May 2014
MINUTES OF ANNUAL MEETING Held on 15th May 2014 at the Village Hall, Uplowman starting at 7.45pm. Approved on 17 July 2014
Cllr D Hannon (DCC), Cllr R Radford, MDDC and PCSO Simms present. Minutes taken by Mr R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.
1. MEMBERS PRESENT
1.1 Present: Cllr T Milner, Cllr R Norman, Cllr R Adcock, Cllr R Branton, Cllr K Baugh, Cllr S Floyd & Cllr A McCombe.
2. PROCEDURAL MATTERS
2.1 No apologies for absence had been received.
2.2 The Clerk conducted an election of the chair for the coming year. Cllr T Milner was proposed as Chair by Cllr Adcock. There being no other candidate, Cllr Milner was elected unanimously on a show of hands and resumed the Chair. Cllr Branton was proposed as Vice Chair and elected on a unanimous show of hands.
3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (20 March 2013)
3.1 The Minutes of 20th March 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 put one load of scalpings to fill the hole by the rear churchyard entrance. He would put more.
4.2 A response on the Local Plan had been submitted to MDDC
5. FINANCES
5.1 Current Balance: £6207.47
Income since last meeting (Precept) £2427.38
5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:
Mr J Veen for grass-cutting (£88.60)
Uplowman HRA, for hire of Hall since November (£40.00)
Community First, for Annual Insurance premium (£201.11).
5.3 The Annual Accounting and Governance Statements had been circulated prior to the meeting. The Clerk read the statement to the meeting and they were agreed. The Chair and the Clerk signed the statements and the ledger on behalf of the council.
5.3 It was noted that the face to face meeting Appraisal meeting with the Clerk had yet to occur.
6. PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS
6.1 Ref 14/0346/F: Holly House extension . UPC had no objection.
6.2 Ref 14/0387/F: The Beeches, Retain Ag Bldg. UPC objected that shed is unnecessarily large for holding. MDDC had now refused permission.
6.3 Ref 13/1616/MOUT 330 dwellings Up Rd, revised drawings had been submitted
6.4 Ref 14/0466/F: Church View extension. UPC objected that development was likely to add traffic congestion
6.5 Ref 14/0244/LBC: Chamberlains, permission had been granted by MDDC
6.6 Ref 14/0422/F: Land West of Staplegate Cottage: change of use to lorry park. This was discussed and it was agreed that theClerk would writeto say that UPC would not object to use by a single truck only.
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 A survey of public open spaces was being conducted for MDDC. The only such spaces in Uplowman were the UHRA field and the village green at the cross roads.
7.2 The East & Mid Devon Community Safety Partnership had written with information on their meetings.
7.3 A survey of public open spaces was being conducted for MDDC. The only such spaces in Uplowman were the UHRA field and the village green at the cross roads.
7.4 Cllr Milner asked that Clerks & Councils Direct be passed to him.
8. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
8.1 There was little different to report - the Hall was still enjoying success.
8.2 2 quotes had been received for upgrading the carpark and reinstating the wear and tear from its use by parents parking for the school run. The Clerk would forward these to Cllr Hannon for approval to use the money remaining from the footpath.
9. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
9.1 PCSO Simms reported on the past year. There had been 6 crimes reported, including two assaults. Non dwelling burglaries were generally a concern throughout the area and he reminded the PC that the police can help install farm alarm systems. He advised joining 'Farm Watch'. He said Uplowman remained one of the safest places to live in the area.
10. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
10.1 The Neighbourhood Planning proposals remained on hold.
10.2 Cllr Branton had agreed the location with MDDC. It would be installed soon and the Clerk had been assured that the TAP fund would be paid to UPC soon.
10.3 The telephone had now been removed from the kiosk. The Chair would seek suggestions from the parish as to how it might best be used and Cllr McCombe would investigate how other parishes had used theirs.
10.4 UHRA had quotes for the playground refurbishment. Cllr Adcock would pass these on to the Clerk who could then applyfor the available Section 106 money.
10.5 There was discussion about holding an Annual Parish Meeting. This should involve the wider parish. One possibility mentioned was a barbequeue.
10.6 The Leat had leaked again near Green End. Cllr Norman had fixed the leak for the time being. He had consulted other users of the leat, who had not wished to contribute. He thought that installing the sewer across the leat had caused the problem. Cllr Milner said that UPC had some funds set aside for this and the work should not be done at Cllr Norman's expense. Cllr Baugh would investigate whether SWW, as the undertaker, has any responsibility for the pipe. Cllr Norman would show him the location.
11. STATE OF ROADS IN PARISH
11.1 Some bad potholes in Whitnage.
12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting was scheduled for Thursday 17th July 2014.
The meeting closed at 9.30pm
Public discussion.
The Chair presented his annual report before the meeting (attached).
A question was raised about the confusion over waste collection that had arisen since the new collection schedules. Apparently, this was widespread.
MINUTES 15 May 2014
Uplowman Parish Council: Chairman's Report on the 2013/14 year.
This is my third year as your Chairman and I must thank my fellow councillors for their support during a busy year, and especially to our Clerk, Robert Hodgson, without whom our task would be much harder. During the year two councillors resigned due to family circumstances but we were fortunate to co-opt Sarah Floyd and Kevin Baugh who I am sure will be able to contribute as they settle to the task.
Once again thanks must also go to Des Hannon of Devon CC and Ray Radford, in his Mid Devon DC role, who attend most of our meetings and contribute to keeping us informed of other council matters.
The majority of the year has been taken up with Planning matters.
In May the planning condition for the old Church rooms to be only an annex to School House was removed to allow it to be sold as a separate dwelling. This aroused wide discussion as it was the first instance under Planning rules that a building outside of the settlement area had been so allowed.
One of the major planning issues, that started last May, was the discussion on Mid Devon DC plans for the Tiverton Eastern Extension. This was seen to have a major impact on the area affecting highways, schools and the general infrastructure, including a new junction on to the A361. It is hoped that our voice and logical arguments will be listened to and appropriate changes made to the plans. At the time of this report no decision has been made.
The previous year we started our first tentative steps towards a Neighbourhood Plan under the Localism Bill. The school children prepared an updated 3D plan of the Parish early in the year. We were fortunate to have the Head of Planning from Mid Devon attend our September meeting to tell us about Neighbourhood Planning, the requirements and the extent to which our input could affect planning decisions. Afterwards there were considerable discussions as to the benefits and the amount of resources both in time and cost that would be needed and it was decided to postpone any further discussions until Mid Devon produced its draft Local Plan during 2014.
Although it may seem minor compared with other issues it was agreed to go ahead with a dog bin to be funded from TAP funds provided by Mid Devon. Its installation will be made soon at the Church end of the village which will assist dog walkers and help to maintain a clean village.
On another note the Parish Council has acquired the red telephone box for £1 from BT. We are now looking at alternative uses for it as the box is certainly a feature in the village that is worth preserving.
Trevor Milner
Chairman