March 2010
MINUTES OF MEETING, Approved on 20 May Held on 26th March 2010 at the Village Hall, Uplowman, starting at 8.15pm.
Mr D Hannon, (Member, DCC), Mr R Radford (Member, MDDC) and one member of public present. PC G Custance and PCSO J Simms from Cullompton Police Stn attended the Public Session. Minutes taken by R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.
1. MEMBERS PRESENT
1.1 Present: Mr D Hamer, Mr P Beadle, Mrs S Brown, Mr R Branton & Mr T Milner.
2. PROCEDURAL MATTERS
2.1 Apologies had been received from Mr R Norman and Mr R Adcock, both absent for family reasons.
2.2 It was noted that the date of this meeting had been changed due to the unexpected absence of the Clerk on the scheduled date (18th March).
3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (21st January 2010)
3.1 Minutes of the previous Parish Council meeting (held on 21st January 2010) had been previously circulated. They were signed as a true record without amendment.
4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
4.1 Mr Milner had investigated options for replacing the deceased cherry tree on the Green. This had originally been planted by the school to mark the Silver Jubilee in 1977 and the school wished to pay for its replacement. It was agreed that Mr Milner would obtain the tree on their behalf and Cllr Radford would provide transport to Uplowman,
5. FINANCES
5.1 Current Balance: £ 1662.44
Income since last meeting (MDDC grant for churchyard) £ Nil
5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:
To M Gabriel for clearing footpath. Payment of £105.00 had already been made.
R Hodgson, Expenses (£5.61).
5.3 It was confirmed that the DAPC subscription could be collected by deduction from the MDDC Precept.
5.4 The draft Statement of Accounts for 2009/10 was presented for consideration.
6. PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS
6.1 09/01857/PNAG: Lower Beer. Replace Agricultural Bldg. MDDC approved by prior notification
6.2 09/01848/F: Higher Reed Farm Agricultural Dwelling: UPC had inspected and made no objections
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 MDDC had written with a proposed Parish Charter and revisions to the procedures for liaison between District and Town/Parish Councils, including the appointment of a Liaison Officer, which were noted.
8. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
8.1 There was no report due to Mr Adcock's absence.
9. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
9.1PC Custance had noted that only one crime had been reported in Uplowman since the New Year, viz. The theft of a shovel. He reminded the meeting that all crimes should be reported as that would enable the police to build up patterns of associated activity. There had also been a minor incident outside the school and they would be in attendance there regularly.
10. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
10.1 Work on clearing the school path had taken place, as planned, at the end of January. The Landowner had started preparations for making the gateway. There would be a meeting with the School to discuss the next steps on the following Monday, 29 March. Mr Milner said that there were legal obligations in commissioning major works that would need to be addressed. The Clerk would discuss these with DCC and, if necessary, the insurance company. There was also a possible issue with the need to pay VAT before it could be reclaimed, which would create cash-flow problems and the Audit fees would be greater than usual due to the higher turn-over. It was agreed that firm quotations should be sought so that UPC could apply for grants to make up any shortfall on the moneys currently available from DCC (thought to amount to at least £10,000 with more possible available after budgetting was completed).
10.2 It was noted that there would be no Uplowman Horse Show this year. Instead, there would be a Funday to be on 15 May. It was agreed that Uplowman PC would book a table and it was suggested that this could be an opportunity to update the survey of possible village projects. As there would be no Parish Social this year, the Annual Parish Meeting would be held on the same day as the Annual General Meeting.
10.3 Mr Branton reported that the telephone box had been tidied up. The Clerk noted that no more had been heard from BT regarding its removal. Mr Branton said that the neighbouring landowner considred it to be located on his land.
10.4 After discussion about arrangements for cutting grass durung the coming summer, it was decided to offer the work to the contractor who currently performs the corresponding duties for the UHRA. This would ensure a consistent approach. The Clerk was asked to contact both contractors and make the appropriate arrangements.
11. CONDITION OF ROAD/TRANSPORT IN THE PARISH
11.1Many holes had been recently filled. Mr Hamer would determine how best to remove the graffiti that had recently appeared on the Village signboard.
12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting would be he Annual Meeting on Thursday 20th May 2010.
The meeting closed at 10pm
Public Sessions
There was considerable discussion of the way forward for the school path (see above). Cllr Hannon said that there was £10,000 available from the DCC 09/10 budget, which would be paid to UPC. He thought that there could be up to £5,000 additional funds but could not be certain until after the year end. Cllr Radford would be happy to help where he could. It was agreed that some form of community contribution would help greatly. A sponsored walk was suggested. PC Custance and PCSO Simms introduced themselves and explained that although Uplowman fell under the Tiverton station, they worked from Cullompton to cover 9 villages in the area. The easiest way to contact them for routine matters was by email, at Graham.CUSTANCE@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk There was discussion regarding replacement of the cherry tree on the Green, resolved as noted above.