Open Session:

There were two members of the public present.

Apologies

Prior to the commencement of the meeting, the Deputy Town Clerk reported that apologies for absence had been received from Cllr Ford, Cllr Clarke and Cllr Mrs Terry

Declarations of Interest

There were none.

Present:

Cllr M A Steele (Vice-Chairman)
Cllr N J Chard
Cllr D R Cole
Cllr B H Terry
Cllr A Wiseman
Cllr B Woodifield

In Attendence:

Jo Stannard, Deputy Town Clerk
Claire Perrens, Meetings Administrator
Ashley Finch, Student Advisor
Rachel Giles, Student Advisor

P/4613 Minutes of Previous Meeting

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 9th January 2009, having been circulated, be approved and signed as a correct record.

P/4614 Planning Applications

Members considered planning applications in respect of periods ending 7th January, 14th January and 21st January 2009.

08/93517 83-87 & REAR OF 79-81 89-91 Eastfield Lane

Mr Guy Aldworth of Awbridge Estates attended the meeting to represent the developer ‘The Personal Touch’ regarding the application 08/93517. He stated that following the withdrawal of the previous application a number of changes had been made to the plans including a reduction in density (now equivalent to 12 dwellings per acre).

Further consultation with local people, particularly in Eastfield Lane, had been carried out. Members felt that the two main areas of contention were traffic and flood risk. Mr Aldworth explained that all surface water will drain through soakaways and remain on site. Driveways will be constructed using porous paving to enable water to pass down into the soil. The water table of the site is low and it is gravel based.

Cllr Chard expressed concerns about increased traffic on Eastfield Lane, a cause of concern which many local people had expressed to him. Traffic calming measures had already been put in place. He would like to see a relief road created, but this was unlikely to happen in the near future. Cllr Chard wished it to be recorded that he was unable to support this application due to reservations about the extra traffic which would be generated along Eastfield Lane.

RESOLVED: That the observations summarised in Annex ‘A’ be submitted

P/4615 Appeal Regarding 1 The Mount, Poulner

Members considered an appeal regarding New Forest District Council (NFDC) Application Number 08/92790 – Single-storey Extension.

The Town Council observation was:- Permission (1). Cllr Cole had been in contact with the applicant. This was a very strange case as the applicant already had permission for a two-storey extension, and was intending to build a single-storey extension instead, for financial reasons. It was not a retrospective application.

RESOLVED: That Cllr Cole and Cllr Terry attend the Appeal Hearing relating to 1 The Mount, Poulner, to support the applicant’s case.

P/4616 Appeal Regarding Holly Hill, Hangersley

Members considered an appeal regarding New Forest National Park Authority (NFNPA) Application Number 08/93423 - Retention of Access Track.

The Town Council observation was:- Officer Decision (5). Members felt that this application would improve access to the house and land, and was replacing existing access. Any concerns that this would lead to an increase in domestic curtilage could be addressed through imposing conditions.

RESOLVED: That on the Appeal regarding Holly Hill, Hangersley, representation be made to the Planning Inspectorate in support of retention of the access track, subject to conditions.

P/4617 BT Phone Boxes

Members considered the Deputy Town Clerk’s report (attached as Annex ‘B’) regarding the future of three telephone boxes in the Ringwood area. The Deputy Town Clerk reported that, on further investigation, she had discovered that two of the phone boxes had already been removed, although these had had very minimal use. It was felt that although important to encourage BT to retain the remaining telephone box, it was not within the Town Council’s remit to subsidise it (noting also that it was not a ‘traditional red box’, with ‘heritage value’.)

RESOLVED: That in the event of a successful appeal by BT against the removal of the phone box at Field Way, the Town Council would not undertake to subsidise it through the Sponsored Kiosk Programme.

There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 3.25pm.