Full Council Minutes 14 Jul 2015

Minutes of Morebath Parish Council
meeting held in the Village Hall, Morebath on Tuesday 14 July 2015 at 7.30pm
PRESENT: Cllr Jeffrey Andrew (Chairman) Cllr Tony Conway (Vice Chairman)
Cllr Merv Adams (*) Cllr Bob Hatton Cllr Peggy Reed (*) Cllr Brian Smeeton
Clerk: Martin French
Invited
Cllr Polly Colthorpe - County & District Council Representative
Cllr Ray Stanley - District Council Representative
PCSO Vikki Randle - Police representative
Meeting protocol
1. Apologies
None
2. Declaration of interest
Cllr Tony Conway, Item 9
Cllr Merv Adams, item 16d
3. Dispensation for councillors
Cllr Tony Conway, Item 9
4. Open Forum
3 members of the public
Mr Jeff Gregory made the following points
 There was insufficient notice of the Election of Officers meeting
o His concerns were noted, but Cllr Andrew said that the new council had not been responsible for the arrangements
 There has been no Annual Parish Meeting
 The web site needs updating
o Cllr Andrew agreed and explained that the delay was due to the fact that he and the clerk were awaiting training. He invited any member of the public to come forward if they wanted to take over the web site.
 The agenda on the notice board is not as detailed as that circulated now
o The clerk agreed to look into this, although space on the notice board is limited
 Would like to see more support from the Council for the Play Area
o Cllr Andrew explained that the council had agreed at its June meeting to monitor the use of the play area over the summer before a further discussion on how best to optimise this public asset for the benefit of the community.
 Would like to see a further public meeting relating to the community plan
o Cllr Andrew explained that a notice would be placed in the August Signpost and on the notice board to inform the community of the council’s approach to following up the public consultation in 2012. At its first meeting in June the new Council had adopted the proposal that its primary concerns should reflect the four main priorities established by the public consultation exercise held in July 2012 – New Village Hall, Development Control. Traffic Speeding, and Creating a Scenic Village. As a result the agenda for this meeting includes discussion papers from individual councillors relevant to two of these priorities – Road Safety in Morebath and Environment. The next step would be to develop action plans that would involve the community. This was felt to be the more direct way of responding to the public consultation than a Community Plan.
5. Minutes
Minutes for the meeting held on 16 June 2015 had been circulated prior to the meeting.
It was proposed to accept the minutes as a true and accurate record of the meeting
(Vote- all in favour, plus the addition of the Chairman’s letter
The Council RESOLVED to accept the minutes with the addition that the statement from the Chairman regarding Council priorities is included.
6. Reports
a. County Councillor Polly Colthorpe
DCC has requested more money from central government for schools. Devon has one of the lowest funding from central government at £270 per child less than average. The Reading Challenge this year for 4 – 11 year old children involves the Guinness Book of Records and can be done through Bampton Library. Broadband is coming! The definition of ‘rural’ is of concern between BT and Connecting Devon and Somerset which is delaying the final stages of delivery. Further work is being done to revise the spectrum of delivery, where cable or wireless is to be used.
b. District Councillor Ray Stanley
MDDC is currently working on Budget for 2016/17 which requires savings of £1m. There is a Planning application coming for a hotel, located between the multi storey car park and Phoenix House. 13 additional units of social housing for Tiverton
c. Police PCSO Vikki Randle
Theft from Mason Kings, 2 Road Traffic Incidents, 1 domestic incident.
Items for discussion and decision
7. Traffic speeding
a. Update from Cllr Adams and/or Cllr Hatton and Cllr Andrew (some documents circulated)
Cllr Andrew outlined the paper circulated.
Cllr Adams stated the Steve Leigh has arranged for a black box to be located near the village hall to gather speed data over a seven day period.
b. Steve Leigh (DCC Highways) was invited to speak, providing information on what can be done
Steve Leigh was unable to attend due to illness
c. The proposal was amended, as follows, compared to the original agenda proposal
It is proposed that a Working Group on Road Safety (councillors Bob Hatton and Merv Admas, plus a member of the public) is delegated to set out priorities, and formulate an action plan for discussion, to be put to the Council at the September meeting, under the Chairmanship of Cllr Jeff Andrew.
(Vote- all in favour)
The Council RESOLVED to accept the proposal
8. Environment
a. Update from Cllr Smeeton
Cllr Andrew introduced the paper circulated by Cllr Brian Smeeton
Cllr Smeeton expanded on the paper.
b. The proposal was amended, as follows, compared to the original agenda proposal
c. It is proposed that a Working Group on the Environment (Cllrs Brian Smeeton and Tony Conway, plus a member of the public) is delegated to set out priorities, and to formulate an action plan for discussion, to be put to the Council at the September meeting, under the Chairmanship of Cllr Jeff Andrew.
(Vote- all in favour)
The Council RESLOVED to accept the proposal
9. New Village Hall
a. Information has been provided by the Village Hall representative outlining a process and timescale for building a new village hall.
b. It is proposed that the Council supports the principle of a new village hall for Morebath, and to investigating additional funding avenues available through Parish Councils to assist the Village Hall Committee.
(Vote – 4 in favour 1 against, no vote 1)
The Council RESOLVED to accept the proposal
c. It is proposed that a Cllr Jeff Andrew, and the Clerk, Martin French, investigate funding possibilities and report to the Council at a future date.
(Vote- 4 for 1 against, 1 no vote)
The Council RESOLVED to accept the proposal
10. Car Park
a. Quote provided by Bill Dart
i. Repair of Fence £265 (as agreed at the March meeting)
Confirmation by the Council to go ahead
The Council confirmed that this should go ahead
Additional work is needed on the chain link fence surrounding the car park.
It was proposed that work should be done to a maximum value of £80 to make the fence safe.
(Vote- all in favour)
The Council resolved to accept the proposal
ii. Work prior to resurfacing £350 (not agreed at March meeting)
Confirmation by Council not to go ahead
The Council confirmed that this should not go ahead
b. Quotes for resurfacing (as requested at the March meeting) – for information only
i. David Gale £12,977.25 (plus VAT)
ii. South West Highways (awaiting quote)
11. Footpaths P3
a. Update from Carla Dawes
None
b. Gate and Gate post at Sharpe’s close
The Clerk was asked to contact Ros Davies (DCC Rights of Way) regarding this matter
c. Church path maintenance
Items of Information
12. Parking
a. Update from Cllr Hatton
The car has a sticker from MDDC stating that it will be removed
13. Ironman
a. Update from Cllr Andrew (document circulated)
Cllr Andrew reported that there was half a bag of litter following the event.
Kevin Stewart of Ironman UK had not yet agreed to increase his offer for compensation for the 2014 event, but had accepted the invitation to attend one of our Council meetings. This would not only allow Council to explain the full extent of the disruption caused to the community, but would also provide an opportunity for the Council to develop a more positive relationship and understanding with Ironman for the future.
Finance, Planning & other organisational matters
14. Training
a. Planning 09 July 2015
Four councillors attended the session and it found it informative.
15. Planning
a. 15/00785/FULL – MDDC Grant Full Planning Permission Proposal: Erection of a agricultural building for storage of machinery and fodder (Building 2) Location: Land at NGR 297590 124016 (Four Winds) Morebath Devon
b. 15/00784/FULL – MDDC Grant Full Planning Permission Proposal: Erection of an agricultural building for rearing calves (Building 1) Location: Land at NGR 297524 124069 (Four Winds) Morebath Devon
c. 14/01452/MFULL – on appeal Grant Full Planning Permission Proposal: Installation of solar energy farm on 13.34 ha of land to generate 5.5 megawatts of energy (Revised scheme) (APPEAL ALLOWED WITH CONDITIONS 24.06.15) Address: Land at NGR 299298 125070 (East of Bowdens Lane) Shillingford Devon Decision: Allowed on appeal
d. 15/00760/FULL - MDDC Grant Full Planning Permission Address: 2 Valley View Morebath Tiverton Devon EX16 9AJ Description: Erection of two-storey extension
16. Finance (Clerk)
a. Bank balance to date Current Acct £
Business Reserve Acct £
b. M French (Clerk) Hours to be supplied £179.20 agreed to pay
c. HMR&C £ £44.80 agreed to pay
d. Adams & Ellicott £442.80 agreed to pay
17. Points of information
18. Date of Next Meeting
a. Parish Council Meeting Tuesday 08 Sept 2015 at 7:30pm
……….................................................….. Cllr Jeff Andrew (Chairman) Dated:- 08 September 2015
(*) Bank Mandate Signature