January 2009
MINUTES OF MEETING
Held on 15th January 2009 at the Village Hall, Uplowman, starting at 7.55pm
Cllrs D Hannon (DCC) & R Radford (MDDC) + 6 members of the public present. Minutes taken by R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.
1. MEMBERS PRESENT
1.1 Present: Mr D Hamer, Mrs J Woolley, Mr R Branton, Mr R Norman, Mr P Beadle Mr R Adcock and Mrs S Brown.
2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
2.1 None, all present.
- MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (20th November 2008)
3.1 Minutes of the previous Parish Council meeting held on 20th November 2008 had been previously circulated. They were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chair.
- MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
4.1 Adoption of the revised Freedom of Information Scheme. Notification of the requirement to do this had been received too late for inclusion in the Agenda for the previous meeting. It was proposed by Cllr Woolley that the revised FoI scheme be adopted by Uplowman Parish Council with effect from 31st December 2008. Cllr Brown seconded the motion, which was agreed unanimously.
4.2 Following discussion of implementation of the FoI publication scheme, it was agreed that:
- the Clerk would obtain specimen examples of the necessary policies and documents from DAPC
- a subcommittee consisting of Cllrs Hamer, Woolley, Adcock & Brown, plus the Clerk, would be convened to assess and propose drafts of the required documents. The subcommittee would meet at Jaspers’ Green at 7.30pm on 26th Feb and report to the next full Council meeting.
- FINANCES
5.1 Current Balance: £ 1773.95
Income since last meeting £ Nil
5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:
R Hodgson, Clerk, expenses (£3.61)
D Hamer, Expenses relating to binding of Minutes (£23.00+£25.60 for 64miles travel @0.40p)
R Branton, for donation made to Royal British Legion (wreath) on Armistice day (£18.00)
5.3 Policy on Travel Expenses. Cllr Woolley proposed that travel expenses incurred on behalf of UPC for travel by motor vehicle should be reimbursed at the rate of £0.40p per mile, being the rate allowed as an expense by HM Revenue&Customs. Seconded Cllt Norman and agreed by all.
5.4 Precept. The Clerk’s records showed that expaenditure and income were expected to be roughly equal for 2008/9. Cllr Branton proposed that the Precept for the coming year be increased by £100 to £2,200. Cllr Adcock seconded and all agreed. The Clerk would inform MDDC. It was also agreed that the subscription to Devon Association of Parish Councils should continue and could be deducted by MDDC from the Precept payment.
5.5 After some discussion, it was agreed that the grant to the UPPC in respect of maintenance of the Churchyard be set at £400 for this year (2008/9). The payment would be made at the March meeting by when a supporting grant from MDDC was expected.
- PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS
6.1 08/01816/F: Agricultural Access in Whitnage Rd (adj School path) - MDDC refused.
6.2 08/02145PNAG: Ag Storage Bldg, Hill Farm Prior Approval granted
6.3 09/00055F: Ag Vehicle Access, Whitnage Rd, Revised scheme to be considered. It was agreed to meet on site to consider this at 9am on 17th Jan.
6.4 It was reported that the agricultural shed at East Mere Cross (Ref. 08/00996/Full) had been built with an additional window not included in the approved plans. Several parishioners had enquired. The Clerk would consult with the MDDC planning enforcement officers.
- 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 dept for Communities & Local Govt had sent a consultation on their proposals.
7.2 The Clerk informed UPC that a Rural Services Network had been extablished to promote rural affairs. UPC had been enrolled automatically and he would keep them informed of developments. There was at present no cost to UPC.
7.3 In response to a query regarding correspondence from the previous meeting, the Clerk clarified that his enquiries had found that the Green was owned/managed by DCC. Therefore, he had taken no further action regarding its registration.
- HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
8.1 Report from Cllr Adcock. The HRA had met recently. Plans for the coming year included refurbishment of the entrance lobby and of the Hall floor. It was acknowledged that the new lights in the playing field had disturbed neighbours and they would be changed.
- EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
9.1 The Emergency Plans had been distributed. There were a few discrepancies to be clarified. Details were passed to the Clerk.
9.2 PC Rich had apologised for her absence. She had informed the clerk that there had been no crimes reported in Uplowman since the previous meeting in November.
- VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
10.1 School path planning application was still under consideration. It was expected that its progress was awaiting consideration of the highway issues raised by the neighbouring agricultural access.
10.2 There had been no feed-back yet from the consultation on traffic management in the village that had been distributed with the Emergency Plans.
10.3 The Minute book from 1894 to 1953 had been rebound. It was passed to Mr T Milner, representing the Uplowman Ferrets local history society, for perusal until the May AGM, when it would be returned to the Clerk for safe-keeping.
- CONDITION OF ROAD/TRANSPORT IN THE PARISH
11.1 Repairs were being done and the state of the roads had improved. There had been a number of closures due to pipes burst during the recent cold weather.
- DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting would be on Thursday 19th March starting at 7.30pm. Subsequent meetings had been arranged on 21 May, 16 July, 17 September and 19 November 2009.
The meeting closed at 9.20pm
Public Forum (7.30-7.55pm)
It was suggested that, as the Council Tax pays for street lights, which are not enjoyed by the residents of Uplowman, perhaps it might be possible to obtain a reduction in Council Tax locally. There was a precedent where a similar approach had been successful. Cllr Hannon responded that such an approach could be made to DCC but he did not anticipate that it would meet a favourable ear.
A query was raised over progress of work on the projects suggested in the Feb 07 survey. Cllr Hamer said that the Annual Social was one result of that survey and that a process for developing schemes was needed.
The resubmitted Agricultural Access in Whitnage road was discussed. It was said that the proposed concrete apron would be unsightly. Cllr Hamer responded that the revised application would be discussed later. Cllr Hannon said that the plans for the adjacent school path had been revised and would be resubmitted soon. The Clerk would post details on the noticeboard when received. Cllr Hannon’s concern was that in the present constrained financial situation, allocation of finances for the scheme might be difficult but that bridge would be crossed when it was reached.