Minutes of the meeting of Yarcombe Parish Council held at 8.00pm on
Monday 2nd March 2015 in the Jubilee Hall, Yarcombe
Present: Councillor Lesley Pidgeon (Chairman),Cllrs A Long, N. Randle, S. Horner, A Wiggins, D Barnes, H. Derryman, C Button-Stephens, B Anning, A. Moulding and W Randle (Parish Clerk). Two members of the public were present.
1. Apologies
Cllr P Diviani
2.Declarations of Interest
None
3.To receive a report from PCSO Phil Anning / PC Clive Vickery
PCSO Anning and PC Clive Vickery were unable to attend the meeting but sent a report.
There have been three crimes reported since the last meeting:
07/02/15 Criminal damage to vehicle in Marsh – car window smashed whilst parked in village.
07/02/15 – 11/02/15Harassment in Marsh – domestic incident, female aggrieved receiving ongoing harassment from ex-partner
21/02/15 Sexual assault in Yarcombe – allegation of sexual assault on female aggrieved by male known to her at a private location.
4.To confirm the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 2nd Feb 2015
The minutes were confirmed and signed as a correct record.
5.Reports on ongoing activities of the Council
a)Affordable Housing update
The Parish Council has had two recent meetings concerning Affordable Housing.
It met with the land owner and land agent on 17th February to discuss proposals and access issues and it was resolved that another meeting for Councillors would be arranged to discuss possible next steps. It was also agreed that the Clerk would contact Sue Southwell, Rural Housing Enabler to see if she could attend.
A meeting was subsequently called for 2nd March. Sue Southwell was unable to attend, but her colleague Janice Alexander met with us to offer advice. As a result of this meeting it was resolved that the Clerk would write a letter to Richard Jones-Perrott laying out our requirements and conditions before meeting with him again later in March.
b)Neighbourhood Plan update
The recent Steering Group meeting was postponed due to illness in the Chairman’s family but a new date will be fixed shortly.
c)Parishes Together funding
The Clerk reported that the decision about whether our joint bid for a sound system was successful will be known on 17th March.
6. Open session for public participation
a) A member of the public raised a query about work in Moorhayne Lane pointing out that two sections of the lane had been cleared but one section remained blocked. Cllr Moulding reminded the meeting that the Lengsthman service is being reduced and that grass and hedge cutting, apart for visibility purposes on bends has also been affected by budget reductions.
b)A second member of the public who had previously put his concerns in writing attended the meeting. He is very concerned about traffic speeding through the village, in particular motorbikes racing through the bends. Yarcombe is apparently advertised online as an exciting place to ride. It was resolved that the Clerk would contact the police again to ask for traffic monitoring boxes with sensors across the road to be installed.
c) The same resident also brought attention to the amount of dog fouling that was taking place in the tennis court. An article is being placed in The Voices asking people to clear up their dog’s mess and Cllr Moulding informed us that the dog warden can stencil a temporary red sign on the ground. It was resolved that the Clerk would contact EDDC to arrange this.
7. Election Process and timetable
Cllr Henry Derryman has decided to stand down and asked the Parish Council to always keep in mind that this is a rural area when making decisions.
The Clerk has received a timetable of key dates for the election process. The Notice of Election must be published on Monday 30th March and Nomination Packs must be with the Returning Officer by 4pm on Thursday 9th April. This is the responsibility ofthe candidates.The Clerk will be sent the Packs during March for distribution.
Cllr Moulding pointed out that it is unusual to have General/ District & Parish elections all on the same day and that there should be a high turnout.
8.Requests for donations (sec.137)
Three further requests from organisations for grants have been received. The following donations were agreed:
Village Hall Committee, towards the cost of new tables - £80
Yarcombe Children’s Fund, towards the cost of a Christmas party - £80
Honiton Citizens Advice Bureau - £50
9. Finance
Payments were approved and made in line with the following schedule:-
Date / Payee / Particulars of Payment / Cheque No / Amount02/03/15 / Wendy Randle / Clerk’s salary 01/02/15-28/02/15 + £7.44 expenses / 000453 / £246.64
10. Reports from individual Councillors / Clerk
a)Cllr Horner distributed his latest Broadband report (see attached)
He explained the Broadband Organisational Structure sheet that he had circulated.
Cllr Moulding stated that the Place Scrutiny Board would look at a full report later in March.
There was standing room only at the Broadband meeting at Upottery on 5th February which Cllrs Horner, Barnes & Long attended.
Cllr Horner and Cllr Graham Long from Upottery had a very productive meeting at The Palace of Westminster on 11th February.
Cllr Horner proposed a public meeting in Yarcombe with representatives from neighbouring parishes being invited. Paul Coles from BT and Kerri Denton would be invited to come and listen to what we have to say. Cllr Randle suggested that we should have this as part of our Annual Parish Meeting rather than at a separate meeting a week later. However Cllr Horner felt that two hours of time would be needed.
Cllr Horner wants a practical rather than a political event with the Parish Council Chairman chairing the meeting. It was agreed that a meeting about Broadband in this Hall is needed, possibly in June or September. It was alsoresolved that Cllr Horner would give a 20 minute presentation on Broadband at the AGM in May followed by a Question & Answer session.
b)IT Training opportunity - The Clerk has received notice from the SLCC of training days being offered for clerks and councillors in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook & Powerpoint. The cost to SLCC members is £95 and it was agreed that the Clerk could attend as no money has been spent from the training budget so far this year.
11. Parish Paths
Cllr Wiggins reported that some repairs have been made to plastic on signs and more work on footpaths is due to be done.
12.Highway matters
a) Road Warden scheme – No one has come forwardas a volunteer. Cllr Moulding reported on a contractor that Dalwood and Kilmington are employing. They have a nominated person who makes suggestion of what needs doing. He suggested that Yarcombe keeps an eye on how that is going and possibly puts some money from our precept into this next year.
b)The Highway Log was updated
13. Planning
a)15/0063/FUL Two storey extension and single storey conservatory extension with basement at Four Elms Cottage, Yarcombe EX14 9AU
Yarcombe Parish Council are happy to support this application. The proposal is in keeping with the existing building so we do not foresee any problems with any neighbouring properties.
b)15/0213/AGR Erection of tower to support slurry separator at Birch Oak, Yarcombe EX14 9AF
Yarcombe Parish Council would support this application.
14. To discuss items of general correspondence received
a) Query from webmaster regarding the history of the milestone monument.
It was agreed that Cllr Wiggins would provide the information needed for the village website.
b) Correspondence from resident concerning traffic speed and dog fouling.
These issues were discussed at Item 6 as the resident was present.
15. Publications received:
None
16. Date of next meeting – Tuesday 14th April