The Parish Council usually meets at 7:30pm on the first Monday of each month in the Community Room adjoining the school. Notice of the meetings appears on the Parish Council notice board outside the school, together with the minutes of the previous meeting and other relevant information. The first 15 minutes of each meeting are allocated to the public to allow them to raise any matters of concern. In addition to the monthly meetings there is the Annual Parish Assembly which takes place in May.
The Parish Council is responsible for many aspects of village life, including the provision of recreation facilities, reporting on the state of highways, footpaths and bridleways, commenting on planning applications and supporting parish initiatives, sometimes with grants.
The Clerk to the Parish Council is Mr Bill Goudge, Nova, Coppid Hill, Wokingham, RG41 4 TG, tel: 0118 977 3553, or e-mail billgoudge@aol.com. Please contact the clerk or any member of the Parish Council for further information about the activities of the Parish Council or if you are interested in becoming a Parish Councillor.
Dates of Upcoming Meetings
The dates of Parish Council meetings for 2008 will be:
January 7th
February 4th
March 3rd
April 7th
April 23rd A.P.A.(wednesday)
May 5th AGM & Ordinary Meeting.
June 2nd
July 7th
August 4th
September 1st
October 6th
November 3rd
December 1st
Notes from the Parish Council Meeting on Tuesday 12th May 2008
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE COUNCIL
Mr R. Russell was elected Chairman of the Parish Council for the coming year.
Mrs L Wright was elected Vice-Chairman for the coming year.
Mrs Wright was appointed as Council representative on The Victory Hall Management Committee.
Mr Russell was appointed as Council representative on the governing body of Beenham Primary School.
THE ORDINARY MEETING OF THE COUNCIL
Planning matters
Decisions from the Planning Authority
08/00043/FUL Bath Road Farm, Bath Road. Demolish & replace stables, outbuildings. Approved
08/00137/FUL Winning Hand, Bath Road. Calor gas tank relocation. Approved
08/00592/AGRIC Field Barn Farm, Beenham Hill. Building extension. Full application required
New planning applications
08/00366/FUL Green barn by South Lodge, Beenham Hill. Barn conversion to office. Change of use application. Objected (office development in the AONB)
Adjoining Parish application
08/00742/HOUSE 2, Swan Drive, Aldermaston. Rear extension and garage overbuild. No objection
Other matters
The Parish Council will look into how West Berks can accommodate the parish’s needs out of relevant S.106 developer contributions.
In the West Berks Local Development Framework, Beenham scores 9 on the settlement hierarchy (options for housing development in rural areas), which is at the lower end compared with other West Berks parishes.
The Parish Council will write to Grundon asking when they will take down the signs and make the former entrance on Beenham Hill less unsightly.
The new Grundon Liaison Group has had its first meeting.
Highways matters
WBC Capital bids
The question of road improvements to Bourne Lane by the Six Bells has been resolved through the Area Forum.
Integrated bus service to local railway stations: The Public Transport Group reports that a subsidy for this service is not justified.
Width restriction in Village: Forwarded to Transport Policy for inclusion in its District-wide approach.
Environmental improvements with resurfacing to Bourne Lane, Back Lane, Admoor Lane & Beenham Hill have been rejected due to the expense involved.
Beenham Hill
30mph limit for Beenham Hill has been recommended by Task Force for implementation.
Potholes
WBC will be asked to deal with potholes in Bourne Lane and Admoor Lane
Environmental matters
Doorguards (for fire precautions) in the Community Room have been ordered.
The issue of excessive noise coming from the breaker’s yard was raised and will be taken up with West Berks.
The appearance of Japanese knotweed at Aldermaston will be reported.
A grant for new goal posts for the Recreation Ground has been obtained.
Date of next meeting Monday June 2nd at 7.30pm in the Community Room
Note from the Parish Council regarding possible minerals extraction in Beenham
The Parish Council is fully aware of the very considerable local concern about the possible designation of land in Beenham as Preferred Areas for gravel and sand extraction. The land concerned is the whole stretch between Beenham Hill and Admoor Lane, currently farmed by Field Barn Farm and Englefield Estate; two areas to the west of Beenham Hill (to the northeast of the old landfill site); and Gravel Pit Farm between Grange Lane and Cods Hill.
Dick Russell, together with Sue Graham and Jim Morahan on behalf of the Beenham Action Group, have recently had a very useful meeting to discuss the matter with our District Councillor Keith Chopping and the Planning and Transport Policy Manager at West Berkshire Council. As a result of this and our other enquiries we would like to bring you up to date.
The proposal to designate the Beenham sites as Preferred Areas appears in the consultation papers prepared by the Joint Strategic Planning Unit (JSPU) for the Berkshire Councils, including West Berks. This is the first stage of the required statutory process to put in place a new Minerals and Waste Plan for Berkshire. The Plan is intended to be for the period to 2026, and to identify sites for the levels of mineral extraction and waste facilities required over that period.
In order to satisfy statutory requirements it is considered necessary for the JSPU to include at this stage of the process for consideration all possible sites which could be designated as Preferred Areas for extraction. We are told that it would not have been possible to exclude the Beenham sites from consideration at this stage, because if their exclusion were objected to this might have invalidated the entire process. As it happens, we understand that the Gravel Pit Farm site has not been offered for consideration by Marley (which owns it). Nor have the other sites been put forward by West Berks (which effectively own the mineral rights). They have all been included on the initiative of the JSPU itself. The statements in the consultation papers to the effect that they have been offered by operators are incorrect.
The next stage in the process is for the JSPU to consider all the comments which have been made on the proposals, and to produce a further document which will identify those sites which they consider should go forward as the Preferred Sites. In making these decisions the JSPU will take account of the deliverability of each site, ie whether it is likely to obtain planning consent; and because of their location in the AONB, the value of the agricultural land and the number of listed properties affected we were told that it is highly unlikely the Beenham sites would be selected. In addition the fact that the sites have not been offered by operators may result in their failing the necessary sustainability test for inclusion.
The JSPU has apparently received more objections in relation to the Beenham sites than any others, and this will also be relevant in their appraisal. Thank you to all those who wrote in.
We are told that it is likely that West Berks Council itself will, in the light of the AONB and other factors, ask for the Beenham sites to be excluded. While no guarantees can be given at this stage, we have been assured by our District Councillor and by the Policy Manager that should there be any change in this position we will be notified. If there were to be a change in West Berks approach, or if the sites did go forward to the next stage (which we have been assured is unlikely), we will be able to raise all our objections then. However, for the moment it would appear probable that the sites will not be selected, and that our best course is to wait and see. In the light of our discussions, the Parish Council, and Sue Graham and Jim Morahan on behalf of the Beenham Action Group, believe that there is nothing to be gained at this stage, and possibly much to be lost, by a premature campaign and unhelpful publicity.
All enquiries please to Dick Russell 971 2269 or Sue Graham 971 3922
District Council
West Berkshire Council is a unitary authority responsible for the full range of local authority services. It was created in April 1998 when the former Newbury District Council took on responsibilities from Berkshire County Council, which was abolished. West Berkshire Council has its main office at Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury RG14 5LD.
Tel: 01635 42400.
Web site: www.westberks.gov.uk
Keith Chopping is our West Berks district councillor. He is also currently Deputy Leader of Council, and responsible for Planning and Highways.
E-mail: kchopping@westberks.gov.uk, Tel: 983 4625 |
