lane and noise and potential road damage during construction. It was noted that there are other areas of the village where a number of dwellings share the same driveway. It was felt that Cheshire East Highways was unlikely to object to the increased traffic from one additional dwelling.

Agreed – No objection but asked for conditions during construction.

23/1393N 4 Wakes Meadow – mono pitch, garage extension

No information had been uploaded onto the website, so the Parish Council was unable to consider the application. The Clerk would write to the Head of Planning, pointing out that this was the second application that had come to the Council with no information provided on the website.

Planning Update

The Parkside planning application on Bunbury Lane and the one at the Methodist Chapel has still not made it onto a Planning Committee agenda, despite being advertised that it would go to the 5 April Committee meeting. There are no further Committee dates advertised due to the local elections in May. The situation is being monitored.

The Chair of the Parish Council reported that residents from Church Row have raised concerns that the developer at Belfry Place is planning to remove a piece of a grass verge that includes established trees. The possibility of applying for Tree Protection Orders for the trees close to the development would be looked into. This area has been identified as a Local Green Space in the draft Neighbourhood Plan.

Destruction of trees at Oak Gardens

A Parish Councillor raised serious concerns about the destruction of the wildlife buffer zone that was originally included in the planning application for the development at Oak Gardens. Trees have been cut down, and others cut back to reduce the area to an informal extension to gardens. The constant change to the application over the years has led to the loss of the original 15m non-development buffer zone. The Parish Council agreed to write to the Principal Planning Officer to ask for an explanation and ask for assurances that there should be no further encroachment.

Preserving Trees in the Village

It was agreed to undertake an audit of key trees in the parish and bring back recommendations to the Parish Council.

Installation of poles related to Fibre Broadband

A commercial company called Airband Community Internet had approached the Parish Council asking for permission to install 15m poles on land the Council owned, around the playing fields, car park and to the side of the Scout Hut. The Council felt that they did not have enough information on the installation and benefits to allow the installation.

Fundraising by young people for maintenance of the play area

Children had been concerned that there was not enough money to carry out repairs on equipment in the play area and had asked a Parish Councillor if they could help raise funds. A sponsored fun run around the fields for different age groups was suggested. It was agreed to look at organising an event, publicising how much it cost to repair the equipment last year and ask for support for such an event.

Clerk’s Report

All parish councillors who had submitted a nomination form had been elected with effect from the local election day of 4 May 2023.

Coronation of the King

The community picnic with a live band to celebrate the King’s coronation has been booked for Sunday, 5 May, 2-4 pm. People to bring their own picnics but teas/coffees, and cakes would be available to purchase. The possibility of the pizza van and a bar would also be followed up. The event has been advertised through social media, and posters would be displayed around the village. Picnic boxes would be distributed to vulnerable residents unable to attend the picnic, and a minibus would bring other residents to the playing fields.

Village Day Stall

The Parish Council will consider having a stall at village day and what to display and will discuss the detail at the next meeting.

Bunbury Parish Council Meeting – 22 March 2023

Open Forum

A member of the public presented the Parish Council with a petition of 26 signatures of people who would like to see allotments made available to residents. He referred to the draft Neighbourhood Plan with its policies of combating climate change, reducing carbon footprint and promoting community services for the village. The land at Tweddle Close, owned by the Parish Council, could be a potential site. The Parish Council agreed to put the item of allotments on a future agenda for further discussion. Management of an allotment site was raised as something that would need careful consideration.

A new candidate for the vacancy on the Parish Council introduced himself from the audience, explaining that he is currently on the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group and was now happy to put himself forward to serve on the Parish Council.

Two members of the public congratulated the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group on the work in producing a draft for consultation. One resident suggested some tolerance of parking in the centre of the village to support the local shop and Post Office. The work on Vicarage Lane has led to this being a dangerous part of the village for pedestrians and cyclists.

Parish Councillor Reports

There are heating issues at the Pavilion. Planting of a tree as part of the Queen’s Jubilee will be planted by the end of March when the scheme comes to an end.

An information session on the use of defibrillators will be held with the carers group in the Nags Head and further demonstrations on their use held with user groups in the village hall. A further defibrillator has been located at the Cricket Club. All locations of the defibrillators will be confirmed and then advertised in the LINK. The battery for the defibrillator at the Dysart has been replaced at a cost of £138.

The gullies in the village are due to be cleaned during the Easter holidays. The dog bin by the woods has not been emptied for some time, and the one agreed to be installed by the Mill has still not materialised. The Parish Council agreed to follow up the actions. There are still issues with the slope on Footpath 16, and the landowner will be approached about the possibility of levelling it.

The Parish Council heard that Vicarage Lane will be closed for 4 weeks in April, which also co-insides with the closing of part of Long Lane.

Speed gun training has been completed by a number of Parish Councillors, and these will be used shortly around the village.

Clerk’s Report

A letter of thanks was received from the recipient of the Chairman’s Cup last year.

The Design Guide produced by the company AECOM has now been completed and sent to Cheshire East. This will come into force alongside the Modified Neighbourhood Plan when finalised and approved. All new development proposals will then have to demonstrate good quality design.

Coronation of the King

Discussion took place for a second meeting of the Parish Council about how to mark the coronation of the King. It was agreed to look to organise a community picnic on the playing fields on Sunday 5 May. People to bring their own picnics. Picnic boxes would be organised and delivered to vulnerable residents; names of residents to be identified.

Finance

It was reported that £45,000 Community Infrastructure Levy monies had been received by the Parish Council from building developments that have taken place in the village.

Local Elections and Election to the Parish Council

Existing Parish councillors and others with an interest in standing for re-election or election in May had a short briefing after the meeting, covering the process and timeline for nominations.

Bunbury Parish Council Meeting – 8 February 2023

New Parish Councillor

The Chair welcomed a new Parish Councillor to his first meeting.

Open Forum

A member of the public advised the Parish Council that the Planning application for Parkside, Bunbury Lane, had been deferred from the Cheshire East February Planning Committee to the next meeting on 15 March. A member of the Parish Council agreed to present an objection to the application at the meeting.

Parish Councillor Reports

The Parish Council discussed how and in what format future communications of the work of the Parish Council could be delivered to the community. A village WhatsApp group was mentioned at the last meeting. The rollout and how to ‘gatekeep’ a WhatsApp group was discussed. It requires timely input to ensure information is up to date and relevant, as well as advertising events such as Village Day. All councillors should be able to feed into the Group and have basic rules of use drawn up. In addition, the Editor of The Link has agreed that the Parish Council can have a regular article included in the publication. Deadline dates for articles will be sought. 

The Bunbury sign’s poor state in the village’s centre was raised. Three double-glazed windows have been installed in the front of the Pavilion.

The replacement of some of the hedging around Brantwood in the centre of the village was raised as planning permission had included no change to the hedging surrounding the property. The Clerk reported that Cheshire East Enforcement Officer has been informed and received an acknowledgement, but no further intervention has occurred to date. This will be followed up.

The village PCSO had informed the Parish Council of an incident in Alpraham where an attempt was made to steal a car from a driveway. In addition, the Alpraham speed camera has been vandalised. A session for training members in using the speed gun has been arranged.

Planning Applications

23/0122N – The Old Coach House, Bowes Gate Road, Bunbury

Provision of a timber framed out building and associated free draining gravel hardstanding

Parish councillors commented that the plans were difficult to read as they were poorly drawn up with no scale included. This message would be sent back to the planning officer.

23/5034N – Priestland, Bunbury Common Road, Bunbury

Installation of a domestic solar array to the client’s paddock. The paddock is outside the Listed curtilage of Priestland but within the overall ownership of the boundary.

Parish Council decision: No objection, but ask that the permission is for domestic services only.

It was noted that the planning application for a store at Hope Cottage, Bunbury Lane, had been approved.

Clerk’s Report

There are local elections, including for the Parish Council, in May 2023. All members would be sent a nomination pack to rejoin. It was noted that being deemed elected, even if numbers applying, does not require a competitive election and gives members extra-legal powers.

The Pavilion

At the last meeting, a presentation was made about the potential for rebuilding the Pavilion, and it was agreed to discuss it again at the February meeting. It was noted that there was still some thinking around the use/purpose of any replacement building and its design. The Playing Fields Committee had met and expressed a wish to collaborate with other event spaces in the village, such as the village hall and scout hut and the community to propose a replacement for the Pavilion. A sub-group would undertake a scoping exercise to gather information to develop a vision and design before creating a fundraising strategy. The Scouting Association has been contacted for their views and input. 

Parking in Front of the Village Hall and Noticeboards

A parish councillor raised the issue of parking in front of the Notice Boards, which restricts the community’s view of the notices. Also, the ground in front of the Notice Boards needs to be in a better state of repair. The land had been reported to Cheshire East ‘Fix my Street’, who deemed that the area did not justify further action. A re-submission of the area will be made.

It was noted that vehicles can legally park by the Notice Boards but agreed to write to the Village Hall Committee to clarify who owns the area and whether a ‘No parking’ sign could be put up.

Defibrillators

The Parish Council are managing two of the three defibrillators in the village and agreed to begin to manage the one located at the Dysart Arms so that all three are managed together. Training could be offered to club users as well as the in-house training that the staff at the Dysart currently receive. In addition, the purchase of signage to show where the defibrillators are located was agreed upon.

Cheshire East Council Speed Management Strategy

The Parish Council discussed the recently published Cheshire East Council Speed Management Strategy and what, as a Parish Council, could be considered improvements for local traffic management bearing in mind the recently published draft Modified Neighbourhood Plan. 6.3 of the draft Plan covers transport, including several suggested improvement schemes for consideration in collaboration with Cheshire East Council. It was agreed that a paper on detailed proposals would be brought to a future Parish Council meeting.

Building Design Code

A draft Design Guide and Code to influence the character and design of any future development aligned with the Modified Bunbury Neighbourhood Plan has been circulated to members for comments.

Coronation of the King

Alternative ways to mark the Coronation of the King were discussed, with a coronation tea for older people and a community picnic on the playing fields the most favoured proposals. 

Footpath Maps

A proposal to re-design and print a new footpath map to include neighbouring areas/villages was discussed and will be discussed in more detail at a future meeting. In the meantime, the current Bunbury footpath map would be given out at Village Day, and a supply given to Bunbury Mill.