Modbury Annual Parish Meeting
Monday 10th April at 7.00 PM
The Pavillion, Queen Elizabeth II Recreation Field
NOTES
Present:
Mr Taylor (Vice-Chair), Ms Brown (Vice-Chair), Messrs Rosevear, Ward, Lawrence, Weeks, Barnes,
Cole & Ms Shepley.
Apologies: Messrs Joseph, Berry.
Also present:
Cllr Huntley, Cllr Gilbert, Cllr Hosking & 8 members of the public.
Notes of the Annual Parish Meeting of 14th March 2016
No vote as to accuracy as the Parish Office printer had ceased to function late in the afternoon
preceding the meeting so the Clerk had been unable to provide copies of the notes at the meeting.
However, these had been published on the noticeboard last year and are also available to view on
the Parish Council website.
Review of the work of the Parish Council during the past year (Chairperson’s report)
The Chair gave his report. (A copy is available from the Parish Office and will also be available on the website).
District Councillor’s Report
1. As a newly appointed District Councillor, Cllr Huntley’s first impressions of SHDC (comprising 31 councillors - 27 male and 4 female) were that the Joint Local Plan (JLP) is the most important thing to have come from the District Council in years. She attended a recent meeting on the Joint Local Plan in Modbury’s Memorial Hall. It was clear that residents had lots of questions and concerns. She urged everybody to respond directly themselves.
2. SHDC are currently exploring lots of ways to generate income to counter the current shortfall. A lot of money has been spent on consultations for projects that have not been realised. More is being spent on exploring various avenues to ensure its future financial viability. They are currently investigating the investment of £80 million (of borrowed money) in the purchase of commercial properties outside of South Hams.
3. They new website is up and running) although this went down 10 days ago. (Cllr Hosking arrived.)
4. Debra Barber (SHDC) is looking into providing a 2m square sign at the entrance to the Industrial Estate which will bear the SHDC logo and will have individual unit’s company names on removable stickers but this will require planning permission before it can go ahead.
5. Cllr Huntley announced she will be running as a candidate for County Councillor against Rufus Gilbert.
A resident expressed their opinion that South Hams seems to be meltdown. The JLP had actually been written by Plymouth strategic planners so South Hams hadn’t made any contribution, but did have representatives. It is lacking in sufficient staff and skilled staff. It’s a Great shame.
Devon Councillor’s Annual Report
1. The County Council elections take place on 4th May 2017 and will select Devon County Councillors for the next four years to 2021. The Boundary Commission have made significant changes to the boundary of the Yealmpton Division, at the same time as reducing the number of Councillors in the County from 62 to 60. Modbury, Aveton Gifford, Bigbury, Kingston & Ringmore have now been included in the Salcombe Division. I have been selected as the Conservative Candidate for the new South Brent & Yealmpton Division and this is therefore my final report to Modbury Parish Council in my term of office as your County Councillor.
2. The Budget has continued to dominate policy at County Hall with a further reduction of £23 million in the Central Support Grant paid by Central Government in 2016/17. The majority of services we now provide are statutory and cannot be cut. The budget for Adult Social Services has been increased by 9.7% in 2017/18 as a response to increased demand and an increase in the unit cost of provision of care. We plan to draw £14 million from our reserves next year, and the level of reserves will mean we must manage our cash flow carefully. The Chancellor’s budget on 8th March provided very welcome relief in the form of a £2 billion allocation for Social Services to help the “Living Well at Home” integration of social services with NHS nursing care in the community over the next 3 years. For Devon this translates to £15 million for the 2017/18 financial year. The fund is targeted but we are hoping that it will relieve pressure on our reserves.
3. The roll out of Broadband by Connecting Devon & Somerset continues with the award of the Phase II contract to Gigaclear, who are providing a fibre to the premises solution with Ultrafast speeds of up to 100 Gbs per second in some areas. Phase II is the next 5% of premises in the programme that follows Phase I which has made Highspeed Broadband available to about 90% of premises in the two Counties. The objective of the programme remains to make Highspeed Broadband available to all premises in Devon & Somerset by 2020. Airband have introduced Microwave technology to Dartmoor and Exmoor, and this and Satellite technology offer many remote premises alternatives to the Phase I & II Schemes. The Voucher Scheme has provided a £500 grant towards an alternative technology connection for those not included in Phase I & II who have a download speed of less than 2 Mbs per second.
4. Devon County Council is responsible for about two thirds of the schools in Devon, the remainder of which are Academies and Free Schools who receive their funding direct from Central Government. About 93% of the County Council maintained schools have an Ofsted rating of Good or Outstanding which is an excellent record. This is even more remarkable in the light of funding for Devon’s Schools being £290 below the national average. Much has been made in the local press about a “cut” of £33 per pupil from School funding, however this is not a cut but a reallocation between the three budgets provided by the Dedicated Schools Grant from Central Government. This reallocation is in accordance with a Central Government Code of Practice to offer children with Special Education Needs a better deal. To fund education from County Council funds would set a dangerous precedent and reduce what we have available for social services, transport and our roads. Devon County Council believe that the £290 per pupil deficit in average funding to Devon’s Schools is inequitable and we are lobbying our MPs hard to redress this imbalance in the Fair Funding Review.
5. The County has closed its nursing homes in the 2016/17 year and now provides this service by commissioning Care Home beds in the Private Sector. This has reduced cost and released capital for reinvestment in infrastructure and capital projects.
6. The Library service in Devon has been transferred to a new Public Service Mutual which will be eligible for additional funding and has fiscal advantages for the 50 existing libraries. There are about 4 new and planned libraries in the pipeline in the County. Unlike some other Counties Devon has succeeded in retaining all of its libraries by adopting this model. The County retains ultimate responsibility should any of the voluntary organisations run into difficulty.
7. Andrew Moulding the County Chairman opened Ivybridge waste recycling centre in early March which provides an excellent new and easier to use facility for the locality.
8. The County awarded a new Highways Term Maintenance Contract to Skanska who will be trading as Devon Highways. The Tender produced a potential 7% saving on the cost of Term Maintenance which will be used to improve the condition of more roads. The Highways team have been successful in winning funding by competitive bidding to secure an additional 11 million to supplement a budget which is currently running at significantly less than the annual cost of maintaining our roads in good condition.
9. The County Council is very grateful for all assistance provided by Parishes whether through Road Warden, Snow Warden, Parish Lengthsmen or other voluntary ways that helps the County maintain its roads through this period of budgetary austerity.
10. Thank you for making me so welcome at your Parish Council over the past three years since my election in the by-election of 2014. I have enjoyed being your representative at County Hall.
Police Report (Read out by Clerk)
Total crimes between 13/03/17 – 29/03/17 3 cases of theft. There was 1 crime in the same period last year.
As of April, PCSO Palmer’s area of responsibility will increase. He will now also cover the rural east patch (Frogmore, Chillington, Stokenham). This is due to another PCSO in Kingsbridge being offered a position as a Police Officer. It is not expected that this vacancy will be filled, so the other PCSO’s have been asked to cover this gap. There’s no change to PC Hayhurst’s role as Modbury’s local Police Officer.
Cllr Gilbert
Introduced himself as a Devon County Councillor candidate in the forthcoming elections. If elected he will cover 16 parishes. Currently there are 13 parishes including 2 towns including Modbury. East Allington and part of Kingsbridge is being removed. This will even out the populous to 10,000 per ward/County Councillor. This was the reason for the Boundary Review - to re designate numbers. (Cllr Gilbert left the meeting).
Representatives of local organisations and groups listed below gave brief updates of their activity in the year. (Copies of the following groups’ written reports will be available on the Parish website):
Modbury Memorial Hall
Modbury Pantomime
Royal British Legion
Modbury Society
Modbury Caring
Parish Paths (P3)
Modbury Allotment Association
Millenium Meadow
Modbury Association of Sport & Recreation (MARS)
Modbury Information Centre
Parochial Church Council
Modbury Twinning Association
Modbury Players - The Clerk read out an email received. They apologised for being unable to attend but wished to inform all that they have a new committee and are currently rehearsing for a musical comedy production “Sounds Recycled” which will be performed during the May Fair on Saturday 6th May.
Open Forum.
1. A resident wished to alert other about having been phone scammed by taking a call which was intercepted by an English speaking voice asking if they wanted to be reconnected to the number resulting in a £67 telephone bill for this call. The number was believed to be commence with the number 11820.
2. The selection of preferred sites to be put forward as alternatives for the JLP was queried owing to the fact that whilst small developments would retain cohesion of the town they could also have serious implications regarding traffic problems. There seems to be nothing in the plans to address the (already dire) traffic situation in Modbury. Has any thought been given into turning the land at RA2 into a car park or space for development for the Health Centre. It is felt the JLP does not look at the existing problems. The Chair reiterated the JLP had been discussed at the meeting on Friday night and residents should respond to SHDC directly.
(Cathy Aubertin arrived.)
3. Another resident had concerns about the parking and traffic situation in Modbury causing hindrance to the emergency services accessing premises, since the persistent double parking in certain locations of Modbury mean that fire engines/ambulances would not be able to get through. Yellow lines are fine but unless there is somebody to enforce them they don’t work. The Chair explained that this is an ongoing problem which MPC is continuing to try to resolve with highways and the police. It was felt a “One Way” system might be a good idea in Brownston Street.
4. An update on New Mills Lane was requested. The Clerk had already completed the paperwork to request a search of the Land Registry Index Map to ascertain ownership which was just awaiting its cheque for the search fee (it used to be free). The Chair has also been in contact with the Farmer who owns the adjacent land.
The Annual Parish Meeting Closed at 8.17pm.
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