Parish Council Minutes: September 2024
These minutes will be agreed at the October Parish Council meeting 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 at 7.30pm on Monday 9th September 2024
Present:
Cllr’s G Baylis (Chair), J Cridland, J Mayer and V Stevens
In attendance:
District Cllr C Adcock and the Clerk, Mrs J Larcombe.
59/09/24. To receive apologies for absence.
Apologies were accepted from Cllr’s F Cross,
L Gould, J Levick and P Potter. Apologies were accepted from County Cllr R Chesterton and District Cllr R Gilmour.
60/09/24. Declarations of Interest.
Cllr Mayer declared a personal interest as she has been doing some work at Spurway Barton. Cllr Stevens declared a personal and pecuniary interest in item 69/09/24 a) because of his expense claim.
61/09/24. Public Forum.
No members of the public present.
62/09/24. To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 12th August 2024 as an accurate record of the meeting.
The minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting and they were duly signed by the Chair.
63/09/24. Matters arising from the minutes, not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
None.
64/09/24. Planning
a) To comment on any planning applications received before the meeting.
No applications received.
b) To note any planning decisions made by MDDC.
24/01087/PNAG Prior Notification for the erection of an agricultural livestock building and formation of access track. Location: Land at NGR 286306 123132 (West Woodburn), Oakford. Decision: prior approval not required.
c) Update on alleged planning breaches.
The Planning Enforcement team remains under-resourced and the recruitment process continues. The need to improve Planning Enforcement is receiving attention at Cabinet level and consideration is being given to funding more effective enforcement in the (challenging) budget planning for the next financial year.John Millar, MDDC Area West Planning Lead, continues to work on resolving the Planning breaches at Spurway Barton and he has said that communications with the agent have improved.
d) Any other planning matters.
The Government consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework closes on 24th September. The reforms are intended to allow them to meet their pledges on sustainable housing and economic development. MDDC are studying the proposals in detail and will submit their response to the 106 questions in the consultation document. The Consultation is open to any individual or body to respond to, including Parish Councils should
they wish to. Cllr Cridland commented that it was still important for communities to be involved in commenting on planning applications. With the mandated increased housing targets there is a need to protect agricultural land, the environment and ancient woodland. MDDC has to produce a Local Plan that allows for 571 new homes to be built in mid-Devon every year, a challenging 65% increase on the previous figure of 346. Cllr Cridland will draft a response to the NPPF from Oakford Parish Council and will circulate by email for comment.After many years of work, £33M of funding for the long awaited Cullompton relief road has been secured from Homes England.
Action: Cllr Cridland to draft a response to the NPPF consultation and circulate for comments from the rest of the council. The Clerk to submit by September 24th.
65/09/24. Highways:
a) Any matters to note or report.
Overgrown hedges have been trimmed. Road signs on the triangle at Black Cat have been damaged. Another road sign at Black Cat looks like it has been cleaned.
b) Update on flooding issues/blocked drains.
There has been no flooding during recent rain. The flooding on the main road was actually coming out of the drain and Highways are believed to have done some work to rectify this.
c) Update on improving signage on Hangmans Hill.
No update.
d) Approval for parish map.
A small, low resolution, version of the map and the index has been put on the parish website asking people to have a look and comment by 9th September if they spot a mistake. No comments have been received and the map is ready to be printed. Cllr Baylis will have a final discussion with the printers. Prior to it being printed There are lots of different sprays that could be used on the map for ultra violet protection but Ken White Signs have confirmed that the map will have a laminated finish with UV protection already in it. It was agreed not to
add information from What 3 Words.
Action: Cllr Baylis to have a final discussion with Ken White Signs prior to the map being printed.
66/09/24. Footpaths
a) Update on handover to new P3 Co-ordinator.
Cllr Baylis has received an email from Mr Northcott, formally resigning as the Oakford P3 Co-ordinator. In his email he said that he hoped that someone could be found to replace him. Cllr Baylis will let him know that Lee Cridland will be taking over as the P3 Co-ordinator and Mr Cridland will arrange to meet with him. Councillors thanked Tony and Maggie Northcott for all their hard work over many years. Cllr Cridland will send a thank you card from the Parish Council. It was agreed to consider how a plaque dedicated to Mr Northcott could be placed on a footpath.
Actions: Cllr Baylis to inform Mr Northcott that Mr Cridland will be the new P3 Co-ordinator.
Mr Cridland to arrange to meet with Mr Northcott.
Cllr Cridland to send a thank you card from the Parish Council.
Parish Council to consider how a dedication plaque could be placed on a footpath.
b) Update on 2024-25 P3 funding.
The Clerk reported she had emailed the DCC Rights of Way mailbox and Jon Boyd. She had received an automated response from the Rights of Way mailbox saying she would receive a reply within 28 days. No response has been received yet. Jon Boyd has not replied to the email sent to him. The Clerk will follow this up.
Action: the Clerk to continue to pursue this.
67/09/24. Reports:
a) County Cllr Report.
No report.
b) District Cllr Report.
A written report from Cllr Adcock had been circulated by email. He noted the Government has changed the rules regarding onshore wind turbines with immediate effect. This places it on the same footing as other forms of renewable electricity generation. As a result, more applications for onshore wind turbines are expected in the near future. Information about the canal consultation was included in Cllr Adcock’s report.
The consultation period for the Public Open Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) ended at the end of August and it is hoped the amended PSPO will have come into effect before the next meeting.
68/09/24. Community Area:
a) Any points to note from inspections of community area.
No points to note as Cllr Levick was away and the Clerk had not received an inspection report.
b) To discuss the possibilities of creating a footpath from the Village Hall car park to the Community Area.
Cllr Stevens has not had time to speak to the landowners but hopes to have done so by the next meeting.
Action: Cllr Stevens to speak to the landowners.
c) Any matters to note.
Some of the young trees in the community area need posts to support them.
A working party will be arranged to cut back the trees at the entrance to the community area. This will be added as an agenda item for the next meeting.
Cllr Mayer will message Mr Bannister about Owl boxes.
Actions: The Clerk to add arranging a working party to cut back the trees at the entrance to the community area as an item for the next agenda.
Posts need to be provided to support the young trees.
Cllr Mayer to message Mr Bannister about Owl boxes.
69/09/24. Finance
a) To approve any invoices or expense claims presented for payment.
It was resolved to make the following payments:
Hampton Maintenance - £180.00 grass cutting (Payment ref: 2425/19)
Mrs J Larcombe - £150.45 Clerk’s salary for August (Payment ref: 2425/20)
Since the last meeting a payment of £180.00 has been made to Hampton Maintenance (Payment ref: 2425/18)
The service charge of £18.00 will be taken at the end of September. From the end of September the service charge will be taken monthly at £6 per month.
An internal transfer will be made from the Instant Access Account to the Current Account to return the balance to £500.00
b) To note any receipts since the last meeting and the bank balance.
There have been no receipts.
The Current Account balance is £500.00 and the Instant Access Account balance is £14,486.17.
c) Bank reconciliation 31.08.24.
The bank reconciliation was checked and signed by Cllr Mayer.
70/09/24. Arrangements for defibrillator training.
Cllr Baylis was unavailable for the only date available in September and no one else volunteered to be in charge. No dates are available in October so the training will have to be arranged for a date in November. Cllr Baylis will arrange the training for a Saturday morning and he will book the hall.
Action: Cllr Baylis to book the defibrillator training for a Saturday morning in November. He will also book the hall.
71/09/24. Correspondence:
The following correspondence was noted.
DALC Newsletters
MDDC press releases
MDDC – latest side waste statistics, details of drop-in surgeries and online social media link
Mid Devon Matters e Newsletter Summer 2024
Mid Devon Walking Festival information
MDDC – invitation for the Chair to attend the MDDC Civic Service on Sunday 20th October at St Paul’s Church, Tiverton.
Tiverton Town Council – invitation for the Chair to attend the Mayor of Tiverton’s Civic Service at St Peters Church on Sunday 13th October.
72/09/24. To confirm the date of the next meeting.
The Clerk reported she had double booked herself on Monday 14th October 2024 and asked if the date could be changed to Tuesday 15th October. Councillor availability will be checked.
The meeting closed at 8.45pm.