Parish Council Minutes: May 2018
Minutes of the Meeting of Oakford Parish Council, held on Tuesday May 8th 2018
immediately following the Annual Parish Council Meeting.
Members present
Chairman Cllr J Phillips Vice Chair Cllr J Mayer Cllr M Baylis Cllr I Fairchild Cllr T Rich
Apologies
these were received from District Cllrs A Moore and R Stanley, also from Cllr D Mason
Declarations of Interest
none received
The Public
there were 2 members of the public present. The opportunity to speak regards Item 9 was delayed until the full details of the proposal for developing land at Oakford Bottom had been explained.
Minutes of the Meeting held March 12th 2018
these were approved and signed as a correct record.
Reports
County Council – a report is attached. The Town and Parish Fund has been replaced by the Communities Together Fund which necessitates more active involvement from the supporting parishes in any suggested project. The Locality budget and the Investing in Devon have both been granted £10,000 for the year.
The Community Enhancement Fund is for larger scale projects.
The Telephone Kiosk
ideas to put this acquisition to best use are still welcomed. The “Batsworthy” fund runs for 25 years and the Chairman suggested that this might be a help towards a more ambitious modification of the structure. It is imperative to consult the immediate neighbours to the kiosk to discover what changes might be acceptable to them.
The Playing Field
the Chairman highlighted many of the issues identified in the annual safety inspection and solutions. These included rebuilding of the barbeque, replacing some fence posts, graffiti removal and improvements to the drainage. Some corrosion is evident on the swings which require painting. Cllr Fairchild suggested resurfacing the bridge with some tar and chippings. He also volunteered to remove the moss under the wall. H and S signs are needed for users of the basketball ring.
Highways
incidents have been reported of heavy lorries and caravans following Sat Nav instruction and then having problems on the road from Hamslade X to Higher Bolham in both directions. A weight restriction sign, stating except for access may be a solution.
Fly tipping is an ever increasing problem and difficult to stop – if witnessed noting the registration number of the vehicle or a photograph will help prosecution.
The 3 vandalised signposts have been repaired. Attention to the sign at Hangman’s Bottom is still outstanding.
Planning
The plans concerning the proposal to build detached houses at Oakford Bottom, were on display in the room and in the absence of the owner the Chairman explained the background. The idea is to build these 3 properties, with some consultation from the existing residents on design, materials etc. Opportunity to develop a 20 vehicle car park would be given over to the council along with a piece of ground, locally known as the reed beds.
Mr Cartwright spoke from the floor stating that he was not opposed to the property build but objected to the car park proposal as it could adversely affected his and other properties. He felt there could be financial issues with upkeep of the car park and footpath in future. He also questioned the ethics of trading planning permission for a piece of ground. Cllr Fairchild voiced concerns about the apparently restricted access to the proposed new car park.
Cllr Baylis thought that car parking in the village was already difficult and should the church car park be developed this would exasperate the situation. Cllr Rich suggested that some alteration to the proposed car park might make ti more acceptable to residents.
A request to show the plans to the immediate neighbours was agreed by the Chairman.
The proposal to approve the plans in principle if the “land” was signed over to the parish first was passed by 3 votes in favour, 1 against and 1 abstention.
17/02014/FULL Retension of the log cabin at Castleland House – permission granted
17/01299/FULL Car port erection at Hamslade Farm – permission granted
18/00371/FULL Erection of a garage at Sunnyside – decision awaited
Flooding
Cllr Jobson whose particular remit this is, was unfortunately absent from the meeting.
Water from Dick Spurway’s pond has caused damage to the road surface. Should this recur then MDDC will have to be involved.
Villages in Action
the Village Hall Committee has booked an evening in October to hold such an event. The Parish Council expressed some interest in holding a similar event later on.
Annual Parish Meeting
this is planned for the 12th May. The Hall will be open from 9.30am and the associated walk will begin at 10.45am. There has only been limited attendance response indicated as yet.
GDPR
the clerk explained progress to date. There needs to be a privacy notice on the Parish Website before the 25th May. Letters were sent out with SAE envelopes on the issue of consent for holding data – one returned so far. A spreadsheet has been formulated to list all those who may have data currently held on computer or in paper form.
Finance
Approval of the Annual Governance Statement – this was agreed and signed by the Chairman
Approval of the Accounting Statement – this was agreed and signed
Exemption Certificate – this was signed and will reduce the input needed from an external auditor for 2016/17
The Precept application for £4250 had been received, similarly £56 from the Western Power for wayleaves and £50 as a token from the PPP3 fund.
Current and Reserve Summary bank balance £8458.96 as of 5th April
Payments approved to RoSPA £88.20 Tax & Accounts £43.20 Stoodleigh Parish Council £30.50
D Shere £100 Dalc £89.07 Community First Insurance £217.25.
A cheque for £132.50 was issued in respect to the Village Hall invoice, instead of the £156 as per agenda. There was a query on hire charges for 2 of the dates listed.