September 2013

MINUTES OF MEETING,Held on 5th September 2013 at the Village Hall, Uplowman starting at 8.40pm. Approved on 21-11-13

Cllr D Hannon (DCC), Cllr R Radford (MDDC) , Mr J Guscott (Head of MDDC Planning team) and five members of the public present. Minutes taken by R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.

 

1. MEMBERS PRESENT

1.1  Present: Cllr T Milner, Cllr R Norman, Cllr R Adcock & Cllr A McCombe.

2. PROCEDURAL MATTERS

2.1 Apologies for absence had been received from Cllr K Lovell (away), Mrs V DeHann and Mr R Branton, who was away on business.

2.2 Mrs De Hann had tendered her resignation on grounds that family pressures did not allow enough time for UPC work. The Clerk outlined the process of co-option and would inform MDDC.

3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (18th July 2013)

3.1  The Minutes of 18th July 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  It was noted that the Clerk had circulated notes on Permitted Development Rights and had invited Mr Guscott to describe Neighbourhood planning to UPC (see notes at end).

4.2  The UHRA container had been moved away from Twin Oaks' garden.

5. FINANCES

5.1             Current Balance:                    £5411.24

                  Income since last meeting       £Nil

5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:

                    W J Veen, grass-cutting etc. (£78.70)

                    R Hodgson, Clerk's salary (£480.00)

                    UHRA, Hire of Hall ((£20.00)

5.3  The Clerk reported that the Annual Audit had been completed with no comments received from the Auditor. The approved statements had been posted on the noticeboard.

6. PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS

6.1  13/00185/MFUL Buckhayes Fm, Cove solar 15.2ha. MDDC had refused this application.

6.2  13/00793/F: Swandhams poultry Fm, replace poultry buildings. Additional details had been received.

6.3  13/00711/LBC: Hill Fm, convert redundant building to holiday let. This had been called in for consideration the following week. The council considered the matter and agreed unanimously to support the application, which Cllr Radford duly noted.

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  Little correspondence had been received during the summer break.

8.  HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION

8.1 The recent festival had been well attended and UHRA finances were again in good shape.

9. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

9.1  PCSO Simms reported that Uplowman remained quiet with no reported crimes in the past 2 months.

10.  VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

10.1  Neighbourhood planning: The Clerk had recovered the 3-D Map from school and it was at Lower Beer for safe-keeping. Following the presentation by Mr Guscott, it was agreed that all councillors would consider individually their views on the way forward. An informal meeting would be held in late October to discuss the options. The Clerk would circulate possible dates, preferably not during the last week of October.

10.2  Uplowman's TAP Fund would amount to £301. It seemed that a letter of support from another parish would be enough to demonstrate collaboration. Cllr Milner had been in touch with Sampford Peverell PC and would approach them again on this basis.

10.3  The Clerk would email MDDC, copied to Cllr Radford, regarding the location of the dog waste bin, preferred by councillors to be by the entrance to the sewage plant.

10.4  The Uplowman telephone kiosk was in danger of being removed through lack of use. UPC could buy it for a nominal £1, including removal of the electricity supply. On a show of hands, all were in favour of this proposal. Cllr Milner would sign the forms and send to BT. All should consider its future.

11. STATE OF ROADS IN PARISH

11.1 The road past Chieflowman had reopened. It was noted that the repairs to the road to Whitnage were apparently temporary and might be soon undone. The Clerk would detail the areas in question to Cllr Hannon, who would enquire of DCC.

12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting was scheduled for Thursday 21st November.

The meeting closed at 9.45pm

Public discussion.

It was noted that the path past the Hall was sometimes blocked by a vegetable stall. A wider path would enable wheelchair access.

Mr J Guscott outlined the provisions of the Localism Act, which include:

• Setting up a Neighbourhood Plan (NP) for all or part of a Parish;

• Creating Neighbourhood Development Orders for specific sites, and

• Community Right to Build, in which benefits must revert to the community via a separate organisation.

MDDC could help with applications for Neighbourhood Plans, which would need to be examined by an independent inspector and agreed by a referendum of the whole parish. Many NPs were in the pipeline but so far only three completed. Details of the process for setting up an NP were given in a publication by the CPRE, which can be downloaded from http://www.cpre.org.uk/resources/housing-and-planning/planning/item/2689-how-to-shape-where-you-live-a-guide-to-neighbourhood-planning. Policies adopted in the NP should not be negative or prohibitive and should follow general planning justification.

Mr Guscott said that in his view NPs were most valuable in areas where the District planning was poorly developed. However, he noted that MDDC's Local Plan was being fully revised and was due for adoption by late 2015. He suggested that a simpler, more robust alternative to UPC developing its own NP would be to ensure that provisions sought by UPC be incorporated into the revised MDDC Local Plan. The first draft of the MDDC revised Local Plan was due for consultation early in 2014.

Parishes with a NP qualify for additional Community Infrastructure Levy funds. Mr Guscott said that the CIL, typically around £3,500 per house, was for infrastructure provision and might be required anyway by MDDC to enable big schemes. He noted that MDDC population had risen 11.4% in 10 years, necessitating the current review of the Local Plan.

Once adopted, a NP should be reviewed after 5 to 10 years, following a process similar to the initial adoption.

Minutes of 5th Sept 2013