Minutes 4th March 2020
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 4th March 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, Cllr E Hollingsworth and Cllr A Birmingham (Vice-Chairman)
In Attendance: Carole Oliphant (Clerk), EDDC Cllr Fabian King and DCC Cllr Sara Randall Johnson and Cllr Ray Bloxham
159/19 Apologies:
There were no apologies
160/19 Declarations of interest
None at this stage of the meeting
161/19 Minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 22nd January 2020
Were agreed as a true record and SIGNED by the Chairman
162/19 Democratic period
The following issues were discussed:
• Residents Parking in Chapel Road and whether this would be appropriate.
• Anti-social behaviour experienced in the village due to people visiting the river and behaving inappropriately in the summer.
163/19 Meeting Schedule
The Meeting Schedule for 2020-2021 was agreed at the Parish Council Meeting on 22nd January 2020 and confirmed as:
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
164/19 Ongoing Topics
Brampford Speke Village Hall- The Chairman provided a condition report from Hurley Contractors Ltd which detailed future works required.
There were no immediate issues that needed to be dealt with but it did highlight areas where work would be required in the future.
Council AGREED that the works could be broken down over a number of years and requested that the Chairman obtain quotations from Hurley Contractors Ltd for the priority items required.
The Clerk was requested to provide the Brampford Speke Village Hall Trust with a copy of the report.
Cllr E Johns resigned as Council representative on the Brampford Speke Village Hall trust and Cllr W Honan was nominated to the role.
Cllr L Fletcher-Neal gave on update on the WiFi which was in the process of being installed and that once this was live she would investigate projector and screen options.
Footpaths and Verges-The Footpath Warden had provided details of the xx reports he had returned to Devon County Council and the Clerk had completed the Expenditure report for 2019-2020. The Footpath Warden had confirmed that there was £411 in the P3 pot and that he was not seeking to apply for a further grant for 2020-2021. Council thanked the footpath warden for all the work he had done to improve the footpaths around the village.
Trees- No update
Highways and Traffic Management- Cllr R Tillett informed the Council that he had reported the potholes on Pynes Hill.
Cllrs R Tillett and W Honan agreed to represent the Council at a community meeting with Devon Highways Officers.
Discussion was held with regard to extending the 20MPH speed limit within the village and that new traffic orders would need to go through a legal process before it could be introduced.
The Clerk confirmed that she would be apply for a £150 Locality grant for two 20MPH repeater signs.
Chapel Road Tree- The Chairman informed Council that the tree guard was currently being galvanised and would be installed imminently.
Anti-Social Behaviour- The Council discussed the issues experienced and consideration was given to:
• The use of signage to encourage people to behave responsibly
• Installation of CCTV camera’s
• Reminding villagers to report instances to 101 so that a pattern of behaviour could be logged with the Police
• Red Rock was now closed to public access
• Council representation on the Police Community Liaison meetings to start a dialogue with the Police about the issues experienced
Residents Parking- Cllr R Bloxham (DCC) informed Council that DCC Highways would not support a scheme in Chapel Road as it was not viable and unenforceable. He explained that restricting parking in Chapel Road would have a negative effect for residents who would be constrained by the restrictions all year round.
Consideration was given to:
• The displacement of parking to other areas of the village if parking in Chapel Road was restricted as visitors would still want to come and use the river.
• The parking issues and anti-social behaviour in the summer and that stopping one would not prevent the other
165/19 Update from EDDC: Cllr Fabian King provided the Parish Council with updates on the following:
• Recycling
• Climate Change Task Force
• The Glover Report
• Greater Exeter Strategic Plan (GESP)
166/19 Update from DCC: Cllr Ray Bloxham had provided Council with a report which had been previously circulated.
He expressed disappointment that Council had not sent representatives to the previous Police Community Liaison meeting and encouraged attendance. He informed Council that the next meeting would on 12th March 2020 at Broadclyst Village Hall.
167/19 Planning:
Councillors noted that no new Planning Applications had been received since the January meeting.
168/19 Financial items:
Council had before it and NOTED the account summaries and budget to date for January and February 2020.
Council NOTED that the following expenses were authorised and paid since the last meeting on 22nd January 2020.
• £500 – Community Grant – Friends of Brampford Speke School (Payments approved by the Chairman, Cllr A Birmingham and Cllr R Tillett) – Paid 9th February 2020.
• Expenses approved for payment:
• 1 x to Clerk (February Salary)
• 1 x to HMRC (February Salary)
Payments authorised by the Chairman and Cllr R Tillett
In response to a question the Clerk confirmed to Council that the VAT return had been completed and Council had received a £387 rebate.
Accounting Statements January 2020
169/19 Replacement Website
The Council had before it a *report from the Clerk detailing the accessibility requirements for Parish Council websites and the need for Brampford Speke Parish Council to commission its own website that could be controlled and updated by the Clerk and Councillors (in the Clerks absence).
The Clerk explained to Council that Cllr Fletcher Neal had done some initial investigations into the website and hosting offerings currently available and that the costs were well within the 2020-2021 budget as £1000 had been ear marked for this project. She explained that as the Council had an existing website offering they had until September 2020 to meet the accessibility requirements.
The Clerk explained that the next steps would be to interrogate the individual offerings and obtain specific costs from individual suppliers and she requested that the Council approve this course of action for the Clerk to undertake over the next few months.
Once a supplier had been selected and costs obtained Council would be recommended to approve the purchase of a new website and hosting package.
Council RESOLVED that a new website was required and agreed for the Clerk to further investigate the options on offer and obtain detailed costings.
(Proposed by the Chairman)
*Report previously circulated and attached to the Minutes
170/19 Annual Parish Meeting
Council discussed the form and content of the Annual Parish Meeting to be held on 22nd April 2020.
Council AGREED that to save costs no refreshments would be provided for the meeting.
Council agreed the following for agenda items:
• Parish Council Annual Report would be prepared by the Chairman but with Lead Councillors providing updates from their areas
• EDDC update from Cllr F King
• DCC update from Cllrs R Bloxham and S Randall-Johnson
• Jilly Greed be asked to talk about Climate Change and the Farming Community
• Anti-Social behaviour – a general topic for discussion to obtain the views of the community and possible solutions
171/19 Other Information/Correspondence/Discussion
1. Dog Waste Stations
Council NOTED the correspondence which had been forwarded on by the Clerk offering dog waste stations which could be purchased and installed around the village and decided that the offering was not appropriate for the village.
2. Complaints Policy
The Council had before it a Complaints policy* provided by the Clerk which required adoption by the Council.
The Council RESOLVED to adopt the Complaints policy and publish the details on the website.
(Proposed by the Cllr E Hollingsworth and seconded by Cllr R Tillett)
3. Village Email list
The Council discussed the village email list which had previously been used to inform villagers of information that was relevant to them including notices of road closures received by the Parish Clerk.
Council AGREED that the email list would no longer be used but alerts and notifications would be sent from the new website when this was up and running and that villagers could opt in to subscribe.
4. Speke Up
Council agreed the following items to be included in the Speke Up submission:
• Details of the Annual Parish Meeting
• Reminder for people to report anti-social behaviour to 101
• Reminder to dispose of dog waste responsibily.
172/19 Next Meeting:
Wednesday 22nd April 7.00pm followed by the Annual Parish Meeting at 7.30pm Village Hall.
Meeting finished at: 9.23pm