Minutes of the Meeting of Yarcombe Parish Council held at 8.00pm on

Monday 7th March 2011 in the Jubilee Hall, Yarcombe

Present: Councillors Mrs L. Pidgeon (Chairman), Cllr Mrs H Matthews, D. Barnes (arrived at 8.50), A. Long, P. Nicholls, B Anning, T Wiggins, H Derryman and S. Waplington (Parish Clerk), District Cllr P Diviani, County Cllr A Moulding and PCSO Phil Anning (left at 8.05pm) and one member of the public.

1.Apologies

Apologies were received from Cllr C Button-Stephens

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 two burglaries in the Parish since the last meeting. One involved a large outbuilding where a number of items were taken and the second was an attempted burglary to a garage. The thieves were unable to gain access and therefore left with nothing.

4. To confirm the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 7 February 2011

The minutes were signed and confirmed as a correct record.

5. Reports on ongoing activities of the council

a)Cllr T Wiggins is going to meet Keith Steele, Peter Barnes and Steve Tucker on 15th March to discuss the drainage issues on Moorhayne Lane.

b)The Clerk has not yet spoken to Awards for All and as there are enough leaflets to last through to the end of the year it was RESOLVED to carry this matter forward.

c)The area of badly kept land in Marsh is believed to belong to a man named Major Price. This information has been ascertained by asking around however no-one knows who he is. It was RESOLVED to take no further action to pursue this matter.

d)The Clerk has had an e-mail from Peter Barnes to say that they have visited the Parish and identified some faults so will ask the contractor to attend as soon as possible. As it was unclear which areas were identified it was RESOLVED that the Clerk would ask Peter to be more specific. Peter went on to say that he has produced a programme of works that include drainage, patching and surface dressing for Pithayne Lane, Clifthayne Lane and Keats Mill to commence 2011/12 and be completed 2012/13 There are some other roads that have been included on a surface dressing list for 2012.

The Clerk has had a phone call from the Parishioner who reported drainage issues at Keats Mill to say that the lengthsman has visited and cleared the drains very well.

e)Thelma has met with David Fergie to have some “snow warden” training. Cllr Nichols and Cllr Pidgeon attended the meeting. Thelma has access to websites which tell her when the gritting lorries are going to go out from the Council. This should enable her to know when the roads in the Parish should be treated. Peter also explained that if a grit bin is purchased from the Council then it will be re-filled without charge. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would get some more information about the cost and dimensions of these bins. The Clerk is awaiting information on the dimensions of the bins purchased by Luppitt Parish Council. David Fergie also demonstrated the use of a grit spreader which can be purchased for £150 and would be very useful for spreading grit on footpaths and roads. He explained that there is another planned review of the secondary gritting routes so it may be possible to request again that extra roads are considered for gritting. Thelma is planning a meeting in September or October to talk to volunteers from within the Parish about what is involved.

f)Cllr Wiggins has spoken to Mike Box who has confirmed that there are no TPO’s on the trees at the Taunton Road junction. The Clerk read a letter from Stratton & Holborow which stated that they have applied to the Forestry Commission for a Felling Licence to fell all of the trees in this woodland and to replant it. They went on to explain that following a meeting with a representative of the Highways Commission, the trees would be replanted further from the road to improve the visibility splay. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would write back to acknowledge the letter and thank the Estate for their co-operation with this matter.

g)Due to poor weather conditions the repairs to the notice board in Marsh have not yet been completed. It was RESOLVED that Cllr Button-Stephens would complete the repairs when possible.

h)The Clerk has again been in touch with EDDC regarding the unfinished painting at 2 Tillery. A representative from the Council is planning to visit the sight to check the work before going back to the Contractors and requesting them to return to complete the painting. The occupants of the property will be kept informed.

i)The Clerk has been in touch with Chris Holland of Devon County Council to obtain the forms needed for the local elections. The forms are all sent out on 22nd March. It was RESOLVED that once these were received by the Clerk they would be forwarded to the Councillors. All forms must arrive at the Council offices by 12 noon on 4 April. It was RESOLVED that they must be completed and returned to the Clerk in plenty of time to meet this deadline.

6. Open session for public participation

No matters were raised by any members of the public.

7. To discuss financial matters

a)Payments were approved and made in line with the following schedule:-

Date / Payee / Particulars of Payment / Cheque No / Amount
07/03/11 / S Waplington / Clerk’s salary and expenses (24 hours @ £9.25 hr plus £24.03 expenses) / 000312 / £246.03

b)From April 2011 it will be a requirement that the Clerk must be employed by the Parish Council under the PAYE system. Cllr Moulding explained that Devon County Council have agreed to help Parishes with this by allowing them to use the DCC system. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would contact Mark Williams of DCC to find out more information about this and ensure that all the necessary work is complete in time for the new tax year.

c)The Parish Council has recently lent the audio visual equipment to the Church in order to help with the family service. A request was made for the £10 fee to be wavered. It was RESOLVED that this fee should not be wavered as it was felt that it would be unfair to charge some users and not others. Therefore it was RESOLVED that the Clerk would write to Mary Smith to explain this and request that the payment of £10 is made.

8. To hear reports from individual Councillors

a)Cllr P Nicholls said that the planting at the sewerage works has been completed. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would write to Peter Turney of South West Water to thank him.

b)Cllr Pidgeon has been approached by a Parishioner who is trying to raise money for her daughter to undertake a nursing trip to Saint Lucia. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would write to explain that the Parish Council is unable to make donations to individuals.

c)A three bed roomed Council House in the village has recently become available. Several of the Councillors have been approached by two families, each with two children, currently living in two bed roomed properties in the village. Cllr Diviani explained that the current system used to allocate such housing takes into account people in need throughout Devon. It was felt by the Parish Council that the system should give priority to people already living locally. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would write a letter expressing this view to Jill Elson, the Portfolio Holder and copy in Dennis Boobier and M Dickens.

9. Parish Paths

a)The annual Parish Paths survey has been completed. Cllr Wiggins and the Clerk are meeting Ros Davis and Richard Spurway to discuss the Parish Paths on 9th March.

10. Highway Matters

There is a storage container on the verge at the Stopgate Junction of the A303. This is obscuring visability. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would get in touch with DCC to see if this could be moved.

It was further RESOLVED that the Clerk would get in touch with Highways to see if anything could be done about the grass growing in the gutters at Drake’s Meadow.

11. Planning

a)Chaffhay Farm, Yarcombe, Honiton, Devon, EX14 9BQ – 11/0428/LBC – Demolition of oil store, removal of garage and construction of single storey extension.

b)Same property – 11/0422/FUL – Construction of double garage and rear single storey extension.

12. Issues with Rubbish Collections

Cllr Anning has recently had problems with the removal of rubbish bins from his property. Despite him explaining that the bins were from other properties and had merely been put there for collection, two of the bins were removed only to be returned later, following a phone call of complaint from Cllr Anning. Cllr Diviani has bought this matter to the attention of the Portfolio Holder and the Senior Officers concerned which should prevent it from happening again.

13. To discuss items of general correspondence received:-

a)Notification has been received about two meetings taking place to discuss the Blackdown Hills Community Plan.

14. Publications received:-

a)What’s On – March 2011

b)Village Green – Spring 2011

14. To confirm date of the next Parish Council meeting – Monday 4 April 2011