January 2006
MINUTES OF MEETING
Held on 13th January 2006 at the Village Hall, Uplowman, starting at 8.00pm
Minutes taken by Mr R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.
6 members of the public were present plus DCC Cllrs D Hannon and R Radford, MDDC Chair M Lee and PC M Dodd (part)
- MEMBERS PRESENT
1.1 Mr J White (Chair), Mrs S Brown, Mr R Branton, Mr R Adcock, Mr D Aggett, Mr R Burman & Mrs L Veen .
- APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
2.1 None received, all were present
- MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (11th November 2005)
3.1 Minutes of the meeting had been previously circulated. They were signed as a true record of the meeting without amendment.
- MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
4.1 There were no matters arising that would not be dealt with elsewhere on the Agenda.
- FINANCES
5.1 Current Balance: £ 2308.55
Income since last meeting (MDDC for Churchyard) £ 140.00
5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:
Clerk’s honorarium expenses (£6.31)
Ken White Signs (£68.51)
UHRA for hire of hall (£18)
Uplowman PCC for maintenance of Churchyard (£300)
5.3 After some discussion, it was decided that the Annual Precept for 2006/7 should be set at £2,000. Now that the reserves were at a healthy level, this was considered sufficient for current expenditure. It was agreed to continue UPC’s subscription to the Devon Association of Parish Councils and to instruct MDDC to deduct the sum from the Precept. The Clerk would inform MDDC.
- PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS
6.1 05/02039F: Fairoak Fm, Conv of redundant farm buildings: Had been approved by MDDC.
6.2 05/01651F: Spallsbury Fm, Change use of barn: Had been approved by MDDC.
6.3 Uplowman School Revised plans. The DCC Planning Committee had approved these with minor amendments. There would be delay in obtaining funding, which had slipped from the current year’s budget. Nothing had yet been decided on the traffic and parking issues. Cllr Hannon offered to pursue this in collaboration with UPC.
6.4 05/02462/Full: The Beeches, Crosses Farm Erection of conservatory and extension of residential curtilage. This had been approved by MDDC, against the advice of UPC and despite representations from UPC to the planning officer. Cllr Radford advised that contentious issues should be ‘called in’ to the committee for full consideration. The Clerk would write to Mr Guscott at MDDC.
6.5 05/02458/Full: Part OS 7500 Higher Reed Fm:Use of land to site mobile home for Ag Workers.
UPC had not objected. A decision was awaited from MDDC.
6.6 Mobile homes at Putson Cross: The site seemed to be developing, despite rejection of the applicant’s appeal for planning approval in August 2005. The Clerk would write to Mr Guscott for an explanation.
6.7 It was noted that comments on Planning issues can now be made on line via the MDDC Website.
- 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 The Rural Transport Partnership newsletter described grants available for rural transport.
7.2 The Regional Spatial Strategy had been updated.
- HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
8.1 Hall activities continued to go well. Functions over the holiday period had been well attended.
- EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
9.1 Emergency Plan was redrafted, as well as the survey. It was hoped to have these issued shortly.
- VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
10.1 Leat maintenance: Bulbs had been planted along the verge of the leat and their emergence was awaited with interest.
10.2 Electrification: It was agreed that WPD’s Option 2 would not provide the sought-for benefits in getting all cables underground.
10.3 The Clerk had just learned that UPC’s application to the National Lottery Awards for All had been successful. It was greed that the priority was to construct a bridge at the northern end of the Hall carpark. This would be discussed with the UHRA committee. A second approach would be made to MDDC for help with surfacing the carpark.
10.4 PC Dodd had requested financial support for a proposed weekend trip to Dartmoor for local youths. After some discussion, it was decided that, as participation would be mainly from Halberton/Sampford, it was not appropriate for Uplowman’s Precept to be put towards it.
- CONDITION OF ROAD/TRANSPORT IN THE PARISH
11.1 Signs: All signs were now in place and much admired.
11.2 The grill at the piped section of ditch by the sewage plant had become blocked. The Lengthsman would be informed and requested to add it to his list of actions.
- DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting would be at 7.30pm on Friday March 10th 2006. It was noted that the May meeting date had been changed due to a clash in the Hall. Subsequent meetings would be on May 19th, July 14th and 8th September.
The meeting closed at 9.35pm
Matters raised by the Public: There had been none.
PC Dodd’s crime report: The only crime reported in Uplowman in the past 2 months had been a Drink-Drive on the link road. There had been a general increase in ‘shed burglaries’ in the district but it was not possible to comment specifically on cases in progress.
PC Dodd had also assisted in an Uplowman School trip to the Bristol Exploratory.