Colaton Raleigh Parish Council Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held in the Village Hall at 7.30pm on Monday 30 th October 2017. Draft Minutes the minutes will be signed as an accurate record at the next Parish Council Meeting. Present In attendance Apologies for absence Cllr Simon Bramble (SB) Chair Cllr Janice Papworth (JP) Cllr David Smith (DS) Cllr. Christopher Pound (CP) Clerk - Susan Tyrrell Geoff Jung (GJ) DC Alan Farwell (AF) Members of public - 1 Cllr. Chris Silverthorne (CS) Claire Wright (CW) DCC Cllr David Forward (DF) Cllr Paul Slade (PS) 17.x.1 17.x.2 Declaration of interest none declared Minutes of previous meeting. Minutes approved and signed, subject to amendment of 17.ix.32 which should read Monday 8 th January 2018 Progress Reports 17.x.3 Bus shelter CP reported that a letter of thanks had been sent to Clinton Devon, and formal instructions issued to Everys Solicitors to act on the Council s behalf in the transfer of both the old and new bus shelter sites. A response from Everys is currently awaited. The step up into the bus shelter was discussed, and compliance in terms of disabled access. It was decided to establish ownership of the site prior to further investigations. Action Await response from Everys. Approval given to CP to enquire about repair or renew of the felt roofing. 17.x.4 Emergency Plan DS and CP reported that it was necessary for riparian owners along Church Road to extensively cut back their hedges bordering the brook, as it is currently impossible for a man to work in the ditch. One household has already been contacted, and efforts will be made to meet with three others. Digging out the silt will be quite easy once hedges have been cut back sufficiently. Action - Prior to instructions being given to the contractor, DS to follow up and contact the owners of houses with hedges bordering the brook, and to ensure that the owner of the land on which the weir stream is located is still prepared to make the necessary repairs to the weir. Beavers CP advised that this was no longer an agenda item, as it had been discovered that the matter to be raised did not affect Colaton Raleigh. Page 1 of 6
17.x.5 Cleaning of Gullies CS was not available to give a report. CP confirmed that he had now supplied CS with a plan of all the gullies in the village. Action carried forward SB to discuss with CS in order to progress matter, and report at next meeting. 17.x.6 Village Defibrillator CS unavailable to report. SB reported that six mannequins were available on which to practice. Action SB to discuss with CS and arrange for training in the village hall together with a notice for the parish magazine. 17.x.7 17.x.8 Transparency SB has now put the following document on the website. Employers Certificate of Liability Dogs running loose JP reported that there was no official signage available from EDDC, and that problems were still being experienced in Church Road. Following a conversation with EDDC a formal notice could be issued, requiring the owner of a dog to keep it under control. Action continue to monitor situation. 17.x.9 17.x.10 Blackhill Quarry closure SB advised that he had received confirmation from GJ that the quarry would not re-open. Footpath Officer vacancy A notice of the vacancy has been put in the Parish magazine and on the village noticeboards, but there has been no response. Action update at next meeting 17.x.11 Land Registry The Clerk has now submitted the necessary forms to the Land Registry in order to update the correspondence address for the play park on the register. Action Clerk to report at next meeting 17.x.12 Speeding Traffic on Church Road A response from Barney Tremaine, Clinton Farm Manager, was read out to Councillors. Action Continue to monitor situation Page 2 of 6
17.x.13 Section 106 funds update EDDC have confirmed that 13,154.95 is available to spend, spread between play, sports, and generic open space, with a further amount of 9091.66 due. A short discussion took place over the possible use of any funds, and GJ was asked whether there were any time limitations imposed for spending the money. Action - GJ to contact the Section 106 officer at EDDC for clarification of time limits. Matters requiring discussion 17.x.14 Co-option vacancy No response to date. Action Agreed to advertise in the Parish magazine after Christmas. 17.x.15 Neighbourhood Plan SB reported on the response from residents, which was split almost equally. However, only 1% of households had replied. Three people had expressed a willingness to serve on a steering group. SB had asked GJ and CW for advice on taking the matter further, and GJ explained that neighbouring parishes to Colaton Raleigh were in the process of writing their own neighbourhood plan or had already agreed plans, but that the process had to be led by local people and not driven by the Parish Council. Discussion centred around the possibility that Colaton Raleigh would be the only local parish not to have a plan, and may be leaving itself open to development in the future. Action SB will approach those people who expressed an interest in being part of a steering group, to see whether they are willing to move on to the next stage of the process (calling a meeting with their agenda). SB will report on the outcome at the next meeting. 17.x.16 Policies Health and Safety Policy all agreed to adopt the policy in its current form Complaints Policy all agreed to adopt the policy in its current form Both policies were signed off by SB. The Clerk had circulated a draft Data Protection policy for consideration and comment. Action All to look at draft Data Protection policy for formal agreement at the next meeting. (Councillors requested to respond prior to meeting with any comments.) 17.x.17 Future of Church Road Brook Discussed at 17.x.4 Page 3 of 6
17.x.18 Dog Waste Bins The Clerk had obtained a quotation from EDDC Streetscene for the supply and installation of a dog waste bin at a cost 178.44 plus an additional 200 per annum to cover the cost of emptying three times per week. Following discussion, Councillors voted on the proposal to purchase one experimental dog waste bin, with 3 in favour, 1 against, and 1 abstention. It was suggested that the bin be placed at the end of the footpath in Church Road, leading to Ditton and Newton Poppleford, subject to agreement with the Streetscene Area Officer. Proposal to ask EDDC to move the litter bin in the playpark to nearer the gate, and obtain some signage. Action Clerk to contact EDDC Streetscene to request a site meeting prior to ordering the dog waste bin, and to make enquiries about the re-location of the play park bin. 17.x.19 Snow Warden Vacancy GJ advised that other councils incorporated this role with that of a Resilience Warden responsible for both floods and snow. DS stated that the Emergency Plan includes a list of responsible people and it was agreed to amend this accordingly. Action DS to make the necessary amendments to the Emergency Plan and to arrange with SB to make the plan available on the website. 17.x.20 Copplestone Lane SB and JP have inspected the condition of the lane which has mud on it together with clogged drains, one of which has been badly repaired following damage. Action SB will contact Penninsular about the drain they have repaired to ask them to repair it again. The remainder will be added to the gulley list being prepared by CS, for eventual clearance. 17.x.21 Date of APM and speakers Councillors were asked to put forward suggestions for a Speaker at the APM to be held on either 9 th or 23 rd April 2018. Action All to consider for agreement at next meeting. Dates to be held open pending availability of speaker. Correspondence for information 17.x.22 Clerk passed around anything which had not already been circulated. Clerk s Report on Urgent Decisions since the last meeting 17.x.23 None Page 4 of 6
Reports 17.x.24 17.x.25 17.x.26 17.x.27 County Councillor CW did not attend, report not available District Councillor GJ informed Councillors of the Devon Communities Resilience Forum to be held at Kenn on the 22 nd of November. Police PCSO Chantelle Major did not attend, report not available. Footpaths The permissive footpath passing Drupe Farm has now been cleared. AF has requested a meeting with Richard Spurway, EDDC Public Rights of Way Officer, regarding the problem of access for mobility scooters to the footpath from Church Road to the Otter PH, due to its restrictive width and self-closing safety gate. Action Await outcome of meeting with EDDC, Clerk to respond to complainants. 17.x.28 17.x.29 Village Hall CS did not attend, report not available. Playing Field SB said that the contractor was looking to commence works in November. A request for stage payments was approved. CRCAG is closing down and will be transferring an amount of approx. 2009 to the Parish Council to be utilised for the playpark. JP had received a request from some local children for a skatepark or dirt mountain bike track. It was agreed that this would not be compatible with existing usage, especially due to the space restrictions. Previous requests for adult exercise equipment were also mentioned. Action Agreed to take forward to next meeting. Clerk to make further enquiries with EDDC regarding the usage of S106 funds and whether they might be utilised to purchase additional land if any could be identified. 17.x.30 Highways JP is awaiting response from CW who is continuing to chase Highways regarding road improvements and signage. Action await response from EDDC. The role of the Parish Lengthsman was discussed. Action GJ to inform DS who to contact regarding easements, take forward to next meeting s agenda. Financial Matters 17.x.31 Budget for 2018/19 Councillors considered the draft precept document for the next financial year and were asked for comments. Action to be finalised at next meeting in January. Page 5 of 6
17.x.32 17.x.33 Payments Out all agreed North Devon Council Payroll 379.30 Clerks Expenses 142.74 Royal British Legion 30.00 Mrs. Williams (bus shelter cleaning) 165.00 Village Hall Hire 25.00 SLCC subscription 72.00 Lesley Willmott (postage) 5.28 Payments In all accepted EDDC (part precept) 3,800.00 Council Tax Support Grant 54.00 17.x.34 Bank Balance: current balance as at 30.10.17 = 13,316.62 17.x.35 P3 Balance: 1069 17.x.36 Emergency Plan Balance: 1332.52 Planning Matters 17.x.37 17/00051/REF - Land at Winkleigh Lane, Woodbury Appeal against refusal of application 17/0212/FUL Erection of Stables For information only Woodbury Park noise issues PS has discussed this with the Licensing department at EDDC, and a question was raised as to who would actually police/control this problem late at night. The Parish Council considered whether the matter should be taken further. Action Log any issue of noise nuisance on licenced premises with EDDC and/or Environmental Health. GJ to advise of telephone numbers, and PS to place an article in the Parish magazine accordingly. 17.x.38 Public Questions. None Any further reports from Councillors 17.x.39 17.x.40 CP proposed that the current Chairs name be added to the Chairman s board -all agreed. Date of next meeting Monday 8 th January 2018 at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall Meeting closed at 9.40 pm Susan Tyrrell, Parish Clerk, can be contacted by telephone on 01395 568166 or by email at colatonraleighpc@gmail.com website colatonraleighparishcouncil.weebly.com Page 6 of 6