September 2010
MINUTES OF MEETING Held on 2nd September 2010 at the Village Hall, Uplowman, starting at 8.30pm. Approved 18 Nov 2010.
Mr R Radford (Member, MDDC) and 5 members of public present Minutes taken by R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.
1. MEMBERS PRESENT
1.1 Present: Mr D Hamer (Chairman), Mr R Branton, Mr R Norman, Mr R Adcock, Mr P Beadle, Mrs S Brown & Mr T Milner.
2. PROCEDURAL MATTERS
2.1No apologies for absence had been received; all members were present.
3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (15 July 2010)
3.1Minutes of the previous Parish Council meeting (held on 15 July 2010 had been previously circulated. They were approved and signed as a true record without amendment.
4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
4.1 The Chair said that he had examined the DALC document 'Being a Good Employer'. The Clerk was the only employee and it seemed that an Annual Appraisal of his performance should be conducted. After some discussion, it was agreed that such an Appraisal should occur annually after each January meeting. A procedure would be developed for agreement at the Nov 2010 meeting.
4.2 The Clerk had informed the School governors that UPC was not minded to support the ongoing rent of the school path.
5. FINANCES
5.1 Current Balance: £ 17390.15
Income since last meeting £ Nil
5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:
To R Hodgson for expenses (£3.30)
To Mr J Veen for grass cutting to date (£58.50)
To the Audit Commission for 2010 Audit (£58.75)
As agreed at the previous meeting, R Norman had been paid on receipt of his invoice for the temporary fencing associated with the path, a total of £565.06p. The final Bill from R&R Services for the school path had not yet been received. It was agreed that up to £13,000 could be paid on receipt of R&R's invoice.
6. PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS
6.1 10/1060/F: High Locks Fm; Slurry Lagoon. UPC No Objection, no decision received
6.2 10/00742/F: Gulmoor, Extn revised submission. UPC No Objection, approved.
6.3 10/00793/F: Widhayes, erection of Ag Bldg, refused due to proximity to listed bldg
6.4 10/01063/F: The Beeches, erection of Ag Bldg: Had been withdrawn.
6.5 10/01290/F: The Beeches, erection of Ag Bldg (revised): would be inspected on 9 September.
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 were developing their Development Management Development Plan Document and sought comments by 24 Sept. This was considered but UPC had no views on the matter.
7.2 The mobile library schedule had been revised to give more time in Chieflowman.
7.3 Devon & Cornwall Police had reorganised their public meetings as conferences.
7.4 A letter had been received by the Chair from Mrs Pam Holley asking if UPC would join in a village project to develop a 'Welcome Pack' for new residents. Noting that this had been tried before, it was agreed that Cllr T Milner would attend a first meeting to establish how UPC might contribute. Cllr Hamer would respond accordingly to Mrs Holley.
8. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
8.1 Bookings were still good. It was noted that the marquee could now be rented for functions, together with chairs.
9. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
9.1 PC Custance had emailed to inform that PC Rich had returned from maternity leave and resumed her duties as Neighbourhood Beat Manager covering Uplowman. He had enjoyed his time on the beat and wished everyone well. He did not mention any reports of crimes.
10. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
10.1 Apart from minor details, such as the grass seeding, the school path was completed this week. UPC's appreciation was expressed to all involved in getting this long-awaited project finished on time for the new school year. There would be a small opening ceremony on 6th September at the path and all were invited.
10.2 The leak in the leat had been staunched by Cllrs Norman and Branton. The public discussion indicated that people valued the leat and wished to retain it. However its ownership was not always known. It was agreed unanimously to build up a modest fund for maintenance in cases where there was no clear responsibility. This fund could be raised on the Precept or from public donations. The Clerk noted that he had recently contacted DALC regarding possible legal aspects of the leat maintenance and awaited a reply.
10.3 Future Village Projects: due to time constraints this item was postponed to November.
11. STATE OF ROADS IN PARISH
11.1 There were some big holes and a collapsed culvert in the Beerdown road. They would be registered on the DCC website.
12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting would be on Thursday 18 November, in the Hall starting at 7.30pm with public discussion.
The meeting closed at 10pm
Public Discussion
There was considerable discussion on the future of the Leat. It was commented that: - Users have been weeding the channel to maintain flows. It was possible that use of excavators had damaged the clay lining. - Although the contractors who installed sewerage connections denied responsibility, the recent leak had occurred at the point where they had excavated across the leat. - The farmers using the leat were now few in number and could probably manage without it. - It was important in taking surface water drainage from the Greengates area and as a flood relief channel mitigating flooding by Green End. It was estimated that it helped prevent flooding in events up to the 1 in 50 year storm. Any alterations would need approval of the Environment Agency. - the leat was over 200 years old and an impressive feat of engineering in its day. It was 2 miles long and passed through 2 other parishes, in addition to Uplowman. - The establishment of a fund to manage the leat was suggested. A public fund had been raised before but the contributors felt they had no influence over its use. In summary, the meeting felt that the PC should take a lead in maintaining the leat and should take action where problems occurred out-with the purview of any particular property. This should be funded from both the Annual Precept and from voluntary contributions. The PC would take this into account in formulating a policy.