Gurnard Parish Council
39 Victoria Road
Cowes
PO31 7JH
The minutes of the planning meeting of Gurnard Parish Council held at 18.30 on Wednesday 8th January 2025 at Gurnard Village Hall, Westbrook Lane, Gurnard, PO31 8JR.
Present: Councillors Acton (Chair), Bugden, Franklin, Jacobs, and Nolan
Clerk: Richard Shaul
No members of the public were present.
The meeting started at 18:30
- Apologies
Apologies: Cllrs Fuller, Wood and Bustin (noted after the meeting)
- Members’ declarations of interest
- None.
- None.
- Minutes
The minutes of the Full Council meeting of 11th December 2024 were taken as read, approved as a correct record and signed by the chair.
- Planning, licensing and tree preservation order applications
- The following planning applications were reviewed:
- 24/01914/RVC 20/12/2024
Land at and rear Of 44 Worsley Road Gurnard Isle of Wight
Variation of condition 2 on P/01505/12 to allow alterations to design of plots 4/4A to include lower ground floor level
Resolved: no objection:
- 24/01902/HOU 19/12/2024
51 Worsley Road Gurnard Cowes Isle of Wight PO31 8JX
Proposed detached double garage with internal store
Resolved: no objection, but GPC request the condition the garage remains ancillary to the main dwelling and that there is provision for water harvesting.
- 24/01862/RVC 12/12/2024
Land between Flora Rosa and Fairwinds Rew Street Gurnard Isle Of Wight PO31 8NW
Resolved: no objection but GPC would like to raise concerns regarding the disposal of the large volume of spoil resulting from the access work and grey water and foul water joining the main sewer.
- 24/01800/RVC 02/12/2024
Former Oil Plant House Marsh Road Gurnard Isle of Wight
Variation of condition 2 on 23/00905/RVC to allow for change in materials
No comments required
- The following new decision was received:
- 24/01806/NMA 03/11/2024Land Adjacent 51 Albert Road Gurnard Cowes Isle of Wight PO31 8JU
Non-material amendment on 23/01825/FUL for revision to operative development description
Refused 11/12/2024
- Reports
- Parish Council Chair – Noted
- IW Councillor – Noted
- Clerk’s report – Noted
- GVHA – Minutes for the December GVHA had been received
- Councillors reports – None received
- Environmental officer – None received
- Finance (Clerk)
- Cheque and electronic payments in November 2024:
- 3 payments totalling £1,371.93 were paid in December but not but not yet approved at a council meeting.
Resolved: Approved
- 1 payments of £36.00 is due but not yet approved at a council meeting
Resolved: Approved
- 1 receipt of £1,042.95 was noted
- There were no bank transfers in the period.
- Bank statements and reconciliation were circulated prior to the meeting – noted.
- Spencers Wood update (Clerk)
The owner of Spencers Wood had suggested a number of times and dates to meet Councillors and update them about work currently underway at Spencers Wood.
Resolved: that a meeting should be arranged for 10:00 On Thursday 16th January.
- Grant for Friends of Northwood Cemetery (FoNC) (Clerk)
At the December Full Council meeting a grant application for FoNC was rejected due to funding that FoNC had received from other sources. However, in the light of new information regarding this funding, this decision should be reconsidered.
Resolved: that a grant of £500 for FoNC was approved.
- Local Elections (chair)
Following the governments’ publication of a White Paper on Devolution it appears that elections may be delayed from May 2025 to May 2026.
Resolved:
- That GPC retain the budget heading for election purposes and funds as set out in the2025-26 budget but take no other immediate action until there is more clarity about the changes, processes, the potential outcomes and the associated timeline which is set out in the White Paper.
- That GPC members actively encourage any residents who might be interested in becoming a councillor in the future to attend GPC meetings or become involved with an appropriate council working party.
- Defibrillators (Clerk)
The Clerk has spoken to Isle of Wight Defibrillators about moving the GVHA defibrillator to the outside of the Hall. They could supply the cabinet and move the unit for roughly £450. The cabinet may be locked or unlocked.
Resolved:
- That GPC accepts the Isle of Wight Defibrillators estimate for moving the defibrillator to an external locked cabinet at GVH and sets a budget limit for the work of £600
- That GVHA is formally informed about the proposed changes and siting of the defibrillator.
- Doughnut Economics (DE) Group (Chair)
Chair reported that “As part of my involvement with Together for Mission Zero I have been working with a group developing ideas around the principles of Doughnut Economics. I made a mention of this in my December’s Chair’s Report and shared a small section of a ‘grid’ looking at the work of GPC within the DE framework/principles. The grid has been filled out further now and both shows how much is happening in Gurnard and where the ‘holes’ are most apparent.”
Chair proposed “that the DE group is allowed to share the ‘grid’ to further work on how local councils can use DE principles to aid strategic planning.”
The committee decided that, as the information contained in the grid was already in the public domain, no resolution was required.
- GDPR (Cllr Franklin)
It was agreed at the December meeting that a working group should be formed to look at where and how GPC needs to enhance its ability to work within GDPR but Cllr Franklin was not available and he is the councillor with most experience in this field.
Resolved: That an initial GDPR Working Group meeting be held on Wednesday 29th January (after the Planning meeting) for all interested parties to attend.
- Southern Water SuDS Project (Cllr Nolan)
The Southern Water SUDS project for Gurnard has been agreed between Isle of Wight Council and Southern Water without consultation with Gurnard Parish Council and is due to start in 3 to 4 weeks’ time. It will cause a great deal of disruption, with some of Gurnard’s roads being narrowed and Gurnard will lose 7% of it’s parking spaces.
Resolved: GPC would like it confirmed that IoW council are responsible for the upkeep and future maintenance of all aspects of the pathways project in Gurnard Parish.
- CCTV for toilets (clerk)
Recent incidents of vandalism at the toilets have highlighted that although the CCTV cameras are working the system is not recording anything. It is believed that the hard disc drive in the unit is corrupt or damaged. Guardian Fire and Security Systems have provided a quote of £1,412 for a complete replacement of the system.
Resolved: Councillor Franklin will check the current system, test the hard drive and see whether a replacement is possible.
- Memorials Policy (chair)
The Memorials Policy was accepted in September subject to the removal of any mention of flowers and these amendments have been made.
Resolved:
- That the amended Memorials policy is put onto the website asap.
- That, once published and made public, the policy is followed through with regard to the memorial bench on the seafront which is currently used as a shrine.
- That the latest regulations on the scattering of ashes are added to the policy if there are any relevant differences.
- That the Memorials Policy be reviewed bi-annually
The meeting closed at 20:07
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Chair