Minutes 6th November 2019
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 6th November, 2019 at 7.30pm at the Village Hall.
Present: Cllr S Luxton (Chairman), Cllr R Tillett, Cllr E Hollingsworth, Cllr L Fletcher-Neal, Cllr W Honan, and Cllr
A Birmingham.
In Attendance: EDDC Cllr F King, DCC Cllr R Bloxham and Cllr Sara Randall Johnson.
126/19 Apologies:
Cllr E Johns
127/19 Declarations of interest
None at this stage of the meeting
128/19 Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 2nd October 2019
Cllr A Birmingham requested an amendment to the draft minutes of the Parish Council meeting of 2nd October, 2019 and offered to circulate a draft.
129/19 Democratic period
The following issues were discussed:
Cllr Birmingham reported that he had been threatened by a resident’s dogs whilst out walking and had informed the police of the incident and the EDDC Dog Warden, who were following up.
130/19 Parking in Chapel Road
The residents of Chapel Rd have met and agreed that they would like to explore the possibility of designated residents’ parking. Cllr Bloxham explained the process, namely that Highways dept. would have to assess whether the location met the scheme criteria and there would have to be a formal consultation of the whole village. Cllr Bloxham undertook to organise a site meeting with Highways dept. It was agreed that as an interim measure police cones would be used to discourage visitors from parking in Chapel Road.
In further discussion, it was agreed that in addition to the traffic congestion there was a separate issue with regard to antisocial behaviour associated with the influx of visitors to the river. No immediate solution was apparent. It was noted that the regular meetings with the police sponsored by Cllr Bloxham might provide some ideas. There seems to be little chance of reducing the number of visitors as wild swimming at Brampford Speke is well-publicised on the internet.
131/19 Ongoing matters:
• BSVHT: update from Cllr Fletcher-Neal on costs of installation of wifi, screen and projector for the village hall. It was agreed that the installation of wifi should go ahead. Cllr FletcherNeal will check that BT offer the best deal and, if so, place the order. It was also agreed that it was worth getting a formal quote of the projector and screen after assessing the best configuration. It was noted that there are grants available.
• Footpaths & Verges: the £348 bill for verge maintenance was approved. It was agreed that sadly wildflower verges were not practical in the village.
• An amount of £100 was approved for more daffodils to be planted. Cllr Tillett volunteered to investigate the best deal on bulbs.
• Trees: Cllr Hollingsworth reported that there was nothing of note with regard to trees. The arrangements to replace the tree in Chapel Road are ongoing.
• Chapel Road: See above
• Living Streets Scheme: agreed to continue to follow progress at Broadclyst
• S106: the proposals from the Friends of Brampford Speke School were discussed. It was agreed that they were
problematic with regard to both cost and public liability. Cllr Fletcher-Neal undertook to speak to Sulina Tallach of EDC to see if the terms of use could be interpreted more broadly.
132/19 East Devon District Council:
Cllr Fabian King reported that EDDC will be discussing action on climate change on 18th December, 2019. The impact of raising charges at public car parks is being explored. Apps to help residents recycle more effectively are being developed. EDDC is also reviewing its organisational structure.
133/19 Devon County Council
A report on the country’s progress on climate change action is being prepared. RD&E accident and emergency dept is already very stretched. The standard of mental health support in the county has been revealed as below the national average. Rural broadband roll-out is paused whilst the infrastructure provider is under review. Some communities are finding their own solutions including microwave
134/19 Standing orders
Nothing further to report
135/19 Highway event:
Cllr Fletcher-Neal reported that there was little of interest at the event other than a discussion with a council ecologist.
136/19 Village email list: it was agreed that the email list would be abandoned in lieu of exploring other solutions such as Facebook page and the app ‘Nextdoor’
137/19 Climate change:
It was agreed that the open meeting on climate change would be held concurrently with the annual parish meeting.
140/19 2. Financial items
• Expenses approved:
• 1 x to Jacqui Ward (October Salary)
• 1 x to Jacqui Ward (Travel Expenses)
• 1x to Jacqui Ward (Extra hours)
• 1x to Brampford Speke School: Grant awarded by the Parish Council for School equipment for £500.
The invoice for BS School has not yet been received.
• Budget: Cllr Birmingham undertook to present a draft budget at the January meeting.
Accounting Statements October 2019
141/19 Grant application from Brampford Speke School
The school has asked for a grant of £500 to pay for use of the village hall. After much discussion, it
was agreed to pay it with the clear understanding that any further requests would be reviewed on a case by case basis
142/19 Telephone box
It’s been painted but is not working. Cllr Birmingham volunteered to investigate
143/19 Village Hall survey
ongoing
144/19 New clerk
It was agreed that Carole Oliphant would be asked to help recruit a new clerk. Cllr Fletcher-Neal agreed to monitor the clerk’s email account
145/19 Next meeting:
Meeting to be held in December, if necessary, otherwise the next meeting will be on 8th January.