Parish Council Minutes: September 2025
DRAFT MINUTES
These minutes will be agreed at the meeting on 13th October 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 8th September.
Present:
Cllr’s J Levick (Chair), G Baylis, J Cridland, F Cross, J Mayer and V Stevens.
In attendance:
County Cllr S Lodge and the Clerk, Mrs J Larcombe.
57/09/25. To receive apologies for absence.
Apologies were accepted from Cllr L Gould.
Apologies were received from District Cllr’s C Adcock and M Stratton.
58/09/25. 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.
59/09/25. Public Forum.
No members of the public present.
60/09/25. To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 11th August 2025 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.
61/09/25. Matters arising from the minutes, not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
None.
62/09/25. Co-option of councillor.
To consider and make a decision on applications for co-option. Two applications received. The applicants will be invited to meet the Parish Council before the next meeting at 7.15pm.
63/09/25. 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) Update on alleged planning breaches.
Cllr Adcock emailed councillors and the clerk to report he had raised the issues with senior officers at MDDC by email,and he had received quite a lengthy response but there was little comfort for the breaches at Oakford.
In summary, firstly they quote policy at https://www.middevon.gov.uk/media/356795/mddc-planning-enforcement-policy-2024.pdf (Page 6, Section 4 bullet point 2) “Due to the nature of investigations and keeping in line with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation 2018) we are unable to update or discuss with person/s reporting a breach until the investigation reaches a conclusion or information is in the public domain.” This explains why the Council receives little feedback on alleged breaches.
Secondly, the team has a very high workload and has to prioritise cases on the basis of urgency and harm being done. The ones in Oakford are classed as low priority in the face of many serious cases across the district that involve court action, irreversible damage and criminal behaviour.
The senior Enforcement Officer is currently putting together files for no less than 8 separate prosecutions and 16 Enforcement Notices. To try to tackle the backlog, the Council has allocated budget and has been trying to recruit a senior enforcement officer for more than a year but without success, it is an unpopular role and they are a scarce resource. Regarding the 'Yurt field', the timescale for enforcement action and alleged change of use is still quite long and alongside the lack of irreversible damage being done, this would be the reason for the low priority. .
Cllr Adcock has asked for more publicity about the work of the Enforcement Team to get across that MDDC is taking action with the aim of deterring people from ignoring planning rules in order to try to reduce the workload in the longer term. More reporting of Enforcement action is being considered seriously.
d) Any other planning matters.
No other planning matters.
64/09/25. Highways:
a) Any matters to note or report.
None.
b) Update on flooding issues/blocked drains.
There has been some rain following the dry weather during the summer but no issues were reported. Hedge trimming has started.
c) Update on improvements to the fingerpost signs.
The central name plaque from the signpost at Esworthy Cross has been refurbished. Before and after photos were shared. Mr Cridland was thanked.
d) Any other highways matters.
No other highways matters.
65/09/25. Footpaths
a) Update on P3 funding.
The funding has still not been received and the Clerk will follow this up.
Action: the Clerk to contact the DCC Public Rights of Way Department to find out why the Council has still not received the P3 funding.
b) Any other footpath matters.
Repairing the 100 steps on Footpath 7 is likely to be the next big project. Mr Cridland is arranging to meet with Stuart Howell. DCC Public Rights of Way Warden. They will also discuss the footpath issue in the ‘Yurt’ field.
66/09/25. Reports:
a) District Cllr Report.
Cllr Adcock and Cllr Stratton had given their apologies. Their written report had been circulated by email prior to the meeting.
b) County Cllr Report.
A written report was circulated by email prior to the meeting.
Cllr Lodge reported that he had attended a Full Council meeting on 4th September and the following motions were put forward:
- Endorsing a countywide ban on student smartphone use during the school day from the start of the next academic year in September 2026.
- Agreeing that the council will actively promote activities and information that challenges hate crime, including noting the National Hate Crime Awarenss Week in October.
- Supporting a new policy to permit 20’s plenty where people live, work, play and go to school and the implementation of 20mph zones, where the local Parish Council has passed the 20’s Plenty motion.
- Call on the UK Government to introduce legislation requiring large supermarkets, major farming operations, and hospitality businesses to donate all safe-to-eat surplus food to registered charities or redistribution organisations,
67/09/25. Community Area:
a) Any points to note from inspections of community area.
Cllr Levick has supplied a copy of his inspection report to the Clerk. Due to the dry weather the grass didn’t need cutting in August. Cllr Stevens was thanked for repairing the gate.
A windowpane in the pavilion was broken and 4mm perspex will be used for the repair.
b) To receive quotes for the refurbishment of the pavilion interior.
Cllr Levick is still trying to get a second quote. Nick Hampton will provide a new quote on reversing the wood.
c) To receive any update on the possibilities of creating a footpath from the Village Hall car park to the Community Area.
No official feedback.
d) Any matters to note.
None.
68/09/25. Finance
a) To approve any invoices or expense claims presented for payment.
It was resolved to make the following payment: Mrs J Larcombe - £198.73. Salary for August and backpay. Councillors approved the new salary rate for 2025-26, backdated to 1st April 2025 (Payment ref: 2526/16)
A service charge of £6.00 was taken from the current account at the end of August. and a service charge of £6.00 will be taken from the account at the end of September. An internal transfer will be made from the Instant Access account to the Current account to return the balance to £500.00.
It was agreed that Cllr Cross could book a NALC planning training course.
b) To note any receipts since the last meeting and the bank balance.
Since the last meeting a VAT refund of £,1662.11has been received. The Current account balance is £500.00 and the Instant Access account balance is £11,373.57.
c) Bank reconciliation 31.08.25. Cllr Stevens checked the bank reconciliation against the bank statement.
69/09/25. Correspondence:
The following correspondence was noted:
DALC Newsletters
MDDC press releases
MDDC consultation on Animal Welfare Licencing Policy
MDDC – free and discounted energy advice now available in Mid Devon
MDDC – State of the District Debate 17th September 5.30pm
MDDC - Pots and Pans Collections starting 15th September, Recycle More, Latest Side Waste Data.
70/09/25. To note the response to the email from MDDC ‘Council shares a year of achievements’.
Cllr Cridland had produced the following draft response:
We refer to the Leader’s Annual Report which lays out the council’s achievements for the past year. Whilst there are areas to be applauded, the most recent survey by the MDDC suggests that only 52% of residents are very or fairly satisfied with the way the council runs things. We would like to make a suggestion for an area of improvement that we believe is very important and would increase resident satisfaction here in Oakford and neighbouring parishes. Our experience as a parish council suggests people feel strongly that they should have a voice in the shaping of their community and they want to have confidence in the planning process.Therefore, reliable planning enforcement is one of the most important issues to residents when things go wrong. Currently however, there is disillusionment and disappointment with the lack of planning enforcement by MDDC. There is also a perception that it is not a priority for the council and that breaches are on the increase because of the lack of a response when suspected breaches are reported. This would appear to be borne out by the statistics on the council’s performance dashboard which reveal a worrying trend. The Q4 figures show a total of 383 open cases with more new cases received (48) in the quarter than were closed (42). This suggests an ever increasing backlog and we are concerned that, with no performance targets for planning enforcement on the dashboard, this will become a permanent situation. Only MDDC has the power to set a timetable for addressing the backlog of reported breaches and we believe that targets would demonstrate a greater commitment to reducing the outstanding cases in a reasonable timescale.
Whilst policy on planning enforcement is published on the website, we would really like to see MDDC go further and commit to a charter. This would ideally set out targets for the completion of investigations and would be clear on the process that is to be followed and how to complain when this doesn’t happen. In Oakford and neighbouring parishes, we have alleged breaches dating back three years or more that are still outstanding. These are cases that potentially have caused irreversible harm or have impacted the amenity of residents. We know that the lack of action causes anger and frustration. We appreciate that there have been challenges in recruiting planning enforcement officers and that there will continue to be challenges to funding, in an area that is discretionary and not statutory. However, an effective enforcement function is essential to a credible planning service and as new planning legislation increases the likelihood of impact for rural parishes, it is critical that the council is seen to be tackling a key component for the shaping of our communities.
We therefore believe that if MDDC is to ‘continue to deliver on it’s promises, whilst adapting to change and placing residents at the heart, then is important to listen to those residents.
The Clerk reminded everyone about the Planning Charter between MDDC and its Town and Parish Councils which was reviewed earlier this year. Cllr Cridland will Tweak the response.
71/09/25. To confirm the date of the next meeting.
Monday 13th October 2025
The meeting closed at 8.45pm.