Full Council Minutes 12 Jan 2016

Minutes of the Meeting of Morebath Parish Council
be held in the Village Hall, Morebath on Tuesday 12 January 2016 at 7.30pm
PRESENT: Cllr Jeffrey Andrew (Chairman) Cllr Tony Conway (Vice Chairman) (*)
Cllr Bob Hatton Cllr Peggy Reed (*) Cllr Brian Smeeton Cllr John Wescott (*)
Clerk: Martin French
Cllr Andrew Moore - District council Representative
Meeting protocol
1. Apologies
Cllr Merv Adams, Cty Cllr Polly Colthorpe, Dst Cllr Ray Stanley
2. Declaration of interest
Cllr Tony Conway 15b
3. Dispensation to councillors
None asked for
4. Open Forum
Carla Dawaes – asked the Council to arrange and Litter Pick this spring
JA responded that John Briden will be co-ordinating a Litter Pick
Carla Dawes – asked for minutes of the Parish Council meetings to go into the Signpost magazine
JA responded that he will be sending in a resume of the meeting but that unfortunately the deadlines for Signpost are not convenient for full minutes to go in.
Carla Dawes – asked the Council for a better Notice Board as the current one gets condensation
JE responded that this would be depend on village hall plans
5. Minutes
Minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2015 had been circulated to councillors and were agreed and signed by the Chairman
6. Reports
a. County Councillor – not present
b. District Councillor Andrew Moore
The new CEO for MDDC is Steve Walford.
The new refuse recycling system has been rolled out and seems to be working well.
A start is being made on 26 new starter homes in Tiverton.
Planning permission has been granted for an 85 bedroom Premiere Inn in Tiverton.
Finance – the current grant to MDDC of £1.7m is to be cut to £1m for 2016/17 which will cause considerable difficulty.
c. Police
Not present
Items for discussion and decision 8:00pm – 9:00pm
7. Grasscutting
a. Changes to plans for areas to be cut
It is proposed (JA prop TC sec) that the roadside from the Round House to the Minehead Road Bridge in Exbridge is removed from the areas to be cut, along with the corner to the Pines, Morebath; and that instead MDDC is asked to cut the area alongside the Old Moor Railway Bridge, and the triangle of land at the road fork at the end of the road to St George’s church.
The Council RESOLVED (unanimously) to accept the proposal.
b. Update
Cllrs Andrew and Smeeton met with Andrew Busby of MDDC to clarify the situation. MDDC will continue to cut around Valley View, and cuts by DCC for road safety reasons will continue. MPC needs to decide what grass cutting is to be done for the coming year.
c. Decision to be made on grasscutting for 2016/17
It is proposed that there are 6 cuts of roadside grass, to be carried out by MDDC, as per the approved plans, and that Morebath Parish Council pay for 5 cuts at an expected annual cost of £636.50 payable to MDDC.
The Council RESOLVED (unanimously) to accept the proposal in principle depending on final cost and area to be cut agreement with MDDC.
8. Road Safety (BH)
a. Report from Working Group
i. Meeting with Highways
There has been no meeting with a Highways representative regarding road safety measures for Morebath village
ii. Volunteers for Speedwatch
A request for volunteers is in the February issue of Signpost
b. Further action
It is proposed (BH prop JA sec) that a letter is sent to Steve Leigh of DCC Highways asking for (a) an explanation of their speed figures and why the equipment was placed too near the corner; (b) a response to whether MPC’s road safety paper had been presented to the recent SCARF meeting; and (c) information on when MPC can expect to receive detailed guidance from DCC Highways on what traffic calming measures may be available to meet the requirements of the village.
The Council RESOLVED (unanimously) to accept the proposal and that a limit of 14 days is added for receipt of a reply, after which contact should be made with more senior members of DCC Highways.
9. Play Area
a. Update
Cllr John Wescott reported that to his knowledge there had been no meetings in the last two months. Cllr Jeff Andrew confirmed that MPC was happy to engage with a responsible group in the village regarding the Play Area, and that MPC have made arrangements to maintain the asset for the coming year.
10. Environment (BS)
a. Report and update from Working Group
i. Village entrance by the railway bridge
Cllr Brian Smeeton is in the process of arranging for a plan and full costs. Cllr Andrew asked that this is finalised at the March meeting.
b. Vehicles at the Old Post Office
After approaches by residents to Cllr Smeeton (environmental responsibility) he contacted Jo Williams at DCC regarding the vehicles parked outside the Old Post Office which have a poor visual impact on the centre of the village, contrary to Section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990
(https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/11491/319798.pdf)
It is proposed that the Clerk write to Mr Francis Stoner indicating the concerns of parishioners and seeking his goodwill in resolving the matter.
The Council RESOLVED that the Clerk write to Mr Stoner – (vote 3 for 3 abstain carried. The Clerk asked the Chair for his acting vote which was for, but in retrospect was not required)
c. Vermin issues
Several parishioners have asked Morebath Parish Council to assist them in pursuing the matter of rat infestation in the village with the land owner and MDDC Environmental Health. Cllr Smeeton
has contacted Ian Winter at MDDC EHO regarding this matter; Dst Cllr Andrew Moore said that he will take up this matter and asked Cllr Smeeton to write to him outlining the situation.
11. Budget 2016/17
The Clerk provided all councillors with an outline budget for the coming year, 2016/17.
It was proposed (JA prop TC sec) that the budget is accepted
The Council RESOLVED to accept the budget.
12. Precept demand 2016/17
It was proposed (JA prop TC sec) that the precept demand is £6155, no increase on the current year
The Council RESOLVED (unanimously) that a demand for precept is made for £6155
13. Footpath P3 (BH)
a. Returns for 2015
The Clerk has completed forms for expenditure in the current year; the current balance in the P3 account is £40.50. Adams and Ellicott have sent in a bill for footpath work, and the clerk believes there are another two invoices to come. There are insufficient funds to in the P3 account to cover these invoices, and was felt by councillors that it needs to be established whether the work had prior council approval.
b. Proposals for 2016/17
Cllr Bob Hatton and Carla Dawes will be discussing work to be done in the coming year and will put their proposals to DCC Rights of Way
It was proposed that Cllr Hatton has the power to complete and return the forms.
The Council RESOLVED to accept this proposal
c. Funding request for 2016/17
Cllr Hatton will send of the forms to meet the deadline of 15 Feb.
Items of Information
14. Signpost deadlines and Chairman’s communication
Chairman Jeff Andrew will be writing a synopsis of the meeting to go into the Signpost magazine so that a report can meet the Signpost deadline.
Finance, Planning & other organisational matters 9:00pm – 9:30pm
15. Planning
a. 15/01791/FULL
Location: Land at NGR 295591 124546 Moor Farm Morebath
Proposal: Erection of an agricultural building for machinery, livestock and storage
Comments by 10 December 2015
b. 15/02003/CLU
Location: Land at NGR 295445 124720 (Land adjacent to the Conifers) Valley View
Proposal: Certificate of Lawfulness for the existing siting of a caravan in excess of 10 years
The Clerk was asked to seek clarification regarding Certificate of Lawfulness.
c. 16/00024/HOUSE
Location : St Georges House, Morebath
Proposal : Erection of a two storey extension following demolition of existing extension, and alteration to roof of outbuildings to form first floor accommodation
d. Update on barns at Four Winds, Shillingford
The appeal has been rejected by MDDC Planning and the applicant asked to remove the structure
16. Finance (Clerk)
a. Bank balance to date Current Acct £13,364.11
Business Reserve Acct £3932.81
b. M French (Clerk) Hours to be supplied £153.60 agreed
c. HMR&C £38.40 agreed
d. Admin expenses £39.89 (paper, printer ink, photocopying) agreed
e. DALC £30.00 (Training Budgets & Precept) agreed
f. Adams & Ellicott £144.00 not agreed
g. Bill Dart £265 (car park fencing) agreed
h. Bill Dart £198 (car park grass cutting) agreed
It was proposed that the above payments are made with the exception of 16f as there are insufficient funds available in the P3 account.
The Council RESOLVED (unanimously) to accept the proposal.
17. Date of Next Meeting
a. Parish Council Meeting Tuesday 08 March 2016 at 7:30pm
……................................................................... Cllr Jeff Andrew Dated:- 08 March 2016
(*) Bank Mandate Signature