January 2010
MINUTES OF MEETING Held on 21st January 2010 at the Village Hall, Uplowman, starting at 8pm Approved 26th March 2010
Mr R Radford (Member, MDDC) and one member of public present. Minutes taken by R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.
1. MEMBERS PRESENT
1.1 Present: Mr R Norman, Mr P Beadle, Mr R Adcock, Mr R Branton & Mr T Milner.
2. PROCEDURAL MATTERS
2.1 Mr Hamer had tendered apologies for absence due to family commitments. In his absence, Mr Branton took the Chair.
3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (19th November 2009)
3.1Minutes of the previous Parish Council meeting (held on 19th November 2009) had been previously circulated. They were signed as a true record without amendment.
4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
4.1 The Clerk reported that MDDC had now sent its recommendations regarding the removal of telephone boxes to BT and had objected to the removal of the Uplowman box, as requested by the PC.
5. FINANCES
5.1 Current Balance: £ 2126.44
Income since last meeting (MDDC grant for churchyard) £ 140.00
5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:
Ring & Ride contribution (£25.00 agreed at Nov Meeting) Uplowman & Whitnage News Sponsorship for April (£25.00 from 2010 budget)
Uplowman PCC for Churchyard maintenance (£350.00 as budget)
UHRA for Hire of Hall from May-Nov 09 (£64.00)
It was noted that there would be costs associated with clearing the school path that could be paid when due, provided they were within the budgetted £250 for the current year.
5.3 Cllr Radford noted that MDDC would be considering cutting the Churchyard Grants from 2011/12. All duly noted the potential loss of income.
6. PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS
6.1 09/01445/LBC: Shapcott, replace thatch. MDDC had granted permission.
6.2 09/01848/F: Hr Reed Fm, Agricultural dwelling - Inspection arranged for 30 Jan. The Clerk would inform the applicant.
6.3 BT Phone boxes - Final decision papers - MDDC had objected to removal of Uplowman Box in their response to BT
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:
7.1There had been little correspondence of direct interest to UPC. The Clerk drew attention to the forthcoming training events organised by DAPC.
7.2 Mr Milner raised the issue of closure of the Post Office in Sampford Peverell on Jan 6th. That meant that the nearest POs were either Uplowman's part-time one or Halberton. He felt that the planning approval for the development in SP should have considered the impact on existing local businesses. It was pointed out that there had been a shop previously on the site and that was the reason for including one in the permission. There had once been a second shop opposite. All agreed that there was a need for local people to use local facilities or they would be lost.
8. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
8.1 There was little to report. The current work at the Sampford Peverell Hall had resulted in several activities relocating temporarily to Uplowman, such as the Play Group.
9. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
9.1There had been no police report received.
9.2 A brief review was made of the operation of the Emergency Plan during the recent snowy weather. There had been no issues reported. Cllr Radford said that DCC were looking into subcontracting local farmers to spread grit and asked where additional grit bins might be placed. The feeling of the meeting was that 4WD vehicles were needed in such conditions anyway and that a few additional grit bins would not alter that significantly.
10. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
10.1 Work on clearing the school path was scheduled to take place during the following week. It was agreed to inspect the site on the Saturday after the meeting with the landowner and agree the scope of work, which would then take place on Friday 29 January, when a certificated chain-saw operator would be on site. Cllrs Norman and Branton would assist with clearing the trimmings, together with the Clerk and Mr White of the School Governors. It was felt that there was no advantage in having more volunteers on the relatively constrained site. The cost of the chain-saw operator would be met from the PC budget.
10.2 The 2007 list of proposed projects was discussed. Mr Milner volunteered to categorise the list to assist in prioritising and costing it. As a first step, it was agreed to replace the cherry tree that had been on the Green (and had died in 2006). Mr Milner would consult with nearby residents and set this process in train.
11. CONDITION OF ROAD/TRANSPORT IN THE PARISH
11.1The recent icy conditions had caused a number of holes to appear in the roads. One near Stag Mill plus a number on the Whitnage Road were noted.
12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting would be on Thursday 18th March 2010.
The meeting closed at 9.15pm
Public Sessions
There was considerable discussion of the proposed work to clear the route of the school path. As well as the work noted above, Cllr Norman would clear the ditches alongside the path and the Clerk would enquire of Cllr Hannon regarding funding for further work. The Clerk had received a note from a parishioner commenting that some repair works were needed to the railings of the bridges over the stream (a) by Greenend and (b) at the bottom of Uplowman Hill. There was also a need to clear the ditch at the bottom of the hill as it seemed to have been filled by snow-ploughing activities. The Clerk would attend to these matters. It was felt that the telephone box was in need of some care and attention. Cllr Branton would inspect it on Saturday afternoon. It was suggested that if BT still insisted on decommissioning the box, the PC might be prepared to accept an annual charge for the electricity of about £15 instead of a larger one-off payment to remove the supply. Cllr Beadle would check out whether this was an option.