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.
A message from the Parish Council
December 2008
At its last meeting the Parish Council thought it might be helpful if I were to supplement the monthly summary of Parish Council meetings with a few wider observations on topics of interest, so here goes.
High Wood
Those of you with fond memories of walking through High Wood to view the bluebells or the badgers, or just to exercise your dogs or yourselves, will recollect that in 2002 the owner sought to stop you using the paths through the wood. The subsequent application to treat the paths as public footpaths was rejected by the District Council. I am delighted to be able to tell you that this decision has been overturned on appeal, and that the Secretary of State has ordered the District Council to add the paths onto the definitive footpaths map.
Most of you will know the route of the two paths. It is important to keep to the paths, and not stray elsewhere in the wood which, apart from the paths, remains private property. You can get good views of bluebells and badgers, at the right time of year, from the longer of the two paths. A map of the wood showing the paths will be placed on the Parish Council website. I will be happy to supply a copy to anyone who does not have access to the internet.
The Padworth Sidings Waste Site
The District Council Planning Committee approved the planning applications for the new waste site at a meeting in November. That was not unexpected, as the District Council had left itself with hardly any other practical alternative. There were a large number of objectors at the meeting, who were not given much opportunity to voice their views. I spoke against the proposal on behalf of the Parish Council, principally on the grounds of the potentially dangerous highways aspects. I am hopeful that, notwithstanding the Committee’s approval, it may be possible to ameliorate some of the worst traffic aspects, and with this in mind I am shortly to meet Councillor Keith Chopping and members of the District Council’s planning and highways teams.
The Minerals Plan
Many of you are understandably concerned at the possibility that large areas of Beenham might be designated as Preferred Areas for minerals extraction in the new minerals and waste strategy proposals. Our latest information is that the land on both sides of Beenham Hill, and stretching eastwards along the A4, will not be designated, the District Council having asked for it to be excluded. It is likely that Gravel Pit Farm, between Grange Lane/ Clay Lane and Cods Hill, which is owned by Marley, will be designated as a Preferred Area. Of course, Marley will still need to apply for planning consent and residents will be able to object; planning consent was refused last time they applied, but one has to accept that the designation will increase the risk of a planning consent being granted.
Planning generally
There seem to be a few people who think that if they allow their land to become a complete eyesore then they will find it easier to obtain planning consent for some development that may appear to their unhappy neighbours to be an improvement. The reverse is the case. Planning is not influenced by whether or not a particular piece of land is a mess, but is governed by the relevant policies and guidance; and certainly so long as I am on the Parish Council I will do all I can to ensure that those who behave in this un-neighbourly way are not given the benefit of the doubt when we are consulted on their planning applications.
The Parish Plan
Thank you to all of those who completed questionnaires. The responses are now being analysed, and when this exercise has been completed we will be presenting the results to a public meeting for discussion before we start working up the action plan. Volunteers will be needed to take this forward.
The Council
We would welcome applications to join the Parish Council. We have one current vacancy, and some of the rest of us have more than served our time. It does not require a lot of your time, and some of what we do is quite enjoyable as well as satisfying. Please give me a call, or come along to a meeting and see what happens.
Dick Russell,
Chairman, Beenham Parish Council
Dates of Upcoming Meetings
The dates of Parish Council meetings for 2009 will be:
JANUARY 5th
FEBRUARY 2nd
MARCH 2nd
APRIL 6th
APRIL 20th A.P.A.
MAY 11th AGM & ORDINARY
MEETING
JUNE 1st
JULY
6th
AUGUST 3rd
SEPTEMBER
7th
OCTOBER
5th
NOVEMBER 2nd
DECEMBER 7th
Notes from the Parish Council Meetings
Notes from the latest meeting and the previous three months are available in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. Clicking on one of the links below will open the document in a new window. From there you can save or print the document if desired. Closing the window will return you to this page.
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
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
STOP PRESS- July 2009 GOOD NEWS FOR BEENHAM VILLAGE
As most of you will be aware, there has for some time been a threat hanging over us that parts of the village would be nominated as Preferred Areas for gravel extraction. I am pleased to be able to tell you that this now appears much less likely.
The Joint Strategic Planning Unit which is responsible for preparation of the new Minerals and Waste Development Framework for the area has published its proposals. These are still subject to further consultation and then to Government approval. However, they contain a very strong presumption against any minerals extraction within the AONB, which includes all of Beenham to the north of the A4. In relation to each of the two sites in Beenham (Gravel Pit Farm between Clay Lane and Cods Hill, and the land down Beenham Hill and along the north side of the A4) the proposals say:
"It is not proposed to identify any Preferred Sites [in the AONB] unless there are insufficient sites elsewhere. It is therefore recommended that the Site not be identified as a candidate Minerals Preferred Area." In relation to the Beenham Hill/A4 land it is additionally stated that "the surface owners have strongly objected to extraction and as such there is little or no prospect of deliverability."
The news is less good for those to the south of the A4. Three sites in Aldermaston parish and one in Padworth have been preferred. The effect on the road network will be considerable, as will of course the environmental impact on nearby residents.
You will also be interested to learn that it is recommended that the Grundon site be deleted as a Waste Preferred Area. This does not mean the closure of the Grundon site; it does mean that there would no longer be a presumption in favour of allowing further waste facilities in the area.
Dick Russell
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 |
