Minutes of the Meeting of Ermington Parish Council Held in the Parish Rooms on Tuesday

ERMINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Annual General Council Meeting of Ermington Parish Council held in the Parish Rooms on Tuesday 7th May 2013 commencing at 7.30pm

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(a)POLICE REPORT

PCSO Andy Potter advised that there had only been one reported crime for the month of April 2013 as follows –

Criminal damage, overnight 5th and 6th a damage caused to the sunroof of a vehicle parked up in Westlake area JI/13/262 refers.

He also reported on a traffic speed monitoring exercise which had involved setting up a speed monitor for the period 10 – 18 April 2013 on the A3121 in the vicinity of the junction with Town Hill in response to local concern over traffic speed. PSCO Potter distributed a page of data representing a summary for the period and it was noted that very few vehicles had exceeded the 40mph speed limit over this period of time (attached as Appendix “A”).

(b)PUBLIC QUESTIONS

Cllr N Toms reported his concern to PCSO Potter regarding cars being driven at very high speed at night around the lanes in the vicinity of Luson Farm; he highlighted a particular incident which had occurred at around 11pm on the evening of Friday 3 May which had resulted in damage to a hedge and a broken gate post. This incident had been witnessed by security personnel working at the solar farm site and was reported immediately to the Police; when the Police succeeded in tracking down the vehicle involved the following day it appeared that all signs of damage to the vehicle had been removed and therefore they were unable to pursue the matter further.

PSCO Potter advised Cllr Toms (and any other parishioners who experienced similar problems) to use the Police non-emergency number 101 to report such incidents whilst they were happening; if Police were not tied up with emergency work they would respond directly by visiting the scene of this anti-social behaviour.

It was noted that the car concerned in the incident reported by Cllr Toms was a Citroen Saxo and Cllr Webley believed that it was the same car that was also driven at high speed around the village itself.

(c)DISTRICT AND COUNTYCOUNCILLOR REPORTS

District Cllr L Ward

Cllr Ward advised that it had been a quiet month since efforts at SHDC had been concentrated on moving Councillors into the different roles within the Council.

Cllr Ward highlighted that the Planning Enforcement Workshop to be held at 10am on 14 May was training aimed at Town and Parish Councils; Cllr Webley confirmed that she would be attending this event on behalf of Ermington Parish Council.

Amended Dog Control Orders were now open to public consultation and Cllr Ward advised that the deadline for submitting comments was 31 May 2013; responses should be directed to Street Scene or Cathy Aubertin.

A public meeting of the Clinical Commissioning Group was to take place on 20 May, 6.30pm – 8.30pm in Harberton village hall. Cllr Ward advised that the purpose of the meeting was to introduce the Group and its work, and to give the public an opportunity to raise concerns.

CountyCllr W Mumford

Cllr Mumford advised that the County Council elections had taken place on 2 May and he was pleased to report that he had been re-elected to represent the Yealm electoral division. Overall he reported that the Conservatives had retained control of the County Council having secured 29 seats, the Liberal Democrats 9, Labour 7, Independents 4, and UKIP 2.

Cllr Mumford advised that he had been asked to take on another area of responsibility in the Cabinet (details were not yet in the public domain).

More locally, Cllr Mumford referred to the ongoing issues for Mr Blount and Mr Brook regarding the flood risk from land at the entrance into Filham Park (owned by Ivybridge Town Council); Cllr Mumford noted that the Town Council did not seem keen to take on the responsibility that went with land ownership – which would mainly concern replacing the culvert under the track which Cllr Mumford believed was not an onerous amount of work. Further clarification of ownership would then enable brooks and leats to be cleared, allowing Sir Simon Day to carry out the necessary work on his land. Cllr Mumford added that Nick Colton of DCC Highways had now got the culverts under the road in hand.

Cllr Mumford added that he had also been asked by Mr Daweto follow up with Barratts the signage they had promised.

Cllr Hughes advised that the collapse of stonework on FawnsBridge had worsened; Cllr Mumford undertook to report this matter to Nick Colton.

Cllrs Mumford and Ward left the meeting at 7.50pm.

46/13 APOLOGIES

These were received from Cllr M Auburn, Cllr T Auburn and District Cllr T Holway.

47/13 ELECTION OF OFFICERS, ELECTION OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS,

ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR OUTSIDE INTERESTS, AND REVIEW OF HIRE COST FOR THE PARISH ROOMS

*In her absence Cllr M Auburn had requested the Clerk invite Councillors to participate in the Annual Parish Paths survey walk to be held on June 23rd, meeting initially at the Reading Rooms at 2pm.

(i) Review of hire cost for the Parish Rooms – it was resolved that hire costs should remain as per 2012/2013 – ie £5 per hour for the 1st 2 hours, £11 per 4 hour session for parishioners and local organisations, £13 per 4 hour session for all others.

Cllr Kerslake queried how income for the Reading Rooms was performing, year on year. Mrs J Collings advised that in 2011/12 the income had been £616, rising to £678 in 2012/13.

48/13MEMBERS’ CODE OF CONDUCT – Register of Members’ Interests

At Council meetings, each Councillor has a duty to declare an interest if it is either a personal, prejudicial or pecuniary interest – no additional “Register of Members’ Interest” forms were received from Councillors at the May 2013 meeting.

49/13 TO CONFIRM MINUTES

Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 2 April 2013 were confirmed and signed.

50/13 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

These were as follows –

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Barratt’s development -

(i) Update regarding hedge abutting Mr Sumner’s property

Cllr Hughes confirmed that she had now been to see the Barratt’s Site Manager and viewed the hedge about which Mr Sumner had been concerned. Cllr Hughes advised that she believed there was adequate depth of banking to safely support the tree/hedge roots and moreover a retaining wall would be constructed below which would provide further support. Cllr Hughes was therefore happy to report that in her view these “trees” would not be undermined in any way and she would pass this reassurance on to Mr Sumner.

Action: Ro Hughes

(ii)Street naming

The Clerk reported that she had now received the official notice of street naming from SHDC and advised that the site would be made up of nos 1 – 9 Gransmore Walk, PL21 9FR and nos 1 – 25 Pinwill Crescent, PL21 9FS. It was noted that Cllr K Toms had drafted an article for the Parish Magazine regarding the history behind the choice of names.

38/13

Dog fouling update

The Chairman reported there was still a problem with dog fouling on the Recreation Field, and he added that he and Cllr Hughes had been given some names and that they would write a low-key letter to those concerned (in some cases via parents) reminding them of their responsibility to clear up after their dogs. Cllr Webley noted that the school had produced a number of posters aimed at deterring offenders but sadly these had been torn down. Cllr Hughes advised that the intention would be generally to target all teenagers using the field (whether guilty or not) emphasising that failure to clear up after dogs could seriously damage the health of younger siblings using the area. Cllr K Toms suggested it might be a useful exercise to speak with Year 6s at the school. The Chairman concluded that underlying all the above would be the threat of banning dogs from the field as the bottom line if matters did not improve; the District Council’s Dog Control Orders would be called upon if this were the case. Action: Jon Morley, Ro Hughes

The Clerk advised that a request had recently been made to Steve Mason of SHDC Ivybridge Depot for repair of the damaged dog bin at the footpath entrance to Honey’s Field, as per report from Cllr M Auburn.

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Reading Rooms project – update on response to request for volunteers

Cllr Hughes advised that the recent request published in the Parish Magazine had not elicited any additional volunteers to those who had previously expressed their interest to her in assisting with this project. Cllr Hughes noted that these individuals remained ready to assist once progress had been made on obtaining planning permission.

Cllr Hughes raised the following points –

(i)subject to confirmation of completion of the purchase of Honey’s Field, she suggested that the Parish Council should first move forward with a Planning Application since applications could not be made to funders without a firm timeframe; she added that Steve Hitch was still supportive of the project, as were the vast majority of others within the community;

(ii)that in order to get the project off the ground she would be willing to volunteer to lead the project, subject to the Parish Council’s approval, on the understanding that the project could be moved forward in modules, and working with whoever had the right skills to contribute at that stage be they Councillors or volunteers; the role of the whole Parish Council would be to “rubber stamp” each stage of the project at its monthly Parish Meeting.

It was resolved that the Chairman would contact Steve Hitch to confirm that he would be willing to work on submission of the Planning Application.

Action: Jon Morley

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Honey’s Field – update on purchase

The Clerk advised that Claire Lockhart of Curtis Solicitors had not been able to report any progress on the purchase of the field. Mrs Collings had however telephoned Mr Honey’s agent, Mr Brian May, who was able to confirm that the small piece of land had now been transferred to Western Power and new wording regarding the land transfer was now awaited from the Land Registry; Mrs Collings had been advised that the latter could take between several days and several weeks, but once received the sale could take place.

It was resolved that Mrs Collings would telephone Mr May again in a fortnight if no further progress was reported in that time.

Action: Jill Collings

Cllr Hughes advised that she had received the welcome news that a sum of money had been set aside by the Big Green Space Challenge for the proposed CommunityGarden to be spent by the end of the next year. She added that Hogco would be the external body to oversee consultation regarding usage of the CommunityGarden.

Cllr Hughes noted that Hazel Wooding had helped her with this successful funding bid and it was resolved that a letter of thanks be sent to Ms Wooding. Cllr Hughes would supply the Clerk with further details.

Action: Ro Hughes, Dawn Trower

Agenda item (4) Annual Parish Meeting – update on sports/play equipment in the Recreation Field

It was noted that the old goal posts had been removed by Tim Pollard of SHDC due to their dangerous condition and lack of compliance with current health & safety requirements. The Clerk advised that Mr Pollard had now been in contact regarding several “home made” ramps which had been introduced by youngsters in the skate park; since these ramps did not comply with manufacturing standards any injuries sustained via their use would not be covered by the District Council’s public liability insurance. It was resolved that Cllr Hughes speak to those involved to ensure that these ramps were removed.

Action: Ro Hughes

Sir Simon & Lady Day left the meeting at 8.20pm.

Mr Bob Knightley left the meeting at 8.25pm.

51/13 PLANNING APPLICATIONS

A thorough discussion took place on the following planning application –

Consultation Request Re Planning Application in Ugborough Parish

Application No:57/0963/13/F

Applicant:Mr C Johns

Proposal:Erection of single wind turbine (0.5megawatt), hub height 50m, tip height 79m and associated electrical infrastructure and access improvements

Location:Dunwell Farm, Ugborough, Ivybridge, PL21 0HL

It was resolved to make no comment on this Ugborough Parish application.

There were no new applications for the Parish of Ermington this month.

Planning Applications Granted

Application No: 21/0406/13/F

Applicant: Mr P Harris

Proposal:Householder application for the erection of a replacement of a general purpose storage

building

Location:Russets, Westlake, Ivybridge, Devon, PL21 9JT

Further discussion also took place regarding requesting Planning training from one

of the SHDC Planning Officers responsible for Ermington Parish. It was resolved

that the Clerk would contact Dean Kinsella to enquire if he or a colleague would be

able to deliver a planning training sessions to the Parish Council on either the

evening of 4 June or 11 June. The Planning Officer would be asked to concentrate

particularly on a number of recent applications which had proved controversial and

also to give general advice on issues to consider when reviewing renewable energy

applications.

Action: Dawn Trower

52/13 FINANCE

Mrs Collings, RFO, offered an explanation of the Precept payment. She also noted the increase in the P3 Grant (Parish Footpaths) from £220 in 2012/13 to £300 for 2013/14.

Mrs Collings highlighted the magnificent contribution that had been made by Mr Pete Davis to EPP Projects via his recent fundraising activities. It was resolved that the Chair would send a personal letter of thanks to Mr Davis.

Action: Jon Morley

Mrs Collings reported that the accounts had now been completed and the Internal Audit carried out by Mrs L Knightley who had found no cause for concern. The accounts were now available for parishioners to view by prior arrangement with the Responsible Finance Officer (Mrs Collings) and/or the Chairman of the Council, Cllr Jon Morley; notices advising parishioners of these arrangements were now displayed in the parish.

Mrs Collings outlined a proposed timescale and procedure for the finalisation of the accounts as follows –

• At the 4th June meeting of the Parish Council each Councillor would be given a copy of the accounts in order for them to have time to check them and ask questions prior to the July meeting.
• At the July meeting the accounts would be approved by the Council, with the RFO then forwarding the Annual Return to the Audit Commission.
• During July/August the RFO would officially hand over the accounts to the new Clerk, Ms Dawn Trower, and therefore the role of RFO in time for the September meeting of the Parish Council.

It was resolved that the above timescale and procedure be approved.

Mrs Collings advised of a request received from the Parochial Church Council regarding free hire of the Reading Rooms for its meetings, at least for the summer months. It was resolved that the Clerk contact Mrs Hucker to advise that it was the Parish Council’s policy to apply the reduced rate of £11 per four hour session to all local organisations so that all were treated equably and therefore the £11 rate would also apply to meetings of the Parochial Church Council.

Action: Dawn Trower

Mrs Collings reported that in regard to the Reading Rooms grant of £5,000 from “Investing in Devon” she had been advised that an agreement would need to be signed by the Chairman and Clerk and returned to Devon County Council along with a copy quotation/estimate from the project architect Steve Hitch. It was resolved that the Chairman would contact Mr Hitch to request supply of a suitable document on headed paper.