ALBRIGHTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Planning Meeting

Thursday 1st April 2010 at 7.00 pm in the Red House

 

Minutes of the Albrighton Parish Council planning meeting held on Thursday 1st April 2010 in the Red House.

 

PRESENT: Cllrs: P Lusk (Chair), D Beechey (Vice Chair), G Beechey, N Hester, P Illes,

D Johnson, R Kidson, J MacLachlan, M Pate, J Nelson, S Pledger.

 

PRESENTATION BY MR. SIMON McCLOY, SHROPSHIRE TOURISM.

 

Mr. McCloy was welcomed to the meeting by the Chairman and invited to make his presentation on tourism in Shropshire with particular reference to the Albrighton area. Mr McCloy began by asking the question “Why is tourism important”? In answering the question Mr. McCloy quoted a number of statistics:

 

·         Tourism contributes £97b to the UK economy;

·         It contributes nearly 10% Gross Domestic Product;

·         It employs over 2m people in the UK;

·         The UK is rated the 6th destination in the world.

 

The statistics as they relate to Shropshire include:

 

·     10.6m visitors pa;

·      Visitors spend £562 pa half of which is from staying visitors;

·     Tourism employs 15,691 people in Shropshire which represents 11.66% of the county’s workforce;

·     £150m is spent on shopping and £189m on eating and drinking.

 

Shropshire has 400 places to visit with 1026 accommodation providers and there are a variety of structures at national, regional and local levels supporting the industry which are likely to be revised after the 2010 general election.

 

In Shropshire the main issues concern the over dependency of the county on agriculture and the decline in market towns resulting in “youth drift” and a decline in public services and infrastructure which has led to pressures on the public purse. Tourism in the county officially started in 1995 when Shropshire Tourism was started as not for profit company limited by guarantee. The objective was, and is, to promote the county as a visitor destination and it enlisted the support of some 100 members and over 50% of its income came from the public purse. The highly competitive tourism market represented a major challenge for the organisation as Shropshire had very low visitor awareness and it was decided that progress had to be based on high quality research which was carefully targeted and stressed a “Shropshire brand”. The essential drivers were the towns of Shrewsbury, Ironbridge and Ludlow with the Shropshire hills and small market towns such as Much Wenlock and the border connections with Wales adding to the profile. The people of Shropshire were seen as a major asset. In order to publicise these attractions campaigns were mounted in the press and through brochures and other materials, day visit promotions were staged, websites were established and work was commissioned from a variety of agencies. This has resulted in the county now being ranked as 6th from 133 nationally and the statistics regarding numbers reveal the following:

 

·         The number of visitors has risen from 9.2m in 1998 to 10.6m in 2005 spending £562m from £217m;

·         The number of people working in the industry has risen from 7,760 to 15.691 for the same period;

·         There has been a 159% growth in value from a 13% growth in visitors;

·         The number of business members has risen to over 600

·         Shropshire Tourism is now virtually self funded.

 

Tourism is now an integral part of Shropshire’s economic future and well being with a plan to grow by another 15% over the next 3 years. More research will be undertaken over this period and increased use of IT will see web 2.0 user generated content (UGC), on line transactions and mobile communications.

 

Mr. McCloy concluded by offering some suggestions for the council to consider in promoting the Albrighton area. He suggested that the village needed to create reasons to visit and quoted Ludlow’s sausage trail and Market Drayton’s gingerbread as examples. The community needed to:

 

·         Decide who it was targeting;

·         Be clear about what the village had to offer visitors;

·         Raise its profile in the press and through the use of PR;

·         Produce leaflets, town maps etc;

·         Develop a tourism based website;

·         Improve signage;

·         Develop policies that were clear about goals and objectives;

·         Develop a tourism strategy in association with other community interests such as the Albrighton Traders.

 

Mr. McCloy then invited questions and replied to Cllr. Illes that the most exciting prospect for future development lay in the web/online development. In reply to Cllr. D Beechey Mr. McCloy said that most families take 2 years to plan a visit and are not always able to take advantage of factors such as a falling pound which demand a quick response to changing circumstances. Questions also raised the issues of public funding, the lack of hotel accommodation and poor car parking in the village and Cllr. Nelson asked if Shropshire Tourism was in a position to help the council if it decided to develop certain initiatives. Mr. McCloy said his organisation would be pleased to provide support although there would be costs such as up to £1,500 for the development of a web site and approximately £600 a sign to improve signage. Cllr. MacLachlan asked about business visitors being encouraged to stay and take advantage of the area but Mr. McCloy said that research had shown that there was very little linkage between business visits and leisure use. Cllr. Hester asked why marketing stressed the Welsh connection which left communities in the east of the county marginalised but Mr. McCloy stated it had been shown that this had greater appeal and managed a geographical fix. Even attractions such as the Cosford Air Museum attracted only a niche market. Cllr. G Beechey asked why Albrighton was not marked on a map included in a key booklet distributed by Shropshire Tourism when Shifnal was. Mr. McCloy said that this was being rectified in the next edition and in response to Cllr. MacLachlan said there was a market for “days in the country” from the large towns in the West Midlands conurbation but it was unlikely that the village would attract large hotel chains and it was a much better strategy to encourage tourist accommodation in rooms in existing pubs and bed and breakfast establishments.  

 

At the end of the question and answer session Cllr. Lusk thanked Mr. McCloy for an invaluable presentation that had been informative, challenging and thought provoking. The council was grateful for his visit and his observations and there was much for it to think about in the coming weeks. Members agreed to place this item on the next agenda on 15th April for a detailed discussion of the issues following the presentation.

 

1.   APOLOGIES:

 

Cllrs. R Balkwill, M Holden, D Murray, S Pate.

 

2.   DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

 

Personal:

 

None.

 

Prejudicial:

 

Cllr. MacLachlan declared a prejudicial interest in agenda item 8.

 

3.   PARKING DIFFICULTIES IN ASHGROVE:

 

Cllr. D Beechey highlighted the parking difficulties in Ashgrove with many cars being parked over the pavements which sometimes prevented access by refuse collection vehicles. He felt that it was a situation the council needed to monitor and asked whether there was a more efficient use of the existing garage and green space. Cllr. Pate suggested that residents should be asked about their preferences for the use of green areas but Cllr. Beechey felt that it would be sensible to talk to county officers about the possible redefinition of grassed areas before letters were written. Cllr. Pate agreed to contact county officers to ascertain whether development was possible in Ashgrove to help combat the parking problem and the clerk was asked to write to Ms. S Horrobin to say that the council was investigating the matter and would keep residents of the street informed regarding possible developments.

  

4.   SEVERN TRENT LAND AT CLOCKMILLS:

 

Cllr Lusk informed members that he had been in touch with Severn Trent Water and he had received a letter from them informing him that they did not wish to sell the land at Clockmills but would be pleased to enter a new tenancy agreement. He suggested that before the council could agree to a new tenancy, members would need security of tenure sufficient to allow future investment with some kind of compensation clause which would require STW to compensate the council for any investment it made if the agreement was revoked by them. The council agreed that security of tenure which allowed the council to invest in the facility was a pre-requisite of any future tenancy and Cllr. Lusk agreed to discuss this matter further with Severn Trent Water and report back to the council.

 

5.   PLANS AND PAYMENT FOR THE WAR MEMORIAL:

 

Cllr. Nelson reported that he had investigated the costs of the plans drawn up by bea with a colleague who agreed that the charges were a fair reflection of the work undertaken. Given this assurance he proposed that the council should settle the invoice subject to bea making the minor alterations that were now required. The proposal was seconded by Cllr. Johnson who agreed to discuss the matter further with bea and make a visit to their office in order to finalise this matter.

 

6.   MAINTENANCE OF LIME TREES IN THE LIMES:

 

Cllr. D Beechey informed members that he had obtained copy letters in which Wimpey had agreed that the lime trees in The Limes were their responsibility. They had done some maintenance work on the trees some years ago but it had been of a low standard. He proposed that the council should write to Wimpey suggesting the council should manage the maintenance of the trees on an on-going basis with Wimpey paying the costs. Cllr. Pate suggested that before this was done the involvement of Henry Boot, the builders, should be investigated as he was certain that they had some kind of involvement in this land. He promised to investigate past emails on the subject and liaise with Cllr. Beechey.

 

Cllr. Nelson suggested it would be a wise move to get a professional opinion on the trees and what needed to be done with regard to their routine maintenance before entering into discussions with either builder. This suggestion was supported by members.

 

Resolved: The clerk to contact a tree specialist to obtain a professional opinion regarding what work needed to be done on the trees and the cost of the work involved.

 

7.   PLANNING:

 

Planning applications:

 

10/01049/TCA Fell 1 x Birch tree within Donington and Albrighton conservation area 3 Whiteladies Court, Albrighton.

 

No objections

 

 

 

10/01236/TPO Felling of a lime tree (Shropshire Council (Land to the south of Station Road) TPO 2010, replant with a recommended species 13 Redford Drive, Albrighton.

Council resolved to seek further information regarding this application and the Clerk was asked to contact the county and provide further details. This application should be reviewed again, once more information was available, and the matter should be placed on the agenda for 15th April.

 

10/00934/FUL Erection of two storey side and rear extensions Checkendon, High Street, Albrighton.

 

No objections.

 

10/00952/FUL Erection of side extension to dwelling 25 Delaware Avenue, Albrighton.

 

No objections.

 

Permission granted:

 

10/00329/FUL Erection of a single storey rear extension 37 Church Road, Albrighton.

 

Received and noted.

 

Notice of Appeal:

 

09/03263/FUL Erection of a single storey extension to dwelling Meere Barn, Newhouse Lane, Albrighton.

 

Received and noted.

 

8.   CORRESPONDENCE:

 

All items were noted.

 

A letter of apology from The Community Council of Shropshire for making direct contact with the chair of the council was noted and accepted.

 

Cllr. Pledger asked if there had been progress with regard to the building of a large garage in a house in Patshull Road. The clerk promised to contact the enforcement officer at the planning department and ask him to look into it.

 

Cllr. Hester asked if any progress had been made with regard to the clearing of rubble from the Old Smithy. The clerk replied that the owner of the site had written to the Civic Society saying that he was unable to do any work at the building because an environmental survey required by the planning authority was being undertaken. Cllr. Hester expressed his keen disappointment at this delay which meant that visitors would continue to be confronted by a derelict building at one of the major entrances to the village. Cllr. Lusk offered to contact the owner and seek his cooperation on improving the appearance of this site and report back to the council.

 

 

9.   TIMES AND DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS:

 

·         Finance Committee meeting Thursday 15th April 2010 at 3.00 pm in the parish office.

·         Parish Council meeting Thursday 15th April 2010 at 7.15 pm in the Red House.

·         Annual parish meeting Thursday 22nd April 2010 at 7.00 pm in the Red House.

·         Parish Council planning meeting Thursday 6th May 2010 at 7.15 pm in the Red House.

 

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.15 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signed..........................................................Date....................................................

Chairman