September 2020

UPLOWMAN PARISH COUNCIL:  MINUTES OF MEETING

 

Held on Thursday 17^th September 2020 using the online Zoom App, starting at 7.35pm.

Cllr R Radford (MDDC) plus two members of the public present. Minutes by Mr R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold. Approved on 19 November 2020

 

1. MEMBERS PRESENT

1.1 Present: Cllrs T Milner (Chair), R Adcock, N Branton and A McCombe. Mrs M Moore joined following her co-option.

 

2. APOLOGIES, PROCEDURAL MATTERS AND REPORTS FROM MDDC & DCC

2.1 Cllrs R Norman and K Baugh had tendered apologies for absence due to technology challenges and family commitments, respectively.

2.2 Co-option of councillor to replace Mrs S Floyd. Mrs M Moore had offered to serve and had introduced herself at the previous meeting. Cllr Milner said that he had contacted all councillors. They had been

in favour of Mrs Moore’s cooption. He therefore welcomed her to the meeting as a Parish Councillor.

Mrs Moore accepted cooption and the Clerk would arrange for completion of the Declaration of Acceptance.

2.3 Review of meeting arrangements. After a brief discussion it was agreed that meetings would continue to be held remotely (on line) and that arrangements would be reviewed at each meeting.

2.4 Cllr Slade had provided an update from DCC, which had been circulated. Temporary lane closures for tree cutting would be affecting the A361 for 2 months. A ‘wear what you have’ initiative was encouraging Devon residents to reuse clothes. £3,000 was available for small businesses under the DCC ‘Growth Support kick-start’ scheme. Cllr Slade said that his locality budget was being allocated.

Cllr Moore commented that UPC should be seen to be supporting recycling and sustainability issues like household-level solar power.

2.5 Cllr Radford reported from MDDC. MDDC had voted out the Greater Exeter Strategic Partnership plan. This envisaged 3,000 homes in Sampford Peverell & Halberton and was unacceptable in his view. 3 Rivers development company was moving on with the Town Hall site, despite losses of £1m.

3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETINGS (16 July 2020)

3.1 Draft Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 16^th July 2020 had been circulated. There were no changes requested and they were signed by the Chair as a true record of that meeting.

4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

4.1 Cllrs Milner and Branton had reviewed the documentation for the Police & Crime Commissioner’s ‘Councillor Advocate’ scheme and had concluded that it was very ‘resource hungry’ in terms of time and that the rewards would not be commensurate so they proposed not to get involved, which was acepted by all.

5. FINANCES

5.1 Current Balance: £7266.94

Income since last meeting £Nil

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

R Hodgson, Clerk’s salary & expenses (£580.00+£4.65)

J Veen, grass cutting (£132.75)

M Stoneman, eradication of wasps in the leat (£38.00)

6. PLANNING APPLICATIONS

6.1 20/00675/FULL: Uplowman House erect 2 dwellings etc. UPC no objection, MDDC approved

6.2 20/00509/FULL: Greenend Ho: replace garage . Revised plans received. UPC objected. No decision

6.3 20/00728/FULL: Beer Down Lodge, change use agriculture to garden. MDDC approved

6.4 20/00968/LBC: Stagg Mill replace kitchen and other modifications. UPC no object. MDDC approved.

6.5 20/01120/FULL: Hill Kiln Fm, change use to horse arena. UPC no objection, decision awaited.

6.6 20/01378/CLU: Roselands, built 8m from agreed position in 1964. UPC no objection, no decision.

6.7 20/01250/FULL: Uplowman House. Convert outbuilding to residential (and related Listed Building Consent application). Cllr Milner had revied the application and had circulated his comments prior to the meeting. He considered that as the building to be converted was not ‘agricultural’, Class Q did not apply and this was therefore a new build and against the recently agreed UPC policy. Cllr McCombe said that he considered this a good use of a redundant historic building that might otherwise become derelict. Cllr Branton said that the site had been insected on a previous planning visit and she considered that, the converted piggery being accepted, this appliction should also be accepted. Cllr Milner proposed a site visit, which the Clerk would arrange for early the following week.

7. SUSTAINABILITY AND HEALTHY LIVING

7.1 Cllr Branton said that the Covid-19 support hub continued. The Clerk said that emailed newsletters were being circulated every 2 weeks and he would welcome items for inclusion.

8. 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:

8.1 No correspondence unrelated to agenda items was discussed.

9. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION

9.1 Cllr Adcock said that quotes were being obtained for redecoration of the Hall. Some clubs were using it again. The issues with misuse of the tennis court had reduced.

10. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

10.1 The Clerk noted that emergency planning is a parish council function and that present plans are outdated. Cllr Milner proposed that a review of UPC’s emergency planning be conducted starting in January 2021.

11. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

11.1 Cllr Adcock had obtained a quote for preparing and painting the bus shelter amounting to £950. Cllr McCombe said that the shelter had been built with Coronation funds and should be maintained. He proposed inspecting it with Cllr Adcock to decide a way forward. Cllr Adcock would get another quote. He would also discuss positioning of the bicycle racks with UHRA.

11.2There was no progress with the DAA Landing site. Mr M Aspray (Clerk, SPPC) reported that the site there was not functional and had been tested.

11.3 Deterioration of the ‘kissing’ gate on the church-school path was discussed. Cllr Branton said the landowner was now in discussion with the DCC Footpath Officer and she would report progress in due course. She felt that this structure and the finger post at the Green were appreciated by the community and should be added to the Heritage Register. The Clerk would investigate how this could be done.

11.4 Cllr Milner had inspected the seats on the green. He did not consider them to be in a dangerous state at present and would maintain a watching brief.

11.5 There was no progress with broadband improvements by BT Openreach. However, the radio link sited opposite Beer Down was now connected by fibre cable and tests were underway to confirm its operation.

12. STATE OF ROADS IN PARISH

12.1 The Clerk had contacted Devon Highways concerning the leat rails. DCC did not consider the rails’ condition an immediate priority. Cllr Norman had offered to clear the vegetation and would look at the rails.

12.2 The village sign had now bee re-erected by DCC Highways. The finger post at East Mere Cross had fallen over. The Clerk had reported this to DCC Highways.

12.3 It was reported that the road between Whithange and Sampford Peverell was showing signs of distress again. The supporting bank appeared to be crumbling. The Clerk would write to Cllr Slade for support in arranging another inspection.

12.4 Cllr McCombe noted that there had been a burst water main in Whitnage, resulting in road closure and disruption. It had broken before and he felt that UPC could put pressure on SWW to replace it.

13. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting was confirmed for Thursday 19^th November, expected to be again by Zoom.

The meeting closed at 9.55pm

 

Public discussion

The road between Sampford Peverell and Whitnage was reported to be crumbling.

 

UPC Minutes of 17 Sept 2020