Annual Parish Meeting 2019

Posted on 3rd April, 2019

 

UPDATE 16 JULY 19: 2019 APM Minutes. Also, email response from BPC Clerk regarding BOB asking why BPC had approved last year's APM Minutes knowing that the Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) resolution #2 was incorrectly minuted:

"The Council approved the APM 2018 minutes as correct because they viewed them to be correct. The council had received only two written representations suggesting the draft was not accurate regarding the Neighbourhood Plan – one from you and one from the resident whose copy letter you attached – and no verbal representation." - from Clerk email

 

Interesting to note that a BPC Cllr NDP member and the NDP Chair recommended their approval despite knowing the ongoing issue of NDP misrepresentation,  i.e. "Andy Scarisbrick proposed that the minutes be approved as published; seconded by Gill Williams ..." -  from 2019 APM Minutes

 

"Should any planning application be made in respect of the land between the A370 and Bleadon Road, then a response will be made in accord with the views of the majority of parishioners. As you will be aware, the Parish Council is the only body that has a statutory and constitutional right to be consulted with regard to planning matters." - from 2018 APM Minutes

 

Interesting to note that BPC received the A370/Bleadon Rd/Sander's Fields planning application 3 weeks before this public statement was made, and that councillors had met twice without mentioning this to the public, i.e. 12 Mar & 28 Mar 18? The public were not informed of this application until the 04 May (Min 308.6) nearly 7 weeks/49 days after the application was made?

 

Also interesting to note, "Where a parish council ... is notified of a planning application, they must make any representations within 21 days" - from the Government's Consultation and pre-decision matters guidance. Once informed the public can make their own comments directly to NSC regarding an appliction, so even if BPC decide they aren't going to submit a comment, or aren't quorate, there is no reason not to inform the public ASAP.

 

Despite the way in which the 2018 APM minutes were written BPC also resolved not to respond to the Mendip Bats Consultaton, a protected species in our environment? (P68.15 & 301.8) - from 2018 APM Minutes

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The APM, by law, is supposed to be a resident's meeting, not a Council meeting. For example a council's interpretation of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) guidance,

"An Annual Parish Meeting is an effective forum for parish councils to engage with the local electorate.  Even if the Parish Council disagrees with the issues raised, or related arguments, the council members’ attendance and involvement in the Annual Parish Meeting would demonstrate that the council is prepared to take account of local residents’ views, which they must hold strongly if they have gone to the trouble attend the Annual Parish Meeting in the first place." 

Last year BPC ran the APM as a council meeting with residents' questions remaining  unanswered, we hope that with new councillors that this will be corrected this year.  Questions that you may wish to raise at the meeting:

  • 2019 APM incorrect minutes re: resolution and outcome 
  • What is happening to the Settlement Boundary and BPC councillor`s 10% expansion suggestion?
  • Resident complaint to NSC re: Openness and Leadership upheld - will residents now have more open access to BPC decision making and expenditure?
  • How are Bleadon's brownfields and potential fracking in Bleadon being considered in BPC's Neighbourhood Development Plan, why the lack of public discussion over the last 21 months? NDP
  • How do BPC inform residents of any NSC and other public consultations that they may wish to respond to?
  • How will the agreed Bristol Airport expansion and Joint Spatial Plan consultations affect Bleadon e.g Joint Local Transport Plan March 2019 Min 320.10

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Link to previous APM 2018 Blog

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