Minutes 2nd September 2020

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 2nd September 2020 at 7.30pm via a Zoom virtual meeting

Present: Cllr S Luxton (Chairman), Cllr R Tillett, Cllr W Honan, Cllr A Birmingham (Vice-Chairman) and Cllr Mrs E Hollingsworth

In Attendance: Carole Oliphant (Clerk), DCC Cllr Sara Randall Johnson, DCC Cllr Ray Bloxham, EDDC Cllr Fabian King, Nichola Vickers and one member of the public

22/20 Apologies:

None

23/20 Declarations of interest

None at this stage of the meeting

24/20 Minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 1st July 2020

Were agreed as a true record and virtually SIGNED by the Chairman

25/20 Public Question Time

No members of the public were present

26/20 Ongoing Topics

20MPH repeater signs – Cllr Tillett advised Council that DCC Highways had provided 2 signs for the village which had been installed. After discussion the Council agreed to request an additional sign to be installed opposite Chamberlains. DCC Cllr R Bloxham and Cllr R Tillett would work together to secure an additional sign and agree its location with DCC Highways

Community Land Trust – Cllr S Luxton declared an interest and did not take part in the discussion. Cllrs expressed some concerns with the proposals including the need for a new affordable housing needs survey, the site location and access to and from the site. There was a preliminary site meeting on Monday 7th September to explore ideas and options with the developer and Cllrs Birmingham and Hollingsworth agreed to attend

Litter Bins – Cllr E Hollingsworth reported problems with rats being attracted to the litter bins at the top of Station Hill. Council discussed the possibility of getting the bins removed for a period to combat the issue but it was felt that people would just leave their rubbish in the spot where the bins had previously been. It was noted that there had been no complaints received from Villagers or occupants of nearby properties. EDDC Cllr F King and Cllr E Hollingsworth agreed to work together to contact EDDC and Public Health to try and source a solution to the issue

Village Hall WiFi – Cllr Luxton advised that he was now in possession of the router and that a shelf would need to be erected in the Hall for this to be sited near the connection. He would investigate if a contract was required or had already been agreed with BT to get the WiFi connected and live. The Clerk was asked to update the Village Hall Trust with this information.

Slurry Lagoon – Council agreed that they would not make a comment on the Planning Application as it was outside the Parish and it did not appear to affect the Village. It was agreed that if Upton Pyne Parish Council asked for support with regard to the application then this would be considered

27/20 DCC Update

Cllr R Bloxham had previously provided an update which had been circulated to Council.

Cllr S Randall-Johnson reminded Council that the DCC Website had a link to the latest local Covid-19 information. She reported that Devon had only one confirmed death in the past week and that EDDC had a very low infection rate on 4.8% per 100k population. She stated that the track and trace programme was working well in the South West.

28/20 EDDC Update

Cllr Fabian King had previously provided an update which had been circulated to Council.

He provided the Parish Council with an update of the decision by EDDC to withdraw from the GESP and stated that they would now concentrate on the Local Plan.

He informed Council that he had been informed of a Caravan situated at the north end of the Village and that he had contacted the relevant authorities who were actively dealing with the situation.

29/20 Financial items:

Council had before it and NOTED the account summary detailing payments and receipts to 31th July 2020

Council NOTED that the following expenses were authorised and paid since the last meeting on 2nd July 2020.

• Expenses approved for payment:
• 2 x to Clerk (June & July Salary)
• 2 x to HMRC (June & July Salary)
• DCC Covid 19 Grant to the Covid Volunteer Group - £2700

Payments were authorised by email by the Chairman, Cllr A Birmingham and Cllr R Tillett in line with the Financial Regulations.

The Clerk was tasked with contacting the Village Defibrillator group to see if weekly checks were being carried out and if the pads would require replacement. Council requested a report from the Clerk in joining the SW Ambulance scheme and the costs associated with this.

Council AGREED that monies not spent from the Website Budget would be placed into an IT fund Ear Marked Reserve for future purchases of IT equipment and software and be combined with the existing Ear Marked Reserve for the replacement of the Clerks Computer

The Village Hall Trust to be asked to provide an invoice for the 2020-2021 grant agreed by the Parish Council

30/20 Co-Option

The Council had received one application for a Councillor Vacancy.

The Parish Council RESOLVED to co-opt Nichola Vickers to the Parish Council

(Proposed by Cllr R Tillett and seconded by Cllrs E Hollingsworth)

31/20 Website Update

The Clerk advised Council that the new Parish Council Website went live on 2nd September 2020.

She explained that the website had been provided by Mid Devon District Council at minimal cost and would continue to be hosted by them free of charge.

She further explained that the website was compliant to the accessibility regulations which had been introduced for public websites.

32/20 Additional actions arising

• A poster to be developed which could be displayed in the village noticeboard advising of the new website and the remaining Councillor vacancy
• Mac Merrett to be informed of the new website and given thanks for the help provided over the past few years
• The Footpath Warden to be asked for an update on the replacement of the posts and railings on Station Hill
• The Footpath Warden to be advised to contact Cllr Luxton regarding installing a kissing gate on footpath 12
• Investigations required into the Next Door App to see if it was a suitable communication tool for Parish Council notices

33/20 Next Meeting:
Meeting closed at 8.38pm. Next meeting 4th November 7.30pm