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January 2004

UPLOWMAN PARISH COUNCIL: MINUTES OF MEETING

Held on 16th January 2004 at the Village Hall, Uplowman, starting at 7.30pm

 

Minutes taken by Mr R Hodgson, Clerk to Uplowman Parish Council

Action points in bold. 6 members of the Public were present, inc Cllrs Pugsley & Radford of MDDC

 

  1. MEMBERS PRESENT
  1. Mr J White (Chair), Mrs S Brown, Mr D Aggett , Mr R Adcock, Mr R Burman, Mr R Branton & Mrs L Veen.

 

  1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

2.1 None, all were present.

 

  1. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (14th November 2003)

3.1 Minutes of the meeting had been previously circulated. They were approved without amendment and signed as a true record by the Chair.

 

  1. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

4.1 There were no matters arising from the minutes that would not be covered by the Agenda items.

 

  1. FINANCES

5.1 Current Balance: £1036.32

Income since last meeting £150.00 (MDDC grant for churchyard maint.)

5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursement:

Clerk’s expenses (£3.37)

Mr J Veen for work on bus shelter & paving around noticeboard (£706.60, as tendered)

Churchyard Grant to PCC (£300)

5.3 Mr White would arrange with Mrs Holley to transfer all remaining money from the village Millennium Fund to the Parish Council (£247.46p) to defray the cost of the paving around the noticeboard.

5.4 After considering the council’s expenditure over the past 3 years and the present state of the finances, it was agreed with reluctance that the Precept should be increased for 2004-5. The insurance had increased by 62% during a period when the Precept had remained steady and other costs were also increasing. It was agreed that money should be kept in hand for minor village improvements and by unanimous agreement the Precept for the coming year was set at £2,400. The Clerk would inform MDDC accordingly.

 

  1. PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS

6.1 A proposal to erect a stock shed at Hr Reed Farm had been received and recently approved by MDDC.

 

  1. 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 The Environment Agency were setting up a community flood archive. The Clerk would consult with Mr T Jones.

7.2 Defra had written on the subject of Equine Issues. Members were asked to consult the Defra website and let Mr Michael MP know what they think.

 

  1. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION

8.1 After one year of operation the Hall was in profit although the problems with the sewage system had increased costs. A number of weddings were booked for the coming year.

 

  1. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

9.1 The Clerk would provide updated lists of parishioners to all councillors.

9.2 The Clerk and the Chairman would consider how to update the plan itself. The Clerk had obtained CCD’s Village Planning pack for reference.

 

  1. JUBILEE PROJECTS

10.1 Mr Burman reported that his initial consultations regarding improvementsto the leat had not progressed. Mr Burman would discuss the matter with the riparian owners before the next meeting.

10.2 Discussions on a proposed finger sign to be placed on the Green concluded that this was not a priority and, as there was currently no money available, the matter was deferred.

10.3 No further details had been received regarding the PCC proposals for a new gate into the Churchyard. The Parish Council had no funds at present and therefore the matter wasnot discussed further.

 

  1. SEWERAGE

11.1 SWW were still expecting to start construction on 19th April and would take 16 weeks. It was expected that the Crossroads would be closed for the first three weeks and the road between the Cross-ways and the Triangle (by the foot of the hill) would be closed for a further 7 weeks. Site purchase was not yet completed but was progressing.

11.2 57 applications had been made for quotes for connection. These were still being processed by SWW and quotes would be sent out within a month.

11.3 The field where the Horse Show has been held recently would probably be inaccessible in early July.

11.4 It was agreed that the PC would call a public meeting to discuss the proposals as soon as the quotes were distributed. This would probably be in mid February.

 

  1. CONDITION OF ROAD/TRANSPORT IN THE PARISH

12.1 DCC had proposed 30mph signs for the village, including Green Gates. The proposal had been circulated. It was agreed that the proposed layout was inappropriate and did not include black-spots such as Widhayes and the corner by Broadview Farm. The Clerk would write to DCC to ask that no action be taken at present.

12.2 Having reviewed matters, the road subcommittee (Chair, ViceChair and Clerk) would arrange to discuss parking issues with representatives from the School and the Redwoods Inn. Mr Aggett reported that he had received complaints about access problems from seven of the nine households beyond the school. It was suggested that the consultation document should also emphasise the hazards to children of parking outside the school.

 

  1. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting would be on Friday 19th March 2004 in the Hall, starting with questions from the Public at 7.30pm.

 

The meeting closed at 9.45pm

 

The meeting was suspended between 8pm and 9pm to allow Cllr Pugsley to make a presentation on MDDC’s budget. Points made included:

 

  • MDDC planned to keep its budget increase within the cost of living index, 3%.
  • Anyone was welcome to comment on MDDC’s budget proposals. Questionnaire forms were distributed for return by 23rd January.
  • A number of grants to, inter alia, the Northcote Theatre, which is outside mid Devon, would be cut.
  • Tourism was important; it brings £97m into the District. However, those who benefit could pay for brochures, etc and this would help to ensure that the brochures are appropriate. Therefore, a full-time tourism officer was not needed.
  • there would be no grants for minor village schemes this year. It was more appropriate and more cost effective for parishes to identify their own projects and fund from their Precepts.
  • Councillors complained that the multi-storey carpark would not accommodate Landrovers and otherrural vehicles. Could some provision be made for this?

Minutes of Meetings held in 2004