Quarley Parish Council Minutes - September 2006

Minutes of the Quarley Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 19^th September 2006 in the Village Hall at 7.30pm.

Cllr Mrs Ferguson reported that Cllr Mrs Hill has had a nasty fall and broken her ankle, this couldn’t have happened at a worst time as Lucinda is due to give birth to her first child within the next few weeks. Mr Stewart Cross reported that Lucinda’s making the best of the situation and keeping her spirits up. The Parish Council sent their regards and that they were all thinking of her.

WELCOME.
Cllr Mrs Ferguson welcomed everyone to the meeting.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING - Cllr Mrs Ferguson signed the minutes of the previous meeting as a true record. Matters arising from those minutes :-

LAINS SHOOTING SCHOOL - Cllr Mr Venables reported that Mr Kirby has submitted the following Planning Application to Test Valley Borough Council:-

06/02702/VARN - Relaxation of restrictions on when shooting can take place, the type of cartridge that can be used, and the number of shooting positions/stands (non-compliance with conditions 2,3,5,6 and 7 of TVN.2161/4 -permanent use of agricultural land as shooting grounds) - Lains Shooting Ground, Cholderton Road, Quarley, Amport.

Cllr Mr Venables gave a summary of proceedings to date. Mr Kirby has taken steps to reduce the noise levels and has worked closely with Test Valley Environmental Health Department. The Baffles that have been installed are working well and have reduced noise omitted by 20 decibels. Two noise surveys have been carried out and the noise levels are now below the standard set by the Governing Body.

The Parish Council all agreed to support Mr Kirby in his Planning Application and will send the following statement to Test Valley Planning and Amport Parish Council.

Mr Howard Kirby has recently made an planning application to continue to operate Lains Shooting School at the same level he has done for several years. Although Lains Shooting School is in Amport Parish, those most affected by this application are the residents of Quarley Village. The Quarley Parish Council has accordingly discussed the implications of the Shooting School, in the presence of a number of members of the public, on several occasions.

The Parish Council noted that:

Lains Shooting School has been operating at the level for which Mr Kirby has sought approval for a number of years;
This level of activity is in excess of Mr Kirby’s extant planning consent;
Between the early 1990s and the end of 2005 the level of activity which Mr Kirby is seeking to maintain has not occasioned complaint from the village residents;
Mr Kirby has always been sensitive to disturbance which might have been caused to village residents;
Mr Kirby has recently taken further significant and successful steps to reduce the noise emanating from the Shooting School;
The resulting level of noise from the School is below that considered by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health to cause a substantial loss of amenity;
The Shooting School provides employment for 7 local people;
The Shooting School provides a welcome amenity facility;
The continued existence of the Shooting School is entirely in accord with the policies laid out in the Government’s “Rural Strategy 2004” and “Policy Planning Statement 7: Sustainable Development in Rural Communities (2004)”;
Mr Kirby has been very supportive of fund raising activities for St Michael and All Angels Parish Church and the village more generally;
Were Mr Kirby’s activities to be limited to those set out in his extant planning consent, the School would most likely be forced to close; and
If this were to happen we would lose employment in Quarley; a rural amenity facility would disappear; and Quarley village would lose the valuable contribution support to the village community.

Accordingly Quarley Parish Council formally expressed:

its opinion that Mr Kirby should be able to continue to operate Lains Shooting School at the level he has done for several years, to the general benefit of the village and wider community; and
its strong support for his application to that effect.

Mr Kirby thanked the Parish Council and the Village for their support.

TRAFFIC - The Parish Council all agreed that there does not seem to be a noticed increase in traffic through the village as a result of the road calming at Monxton. However there does seem to be an increase in the speed vehicles are travelling along the village roads, especially Skew Road. The Clerk was asked to report this to the Police.

FOOTPATHS - The Clerk reported that Mr C Wilkins has cut the footpath from the Drum to the Amport Parish Boundary. The cost was £60.

The exact route of this footpath was questioned, it was not sure if the path ran through the belt of trees or along the edge of the field, the Clerk was asked to contact Hampshire Paths for a copy of the Definitive Footpath Map.

BUS SHELTER - Cllr Mrs Ferguson reported that someone keeps taking down the notices in the Bus Shelter. It was thought that a child was the culprit.

QUAD BIKES - Cllr Mrs Ferguson reported that she has not received any further complaints regarding the noise from the Quad Bikes down the Cholderton Road.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH - Cllr Mrs Ferguson reported that the Village needed a co-ordinator for Neighbourhood Watch.

PLANNING - No new Planning Applications have been received.

The Parish Council have been notified that :-

• 06/02058/LBWN - External works to include replacement of garage doors and installation of new doors - Quarley Down Farmhouse - CONSENT subject to conditions.
• 06/02060/FULLN - Replacement of 3 garage doors and installation of 2 doors - Quarley Down Farm House - PERMISSION.

VILLAGE QUESTIONNAIRE.
Mr Kit Hum reported on the Parochial Church Council results for the village questionnaire, a copy was given to each of the Parish Councillors.

Mr Kit Hum spoke about the theft of the bells from the Quarley Church and reported that the insurance company have agreed to cover the cost of their replacement, new bells will have to be cast. However additional expenditure will have to be met to as security will need to be looked at, the refurbishment of the remaining bell and the fabric of the building housing the bells will need to be looked at. Mr Hum will keep the Parish Council informed of any developments on this matter.

Mrs Rowen Walker reported on the Village Hall results from the village questionnaire. A lot of the suggestions made by the village on the questionnaire have been carried out, although there is still a list of things to be done. Money for general maintenance of the village hall is of utmost importance this amounts to approximately £2000 a year.

Cllr Mrs Ferguson reported that Mr Ferguson will now take the completed result forms and collate them, the results will be presented to the village and then sent to Test Valley Borough Council. Mr Ferguson hoped that once the results of the survey have been lodged with Test Valley Borough Council it would help pave the way for grant aid.

CHEQUES ISSUED IN SEPTEMBER 2006

CLOSE OF THE MEETING
Cllr Mrs Ferguson thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting

DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
14^TH November 2006 in the Village Hall at 7.30pm.