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Minutes of the Meeting of Yarcombe parish council held at 8.00pmon
Monday 21st November2011 in the Jubilee Hall, Yarcombe
Present:Councillors Mrs L Pidgeon (Chairman),D Barnes, P Nicholls, C Button-Stephens, ALong, B Anning, T Wiggins, N Randle, H Derryman andS Waplington (Parish Clerk), and Cllr A Moulding, Cllr P Diviani and one member of the public. PC Clive Vickery
1.Apologies
No apologies were received.
2.Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
3.To receive a report from PC Clive Vickery/PCSO Phil Anning
PC Vickery advised that there have been three crimes in the Parish since the last meeting all involving the same female offender. The first was a public order offense and the second and third took place on the same night and involved assaults on two different people. PC Vickery went on to explain that due to a slight change in his role he may not be able to attend as many meetings as he has done previously.
4.To confirm the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 3 October 2011
The minutes were confirmed and signed as a correct record.
5.Reports on ongoing activities of the council
a)Brian Hoare has been to Moor Hayne Lane and cleared away the pile of soil and some of the gullies and drains. They still have to plough the verges.
b)The missing grit bin has been replaced.
c)The Clerk wrote to Scott-Rowe after the last meeting asking if he’d been able to get hold of the land owner of the badly kept land in Marsh and explaining that the overhanging trees were becoming dangerous and that we’d had complaints from neighbours. Mr Puddicombe, the solicitor involved, subsequently spoke to the Clerk and asked the Parish Council to explain exactly what they feel needs to be done. He also explained that the land-owner likes the land to remain wild but felt that safety issues would be taken seriously. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would speak to Brian Hoare with regards to the trees that are overhanging the road. If he feels that these are dangerous then the Council may cut them back but the land owner will need to pay for this to be done. Following the opinion of Brian it was RESOLVED that the Clerk would write again to Scott-Rowe and explain the situation so that this could be passed on to the land owner.
d)The Clerk followed up the letter to Summerfield Developments asking about the ownership of the potentially dangerous trees and communal carpark in Drake’s Meadow. As the development took place some time ago the records have been placed in storage and they were waiting for them to be taken out of storage so that they can provide the answer.
e)The Clerk has gathered some information on commemorative mugs to be given to the children of the Parish to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. It was RESOLVED that more specific information would be obtained about what is available with regards to mugs and possibly other things such as plates or medals and the costs involved ahead of the next meeting and then some decisions would be made about what to order. It was further RESOLVED that Cllr Pidgeon would verify how many children under the age of 16 live in the Parish.
Cllr Pidgeon has been provided with some raffle tickets by the Young Farmers. The proceeds from this draw will all go towards the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. It was RESOLVED that each Councillor would take a book and try to sell the tickets.
A suggestion had been made to hold a murder mystery night as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. It was RESOLVED that Cllr Pidgeon would look into this.
f)The Clerk has written a letter nominating John Salter for attendance at the Queen’s garden party.
g)On 4th October some of the Councillors had a site meeting with Sue Southwell of the Community Council of Devon and Paul Lowe, a housing enabling office from DCC to discuss possible sites for affordable housing in Yarcombe. Five potential sites were identified and Sue wrote a proposal for each. Cllr Pidgeon and Cllr Nichols then put together a business case to demonstrate the need for affordable housing. These were sent on to the planning office to get their opinion. It was RESOLVED to call a further meeting with Sue and Paul to discuss the best way forward from this point.
h)A planning application has now been received for the work at Birch Oak Farm. The silage pit at Broadley Farm does not have planning permission. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would find out if permission is required. If it is it was RESOLVED that the Clerk would refer the matter to planning enforcement.
i)It was RESOLVED to carry forward the cutting of the grass verge on the A303 until the spring.
6.Open session for public participation
One member of the public explained that the channel running from Hilltop down to Tillery on the left hand side as you head into the village is full of debris and needs clearing as the water is now overflowing. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would report this matter to Highways.
7.To discuss financial matters
a)Payments were approved and made in line with the following schedule:-
Date / Payee / Particulars of Payment / Cheque No / Amount21/11/11 / S Waplington / Clerk’s Salary (5/10/11-5/01/12) / 000326 / £399.14
21/11/11 / Citizen’s Advice Bureau / Donation / 000327 / £50.00
21/11/11 / Yarcombe Jubilee Hall / Hire of hall 5.10.09 – 5.9.11 / 000328 / £195.00
21/11/11 / P Tarrant / Website domain name extension and memory increase / 000329 / £59.99
21/11/11 / DAPC / Annual Subscription / 000330 / £10.00
21/11/11 / S Waplington / Expenses (ink and Norton) / 000331 / £90.89
21/11/11 / L Pidgeon / Bulbs / 000332 / £40.00
b)It was RESOLVED to receive the precept proposal for 2012/2013. It was RESOLVED to leave the precept at the same levels as last year which is £5100. The predicted expenditure for the year is around £5,500 so this level of precept will mean that some of the reserves are likely to be used. The bank balance at the beginning of the new financial year is expected to be around £4,000 and so even with some use the reserves will remain within the recommended level of between 6 and 12 months precept.
8.To hear reports from individual Councillors / Clerk
a)Cllr Randle reported on an interesting meeting that he attended about Neighbourhood Planning on Tuesday 1st November. He explained that Parishes may have a bit more influence if they file a neighbourhood plan when it comes to things like obtaining planning permission for affordable housing, however it is an involved process and it is also in the very early stages. It was RESOLVED therefore to take no action at the time being but just to be aware of the possibility of producing a plan at some time in the future if appropriate.
b)Cllr Pidgeon attended a DAPC meeting on 25th October.
9.The Blackdown Hills Parishes Network
A letter has been received seeking confirmation of the Parish Council’s involvement in implementing the Blackdown Hills Community Plan. They are also asking each Parish Council to contribute around £100-£250 per year towards the implementation of the plan. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would write to the Blackdown Hills Parishes Network to ask what the benefits would be for the Parishes and what exactly the group intends to do.
10.Snow Warden program
As we have committed to the snow warden program and have a trained snow warden in place we qualify for a free delivery of salt from the Council. Before they will provide it they would like reassurance of the suitability of salt storage. They also want to know how it will be used and what is to be achieved. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would explain that the salt will be stored at David Barne’s farm and it will be kept under cover. It will be used to replenish the grit bins if required and the grit local roads particularly those where access is difficult.
11.Yarcombe Home Guard
A letter has been received from a Parishioner who is researching the Yarcombe Home Guard with the view to publishing some articles in the Voices. The Home Guard Hut was located on the area of land at the Taunton Turn where the trees have recently been felled and it was felt that it would be appropriate to put up some kind of sign explaining this. It was also suggested that this area could be referred to as “Home Guard Corner” rather than Taunton Turn. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would write back to the Parishioner to explain that the tree to be planted was to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee and so it was felt inappropriate to detract from this. It was suggested that the Parishioner should contact the landowner (Mr Meyrick) to discuss a way of commemorating the Home Guard Hut on this piece of land.
12.Parish Paths
Some efforts have been made to smooth the footpath at RedScrip but as the felling is not yet complete and isn’t expected to be for some time it was RESOLVED to leave the grant received from P3 in the bank until all felling work has been done.
13.Highways
- The road sign at the bottom of Rag Lane has been removed. The Clerk has spoken to Brian Hoare who has explained that as the sign is advisory Devon County Council will not pay for it to be replaced. He went on the say that they have two spare road signs which say “unsuitable for motor vehicles”. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would ask Brian if we could have them.
- It was RESOLVED to report the following:-
- Clifthayne Lane the central part of the road has become raised and is hitting the underside of vehicles using that road.
- There is a pothole on Broadley Lane just before Grovewell
- There are a lot of potholes again on Hay Lane
- Potholes remain on Knightshayne corner
14.Planning
a)11/2213/AGR - Higher Pithayne Farm, Yarcombe, EX14 9AD – to create space to carry out agricultural repairs / works under secure cover, pending consideration.
b)11/2501/FUL – Birch Oak Farm, Yarcombe, EX14 9AF – the construction of cubicle house extension – pending consideration.
c)11/0770/FUL – Stout Mills Cottage, Yarcombe, EX14 9LZ – Two storey side and rear extensions and single storey rear porch and annexe – approval granted with conditions.
d)11/1723/FUL – Hillside, Yarcombe, EX14 9LS – Loft conversion, including raising of roof and insertion of dormers – approval with conditions.
15. To discuss items of general correspondence received:-
a)A letter from Victim Support requesting a donation to support people living in Devon. It was RESOLVED that the Parish Council would not make a donation due to fund restrictions.
b)A letter has been received from EDDC regarding their study on open space, outdoor recreation and sports facilities. They have sent a map showing where they believe the open spaces in our Parish to be and would like that to be examined and corrected if necessary and they have also sent a questionnaire to complete giving the Parish Council’s views on whether local provision meets residents’ needs. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would reply to say that the map showed all areas of land apart from Bridleways and that the only additional open space that it was felt the Parish would benefit from is a children’s play-park.
16.Publications received:-
- DALC Newsletter, Nov/Dec 2011
- A new guide called “How to respond to Planning Applications”
17.Next year’s meetings
The Village Hall is already in use on 9th January 2012 and 7th May 2012 so it was RESOLVED to meet at the Baptist Chapel instead.
18.To confirm date of the next meeting:-
The next meeting will be on Monday 9th January 2012 at 8pm in the Baptist Chapel meeting room.