At 7.00Pm in the St. Fagans Village Hall
St Fagans Community Council
Minutes of the Council Meeting held on Monday 2nd February 2015
at 7.00pm in the St. Fagans Village Hall
Present:CouncillorsT. Pallier (Chairman)
S. Chedzoy, B. Critcher, J. Griffiths,
J. Hughes,F. LewisC. Price.
In Attendance:PolicePC H. Thomas
ClerkD. Barnard
Apologies:CouncillorsM. Parry & J. Pugh
County CouncillorG. Thomas
PolicePC R. Richards
The Chairman welcomed everyone present to the Meeting. He expressed his appreciation to Cllr. Price for chairing the last meeting in his absence.
Cllr. Lewis reported that Cllr. Pugh had hoped to attend this meeting but had suffered a close family bereavement. Members expressed their condolences.
282.02.01 – Minutes of the Council Meeting held on 5th January 2015
Members approved the Minutes and the Chairman signed them accordingly.
282.02.02 – Matters arising from the Minutes
No matters were raised.
282.02.03 – Police Reports & Neighbourhood Watch
PC Thomas apologised that he had left the written report in the office but would forward it to the Clerk. He referred to his presentation on Crime Prevention at the Village Hall on Tuesday 27th January, thanked those Members who had attended and said he had received good feedback. He plans to arrange another event later in the year. In the meantime, the monthly surgeries will continue from 5.00 to 6.00pm on the last Wednesday of each month.
PC Thomas advised that ‘Operation Perception’ at Parc Rhydlafar had also been successful, with quite a number of residents attending the mobile police station to get property marked, etc.
PC Thomas referred to the lack of telephone service at the weekend caused by the theft of 200 metres of cable. The theft was caught on video by a resident and the suspects are to be arrested. While some ‘phone service has been restored, he was told it could be up to 3 weeks before it gets back to normal.
There has only been one other reported crime – that of an offensive weapon found in a vehicle that had been stopped by the police. Some of the highway signs near Parc Rhydlafar have been damaged by vehicles and the matter has been reported to Cardiff Council.
Cllr. Hughes referred to the closure of the level crossing at the weekend. He had decided to take the opportunity to walk down Michaelston Road and about 40 – 50 vehicles drove down to the crossing and had to turn around and go back. He expressed the view that the problem was due to poor signage. He had ‘phoned Network Rail but they had not been helpful. He wasn’t sure who was responsible for the road signs but it was a dangerous situation that he felt shouldn’t happen and the signs need to be better in the future. PC Thomas said he thought that the signs were put out by Network Rail. It was agreed that the Clerk should write to both Network Rail and Cardiff Highways about Members’ concerns.
The Clerk advised that PC Roberts had apologised for being unable to attend this evening. He had informed the Clerk that Tony Williams is the new Inspector for the Ely police district.
282.02.04 – Clerk to the Council
The Clerk had written to the Chairman and Members to explain his personal circumstances that he was concerned might impact on certain aspects of his obligations as Clerk, and to give the Council the opportunity to consider whether it wished to consider his continuing employment. The Clerk left the meeting to allow Members to discuss the matter privately.
After a short time the Chairman asked the Clerk to re-join the meeting and informed him that Members were unanimous in wanting him to continue as Clerk and would be happy to offer support in certain aspects of the clerkship. The Clerk expressed his appreciation to Members for their understanding and support.
282.02.05 – Planning
a) Cardiff LDP
The Clerk reported that the invitation to the Planning Inspector to partake in a conducted tour of the northwest area to see at first hand some of the concerns that Members have in respect of the LDP proposals for the area, had been declined.
Cllr. Lewis reported that the Hearing Sessions had reached the half-way stage. They would recommence the following day (3rd February) and are due to finish on Friday 27th February. She expressed the view that the Inspector appears to listen to the points that are being made but how much notice she will take of them remains to be seen. She added that the Inspector is supposedly independent. Some good points are being made by the various representatives, with the North West Group, Cardiff Civic Society and the Llandaff Society all doing very well. Cllr. Griffiths added that the Inspector is trying to be seen to be scrupulously fair and allowing people to come back to respond to points as necessary.
Attendance at the next group of Sessions was discussed and agreed.
b) Redrow / Plasdwr proposals
The Clerk reported that there had been no further response from Redrow regarding a workshop. He also advised that the closing date for comments on this application is now 13th February. Cllr. Lewis confirmed that she was working on the Council’s response.
Members discussed the arrangements for the public exhibition on Sunday 8th February. The Clerk was asked to remind County Cllr. Thomas to supply copies of the site plans, etc. He was also asked to draft and forward suitable notices for the Council’s notice boards.
Cllr. Griffiths said that he had some concerns about comments on the Creigiau site plans.
Cllr. Lewis referred to references in the Redrow application regarding the junction of Llantrisant Road / Crofft Y Genau Road that she considered underplayed the safety concerns. She questioned whether information could be obtained about the number of recorded accidents at that location.
c) Museum Development Plans
The Chairman and Cllr. Hughes reported on the turf cutting ceremony that they had attended. The ceremony had been performed by Ken Skates, the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, and, despite the inclement weather, had been very good. Cllr. Hughes reported that he had spoken to the contractors and they have been warned about using Michaelston Road.
The Clerk was asked to make enquiries with Bethan Lewis about a further meeting.
d) Planning Application at Clos-Y-Cwarra
Cllr. Hughes confirmed that he would be following this up in March. He had been informed that woods to the west of the site have been bought by the Plymouth Estate.
e) Other Planning Applications
The Clerk gave details of the following planning applications:
New:
- 14/02968/DCH: 9, Maes Y Gad: insertion of two dormer windows.
- 14/02972/MJR: Land North & West of Great House Farm – Residential development (19 dwellings)
- 15/00008/MNR: St Michael’s Church, Persondy Lane – (Listed Building consent) Opening up a bricked-up archway to provide alternative entrance / fire exit.
- 15/00112/MNR: St Michael’s Church – Alteration to parking area to provide two parking spaces.
- 15/00169/DCH: 14, Nant y Gwladys – 2-storey extension with garage conversion + separate garage
No issues were raised with any of these applications.
Decided:
- 14/02589/MNR – S/O 3, Cardiff Road – Broadband Cabinet. Application refused. Members questioned the reason for refusal and asked the Clerk to enquire. Cllr. Griffiths referred back to the theft of telephone cable at the weekend and proposed that the Council should write to BT to express thanks on behalf of the community for the efforts put in by their employees to restore the ‘phone service, which he considered had been quite impressive. Members agreed and the Clerk was asked to write to BT accordingly.
- 14/02245/MNR: Springmeadow House – New detached 5-bed dwelling in grounds. Permission granted.
Withdrawn:
(None)
Other Planning-related issues:
Cllr. Hughes reported that he had spoken to Danny Driscoll of Cardiff Council and Chris James from Barratts regarding the pumping station at Westfield Park. Barratts now own the land. A further meetingwas due to take place the following day and it is hoped that the matter will be finally resolved by June.
282.02.06 – Community Review
The Clerk reported that he had firstly received a message from Paul Keeping, advising that the: report was going to Council on 29th January, recommending that the two proposals for St Fagans be rejected. Paul had said though, that the Boundary Commission takes the view that where a development’s only access is through a particular community (e.g. Westfield Park access through Ely) that the development should be part of that community, so Cardiff Council’s rejection of the proposal may be over-turned. Members expressed some concerns about this possibility.
When the Clerk had subsequently asked to see a copy of the report, Paul had advised that the matter had been deferred yet again and would now go to Council in March.
282.02.07 – Environmental Matters
a) Highways / Lighting / Traffic Concerns
The Clerk had circulated a letter from Cardiff Council advising that no resources are currently available to fund a bus shelter on Cardiff Road. Members discussed the possibility of making a contribution towards a shelter and asked the Clerk to make enquiries as to the cost.
Cllr. Hughes reported that the condition of Michaelston Road continued to be a cause of concern, In particular a large concrete block has moved just south of the junction with Persondy Lane leaving a dangerous hole. The Clerk was asked to report this to Highways.
Cllr. Critcher reported that 5 lorries had turned up recently and resurfaced part of St Fagans Drive. They had done a very good job.
b) StreetCleansing / Litter
No matters were raised.
c) Village Walkabout
Cllr. Price said he would to arrange a further walkabout at the end of the month.
d) Other environmental issues
Cllr. Lewis had contacted the Clerk regarding the condition of a tree situated behind the bus shelter in the Village. The Clerk reported that Parks have arranged to remove unsafe branches and in due course will fell the tree and subsequently replace it.
The Clerk reported that, with the approval of the Chairman, he had purchased two new bilingual ‘Please Shut the Gate’ signs and passed them to Cllr. Griffiths to arrange for them to be put in place.
282.02.08 – Wales National History Museum / St Fagans Castle
No further information had been received Bethan Lewis. Cllr. Griffiths reported that he had recently seen two men removing the ivy from the Castle wall and they seemed to be doing a good job.
282.02.09 – One Voice Wales
Cllr. Hughes reported that he had not attended the meeting of the Area Committee on 26th January, but nothing untoward had arisen.
282.02.10 – Charter with Cardiff Council
Cllr. Hughes reported that he had been in contact with the other community council clerks. There had been a meeting of the Standards & Ethics Committee on 27th January at which he had been advised that a new Charter is being drawn up that needs to be agreed by Cabinet before going to Council. They are trying to incorporate the Neighbourhood Partnerships into the Charter, but Cllr. Hughes considers that is not acceptable. He is hoping for support on this from the other Councils. Cardiff Council hopes to have the new Charter in place by June.
Cllr. Hughes advised that he and Cllr. Critcher had attended the meeting of the North West Neighbourhood Partnership. Only two County Councillors had been present which he considered showed a lack of respect. He intends to suggest to the Monitoring Officer that this needs to be looked at. Cllr. Hughes had met the new Police Inspector from Fairwater who made a good impression. Cllr. Critcher said that he had arranged for Carolyn Veal-Shaw, the Neighbourhood Partnerships Officer, to come and look around the Village Hall.
282.02.11 – Correspondence and other communications
The Clerk reported on the following:
Cardiff West Neighbourhood Partnership – Weekly updates.
.
16/01 – One Voice Wales – Joint event with SLCC on 14th May to debate various events. Cllr. Hughes had asked the Clerk to book him a place.
26/01. National Library of Wales – Invitation to participate in the UK Web Archive by archiving the Council’s web site. The Clerk recommended acceptance. Agreed.
02/02 – Cardiff Council –A new Community Hub is proposed for Llandaff North and Gabalfa, and views are sought on what services and activities it should provide. The new hub will be created through the refurbishment of existing facilities at the Llandaff North Library and Gabalfa Avenue Day Centre site, which is centrally located to serve boththe Gabalfa Estate and the wider Llandaff North Ward. Closing date for comments 23/02/15.Members expressed concern about the proposed closure of several libraries, but as the plans don’t impact directly on St Fagans, no response was suggested.
282.02.12 – Finance
a) Requests for Financial Assistance
The Clerk advised that one request had been received from Teenage Cancer Trust Wales to support the unit in the University Hospital. In accordance with the Council’s agreed policy, the request was declined.
b) Monthly Report / Payment Approvals / Investment
The Clerk had circulated the monthly finance report (as annexed hereto), which was approved by the Council. The Clerk advised that the following items werenowdue for payment:
Radyr & Morganstown CC NW Group secretariat 242.37
Agrisgj Ltd.Printing newsletters 40.00
J. HughesExpenses January 72.09
SLCC EnterprisesPractitioners’ Guide 28.00
Members approved these payments and chequeswere signed accordingly.
The Clerk advised that there were still no investment opportunities currently available for the Council’s funds. Cllr. Hughes concurred.
c) Statistics
The schedule of attendance for the period February 2014 to January 2015 was noted.
282.02.13 – Other Business
i) Cllr. Lewis asked about the free wi-fi offer mentioned at the last meeting. Cllr. Critcher advised that the footfall at the Hall was not high enough to qualify.
ii) The Clerk asked Members’ advice regarding the dividing wall between the main hall and the committee room, in order to respond to Cooke & Arkwright. It was agreed that it was constructed of concrete blocks.
iii) The Clerk enquired about the risk assessment for the Village Hall that was still outstanding. Cllr. Lewis advised that the matter was in hand and would forward a copy to the Clerk in due course.
iv) The Chairman referred to the problem of gaining access to the Hall experienced by someone who had booked it for a party at the weekend. Members commented that it was unusual for John Durbin not to attend as necessary, but added that the problem had been exacerbated by the loss of the telephone service on that day.
282.02.14 – Date & Time of Next Meeting
The Clerk advised that the next meeting was due to be held in fourweeks’ time on Monday 2ndMarch 2015.
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There being no further matters to discuss the Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and the meeting closed at 8.40 pm.
Confirmed as a correct record…...……………………..Chairman…...………….Date
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