Minutes 7th July 2021
Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 7th July 2021 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall
Present: Cllr S Luxton Cllr R Tillett, Cllr A Birmingham and Cllr E Hollingsworth
In Attendance: Carole Oliphant (Clerk) and three members of the public
15/21 Apologies:
Cllrs W Gallois, W Honan and N Vickers gave apologies
16/21 Declarations of interest
Cllr E Hollingsworth declared a personal interest as her house was next to the proposed cycle path
Cllr R Tillett declared a personal interest as he was a member of the Community Land Trust
17/21 Minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 5th May 2021
Were agreed as a true record and virtually SIGNED by the Chairman
18/21 Public Question Time
No members of the public present raised a question at this point
19/21 EDDC
The Chairman announced that Cllr Fabian King would be resigning as District Councillor and the Parish Council gave a note of thanks for his previous service
20/21 DCC
No update had been received but it was noted that Cllr H Gent had replaced Cllr R Bloxham
21/21 Financial Items
The account summary to June 30th (previously approved by Cllr A Birmingham) was NOTED.
It was NOTED that the following payments were approved remotely in accordance with Financial Regulations
3 x Payments to Carole Oliphant (April/May/June Salary)
3 x Payment to HMRC (April/May/June Salary)
Parking Cones - £232.19
Currys PC World – Replacement Computer for Clerk - £399.00
Payroll Software - £88.80
DALC – Councillor Training – N Vickers - £18.00
BSVHT – Grant - £2000
It was NOTED that: Payments approved by Councillors S Luxton, A Birmingham and R Tillett in accordance with the Financial Regulations
22/21 Community Land Trust
Cllr R Tillett explained that the Housing Needs Survey had a 29% response rate and had identified 9 households across the two parishes with affordable housing needs. The next steps for the CLT were to consult with EDDC and gauge support for affordable housing in either location and to scope out available grants from housing associations. If either of these steps failed to obtain a favourable outcome the project would not procede. He explained that at this stage, the CLT were only seeking support from the Parish Council to continue with the next steps of investigations.
Consideration was given to:
● Concerns of Members regarding the low response rate and did this relate to a low need for affordable housing in the village or only people who were interested had responded
● Concerns around some elements of the quality of the questionnaire and the reliability of some of the data collected
● Members views that locations in Upton Pyne and Cowley should be explored first as this is where greatest needs have been identified
● Members views that the CLT should continue with its investigations regarding support from EDDC and grant funding available
● Concerns from Members that Brampford Speke was not a viable location for affordable housing due to lack of infrastructure/public transport , employment and local shopping facilities
It was RESOLVED that the Parish Council would support the CLT to explore the feasibility of affordable housing but that sites in Upton Pyne should given priority and that full public consultation should take place on the locations of any schemes put forward for consideration
(Proposed by the Chairman)
23/21 Village Hall
Cllr R Tillett explained that the extension to the hall had been completed some 3 years ago and the Council had now received a request from the Trust to look at repairs that were now required. An inspection carried out in 2019 confirmed that the roof would require extensive repairs or replacement. The Trust had asked the Council for a decision on how to manage the repairs required.
A representative for the Trust explained that the main concern was for the roof and more leaks had been discovered and that the Trust would like to start a dialogue on how repairs could be achieved. A recent electrical survey had confirmed that the distribution board needed to be replaced and the porch also needed to be replaced. In all the estimated cost of immediate repairs would be in excess of £21k.
The Council confirmed that major structural work was the responsibility of the landlord, i.e. the Council.
Consideration was given to:
● The need for the Council and the Trust to look at the long term future of the Hall and to consider it’s sustainability
● The use of the Hall by the School was now in doubt as the School was now a federation and had access to other sites for activities
● The only main user of the Hall was the Toddler Group
● A needs survey would be required across all parishiners to establish the viability of the hall and if villagers were willing to contribute financially towards the repairs required
● The need to coordinate some major fundraising and grant funding to be able to afford the repairs required
● The need to look at strategic options to either repair and keep the Hall or sell the land as an asset
It was RESOLVED to set up a joint working group between the Council and the Trust to explore the options available and the costs involved. A joint options report would be presented at the November meeting of the Parish Council.
(Proposed by the Chairman)
24/21 Other information/correspondence received for possible action/discussion/attendance
1. Footpath Signage – No decision was made on alternative signage.
2. Footpaths– Discussion regarding footpath 15 and the possibility of it being removed. Cllr Tillett agreed to contact the Footpath Warden and DCC to arrange a site visit and discuss possibilities. Enquiries would be conducted to establish the responsibility of the footpath on Station Hill as the drain had been damaged and it was liable to flooding
3. Cycleways – The following questions and comments from Parishiners were read out by the Chairman:
A. Please can I submit my thoughts as a BS resident on some recent info you have supplied and are asking for feedback.
There has been some thought on running a cycle path from BS to SC on the footpath. My thought is that in places this path is very narrow and will be a risk to walkers if cyclists use it as a cycle path. I wonder if it is BS residents who have requested this or is it from outside the parish. If it is then expense from our parish council probably should not be used.
I ride horses kept in the village and know of several others that do too. With the extra van drivers throughout lockdown and continuing now with pub traffic it has become often dangerous in our small lanes to ride. I would be very interested if some of the footpaths could be joined or altered to make bridleways. In my experience the riding is often kept at a ramblers pace rather than a faster cyclist. There were a few bridleways apparently in years gone by, if the council is considering opening old footpaths perhaps look at this too.
B. Thank you for giving the opportunity to air these thoughts and I look forward to any feedback.
We were interested to read in the May edition of ‘Speke Up’ that consideration is being given to extend the cycle track to run across the old railway line and link up with Stoke Cannon and the proposed Clyst Valley Way. We would like to support this initiative.
We do not have a park & ride facility nearby and have very limited bus service meaning that travel to Exeter and other places of work inevitably has to be made by car. This is causing environment damage and can be costly, especially when you factor in car parking charges. Many villagers would like to cycle to work but some are put off by heavy road traffic and the somewhat challenging hills between the village and Exeter or Crediton. A flat, largely traffic-free route would make significant difference. The health benefits of cycling for leisure are also well known, and the extension of the cycle networks is very much in line with the DCC ‘ Cycling and Multi-Use Trail Network Strategy (2015) and the East Devon District Council ‘ Green Travel Plan’ (2020).
Perhaps this could be tabled for a discussion at a forthcoming Parish Council Meeting.
Consideration was given to:
● Members had no strong views either way and could see both the benefits and problems of introducing more cyclists, pedestrians and traffic into the village
● Was Stoke Cannon as keen for a cycle way to be introduced into their village?
● The lead authority with the financial means to achieve such a project was DCC who were already looking at green strategies
It was AGREED that the Lead Footpath Counciller William Gallois would investigate the plans of DCC and EDDC in relation to Brampford Speke being included in the plans for the Exe Valley Park and would report back at the September Meeting. This would include speaking with Stoke Cannon PC.
4. Telephone Box – It was AGREED that the Council would not support the adoption of the Telephone Box due to the cost of ongoing maintenance and the need for such a facility in the village.
5. Village Induction Pack – It was reported that John Eggleton had left the village and would therefore no longer administer the Village Induction Pack. A note of thanks was given to John for all his hard work on the project. Sue Satchell agreed to take on this role and the Council offered her all the support she needed to be able to fulfil the role
25/20 Next Meeting
Meeting finished at 9.05pm. Next meeting 1st September 2021