Minutes 5th July 2017
Minutes of the of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 5th July 2017 at 7.30pm at the Village Hall.
Present: Cllr S Luxton(Chairman), Cllr A Birmingham(Vice-Chairman),Cllr E Hollingsworth, Cllr A Wiles and Cllr G Carden
Apologies: Cllr M Merrett (away), Cllr R Tillett (away), Cllr R Bloxham (DCC) and Cllr S Grundy (EDDC)
In Attendance: Carole Oliphant (Clerk), Pam Newby, Bea Fenn and seven members of the public
84/17 Apologies
Cllr M Merrett (away) and Cllr R Tillett (away). Resolved to accept these apologies.
85/17 Declarations of interest
Cllr S Luxton (Chair) declared an interest on works to the Village Hall as he had been contracted to complete the works on the ramp to be installed. He also declared an interest in the Hulk Lane Project as he had been contracted to complete some of the works
86/17 Minutes of meeting held on 7th June 2017
The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting of 7th June 2017 were adopted as a true record and duly signed by Chair
87/17 Democratic period
A member of the public expressed a concern that the street lights were still on at 1.30pm. They were advised to report the issue through the DCC portal with the number of the street light and they would be issued with a log number.
A member of the public reported that the tree in Chapel Road was leaning over and requested that it be straightened. Cllr E Hollingsworth advised that she was arranging for this to be done but that if it didn’t work then a villager had kindly offered to replace the tree.
There was a general discussion around the litter and dog bins at the top of Station Hill. Cllr E Hollingsworth advised that a second dog bin had been installed by EDDC.
88/17 Anti-Social Behaviour
Members of the public and the parish Council agreed that the situation at the north end of the village had gotten worse in recent times. This was, in part, due to the beach being advertised as a ‘free swimming’ location in the local press.
Cllrs Luxton, Birmingham and Hollingsworth and members of the Neighbourhood Watch team had met with PSPO Jack Stannard to discuss the issues and brief them on what could be done re: parking issues, trespass, damage to property, dogs, drunkenness and anti-social behaviour. As a result of the meeting it transpires that there have been no instances of anti-social behaviour reported and the Police were completely unaware of the issue.
Moving forward the Police are more than happy to monitor and help with the situation but they need help from people affected by the problems. It would be helpful for people to report all non-urgent issues to 1010 (either by email or telephone). The more reports received by the Police the more resources would be allocated.
There are instances where you should call 999 for an immediate response, there are:
• Immediate danger to life
Households unable to exit their drive should be referred to 101 i.e. causing an obstruction. If you cannot get on to your drive then this is not a matter that the Police can deal with.
A member of the public advised that the footpath sign was obscured. Cllr W Hollingsworth advised that the foliage had now been cut down so that the sign could be seen.
There was a general discussion re new signage to deter people from causing a nuisance going onto private land. Cllr Luxton said he would speak to the NFU legal team re tone of the wording required.
Cllr Wiles suggested that a seasonal closure of the field during summer months could be considered but the landowner said this could not be policed or enforced.
The PC agreed that the Clerk would send an information email to the village email list to advise of the requirement to log anti-social instances to 101 and when to call 999.
89/17 Ongoing topics
1: Village Hall –
• The disabled ramp would be started on 17th July 2017 and the main extension was now finished
2: Footpaths & Verges -
• Bea Fenn and Pam Newby advised:
o Footpath 12 – There had been no contact with the Clerk of Upton Pyne re adding additional sleepers. Cllr Luxton would collect the left-over sleepers and store them in his yard until the repair had been schedules
o Footpath 6 – Was strimmed in the last month
o Footpath 88 – The stile still required a step. Cllr Luxton would arrange to have some gravel laid
o Strimming Program- Bea and Pam had spoken to Ros Davies (DCC) who said the strimming was due at the end of June but it didn’t start until 5/7/17. Ros had suggested that the PC organise its own strimming program using P3 monies. The contractor used by DCC charges £150 a day and would be willing to take on this work for the PC. The Clerk was instructed to contact Ros Davies re P3 funding.
• Cllr Wiles was asked to instruct the contractor to cut the verges again in August. Cllr Hollingsworth requested that some of the verges were left and that wild flowers were planted. She would investigate how this could be done.
• Cllr Hollingsworth advised that a second dog bin had been installed on the Station Hill footpath. The cost to the Parish would be £175 for installation and it would be emptied 3 times a week. EDDC had also agreed to change the current litter bin to a co-operate bin which was three times to size at no extra cost. There was concern from the public about hot BBQ’s being thrown into the new bin but it was felt that the PC had been asked to rectify the overflowing bin situation on many occasions and that the new bin should go ahead.
3: Trees –
• Cllr Hollingsworth reported that the second cut by Four Seasons had been completed and the works were very satisfactory. The contractor had also removed the bollard on the bridge to allow easier access. None of the trees had needed to be replaced and were doing well.
• One of the posts protecting the tree in the village had been hit. There were now no spares but a villager had offered to purchase some spares and also to paint them white.
4: Highways –
• It was reported that Burridge Hill would be completely resurfaced in 2018
5: Traffic Management -
• Cllr G Carden had not yet had any feedback re the speed survey due to be carried out. She would contact the traffic safety officer and see if the survey had been carried out
• Cllr R Tillett was tasked with revisiting repeater signs in the village
6: Communications
• No Update
90/17 DCC Matters
No Update
91/17 EDDC
No Update
92/17 Planning
• 17/1083/FUL - Home Living Brampford Speke Exeter EX5 5HE – Support
93/17 Financial matters
The Clerk’s financial reports were all noted with thanks (appendix 1)
Cheques were approved for:
• The Clerk
• HMRC
• Four Seasons
• Cllr A Wiles (duplicate)
• J Butt
Accounting Statement June 2017
94/17 Community Grant Fund
Council discussed the application for the Hulk Lane project and were advised that the response from the villagers was two against and three in support. All councillors present agreed that the grant of £500 should be awarded. A Cheque was then written and signed by the Chair and the Vice-Chair.
95/17 Speke Up
Council agreed that the Clerk would provide a piece for the August edition which would include the upcoming councillor vacancy and the anti-social behaviour issues
96/17 Register of Interest Forms
All Forms were up to date apart from Cllr Hollingsworth who would send the Clerk new forms
97/17 Councillor Vacancy
Cllr Wiles advised that he would resign at the September meeting. Cllr Luxton thanked Cllr Wiles for his years of service
98/17 Other information
Cllr G Carden attended the School consultation and advised that following the resignation of the Head at Easter the school was looking at becoming a federation, merging with three other schools. There would be a joint Head of School with Thorverton from September.
The meeting closed at 8.45pm
99/17 Next meeting
Wednesday 6th September 2017 - 7.30pm, Village Hall