Parish Council Minutes: January 2022
The Minutes of a Meeting of Oakford Parish Council held at Oakford Village Hall on Monday 10th January 2022 at 7.30 pm
Present:
Cllr’s G Baylis (Chair), R Brain, J Cousins, L Gould and J Mayer.
In attendance:
District Cllr R Stanley and the Clerk, Mrs J Larcombe.
135/01/22. To receive apologies for absence.
Apologies were received from Cllr R Chesterton. Cllr Mayer had emailed the Clerk to warn that she would be late.
136/01/22. Declarations of Interest.
There were no declarations of interest.
137/01/22. Public Forum.
There were no members of the public present.
138/01/22. To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 13th December 2021 as an accurate record of the meetings.
The minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting and they were duly signed by the Chair.
139/01/22. Matters arising from the minutes, not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
The plaque for the bench to commemorate Richard Stevens needs to be ordered.
Action: Cllr Baylis to speak to Cllr V Stevens about the wording.
140/01/22. Planning
a) To comment on any planning applications received before the meeting.
No applications received.
b) To note any planning decisions made by MDDC.
No decisions received.
c) Any other planning matters.
MDDC emailed the Parish Council on the morning of this meeting to say that they had received the Tiverton Neighbourhood Plan proposal and would be formally consulting on this document for a period which will conclude at 12 noon on Friday 18th February 2022. This will be added to the agenda for the next meeting.
Action: the Clerk to add the consultation on the Tiverton Neighbourhood Plan to the agenda for the 14th February meeting.
Cllr Stanley drew the Council’s attention to a planning application for large holiday lets at Holmingham Quarry, which is behind Cove and just outside of the boundary for Oakford parish. He would like the Council to have a look at it if the application is sent to the Council as a neighbouring parish.
Cllr Mayer joined the meeting at this point.
141/01/22. Highways
a) Any matters to note. Highways have done a lot of work cutting out gullies etc on the road from the Village Hall to the Old Police House. There is still standing water on Rookery Hill. The Clerk has sent the reference number she received when she reported the removal of the slippery road surface warning signs on the B3227 near Black Aller Lane to Cllr Chesterton.
b) Update on replacement of the ‘20 is Plenty’ signs. Cllr Baylis will replace two of the smaller signs this week. One of the larger signs will be placed in the phone boxes and places will be found for the others.
Action: Cllr Baylis to replace two of the smaller signs. One of the larger signs to be placed in the phone box and places found to site the others.
142/01/22. Reports
a) County Cllr. No report.
b) District Cllr. Cllr Stanley reported that the Government had withheld £1million of the Covid costs that MDDC had incurred and the Council is now having find savings of £1.4million to balance the 2022-23 budget. Each Policy Development Group has been given a target of savings they need to find. This includes making savings for waste collection. Black bag waste collections could become three weekly instead of two weekly. Recycling and food waste collections would stay the same. Making everyone have a wheelie bin is also being considered. There has been a pilot scheme but this has been during Covid restrictions which is not reflective of normal times. Grants have also reduced and MDDC might need to use some of its reserves.Cllr Stanley said there was a lot of fly tipping in Stoodleigh over the Christmas period.
143/01/22. Community Area
a)Any points to note from the inspection of the community area. Cllr Brain has carried out an inspection and there were no points to note. He is checking through the Rospa Inspection Report to make sure nothing has been missed.
b) Update on ordering of new gates. Cllr Baylis and Cllr Mayer have checked the quotes again to make sure the gates are of the right size. The Wicksteed quote is not the cheapest but it is a better quality product. Once the updated quote is received the Clerk will place the order.
144/01/22. Finance
a) To approve any invoices or expense claims presented for payment. It was resolved to make the following payment: Mrs J Larcombe - £159.12 Clerk’s salary (Payment ref: 2122/25).The bank balance on 10th January 2022 was £10,138.66.
b) To agree the budget and precept request for 2022-2023. A working party meeting was held via Zoom on 7th January to discuss the budget for 2022-23. Discussion included the amount of reserves held by the Parish Council. The draft budget was presented to the meeting and agreed. As a result of the budget setting process it was agreed to request a precept of £5454.00 for 2022-23.
Action: the Clerk to submit the Precept Request Form to MDDC to request a precept of £5454.
c) Update on online banking changes and setting up of new signatory. Cllr Baylis reported that he and Cllr Mayer are now set up to authorise payments. Each payment will need to be authorised by two of the councillors set up for this purpose. The Clerk cannot be added to just set up payments (which is what would normally happen) as all persons have to have signatory designation to set up payments for this NatWest community account. The options are view only or setup/authorise. The Clerk has been added as view only at this point as the clerk is not normally a signatory. To do anything else will require a change to a Bankline account and a charge of £20 per month. The Clerk will consult DALC to check whether it would be acceptable for her to set up and authorise a payment which is then authorised by one other councillor. Two signatories sign the payment authorisation sheet presented at meetings. The Financial Regulations need to show the procedure that is being used.
Action: the Clerk to discuss the NatWest Community Account options for online payments with DALC.
d) Update on applying for funding for proposed notice board for Oakford. Cllr Baylis and Cllr Mayer have had a meeting at Ken White Signs to discuss the specifications for a notice board which will combine a map of the parish and a notice board. Due to the specific requirements for this notice board and the lack of suppliers that can provide what is required the Council will not be able to obtain three quotes. Once a price is received Cllr Baylis and Cllr Mayer will complete and submit the application form to apply for funding from the the Batsworthy Cross Wind Farm Community Fund. The price will be at around £3,000 excluding VAT. Ken White Signs will also quote for installation. Delivery will be six to eight weeks from when the order is made.
145/01/22. Plans for co-option of councillors.
There has not been a request for an election and the second vacancy can now also be filled by co-option. The same process as in February/March 2021 will be followed to hopefully co-opt two new councillors. A notice will be displayed on the notice board, Facebook page and website for 21 days inviting applications. A special meeting will be held to meet with the applicants and present them with some questions. It was noted that the Parish Council does not have to co-opt an applicant if they feel they would not be suitable for the role. A resident has approached Cllr Baylis about the vacancy but they haven’t lived in the parish for a year.
146/01/22. MDDC Parish Review 2021-22 – to discuss and decide if there are any recommendations.
There were no comments at this point but it was decided to allow Councillors a further week to suggest any changes they feel are required.
147/01/22. To discuss the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
There is a meeting on 4th March to consider what people in the parish have in mind to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. Cllr Mayer and Cllr Gould are planning to attend the meeting and Cllr Mayer has volunteered to help during the celebrations. She is also involved through the Church and Village Hall. The Parish Council will look at lighting a beacon. There is a small sum of money in the 2022-23 budget for the village celebrations. Cllr Mayer is hoping another jubilee photo can be taken. There is a photo in the village hall of Oakford residents taken as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
148/01/22. Correspondence.
The following correspondence was noted:
DALC Newsletters
MDDC – Planning administration weekly updates
149/01/22. To agree the date of the next meeting.
The next meeting will be held on 14th February 2022.
The meeting closed at 8.40pm.