Minutes March 25 2019
Minutes of Stoodleigh Parish Council held on March 25th 2019, in the Village Hall at 7.00pm
Members present -: Chairman Cllr P Talbot Vice Chair Cllr D Honnor Cllr W Knowles Cllr G Parkman Cllr P Pennington Cllr A Rigamonti
1. Apologies – these were received from Cllr Biles & District Cllr A Moore, District Cllr R Stanley substituted.
2. Declarations of Interest – there were none
3. The Public – there was no one present
4. Minutes of the Parish Council and Planning Meetings, held January 28th and March 5th respectively – these were approved and signed as a correct record.
5. Reports
a) County Councillor Polly Colthorpe sent a detailed report as attached. However she did state that there were 2 additional reports on the CIRS website that might be of interest. The first concerns the correction of Broadband problems experienced in Devon. Gigaclear who were contracted to solve these will be unable to meet the target of upgrading 95% within the target time and thus have been granted an extension. This work comes under the banner of Connecting Devon and Somerset. The Winter Service Report explains the problems incurred last winter when freezing rain reduced the effectiveness of gritting the roads. A particular request to give priority gritting around primary schools has been considered but staff attendance, who often live further away is also an issue when trying to keep a school open in adverse weather. DCC has been commended for best practice on several accounts.
District Cllr Stanley had only limited information to cascade as with forthcoming elections the local government is in a state of purdah. The landscaping in Market Walk is looking good. The number of unoccupied dwellings within the area has been significantly reduced in last 2 years. Cllr Biles had sent a summary of comments from residents who might possibly be affected by the new LED light outside Hillcrest. This could be rectified in various ways.
b) Parish Councillors Cllr Pennington raised a number of issues. Footpath No.2 has fallen tree, at Footpath No. 3 the finger post is in need of major repair and a large pothole, probably caused by a collapsed drain has appeared on the church path. As yet she has not received a response from the expected department. A warning cone is to be placed over the pothole. Litter pick – Cllr Pennington would like to organise something in the next month before the vegetation obscures the problem. District Cllr Stanley will once again help with equipment to carry this out and arrange collection of the bags..
6. Planning
19/00166/FULL Retention of gateway access Steart Farm – awaiting decision. Apparently the Highways Department has also expressed concerns with the visibility of road access.
19/00237/CAT Tree felling Orchard View – permitted
19/00281/HOUSE Erection of a 2 storey elevation, Ridgeway, 1 Court Gardens – awaiting decision
7. Signpost Restoration – there has not been much volunteer interest to restore the 2 remaining signposts. The replacement letters held in a DCC store are insufficient to complete the work. The subject will be raised at a later date.
8. The Playground – following on from the recent safety report the Chairman has been investigating some of the needed repairs. It was AGREED that purchasing a single length of timber would be sufficient to replace 2 posts and provide an additional horizontal bar, ACTION Cllr Talbot. The amended gatepost passed official inspection but once the replacement has been treated to extend longevity this will be renewed, ACTION Cllr Knowles. A notice is to go out on community email offering logs in exchange for someone to action the fallen tree with a chain saw. It was thought prudent to ask for learned opinion on the stability of the other trees. Resurfacing is a costly process. The preparation required before laying rubber matting might be prohibitive rather than the actual cost of purchase. The decision was taken to try to rotovate the existing bark, to improve aeration before proceeding with a major spend. ACTION Cllr Knowles Some S106 funding is still available and it was DECIDED to reserve £6000 if possible to either go towards the resurfacing or installing a Trim Trail feature. Cllr Biles had been tasked with pricing various pieces of new equipment and in his absence it was thought better to defer the subject to the next meeting.
9. The Annual Parish Meeting – in view of the possible change of council members in May and the short time scale it was felt that the previous year’s format should be followed and the usual interested organisations/parties involved with Stoodleigh invited. The signpost restoration and playground upgrade are possibilities for the agenda.
10. Election – there is some interest from parishioners in addition to the existing council members
11. Risk Assessment –this was signed off for the auditor. The only amendment was the time to rectify any playground issues identified during the annual inspection be extended to 6 months.
12. Finance – Current HSBC balance as at 12/3/19 is £7548.99. The following payments were APPROVED RoSPA £82.20 Clerk’s salary for 6 months £720 Admin Expenses £46.53 HMRC £180 Village Hall £28 Actual expenditure for the year £3835.55 which is within budget.