Minutes from April 2026 meeting

DRAFT

Newton St Cyres Parish Council

Minutes of Newton St Cyres Parish Council Meeting held in the Parish Hall Club Room on Thursday 2 April 2026

 

The meeting commenced at 7.00pm

Members present

Cllr L Ouldridge  (Chair)                       Cllr J Dean

Cllr J Campbell                                     Cllr M Herpoldt-Bright

 

In attendance: C/Cllr S Keable (left 8.5pm), D/Cllr M Binks (left 7.50pm), 5 members of public (2 left at 8pm), J Hole Parish Clerk

 

Public Participation

There were several cars which appeared to have been abandoned around Station Road and Court Orchard.  These had been reported to the police and MDDC.  Cllr L Ouldridge would follow this up.

There were several large potholes in Tytheing Close.  The Road Wardens would be asked to inspect these to see if they are able to fix them, if not it would be reported to MDDC.  D/Cllr M Binks agreed to contact a MDDC Officer responsible for Mid Devon estates to establish which authority is responsible for road repairs.

Difficulty crossing the road at Tytheing Close. Cllr L Ouldridge noted that a petition was currently being organised and would be passed to C/Cllr S Keable in due course as further evidence of the problem and the local support for an island crossing.

A wooden picnic bench had been placed on the verge by Woodlands.  The Clerk would contact the owner and ask for it to be removed so that grass cutting could take place.

 

Formal Business 

01/04/26    Apologies

Cllr J Rimbon-Whittaker, Cllr R Vinner, Cllr D Harris

 

02/04/26    Declaration of Interest

                       None

 

03/04/26    Minutes of the last meeting held on Thursday 5 March 2026

                       Agreed and signed as a true record

 

04/04/26      To consider any applicants for co-option

4.1              Standing orders to be suspended

                   Imogen Marshall was willing to stand as a Parish Councillors and gave a brief explanation of her  interest in becoming a Parish Councillor.  Cllr L Ouldridge proposed and Cllr M Helpoltd-Bright  seconded and it was resolved unanimously to co-opt.  Imogen duly signed the declaration of acceptance of office form and joined the meeting as a Councillor.  Standing orders were reinstated.

4.2              Following co-option to agree training for new Cllr and agree any updates to areas of responsibility

                   After discussion it was agreed that Cllr I Marshall would take on the Footpath Warden role 

 

05/04/26    Newton St Cyres Parish Council Issues relevant to Mid Devon District Council

5.1                 Planning Applications 

                       Since the agenda had been sent the following planning application had been received and it was resolved to consider at this meeting

                       26/00456/HOUSE- Erection of single and two storey extensions and alterations to existing dwelling at Ashford, Newton St Cyres, Exeter, EX5 5BT – no comment

                       Cllr J Campbell had devised a check list against which planning applications could be considered.  It was resolved that in future Cllr J Campbell would complete the check list and circulate to Cllrs ahead of meetings to allow for more informed decision making.

5.2                 Planning Decisions

                       25/00612/PNFG - Prior Notification for the formation of a Forestry track for the management of

                       Woodland – Approval of Prior Notification  

                       25/01552/FULL - Erection of 1 self-build dwelling following demolition of existing building

                       utilising Class Q fallback at Bidwell Barton Farm Newton St Cyres – grant permission

5.3                 Report from District Councillors on issues relevant to the parish  

                       Update on holiday lodges at Half Moon and construction of footpath – Enforcement case

                       C/Cllr S Keable noted that MDDC had an online form for reporting “alleged planning breaches”.  It was resolved that Cllr J Campbell would make an online report and include photo regarding water/sewage issues and a separate report noting concerns over the advertised year round occupancy which was in breach of the planning permission.

                      

06/04/26    Newton St Cyres Parish Council issues relevant to Devon County Council

6.1                 Report from County Councillor on issues relevant to the parish

                       C/Cllr S Keable gave an update regarding housing targets across Mid Devon, the local plan and the Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) process.  He noted that MDDC would be sending Parish Councils details of MDDC assets with an invitation to consider transfer of ownership.

                       Bus stop at Langford Road junction – the Clerk reported that the land owner of the verge was willing in principle to discuss further the possibility of making a proper space for a bus stop.  It was resolved that the Clerk would inform DCC Integrated Transport Manager and copy in C/Cllr S Keable.  A note of thanks would also be passed to DCC for the new bus shelter at Half Moon

                       Noted that PROW had replaced the stile on FP 8 with a pedestrian gate.

 

07/04/26    Finance

7.1                 To agree Payments and note Receipts

Since the agenda had been sent an invoice from NSC Parish Hall for room hire had been received for £30.00 (March and April) .   It was resolved to add this payment to the schedule below

                       These were agreed as:

Expenditure – current account	£	Receipts – current account	£
Unity Trust Bank Charges (March)	7.00	Nil
Liz Ouldrige – reimbursement raised bed  for station garden	299.84	Receipts Car Park Maintenance Account Nil
Mark Phillips – RW expenses	47.99
Ian Salter – bus shelter cleaning	32.00	Footpath Account
Greenleaf Garden Services – grass cutting	90.00	Nil
J Hole – Salary and expenses	434.72
HMRC – PAYE and emp’er NI	66.59
NSC Parish Hall – room hire	30.00

 

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

                       Cllr J Dean and Cllr L Ouldridge

7.3                 Balances (after above transactions)

7.3.1            Parish Council Current Account balance: £8,300.74

7.3.2            Footpath Account: £655.17 (separate account)

7.3.3            Parish Hall Car Park maintenance fund balance: £6,856.58 (separate account)

7.4                 Financial Statement and Budget Monitor

                       Noted

 

08/04/26    Other Parish Council Matters

8.1                 Areas of responsibility reports – to note any Cllr reports

                       Britain in Bloom (BIB) – a request had been made for a display of bikes to be placed on the village green for a few weeks around judging time.  It was resolved to agree this and the Clerk would inform the BIB organisers.  The village green was being entered in the “In your neighbourhood” category.

                       Neighbourhood Watch - Cllr M Herpoldt-Bright was arranging a meeting for the first week in June, to include our PCSO

                       Parish Hall - Cllr J Campbell reported that discussions were taking place about plans and grant funding to update the Parish Hall to include a new entrance.  Further information would be available at the Parish Hall AGM on 20 April.

                       Training – Cllr J Campbell and the Clerk had attended MDDC online planning training which had been useful.  Neighbourhood Priority Statements were being introduced and might be worth further consideration.

                       Allotment – the fallen down tree still needed to be removed.  It was resolved that if the Clerk could not get the work done soon, then assistance would be requested from chain saw qualified  arboretum volunteers.  The Clerk reported that annual allotment bills had been issued.  There was a request to consider how to get better access (road and foot) to the allotment and it was resolved to put this on next month’s agenda.

                       Sewage leak at Smallbrook – still ongoing but expected to be fixed by the end of April.  Cllr J Dean would check at the end of the month.

                       Grass cutting –  parishioners near to Norton Cross had offered to maintain the triangle shaped piece of land and to cut it more regularly than once a year.  It was resolved to accept this help and to remove this area from our grass cutting schedule.

                       Resilience – new defibrillator pads were required for both defib.  It was resolved to order these.  Cllr R Vinner had inspected the defib cabinet by Bellunos and no further action was required – the door needed to be slammed hard in order to close it.  Notices had been placed by both defib stating the Parish Council was the owner of the defibs with contact details if there was any queries or issues.

                       Cllr L Ouldridge had collected the Community Hub resilience box which would be placed at the church for use in emergencies. Details of  how to register with the Priority Services register and useful contacts in the event of flooding would be included in the Newton Wonder.

8.2                 Update on ideas for new play equipment for S106 application

                       Cllr J Rimbon-Whittaker had informally surveyed 32 QE children and the older children at the School had been consulted.  Both were in favour of an outside table tennis table.  Also popular was a 3 way shooter.  It was resolved that the Clerk would obtain costings and find out if Table Tennis England were able to help fund a table. Cllr L Ouldridge would consult the Rec Committee

8.3                 To sign NEW agreement for the Village Green and agreements for the Hall, Rec and Church

                       Agreements had been circulated and it was resolved that Cllr L Ouldridge sign the agreements.

 

09/04/26    Minor Matters and Items for Future Agenda /Miscellaneous correspondence

                       Allotments, land at the arboretum

 

10/04/26    Date of next Parish Council meeting:  Thursday 2 May 2026 at 7pm in the Club Room – Annual Parish Meeting followed by Annual Parish Council Meeting

 

End of Formal Business

Public Participation

There was none

 

The meeting closed at 8.40pm