Friday, October 26 2012
Minutes Extraordinary meeting October 2012
WEST WITTERING PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Parish Council, held on Thursday 18th October 2012 in the Sports Pavilion, Rookwood Road, West Wittering, PO20 8LT
PRESENT:, Mr. K Martin (Chairman), Mr R Shrubb ,(Vice Chairman) Mr C Pine, , Mrs C Megeney, Mr I Parker , Mr D Wright , and 20 members of the public. Cllr Barratt was also in attendance.
111. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Mrs Wildsmith, Mr W Buckland
112. DECLARATIONS UNDER THE CODE OF CONDUCT
None
113. MINUTES
Subject to the minutes recording that Mrs Wildsmith and Mr Parker were absent, on a proposal by Mr Wright and seconded by Mr Shrubb, the minutes were agreed and signed by the Chairman.
114. PARISH COUNCIL VACANCY
The Chairman reported that there had been 2 applicants for the vacant position on the Parish Council. He proposed that the decision be deferred to the next meeting of the Council on 1st November 2012. This was seconded by Mr Shrubb and all agreed.
115. CHICHESTER DISTRICT COUNCIL – PARISH HOUSING NUMBERS CONSULTATION
The Chairman referred to the current consultation by CDC. He reminded members that the core strategy of the Local Development Framework (LDF) had been rejected by SERA some 4 years ago and that since then CDC had no adopted Local Plan leaving the area vulnerable in terms of planning for development. Members noted that CDC anticipated that the final draft of the results and subsequent report arising from this consultation would not appear before late 2013.
The Parish Council therefore needed to respond on behalf of residents and the Chairman also took the opportunity to encourage individuals to complete the consultation.
Members noted that the proposals for West Wittering for the period 2014 – 2029 were for between 50-100 dwellings.
Members considered the draft responses which had been circulated.
Regarding potential sites Mr Wright stated that he did not wish to see any sites for development however Mrs Megeney stated that the Parish Council had to be seen to engage in the process rather than having sites selected with no consultation.
Members discussed the impact of lack of infrastructure and agreed that sites could only be considered subject to the satisfactory resolution of infrastructure issues. This also linked to the timing of potential development and its links to sustainability and improved broadband speeds, business and employment opportunities.
116. NEIGHOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The Chairman explained the concept behind developing a Neighbourhood Plan which would be a tool to reflect community expectations for development in the future. He opened the meeting to allow the public to express their support or otherwise, as he explained that the Parish Council would need a team of volunteers to undertake the consultation and help produce the Plan. Cllr Barratt suggested that other Parishes in the locality could be consulted about a joint Plan. Cllr Wright warned that his experience of producing the VDS meant that this project involved a lot of work for members of the group or Working Party.
Several members of the public wanted to draw attention to CDC that the number of caravan sites in W Wittering that had annual licences meant that there was a large number of residents consuming local services but living in temporary accommodation.
Following further discussion the Chairman asked for a show of hands in support of developing a Neighbourhood Plan and for volunteers to form the Working Party. Generally the public were in favour of developing a plan and there were 3 volunteers willing to assist, however they did express a desire for the Parish Council to take the lead. Members of the Council also agreed that this was needed and on a vote of 5 for and 1 against agreed to set up a Working Party.
Members also discussed the use of consultants to assist in the process and agreed that of data was shared between Parishes then it would also be beneficial to share the cost of using consultants.
Cllr Wright stated that he did not think that those members absent from the interviews of the candidates for co option should be allowed to vote when the matter was discussed at the next meeting. The Clerk was asked to check if there was any statute preventing those Members from voting.
There being no further business for discussion the meeting closed at 8.20 pm.
Signed:……………………………………………………………………………………….. Date: …………………………………………………………………..
Chairman
The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Thursday 1st November 2012 in the West Wittering Sports Pavilion, Rookwood Rd.
THESE MINUTES ARE IN DRAFT FORM UNTIL APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL AT THE NEXT MEETING, AND MAY BE AMENDED BY RESOLUTION. COPIES OF ALL UNAPPROVED MINUTES, AND AGENDA AND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WEST WITTERING PARISH COUNCIL CAN BE FOUND ON THE PARISH COUNCIL’S WEB SITE: www.westwitteringparishcouncil.gov.uk