Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday  1 June 2005 in Holne Village Hall

Present: Cllrs John Iles(Chairman), Cynthia Irish, Belinda Owen, Gill Simpson

Clerk:  Joanna Radford

Members of the Public:  Mr K Evans, Mr R Gray, Mrs G Gray, Mr M French DNPA, Miss R Roberts

Public Forum :  Mr Evans urged the Council, when discussing whether to charge for copies of the Housing Survey, not to do so, and asked what the basis of the functions of the Affordable Housing Committee were.

He also advised that the Council should contact SouthWest Water with regard to pipeline works in the summer, not Balfour Beattie.  Miss Roberts  asked what the Council had written to DNPA regarding delegated powers in relation to planning applications.  The Clerk reported that the Council had simply requested that planning applicants be informed that they could request more consultation with more senior planning officers than those allocated to them.  She also later reported that the DNPA had been requested to police that housing approved in Ashburton would be "affordable housing".  Mr Gray spoke to support the idea of a village design statement, as did Mrs G Gray.  Mr Gray confirmed that he had checked the fencing around Venford and found it breached in three sections, and that this had been down for three years or more.  Animals had been seen floating dead in the reservoir.  He mentioned the state of the trees on the lower side where the gate post had been removed to allow Viridor lorries to enter.  Finally he drew attention to a burnt out car on the road from Gallant le Bower to Hembury woods.  Mr French  made a report on events at DNPA where a new Chairman would be elected at the Annual Meeting to take place at the end of the week.  There would also be new County Council representatives.  A body called "Natural England" would be taking the place of the Countryside Agency.  The flashing light at North Hessary Tor would be replaced by a steady read light.   He had been unable to attend a meeting on the Local Development Framework but had arranged for Holne PC to be invited.  This had been attended by the Clerk on behalf of the Council and she now made her report on what had in fact been a workshop on issues raised by a sustainability appraisal and strategic environmental awareness study.  A written report was in the circulation file.

Members of the public also gave support to the idea of meetings beginning half an hour earlier.

0506. 01 Apologies for Absence  were accepted from Cllr Copus - in hospital for surgery, Cllr Maddicks - family bereavement, District Cllr Ramsay - on holiday.

0506. 02 Minutes of the Meeting of 6 May 2005  were approved and signed.

0506. 03 Planning Matters  the following planning decision was reported:

0149/05 Conditional permission for Revised façade treatment and additional side passage hall, both to rear, 4 The Village for Mr & Mrs R Grose.

0506. 04 Accounts for the Month  the following payments were approved:

a)  Holne Church Charity rent for Play Park                                               £20.00

b)  Holne Village Hall Management Committee rent                                   £45.50

c) Staples Delivery Ltd - stationery - (half to be repaid by

                                                                  Broadhempston PC)                £54.60

0506. 05 Time of Parish Council Meetings  Agreed to start these at 7:30 pm in future, with the public forum limited to half an hour in total.

0506. 07 Water Pipe Work  Agreed to write to South West Water insisting that any work be delayed until after the summer holiday season.

0506. 08 Affordable Housing Committee  Agreed that this should be an advisory committee reporting to full meetings of the Council for executive decisions.  Its remit would be to examine all aspects of researching the provision, and funding the provision, of units of affordable social housing in the parish.  Cllr Simpson proposed that Mrs Gill Gray be invited on to the Committee.  The meeting closed for the latter to agree and to suggest that one of the young parishioners who might need such housing be appointed also.  Agreed.  The Committee would meet in public, and be informally run allowing public participation.  Agree to hold the first meeting in the Village Hall on Tuesday 21 June at 7:30 pm.

0506. 09 Request to hold the Annual Fete in Play Park and to close the road in the village for the evening of Saturday 13 August.  Both these were approved.

0506. 10 Village Design Statement  Cllr Owen proposed that Holne should undertake a village design statement.  Agreed, and agreed to invite Mrs Lesley Smith, Parish Councils Officer at the Devon Association of Parish Councils, to address the Council  on this subject.

0506. 11 Standards Board Consultation  Agreed to comment on items on a) bullying; b) disrepute of councillors (to refer to criminal convictions only);  c) allow members with a prejudicial interest in a matter to address the meeting before withdrawing, and d) require the register of gifts and hospitality be made publicly available.

0506. 12 Housing Survey  Agreed that parishioners requesting a paper copy of this should not be charge for this.

0506. 13 DACS British Telecom confirm that households on DACS requesting Broadband will be taken off DACS at BT expense, but only when this would cost less than £1000 per connenction

0506. 14 Venford Reservoir  Mr Gray took copies of the correspondence received from South West Lakes Trust and South West Water both expressing surprise that there were any problems.  He would arrange to meet with representative of both, and contact Mr David Powell so that Holne Commoners were represented.

0506. 15 Highway Matters  Agreed to contact the Clerk of Buckfastleigh West Parish Council on the potholes in the Buckfast Holne road, and to complain again about the B3357 particularly about holes at Holne turn.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.15 pm.  The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Wednesday 6 July at 7:30 pm