Minutes 22nd January 2020
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 22nd January 2020 at 7.30pm at the Village Hall.
Present: Cllr S Luxton (Chairman), Cllr R Tillett, Cllr L Fletcher-Neal, Cllr W Honan, and Cllr E Johns
In Attendance: Carole Oliphant (Clerk), EDDC Cllr F King and DCC Cllr Sara Randall Johnson.
146/19 Apologies:
Cllr A Birmingham and Cllr Mrs E Hollingsworth
147/19 Declarations of interest
None at this stage of the meeting
148/19 Minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 2nd October 2019 and 6th November 2019
Were agreed as a true record and SIGNED by the Chairman
Minutes 2nd Ocober 2019 & 6th November 2019
149/19 Democratic period
The following issues were discussed:
• Plans for replacing the tree in Chapel Road
• 20MPH repeater signs
150/19 Meeting Schedule
The Chairman proposed that the Parish Council amend its meeting schedule from 10 meetings a year to 7. He explained that this would assist with the Parish Councils carbon footprint and would be less onerous for the Clerk and for Councillors.
Councillors agreed that extra ordinary meetings could be arranged if urgent decision were required to be taken in the public domain.
Therefore, the Parish Council RESOLVED to amend the number of meetings scheduled for the remainder of the municipal year 2019-2020 to two meetings and to agree to have seven scheduled meetings for the municipal year 2020-2021 as follows:
2019-2020
Wednesday March 4th 2020 – 7.30pm
Wednesday April 22nd 2020 – Parish Council Meeting 7.00pm followed by the Annual Parish Meeting at 7.30pm (or on the rising of whichever was earlier)
2020-2021
Wednesday 20th May 2020– Annual Council Parish Meeting – 1st Meeting of New Council – 7.30pm
Wednesday 1st July 2020- 7.30pm
Wednesday 2nd September 2020 – 7.30pm
Wednesday 4th November 2020 – 7.30pm
Wednesday 6th January 2021 – 7.30pm
Wednesday 3rd March 2021 – 7.30pm
Wednesday 21st April 2021 – Parish Council Meeting 7.00pm followed by Annual Parish Meeting
(Proposed by the Chairman and seconded by Cllr L Fletcher-Neal)
151/19 Ongoing Topics
Brampford Speke Village Hall- Cllr Fletcher-Neal informed that Council that as there was no existing line into the village hall for WiFi provision that the only option was to arrange for British Telecom (BT) to complete a survey to provide a cost for installation. The survey costs and installation would be cheaper if a subsequent broadband package was agreed with BT. She explained that a survey on the state of the roof was required before any costings could be considered for the installation of a ceiling mounted projector. She proposed that the Parish Council arrange to have a WiFi survey completed with a view to getting WiFi installed and for the Parish Council to be responsible for the broadband contract at a cost to the Council. The Council AGREED to the proposal.
Councillors discussed the state of the village hall roof and AGREED that the Chairman would arrange for a structural survey to be carried out and the result to be reported to a future meeting and to the Village Hall Trust.
It was AGREED that a decision on the installation of a ceiling mounted projector would be revisited once the WiFi had been installed and the state of the roof known.
Footpaths and Verges-In response to complaints about horses damaging the footpath at Gypsy Lane the Clerk was tasked with contacting the footpath warden to inspect the damage and report back at a future meeting.
Trees- Cllr Hollingsworth explained that the WW1 trees were stable and there would be no need for additional grass cutting around the saplings.
Highways and Traffic Management- Cllr R Tillett informed the Council that he had chased up gritting Burridge Hill during the recent cold snap. The Parish Council discussed the 20MPH repeater signs previously
discussed and AGREED to apply for £150 locality grant from the County Councillors to obtain and install two back to back 20MPH repeater signs to be located in the village at locations to be determined.
S106-The Chairman and Cllr Johns declared an interest as they had both contributed to the current S106 funds through development. Cllr Fletcher-Neal explained that EDDC had confirmed that the funds could only be used for ‘open spaces’ and that if the monies was not spent it would go back to the developer. She confirmed that EDDC were keen to obtain the views of the Parish Council with regard to the application submitted by the Friends of Brampford Speke School. Councillors discussed the proposals put forward from Friends of
Brampford Speke School with regard to the spending of S106 funds and consideration was given to:
• The Health and Safety aspects of the schemes proposedi.e. how would access be controlled, who would supervise their use and who would pay for public liability insurance
• The proposed sites being on private land
• The impact on the ongoing issue of public nuisance, substance abuse and litter around the access to the river if
zipwire, pontoon etc. attracted more people from outside the parish
• The views of the BSVHT with regard to a Pizza Oven on the Village Hall site
• Ongoing maintenance and repair of the equipment if it were installed and who would be responsible for it
The Parish Council AGREED after consideration that it could not support the specific schemes put forward but remains keen to find an appropriate use and that it would have no objection to the Friends of Brampford Speke School liaising directly with EDDC to negotiate the allocation of S106 funds for suitable projects for ‘open spaces’.
The Council agreed that its decision would be communicated directly to EDDC and the Friends of Brampford Speke School.
The Parish Council AGREED that it would not apply for S106 monies for open spaces within the Parish in its own right.
152/19 East Devon District Council
Cllr Fabian King provided the Parish Council with updates on the following:
• Communication
• Abandoned Cars in the village
• Articles in Speke Up
• Greater Exeter Strategic Plan
153/19 Devon County Council
The Parish Council had before it and NOTED a written report from Cllr R Bloxham.
Cllr Randall Johnson provided the Parish Council with updates on the following:
• Recent Police Liaison meetings
• Low number of reported crimes in East Devon District
• Public enquiry about housing levels in Cranbrook
• DCC Budget process
• Additional funding for Children’s Services and Adult Care
154/19 Planning
Councillors agreed to arrange a site visit to Milton Lodge 20/0068/FUL
155/19
1. Financial items
The account summaries, budget to date and bank reconciliations April 2019 – December 2019 were approved by the Chairman
• Expenses approved:
• 1 x to Clerk (January Salary)
• 1 x to HMRC (January Salary)
• 1x to Society of Local Council Clerks
Payments authorised by the Chairman and Cllr R Tillett
Accounting Statement December 2019
2. Budget
The RFO presented the revised draft budget for 2020-2021 to the Parish Council.
The Parish Council RESOLVED to set the Precept demand for 2020-2021 at £7350 representing a 2.1% increase
(Proposed by the Chairman and seconded by Cllr R Tillett)
156/19 Access to Information
Prior to considering the following item on the agenda, discussion took place as to whether it was necessary to pass the following resolution to exclude the press and public having reflected on article 15 15.02(d) (a presumption in favour of openness) of the Constitution. The Committee decided that in all the circumstances
of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.
It was therefore:
RESOLVED that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the next item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 respectively of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, namely information relating to an individual
(Proposed by the Chairman)
157/19 Clerks Appointment
The meeting returned to open session and it was:
RESOLVED to appoint Carole Oliphant as Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer on an interim basis with the arrangement being reviewed on a quarterly basis
(Proposed by the Chairman)
158/19 Next Meeting:
Wednesday 4th March 2020