Uplyme Parish Council

A Personal View

Very and possibly just a bit biased

Of the Meeting Held on 12th.February 2003

A near full turn out of councillors, only Mrs Beavor was unable to attend. Spring must be on the way as the balmy weather encouraged one extra parishioner to venture out, making eight.

A rare event this evening for we had two policemen present. Uplyme's special constable Andrew Turner filled us in on the latest news. His activities with the speed gun continue reaping a bountiful harvest. He and his colleagues are concentrating on the Axminster area at the moment and will do so for the next few weeks together with sallies into the surrounding villages. Apart from the speeding offenses they are getting to grips with people not using their seat belts. Many of the neighbourhood watch schemes are falling by the wayside. There is a desperate need for co-ordinators particularly in the Venlake, Gore Lane and Rhode Lane areas. There is going to be an effort to re-invigorate these schemes. There has been a spate of break-ins recently with three in the Harcombe area alone. A timely warning that those neighbourhood watch schemes are needed. If you see anything suspicious then get on the phone. You may be reluctant to dial 999 thinking that it is not that important but let that be the decision of the 999 operatives they can down grade the call if they consider it necessary. Andrew was nearly finished when PC Andy Carmichael brought the force to two. Andy is our main full-time contact at Axminster police station and will be serving us for the next two years. John Steven being out of the country the official council meeting got underway spot on at 7:30. Mr Steven will be present at the next meeting on 12th March, he will miss the April one, returning for the May meeting. Planning The refused planning application for a double garage on plot 40 at Barnes Meadow has resurfaced. The applicants are now taking the application to appeal. If you missed objecting to or supporting the original application you can now redress that by contacting Charles White, the parish clerk who will gladly give you the details. Email: cjrwhite@hotmail.com and phone: 01297 32937 Harcombe House another old favourite. You may remember a building complete with swimming pool was the item here. Much fought against by the parish council and recommended for refusal by EDDC's chief planning officer Mr Poad, the planning committee saw fit to give it the go ahead. Inspection by an officer from EDDC revealed that the near complete building is not according to the planning consent. An extra floor has been constructed above the pool and the fenestration has been altered. A new planning application will now have to be made and I assume treated as a retrospective one. The appropriate notice has been served to which they have been given 28 days to conform. It was heard from a member of the council that this is what is known as chickens coming home to roost! A mobile home at South Watch, Harcombe has been attracting some attention in the property market as well as at the parish council meeting. Apparently the mobile home has been within the grounds of South Watch, but not by any means within the curtilage, for, it is stated 12 years. The mobile home is now on the market to be sold complete with a plot of land. This is a new one for the parish council. A mobile home with mains supplies and drainage connected all without planning permission and now for sale. How does the planning law affect this one. Once sold will it be any different from the mobile home at Windfall, Springhead Road now under an enforcement order to be removed. Does this mean that as soon as the sale of the mobile home is completed the new owner will receive a similar enforcement notice? Or does the fact that the mobile home has been on the site for a minimum number of years without being challenged exempt it from any enforcement action? Brian Mason took this scenario to its conclusion by saying that anyone with a large piece of land could install a mobile home at the extremity of his property and in due course sell it off. He could then do the same again ad infinitum. Could this mobile home be one of those that go un-challenged that I was referring to in the December write up. A Planning application for the mobile home at Windfall, Springhead Road not being forthcoming, the enforcement officer has issued an order to remove the offending item by 28th February. An inspection will be made to see if it has been carried out. We seem to have been here before for on 28th August a notice was issued giving the owner 28 days to remove the caravan from the site or make an application for Change of Use . East Devon Local Plan One year after the airing of the plan in its Draft Deposit stage, objections and recommendations have been taken into account. The parish council were now being asked to comment on a number of suggested extensions to the Defined Development Boundary. These suggestions usually came from the land owner and in just one case actually said that he wanted to build houses on the site. The others did not volunteer as to what the purpose was! There were ten in total, all but one scattered around the perimeter of the village, the other at Raymonds Hill. This is not the final word on these matters. The plan will again be published complete with objections, recommendation and comments and the public will again be invited to comment. West Dorset Local Plan Comments on the Draft Deposit of the West Dorset District Council Local Plan must be made before 13th March 2003. Anyone can do so even if not residing in West Dorset. Accordingly the parish council took the opportunity of doing just that. Basically they said that they appreciated that West Dorset have not recommended that the DDB be extended to include Strawberry Field, the site chosen by the Lyme Regis town council for a sports complex. Briefly...... A public enquiry will be held in the village hall on 27th February regarding footpath 54 at Sea View Road. This was mentioned at the December meeting. Although it is outside the parish boundary a number parishioner have lodged their concern with councillors regarding the encampment of "travellers" at Shapwick. Several people have been intimidated by members of the community. One councillor complained that they are so ensconced that their rubbish is being collected and of course they will not be paying council tax. They can't win for there would be a hell of a fuss if the rubbish was piling up! A member of the public was heard to ask if they are called travellers why is it so diffucult getting them to move on? The Village Design Statement and Parish Plan project has run against the buffers. All I can say is that the committee has reached an impasse and will be reformed. Footpath 12 that runs across Barns Meadow was closed whilst work was being carried out. The initial closure of footpaths is only valid for 6 months. Closure orders can be extended but this is not the case with this one.You are accordingly allowed to use this one, although it may not be too wise and care should be taken. Whalley Lane is to be closed on 25th February whilst S W Water carries out essential works. The village playground has been closed to allow fencing work to be carried out. The parish council planning sub-committee had previously dealt with a number of applications including the following three. Lydwell House. The application to build a dwelling in the garden of the house was not recommended. Reasons included that they considered it over-development and access was difficult. Wellhayes. The siting of the mobile home was recommended. Horseman's Hill Barn, Gore Lane. Work here was not recommended as it lies outside the development boundary. Last but far from least, the parish council's AGM will be held at 7:30 on 24th April. The village is entitled to have a speaker from the district council. A decision on this will be made at the next council meeting. The March 2003 meeting will be held on the 12th.

Topics on this Page: A Police Presence. Barnes Meadow. Double Garage, Barnes Meadow Harcombe House South Watch, Harcombe Windfall, Springhead Road East Devon Local Plan West Dorset Local Plan Briefly..... Other UPC Meetings: 8th January 2003 12th March 2003 9th April 2003 14th May 2003 11th June 2003 9th July 2003 13th August 2003 10th September 2003 8th October 2003 12th November 2003 10th December 2003 14th January 2004 With Links to Pre-2003 Meetings 2004 Meetings Other Relevant Pages Strawberry Field Sports Complex Barnes Meadow Development Rhode Hill Gardens Home Page Introduction Page

Disclaimer: This page cannot be guaranteed to be void of mistakes. It is sometimes, in the hall, difficult to hear some of the councillors, for a number are determined not to use the amplification system available. An example of what can happen was at the September meeting when I heard the word "included" as "include" when a letter from John Steven was being read out. This threw an entirely different meaning to the sentence. The interpretation that I came to was so important that I put the news on the website as soon as I could. It was not until I read the Lyme Regis News that I realised how wrong I was. I even more speedily removed the offending story. If you were one of those that read the original then I apologise. If you have any doubts concerning the validity of anything you read please check with the parish clerk. Can I also suggest that you contact the Parish Council and request that the minutes of the meetings are posted on an official Uplyme Parish Council website and that the subject is accordingly added to the agenda of the next meeting.

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