Minutes Council Meeting September 1 2026
Draft Minutes of the Meeting of Stoodleigh Parish Council, held at 7pm on Tuesday 01 September 2026 at Stoodleigh Village Hall
Present: Cllr J Widdowson (Vice Chair). Cllr D Wotton, Cllr R Wotton, Cllr Baker, Cllr J Mansfield, Cllr C Payne
District Councillor. Cllr C Adcock
1. Apologies for absence
Cllr W Knowles (Chair), District Councillor Cllr Stratton
In the absence of Cllr Knowles (Chair), Cllr J Widdowson took the Chair for the meeting.
2. Welcome newly co-opted Parish Councillor
The chair welcomed Cllr M Baker as the newly Co-opted Parish Councillor.
3. Declarations of Interest – none declared
4. Community Emergency Hubs session with Lewis Dyson, Resilience Officer, Mid Devon District Council. - This session has been postponed as the Resilience Officer was not able to attend due to unforeseen circumstances.
5. The Public – opportunity for the public to speak on agenda items.
A member of the public introduced themselves and explained the reason for applying for a Premises Licence. The business only hosts pre-booked weddings and events and has managed by using existing arrangements. The Venue is now being asked to provide the whole package for events and therefore need a more permanent licensing arrangement. As there are horses on site, they are sensitive to excessive noise.
6. The draft Minutes of Parish Council meeting held 7 July 2026 were agreed and signed as a true record.
7. The draft minutes of Planning meeting held 21 July 2026 were agreed and signed as a true record.
8. The draft minutes of meeting held to Co-opt a Parish Councillor to fill Vacancy, 21 July 2026 were agreed and signed as a true record.
9. The draft minutes of meeting held 21 July to discuss the Road Warden Scheme were agreed and signed as a true record.
10. Matters arising from Minutes of 7 July 2026
a) Highways
Update on road sweeping.
Road sweeping has taken place and being done as expected. The frequency of visits will be monitored.
Update on flooded roads.
There has been some confusion over location. Clerk to contact member of public who originally reported the issue.
b) update on play area and annual inspection.
Booking for playground inspection was accepted but so far not completed.
c) Clerk and Councillors email accounts and new website.
It was agreed by the Parish Councillors that the Parish Council would wait to change websites until nearer the time when MDDC stop hosting the Parish Council website as there will be a cost to having our own.
It was agreed that the Clerk email address should be moved to a .gov.uk address before the end of March 2027.
It was acknowledged that the Parish Councillors should have .gov.uk email addresses. Cllr R Wotton to look into the cost.
All Policies and finance information needs to be retained and will need to be moved to the new website.
d) where to position 20’s plenty signs.
Cllr Widdowson and Cllr Mansfield have noted suitable locations and identified the ///what three words supported by photographs for each one. Cllr Widdowson to contact one site to confirm position (which has been done since the meeting). Clerk to forward information to Seddons to position signs.
e) Update on situation with trees at the kissing gate and response from Arboriculture Officer.
The Arboriculture Officer was not able to provide any assistance, although suggested the Parish Council commission a report.
Cllr D Wotton circulated photographs to show how the trees and viability had changed.
It was agreed that the Parish Council would need to apply for permission to remove the Lime Tree as the Parish is in a conservation area. It was suggested that due to the poor visibility, Highways may be able to help. Clerk to look into applying for permission to fell the Lime Tree.
f) Update on Register of Interests (ROI) forms required due to change in requirements to be completed by 01 September 2026.
Three completed forms were passed to the Clerk leaving three outstanding which should be completed by the end of the week as MDDC are chasing for them.
11. Matters arising from Road Warden Scheme meeting held 21 July 2026
a) Road Warden agreement – this was accepted and signed by the Chair.
b) Training. The online training link will not be shared until the signed agreement is received by the Department.
c) sourcing equipment. It was agreed that this could be considered after the training when there would be a better idea of which items would be required.
12. Proposal to hold a Village Fun Day.
It was agreed that there should be a separate meeting to discuss this when hopefully interested parties would attend and contribute with ideas.
13. Reports
County and District Council.
The District Councillors report was circulated shortly before the meeting. Cllr Adcock updated the meeting with some of the key points.
Parish Councillors.
Cllr Widdowson agreed to show Cllr Baker the procedure for checking the Defibrillators which is covered by a rota.
14. Finance
HSBC current account as at 12/08/26 £2847.72 (bank statement not received when the agenda was circulated)
Unity Bank Savings Account 31/07/2026 £5,028.86
a) update and actions required following AGAR and End of Year accounts.
An email has been received in preparation for completing the AGAR electronically in the future.
b) The draft General reserve policy was agreed and signed.
c) Online banking update.
The unity Bank online banking has been accepted and is working for all 3 signatories.
There is an issue with HSBC. The Clerk received an email earlier today to say the mandate had not been accepted. Clerk to contact HSBC.
d) VAT receipt £119.25 of £199.25 claimed. Further claim for difference submitted. This has now been received.
e) Bank reconciliation to 12/08/2026 to be checked and approved by a Parish Councillor (not one of the signatories). The Bank reconciliation was checked by Cllr Mansfield and signed.
It was agreed that a claim for VAT should be made as there was a significant payment at the start of the year which included VAT.
f) Payments to be approved
R A Hill £75
Clerk wages £480
Tax & NI HMRC £147.45 (estimated – confirmed by Payroll Company at end of August).
As the online banking is not up and running, these payments were made by cheque.
15. Planning reports and Outcomes –
26/00911/PNCOU Prior Approval for the change of use of an agricultural building to one dwelling under Class Q(a). Land and Building at NGR 291784 119805 Champles Lodge Stoodleigh – Awaiting Decision. since the agenda was circulated, this is now “Decided – approval of Prior Approval”
26/00897/HOUSE Erection of single storey rear extension, Ashfields Stoodleigh Tiverton Devon EX16 9QF – Awaiting Decision – Awaiting Decision. Since the agenda was circulated this is now ”Decided – grant permission”.
26/01008/CAT Notification of intention to fell 1 Horse Chestnut tree within the Conservation Area The Old Barn and Roundhouse Stoodleigh - Awaiting Decision
26/01101/PNAG Prior Approval for the erection of an agricultural livestock building
Location: Land at NGR 289455 117722 Rifton Barton Stoodleigh – Awaiting Decision.
23/01595/PNAG Prior Notification for the formation of an agricultural gateway and road Land at NGR 291096 118539 (West End Lane and Rull Hill) Stoodleigh – no further communication received from MDDC
Premises licence application for Hawke Barn at Thorne Farm EX16 9QG – Awaiting Decision.
A site visit was made by three Parish Councillors. The Parish Council support the Application. Clerk to add Council’s support to system if possible.
Meeting ended 20:00
Clerk to Stoodleigh Parish Council