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July 2022

UPLOWMAN PARISH COUNCIL: DRAFT MINUTES OF MEETING

 

Held on Thursday 21st July 2022 in Uplowman Village Hall, starting at 7.45pm.

Cllr C Slade and 1 member of the public present. Minutes by Mr R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.

Approved on 17th November 2022

  1. MEMBERS PRESENT

1.1 Present: Cllrs M Moore (Chair), K Baugh, A McCombe, D Thomas, and R Adcock.

 

  1. APOLOGIES, PROCEDURAL MATTERS AND REPORTS FROM MDDC & DCC

2.1 Apologies for absence had been received from Cllrs N Branton (family holiday) and D Westerman (working away)

2.2 Cllr Slade reported on DCC matters. He said Covid had resulted in a budget shortfall, which would impact expenditure. A growing Communities fund had been launched that could give grants of £500 to £3000 for schemes that benefit communities. Fibre broadband network is expanding, with work ongoing in Halberton & Sampford Peverell. Cllr Slade added that his Locality Budget remained available for grants in Uplowman.

2.3 No report had been received from Cllr Radford on MDDC activities. Cllr Slade noted that 3-week refuse collections were to be implemented.

  1. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING (19th May 2022)

3.1 Draft Minutes of the Annual meeting held on Thursday 19th May 2022 had been circulated. There were no changes requested and they were signed by the Chair as a true record of that meeting.

 

  1. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

4.1 There were none that would not be covered by the agenda items.

 

  1. FINANCES

5.1 Current Balance: £7199.05

Income since last meeting: £Nil

5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques would be signed to effect the disbursements:

     The Redwoods, Grass cutting & leat (£160.00).

     It was noted that no request for financial support for the Jubilee would be made.

  1. PLANNING APPLICATIONS

6.1 21/02187/Full: Rosebank, erect new shed. UPC made no objection. MDDC had approved..

6.2 Sip Shed: Application to vary licence. This had been approved by MDDC and it was noted that the Post Office had now closed.

6.3 22/00561/House: Shapcott, solar panels on stable. UPC made no objection, MDDC had approved.

6.4 22/00748/Full, Hill Farm, Change shepherd hut to holiday let. UPC no objection, Awaiting decision.

6.5 22/00753/Full, Land at Stonebridge, replace shed with 2 dwellings. UPC had objected and a decision was awaited.

6.6 22/01013/Full: Beer Down, erect agricultural workers cottage. Following a site inspection, UPC had agreed to support this application and a decision was awaited.

6.7 22/01034/NMA: Willow barn, change roof to Roman tiles had been approved without consultation.

6.8 22/01091/PNCOU: East Mere farm buildings, conversion to 4 dwellings. Although this was just outside the parish boundary, it had been felt that Uplowman residents could be affected and UPC had objected.

  1. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

7.1 Village signs: New signs would be made in due course at cost. Cllr Slade had reported that Highways had no specific requirements provided the signs were similar in size and typeface to the exisitng ones. He would confirm.

7.2 Dead tree on Green. It was noted that an ornamental tree on the Green had died. Cllr Adcock would investigate its cost effective removal.

7.3 Review of community assets. There was wide ranging discussion of which local assets might need protection. The Hall, being managed by a duly established charity, did not require it. The Green and the grassed area opposite were discussed. The grassed area was understood to be in the ownership of MDDC. The Clerk would investigate its status and that of the leat for discussion in September.

7.4 Cllr Moore reported that a meeting had been held to consider arrangements for the verious ommunity structures established during the pandemic and that it had been decided to brand tem all under the generic term ‘community hub’. This would avoid confusion. Each communication channel (newsletter, Facebook, WhatApp) had a distinct use and all were proving of benefit to residents.

 

7.5 Grass maintenance: Confusion was arising over responsibility for grass cutting at the Hall and in other parts of the village. Cllr Adcock would clarify matters with the various parties.

 

  1. SUSTAINABILITY AND HEALTHY LIVING

8.1 Cllr Moore said that the recent meeting on community energy had attracted only four participants, insufficient to take a scheme forward at present. She said that grants for new wind turbines would be available soon and suggested that articles in the newsletter would help to raise awareness. One participant had said that a community energy scheme powered by PV panels on the Hall roof might be successful. Cllr Adcock would raise this with the hall committee.

 

Cllr Moore would investigate inviting suitable experts to address the PC

 

  1. CORRESPONDENCE

A list of correspondence received and sent had been circulated. Attention was drawn to the following items of interest that were not covered elsewhere:

9.1No additional correspondence considered.

  1. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION

10.1 Cllr Adcock said that the fence had been built beside the leat and trees would be planted to screen it. The cooker needed replacement and a PA system was still on the wish list.

 

  1. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

11.1 Invitations to join an emergency planning group had been put in the news letter but drawn no response. It was agreed that direct invitations could be made to individuals in the autumn.

 

  1. STATE OF ROADS IN PARISH

12.1 Cllr Moore would write to Cllr Slade regarding the deteriorated Whitnage road.

12.2 It was noted that the Lands Mill footbridge had now been replaced by DCC at a reported cost of £60,000. Thanks were expressed to DCC for the reopening of this popular walking route.

 

  1. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

 

The next meeting was confirmed for Thursday 15th September 2022, to be in the Hall.

 

The meeting closed at 9.00pm

 

Public discussion:

 

Play area for village: New residents in the village with young children had asked the Community Hub whether a local play area could be provided. Cllr Slade said that his Locality budget might par fund such a construction, as might the new ‘Growing Communities’ fund. It was noted that long-term maintenance and insurance costs would need to be worked out.

 

After some discussion, it was proposed to invite interested people to put themselves forward as an organising committee. The proposers should be asked to write an article for the newsletter and the agreement of UHRA would be needed.

 

MINUTES OF 21 July 2022

Minutes of meetings held in 2022