Parish Council Minutes: August 2025
DRAFT MINUTES
These minutes will be agreed at the meeting on 8th September 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 11th August 2025.
Present:
Cllr’s J Levick (Chair), G Baylis, J Cridland, F Cross, L Gould, J Mayer and V Stevens.
In attendance:
District Cllr’s C Adcock & M Stratton and the Clerk, Mrs J Larcombe.
42/07/25. To receive apologies for absence.
Apologies were received from County Cllr S Lodge.
43/07/25. Declarations of Interest.
Cllr Cridland declared a personal and prejudicial interest as her son is employed by Hampton Maintenance. Cllr Mayer declared a personal and prejudicial interest regarding Spurway Barton as she does some work for the owners.
44/07/25. Public Forum.
No members of the public.
45/07/25. To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 17th July 2025 as an accurate record of the meeting.
The minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting and duly signed by the Chair.
46/07/25. Matters arising from the minutes, not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
None.
47/07/25. Planning
a) To comment on any planning applications received before the meeting..
25/00846/FULL Erection of roof over existing farm yard manure store.
Location: Land at NGR 291002 122846 Blackaller Farm, Oakford. Decision: Oakford
Parish Council support the application.
25/01083/CAT Application to reduce canopy height and length of overhanging branches of Sycamore/Ash hedge line (H1) by 1-2m; Reduce the height of one Silver Birch tree (SB1) by 4-5m and reduction of side branches, reduce the height of Silver Birch trees (SB2-5) in line with SB1 to retain aesthetic look within the conservation area. Location: Rowan House, Oakford. No comment.
b) To note any planning decisions made by MDDC.
None.
c) Update on alleged planning breaches.
No updates.
Cllr Adcock was asked to follow up with planning enforcement the planning breach on the field adjoining the village that has been reported to them. When Rachel Gilmour was the District Councillor she reported that planning enforcement was one of the Chief Executive’s Key Performance Indicators. The Clerk was asked to write to the Chief Executive and Director of Place to express councillors concerns that the matter is not being dealt with.
Action: The Clerk to write to the Chief Executive and Director of Place MDDC.
In addition to concerns about the continuing planning breach it was alleged that the owners are not using the compost toilet and have been burning plastic bags of human excrement.
d) Any other planning matters.
The Clerk reported that she had attended the Town and Parish Planning Briefing held on 28 July 2025. The topics covered were the new housing targets for Local Planning Authorities and the impact on decision making at MDDC now the Local Plan is 5 years old; the Planning & Infrastructure Bill’s new approach to the role of planning committees including a national scheme of delegation confirming which applications would and would not be capable of referral to committee by towns, parishes and ward councillors and the preparation of a new Local Plan for Mid Devon. She will receive the recording and slides when she receives them.
Action: the Clerk to share the recording and slides from the planning training when received.
48/07/25. Highways:
a) Any matters to note or report.
None.
b) Update on flooding issues/blocked drains.
No update as the weather has continued to be dry.
c) Update on improvements to the fingerpost signs.
The central name plaque has been removed from the signpost at Esworthy Cross by. The lettering has been cleaned and has come up well. The wood will be replaced and painted and the letters added. Depending on the success of this restoration, others in the parish may then be smartened up.
d) Any other highways matters.
No other highways matters.
49/07/25. Footpaths
a) Update on P3 funding.
The Parish Council has still not received a purchase order number yet. Following the Clerk’s complaint to DCC about the lack of payment of the P3 Grant a response was received on 23rd July from Richard Walton, Public Rights of Way & Country Parks Manager. In his response he said he was very sorry that the standards of service had been below acceptable levels. He also said he order number for Oakford should be raised before the end of this week (25th July). That number has still not been sent. The Clerk will email Donna Manson, DCC Chief Executive, to raise the Parish Council’s concerns. As two other local Parish Councils have been paid their grants it feels that Oakford Parish Council is being punished for making a complaint.
Action: The Clerk to complain to Donna Manson, DCC Chief Executive, about still not receiving the purchase order no to invoice for the P3 grant.
b) Any other footpath matters.
Any problems should be reported to Mr Cridland.
Some work is required on the 100 steps on Footpath 7 and the Clerk suggested Mr Cridland speaks to Stuart Howells, Public Rights of Way Warden, about this.
Action: Mr Cridland to contact Stuart Howell about the work required on the 100 steps, Footpath 7.
50/07/25. Reports:
a) District Cllr Report.
A written report was circulated by email prior to the meeting.
The District Cllrs offered to hold a surgery prior to the Parish Council meetings.
b) County Cllr Report.
No report.
51/07/25. Community Area:
a) Any points to note from inspections of community area.
No concerns were reported. Cllr Stevens will attend to the pinch point on the entrance gate which is believed to come from the right-hand side.
Action: Cllr Stevens to attend to the pinch point on the entrance gate.
b) To receive quotes for the refurbishment of the pavilion interior.
A quote has been received from Hampton Maintenance. Cllr Levick will obtain at least one more quote.
c) Update on the possibilities of creating a footpath from the Village Hall car park to the Community Area.
There was positive feedback from the site meeting with the landowner which took place prior to the Parish Council meeting. The landowner is supportive but the Council will have to wait to hear from the other partner. Cllr Stevens has been looking into how the footpath could be constructed. It is very wet field and height is the way to go for the footpath. Dogs are a concern so the footpath would have to be fenced so they couldn’t get through. Grant funding will need to be obtained to cover the cost of construction. An application could be made to the Batsworthy Cross Wind Farm Grant Fund.
d) Any matters to note.
None.
52/07/25. Finance
a) To approve any invoices or expense claims presented for payment.
It was resolved to make the following payment: Mrs J Larcombe - £158.34 Clerk’s salary for July and printing expenses (Payment ref: 2526/14).
b) To note any receipts since the last meeting and the bank balance.
Since the last meeting there have been no receipts.
The Current Account balance is £500.00. and the Instant Access Account balance is £16,273.31
c) Bank reconciliation 31.07.25.
The bank reconciliation was checked by Cllr Stevens.
53/07/25. Plans for co-opting a councillor if there is no request for an election.
The official notice from MDDC has been displayed and the 14 working days it needs to be displayed is coming to an end. If there is no request for an election from ten people or more the Parish Council will be able to co-opt. In that case information will be displayed on the notice board and website and posted on Facebook.
Action: the Clerk to advertise the vacancy if MDDC do not receive a request for an election.
54/07/25. Correspondence.
The following was noted:
DALC Newsletters
MDDC press releases Clerk’s salary
MDDC – Household Support Fund open
55/07/25. To agree a response to the email from MDDC ‘Council shares a year of achievements’.
Cllr Baylis had shared an email he had received from MDDC. It was generally felt that this was a self-congratulatory message which deserved which deserved a response from the Parish Council, as there was no mention of ‘major areas for improvement’. For instance, the 2024/25 Q4 dashboard shows that “Planning Enforcement: Total Open Cases (Current)” stands at 383. The fact that there were only 48 new enforcement cases in the quarter indicates the size of the problem. However, since there are no targets for the planning enforcement categories, they are not flagged as red on the dashboard. Cllr Cridland will compose a response.
Action: Cllr Cridland to compose a response.
56/07/25. To confirm the date of the next meeting.
The next meeting will be held on Monday 8th September 2025 at 7.30pm.