March 2012
MINUTES OF MEETING Held on 15th March 2012 at the Village Hall, Uplowman, starting at 8.10pm. Approved on 17 May 2012
3 members of the public present. Minutes taken by R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.
1. MEMBERS PRESENT
1.1.Present: Mr T Milner (Chairman), Mr R Norman, Mrs V deHann, Mr Adcock, Mr McCombe and Mr R Branton.
2. PROCEDURAL MATTERS
2.1Apologies for absence had been received from Mrs K Lovell, representing PC at Diamond Jubilee Committee meeting.
3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (19th January 2012)
3.1 The Minutes of 19th January had been circulated previously. No errors or omissions were reported and the Minutes were duly signed by the Chair as a true record of that meeting.
4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
4.1 The Clerk reported that the 2011 Election expenses had been made up of a £57 fee plus £50 for costs.
4.2 Mr Branton had instructed Mr Veen who had cleared the section of leat beyond the Hall entrance.
5. FINANCES
5.1 Current Balance: £ 6,960.29
Income since last meeting£ Nil
5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:
Clerk's salary and expenses (£484.80p)
UHRA, for hire of Hall (£30.00p)
Mr J Veen, for grass cutting and clearing leat (£38.75p)
It was agreed to renew Mr Veen's appointment to cut the grass around the Green for the coming year.
5.3 The Clerk's appraisal had been held on March 7th. The Clerk left the meeting while the outcome was discussed, following which the Chair stated that the PC had been exceptionally pleased with the Clerk's performance and looked forward to another scintillating year.
5.4 The Clerk presented a provisional Statement of Accounts for the year ending March 2012. He did not expect much change and there were no comments.
6. PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS
6.1 11/01876/F Wind Turbine at Hill Fm, Had been approved by MDDC
6.2 11/01822/F Agricultural Building at The Beeches,. No determination yet.
6.3 12/0274/F: Melway Stables, use as Mini Waste Transfer site. Referred to DCC, consultation awaited.
6.4 11/01934/CLU The Haven Annex, Certificate of lawful use as independent dwelling, Approved MDDC.
6.5 11/1912/F 2 Locks Cottages, erection of porch. Refused by MDDC.
6.6 12/0285/F: Westmead, 1st Floor Extension to garage, to be inspected.
6.7 12/0356/F: Hr Coombe Cottage: erect office over existing garage. To be inspected.
6.8 Mrs Lovell had attended a day on Neighbourhood Planning. This would be discussed at later date. A guide on the subject is available at www.ntselearning.co.uk
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 DCC services listings are available at www.directory.devon.gov.uk
8. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
8.1 The entrance lobby floor had been relaid and the changing rooms are now in need of repair. A report on building energy management had been received. A noticeboard had been bought for £100.
9. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
9.1 No further action on updating the Emergency Plan had taken place. The Clerk would email the present plan to all Councillors for consideration.
9.2 PCSO Sims reported only 3 incidents in the previous reporting period, being a case of sheep worrying and two suspicious vehicles.
10. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
10.1 Mrs Lovell was attending a planning meeting for the forthcoming Jubilee celebrations concurrent with the PC meeting and would report back in due course. It was agreed that the PC would fund a suitable gift to mark the occasion for all children in the parish up to 11 years old, in line with the previously aagreed budget.
10.2 The website development was ongoing.
10.3 Proposals for expending the money donated by Mr Elliott were awaited from Mrs Holley (UHRA).
10.4 It was decided not to hold a Village social event this summer. Possibly something might be done to coincide with the bonfire night celebrations.
10.5 Further costings had been received for flashing warning signs either side of the new school path entrance. It seemed that they would be within the budget available. Cllr Hannon had requested that a consultation be conducted with the neighbours likely to be affected before the work went ahead. This should involve immediate neighbours, Cllr Hannon and DCC Highways.
11. STATE OF ROADS IN PARISH
11.1 The state of the roads had not changed much. Their condition was generally satisfactory at present, albeit with some potholes in the Whitnage area.
12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting would be on Thursday 17th May 2012, in the Hall starting at 7.30pm with public discussion.
The meeting closed at 9.00pm
Public discussion:
The meeting had started with a presentation by Steve from Cosmic Ethical IT. He outlined a DCC-sponsored scheme to provide access to fast broadband via satelite in remote rural locations that cannot presently get terrestrial broadband. This includes the northern parts of Uplowman Parish and could achieve upwards of 6MBps speeds for £25/month. Demonstrations could be arranged. His organisation can also provide training and mentoring in IT subjects for groups that might benefit from this.