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

Monday 4th March2013 in the Jubilee Hall, Yarcombe

Present:Councillor Lesley Pidgeon (Chairman), CllrsALong,B Anning, C Button-Stephens, A Wiggins, N Randle, H Derryman, P NichollsandW Randle (Parish Clerk), and Cllr A Moulding. 2 guest speakers and 1 member of the public were present.

1.Apologies

Apologies were received fromCllr P Diviani , Cllr D Barnes was absent.

2.Declarations of Interest

None.

3.To receive a report from PCSO Phil Anning

PCSO Anning was present and reported 5 crimes in the parish:

  • Theft of heating oil from Village Hall
  • Theft of heating oil from Yarcombe Inn
  • Theft of car and contents from Yarcombe (Vehicle recovered)
  • On the same night, unauthorised moving of a JCB
  • Abandonment of property on a highway – Portable road signs and sandbags moved to the middle of the road on the A30, causing traffic to swerve to avoid them. The police are keen to hear from anyone who might be able to give any information on this.

PCSO Anning concluded with a reminder to everyone to always secure cars and buildings.

4.To confirm the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 4th February 2013

The minutes were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

5. Presentation by Ben Cane of Guinness Hermitage Housing Association

Ben Cane is the Project Manager for Housing Development and is based in Exeter. He explained that the Guinness Partnership was established in 1890 and developed the first social homes. It is now a national Housing Association with 60,000 homes in the country including 15,000 in the South and South West regions. They are a registered provider and also provide housing care and support, dealing mainly with rented and shared ownership.

A Housing Association can buy land up front and design a scheme in liaison with the Parish Council. Homes for sale can be included to help fund the project. Management of the houses built would be by the Housing Officer in Exeter and repairs and maintenance are contracted out.

Ben had checked out that Yarcombe would be a viable partner as the survey shows that the demand is there and it’s accessible for management from Exeter. Any scheme would be bound by the terms of Section 106 which would give first priority to people in the village. The average time from survey to completion is 5 years.

Guinness Hermitage HA try to avoid providing grass verges, play areas etc because of the maintenance involved but it might be possible for the Parish Council to maintain these if desired.

Ben mentioned the ongoing projects he was involved with at Bradninch and Uplyme and it was resolved that the Clerk would ask him to set up a visit for councillors to Uplyme as that development is almost complete.

Next stage:

Sue Southwell is meeting the landowner in 2 weeks time.

It was agreed that in order to make a decision on how to move forward, a visit should be made to Dalwood to talk about the Community Land Trust project there, as well as to Uplyme. It was resolved that the Clerk would contact Steve Watson of CLT to set up a visit to Dalwood. Sue Southwell would be copied in to both communications.

6.Reports on ongoing activities of the council

a)Badly kept land at Marsh

The contractors have now tidied up the land and Cllr Button-Stephens reported that it had been done to a good standard. However, he had received a letter from a parishioner on the neighbouring property who is very concerned that branches might fall from 3 large conifer trees that border her house and gas tank. The neighbour has also contacted the Clerk who rang the Tree Officer at EDDC on her behalf. Unfortunately this is a civil matter and it was recommended that the parishioner takes the matter forward herself, perhaps contacting the CAB for advice on legal help. It was resolved that The Parish Council are not able to be further involved in this matter.

b)Parishes Together funding

The Clerk attended a meeting in Honiton on 18th February where the ‘Grab boxes’ scheme was explained more fully. Because several parishes have grouped together there is £12,600 available for this project and everyone involved will have equal access to the equipment. This includes winter and summer sports activities, film making equipment, a forest skills kit, camping and orienteering gear and a large marquee. Honiton Town Council have submitted the bid on everyone’s behalf, and if successful the boxes will be available to borrow from the summer onwards. The Clerk will be the point of contact if anyone needs information.

c)Free Apple trees

Cllr Pidgeon has received 2 trees from the Blackdown Hills Transition Group and it was resolved that she would plant them on our behalf in the grassy area at the top of the village.

7. Open session for public participation

One member of the public was present but no matters were raised.

8.Financial matters

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

Date / Payee / Particulars of Payment / Cheque No / Amount
04-03-13 / Axminster Printing Co. / Information leaflet printing / 000377 / £160
04-03-13 / DALC / New Clerk’s course / 000378 / £30
04-03-13 / Wendy Randle / Clerk’s salary / 000379 / £216.84
04-03-13 / Yarcombe Voices / Donation from Jubilee profits (Previous cheque void) / 000380 / £150

9.To hear reports from individual Councillors / Clerk

a) The Clerk reported that she had attended a short course for new Clerks that had been a useful introduction to the post.

b)Cllr Long reported that both the School bus and parents dropping their children off are having difficulty because of a vehicle being parked each day outside the Church. It was resolved that the Clerk would write to the owner to ask if they could park elsewhere.

c)Cllr Long also asked that the wall of a property by the bus pick up point be made safe and it was resolved that the Clerk would contact the owner about this.

d)Cllr Pidgeon reported that 2 parishioners have come forward to replace Jon Stockwell as Neighbourhood Watch Officers, and that one lives in Yarcombe and the other in Marsh which is useful.

e)Cllr Pidgeon also reported that the Snow Warden had contacted her to say that the grit bins at the Village Hall and Pound Lane are empty. It was resolved that the Clerk would contacted County Hall to see if they should be refilled now or at the beginning of next winter.

10.Parish paths

Cllr Wiggins reported that the annual survey is nearly finished and that we would probably not need to ask for a grant for next year as we have some monies remaining. It was reported that there is water pouring down one of the footpaths that will need checking out.

11.Highway matters

a)Damage to village sign – The Clerk has received a quote of £507 for replacing the damaged sign, which would include the image of Sir Francis Drake. Cllr Long also offered to take the sign to be beaten out, for an approximate cost of £50, but there is a chance that this might not be successful. It was resolved that the Parish Council would wait until May when there is a chance that some funding towards the cost might be made available from the Locality budget. Cllr Randle suggested that when repaired, the village sign should be added to our insurance cover in case of problems in the future.

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b)The Clerk had made a report about the missing bollards at the junction of the A30 / A303 but there seems to have been a misunderstanding of the terminology with the Highways Dept so it was resolved that the Clerk will report this again.

c)Highway problem log – Some issues have been attended to, including Knightshayes Bend, but the huge potholes on the Taunton Road near Emmetts Farm need chasing up.

13.To discuss items of general correspondence received

a) The Clerk has received a report from EDDC about Council Tax charges for 2013/2014. It was heartening to read that the average precept for East Devon councils for a Band D property will be £37.11, but for Yarcombe will be £23.22

14.Publications received:-

  • Newsletter from SW Ambulance Service

15. To confirm date of the next meeting – Monday 22nd April 2013.