Agenda for December 2024 meeting

Newton St Cyres Parish Council

Notice of Meeting of Parish Council

Dear Councillors

I hereby give notice that a Meeting of the above-named Parish Council will be held Council will be held in the Club Room, Parish Hall on Thursday 5 December 2024 at 7.00pm 

All members of the Council are hereby summoned to attend for the purpose of considering and resolving upon the Business to be transacted at the meeting set out hereunder.

Dated this 29 November 2024

Signed                        Jane Hole

Clerk to the Parish Council             parishclerk@newtonstcyres-pc.gov.uk          01392 851148 

Public Participation

Public Question Time.  Members of the public are invited to give their views and ask questions on issues on this agenda or to raise issues for future consideration by the Parish Council. 

Formal Business 

(Members of the public may not take part in the formal business of the Parish Council except under special circumstances) 

01/12/24    Apologies

                       To receive apologies

 

02/12/24    Declaration of Interest

                       To receive declarations of personal interest (PI) and disclosable pecuniary interests (DPI’s) in respect of items on this agenda

 

03/12/24    Minutes of the last meeting held on Thursday 7 November 2024 (previously circulated)

                       To be agreed and signed as a true record

 

04/12/24    Newton St Cyres Parish Council Issues relevant to Mid Devon District Council

4.1                 Planning Applications 

                       None          

4.2                 Planning Decisions

                       24/01282/FULL - Erection for an agricultural storage building at Bidwell Barton Farm, NSC – grant permission

                       24/01433/LBC -Listed Building Consent for the creation of 2 ensuite bathrooms on first floor at 1 The Village, NSC – grant permission

                       24/01512/CAT - Notification of intention to reduce the height of 1 Lawson Cypress tree by 3m; removal of branches to the side of 1 Mulberry tree; removal of 1 Holly tree; removal of branches on Laurel/Sycamore tree and removal of trunk of 1 Poplar tree within the Conservation Area at 2 Newton House Newton St Cyres Exeter EX5 5BL – grant permission     

4.3                 Report from District Councillors on issues relevant to the parish  

 

05/12/24    Newton St Cyres Parish Council issues relevant to Devon County Council

5.1                 Report from County Councillor on issues relevant to the Parish including update on bus services – see below

                       To note PC responses to DCC Transportation Consultation and response to Boniface Trail consultation – circulated separately

5.2                 Update on priorities list sent to C/Cllr M Squires – see below.  To agree meeting to discuss priorities  

 

06/12/24    Finance

6.1                 To agree Payments and note Receipts: 

 

Expenditure – current account	£	Receipts – current account	£
Church – surgery x 6	60.00	None
Parish Hall –  surgery x 1	10.00
Friends of the Arboretum – surgery x  2	20.00	Receipts Car Park Account
Gardening Club - surgery x 1 reimbursement to Clerk	10.00	None
Nick Gillon – RWS expenses	5.70
J Hole Reimbursement for 6 x permissive path signs	23.28
J Hole – Salary and expenses	403.24
HMRC – PAYE	59.00

 

6.2                 To approve on-line authorisation for this month’s payments

6.3                 Balances (after above transactions)

6.3.1            Parish Council Current Account balance: £9,280.40

6.3.2            Footpath Account: £788.02 (included in Current Account balance)

6.3.3            Parish Hall Car Park maintenance fund balance: £6,654.37 (separate Bank account)

6.4                 Financial Statement and Budget Monitor

6.5                 Quarterly Bank Reconciliation – circulated separately

6.6                 To note DCC have awarded £437.00 from the Community Enhancement Fund for the purchase of hedge trimmer/brush cuttler and battery charger

6.7                 To agree budget for 2025/26 and set precept.  Draft budget circulated separately

 

07/12/24    Other Parish Council Matters

7.1                 Quarterly Report – Development and Planning – Cllr G Barnell

7.2                 Quarterly Report – Travel and Road Safety – Cllr J Dean

                       Report from Walkabout and to agree a maintenance schedule

7.3                 To agree delegated authority to the Clerk to respond to planning applications received in December and January that cannot be granted an extension following consultation with Cllrs

08/12/24    Forward Agenda Planner/Minor Matters and Items for Future Agenda

8.1                 Review of agenda planner for future meetings.  Copy circulated

                      

09/12/24    Date of next Parish Council meeting:  Thursday 6 February 2025 at 7pm in the Club Room

 

End of Formal Business

Public Participation

 

Agenda Item 6.4

Budget Monitor

 Agenda Item 7.1

Quarterly Report – Development and Planning

Agenda Item 7.2

Quarterly Report – Travel and Road Safety 

Agenda Item 8.1

Forward Agenda Planner 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agenda Item 5.1

Report from C/Cllr M Squires

 

With the winter season about to kick off in earnest the Devon Highways team have ensured that all the Gritters have had their annual service and calibration and the salt barns are well stocked.

There has been a massive effort across the summer and autumn to spend the additional funding identified by Cabinet for serviceability patching.  This has resulted in more than 28,500m2 of additional patching across 600 sites, with a further 228 sites in the forward programme.  The team have experimented with route based treatments in an effort to minimise disruption to residents and the travelling public and improve value for money.

In addition to this patching, the team have delivered nearly 12,500m2 of Elastomac patches across 140 sites.

By the end of November the remarking of all pedestrian crossings and roundabouts should be completed.  The team have identified the need for some remedial works at a limited number of locations and will continue monitoring the quality of the works carried out which carry a four year warranty from our contractor.  There have been a number of positive comments regarding the increased brightness of the markings under car headlights at night with the new material specification.

The Devon Highways Team are currently reviewing a first draft of a new electronic dashboard system to visualise the works planned across the whole of Devon which can be filtered by Electoral Division.  The team intend to work with a small number of Elected Members to trial the new system before rolling out across the whole county early in the new year.

Following the decision at Cabinet to retain a Term Maintenance Contract as the future delivery model the team have already started putting together a project team to review the current contract and produce a new specification and set of procurement documents.  This is a significant undertaking and will undoubtably impact the already limited capacity of the team.

The weather this autumn has been relatively kind with limited rain and no frost (yet) as such, the number of public reports remain low and the team are managing to keep on top of the demand.

 

Response from DCC re Stagecoach

Initial response

Although the service during the day is commercial, we do financially support evening journeys, these being the 1940 from Exeter onwards. 

I have therefore looked into what has been going on over the last couple of weeks and found that more often than not, it has been running late, not normally significantly, but can be 10 minutes late due to the bus starting late, after it comes off another route late. On one day, there is a gap of an hour on the tracking so will look into that.

We will therefore take this up with Stagecoach to see if they can overcome this, and I will report back to Councillor Squires.

 

Second response

I have got some reliability data from Stagecoach to show why the service is running late. It has been due to a combination of the bus being held up on its previous journey due to roadworks and due to the recent traffic lights in Cowley Bridge Road, Exeter. I have not been able to find any other evidence of the service not running.

 

Stagecoach believe the reliability should improve now that both sets of roadworks that have affected it have finished but I will monitor the reliability of the service and ask them if they can alter the journeys the bus does if it continues.

 

I would therefore be confident in saying to the member of the public that reliability should now improve but we will keep checking it, given it is financially supported, and ask Stagecoach to make alterations if we are not satisfied.

 

 

 

Agenda item 5.2

Thanks for sending again. I have looked back to you original email sent on 01/08/2024 and I note that I forwarded this to Steve on the same day.

 

Response to wish list

I can only ask what the PC want us to do with the wish list? 

These comments are mine – without taking advice. 

Graeme knows full well that all these items have been raised before. In some form I have progressed to the Mid Devon HATOC committee – which he has attended. 

1. Tytheing  Close/Sand Down lane and a crossing has been discussed on numerous occasions albeit not in the form as mentioned now of a safety island. Whilst I can note that it would be a good idea I am not sure that DCC would consider given the distance between crossing in the village and this. The cost is prohibitive.  I can't see it being progressed as a capital project anytime soon. As I suggested last night put it in the neighbourhood plan for S106 and ask MDDC to consider with the Crediton Master Planning exercise.    

1. The Smallbrook issues were taken through a SCARFprocess. This is a process where officers from DCC and police are involved  - all professional's in their field and where all Safety issues are considered on an equal footing across the authority. Normally County Councillors are not involved – I had however asked at the HATOC committee if I could attend to see how the process works. All the issues were discussed on that day and I raised all the issues that have been mentioned by PC including the signage and safety of the bus stop - especially the school children. This was also considered by the school transport team. These were all considered including the speed related flashers and all was seen as being compliant.    

1. The school sign issue has been raised and requested on numerous occasions ever since the school was built. The Wig Wag scheme was discussed and DCC would have installed if the cost could be raised by the community. I recall that I offered £500 from my locality budget fund. For some reason this has not been progressed. I question has it ever been discussed with the community or even the school community? There seems a complete blank every time I suggest a School Transport Plan. Please note that I have been a County Councillor for almost 16 years and currently have eight schools within my County division. I can only offer advice on my experience. 

 

I was very disappointed last evening with the response that I had from the PC. Although I welcomed the comment from the new District Councillor – whom I had not met before when she suggested the PC purchase a sign!