Minutes 14th December 2017

Parish Council meeting was held in Cruwys  Morchard Parish Hall on Thursday 14th December 2017 at 8 p.m.

1. MEMBERS PRESENT
   Mrs S. Smyth (Chairman), Mr. D. Berry, Mr M. Lake, Mr N. Baker, Mr G. Hall, Mr A. Chave, Mrs J. Mitchell, Mrs P Colthorpe (District Councillor)
2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
   Mr G. Kingdom (Work commitments), Cllr M. Squires (County Councillor)
3. NON-ATTENDANCE
   None
4. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS
   The minutes of the meeting held on 12th October 2017 had already been circulated prior to the meeting.
   Proposal: Agreement to the content of the minutes was proposed by Mr Baker and seconded by Mrs Mitchell and was unanimously agreed by the meeting and duly signed by the chairman.
5. DECLARATION OF INTEREST
   Mr Berry declared a pecuniary interest in Churchyard Grants
6. RESIGNATION OF CHAIRMAN
   Mrs Smyth presented the meeting with a letter giving her resignation as Parish Councillor. She thanked the other parish councillors and clerk for their help and support throughout her 10+ years on The Council.
7. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
   The clerk asked the meeting for proposals for a new chairman.
   Proposal: Mr Lake proposed and Mr Chave seconded the appointment of Mr Gavin Hall as Chairman and the meeting unanimously agreed and Mr Hall accepted the position.
   It was agreed that the clerk should arrange for the parish council Nat West bank accounts to be amended to remove Mrs Smyth and add Mr Hall to the signatories.
   Mr Hall then swapped places with Mrs Smyth and continued to chair the meeting
8. MATTERS ARISING
   The clerk stated that some of the highway problems at Tollgate and Pages Cross had been repaired.
9. PERCEPT 2018/9
   The clerk gave out the budget for 2018/9 so that a precept amount could be decided. After some discussion:
   Proposal: Mrs Mitchell proposed and Mr Lake seconded a precept amount of £4,200 and the meeting unanimously agreed.
10. CHURCHYARD GRANTS
    After some discussion, it was decided to increase churchyard grants as follows:
    Proposal: Mr Lake proposed and Mr Chave seconded the following payments:
    The Holy Cross Church £300.00
    Way Village Congregational Church £150.00
    Nomansland Congregational Church £150.00
    The meeting unanimously agreed and three cheques were drawn and duly signed
11. S106 – PUBLIC OPEN SPACE FUNDING
    The clerk stated that Mid Devon District Council had confirmed that as Cruwys Morchard parish does not have a potential project for the parish, no S106 funding will be collected. However, if a project did come along in the future S106 funding would then be collected.
12. HIGHWAY PROBLEMS
    ROAD SIGNS
    Lengthy discussions took place about the need for several road signs as follows:
    • Replacement of the ‘No Access’ sign at Way corner which is now rusty and has been hit by tractors
    • Road sign to advise drivers of ‘No Access’ and/or ‘Not suitable for HGV’. The parishioner resident at Allberry Farm, Way Village (bottom of Claw Hill) stated that several vehicles had got into difficulty as the narrow lane ends with no warning.
    • ‘Not suitable for HGV’ signs needed at either end of Vulscombe Lane as on more than one occasion Sat Navs have direct large vehicles to this very narrow lane and they have got stuck.
    The clerk was asked to contact Highways to find out whether Devon CC will replace old signs or provide new signs and if not what the guidelines are for others providing such signs.
    POTHOLES
    More potholes were reported at:
    • Near to Beer Ash junction
    • Between Little Heath and Robins Cross 

Meeting closed 9:15 p.m.