Minutes of Coldridge Parish Council Meeting November 22nd 2018

COLDRIDGE Parish Council

Minutes of Coldridge Parish Council Meeting November 22^nd 2018

Present: Councillors, Andrew Green (Chairman), John Smith, Marion Born, Jim Sampson, Jeff Burrows, Chris Burrows,

Apologies: John Daw

Also present: DCC Cllr Margaret Squires and the Chairman of MDDC Cllr Peter Heal

Clerk: Keyth Richardson

Open Forum 7:30 No parishioners attended this

Before the Parish Council meeting The Chairman welcomed Cllr Squires and Cllr Heal to the meeting. Cllr Heal gave a brief overview of the work of MDDC. Key points were:

Peter hopes to visit all 42 local councils and has been to most so far, although Borden Gate was a challenge. He has also been to a number of civic events including the ceremony when the Lord Lieutenant gave out BEM’s and Peter has hosted two Royal visits, the Prince of Wales opening the Young Farmers Rural Hub in Cheriton Bishop and the opening of Mole Avon by the Duke of Gloucester.

Peter spoke on the Crediton Council Offices, and whilst he was constrained in what he could divulge the premises were under-used; they were offered to Crediton Town Council but they failed to bid 50% of the value. Once all is completed MDDC will issue a statement on this, giving a fuller picture than what has been reported in the public domain.

The section of the Local Plan referring to the development area around the M5 Junction 27 has been considered by the planning inspectorate and approved subject to some minor tweaks. The rest of the plan will be considered in early February and should take 6-8 days work and be in place by early 2019 and this will prove the 5-year land supply. This will help to control development as not having a 5 years supply of land makes it easier for developers to put in inappropriate planning applications. The Garden Village is expected to take around 50 years to be complete and will be similar to Cranbrook

MDDC waste and recycling is now all at Willand with a transfer station taking non-recyclable waste to the incinerator at Exeter. 54% of all rubbish in MDDC is recycled which is source of income to the council as well as being better for the environment. It is a very high figure, especially when compared to Exeter City. No rubbish goes to landfill.

Housing rent arrears are very low due to a proactive collection process, it is less than 1% of total income. This is in the top 8 councils in the country. Universal Credit may affect this collection rate. There is a housing stock of 3100 units. The new council houses are of a very high standard and has won awards from the Design Council. The definition of Affordable Housing is 80% of the market rent.

MDDC has to set a balanced budget, currently they are £600,000 short of this but will achieve the target through savings and income generation. The policy of buying commercial property in Tiverton is helping with this, and with the long-term plans for regeneration of Tiverton.

The Chairman thanked Peter for this interesting report.

Parish Council stood whilst the chairman read out the names of the fallen from Coldridge in both world wars and observed a 2-minute silence

Minutes of the Parish Council started at 7:50

Date	Item	Decision

2018/19-55	Recording of Council meetings	The Chairman requested that anyone recording the meeting inform the Council of this. No-one was.
2018/19-56	Apologies	John Daw
2018/19-57	Declarations of Interest	None
2018/19-58	Minutes	The minutes of the Open Forum and Council Meeting on Sept 20^th were approved
2018/19-59	Clerk’s progress report	The clerk gave an oral report on the DALC Conference, and the highlights were a clearer understanding of CIL and S106 and how these differ. The presentation on the Okehampton Railway project was very informative, and this project is gaining traction. The Lord Lieutenant is the person to contact to recommend a person for an award. The session on Social Media convinced the clerk that this is not something Coldridge Parish Council should be involved with.
2018/19-60	Amenity Land	The initial application for permission to borrow money has not been approved. The main reason being the amount being asked for, £15,000, and the lack of fundraising already taken place. The council discussed this and agreed the following actions The Clerk to reply suggesting the amount which can be borrowed be reduced to £5000, which with the current PC funds would allow the land to be purchased. Secondly to explain that the lack of fundraising is due to the uncertainty of being able to buy the land and to ask the parishioners to fundraise and/or to give money to something which may not happen is not right. If money was raised and the land purchase fell through the council would have money it was not entitled to, and would have difficulty spending this money in an appropriate and legal manner. If and when the land was bought the Council could then fund raise, and on the back of that, could apply to borrow more money, if required. The clerk was also asked to investigate the legality of pledges from the public, to be paid if the land was purchased. The meeting was told that investigation had discovered the farm land on the southern side of the village did not have the required access- just a footpath- so is not suitable for amenity land.
2018/19-61	Devon Community Grants Fund	The clerk circulated copies of the application form and process and asked members to circulate these widely. The clerk will give a copy to the Coldridge Painters. Cllr Squires reminded the meeting that the TAP fund is still open, but may close soon due to purdah for the May elections. This money is for cross group working, not just councils
2018/19-62	Budget Approval	The clerk had prepared a budget, with supporting papers, showing that if a £6000 precept was set to help provide funds for the land it would be able to repay up to £3500 to lenders. This figure was shared with the Public Meeting in September and there was support for this from the meeting. The budget was amended by the council to allow £1200 for election costs, which would still leave around £2300 for repayments in the 2019/2020 financial year. It was then formally approved unanimously and the clerk asked to submit the precept request to MDDC
2018/19-63	Finances	The clerk had investigated the legality of giving grants to open burial grounds and was sure that it was legal, contrary to some advice earlier in the year from NALC. The Council agreed the following payments Clerk’s wages £331.51 Clerk’s expenses £50.15 Grass cutting £200 Clock winding £30 each to M Mann and A Kendall Grant to St Matthew’s Church for the churchyard £380 Grant to Allerbridge Chapel burial ground £250
2018/19-64	Highways	Following reports from two Councillors the clerk had been out to look at the state of Park Mill bridge and highways in the area. He has sent photographs of the bridge at Park Mill to DCC Highways, which is in urgent need of repair. He had also reported the road from Nymet Rowland to Hawkridge farm, running past Clotworthy Farm. Cllr Squires informed the meeting this section of road is on the list to be resurfaced, and hoped it would be this financial year. The West Leigh “sumpbuster” is still awaiting repair, but it is on the list to be done. Visibility at Frogbury Cross from the south was raised again and the danger of coming out onto the B3220, especially with a tractor/loader and trailer. The problem is caused by vegetation in the garden of Number 1. Cllr Heal took full details and promised to sort this out as the property is owned by MDDC and they have the right to cut down vegetation for safety issues. The Council was reminded of the need for all to continue reporting potholes, and adding their names to potholes already reported, using their Councillor title. It was agreed that it is not right that Councillor’s reports are seen to be more important than those from the general public. A planned road closure for drainage works from 19 - 21 Dec from Coldridge to Holm Cross was noted and will be sent out by John Smith
2018/19-65	Planning	MDDC is consulting on the use of CIL and S106. These papers had only just come through and so were given out to the Councillors for their consideration and, if requested, a special Council meeting will be held to discuss this.
2018/19-66	Winter Preparations	Andrew Green, the snow warden, has checked all the salt bins and they are all full. He will also hold a reserve stock of salt
2018/19-67	Ringing out for Peace Sunday Nov 11^th 2018	This was a well-attended event, with a number of displays in the village hall, a bring and share meal, a beacon, a bugler and a tolling bell. Thanks were expressed to Chris Burrows for the beacon, John Smith for arranging a bugler, and Alan Quick for tolling the church bell
2018/19-68	Councillors’ reports and items for future agenda	It was noted the calendar for the Mobile Library has only been issued up to June 2019, when it is thought the service will be reviewed The activity on the left of the A377 south of Morchard Road was raised, although it is outside the parish boundary. It is most likely illegal. Peter Heal explained the background as known to him, and informed the meeting this is in the hands of planning enforcement. The overgrown yew trees in the church yard are screening the clock, which is Coldridge’s WW1 memorial. As such the Parish Council is responsible for its upkeep. The Council had organised and paid towards the repairs, with the help of a grant from Devon Remembers. There is also some concern about possible damage to neighbouring properties in case the trees fall or are damaged by high winds or snowfall. The Council had offered to find volunteers to help with trimming the trees, and it was speculated that the church did not have the money for the work. In the past the Council had offered to provide a limited amount of finance for this work.
2018/19-69	Date of next meetings	Jan 17th Mar 28^th May 16^th [tbc] July 18^th Sept 19^th Nov 21^st

Meeting closed at 21:15