Parish Council Minutes: December 2022
DRAFT MINUTES
These minutes will be agreed at the Parish Council meeting on January 9th 2023 and might be subject to slight amendment.
The Minutes of a meeting of Oakford Parish Council held in the Committee Room at Oakford Village Hall on Monday 12th December 2022 at 7.30 pm
Present:
Cllr G Baylis (Chair), J Cridland, L Gould, J Mayer and V Stevens.
In attendance:
District Cllr A Moore, Mr J Phillips and the Clerk, Mrs J Larcombe.
97/12/22.To receive apologies for absence.
Apologies were accepted from Cllr R Brain.
98/12/22.Declarations of Interest.
There were no declarations of interest.
99/12/22.Public Forum.
Mr Phillips thanked everyone for supporting the disco held at the Village Hall which had raised £1,087.08 for the fencing/improvements to the Community Area. A group of about 20 people had done a lot of work to make it a success.
Mr Phillips spoke about the problems caused by the deep flooding on the road just past the entrance to Nethercott Farm, at the top of Rookery Hill. The road floods for a distance of about 100 metres until the water can run off at Pinkworthy Cross. The Parish Council is aware of the problem which is caused by silt building up. A lot of mud was dragged onto the road when trees were felled in a nearby wood and transported away earlier in the year. In the past Cllr Stevens has cleared the silt build up with a shovel but he felt it needed more and there is nowhere to put the silt. The resurfacing of the road has made the situation worse. It was suggested that a long trench could be dug to take the water away. Cllr Stevens offered to speak to the landowner to discuss what can be done to solve the problem.
Water is also pooling behind the Police House and is running down the road to the bench because it cannot run off into the field. Cllr Stevens will speak to the owner of the field. Cllr Moore will inform Cllr Chesterton, County Cllr, about the issues. Mr Phillips was thanked by councillors.
Mr Phillips left the meeting.
Actions: Cllr Stevens to speak to the landowners to try to drain the areas that flood. Cllr Moore to contact Cllr Chesterton to inform him about the issues.
100/12/22. To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 14th November 2022 as an accurate record of the meeting.
The minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting and were duly signed by the Chair.
101/12/22. Matters arising from the minutes, not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
There were no matters arising.
102/12/22. Planning
a) To comment on any planning applications received before the meeting.
No applications received.
b) To note any planning decisions made by MDDC.
22/01128/CLU Certificate of Lawfulness for existing use of land for siting of a mobile home (caravan) for alternative uses consisting of short hold tenancy and holiday lettings (Use Class C3), associated external wooden decking area, garden/amenity area, car parking and vehicular access for a period in excess of 10 years. Location: The Paddock Spurway Mill, Oakford. Decision: certificate granted.
c) Slurry infrastructure grant.
Slurry Infrastructure grant and habitats regulations assessment (information for local planning authorities). The first round of the Slurry Infrastructure grant opens for applications on Tuesday 6th December (Slurry Infrastructure grant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . The new grant scheme will help livestock farmers upgrade their storage to reach 6 months storage capacity and to cover stores with impermeable covers. The grant has been introduced as part of Defra’s actions to reduce nutrient pollution. Investing in good slurry management is an important step that farmers can take to protect the environment, helping them to prevent water and air pollution and make the best of their organic nutrients. Cllr Stevens noted that streams would be cleaner where farmers improved their slurry storage.
d) Any other planning matters.
No other planning matters.
103/12/22. Highways: any matters to note or report.
During the last period of heavy rainfall a blocked drain on the B3227 near Newhouse caused 7 accidents. Cllr Baylis and Cllr Stevens will report this on the DCC website.
Action: Cllr Baylis and Cllr Stevens to report blocked drain on DCC website.
104/12/22. Reports
a) County Cllr.
No report.
b) District Cllr.
Cllr Moore reported that MDDC are predicting a deficit of £0.5million at the end of the 2022-23 financial year and are trying to cut costs without affecting services. This has mainly been caused by a recent higher than expected pay award and increased utility costs. The prediction for 2023-24 is a deficit of £900,000 and there is a lot of work taking place at the moment to try and reduce the gap. This includes the 2 letters that have been sent to Town and Parish Councils. A number of charges haven’t moved for 3 years so it is inevitable they will increase. MDDC has been limited to only increasing their share of the Council Tax by 2% unless they hold a referendum but that has now been increased by the Government to 3%. The 1% difference will only allow for an increase of £65,000. Cllr Stevens asked how the deficit compared to those of other District Councils. Cllr Moore said it was better than some. The budget is between £10million and £11million a year so they are really limited in what can be done. A leaflet is doing the rounds in Bampton and some other parishes about the changes from a 2 weekly to 3 weekly general waste collection but most of the information is incorrect. Cllr Moore advised people to speak to him if they have any queries.
Cllr Moore spoke about his decision to stand down as the Cabinet member with responsibility for finance for personal reasons.
He was advised about an issue with the MDDC owned car park adjacent to the Community Area where one of their tenants is using more than their share of car parking spaces. When this was reported there was an initial denial that MDDC owned the car park. Now the response is that it is being dealt with but the issue has been going on for a long period of time. It doesn’t help that the white lines have worn away.
105/12/22. Community Area:
a) Update on free landmark tree.
Saving Devon’s Treescapes Project was not able to provide a Cherry tree as requested by the Parish Council and are going to provide a Crabapple tree instead. They will be in touch when the trees arrive with them.
b) To discuss grass cutting contract for 2023.
Chris Hill has informed the Parish Council that he will not be able to cut the grass next year. A young person in the village is very keen to take the grass cutting on. They will be asked to give a quote to cut/strim the grass in the Community Area 10 times from April to October and the verge at the entrance to the village 7 times. They will need to have public liability insurance.
Action: Cllr Baylis to speak to the interested person.
c) Any matters to note.
The fencing around the play equipment will be done in the spring. Two more quotes are required to apply for the S106 funding.
Action: Cllr Stevens to obtain 2 more quotes.
106/12/22. To discuss the purchasing and siting of a waste bin for Oakford.
Cllr Mayer reported that she had received a quote of £150 from a local pest controller to provide 2 green metal multi use waste bins with bait traps. Similar bins are sited in Bampton and Dulverton. It was agreed to purchase 1 bin and site it by the Community Area. There is no suitable site for a bin in the centre of the village. A cheaper bin will be purchased to put on a post by the Summers bench, at the entrance to the village. Cllr Stevens offered to help position the bins on posts, if required. The Parish Council will take responsibility for emptying the bins and will purchase heavy duty bin liners for the bins.
Actions: Cllr Mayer to order 2 bins. Cllr Stevens to help put in posts.
Cllr Moore left the meeting.
107/12/22. Finance
To approve any invoices or expense claims presented for payment.
It was resolved to make the following payments:
Mrs J Larcombe - £174.85 Clerk’s salary for November (Payment ref: 2223/19)
Mr C Hill - £1110.00 grass cutting and strimming at the Community Area and entrance to Oakford (Payment ref: 2223/20)
To note any receipts since the last meeting and the bank balance.
Since the last meeting a VAT refund of £1,364.91 has been received.
The bank balance is £9,157.91
Earlier in the meeting a cheque for £1,087.08 was presented to the Parish Council and this will be earmarked for the Community Area.
To consider budget v actual for April to December 2022.
The report was noted. The Clerk had prepared this in preparation for agreeing the budget and precept for 2023-24 at the next meeting. An online working party meeting will be held via Zoom on Thursday 5th January at 7pm.
Action: Clerk to circulate Zoom meeting link.
To consider a request from Citizens Advice Torridge, North, Mid and West Devon for a donation.
No donation agreed.
To consider a request from Exmoor News for a donation.
It was felt that this was a very worthwhile and useful publication and it was agreed to give a donation of £100.00 (Payment ref: 2223/21).
Notification of external auditor appointment for the 2022-23 financial year for the 5 year period until 2026-27.
PKF Littlejohn LLP has been re-appointed as the External Auditor for Town and Parish Councils in Devon.
108/12/22. Update on CHT moving the defibrillator to the phone box.
CHT are asking for technical data for the defibrillator cabinet before they can arrange for it to be installed in the phone box. Their recommendation is to change the cabinet, which councillors felt was unnecessary. Cllr Baylis will pick up the CHT emails from Cllr Mayer.
Action: Cllr Baylis to pick up email conversation between Cllr Mayer and CHT and contact them regarding the need for technical data.
109/12/22. To report whether there have been any issues with smell from the sewerage treatment works.
No issues reported.
110/12/22. Correspondence.
The following correspondence was noted.
DALC Newsletters
DALC – Mid Devon DCC Online Briefing with the Leader of the Council, Cllr J
Hart on 15th December.
Tiverton Mobile Library – timetable for visits to Oakford in 2023
MDDC – Mid Devon Matters
MDDC – Changes to Cabinet
MDDC press releases
MDDC Deputy Chief Executive (S151) Andrew Jarrett – second letter. Due to
the complications of apportioning all of MDDC’s service provision to each
specific one of the 62 Towns/Parishes, coupled with the size and administrative
logistics of those Council bodies, MDDC has decided to restrict their request to
the main Towns/Parishes which set a precept in excess of £20,000. These are
Tiverton, Crediton, Cullompton, Willand, Uffculme, Silverton, Bampton,
Hemyock, Bradninch, Lapford, Culmstock, Kentisbeare and Sandford.
111/12/22. To agree the date of the next meeting.
The next meeting will be held on 9th January 2023.
112/12/22. Changes to meeting dates in 2023 due to Easter and the Parish Council Elections/Annual Parish Council Meeting.
The April meeting would normally be held on 10th April but this will be Easter Monday and a bank holiday. It was agreed to move the meeting to Tuesday 11th April. This will be the last meeting of the current Parish Council as the Town and Parish Council elections will be held on Thursday 4th May 2023. Due to the elections the May meeting will have to be delayed in order to allow enough time to give notice of the meeting after the elections. It was agreed to hold the May meeting on Monday 15th May 2023. This will be the Annual Parish Council Meeting.
It was agreed to hold the Annual Parish Meeting on Saturday 22nd April. A defibrillator training session will be held on the same morning between 10.00am and 12.00pm, subject to the availability of a trainer from SWAST.