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Minutes Council Meeting July 31 2023

Minutes of the Meeting of Stoodleigh Parish Council held on the 31st July 2023, in the Village Hall at 7.00pm

Members – Chairman Cllr W Knowles  Vice Chair Cllr J Widdowson  Cllr S Davey  Cllr J Mansfield  Cllr G Parkman  Cllr C Payne  Cllr D Wotton

County Councillor R Chesterton  District Councillors Rachel Gilmour and Chris Adcock

 6.30pm District Councillors Chris Adcock and Rachel Gilmour were available on site and it was encouraging to see several residents take the opportunity to have a face to face discussion. Additional accommodation will be needed if this continues during the winter months.

  1. Apologies – there were none
  2. Declarations of Interest – none declared
  3. The Public – 2 members present
  4. Minutes of the Meetings held 17th April, 22nd May, 30th June, July 21st were approved and signed as a true record. The planning minutes of July 25th are to be signed at a later date.
  5. Planning Reports and Outcomes

23/00408/CAT Notification of intention to fell 1 garden maple within a conservation area, Rowhill – no objection

23/00542/CAT Extensive tree surgery on 7 trees within the conservation area, Court Gardens Cottage – no objection

23/00702/PNAG Prior notification of an agricultural building NGR 293090 119405, East Stoodleigh Barton, road from Dryhill x to Hazels X - refused

23/00782/CAT Notification to fell 26 Lleyandi trees, 1 hazel and 1 ash within the conservation area at The Cotswold – no objection

23/00786/HOUSE conversion of a garage to ancillary accommodation including erection of a link extension, Jessamine Cottage – full permission granted

23/00837/FULL Erection of an agricultural building Ash Hill Farm NGR 291686 – permission granted with some conditions

23/00928/FULL Conversion of the front entrance hall and adjacent room into a village shop, The Old Post Office – decision awaited

23/01085/HOUSE & 23/01087/LBC erection of a single storey extension following demolition of Community kitchen extension; replacement of windows with double glazed units; removal of part stone wall to provide access for parking and relocation of the oil tank, Court Gardens – decision awaited

NDDC 74775 Planning appeal by James Pryce for relocation of business and development to Stonelands X – decision awaited. A vote was taken as to whether to modify the original submission sent to North Devon District Council from Stoodleigh Parish Council. The decision to object still stands, 4 votes to 3. Highway and traffic issues were the major concerns therefore no further submission to be made.

  1. Reports

County and District County Councillors

A copy of Richard Chesterton’s report has been circulated, copy attached. The main points being that road markings are being refreshed, an additional vehicle is being used to repair potholes and the longer daylight hours are being utilised to help address the problem. Community policing has been somewhat increased by giving the Grand Western Canal staff limited powers to tackle anti-social behaviour in and around the canal area.

Chris Adcock is Chairman of the Homes Policy Development Group especially involved with homeless  issues, also with environmental concerns and would welcome any comments on either as policies are still being formulated. Rachel Gilmour is the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee and a firm believer in looking at the wider picture when drawing conclusions and working to meet Key Performance Indicators.  With a particular interest in planning the 3 Rivers development will feature on the September agenda.  Unless there is a specific reason for secrecy there should be total transparency on how public funds are being spent.   Interestingly she made several points regards planning. MDDC choose to have 2 dedicated planning enforcement officers but are still somewhat understaffed. Planning applications are often decided using google mapping and not be actually visiting the site, so there may some cause for argument in a few situations. MDDC have strict government targets to meet and also if a planning decision is reversed at appeal the department will incur a fine.

Parish Councillors

The sign at Vial’s corner has been damaged by a hedge trimmer. This needs reporting on line.

  1. Training – the course “How to be a Good Councillor” held at Bampton was attended by 3 members. The feedback was most positive but it did highlight some current in- house short comings which will be corrected. Additional booklets would be requested.
  2. Highways -

Progress on pothole repair is officially reported as improving and the number still outstanding is much better apparently than in February.

The “20s Plenty initiative” which Totnes Town Council have been encouraging where parishes coordinate requests rather try and solve a problem individually has gained some momentum. 48 parishes have signed up but the criteria to get the reduced speed limit introduced is being republished. Locations around schools are obvious candidates. It was decided to circulate the letter and canvas residents for their opinion, the council are in favour of curbing speeding within the village.

  1. Playground – Cllr Davey drew attention to the slide needing attention. It is very costly to replace items and the additional precept money will eventually be used for this. The grass cutting has gone well and even the church path has been trimmed.

The boundary wall is yet to be repaired. The Clerk will draft a letter to the Church giving them total responsibility for ownership, unanimously agreed by 6 votes. Cllr Mansfield took no part in this discussion declaring an interest.

  1. Washfield Definitive Map Review, Proposal 2 decision delayed – a final decision on the status of “Watery Lane” will be taken in November. Those in favour of retaining it for public access and can provide proof of use can still complete and submit a form.
  2. The Clerk – The potential replacement for the post had decided to withdraw and subject to some modifications the current clerk agreed to continue in the short term. In the meantime the job description would be updated. Further discussion to continue immediately after the meeting.
  3. Finance Regulations, proposed addition under Section 6.6

“Subject to an agreed vote by the council an individual member may research and purchase articles or services, for the benefit of the parish to be reimbursed at the next available opportunity”. This was following a recommendation from the auditor and was unanimously adopted.

  1. Finance

HSBC current account as at 12/7/23 £12,613.15

A copy of the Cashflow spread sheet was shown to Cllr Mansfield and as a result of the recent training attended he highlighted that St Margaret’s Church will no longer be eligible for the annual donation which has been made for many years towards the churchyard upkeep. This is apparently illegal and discriminatory.

Payments were approved to M Berry £350  J Larcombe £70  Clerk £240  HMRC £60