July 2004
UPLOWMAN PARISH COUNCIL: MINUTES OF MEETING
Held on 8th July 2004 at the Village Hall, Uplowman, starting at 8.40pm
Minutes taken by Mr R Hodgson, Clerk to Uplowman Parish Council. Action points in bold.
4 members of the public were present plus Cllr R Radford (MDDC).
1. MEMBERS PRESENT
1.1 Mr J White (Chair), Mr D Aggett , Mr R Burman, Mr R Branton & Mrs S Brown.
2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
2.1 Mrs L Veen was in hospital and Mr R Adcock was assisting with preparations for Uplowman Show. Both had tendered their apologies.
3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (6th May 2004)
3.1 Minutes of the meeting had been previously circulated. The minutes were approved without amendment and signed by the Chair.
4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
4.1 There were no matters arising from the minutes that would not be covered by the Agenda items.
5. FINANCES
5.1 Current Balance: £1946.93
Income since last meeting £ Nil
5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:
Clerk's expenses (£19.40) (including training on 19th May)
Chair's expenses liaising with Dean & Dyball and SWW over sewerage scheme (£25.00)
Devon Assoc Parish Councils (£12.00) (model standing orders)
UHRA (£12.00) (hire of hall)
Mr A Kidley (£66.50) (grass cutting).
5.3 Annual Accounts & Statement of Assurance: The Statement of Account had been submitted to the District Audit.
6. PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS
6.1 Uplowman School extension: There had been no response from DCC. It was understood that the plans for the school extension were to be altered.
6.2 St Peter's Church: new gateway: This had been approved by MDDC.
6.3 2 Crossways: erection of shed. Had been approved by MDDC
6.4 Old Appleyard House: erection of extension. UPC had not objected.
6.5 Glebe Cottage: erection of extension. UPC had not objected.
6.6 1 Chapel Cottages: Outline permission sought for a single dwelling. Mr White withdrew from the Chair and did not contribute to the discussion. The site was outside the village settlement. It was distant from facilities and transport and therefore unsuitable for affordable housing. There were concerns over the drainage arrangements. Therefore the meeting agreed unanimously hat the application should not be supported. The Clerk would inform MDDC.
6.7 Affordable Housing (see also notes on Public Questions): The Clerk and Chair would establish the present needs for affordable housing within the Parish and develop a policy for discussion at a later meeting.
6.8 A new planning guide had been received from MDDC. Copies were with the Chair, Mrs Veen in the Post Office and the Clerk for reference.
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 MDDC had requested parish views on how the needs of rural parishes were being met. All to consider.
7.2 Grants were available for public spaces. The Clerk would pass the information to UHRA.
7.3 The Devon in Touch Roadshow was available to demonstrate the benefits of information technology. After discussion, it was decided not to apply for it to come.
8. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
8.1 In Mrs Veen's absence, there was no report. It was understood that bookings were still going well.
9. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
9.1 Emergency Planning was on hold while work on the First Time Sewerage Scheme proceeded. This would be discussed in September.
10. JUBILEE PROJECTS
10.1 Consideration of improvements to the leat would be made once the sewerage work was done.
11. SEWERAGE
11.1 Work had started and the sewer had reached the Cross-ways on schedule. The traffic diversions had operated without major disruption.
11.2 Mr Burman said that the contractor's staff had been very courteous and helpful. Mr White proposed that this be recognised. It was agreed that expenditure of up to £100 could be incurred on this and that contributions from grateful householders would be welcomed. Mr White would arrange it with Mr Chamberlain, Agent for Dean & Dyball, the contractor, and invite all site staff plus SWW representatives.
12. CONDITION OF ROAD/TRANSPORT IN THE PARISH
12.1 Road signs had been erected at Widhayes, as requested.
12.2 Mr Burman said that the question of parking and traffic in the village should be addressed as soon as the sewerage scheme was completed.
13. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting would be at 7.30pm on Thursday 2nd September, with future dates arranged for 4th November 2004, 6th January, 3rd March and 5th May 2005 (all Thursdays).
The meeting closed at 9.55pm
Notes on Public Meeting starting at 7.30pm
Affordable Housing: Concerns were raised that development of affordable housing could lead to undesirable expansion of the village. The Chair explained that he had checked the position with MDDC planners and that the provision of affordable housing was tightly controlled. To be permitted, the following criteria must be met:
There must be a local need, based on applications for council housing by people with local connections;
The site must be accessible to local facilities and near existing houses;
Usually, two houses would be put on one site;
There must be some arrangement to ensure that the properties remain available to those on low incomes.
The Parish Council did not have the necessary information to assess these criteria at present. It was recognised that a policy should be developed and therefore this item had been put onto the agenda for this evening's meeting.
Community Policeman: PC Michael Dodd introduced himself as the new community officer for Uplowman, based in Cullompton. His patch covered Halberton, Sampford Peverell, Burlescombe and the villages to the north. He would be visiting local schools and liaising with neighbourhood watch schemes. PC Dodd can be contacted directly at Cullompton at 01884-831560 (9-5pm). Outside those hours the general numbers should be used (08705-777444 for non urgent matters) or PC Dodd can be contacted by email at police@halberton.org.