COLEBROOKE PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the Colebrooke Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 21 st November 2017 at 7.30 pm at Colebrooke Parish Hall Present: Cllrs G Shepherd (Chairman), N Enderson (Vice Chairman), D Clarke (from 8.20 pm), R Hodder, P Niklaus, S Graham, I Butt, M Wood, P Hockridge and Cllr J Squire (MDDC) In Attendance: Mrs D Shepherd (Clerk) and 5 members of the public 17/18 97 To receive and accept apologies It was resolved to accept apologies from Cllr N Way 17/18 98 To receive Declarations of Interest: To receive declarations of personal interest and disclosable pecuniary interest in respect of items on this agenda There were no Declarations of Interest 17/18-99 Public Participation: To receive public comment on items on the agenda. A maximum of ten minutes is allowed for this item One member of the public spoke in relation to Planning Application 17/01411 The applicant of Planning Application 17/01741 presented his plans for the property The applicant of Planning Application 17/01689 explained his plans for the proposed dwelling One resident of Coleford presented his concerns about the parking difficulties in Coleford 17/18-100 Minutes of the Colebrooke Parish Council Meeting held on the 12 th September 2017: To approve and sign the minutes as a correct record It was resolved to approve and sign the minutes as a correct record (Proposed Cllr Graham) 17/18 101 Minutes of Asset Management Committee held on the 20 th November: To receive and ratify It was resolved to receive and ratify the minutes as a correct record (Proposed Cllr Wood) It was resolved to approve the revised Asset Register for November 2017 (Proposed Cllr Shepherd) 17/18 102 Minutes of the Planning Committee Meeting held on 23 rd October: To receive and ratify It was resolved to receive and ratify the minutes as a correct record (Proposed Cllr Enderson) 17/18 103 Mid Devon District Council: Planning Applications: Reference: 17/01411 Proposal: Retention of Slurry Lagoon
Location: Applicant: Land at Brocks Cross Mr G Pitts Cllrs discussed the further information online and noted that the Odour Assessment Document was not on line and was not available to them. Cllrs noted the further comments from Environmental Health and were concerned about what would happen if the plan did not manage the odour. Cllrs expressed concern about the issues raised by the member of the public and it was agreed that the Clerk should write to the Case Officer about these. It was resolved that the Council was neutral in respect of the application but confirmed that the Council wanted all the conditions that they had set down in relation to the first application to be met. In addition the Council asked for two additional conditions: 1. There should be a through bund supply pipe to prevent the crust being broken 2. There should be a permanent discharge suction pipe that does not break the crust. They further requested that all this action should be taken within 2 months Cllr Clarke joined the meeting Reference: 17/01689 Proposal: Outline App for the erection of an agricultural workers dwelling Location: Guscott s Farm Applicant: Mr and Mrs Roy White It was resolved to support this application (Proposed Cllr Niklaus) Reference: 17/01741 Proposal: Erection of dwelling and detached garage following demolition of existing dwelling and garage Location: Coombe Lodge Applicant: Mr and Mrs Charlton-Anne It was resolved to support this application (Proposed Cllr Enderson) 17/18 104 Mid Devon District Council: Planning Decisions: It was noted that MDDC had approved the following applications with conditions as filed: Reference: 17/01140 Proposal: Conversion of existing building into 1 bedroom dwelling Location: Tree Tops Applicant: Mr and Mrs Roberts Reference: 17/01481 Proposal: Conversion of existing building to residential annexe Location: Brocks Farm Applicant: Mr G Pitts 17/18 105 Snow Wardens and Winter Service Update: To consider any action to be taken in response to this It was noted that the Council needed to check all the grit bins and salt supplies in the parish to identify which needed replenishing. Further supplies can be ordered on line. It was resolved that Cllr Hodder would undertake this task (Proposed Cllr Hodder)
17/18 106 Cars in Coleford: To consider issues raised by residents relating to parking and to HGV movements in the village Cllr discussed various approaches to the ongoing parking difficulties and agreed that talking to people was the most appropriate way forward. The Clerk was asked to continue to chase the repositioning of the HGV sign It was resolved that Cllr Niklaus should continue his efforts to talk to residents to resolve these issues (Proposed Cllr Niklaus) 17/18 107 Precept Request 2018/19: To consider the precept request for 2018/19 Cllrs learnt that the landowner would be prepared to lease the Play Area to the Council if MDDC withdraw when the lease ends in spring 2018. The lease period would be for five years only so the Council would not be able to invest in new play equipment. Cllrs discussed the draft budget prepared by the Clerk for 2018/19 and included a sum of 1500 for the costs of taking over and maintaining the Play Area. It was also agreed to increase the grant to the Village Hall to 1500 as the insurance costs for the Hall were likely to rise by 700 now the Hall had been revalued It was resolved to increase the precept to 11000 (Proposed Cllr Graham) 17/18 108 External Audit Report: To receive the External Audit Report and to decide any further action required The Clerk had circulated the External Audit Report. Cllrs considered the steps they had taken to insure the independence of the Chair and the Clerk following advice received from the Devon Association of Local Councils. Three signatories now approve all payments. The Clerk is managed by the HR Committee and the Chairman is not part of this Committee and takes no part in discussions about the Clerk s performance and salary. Cllrs agreed that they had taken the necessary steps to insure the independence of the Chair and the Clerk however they requested that the HR Committee should consider the matter further and report back to Council 17/18 109 Village Hall Insurance Valuation: To receive the valuation and to consider a response Norris and Fisher had completed a free valuation of the Hall and concluded that the rebuild value of the Hall was 1,115,000 for an additional premium of 650.09 would need to be paid. The current cost of the insurance is 787.87. The Council currently pay the insurance and provide an additional grant of 300 for the piano for the Village Concert. The constitution however says that the Committee should insure the Hall. It was resolved that the Village Hall Committee should take over insuring the Hall (Proposed Cllr Shepherd) It was resolved that for 2018/19 the Council grant to the Village Hall should increase to 1500. The use of this money to be agreed by the Village Hall Committee (Proposed Cllr Graham)
17/18 110 League of Friends Letter: To consider whether to respond to this letter The Clerk had previously circulated this letter It was resolved that Cllr Graham would contact Cllr Way about drafting a letter from the Council expressing concern about the decline of local hospital beds and the reduction in health services to the parish (Proposed Cllr Hodder) 17/18 111 Budget and Accounts: The budget report for November 14 th was noted. It was resolved to note the following receipts (Proposed Cllr Shepherd): Cemetery (Thorne) 75.00 It was resolved to approve the following payments (Proposed Cllr Shepherd): Clerk s monthly salary (December/January 154.36 x 2 HMRC PAYE (December/January) 103.00 x 2 External Audit 125.00 Stamp First Class 0.65 Village Hall Insurance 787.87 Parish Plan insert 46 The Clerk was asked to find out the cost of Dog Bins and the cost of emptying them 17/18 112 Correspondence: It was noted that the following correspondence had been received: Items for Action: 1. Planning Correspondence 2. Resident email: Dog Fouling Coleford 3. MDDC Survey for Councillors 4. Monitoring Officer survey 5. Resident complaint re Coleford Crossroads 6. Snow wardens and the Winter Service update 7. Request for support for Tap Fund Application 8. Email from N Browne re Car parking difficulties in Coleford 9. Query re posters on Bus Shelter from resident Items for Note: 10. MDDC Annual State of the District Debate 11. DCC Road Notifications 12. DCC: Highways Conferences details 13. MDDC: Local Plan Review information 14. Crediton Museum: Exhibition information 15. Rural Services newsletters and bulletins 16. DCC Highways Town Conference dates and details 17. MDDC Town and Parish Newsletter 18. DALC Newsletter 19. MDDC: Monitoring Officer Training reminder 20. Two Moors Way Open Day 21. MDDC: Town and Parish Meeting details 22. Smoke free Alliance Newsletter 23. Google Report on use of Council website
24. Devon Communities Together: Training Information 25. BT Phone Box Transfer 26. Community Printing Flyer 27. RGB Building Supplies grant details 28. MDDC Community Resilience Event November 29. MDDC Town and Parish Newsletter 30. DCC Connect Me Halloween edition 31. DALC: Further conference information 32. DCC: Flood Management Newsletter 33. Fire Service Risk Management Plan: Consultation 34. Devon Communities Annual Review 35. Devon Countryside Access Forum vacancies 36. Recycle Devon: Thank you awards The Clerk was asked to find out the cost of Dog Bins and the cost of emptying them 17/18 113 Cllr J Squire (MDDC) Cllr J Squire reported on the further budget cuts facing MDDC as central government funds reduced still further and the strategies that MDDC were using to earn money 17/18 114 Date of Next Meeting: January 16 th 2018 at 7.30 pm 9.20 meeting closed