The Chair, Mr. Arthey, welcomed the following Parish Councillors to the meeting – R Corcoran, B Howe, R Howe, M Moore and A Sturgeon. In attendance was Mrs V Waples, Clerk.
Opening – the Chair opened the meeting and thanked all for attending. The statement on reporting at meetings of the parish council was taken as read.
Apologies of Absence
- Apologies of absence were received from Cllr. Hainsworth for personal commitments.
- Council consented to accept the apologies given, aif.
Declarations of Interest
- To receive declarations of registrable interests and non-registerable interests as detailed in Appendix B of the LGA Model Code of Conduct Model Code of Conduct 2020 - there were no declarations of registrable interests for the agenda under discussion.
- Members to be reminded to review their Register of Interests and timescales involved with declaring new other registrable interests – Councillors noted the relevant forms to be completed for such interests.
- There were no declarations of gifts of hospitality received exceeding £50.
- There were no requests for dispensations for the agenda under discussion.
Minutes of Previous Meetings
- To note that approval of the minutes of the Council Meeting of 13th July will take place at the scheduled meeting of 14th September 2022 – Council noted the proposed treatment of the minutes of 13th July 2022.
Planning Matters
- To consider the following planning applications: DC/22/03712 - Application to determine if Prior Approval is required for a Proposed: Erection, Extension or Alteration of a building for Agricultural or Forestry Use. The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (as amended) Schedule 2, Part 6 – Erection of building for storage of straw – all confirmed that they acknowledged that the application was actually in Lindsey and there was a requirement for the Council to meet and discuss this. It was also noted that the current overspill of the current car park was actually in Lindsey. The intensification of the land was mentioned. It was agreed that Council needed to consider the nature of the use of the site and the land and whether it was to be for agricultural use or not and that this should have been recognised and highlighted as part of the application. It was confirmed that the proposal would have skylights/translucent sheets and was not an overly large building and discussion followed as to whether the building would be covered in PV panels. It was agreed that the proposal was some distance from the farmyard area and a concern was raised at the expansion of the site. Council considered whether there was anything about the proposal that required a full planning application and whether a retail use of the building could be discounted. It was agreed by all that on the assumption that this was to be an ‘agricultural building and would be for the storage of farm produce for use on the holding, then the Council did not feel that it warranted a full application to be submitted. However there was a need, given the expansion of the ‘farm shop’ over the years, to ascertain whether there might be a retail element to the building (is straw going to be bought in, stored, and sold on) and the Clerk was asked to add this concern to the Council’s response. It was also agreed that the meeting did not consider that the proposal would have any detrimental impact on the landscape or nearby heritage assets or on any of the residential amenities of neighbouring properties, aif.
Matters for Noting
- Cllr. Sturgeon made the meeting aware that Heating Bildeston, as part of their feasibility study, were sending round a request to all residents for details on the fossil fuels currently used to understand the overall energy demand. This item would be covered in more detail at the next scheduled meeting.
Date of Next Meeting
- Parish Council Meeting 14th September 2022 commencing at 7.30pm in Lindsey Village Hall.
There being no other business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 19.28.