March 2014
MINUTES OF MEETING Held on 20th March 2014 at the Village Hall, Uplowman starting at 8.20pm. Approved on 15 May 2014.
Cllr D Hannon (DCC), Cllr R Radford, MDDC and one member of the public present. Minutes taken by Mr R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.
1. MEMBERS PRESENT
1.1 Present: Cllr R Norman, Cllr R Adcock, Cllr R Branton (in the Chair), Cllr K Baugh, Cllr S Floyd & Cllr A McCombe.
2. PROCEDURAL MATTERS
2.1 Apologies for absence had been received from Cllr T Milner, away on a long arranged leave.
3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (16 January 2013)
3.1 The Minutes of 16th 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 Cllr Norman reported that he had cleared the leat and it was flowing satisfactorily.
5. FINANCES
5.1 Current Balance: £4281.64
Income since last meeting £Nil
5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:
Mr R Hodgson, Clerk's Salary and expenses (£501.55 in total).
5.3 It was reported that the Chair had conducted the 360 degree Clerk's appraisal process with councillors but that the face to face meeting had yet to occur.
5.4 The Clerk left the room while his salary was discussed. On his return the Chair announced that this would rise to £1000 for the coming year 2014/15. The Clerk expressed gratitude.
5.5 The Clerk presented the draft year end accounts for information and informed the councillors that the date for the annual audit would be June 16th.
6. PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS
6.1 13/01558/Full: Fair Oak Farm. 2 Storey Extension. MDDC had approved this.
6.2 13/01605/F 500kW anaerobic digester at Crown Hill for info - revised drawings submitted
6.3 113/01616MOUT 330 dwellings at Up Rd: UPC had objected to the proposal.
6.4 14/00167 Rose Cottage extensions - UPC had visited and had no objection
6.5 13/00710F Hill Farm convert building - Appeal against refusal has been lodged
6.6 14/00244/LBC Chamberlains, subdivision of rooms UPC raised no objection.
6.7 14/00346/F Holly House, 2-storey extension. Cllrs Floyd and Adcock would inspect this. The Clerk would arrange things with the householder.
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 UPPC had written noting that there are potholes at the rear entrance to the churchyard, coming in from Uplowman Hill. Cllr Norman would investigate.
7.2 MDDC was inviting comments on its Local Plan development Options. After some discussion, Cllr Radford offered to forward submissions made by Willand and Halberton. Cllr McCombe would draft a response, needed by the following Monday.
7.3 Neil Parish MP had written enquiring about war memorials in the parish. No one was aware of such a monument in Uplowman.
7.4 The Clerk had recently received an email informing parishioners of changes to the waste collection rounds.
8. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
8.1 Cllr Adcock reported that the UHRA meeting the previous night had discussed the car park and play area upgrades and he would be getting quotes for both activities so that application could be made for the Section 106 money and the DCC money held by UPC could be disbursed.
8.2 A recent event involving the Tiverton Majorettes had caused traffic congestion. The committee was aware that it would have to address parking issues.
9. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
9.1 PCSO Simms had reported that 3 crimes had been recorded in Uplowman during January and February, compared with two for the same period in 2013.
10. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
10.1 The Neighbourhood Planning proposals remained on hold until the end of March.
10.2 The submission of the TAP fund application (£301) had been supported by SPPC and the Clerk had heard that the application had been approved. Cllr Branton would contact the waste collection department at MDDC to decide on a location for the proposed dog waste bin.
10.3 Cllr McCombe had received all the documentation from BT relating to transfer of ownership of the telophone kiosk to UPC. This included suggestions for possible uses to which it might be put. However, the telephone had not yet been decommissioned so no alternative use was yet possible.
10.4 As noted under item 8, Cllr Adcock would provide quotes for the purchase of two picnic tables and the cost of forming a suitable base for them for submission to MDDC to obtain the Section 106 money currently available to Uplowman PC.
11. STATE OF ROADS IN PARISH
11.1 Cllr Norman would investigate putting some hardcore fill in the eroded rear entrance to the churchyard.
11.2 It was noted that dogs running loose in the fields between the church and the school could cause distress to young livestock. One option could be to erect warning signs.
12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting was the Annual Meeting scheduled for Thursday 15th May 2014. It was agreed to bring the date of the September meeting forward from 18th to 4th September.
The meeting closed at 9.20pm
Public discussion.
There were no matters of concern raised during the initial public session.
There was considerable discussion of the implications of the development options put forward in the Local Plan currently under consultation.