2019/20-1

Election of Chairman

Andrew Green proposed by John Smith and seconded by Marion Born and elected unopposed

2019/20-2

Election of Vice-chairman

John Smith was proposed by Jim Sampson and seconded by Chris Burrows and elected unopposed

2019/20-3

Recording of meetings

The meeting was not being recorded

2019/20-4

Welcome

Andrew Green welcomed all to the meeting

2019/20-5

Apologies

John Daw, Ivan Krisnik, Sally Cooke, John Dike Jo Dike, Marion Webber, Sue Lawrence, Phil Redstone, Andrea Redstone, Lyn Green.

2019/20-6

Declaration of interest

none

2019/20-7

Approval and signing of last year’s Annual Meeting Minutes

These were approved by the meeting and signed by the chairman

2019/20-8

Chairman’s report

The last 12 months have yet again been a busy period for this Council. The year began with the exciting news that Coldridge PC had been granted a Foundation Quality Award. This means that we are running an efficient Council and can demonstrate to the Parish that we are doing our job properly. The cost was a £50 fee but this will more than be offset by savings in our insurance costs. It was very pleasing that the awards panel commented that they were impressed with the quality of the documents submitted for such a small PC. In November, the Council were the driving force behind this village’s participation in the National Commemoration of the end of hostilities in the First World War. As usual, the Service of Remembrance was held on the village green at 11.00am followed by a service in St Matthew’s. At 5.00pm in the Village Hall, residents brought a most impressive amount of historic material to mount a very appropriate display of memories of the First World War & this was combined with a bring & share supper. At 6.45, people processed out into the field below the Village Hall where a list of the war dead was read out, followed by a bugler playing the Last Post, the lighting of our village beacon and the tolling of the Church bell. All in all, a wonderful & very appropriate ceremony.

Planning matters:-  It has been a very quiet year but I should just mention that the ongoing matter of planning issues at Greenacres Farm has finally been successfully concluded with the loss of a final appeal by the applicant to the planning inspectorate. The site has now been cleared and tidied. The PC has been closely working with MDDC and in particular the Enforcement Officer to bring this to conclusion.

Highway matters:- This is always a very emotive topic amongst our Council business with quite a lot of time spent discussing it, then reporting it & then frustratingly very little to show for it. However, I am pleased to report that we have seen some progress this year with repairs to the road between Nymet Bridge & Eggesford Station and very recently around the village and I hope you will agree that it is now better, not brilliant but something is better than nothing! I must repeat my plea that Parishioners should please continue to report potholes and any other road problems direct onto the DCC website. Councillors also met with a representative from MDDC at a site meeting at Frogbury Cross as the vegetation obscuring the view at the junction is in the garden of their tenant. The PC is extremely concerned about road safety at this point.

In September, the PC held a Parish Open meeting to discuss the possibility of providing a Children’s playground in the Village. There was a very encouraging attendance of 30 Parishioners (13 % of the electoral roll) and also other letters & messages of support from absentees. As a little background, the PC had been in discussion with the owner of Coldridge Barton about the possibility of buying a strip of land adjoining the Village Hall and the Churchyard. As part of this process, the owner insisted that a footpath diversion should be obtained to reroute the path alongside this strip. Surprisingly, this was successfully achieved during last year. A complication then arose since the then owner of Coldridge Barton decided to retire at short notice. It is hoped that the new owners will be receptive to co-operating with the Village on this issue & also the site for the biennial Village Fete. After lengthy discussion at the meeting, it was unanimously & formally approved that the PC has authority to borrow money to acquire land & develop that piece of land for provision of a Children’s playground. It was also agreed that any other alternative sites should be investigated. It was also noted that the PC would be looking for people to serve on a Management Committee to administer & steer any playground facility. Finally, I would like to say that this could be a most exciting project for our Village & Community, one which I understand has been on the PC radar for many years. I would like to think that we must grasp this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Financial Report:- Following on from the success of the Open meeting in September, a mandate had been given to the PC to raise monies for the provision of a playground facility.

It was agreed the precept should be raised to £6K as part of this process. Subsequently, the PC also had approval for a loan of £5K if & when the need arose towards the purchase of any land for a playground. At a later date, the Council can apply for further funding when development might commence. In its budget, the Council has set aside provision for the election, it helps towards the maintenance of our 2 burial grounds, the ring & ride service, maintenance & winding of our Church clock and our Clerk’s salary & running expenses.

I will conclude by saying that it has been a busy year. I would like to thank the small army of people who strive to maintain the beauty & rural infrastructure of our community - the grass cutters, the clock winders, all involved with the production & distribution of the Coldridge Calendar, the website, the Neighbourhood Watch scheme, our Village Hall, the Church & Allerbridge Chapel and all the village Clubs & Societies that help to bring this Community together. And finally, I would like to thank my fellow Councillors & our Clerk for all their contributions, hard work & dedicated support and the many things that they do which are never reported & documented. A very big thank you to you all! That’s it.

2019/20-9

Gardening Club

Pat Allard.  This has met regularly on the 2^nd Monday of the month.

Activities include: Jan AGM, Feb no meeting. In March, Tony Connell gave useful information about preparations for the fete, such as splitting plants, and growing seeds to ensure there were plenty of plants for the stall at the fete.

April: Bert Jewell gave a talk on Pelargoniums, on which he is quite an expert, and a film show

May: Sam Brown gave talk on the gardens at Knightshayes and about the reconstruction of the kitchen garden

June was fete month; the stall was a great success due to the many lovely plants given by members.

July/August our visit to Longparks to see Tony and Jean’s woodland garden, and then across the road to Little Merryfield to see Jo and John’s garden followed by cream teas was cancelled due to bad weather.

Sept Alan French gave a talk on autumn and winter planting along with a great range of plants to buy.

In October we held a very successful bangers and mash lunch with a cake stall and a raffle.

At the October meeting we had Dr Cathy Horsley from the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust Horsley gave us a talk on Bumble Bees. Did you know there are 25 species of bumble bees, a very interesting evening.

Nov Allison Boch told us all about how the Send a Cow organization is changing lives by helping communities to support themselves to support themselves by growing their own food. A really thought-provoking evening

Dec a pre-Christmas get together with a bring and share and a look back over the year

January we had a wonderful lunch out at the Old Malt Scoop Inn

The club has around 30 members but we would still welcome new members, and subs are only £10 per family per year.

2019/20-10

Knit and natter

Sara Richardson on behalf of Marion Webber. We had a good year with many knitted items going to Moldova along with 20 shoe boxes filled with goodies. Two parcels of baby clothes went out to the children’s orphanage in Madagascar. Knitted hats went to the Seamans Mission in Bristol where Missioner Steve Loader visits the boats and the hats are warmly received by the seamen. We were able to send £50 to Shelterbox and £50 to Send a Cow for their harvest appeal to buy seeds and tools to help families grow their own crops. £50 was also sent to the Exeter Salvation Army at Christmas to help with their meal for the lonely and homeless folk, and right up to date £50 has been sent to ELF [Exeter Leukaemia Fund]. In September we held our Thanksgiving time when 11 members were able to attend and contributed to the service, which was followed by a meal at the Devonshire Dumpling.

2019/20-11

Happy Circle

Beryl Meier for Marion Webber. Currently has 8 members who entertained themselves with games in March followed by the AGM in April with the committee being re-elected. From May to August we enjoyed our coach trips and managing the fill the coaches with friends and neighbours when we visited various places in Devon and Cornwall and as usual, we had lovely weather.

In September the club went to Bow Garden Centre for the afternoon looking around the gardens and having a cup of tea. In October we had a short visit to Trago Mills. In November we enjoyed a Christmas meal at the Waie Inn with our coach members for a lovely meal and friendship for all. In 2019 the Happy Circle gave £50 towards the Village Hall funds.

2019/20-12

St Mathews Church

Report for Parish Council from St. Matthew’s Church [ read by Clerk]

During 2018 we unfortunately took the decision not to continue with the Wed pm Compline. This was due to the mainly ageing congregation feeling that they were unable to attend.

The normal pattern of events for the time being are Church Café  2.30 – 4pm on the first Monday of the month, Morning Prayer 10.45 on the second Sunday and Holy Communion 10.30 on the third Sunday. Church Café is well attended with lots of tea, cake, chat and laughter. Congregations are small apart from Festivals.

Donations have been given to the following: - £158 to Farm Community Network from Harvest Service £170 to Combat Stress from Remembrance Day Service.  £205 to Matthew Arnolds appeal for Africa (155 of this from the Christmas Carol evening) and £62.44 to Tearfund.

The quinquennial inspection pinpointed a few remedial works which will need doing in the near future.

2019/20-13

Allerbridge Chapel

Jeff Burrows. My remarks are more or less as last year we still function; our Sunday Services are still the same about 20 in the morning with a few more in the evening. Special meetings during the year are Harvest Thanksgiving Service in September or October, a candlelit carol service, a BBQ on a farm with a walk and food. We support various missionaries and charities regularly; we also support the monthly Whiz Kids in the Village Hall.

2019/20-14

Whizz Kids

Marion Born We meet on the first Friday of each month from 6.00 to 7.00 and is supported by Allerbridge Chapel, although there is no pressure to go to Chapel. There are about 10-12 kids ranging in age from 4-11. Activities included walks, craft evenings, table tennis, and seasonal Christmas and Easter stories. Each evening closes with a good old-fashioned tuck shop with the kids limited to 50p and prices no higher than 10p an item.

2019/20-15

Women’s Institute

There was no official representative, but Pat Allard gave an impromptu report. The group only has 10 members including some from Nymet Rowland and is not really viable, it needs more members to be able to pay for speakers. The recent Make-over event was success, with non-members attending.

2019/20-16

Quilting Group

Margaret Burrows. We have continued to meet on the second Weds afternoon of each month. We now have 6 members and a new member will be joining in July. We have been working on various projects, which have all resulted in pieces p/of work to be proud of, or at least that is what we think.

We had a trip to Launceston In December to visit Cowslip Patchwork shop and restaurant, also Homeleigh Garden Centre. We are a happy group of patchwork sewers.

2019/20-17

Coldridge Village Hall

Margaret Burrows. Another busy and successful year with varied activities. Our quiz evenings have been a sell-out, and we have seen increasing numbers attending the film evenings, and the screenings of the 6 Nations Rugby and the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle proved to be well attended.

The Clay Shoot at Chilverton in May 2018, kindly hosted by Andrew and Lyn Green, was a great day as usual, not that we are complaining but the weather was really hot, which perhaps kept a few people away.

At the end of June we held our biennial Fete Vintage Rally and Flower Festival which was an excellent day we had a bumper crowd, marvellous weather, a good mix of stalls and entertainment, a record breaking number of vintage entries and a well-supported Dog Show. The flower festival in the Church was a wonderful display. The day was a great success financially which was much appreciated by the Church and Village Hall.

July we had a wine tasting courtesy of Keyth and Sara at Church Cottage, August a trip to Plymouth for the fireworks, and in Sept a dance at Leigh Barton courtesy of Margaret and Chris. The proceeds were split equally between the Village Hall and Devon Air Ambulance, £680 being given to each. New Year’s Eve was an enjoyable evening in the Hall with games and the TV coverage thanks to Kate and Andy.

The hall continues to be used regularly by WI, Over-Sixties, Art Group, Whizz Kids, Gardening Club Quilting and Pilates.

The refurbishment of the cloakrooms is going well. Keyth has worked hard to secure grant funding and to oversee the work. Work will soon start on the bar area, and if there are any surplus funds they will be put towards the new projector and sound system.

Thanks to all who have supported the village hall as it an important meeting place for making new friends, and the building of our community well-being.

2019/20-18

Coldridge Painters

Jo Dike; Art Group. Continues to meet weekly and provides an enjoyable and stimulating time for all. The group appreciate the use of the village hall. Creative activities are now considered very beneficial for health so we are on trend!

2019/20-19

Neighbourhood watch

John Dike NHW   Another quiet year in the village crime wise, thankfully . The Community Messaging has been working well with a more frequent input from the police. The Fraud alerts have been regular and useful. Phone and internet fraud are the biggest risks to a remote community like ours.

2019/20-20

Toddlers

Lisa Warsop and Victoria Ridge. Toddlers has re-started and meets weekly on a Friday from 10-11.45. There are 4/5 members and whilst the work is going in in the village hall they are meeting at each other’s homes and the Waie Inn. They have mixture each week of a creative activity, snacks and music.

2019/20-21

Meeting of March 28^th 2019

The minutes of this meeting were approved by the Council and signed by the Chairman

2019/20-22

Certificate of Exemption

This was agreed by the Council and signed by the Chairman

2019/20-23

Annual Governance Statement for 2018/19

This was agreed by the Council and signed by the Chairman

2019/20-24

Accounting Statements and Annual Return

This was agreed by the Council and signed by the Chairman

All relevant records will be published on Coldridge Parish Council website and a summary put on the three noticeboards

2019/20-25

NJC pay scales for the Clerk

It was agreed by the Council to implement these from 1 April 2019.

2019/20-26

Village Hall Committee representatives

It was agreed by the Council to continue with the existing representatives, Chris Burrows and Keyth Richardson, proposed by Marion Born and seconded by John Smith.

2019/20-27

Natural Devon- Get Involved

The Parish Council had been invited to take part in this initiative and John Smith had offered to take the lead. He will be seeking support and involvement from parishioners for this initiative.

2019/20-28

Councillors Training

The clerk reminded all the Council that part of the conditions of remaining a Quality Council, as mentioned by the Chairman in his report, was that all councillors have to undertake regular training to ensure they are up to date with legislation and best practice. The Clerk regularly sends out training information from DALC and urged councillors to take advantage of these opportunities. The Chairman reinforced these comments and asked all councillors to let the Clerk know of any training undertaken.

2019/20-29

Clerks report on urgent decisions

none

2019/20-30

Clerk’s progress report

The annual first aid training linked to the defibrillator is on May 30^th at 7:00 and all are invited to attend

2019/20-31

Finance

The following payments were agreed

Clerks wages £171.38

Clerks expenses £33.75

DALC annual membership £84.24

BHIB Insurance £156.74

The clerk circulated a proposed letter to accompany any payments for which there is no invoice, such as grass cutting, clock winding and grants to churchyards which the Council approved.

It was agreed to pay all these items on an annual basis, in September halfway through the financial year.

2019/20-32

Highways

It was noted that Church lane was significantly improved by the recent works. The meting was advised by Councillor Squires that the best way to report potholes is on the DCC website, https://www.devon.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/report-a-problem/ which also explains what a pothole is and allows for follow up once the potholes is reported. Alternatively call the DCC call centre 0345155 1004 to report potholes.

In recent years the DCC highways budget has shrunk from£ 92 m to £28 m due to cuts in government support. For every £1000 of council tax paid to DCC £50 goes on highways which will cover the cost of filling one pothole.

Margaret Squires confirmed the road from Thorn Corner to Frogbury Cross was still on the list to be done, but could not be sure when this would be.

Parishioners are also advised to add their names to previously reported potholes as this can speed up the resolution.

2019/20-33

Planning

A revision to the Planning Approval given to Leigh Cottage EX17 6LJ was tabled and discussed. It entailed swapping over the positions of study and the verandah. It was agreed to make no objections to the proposed changes.

2019/20-34

Councillors reports

A query of how to have an old oil tank removed was referred to either the oil suppliers or DCC

The vegetation at Frogbury Cross has been trimmed on the tenant’s side of the bank to improve visibility – Clerk tasked to follow this up from site meeting with Helen Carty

It was noted the seat had been removed from the land designated as Village Green at East Leigh [the old chapel site] and the clerk was asked to follow this up with MDDC to see when the seat would be replaced.

2019/20-35

Chairman’s comments

The Chairman thanked all who had stood for election and all those who had voted on the Parish Council Elections, as this is an important level in British democracy. He also felt that having heard of all the activities going on we were not doing badly for a small parish

Date of next meeting

July 25^th