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May 2024

UPLOWMAN PARISH COUNCIL: MINUTES OF ANNUAL MEETING

Held on Thursday 16th May 2024 in Uplowman Village Hall, starting at 8.30pm.

Cllr C Slade (DCC), Cllr J Lock (MDDC) and two members of the public present. Minutes by Mr R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold. Approved on 25 July 2024

  1. MEMBERS PRESENT and PROCEDURAL MATTERS

1.1 Present: Cllrs M Moore (Chair), D Westerman, K Baugh, J Mayne, D Thomas, K Baugh, and R Adcock.

1.2 Cllr M Moore was re-elected as Chair for 2024 to 2025 without opposition. She said this would be her final year as Chair.

 

  1. APOLOGIES AND REPORTS FROM MDDC & DCC

2.1 Cllr G Westcott (MDDC) was at another PC meeting.

2.2 Cllr Slade had sent a report on DCC matters and gave a brief review of his past year as DCC councillor. He confirmed that no date had yet been set for hearing the Greenway planning application. He noted that DCC had allocated £12m for pothole repairs, which was welcomed.

2.3 Cllr Lock was pleased to report that MDDC had balanced their budget and pledged to build 500 affordable homes over the coming 4 years.

 

  1. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING (21st March 2024)

3.1 Draft Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 21st March 2024 had been circulated. There were no changes requested and they were signed by the Chair as a true record of that meeting.

 

  1. FINANCES and PROCEDURES

4.1                                                                        Current Balance: £5939.06

         Income since last meeting – Precept + donation for trimtrail:£3845.00

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

         Community First Trading Ltd, Annual Insurance premium (£162.48)

         R Hodgson, Expenses (£102.85)

         Devon Association of Local Councils, VAT element of subscription, (£18.85)

         Mr P Hayman, grass cutting (£180.00)

4.3 The Clerk noted that the Internal Audit had been completed. He read out the Annual Governance Statements. Each statement was agreed as fulfilled by all present and the statement was duly signed by the Chair and the Clerk.

4.4 The Annual Accounting Statement had been circulated to councillors. There were no queries and the statement was approved unanimously and signed by the Chair.this piece of road

4.5 The Clerk noted that the cost of the children’s Trim Trail meant that turnover had exceeded £25,000, necessitating a limited assurance audit with a cost of £200. He also informed the PC that the period for public examination of the PC’s papers would run from 3rd June to 12th July.

 

  1. PLANNING APPLICATIONS

5.1 DCC/4358/2023: Greenway landfill. Revised proposals received – UPC had objected to routing of HGVs through Uplowman. No date had yet been set for this matter to be considered by DCC.

 

  1. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

6.1 The Redwoods Pub project had requested that the Redwoods Inn be registered as a Community Asset. This would assist with funding applications and would encourage other potential purchasers. After discussion, Cllr Moore proposed that the application should be made and all councillors were in favour. The Clerk would make the application.

6.2 Cllr Adcock said that after consideration, the map could be framed for £615 +VAT. It was agreed to fund this project so that it could be unveiled at the planned Parish Social meeting. The Clerk had obtained a photograph of HM King Charles, which would also be hung in the Hall.

6.3 The Annual Parish Social meeting was planned for Friday evening july 5th. Work was underway to spread the word and encourage participation. A buffet had been arranged and there would be a cash bar. It was agreed to take a photo of all attendees as it was 10 years since Uplowman’s last ‘big picture’. The Clerk had put out a request for a drone to achieve an aerial viewpoint. Cllrs Westerman and Adcock would be available to help set up during the afternoon. The Clerk would produce a poster to publicise the event.

 

  1. SUSTAINABILITY AND HEALTHY LIVING

7.1 Cllrs Mayne and Moore had toured MDDC’s recycling facility. They considered the keenness and commitment of the staff there very impressive and had found the visit very stimulating.

 

  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:

8.1There had been no correspondence noted beyond that which was discussed under the agenda items.

  1. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION

9.1 Grants were being sought to cover the £5,000 cost of the proposed PA/sound system. Cleaners were needed and proving difficult to find. Cllr Lock suggested that other halls had found contract cleaning companies helpful.

 

  1. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

10.1 Cllr Moore had redrafted the household emergency plan to match the revised UPC plan. The Clerk would arrange formatting and production with an aim to complete by 5th July.

 

  1. STATE OF ROADS IN PARISH

11.1 Whitnage signage: The Clerk had followed up with the police and with DCC and had received a reply from DCC suggesting that the PC could self-fund signage as ‘minor highway works’. The Clerk would enquire whether it was possible also to designate the lane as unsuitable.

11.3 Speeding at Crossways: Cllr Thomas would discuss designs with the School. It was proposed that three signs be considered, to be located outside the Hall, near the end of the school path, and at the approach from Tiverton. Cllr Westerman said he would check the regulations applying to 30mph zones in respect of any need for street lighting.

11.4 It was noted that the rough road on the Sampford Peverell side of the A361 caused problems for cyclists and resulted in driving hazards. The Clerk would contact the NHO.

 

  1. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting was confirmed for Thursday 25th July 2024, to be in the Hall at 7.30pm.

The meeting closed at 9.35pm

 

Public discussion:

The Chair presented UPC’s Annual Report (attached)

It was noted that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of Uplowman Primary School. The school was planning celebrations and it was suggested that UPC might support these.

The Redwoods Pub Project reported that their Expression of Interest in a grant had been acceteed and they were now developing a detailed submission that would cover restoration costs as well as purchase. It was requested that UPC apply for registration of the Redwoods as an Asset of Community Value.

 

MINUTES OF 16 May 2024

Chair’s Report for 2023-24

 

This year we co-opted Kevin Baugh back onto the council and a new member, Jenny Mayne, whose experience and knowledge of the village and parishioners adds great value. This brings the parish council to full compliment at 7 members.

We were delighted to support the opening of the Trim Trail which Suzannes Lewis and her team had lead and made happen. It was great to see it attract so many young people and be in continuous use over the summer. It has been serviced and will hopefully continue to be fully used this year too.

These are some of the activities we have done over the year

  1. Replaced fencing around the leat at Crossways and asked DCC to replace the rails at Stonebridge
  2. Erected two new carved wood village signs at the main entrances to Crossways
  3. Organised for DCC to do a major repair of the road between Whitnage and Uplowman. This included drainage as well as resurfacing and is much appreciated by all who use it.
  4. Requested for an official sign for either end of Whitnage road to stop HGVs using it. We have approval to go ahead with this although we have been informed we need to pay for it ourselves so we will explore the funding for this at UPC and progress the erection asap.
  5. Planted the coronation crab apple tree in the churchyard
  6. Drafted the emergency plan, currently being finalised for production and circulation to all parishioners
  7. Supported the setting up of a Project Team to explore how we might keep Redwoods as an Inn in the village and support the publicans to retire. This team has formed over the last two months and will be very active over coming months exploring options and recommending a way forward

Planning Applications

We have responded to all planning applications in the parish and on its borders which might affect us, supporting several and objecting to some, including controversial ones for a holiday let in Whitnage, a barn conversion at Stonebridge, a landfill at Greenways, and conversion of the Redwoods into residential units.

We have had considerably greater attendance at Parish Council meetings by various members of the community as they are concerned about planning applications or want to suggest actions for the council that they want to see happen. We really appreciate this as it enables us to understand better what the community wants and to clarify what is being proposed and possible ways forward.

The very active WI, the church warden organisation of events to raise monies for the church roof, the multiple skittles teams and many of the teams and groups using the Village Hall have all contributed to the dynamism and strength of the Uplowman and Whitnage community. Thank you.

We, as a Parish Council, will continue to support and co-ordinate where we can and we welcome parishioners attending our meetings which we hold on Thursday evenings every other month. All meeting agendas, minutes and accounts are published on our website.

 

Minutes of meetings held in 2024