November 2005
UPLOWMAN PARISH COUNCIL: MINUTES OF MEETING
Held on 11th November 2005 at the Village Hall, Uplowman, starting at 7.50pm
Minutes taken by Mr R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.
2 members of the public were present plus DCC Cllr D Hannon and Mr Z MacCormack, 5X30 Project before meeting
1. MEMBERS PRESENT
1.1 Mr J White (Chair), Mrs S Brown, Mr R Branton, Mr R Adcock, Mr D Aggett & Mrs L Veen .
2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
2.1 Apologies for absence had been received from Mr R Burman, away on business matters.
3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (9th September 2005)
3.1 Minutes of the meeting had been previously circulated. They were signed as a true record of the meeting without amendment.
4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
4.1 There were no matters arising that would not be dealt with elsewhere on the Agenda.
5. FINANCES
5.1 Current Balance: £ 2591.91
Income since last meeting £ Nil
5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:
Clerk's honorarium (£360.00) and expenses (£4.61)
National Audit Office, for Annual Audit: £58.75
5.3 Mr White had checked with the PCC that the annual churchyard grant of £300 was sufficient and the Clerk had informed MDDC that the grant would be for this amount.
6. PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS
6.1 05/02039F: Fairoak Fm, Conv of redundant farm buildings: UPC no objection, following inspection.
6.2 05/01651F: Spallsbury Fm, Change use of barn: UPC No Objection, following inspection.
6.3 Uplowman School Revised plans. Mr White said that the development of the school premises was welcomed as the school was an essential part of the village. The site meeting on 22nd October had been attended by the neighbours who had said that the new plans were generally satisfactory. UPC had made comments to DCC relating to the situation of windows overlooking the School House garden and to traffic issues. Cllr Hannon (DCC) commented that he would do what he could to expedite the matter.
6.4 05/02462/Full: The Beeches, Crosses Farm Erection of conservatory and extension of residential curtilage
6.5 05/02458/Full: Part OS 7500 Higher Reed Fm:Use of land to site mobile home for Ag Workers
Items 6.4 and 6.5 would be considered at site meetings on 19 Nov.
6.6 It appeared that UPC was no longer a statutory consultee under the new Licensing arrangements.
7. 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:
7.1 DCC had sent new satisfaction cards and informtion on the Parish Lengthsman scheme.
7.2 Thanks were due to Cllr Aggett for considering the DCC Waste Plan. However, it was not clear how his comments could be incorporated into the pro-forma sheet provided
7.3 Mrs Browning MP had written to say that she would not be supporting the Sustainable Communities Bill as, in her view, it would increase the regulatory burden on parishes and would not help to reduce the decline in local services.
8. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
8.1 Mrs Veen reported that all the necessary licences were now in place for the Hall. There had been a good attendance at bonfire night and bookings for the Christmas period were good.
9. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
9.1 The Clerk had redrafted the emergency plan. Comments on the draft should be passed to him by the end of November.
9.2 Neighbourhood Watch: The Clerk had sought clarification regarding recent burglaries from PC Dodd, who had said that suspects were in custody and that details could not therefore be published because court cases were pending. He commented that it was unfortunate that the result of publicising only failures did not help with public confidence.
10. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
10.1 Leat maintenance: Mr White proposed to plant daffodils on the new section of leat bank. MDDC could supply 25kg of bulbs for £15 and plant them at an estimated cost of £30 for an hour's work. It was agreed to proceed with this scheme.
10.2 Electrification: WPD had sent a plan of 'Option 2' for a ground sub-station that would remove the need for some overhead cables. However, relatively few overheads would be eliminated and it was agreed that Mr White would discuss the matter further with Mr Jewell at WPD.
10.3 A consultation had been drafted to enable parishioners to suggest village enhancement schemes up to £500 for the current year. This included a survey of opinion on UPC activities. It was agreed that, once some modifications had been made, the document would be delivered to all homes and that a week should be provided for replies to either the local councillor or to the Post Office.
11. CONDITION OF ROAD/TRANSPORT IN THE PARISH
11.1 Signs: security screws were still being obtained to enable erection of the new 'no parking' signs. DCC Highways had now moved the'Unsuitable for HGVs' sign by the Green closer to the Post Office, where it was less obtrusive.
11.2 Signs directing visitors to the Hall carpark had been erected and admired. It was agreed that a new sign was needed that might be attached to the cross-roads sign post.
11.3 A quote for surfacing the carpark for £12,000 had been obtained. Mr Adcock said that, in his view, the quote did not appear to include for the necessary drainage and he thought the true cost would be more. An application had been made to MDDC for £1000. The 'Awards for All' application to the National Lottery Community Fund had been completed and, following endorsement by Cllr Hannon, would be submitted soon.
11.4 It was noted that the drainage in the road adjacent to the school is insufficient at times of high rainfall. The Clerk would investigate options for installing a gully near to Glebe Cottage and running a connection to the existing drains at Primrose Cottage.
12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting would be at 7.30pm on Friday Jan 13th 2006. Subsequent meetings would be on March 10th, May 12th, July 14th and 8th September.
The meeting closed at 9.15pm
Matters raised by the Public: There had been none.
5X30 project: Mr Zane McCormack, Tiverton Area Organiser made a presentation. 5X30 promotes 30 mins activity x 5 days per week. It is seeking to support 'sports hubs' where people can undertake a range of sporting activities. 5X30 can help with funding. Mr McCormack would attend the subsequent UHRA meeting to see how the organisations can work together.