July 2003
UPLOWMAN PARISH COUNCIL: MINUTES OF MEETING
Held on 3rd July 2003 at the Village Hall, Uplowman, starting at 7.40pm
Minutes taken by Mr R Hodgson, Clerk to Uplowman Parish Council
Action points in bold. 4 members of the Public were present
1 MEMBERS PRESENT
1.1 Mr J White (Chair), Mrs L. Veen, Mrs S Brown, Mr R Adcock, Mr D Aggett, Mr R Burman & Mr R. Branton.
2 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
2.1 All Members were present.
3 MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (15th May 2003)
3.1 Minutes of the meeting had been circulated prior to the meeting. They were approved without amendment and signed as a true record by the Chair.
4 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
4.1 Mr Aggett had attended a DAPC training day for new councillors. He reported that it had provided a good introduction to the legal framework of council business. Becoming a Quality PC would be the key to unlock grants, etc. in the future. The Clerk would get more copies of the Good Councillor Guide.
4.2 The Clerk had informed MDDC that UPC would not be introducing allowances for Members.
5FINANCES
5.1 Current Balance: £1489.21
Income since last meeting (Precept) Nil
5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to cover them:
Clerk’s expenses: £5.75
UHRA, Hire of Hall: £18, Tea & Coffee on 10/05: £5.68
DAPC, Training Day: £35
5.3 The draft accounts had been subject to internal audit. The audit form was completed and signed by the Chair, on behalf of the Members, and by the Clerk as the Proper Officer. The thanks of the Meeting were expressed to Mr Clarke for his prompt examination of the accounts which would be submitted to the District Audit on 25th August. The Chair would write to Mr Clarke.
5.4 After due consideration, it was agreed that the Clerk’s honorarium should be increased to £6.50 per hour for the 97 annual hours of work defined in his contract, effective from May 2003.
6 PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS
6.1 Second Telecom Mast: Had now been removed
6.2 Crosses Farm: Erection of dwellings. UPC requested no windows overlooking neighbours.
6.3 Uplowman Hall, Applications for Resiting Play Area and for New Vehicular Access. UPC had submitted.
7 CORRESPONDENCE
A list of correspondence received and sent had been circulated. The Clerk drew attention to the following items of interest that were not covered elsewhere:
7.1 DCC’s waste management strategy was available for comment
7.2 RGB’s leaflet on playground equipment was passed to UHRA.
7.3 MDDC had invited comments on Area Committees. Clerk/Chair would respond.
7.4 The Standards Board had sent a training video on declarations of interest.
8 HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
8.1 Following discussion at UHRA committee, it was decided that UPC would contribute 50% towards the cost of a noticeboard in the hall and a cabinet would be made available for storage and display of local government documents such as Local Plans.
9 EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
9.1 Updated lists had been provided by Mr Aggett and Mr Branton. The Clerk would revise the lists and provide to councillors.
9.2 It was agreed that a display would be mounted at the Uplowman Show. This would include a simple questionnaire to help identify concerns of the parish. This would be a first step in developing a village plan.
10 JUBILEE PROJECTS
10.1 The cost of running the church lights was estimated to be 2p to 3p per hour. It was agreed that the UPC would fund use of the lights which would be mainly during the winter at the times of village functions. Mr Adcock would discuss use of the lights with the PCC.
10.2 The Chair was still considering the Countryside Agency pack on Village Plans. The Clerk would contact John Bodley Scott at MDDC and Ray Radford before drawing up a scheme.
10.3 Options for improving the appearance of the verge of the leat at Stonebridge were discussed. Mr Burman would produce a sketch showing the length to be improved. It was agreed that a post and Chain fence would provide a suitable barrier to mark the hazard. Mr White would enquire of Mr Dearing at MDDC whether there might be some assistance available.
10.4 Mr Aggett thought that the village signs should be freshened up. Also, a finger post indicating the church, school, etc. might be erected on the green or on the grass opposite. This was a subject on which the parish might be consulted. Mr White would ask MDDC about the possibility of UPC taking responsibility for maintaining the grass beside the Council House gardens. This could be worth doing if MDDC also made available their budget for this work.
11SEWERAGE
11.1 Capital Approval would be sought in August. Construction still expected to start in October.
12 CONDITION OF ROAD/TRANSPORT IN THE PARISH
12.1 The pothole at the southern entrance to the village caused cars to swerve dangerously. Some holes had been filled but not that one. Apparently, deeper holes were left for ‘hot’ bitmac that never seems to come. The Chair said that everyone should keep writing to the Tiverton Service Centre to keep up the pressure for repairs.
12.2 The fence beside Uplowman Court had fallen into the old leat. It was assumed that repairs would be the responsibility of DCC.
13 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting would be on Friday 12th September in the Hall, starting with questions from the Public at 7.30pm.
The meeting closed at 9.35pm
Matters raised by the Public before the meeting included:
- Paving was needed at the new noticeboard to avoid slipping when examining notices. The Chair said that this would be arranged togetether with repairs to the bus shelter;
- Traffic calming was needed outside Widhayes cottages. Accidents had occurred between vehicles exiting from the lane there and others travelling fast along the main road into Uplowman. The Chair would discuss options for signs, etc. with DCC and the Clerk would put a note in the Parish Magazine.