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Pirton Village Design Statement |
MINUTES OF MEETING
Held on Tuesday 6 November 2001 at The Pirton Sports and Social Club
IN ATTENDANCE:
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Ken Fielder |
Stewart Bryant |
Rod Hamilton-McLeod |
Rachel Harley |
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Bren Timson |
Colin Measures |
Geoff Collins |
Dave Timson |
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Jonty Wild |
Sandy Bierrum |
Neil Frost |
Val Guess |
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Chris Ryan |
Georgina Brackenbury |
Rachel Harley |
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Angela Forster (representative of CMS)
BUSINESS:
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Action |
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1. |
Apologies for absence were received from: Kevin Macan-Lind, Linda Mercer, Brian Somerville, Dick Woodward, Sarah Farr, Fran Manning, Pam Waters, Suzy Pritchard-Barrett. |
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2. |
The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 20 September 2001 having been circulated were taken as read, approved by the meeting and signed by Rod Hamilton-McLeod, |
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3. |
There were no matters arising out of the previous minutes. |
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4. |
Review of programme and budget: RHM reported that there has been no fundamental change to the programme, which has shown some slippage, probably by at least a month as the sub-groups had not completed their tasks in spite of their best efforts. The project is within budget. |
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5. |
The Treasurer presented his statement. There has been no expenditure of any significance reported since the Village Character Workshop, however we still await the account for the use of the Village Hall on that occasion. |
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6. |
Geoff Collins reported on the current position concerning fund-raising. The best source was “Grants For All”, sourced by the National Lottery, grants are available in the range of £2,000 - £5,000, require less information than other donor bodies, and we have a probability of success assessed at over 80%. However there are very sharp cut-off points and the money must be spent within one year. Therefore application must be delayed until March 2002. SQ Environmental: success on application was very hit or miss. Vital Villages: looks at parish plans (similar to village design statements) byt run by the parish councils themselves. The aims were different in that the intention was to produce a concrete improvement in the living conditions rather than protecting what we have already. There are numerous minor grants available, each for up to 25% of our requirement, but a considerable amount of effort is needed. Biffa Award (Landfill Tax) – the conditions stipulate a tangible outcome. Whether a VDS will satisfy the requirements is iffy, but could possibly cross-fund from the Parish Environmental Action Plan. RHM: Ashwell used 8 sources of funding, and recommended using at least two in our case. Bren Timson: suggested that it was up to the committee to decide. GC: Contingency funding of £1,000 for 2001/2002 had been requested from the Parish Council. Many grants were conditional on matching by another donor. |
GC |
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7. |
Presentations by the buildings, landscapes and settlements sub-groups: Rachel Harley for Landscapes: Incomplete. The group needs 3-4 weeks to complete: the PEAP aspect has not been looked at, and the wildlife and protected species section had yet to be written – it was felt that it was neeeded to warn developers. Bren Timson for Settlements: considerable overlap with Landscapes. Incomplete. Jonty Wild for Buildings: Incomplete. It was generally felt that at least another four weeks will be needed, and that it may not be possible to start work on the first draft until after Christmas. |
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Editorial sub-group activities leading to first draft: AMB: the target is to pull the whole input of the sub-groups together into a coherent whole on an objective basis and a consistent literary style when the information from the other sub-groups is ready. It was important to avoid missing anything. RHM: to satisfy sceptics, it was necessary to show that the NHDC will treat the completed VDS as a legal document. GC: As supplemental planning guidance, a VDS is a binding legal document in that once accepted by the Council it must be followed. RHM: As an example of the application of a VDS, a developer’s planning appeal was successfully challenged in Ashwell on the basis of approved policies encompassed within the VDS. However major omissions were noted in their document. |
AMB |
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Any other business: none. |
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The next meeting was arranged for 8.00 p.m. on Tuesday 4 December 2001 at the Pirton Sports and Social Club. |
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The meeting was closed in peace and harmony at approximately 10.00 pm.
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