Minutes 7th March 2018
Minutes of the of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 7th March 2018 at 7.30pm at the Village Hall.
Present: Cllr S Luxton(Chairman), Cllr E Hollingsworth, Cllr R Tillett
Apologies: Cllr A Birmingham (Away), Cllr m Merrett (Sick), Cllr J Gibson (Personal)
In Attendance: Carole Oliphant (Clerk), Cllr S Grundy (EDDC) and two members of the public
27/18 Apologies
Cllr A Birmingham (Away), Cllr M Merrett (Sick), Cllr J Gibson (Personal)
Resolved to accept these apologies.
Apologies also received from Cllr R Bloxham (DCC)
28/18 Declarations of interest
Cllr S Luxton declared an interest in planning application 18/0175/FUL
29/18 Minutes of meeting held on Wednesday 7th February 2018
The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting of 7th February 2018 were adopted as a true record and duly signed by the Chair
30/18 Democratic period
Two members of the public presented their support and objections to planning application 18/0175/FUL. They were informed that because Cllr Luxton had declared an interest that there were not enough councillors to form a quorum and that the planning decision would me made when enough councillors were present at the next planning site meeting.
31/18 Resignation of Councillor
The Council noted and accepted Cllr G Carden’s resignation and a vote of thanks was agreed for all the work she had done for the council.
The Clerk informed Council that the notice of vacancy had been posted up on the noticeboard and EDDC Democratic Services had been informed. The statutory notice period would end on 28th March 2018 after which time, if not election had been called, Council would then able to co-opt onto the Council.
The Chairman would send a letter to Cllr Carden thanking her for her service
32/18 Ongoing topics
1: Village Hall –
• No update
2: Footpaths & Verges -
• Council had previously been circulated the Footpath Warden report from the new footpath wardens Jane and Judith Gibson. Council wanted to express its thanks to both for taking over the role and for the previous efforts by Bea Fenn and Pam Newby who were still going to assist the new wardens in inspecting the footpaths
• Cllr Luxton informed Council that he would contact J Butt in April and request the first cut of the verges
• Cllr Hollingsworth had contacted Richard Spurway to request that Station Hill be cleared of mud and debris but would chase him for a response
• Cllr Hollingsworth had received a request from a parishioner for ‘dogs on lead’ signs to be placed on Station Hill. Cllr Hollingsworth had contacted the Dog Warden at EDDC who confirmed that the PC could apply for a by-law which would enable the area to be designated and signs installed. The PC requested that Cllr Hollingsworth find out some more information on the amount of work involved and would make a decision on proceeding with this at the next PC meeting
3: Trees –
• Cllr Hollingsworth advised that there was still an appetite in the Village to replace the leaning tree but no consensus had been agreed with what and by whom. A planning application had been received to remove the Tree which was support by the PC and Cllr Hollingsworth would contact P Hill to remove the tree and posts and clear the debris when approval had been received from EDDC
4: Highways –
• The PC gave a vote of thanks to Cllr Luxton and other farmers in the villages who had been out gritting during the recent spell of bad weather
• There was a large pothole on Burridge Hill which Cllr Tillett would be reporting through the DCC portal
• Cllr Tillett had been unable to get a response from Upton Pyne re a joint pothole contractor and therefore the PC decided to go it alone with Cllr Luxton and Ed Sanders when they had undertaken their section 8 training
• Cllr Tillett advised there had been four mains water bursts due to the recent cold weather and he had been impressed by the good response from SWWA
• Cllr Tillett had been to see a resident at Stipperstones who had requested a ‘Slow Traffic’ sign be placed outside of her property. He explained that this had already been refused by DCC Highways and was unlikely to be granted. Cllr Tillett explained that the verge outside the property was a mess and he had requested that DCC Highways complete works to repair the verge and make it larger so that passing traffic could pull in. The PC decided that if DCC Highways did not undertake the works then local arrangements could be made to complete it. Cllr Luxton said he could carry this out and put the verge back by about 4ft. Cllr Tillett was going to ask DCC Highways if they would supply plainers so that Cllr Luxton could complete the works
5: Traffic Management -
• This topic would be taken on by Cllr Tillett
6: Communications
• PC agreed that they would be willing to arrange the installation of broadband and Wi-Fi in the village hall but the Clerk was to asked to contact the chairman of BSVHT to ask if they were willing to take on the ongoing costs of £25 per month. An answer would be requested by the next meeting to enable the PC to decide if they wanted to go ahead with the installation
7: Antisocial Behaviour
• PC decided that this would be a separate topic and discussion was deferred until the next meeting
33/18 EDDC
Cllr Grundy provided the Council with an update on various topics:
• Quality of recycling had been discussed with EDDC. The issue of rubbish being strewn around the village by waste collectors was going to be chased up
• The new green waste requirements had been circulated by EDDC
• Cllr Grundy asked if there was a Ring & Ride service in the village. Councillors didn’t think there was but asked Cllr Grundy to find out which service did cover the village, Exeter or Tiverton and this would then be communicated to the Village
• Thorverton Bridge was to closed once again in March or April due to a water leak but the exact dates where not known.
34/18 DCC Matters
None
35/18 Planning
• 18/0175/FULL – Frogs – Decision deferred until a meeting could be held with a quorate. The Clerk would request that EDDC Planning extend the deadline
• 18/0433/TCA – Highway Tree - Support
36/18 Financial matters
The Clerk’s financial reports were all noted with thanks (appendix 1)
Cheques were approved for:
• The Clerk
• HMRC
The cheques were signed by Cllr Luxton and Cllr Tillett
Accounting Statements February 2018
37/18 Chairman Selection
It was agreed that the Clerk would circulate the current standing orders and that a decision would be made at the next meeting on whether they needed to be amended
38/18 Speke Up
Cllr Tillett would prepare the February submission and include the following subjects:
• Resignation of Cllr Carden
• Snow – Thanks to the people in the village who helped out in the recent crisis
• Foothpath report from Jane and Judith
• Email list – ask villagers to contact the clerk if they wanted to be added to the list
39/18 Annual Parish Meeting
The PC decided that, as requested by the Chairman, that lead councillors would give an update to villagers on their topics.
Cllr Grundy was asked to invite someone from EDDC recycling to attend and give an overview of the service.
Cllrs Bloxham and Randall-Johnson (DCC) would be invited and asked to give a report.
40/18 Other information/Correspondence
• Cllr Luxton advised that Western Power Distribution would be changing a lot of poles in the village and there proposing to have a yard in the village to store the new poles
• Cllr Luxton enquired if a tenant in EDDC affordable housing could advertise it on Air BNB? Cllr Grundy wasn’t sure but he would try and find out from EDDC Housing if this was allowed
• Cllr Tillett questioned if the new resident’s packs were still ongoing and would find out the answer before the next meeting
41/18 Next meeting
The meeting closed at 8.40pm.
The next meeting would be Wednesday 4th April 2018 7.30pm, Village Hall. The Annual Parish Meeting would be held on Wednesday 25th April at 7.30pm, Village Hall