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Minutes of the Meeting of Yarcombe parish council held at 8.00pmon
Monday 10th January2011 in the Jubilee Hall, Yarcombe
Present:Councillors, Mrs L. Pidgeon (Chairman), A.Long, P. Nicholls, A. Wiggins, H. Derryman, C Button-Stephens, B AnningandS. Waplington (Parish Clerk) and PC Clive Vickery (left at 8.10pm)
1.Apologies
Apologies were received from Cllr D Barnes, Cllr Mrs H Matthews,Cllr A Moulding and Cllr P Diviani.
2.Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
3.To receive a report from PC Clive Vickery/PCSO Phil Anning
There have been three crimes in the Parish since the last meeting. Firstly some pheasants were shot on private land.The culprits paid £25 directly to the landowner. There was also an attempted theft of some copper wire from a farm. The thieveswere challenged by the farmer and left without the wire.Finally, a case of possible criminal damage has been reported whereby some wooden posts were snapped off on someone’s property. The victim believes it was done deliberately.
4.To confirm the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 29 November 2010
The minutes were signed and confirmed as a correct record.
5.Reports on ongoing activities of the council
a)Cllr T Wiggins advised that he has finally received a sketch of the Parish from Keith Steele and an e-mail stating that a meeting will be arranged with Cllr Wiggins and DCC in the next few weeks to discuss a way forward with these drainage issues.
b)The Clerk has now received all of the equipment and it is working well and very easy to set up. It was RESOLVED that anyone wanting to hire the equipment (i.e the projector, the screen and the speakers) should pay a fee of £10. This will be reviewed in 6 months time when there is a better idea of how much demand there will be for it. It was RESOLVED that it would only be hired out to local clubs or organisations via the Parish Clerk. The Clerk will provide a receipt and keep a record of any money that has been received. This money can then be used for any repairs that are needed. It was RESOLVED that if the equipment is damaged then the hirer will pay the excess on our insurance policy, this amount will be detailed. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk will develop a hire agreement to this effect.
The amount of the Awards for All grant was £1930.00. The amount of money spent on all of the equipment totaled £1803.49 (once the cashback had been received from Brother). If the excess of £126.51 is not spent then it would need to be returned to Awards for All. It was RESOLVED that the excess would be given to Druin Doble, who helped buy and set up the equipment, and rounded up to £140.
c)The Clerk has spoken to Kim from the Blackdown Hills AONB Sustainable Development Fund again to see if the Parish Walks Leaflet could be changed and re-launched rather than just reprinted, in order to obtain funding. It was felt that, although there is some funding available it is unlikely that this scheme would qualify as it is not sustainable i.e what happens when it needs to be reprinted. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would contact Awards for all again to see if they would consider funding a re-launch of the Leaflet rather than a reprint.
d)Cllr P Diviani was not present to give an update on the situation with regards to affordable housing. It was RESOLVED to carry the matter forward to the next meeting.
e)Cllr Nicholls has received an e-mail apologising for the delay in planting to screen the sewerage works. The contractors have stated that they will be planting before the end of January. The delay was largely due to frozen ground which had to be completely thawed before planting. The Parish Council will be advised when the project is complete.
f)Cllr Barnes was not presentto provide an update on the badly kept land in Marsh and therefore it was RESOLVED to carry this matter forward to the next meeting.
g)The improvements to footpath 30 have been completed satisfactorily.
h)The rumble strips at theTaunton Road junction have now been done and the Vehicle Activation Sign is back in place and is working. Peter Barnes was planning to visit the Parish this week to check the roads following the recent cold weather. He was also going to monitor the road on Pound Lane and outside Winnowing Knap. It was RESOLVEDthat the Clerk would get in touch with Peter to get an update.
i)Cllr Moulding has confirmed that the application from the Parish Council for a share of the locality budget has been received and is being processed. Confirmation should be received very shortly. It was RESOLVED to wait until the money is received before buying the grit.
The Clerk has checked the situation with the insurance to see if there is cover for Cllrs or other Parishioners who clear snow or spread grit. The Parish Council insurance does not cover this although it can be covered for an additional £100. It was RESOLVED not to pay this amount. If someone in the Parish had some training with Devon County Council to become a snow warden then we would be covered by DCC’s insurance. Other volunteers could also be covered if the snow warden gave training to them. It was RESOLVEDthat the Clerk would put an advert in the Voices to see if anyone in the Community would be prepared to become a snow warden.
j)The Clerk has now set up the new printer and it was RESOLVED that the Parish Information Leaflet would be reprinted using this equipment.
k)As neither Cllr Moulding nor Cllr Diviani were present it was RESOLVED to carry forward the discussion regarding road side flowers.
l)Cllr Wiggins has had no further discussions regarding the removal of trees near the Taunton Road junction. It was RESOLVED to carry this matter forward to the next meeting.
6.Open session for public participation
There were no members of the public present.
7.To discuss financial matters
a)Payments were approved and made in line with the following schedule:-
Date / Payee / Particulars of Payment / Cheque No / Amount10/01/11 / SLCC / Annual Subscription / 000304 / £72.00
10/01/11 / S Waplington / Clerk’s salary and expenses (36 hours, no expenses) / 000305 / £333.00
10/01/11 / L Pidgeon / Chairman’s expenses (10/11) / 000306 / £75.00
10/01/11 / T Long / Planning expenses (10/11) / 000307 / £35.00
10/01/11 / B Smith / Post Office rent / 000308 / £50.00
10/01/11 / Druin Doble / Help with equipment / 000309 / £140.00
10/01/11 / Andy Podbury / Repairs to footpath 30 / 000310 / £142.18
b)Local elections are due to take place in May this year and no money has been allowed for this in the precept. It was RESOLVED that £200 would be added to the precept demand to cover election costs. It was RESOLVED that the Parish Council would ask for a precept of £5,100. The revised budget will be circulated to all Councillors.
8.Local elections May 2011
Local elections are due to be held on 5th May 2011. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would put together an article to appear in the next issue of the Yarcombe Voices promoting the work of the Parish Council and suggesting that local people put themselves forward to be elected.
9.To hear reports from individual Councillors
a)Cllr Button-Stephens advised that the notice board in Marsh needs some maintenance. It was RESOLVED that he would do this work himself and reclaim any expenses incurred.
b)Peter Tarrant has taken over the maintenance of the village website from Jon Stockwell and has asked for any ideas for improvement. He has also asked if individual e-mail addresses could be added for each Councillor. It was RESOLVED that the Councillors would prefer that all e-mails go to the Clerk. It was further RESOLVED that the Councillors were happy for their photos to appear on the website and that the Clerk would bring the camera to the next meeting. Peter also asked for any suggestions to improve the site. It was RESOLVED to suggest that a counter is added to the site so that it is clear how many hits it is getting. It will also be suggested that each Councillor provides a brief synopsis about themselves.
c)Cllr Pidgeon reported that the residents of 2 Tillery have been in touch with her to say that the Council came to paint their property some time ago but it has been left incomplete. They state that the chimney, the lean-to and the walkway have not been painted. They have attempted to chase this up but have had no joy. It was RESOLVED that the Parish Clerk would follow this up on their behalf.
10.Parish Paths
a)David Little has recently stepped down from his active role at the Yarcombe Inn and so it was RESOLVED that the Clerk would ask him if he now felt he had time to take up his position as P3 co-ordinator again. It was RESOLVED that Cllr Wiggins would continue in this role in the meantime.
b)Cllr Wiggins is in the process of checking if the footpath wardens are still willing to fulfil the role. Once established he will organise the annual footpath survey.
11.Highway Matters
It was RESOLVED to report the following matters:
a)A large pot hole on the road leading from Stopgate junction to the Taunton Road.
b)Several large pot holes on the lane from Yarcombe to Stockland, mainly before the turning to Hay Lane.
c)A very deep hole on Williambeer Road.
d)Further potholes on Dennington Lane and also the wall has collapsed on the bridge on Dennington Lane.
e)The large pothole on Pound Lane which is now 8cm deep and a danger to roadusers.
12.Planning
a)Rower FortCottage, Stockland, Honiton, Devon – 10/2520/FUL, construction of conservatory and basement. PC has supported the application but as it is in a prominent position, has asked that appropriate screening (trees, shrubs etc) be put in place.
b)Higher Lye, Yarcombe, EX14 9LW – 10/2321/FUL, roofing of livestock yard. Due to heavy snow the PC did not visit the site but have supported the application provided EDDC check the levels due to close proximity to neighbouring properties which we believe include a listed building.
13.To discuss items of general correspondence received:-
a)A letter from DCC regarding the mobile library service in 2011. A poster has been displayed on the notice board confirming the visiting times
b)An e-mail has been received from DCC to say that work instructions will now be issued for the street lights in our area to be converted to part night operation.
14. Publications received:-
a)Village Green – December 2010
b)DALC newsletter Jan/Feb 2011
15. To confirm date of the next Parish Council meeting – Monday 7 February
2011