July 2011
UPLOWMAN PARISH COUNCIL: MINUTES OF MEETING Held on 21st July 2011 at the Village Hall, Uplowman, starting at 7.45pm. Approved on 1st September 2011
Mr D Hannon (councillor, DCC) present. Minutes taken by R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.
1. MEMBERS PRESENT
1.1 Present: Mr T Milner (Chairman), Mr R Norman, Mr R Adcock and Mr A McCombe.
2. PROCEDURAL MATTERS
2.1 Cllr McCombe wished to attend the New Councillor training day on 28th July. The Clerk would arrange this.
2.2 Apologies for absence had been received from Mr R Branton.
2.3 Cllr Adcock had received an expression of interest in one of the vacant councillor positions. The lady would telephone the clerk.
3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (19 May 2011)
3.1 The minutes of 19 May had been circulated previously and were signed without amendment as a true record of that meeting.
4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
4.1 The owner of the land at E Mere Cross had contacted the Clerk and assured him that the area would be tidied.
5. FINANCES
5.1 Current Balance: £ 7,957.66
Income since last meeting(Precept)£ Nil
5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:
Clerk's Expenses (£9.68)
To Mr Veen for grass cutting (£83.95)
Uplowman & Whitnage News sponsorship (£25.00).
5.3 The audit process had been completed and the papers sent to the District Auditors. There had been no feedback yet.
5.4 Cllr Adcock had not yet been able to present himself at the bank as a new signatory. He would do so in the following week.
6. PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS
6.1 11/00374/F: Greengate Cottage: Erection of extensions. Revised plans had been submitted and UPC had not commented further.
6.2 1 Locks Cottage: Listed Building Consent for an extension to 1 Locks Cottages. UPC had not objected but the application had now been withdrawn.
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 conducting a review of polling stations in the District. It was agreed that Uplowman Hall provided ideal accommodation for this purpose, being large enough fro multiple booths, if needed, central in the village and accessible to wheelchairs. There was nowhere more suitable in the Parish.
7.2 It was noted that planning for the Queen's diamond jubilee in 2012 had started. Councillors would consider how the event might be marked in Uplowman, possibly in collaboration with UHRA.
7.3 Involve had written asking about transport needs. It was decided that the Ring & Ride should be publicised and the transport needs of those without cars reviewed regularly.
8. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
8.1 Nothing untoward to report. The committee was looking into installing building management systems to cut electricity use. A 10th anniversary (of the Hall) dinner was being planned for New Years' eve 2012/13.
8.2 It was noted that the recent village fun-day had been well attended and made £850.
9. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
9.1 No report had been received from the police.
10. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
10.1 Parish Charter: The proposed MDDC-Parish Charter was discussed. It was agreed that UPC would sign up to it and all welcomed the opportunity to work more closely with MDDC
10.2 Social Event 2nd September. As agreed at the previous meeting, the Clerk had booked 2nd September for this event. It was agreed that the theme would be Uplowman's History, led by the Ferrets group. Cllr Adcock would investigate a bouncy castle and draft a flier. NOTE: Subsequent to the meeting it was decided to postpone this event, which will not take place as discussed.
10.3 Cllr Milner had made progress with the village website, which could be viewed at www.uplowman.org.uk. He had put the welcome pack onto it and a fair amount of historical information. Cllr Milner would welcome comments.
10.4 A parishioner had approached the Chair and offered a sum of money for a village project. After discussion it was agreed that the benches on the green needed refurbishment and repair and this would be a welcome use for the money. Cllr Milner would take this forward.
10.5 Cllr McCombe thught that the viillage might take over the telephone box. Cllr Hannon said that Halberton had done this and that their Cllr Rob Saunders was the man to give advice. Cllr McCombe would phone him. It was also noted that the village signs and sign posts were in need to cleaning anf repair. Cllr Hannon said that this would happen only if they were broken and to email him with details.
11. STATE OF ROADS IN PARISH
11.1 Details of the Snow-warden scheme had been sent to the Clerk. The PC was invited to nominate a snow-warden, who would become responsible for ensuring that grit bins were kept full and used properly. The warden would be trained and 5 tons of salt provided annually. Additional salt could be purchased fro £100/T. The meeting considered the matter and was interested in principle. Some of the provisions were not applicable to a rural area and it was not clear what service Uplowman would receive if it did not join up, as some of the provisions were already supplied. The Clerk would respond, copying in Cllr Hannon.
11.2 The Whitnage-Sampford Peverell back road was in the process of being patched, which was welcomed!
12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting would be on Thursday 1st September 2011, in the Hall starting at 7.30pm with public discussion. It was noted that Cllr Milner might be delayed in arriving.
The meeting closed at 9.45pm
Public discussion: There was still a problem with cars parking outside the school. Cllr Norman understood that there was a Health & Safety issue with using the path outside school hours so there were sometimes hold-ups caused by after-school events. It was agreed to write to the Head Teacher at the start of the new term and to propose an annual review of the path's use.
Draft mins 21 July 2011