Northwood Parish Council

Posted by Admin on 23 January 2015, 1:22 pm

MEETINGS

Meetings of the Parish Council are held on the first Tuesday of the month, commencing at 6.30pm.
The meeting of the Planning Committee, if required, is held on the third Tuesday of the month, commencing at 6.30pm.

ALL MEETINGS ARE HELD AT
NORTHWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL, WYATTS LANE, NORTHWOOD

unless otherwise stated.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND THE PRESS ARE VERY WELCOME TO ATTEND.

The comments made in the following articles represent the views of the individual contributors, rather than Northwood Parish Council

NORTHWOOD PARISH COUNCIL NEWS

FROM THE JANUARY 2015 MEETING

POLICE REPORT
PCSO Steve Anker provided a report on behalf of the Local Safety Neighbourhood (LSN) team advising on matters arising since the last meeting. Particular mention was made of the following:

Crime Update for December – Three crimes had been reported during this month, this being two fewer than for the same period in December 2013;
A Speedwatch activity had been held in Baring Road, in December. 271 vehicles had passed through the checkpoint with no breaches of the 30mph limit.Volunteers were urgently being sought to undertake additional Speedwatch checks. Any expression of interest should be submitted to PCSO Derek Howard;
A member of the public, who was present, referred specifically to the three crimes committed. It was confirmed that they all related to damage to motor vehicles in Greenways. It was alleged that a total of £6000 damage had been caused, making them, collectively, the most serious incidents in Northwood for many years. Unfortunately, at the current time the police had no evidence and so were unable to level any accusations.
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PLANNING
Over 20 members of the public attended for the planning application for Hillis Gate Riding Stables. The plan is for three self-contained holiday units; full application for three self-contained holiday units, with two ancillary buildings providing office/store/workshop and an educational facility; formation of vehicular access and parking areas, landscaping.
After discussion, the Council objected on a number of matters , among them were, the adverse effect that the proposed development would have on the ambience of the local environment, the close proximity of the proposed scheme to existing, neighbouring homes. Inadequate parking identified on this small site for the potential, significant number of vehicles belonging to visitors staying in the proposed holiday units or using the educational facility. Concern over the possible risk of contamination into adjacent drainage ditches and the flooding risk to the proposed development by building on a known water-logged site. That the application should be considered by the Development Control Committee and not processed through the powers delegated to the Head of Planning Services.
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COMMUNITY BUS
It was confirmed that the Service 32 bus, on a Monday, was continuing to run with financial assistance from the three local councils.
The Saturday bus had now stopped. Sadly the provision of this service had never been formally approved and now Southern Vectis advised they would require £85 for the hire of the bus, for the time required. However, it was noted that a volunteer should always be available to drive the bus, as no other Service ran on a Saturday. On average donations received totalled £35 over the Saturday session, which would result in a £50 per day shortfall, to be shared between the three councils. This could potentially equate to a funding demand of £884, per year for each council. It was suggested that further consideration should be given to supporting the Saturday service following completion of the training of newly recruited volunteers. This would then enable the week day service to run as previously. After discussion, councillors did not consider it a viable option to provide funding to continue the Saturday service. A meeting be established of the Cowes Community bus forum, together with one of the volunteer drivers, so to discuss the situation and report back to the Parish Council in February.
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PARISH PLAN
Councillors having read through the existing document had identified a number of the sections that required updating. However, the clerk was unable to obtain an electronic copy of the Plan, which could then be easily amended. Both the current and previous website managers and previous members of the Northwood Management Committee were unable to assist. Cllr Ward volunteered to investigate.