Minutes from March 2020 meeting

Shobrooke Parish Council

Minutes of Parish Council meeting held in the Village Hall on Tuesday 10 March 2020 

The meeting commenced at 7.30pm 

Members Present: 

Cllr C Furse (Chair)                Cllr J Ingham

Cllr C Boult                            Cllr A Jones

Cllr B Curle                            Cllr L Pitts 

In attendance:

2 members of public, J Hole, Parish Clerk 

Business to be Transacted

Public Participation

There was none 

Formal Business

01/03/20     Apologies  

Cllr G Barnell, MDDC (personal), Cllr A Ripper (apology received after the meeting) 

02/03/20     Declaration of Interest

None noted 

03/03/20     Minutes of the last meeting held on Tuesday 11 February 2020

Amend item 6.1 to read “The damaged drain opposite the Old Post Office had NOT been repaired”

Agreed and signed as a true record 

04/03/20     To consider any applicants for co-option – two posts are available

 Standing orders were suspended to allow discussion with potential candidate

Mel Boult was present at the meeting and had written a letter of application stating that she was willing to stand as a Parish Councillor.   Her co-option was proposed by Cllr L Pitts and seconded by Cllr J Ingham and agreed unanimously.  Mel Boult duly signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office form and was welcomed to the meeting as a Parish Councillor.  The Clerk passed Cllr M Boult the Register of Interests form which needs to be completed within 28 days and returned to MDDC. Standing orders were reinstated. 

05/03/20     Mid Devon District Council

5.1              Planning Applications

None                                           

5.2              Planning Decisions:

None

5.3              To consider Local Government Boundary Commission public consultation proposals for Mid Devon which reduce MDDC wards by 3 and change ward boundaries.  See: http://www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/south-west/devon/mid-devon

Councillors had hoped to have a discussion with Cllr G Barnell regarding the proposed changes.  Clerk to check the end date for the consultation and put on next agenda if it’s still open

5.4               Report from MDDC Councillor, Cllr Graeme Barnell on MDDC business relevant to the parish

There was no report.  Clerk to advice Cllr G Barnell that Councillors were disappointed that he could not attend the meeting and ask for an update on Peddlars Pool and progress with setting a 20 mph speed limit. 

06/03/20     Road and Footpaths

6.1              Outstanding Road and Footpath issues

Various pot holes/ Damaged drain opposite old Post Office – reported to DCC/          Standing water on bend by Shobrooke Park/Bus stop trip hazard/salt bins                

There were no updates on the outstanding issues.  Cllr C Boult reported that DCC website, showed the damaged drain opposite the Old Post Office was due to inspected by 18 March and the standing water on the bend by Shobrooke Park was due to be inspected by 19 March

6.2              New issues identified

The hedge on the road down into Shobrooke from Crediton had slipped and the bank outside Clyne had also slipped – Clerk to report to DCC.

The drain by Church Lane was blocked again

The Footpath Warden had completed the annual parish path inspection which the Clerk would forward to DCC

6.3              Update on location of 20 is plenty signs

These had not been installed as better weather was required 

07/03/20     Finance

7.1              Parish Council receipts Current Account: None

7.2              Parish Council payments current account

These were agreed as:              

                   

Item	Payee	Purpose	Amount £
7.2.1	Archer Signs	Warning signs for icy conditions	175.14
7.2.2	J Hole	Salary and expenses	214.41
7.2.3	HMRC	PAYE	12.00

                                                                                                                                   

7.3              To approve signatures for this month’s cheques

Cllr C Furse and Cllr A Jones

7.4              Balances:

7.4.1          Parish Council Current Account balance: £1,027.80

7.4.2           Parish Council Footpath balance (in above current account figure): £311.74

7.4.3          Parish Council Reserve Account balance: £7,795.67 (£3,250.00 ringfenced for play equipment)

7.5             Financial Statement and Budget Monitor

Noted.  Cllr J Ingham queried the Clerks salary and expenses figures which did not appear to balance from last months figures.  Clerk to investigate and report back 

08/03/20     Councillor’s Reports                                    

8.1              To consider any Councillor reports for areas of responsibility

Cllr C Furse gave a brief report from the Raddon Hills meeting held on 24 February. There was a new sergeant in Crediton, Kelly Saffin (Kelly.saffin@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk). There was a lot of discussion on the poor state of the roads. The broadband roll out in Devon was behind compared to other areas due to contractual problems with providers and the results of an open market review would be available by the end of the year.  Some parishes commented that the proposed ward boundary changes did not take into account physical barriers such as main roads and rivers.  Other parishes also had little or no salt supplies. 

8.2              Playing Fields report

The Play Park inspection had taken place yesterday and Cllr C Boult had accompanied the inspector.  Several problems had been identified.

i) The stepping stones were moving due to the wet ground

ii) The wooden cross beams on the zip wire were decaying and the wire had dropped due to water issues and the zip wire was currently out of action

iii) The wooden cross beams on the toddler swing were rotten and had been removed

The park was currently water logged and in some place there was 2” of water.  It was agreed to close the park and Cllr C Boult would put up a notice to explain it was closed due to water damage.   Cllr C Furse would check back on the park paperwork as some of the equipment may have a 10-year warranty.

MDDC had yet to agree the s106 grant as the Officer dealing with it was still off sick.  A new officer had taken over and had asked for the grant application to be resubmitted.    

09/03/20     Clerk’s Report

9.1              None 

10/03/20     Parish Council

10.1            To consider any training needs for new co-opted councillors

Clerk to advice Cllr M Boult of dates for new Councillor training and to check DALC Finance course dates for Cllr J Ingham

10.2            Arrangements for Annual Parish Meeting ahead of next PC meeting

Clerk to invite new Police Sergeant to attend and find out if anyone from MDDC was able to give further details on the proposed ward boundary changes.

10.3             Should the Parish Council write a Community Emergency Plan?        

 After discussion it was agreed to consider further and Cllr B Curle would find a template 

11/03/20     Devon County Council

11.1            Report from DCC Councillor, Cllr M Squires on DCC business relevant to the parish

There was no report 

12/03/20     Miscellaneous Correspondence

A parishioner had enquired about the Parish Councils opinion regarding 5G. Councillors thought it was early days for this technology and would be guided by advice that come out in due course

An update on DCC Climate emergency had been circulated 

13/03/20     Minor Matters and Items for Future Agenda

None 

14/03/20     Date of next meeting: Tuesday 14 April 2020, Annual Parish Meeting at 7.00 pm in the Village Hall, followed by Parish Council meeting 

End of formal business 

The meeting closed at 8.20pm