ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
Held in The Nicholls Hall
Tuesday 7th April 2009 Present:
Mrs L Ellicott (Chairman): Ms J Gannon (Vice-Chairman): Mrs L Cole: Mrs S Holland: Mrs K Boyd: Ms C Moriarty: Mr I Hammerton
Apologies for absence:
Cllr A Hosking, Cllr I McPhie, A Martin (Clerk – unwell), Mrs S Powne (Parish Magazine editor), Dr D Palmer (webmaster of Lydford.co.uk)
Parishioners present:
A total of seven parishioners were present.
1.2009 – Chairman’s report:
Ms Ellicott reported on the achievements of the parish council over the last year as follows:
1.1 Parish Plan – The Parish Plan is almost finished, but the Committee is still in talks with Devon CC regarding the final format of the plan.
1.2 Village Shop – The original shop has been closed for over a year, and the site is still on the market. Attempts had been made over the year to set up some form of community shop, and one sales day was held earlier in the year. No update was available at this meeting.
1.3 Granite Way – The “No Horses” sign has now been missing for over a year, but Devon CC have finally promised to replace it, and we are expecting this to happen very soon.
No reply or acknowledgement was ever received from the Lamerton Hunt, but equally no complaints of the hunt using the Granite Way have been received in the last year.
The Council understands that the compulsory purchase of the last missing link in the Granite Way is taking place, but will take some time to complete. Devon Highways have promised to keep the Council informed of developments.
1.4 Clerk’s Surgery – Regular surgeries did not have any take up, though the Clerk has held pre-booked appointments with a number of parishioners over the year. It is clear that it is a preferred system by parishioners that they contact the Clerk for a mutually convenient appointment.
1.5 Ancient Spring – The two year project sponsored by ING Direct has recently been completed, and around 100 parishioners gathered to witness the official reopening by the Mayor of West Devon, Cllr Terry Pearce. This could not have been accomplished without the professional input of Mr John Pettitt RIBA, who gave his services as project manager free of charge. The assistance of the Lydford Wildlife Group was also appreciated.
1.6 Proposed Sewage Treatment Works – South West Water are still seeking a site for the proposed works, but the Council is not aware of any further developments. The Chairman reiterated that any consultation of the Council and the Lydford residents is on a goodwill basis at this stage of proceedings, and there is no statutory requirement for consultation until a planning application is submitted.
1.7 Caravan and Camping Site – The recent planning application for extra gravel hardstandings had again brought the Site into focus within the village population. The application was passed at the DNPA Planning Committee meeting on Friday 3rd April.
1.8 Beating of the Bounds – This ancient tradition will be continued on Saturday 16th May, the day before Rogation Sunday.
1.9 Marriage of Cllr Hammerton to the Clerk – Lydford is not the only Parish in West Devon where the Clerk is the wife of a Parish Council member. Parishioners should, however, be aware of the union, especially as the Clerk will continue to operate under her existing name and therefore it may not be immediately apparent that the marriage exists.
2.2009 Questions from the floor:
2.1 Mrs Rumsby requested further information on the proposed Sewage Treatment Works, especially regarding whose land may be needed. The Chairman reiterated the information already in the public domain, that at this stage SWW have indicated that the company is not willing to put compulsory purchase procedures in place. There is, of course, no guarantee that this may not happen at some future date if no suitable land can be found which may be purchased with the landowners consent.
2.2 Mr Powne raised the issue of the recent campsite application, and the lack of an objection by the Council. The Council had, in an initial response, raised the following queries:
1. Members understood that on a previous application the field in question was restricted to tent camping only – could the DNPA please check on this.
2. The form refers to planning consent for 120 pitches. Councillors understood that the planning consent was for 90 pitches, and that the Caravan and Camping Club had a licence to extend this to 120 because of being the C&CC. Now that the site has reverted to being run privately by the owner the Council anticipated that the license went with the C&CC and that there would only be 90 pitches.
3. The application refers to connection to the main sewers, which is correct as regards the ablution facilities at the site. There is, however, the matter of chemical toilet emptying, and in particular the emptying of holding tanks on motor homes. The Campsite’s website specifically advertises it as a point for these vehicles to empty their on board sewage holding tanks, and the Council has concerns that chemical toilet waste may be discharged into the village sewerage system. It also believes that this should come under the heading of trade effluent, and may require a license.
4. The application refers to a sustainable drainage system, but there are no details of this given, and it does not appear on the plans. The Council would like details of the point of discharge, for which it understands that Environment Agency consent is required. The council would also like to point out that there are flooding issues on the section of road from the War memorial to Bolts House, which runs adjacent to the site.
The Council concludes that at present insufficient information (especially regarding the drainage system and the emptying of chemical toilet waste) has been given for it to make a decision on this application.
Both highways and SWW had sent in replies to the DNPA with “No Objections” as responses, negating the council’s concerns over sewage issues and flooding on the road. The DNPA had underlined to the Council that the planning consent was sought only for putting down gravel and not for any expansion of the site, and that this was the only planning consideration. DNPA had checked up on Item 1 and could find no history of planning for the lower field being limited to tents. The query over the number of pitches was to do with the site license and was deemed not a planning issue. The Council could find no material planning objections to the application, and moreover there were split opinions amongst the members as to the acceptability of the application.
There was considerable discussion among the parishioners present, and the Council was requested to pursue the following two issues:
Firstly the question of the Manager’s caravan on the site, and to what extent it is a residential home.
Secondly the requirement for a Trade Effluent Waste license in view of the fact that the site advertises on its website the facility for motorhomes to call in and pump out their on-board sewage holding tanks.
The council will forward on these enquiries.
2.3 Several of the parishioners present had checked out a local website and were highly critical of the content. They noted that the site operator had neglected to put a name or telephone number on the site, and had been hoping that they would be present at the meeting, which they were not. They also felt that the use of org.uk might be misleading unless the site were actually operated by a not-for-profit organisation with a committee structure.
They were concerned that the site might affect the standing of the council, and might additionally put prospective councillors off from standing at the next election, or indeed might prompt resignations from the current council. Mrs Cole noted from history that if Lydford were unable to fill its seats the Parish would be administered by the Dartmoor Forest Parish Council, at Princetown, with a single Lydford representative. This, it was felt, would not be in Lydford’s interest.
There being no further business the meeting was formally closed by the
Chairman at 8.15 pm.
Annie Martin 8th April 2009
Clerk to the Parish Council
Signed as a true and accurate record……………………Date………………….
(Chairman)