Parish Announcements and Alerts

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF PUBLOW WITH PENSFORD PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 14th SEPTEMBER 2026 IN THE MEMORIAL HALL, PENSFORD

Present: Mr P Baxter(part), Mr S Filer, Ms S Fluke, Mrs S Grimes (Chairman), Mr S Grimes, Mrs J Gully, Dr L Malt, Cllr Paul May (Ward Councillor). Mrs H Richardson (Clerk), and 4 Members of Public.

Public Participation: A representative of the Village Hall committee asked the Parish Council who should pay for the hedge cutting on the road side of the field. As custodian Trustees the Parish Council cannot involve itself in the management of Village Hall Assets, but a councillor advised that they thought it was the responsibility of the Village Hall Committee.

A resident said there was confusion about the Parish council hearing a pre-app consultation. The Parish Council agreed that there was confusion due to bad experience in the past, which is why they would agreeing a policy on the agenda this meeting.

79.1. Apologies for absence: Ms C Dinsdale, Mr C Curling, Mrs T Jones, S Pattimore

79.2. Declarations of Interest: None

79.3. The Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday 13th July 2026 were agreed as a true and fair record and the Chairman signed them.

79.4. Planning:

a) Applications to consult:

i) The Parish Council ratified the delegated responses to planning consultations submitted since the last meeting.

26/02649/FUL. Leigh Farm, Old Road, Pensford. Change of use from self contained holiday chalets to offices. SUPPORT but request for conditions.
26/02742/FUL. 37 Hillcrest, Pensford, Erection of first floor extension above existing garage to create annex. Amended single storey annex extension to the rear. New kitchen extension to the main house. Larger patio area to front and rear of house, including retaining walls to address site levels (Amendments to application 25/00026/FUL) (Retrospective). NO OBJECTION, Subject to adequate Parking.
26/1050/FUL.The Old Surgery, Wick Lane, Pensford, Change of use of adjacent highway land to residential curtilage and installation of an air source heat pump system, solar panels array and battery storage to The Old Surgery. NO OBJECTION
26/02974/TCA. Montrose Cottage, 182 Publow Lane, Woollard. Pine Tree T1 – fell to ground level. Maple T2 – reduce by 2 meters to retain shape and size. Maple T3 – reduce by 2 meters to retain shape and size. Box Hedge H1 – remove due to box blight. SUPPORT

ii) 26/00074/FUL: Coombe House, Church Street, Pensford. Change of use, restoration and extension from commercial / residential storage, to one dwelling (Retrospective). – Revised Information, extension applied for. The Parish Council resolved to make no comment on the additional information.

b) Decision Notification:

i) 24/4161/FUL. Bell Farm, Hunstrete Lane, Woollard.Change of use from Agricultural to mixed Agricultural and Commercial. Stationing of Shepherd’s Hut associated with Alpaca visits and erection of Toilet Hut. PERMIT
ii) 26/2097/FUL. Old Stables, Stanton Road, Pensford. Demolish stable block and replace with double garage. PERMIT.
iii) 26/02151/COND: 48 Hillcrest, Pensford. Discharge of conditions 4 (Ecological and Biodiversity Net Gain Compliance Report) and 7 (Landscape Design Proposals) of application 23/02251/FUL (Erection of 2no. bungalows) REFUSED
iv) 26/01988/FUL. Belluton Farm , Stanton Road, Pensford. Erection of garage following demolition of existing garage. PERMIT
v) 26/01050/FUL. The Old Surgery, Wick Lane, Pensford. Change of use of adjacent highway land to residential curtilage and installation of an air source heat pump system, solar panels array and battery storage to The Old Surgery. PERMIT

c) The Parish Council adopted a policy for discussing pre-application discussions:

Residents are welcome to send details of pre-application developments to the Parish Council for information however;
– the parish council cannot provide professional planning advice
– it would not indicate in advance whether it is likely to support or object to a proposal;
– applicants should approach B&NES for formal pre-application advice; and
– the parish council will consider the application when formally consulted by B&NES, using the plans and supporting information available through the planning portal.

The applicant will be invited explain the proposal and councillors may ask factual or policy-related questions particularly relating to the Pensford Neighbourhood Plan. However, the council cannot reach a formal view at this stage, and the Parish Council will not provide a written response to the proposals either directly or through the minutes of the meeting. The minutes will make clear that no decision was taken and that the council reserved its position until a formal application was received.
The Chair will remind Councillors of this policy prior to the Agenda Item.

79.5. Matters for Discussion

a) A third solution to alleviate parking in the village was put forward. It was noted that parking issues in Church Street had been resolved by residents creating their own solutions, purchasing plots of land and extending driveways to allow more parking giving more people options for off street parking. It was suggested that the Parish Council could facilitate similar for residents of High Street by enabling access to land behind their properties.

b) It was agreed that before any of these Car Park proposals were taken forward the Parish Council needed to fully understand the residents’ issues with parking in the village. It was agreed to form a working group. The aim of the working group would be to plan a consultation event to ask residents what issues they encounter and what their priorities would be for additional parking.
It was agreed that Sue G, Steve G, Steve F, Sonia and Claire would join the working group and arrange a meeting. Others would be welcome to join.

c) The Parish Council resolved to renew the Payroll Management contract with DM Payroll from 1st April 2027

d) The Parish Council resolved to accept the NJC Pay Award 2026/2027 and to increase the Clerks Spinal Column point from SCP26 to SCP27.

e) The Parish Council resolved to accept a quote for £700 to replace two defibrillator Cabinets (post office and Woollard). Expenditure had previously been agreed (£220+VAT for one cabinet – 71.5c) but the contractor was unable to complete the work.

f) The Parish Council considered a quote to clear the triangle at Woollard Lane / Slate Lane Junction. It was noted that the land is not owned by the Parish Council and so they will put a request into B&NES Clean & Green.

g) The Parish council agreed to obtain a quote for its own commercial waste bin at the Village Hall as the current shared agreement with the Village Hall did not provide enough space for rubbish collected in all the litter bins around the parish.

• Cllr Paul Baxter left the meeting

h) The Parish council were asked to help a resident to establish who’s responsibility it would be to maintain the path at Salters Brook. The Land is unregistered and not listed on the public Rights of Way. The Parish Council are unable to offer legal advice, and would recommend that residents check their deeds and seek their own legal advice. The Path would be reported to B&NES clean and green to see if they would maintain it.

i) The Parish Council started to compile a list of jobs for B&NES Clean & Green, to be continued next month.

79.6. Financial Matters

a) August & September payments were approved.

Purpose for Expense – Amount – VAT – Recover
Mrs Helen Richardson (45.5j) – Salary £901.28 £- N/A
HMRC (Month 5 ) £358.97 £- N/A
Steve Fluke – Dog bin £116.67 £- N/A
Frank Scholfield – Footpath Officer £85.00 £- N/A
DPM Garden Contractors – Grass Cutting £50.00 £- N/A
Water2 Business £70.96 £- N/A
NSALG Allotments Society membership £84.00 £14.00 Y
Total value of August Payments £1,666.88

Mrs Helen Richardson (45.5j) – Salary £901.28 £- N/A
HMRC (Month 5 ) £358.97 £- N/A
Steve Fluke – Dog bin £116.67 £- N/A
Frank Scholfield – Footpath Officer £85.00 £- N/A
DPM Garden Contractors – Grass Cutting £50.00 £- N/A
BDO LLP – External audit £252.00 £42.00 Y
Tesco – reimburse HR Stationary £22.15 £- N/A
Total value of September payments £1,786.07

b) The External auditors report was accepted, and conclusion of audit was noted.

79.7. The B&NES Ward Councillor reported that Draft Local plan Consultation had been launched and he was concerned about 1700 proposed new homes in Whitchurch. He would be holding a public meeting in Whitchurch on 24th September.

79.8. Reports

a) PCAA: No report
b) Village Hall – Nothing to report
c) Defibrillators – Nothing to report.
d) Local Plan – no proposals for large scale development in the parish. There are a series of briefing events online and in person.
e) Parish Liaison – The Chair attended and notes were circulated.
f) Repair to War Memorial – No report.
g) Allotment- No update
h) Remembrance – the event had been submitted to B&NES For approval. Need to agree how many poppies to buy. Steve F unable to use van – Steve Flukes van was offered
i) Clerks Report – circulated.
j) Chairmans report- Circulated.

79.9. Items to carry forward to the next meeting: Clean & Green list

79.10. To note Future Meetings:

DATE OF NEXT PARISH COUNCIL MEETING: Monday 12th October 2026 at 7pm in Pensford Village Hall
The meeting closed at 21.34pm

 

Publow with Pensford Parish Council
Parish Clerk
10 Watts Corner, Glastonbury, BS6 8FD
Phone: 01458 741336. Mobile: 07899 970173
Email: clerk@publow-with-pensford-pc.gov.uk