MINUTES OF THE MEETING
Held in the Nicholls Hall on Tuesday 17th March 2009
27-2009 Present:
Ms L Ellicott (Chairman): Ms J Gannon (Vice-Chairman); Mrs L Cole: Mrs S Holland: Mrs K Boyd
Ms C Moriarty: Mrs A Martin (Clerk)
Cllr I McPhie (WDBC)
Parishioners and others in attendance: Eight members of the public were in attendance, along with PCSO Chapple.
28-2009 Apologies for Absence:
Cllr A Hosking (health) and Mr I Hammerton (working late) were accepted.
29-2009 Declaration of Interests:
It was recorded that Ms Gannon was updating her Register of Interests.
Ms Ellicott reiterated that the Monitoring Officer had again confirmed that as she no longer sits on the Parish Plan Steering Committee it should not appear on the current register of interests. The Monitoring Officer had stressed that this is by application of the Rules and is not a subjective decision made by her.
30-2009 Parishioners and Visitors Time:
30.1 With the agreement of the parishioners present the Chairman allowed PCSO Chapple to have the first visitor’s slot at the meeting so that he could resume other duties without delay. PCSO Chapple had nothing to report specific to Lydford. He was asked about the new noise meters, of which seven are just coming into service with our local police force, and informed the meeting that these would be used by motorcycle officers, who would visit a wide variety of locations. There was concern about the noise of some motorbikes on the A386, the noise from which reverberates around the village at some distance from the main road.
There have recently been some speed checks operating in the general area.
Having given his report PCSO Chapple left the meeting to resume his patrol duties.
30.2 A parishioner questioned the validity of an item in the previous minutes. There was, however, a majority decision among members that the item was not incorrect or misleading, and should remain unaltered.
30.3 On behalf of a parishioner the Chairman had received a query regarding the procedures used by the DNPA planning office. The parishioner will write to the DNPA regarding the queries, and the Parish Council will add a letter of support.
30-2009 To approve the minutes of the previous meeting:
The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 17th February 2009 were signed by the
Chairman as a true and accurate record.
31-2009 Matters Arising:
31.1 Highways, Parking and Traffic Issues:
The Council had received notification that the Safety Audit on the A386 had been carried out and that the results will be notified to us within the next month. It was noted that although the Police have an advisory role in road safety the ultimate decision rests with highways.
31.2 Parish Plan update – Ms Gannon reported that a partial set of initial results had been received, but that the individual comments had not yet been anonymised for return to the Committee for analysis. It was agreed that the results would not be published until complete, as partial results could be misleading.
31.3 Ancient Spring and Opening Ceremony – The Opening Ceremony took place as planned and was well attended, with approximately 100 people present. Very positive feedback about the newly reopened Spring from parishioners had been received.
The final contractor’s invoice was yet to be. Once the VAT has been reclaimed there will be a maintenance budget. The Chairman reported that letters of thanks had been sent out, but that she would like to reiterate her thanks to Mr John Pettitt RIBA, the project manager, who was present at the meeting. He has volunteered to continue managing the ongoing maintenance. He is still working on a detailed maintenance plan, and anticipates that the grass will require cutting four times a year, and that the main maintenance demands will come in the Autumn. The Lydford Wildlife Group will continue their assistance.
31.4 Progress re: Emergency Plan – No further volunteers had come forward. It was, however, good to note that the plan has a doctor and practicing nurse signed up. Mr Hammerton and Mrs Boyd will meet to consider how to proceed.
31.5 Beating of the Bounds – The event is scheduled for 16th May, with options to join at the start, or for a less strenuous experience, to join at Watervale for the last couple of miles, finishing at the Waterfall end of Lydford Gorge, where the National Trust will provide refreshments. Neighbouring parishes will be invited to send representatives. Certificates will be awarded to all participants, and those under 16 years old on the day will additionally receive a £2 coin in accordance with longstanding traditions. Three volunteers have enabled the Council to ensure that the walk has a leader, a backmarker and a “middle man”, especially important during the exposed high moor section. The Dartmoor Rescue group and DNPA Ranger have been informed of the event.
31.6 Community Land Trust Update Ms Gannon has a forthcoming meeting arranged with a mentor, to give the council a better idea of how the CLT operates.
31.7 Granite Way The “No Horses” sign has not been reinstated yet. Highways have also agreed to renew the disabled sign on the parking space at the request of a parishioner who had noticed that it had become too faint to be seen.
The Council expects to be updated regarding the missing link as soon as there are further developments.
31.8 Footpaths / Rights of Way The Chairman clarified the Council’s position, as there had been some misunderstanding by parishioners. The Council has given its support to the gathering of evidence, as requested by DCC, and also because to withhold such support could be construed as supporting the suppression of evidence. The Council takes a neutral stance on the actual issue, recognising that some parishioners will be in favour and some against the proposals. The Clerk reminded the meeting that the procedure follows set rules, and is not based on a subjective decision by a DCC officer, but on evidence received.
Some parishioners had expressed a wish to submit their evidence directly to Devon County Council and the contact details will be put in the Parish Magazine. Evidence forms can also be accessed via the DCC website for those with internet access.
32-2009 Receive Reports from Councillors on respective outside bodies:
32.1 DNPA Consultative Forum No meeting this month.
32.2 Police Authority Mrs Holland and Ms Moriarty had been to a meeting in Okehampton, at which they felt that too much time was taken up with local-specific issues. They had, however, learned that 18 officers have been released onto the beat in the Authority’s area, and of these 2 will patrol in Okehampton and 1 in Tavistock. They had also received information on the new Noise meters, as referred to in item 30.1.
32.3 Southern Parishes Link Committee The next meeting will be held on Thursday, but Mrs Boyd is unable to attend. No other councillors were available.
32.4 Nicholls Hall Committee The March Bistro Nite raised £200. There will be no Bistro Nite in April.
32.5 WDBC Cllr McPhie expressed her disappointment that the “No Horses” sign had not yet been reinstated, and will follow the issue up again. She reported that the new Waste Management arrangements are progressing with the contract having been split into separate components to encourage small local contractors who may specialise in one component only.
33-2009 Finance:
33.1 The Clerk apologised that there was an error in the “previous year’s figures” included
with the budget statement. She had inadvertently used the figure from the previous year
instead of the current year, which becomes the previous year to next year’s budget.
The precept has actually dropped by £200 from £6350 to £6150. It was thought that no
parishioners would mind that the precept had dropped rather than staying the same as stated.
33.2 The Local Government Officers pay award for 2008/09 has finally been settled and the Clerk
has amended her salary accordingly, with a backdated increase of a further 0.3%. This amounted
to less than £10 in total for the year.
33.3 Invoices for John Pengelly (item 31.3) and the Nicholls Hall (for the year’s scheduled meetings) have yet to be received and should, if possible, be paid from the current year’s budget. The Clerk therefore requested prior authorisation to pay these invoices as soon as they are received, and this was given.
33.4 The following balances were reported:
Current account – £1298.49
Deposit account - £5677.80
Parish Plan - £1204.23
Ancient Spring - £1880.71
The following cheques were authorised from the general budget: Clerk salary & expenses £276.54: HMRC £56.45: Mainly Stationery (Spring) £6.00, L Ellicott (Spring) £17.37, Nicholls Hall (Spring) £25.00, S Holland (Spring) £20.00, Hepworth Workshops (Website) £10.00. Pre-authorisation was given for the final of the above items was authorised, as was a transfer of £2000.00 from the flexi account to the deposit account. As a number of invoices had been presented after the Financial Statement was compiled on the morning of the meeting, the Clerk stated that it would have to be updated before publication. The updated financial statement will be appended to the minutes.Contractor’s invoice for the Spring, expected to total £1428.88 including VAT, and the annual Nicholls Hall charge for regular meeting. A transfer from the Ancient Spring account to the deposit account in respect
34-2009 Correspondence
34.1 Correspondence requiring action or decision:
1. Letters to the Chairman from a parishioner: The chairman had received two letters, both unpleasantly abusive, from a parishioner.
The first concerned the proposed sewage treatment works. A large bundle of correspondence had already been received from this parishioner, and the council had on two occasions offered a minuted meeting with representatives of the Parish Council and an independent “honest broker”, possibly Cllr McPhie if available, in attendance, to address any outstanding queries. Both offers had been turned down. The Council considered that the questions posed had largely been already answered, some by SWW, and others by the refusal of landowners on both proposed sites near the viaduct having refused to sell.
The second letter concerned one of the proposed new bridleways, and had been written referring to the February meeting before the minutes were published.
It was decided that the Vice-Chairman would respond on behalf of the Council. The option of returning the correspondence as abusive would not be exercised on this occasion in a spirit of conciliation.
In future parishioners will be asked, when using e-mail, to use only the communal e-mail address of all councillors, which is alllydfordcouncillors@hotmail.co.uk, and to which all councillors have access via password protection.
34.2 Correspondence for Information Only
1. WDBC Standards Committee Agenda and Minutes Update on Local Govt Review
2. WDBC Meeting schedule
3 DCC re Commons in the Parish of Chagford
4 Calor Village of the Year entry form
5 Village Green magazine
6 DAPC Newsletter
7 WDBC February newsletter inc info on the Barn Owl Trust
8 Letter from Devon Highways re: Granite Way
9 DNPA Agenda and Reports
10 RD&E newsletter
11 Leaflets about Devon Highways
12 Sustainable Communities Act Public Meeting in Exeter
13 Letter from Devon Highways re: A386 Safety Audit
14 Notification of the 3 new members of the DAPC committee, including Ms Gannon from Lydford.
15 Information from the Dogs Trust, which rehomes dogs whose Owner has died. Other organisations also perform this service, some taking cats and other pets as well, but the Clerk will order a free
leaflet dispenser for interested parishioners.
35-2009 Planning Applications
35.1 Decisions Received
None this month.
35.2 Applications for decision by the Council:
35.2.1 Application for listed building consent at Town Farm
This application only required consent because it is a listed building and the original materials are no
longer available, having been superceded by superior materials. The application was not regarded as
contentious in any way and the council response is:
The council SUPPORTS this application.
35.2.2 Application for a further amendment at Lot Cottage (former builder’s office)
The application was regarding a bathroom extension which has been constructed at the rear of the
cottage. There will be no visual impact once the work is complete, and the only issues were building
regulations rather than planning. The Council’s response is:
The Council has NO OBJECTIONS to this amendment as once completed it will have no visible
impact. The Council trusts that Building Regulations will be strictly adhered to in the execution of the work.
36-2009 Items raised at the previous meeting for inclusion on this agenda:
The Council’s Website: this item was postponed until the next meeting as Mr Hammerton was not able
to attend this meeting. In his absence the Chairman reported that he had spent upwards of 25 – 30 hours
working on the supplementary website that should fulfill the new Freedom of Information Requirements and
that had this been carried out by a commercial contractor it would have cost the council a considerable
sum, probably in excess of £1000. The Chairman thanked Mr Hammerton in his absence, and noted that
this might be construed as a gift to the council, which should be declared. The Clerk will check with the monitoring officer.
37-2009 Items raised for inclusion on the next Agenda
There were none.
38-2009 To agree the date of the next meeting:
The date of Tuesday 21st April 2009 was agreed commencing at 7.00 pm.
The Annual Parish Meeting will take place on Tuesday 7th April, also at 7.00 pm.
There being no further business the meeting was formally closed by the Chairman at 8.35 pm.
Annie Martin
Clerk to the Parish Council 19th March 2008
Signed as a true and accurate record…………………………………… (Chairman) Date……………….
Date……………….