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September 2023

UPLOWMAN PARISH COUNCIL: MINUTES OF MEETING

Held on Thursday 21st September 2023 in Uplowman Village Hall, starting at 7.30pm.

Cllr C Slade (DCC), Cllr J Lock (MDDC) and three members of the public present. Minutes by Mr R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.  Approved on 16 November 2023

 

  1. MEMBERS PRESENT and PROCEDURAL MATTERS

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

1.2 Vacancy: Enquiries among potential councillors had not yet identified anyone wishing to be coopted.

 

  1. APOLOGIES AND REPORTS FROM MDDC & DCC

2.1 Apologies for absence had been received from Cllr Baugh, absent for family reasons.

2.2 Cllr Slade reported on DCC matters. He could not comment on the landfill appplication save to say that the decision had been called in to the DCC committee and no decision would be made until some time in December. He noted that RAAC (dangerous concrete) had been found in Colyton Grammar School. Asked about road rrepairs in Whitnage, Cllr Slade said the request to bring timing of the work forward should be copied to him and he would do what he could.

2.2 Cllr Lock said that MDDC’s £2m deficit was a challenge that had required closure of the Three Rivers development company. The development land at Post Hill remained a MDDC asset.

 

  1. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING (20th July 2023)

3.1 Draft Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 20th July 2023 had been circulated. There were no changes requested and they were signed by the Chair as a true record of that meeting.

4.2 There were no matters arising from the previous minutes that were not on Agenda.

 

  1. FINANCES

4.1 Current Balance: £5577.11

Income since last meeting – support for trimtrail:£155.00

4.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:

    R Hodgson, expenses + salary (£17.10 + £750.00)

    Redwoods Inn, grass cutting, £214.10

    UHRA, Hire of Hall May to Sept (£48.00)

    Mid Devon District Council, Uncontested election (£127.35)

 

  1. PLANNING APPLICATIONS

5.1 23/00684/PIP: Land at Stonebridge, 2 self-builds, UPC objected, decision awaited

5.2 23/00354/FULL: Willow Barn, erect holiday cottage. UPC objected, decision awaited

5.3 23/00498/FULL: Beer Down, erect shed –No objection, MDDC approved 15/08/23

5.4 23/00974/HOUSE. Fairoak, erect shed. UPC no objection, MDDC approved 01/09/23

5.5 23/00948/LBC: School – temporary classroom. MDDC decided LBC not required 18/8/23

5.6 DCC/4358/2023: Greenway landfill. UPC objected on grounds of access. Decision awaited. Following discussion, it was agreed that no further action by UPC was needed at this time.

5.7 23/01358/FULL: Uplowman House, erect 1 residence. This was discussed. UPC had no objection but it was commented that a smaller ‘starter’ home would be more appropriate to village needs and this should be stated.

5.8 23/00919/FULL: Cott farm, erect 2 shepherd’s huts for holiday let. This was discussed. UPC had no objection but stated that there should be a resriction restricting use to temporary accommodation.

  1. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

6.1 Village signs:Cllrs Westerman and Adcock would paint the letters in black, oil the signs and erect the signs.

6.2 Broadband update: Airband had agreed to make a presentation to UPC’s November meeting

6.3 Cllr Adcock would produce estimates for the Hall sound system

6.4 A new coordinator was required for the village book-swap in the old telephone box. A note would be put in the parish newsletter.

6.5 Mr Clark had requested that the trees on the green be trimmed. He would be happy to undertake this and it was agreed to accept this offer with gratitude.

 

  1. SUSTAINABILITY AND HEALTHY LIVING

7.1 Cllr Moore said her home was now entirely oil-free. She considered that UP councillors should give a lead by publicising individual initiative like this.

7.2 St Peters would be organising a ‘Creation Hub’ day on 8th Oct to publicise local climate change initiatives. The PC would have a table and Cllr Moore encouraged all to get involved.

 

  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:

8.1All relevant correspondence covered by Agenda.

 

  1. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION

9.1 Cllr Adcock reported that the lights were installed and would result in a significant reduction in electricity bills. UHRA’s next meeting would be the following Tuesday.

 

  1. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

10.1 The emergency planning subgroup (Cllrs Moore, Adcock and Westerman plus the Clerk and Mrs J Murley, had met on 9th August and presented a draft plan. Work still needed included: 1. The Clerk would circulate the list of properties previously used to split the parish among the councillors; 2. Cllr Adcock would talk to the UHRA and create a costed plan of what would be needed to use the hall as an emergency centre; 3. Cllr Thomas would contact the School for a copy of their emergency planning; 4. All to consider areas where flooding migh cause disruption, such as dip in road at Murley Fm; 5. The Clerk would write to SWW to enquire what their plans were in event of failure at sewage plant; 6. the Clerk would look at reducing plan to two pages; 7. The Clerk and Cllr Adcock would be named in the plan as primary emergency contacts.

 

  1. STATE OF ROADS IN PARISH

11.1 The road into Whitnage was now being marked for repair in February 2024. This was considered too long to wait, given the very poor state of the road. The Clerk would write to DCC Highways, cc. Cllr Slade to ask that it be brought forward.

11.2 The Clerk noted that the salt bins could be maintained via DCC’s snow warden scheme. Cllr Westerman would investigate.

11.3 It was noted that a large vehicle had recently become stuck in the Whitnage lane, resulting in considerable local traffic disruption. The matter had been reported the DCC Highways. The Clerk would put in a request. Cllr Slade suggested that the Clerk in Halberton could advise as a similar issue had arisen there and advice for the police safety officer had been helpful.

11.4 A parishioner had complained of vehicles speeding through the village. It was commented that large farm vehicles and trailors were often difficult as well. Cllr Thomas suggested that mobile ‘speed indicator devices’ (SID) could be bought with neighbouring parishes and moved around. Cllr Westerman would investigate whether there was a problem and, if so, possible solutions.

11.5 The railings beside the green were reported to be rotten. Cllr Adcock would seek a quotation for replacement.

 

  1. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting was confirmed for Thursday 16th Novtember 2023, to be in the Hall at 7.30pm.

The meeting closed at 9.35pm

 

Public discussion:

The matter of the Greenway Landfill was raised. UPC had been represented at an initial meeting of local stakeholders and parishioners had attended a subsequent open meeting. It was felt that the open meeting had focused entirely on impacts on Tiverton East and had not mentioned environmental impacts at the site itself.

 

The recent closure of the Whitnage Lane by a mis-directed lorry was raised, with a plea for work to prevent further similar incidents.

 

MINUTES OF 21 September 2023

Minutes of meetings held in 2023