TEWIN PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Monday 14^th January 2008 in Tewin Memorial Hall at 7.00pm

Present: Cllrs K.Lawson (Chairman), K.St Pier, B.Evans, A.Hill, D.Howson, D.Lloyd and S.Stott.

In attendance: Mrs C.McFarlane (Clerk) and twelve members of the public.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE were received from Cllr D.Howson (who left the meeting at 7.40pm)

PARISHIONERS’ COMMENTS

Mr & Mrs Wilson, 43 Upper Green Road do not object to the development but would prefer it not to be there as they believe there are serious problems: -

• Drainage/Flooding – In the Tree Surgery report item 2 it states that there is “ no sign of poor drainage”. Mrs Wilson stresses that there is poor drainage under proposed houses 8,9,10 and water can pool up to 9” deep in bad weather and it then drains out onto Tewin Garage land. This survey already states that tree roots are near to the surface and this is because of the solid clay nature of the site.
• Under houses 1& 2 there is a spring and was a pond. There is also a spring under May Pond Green near the Seven Acres driveway. Historically there was a ditch at the back of the Tewin Cowper cottages and this drained away to Tewin Garage land. Absence of this ditch now exacerbates the road flooding problems.

• Road – They have a concern that the width of the proposed road is inadequate to allow for street parking and access for emergency vehicles together. They would also like to see pavements/footpaths accessing these houses.

• Sewerage – This is already a problem for 43 Upper Green Road. In response, the Parish Council confirmed that the new houses will be connected to the sewerage system at the back of Seven Acres and thus the new development will therefore not affect 43 Upper Green Road.

• Lighting – There is no mention of lighting. Can it please be low level discreet lighting and who will pay for it. (The type of lighting for the development has not been specified).

• Communal Areas/Highways – If the proposed road is not going to be part of the Highways system who will be responsible for maintaining it and who will also be responsible for maintaining trees, hedges and the amenity area. The Parish Council confirmed that the development as proposed would be the responsibility of the Housing Association (for the Affordable Housing) and a Management Company to act on behalf of owner-occupiers.

• Boundary – The current wall at the back of the garden at 43 Upper Green Road is approx 2m high and the plan is to replace this with a lower wall of 1.2m. Mr & Mrs Wilson would like to see the replacement wall, adjacent to their property, higher for security reasons.

• Temporary Waste Removal Sites – They expressed concern that resident rubbish was to be stored here permanently and the Parish Council pointed out that according to the plan they are intended as a temporary place to put wheelie bins on the day of collection.

Mr North of 39 Upper Green Road asked if this development had been considered in conjunction with possible development of the Tewin Garage site. The Council confirmed that the architect (M Cook) had approached the owners of the Garage site but there were no current plans to develop the site.

Mr North also stressed that the draft Parish Plan states that 72% of parishioners do not want any new houses in the parish.

He raised concerns that EHC are looking for more houses and, if the Seven Acres development does not provide as many as originally thought, would other sites in the village be used for development to make up the numbers. The Council confirmed that there is no actual allocation of houses for Tewin and that they did not foresee that this would happen as the village boundary (as recently redrawn) limits any development for two reasons:

a) there can be no development of the green belt outside the boundary and

b) the affordable housing requirements pose restrictions on all developments (big and small) and erode potential profit for developers.

He also raised concerns about insufficient parking being available.

Mr & Mrs Yates of 39a Upper Green Road indicated that they would like a taller fence put in at the bottom of their garden to screen the development from their house and garden.

A resident of Tewin Hill raised concerns that the village boundary would then be extended further, for example to the west of the village. The Council affirmed that there was no foreseeable reason for this to happen and Back Lane is still in Green Belt land. Currently EHC has an adequate number of sites and development is limited by the village boundary.

Mr & Mrs Ling of 59 Upper Green are concerned that the removal of the hedge bordering the road and Seven Acres, and the consequent improved visibility, will result in increased speeding and asked whether there were any suggestions of traffic calming. The Council confirmed that speeding was separate (though related issue) and is also being looking into by the Parish Council and the Highways Authority.

Mr John Clarke of 35 Upper Green Road was concerned at the lack of screening of the two-storey brick wall making up the south side of house No 18 from his garden.

Comments from Members of the Public ended at 7.55pm and the Parish Council reconvened after a few minutes’ adjournment

The Parish Council Chairman, Kristina Lawson, advised the parishioners that the Council was going to consider commenting on the following items: -

Affordable Housing, limitations of further extensions and conversion of garages, spaces in lofts and windows in conversions, who is responsible for public areas, grass verges trees and hedges etc, access over village green and registration of the new land as village green, waste storage, parking, lack of clear bus stop opposite Plume of Feathers, access onto Footpath15, boundary fences and screening, planting, sewers, wildlife, sustainable drainage and lighting.

PLANNING

Planning Applications Received - 3/07/2351 - Seven Acres

In The Parish Council agreed not to make any specific comments on

· Potential for conversion of garages and other changes which could affect the number of parking spaces available

· Possible impact from future addition of windows in roofs

· Access on to Footpath 15 (to the western side of the proposed development)

· Planting schemes – except in relation to certain peripheral planting affecting neighbours

· Lighting – except to clarify that the expectation is that a low impact lighting system would be selected.

The Parish Council agreed to respond to EHC in the following form: -

In light of the Inspectors report on the Local Plan and consultations in the form of parish meetings on 16th July 2007 and 14^th January 2008 the Parish Council agreed that they found the plans acceptable in principle but wish to raise the following important issues: -

· Affordable Housing – The Parish Council would appreciate the support of East Herts Council in order to ensure that the affordable housing could be allocated to local needs.

· Draft Parish Plan – The Parish Council wish to confirm that (whilst no members of the public in attendance at this meeting voiced an objection to the proposal as a whole) the draft Parish Plan states that 72% of the parish do not want any development in the Parish.

· Parking /Pavements – The Parish Council has considerable concern over the minimal quantity of parking spaces available and the insufficient overflow parking available. There is also concern over the lack of pavements in the development and the sightlines particularly where some of the hedges are proposed. The Parish Council wish to stress that there is no overflow parking available in the vicinity in the village. The Parish Council would also like confirmation that the width of the road is sufficient for to allow for inevitable street parking and access for emergency vehicles, delivery vehicles (including large furniture vans) and refuse/recycling vehicles at the same time.

· Housing Association/Management Company – The Parish Council would like to receive clear guidelines on what the Housing Association and the proposed Management Company will be responsible for once the development has been completed.

· Screening – A number of points have been raised with regard to screening and the Parish Council would like the entire perimeter of the development to be carefully and aesthetically screened in particular (as raised at this meeting) where properties 1-4 back onto the tennis courts, south side of house no 18 where it backs onto garden of No 35 Upper Green Rd, rear of garden of 39A Upper Green Road and the wall to the rear of No 43 Upper Green Road.

· Village Green – The Parish Council strongly recommends that the new verge with the new footpath which would arise from the removal of the hedge bordering Seven Acres and Upper Green (cross hatched green & white on the plans) should be to be registered as Village Green for Tewin Parish Council to maintain, as a continuation of May Pond Green (VG56). They would also appreciate confirmation that a footpath will be able to extend as far as the land in front of the tennis courts.

· Flooding Drainage – The Parish Council is concerned that houses no 9,10,11 are located where there is known flooding and natural springs occur which already adversely affect No 43 Upper Green Road.

· Traffic Flows – As highlighted by the draft Parish Plan speeding is a major concern of the parish. The Parish Council would appreciate serious consideration of the impact of increased traffic flow on the local roads, including the improved visibility on the corner by the two cottages and wishes to see possible preventative methods implemented.

Comments from the Parish Council will be forwarded to East Herts Council by 25^th January 2008

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

As there was no further business the meeting was closed at 9.05pm and the next Parish Council meeting will be on Monday 28^th January 2008 at 7.45pm at Tewin Memorial Hall.