Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 6 July 2005 in Holne Village Hall
Present: Cllrs Cynthia Irish, Michael Maddicks (Acting Chairman) , Gill Simpson
Clerk: Joanna Radford
Members of the Public: Mrs Gill Gray, County Cllr T Pennington, Mr K Evans, Mr M Wilkinson, Mr P Smeaton, Mr R Gray (Tree Warden)
Public Forum : Mrs Gray asked the Council to consider the following points: that the Website title was "Holne & Michelcombe Parish Council", a non-existent organisation; that the Council might wish to ask Western Power or SWEB about the number of power cuts in the area, and made a request that the Council consider putting, or requesting the provision by another authority, a notice board at the corner of Stoke Lane with public information such as the location of the nearest toilets/a sign to the village centre and facilities there etc.
Mr Smeaton informed the Council that he had written to the Planning Authority objecting to the proposed building on land adjacent to Leat Cottage as being far larger than the outline planning permission here had intimated. He supported the other application before the Council at Sylvana. He also asked the Council to address the eyesore of the Old Forge were no work had been done to complete the alterations.
Mr Gray reported to the meeting the felling of the Sika Spruce plantation at the end of the village.
Mr Wilkinson spoke about his application for a dwelling on land adjacent to Leat Cottage, telling the meeting that amended plans had been requested by the DNPA with a smaller footprint. He also reported that he had a tenant for the shop at a rent of £38 per week which he hoped would allow the tenant to make the project work. He was not sure how soon the lease would begin as the potential tenant was in full-time employment at present.
County Cllr Pennington made a report on County and District matters on his and Cllr Ramsay's behalf.
0507.01 Apologies for Absence were accepted from Cllrs Copus, Iles and Owen.
0507.02 Minutes of the Meeting of 1 June 2005 were approved and signed.
0507.03 Venford Reservoir Site Meeting Mr Ross Gray made his report as follows:
He had been asked by Holne Parish Council to set up a site meeting with representatives of South West Water and South West Lakes Trust together with Holne Commoners' Association. Approaching the latter first, he had been told that its members had tried and failed to get the two Utility organisations to address the problems at Venford Reservoir, and that they were therefore not prepared to attend a site meeting. He had been told that of the ESA funding made to Holne Commoners, £1700 per annum (to a total to date of £8500) went to South West Water/South West Lakes Trust but this money has never apparently been spent on necessary work at Venford. The Commoners summarised their complaints as follows:
- the lack of landscaping of the area after the 2001 felling
- the deplorable state of the fencing
- the lack of active and progressive to maintain or improve the fencing and the area itself
- the lack of any consultation on future felling.
He therefore met alone with Mr Richard of South West Water and Mr Hembrow of South West Lakes Trust. Neither had met before. They confirmed that responsibility for Venford was a follows: for the "works" side, upstream of the dam, South West Water, and for the reservoir area and its catchment area, South West Lakes Trust. Work was usually done by the latter but charged to South West Water, but neither knew which organisation received the ESA money.
The also said they thought fencing work was the responsibility of "the farmers". They were informed that it was normal to fence against the Common. They said that they had no record of complaints about fencing or the state of the site, and suggested these should normally be made to the SWWater 24-hour helpline in the Telephone Directory.
They then inspected the perimeter of the whole site, and photographed damage to the fencing. Mr Gray suggested to them that they should take iron fencing from the "works" side to repair the reservoir side, as this was in more public view and would preserve the integrity of what was now historic iron railing fencing (including rounded tops to the uprights to allow safe access by hounds, negotiated by the Hunts when the reservoir was made). 98% of the fence was in order but the remaining part was flat on the ground and allowed stock to enter and could in its present state injure cattle and ponies. He suggested the two organisations might be able to qualify for "heritage" funding as the fence was now a historic one.
On the matter of re-instatement and landscaping after felling, all agreed that the ground was best left as it had recovered naturally for the time being, but that landscaping should take place after the next phase of felling. The opposition of Holne community to the original plans for this was news to the two officers, and they would be interested to see the plans the two Parish Tree Wardens had put forward (if the Council had these on file).
Mr Gray finished by recommending the Council write to the two organisations with a copy of this report, asking that the work suggested be carried out, and that it should be done where possible by local contractors.
The Council thanked him for his efforts and resolved that a letter should be written as suggested by Mr Gray.
0507.04 Planning Matters
- 0453/05
Construction of two-storey dwelling with parking at land adjoining Leat Cottage, Holne for Mr M Wilkinson: Cllr Simpson made a report on behalf of the Planning Committee, stating that although the proposed building appeared tall, a bungalow would have resulted in too large a footprint to allow the necessary off-road parking. The applicant had worked hard to ensure the building would be as unobtrusive to the street scene as possible, the pitch of the roof being in line with the Village Hall and the whole built down into the slope of the ground. She proposed that the Council recommend approval though she was aware of the impact the development would have on the village, and she had some reservations as to the position of the chimney stack. Agreed to accept her proposal. - 0463/05
Carport with bedroom over at Sylvana, Holne: Cllr Simpson on behalf of the Planning Committee proposed that the Council recommend approval but express concern as to the aesthetics of the proposed overhang and its upright supports over the patio door and bay window. Agreed.
The following planning decision was reported:
- 0246/05
Conditional permission for the Erection of attached dwelling relating to rural business to replace ancillary unit, Priddons, Holne.
0507.05 Accounts for the Month The Clerk reported that the Internal Audit had been completed and that Mr Evans had found some mathematical errors which were being corrected in this month's salary and expenses payment. He had also indicated that the Council should seek to build up its reserves and make a precept request adequate to its needs for the next financial year.
The following payments were approved:
- Mrs J M Radford salary April-June incl £200.00
- Mrs J M Radford expenses for the same period
Telephone £15.09, Internet connection £15,
Mileage £18.60 (itemised on invoice) less £2.31
overpaid previous invoice £46.38 - Mr R Gray for site meetings with SWWater &
SouthWest Lakes Trust £40.00
0507.06 Affordable Housing Committee Cllr Simpson went through the report of the meeting and the following were approved:
That the Council should produce and distribute flyers inviting parishioners to the next meeting of the Committee and asking them to identify themselves if they were in housing need or had suitable land to offer.
That a representative or Widecombe Parish Council be invited to the next meeting to describe Widecombe's experience.
That the Rural Housing Trust be asked for advice/ a presentation at a future meeting
That Buckfastleigh West Parish Council be invited to the meeting (on 20 July)
Agreed that an item requesting more delegation to the Committee be on the next Parish Council agenda, so that the Committee can have a more executive role without recourse to the Council for each decision.
0507.07 6 Baker's Park The Clerk reported that Cllr Copus had contacted Deborah Wilson of Tor Homes who had emphasised that Tor Homes wished to find someone really local, and wished to work closely with the community, for this house. Agreed that the Council should write and request that this house be offered for rent to a local family, and that the present offer made it unaffordable to any local person. Mrs Gray told the meeting of her son's experience in contacting Tor Homes and being asked simply for financial references, with no offer to show him the house as in any normal house sale.
0507.08 Vacancy on the Parish Council Councillors would try by personal contact to interest someone in coming forward, and the Clerk would put an item in the Parish Link. If this was unsuccessful the District Authority would have to be informed.
0507.09 Dartmoor Society Report on New Bridge Project Agreed that this could be included on the website, with some question as to the copyright of the photograph. As this is a copy of a postcard it is probably in the public domain.
0507.10 DAPC Advanced Planning Course 11 October (priority booking form) - no councillor present could attend (any councillor not present wishing to do so, please contact the Clerk by 14 July)
0507.11 Correspondence Receipt of the following was noted:
- defra on Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005
- South Hams DC Council Plan and Performance Plan;
- CroW Act Conclusive Map for Holne Parish;
- SW Water on Replacement/Rehabilitation of Water Pipes in Holne Parish
- South Hams District Council Local Development Framework Documents (several copies received, some placed in Village Hall, others for circulation by councillors).
There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.10 pm. The next regular meeting of the Parish Council will be on Wednesday 7 September, but a special meeting to discuss a planning application for Riversmead will be held before the Housing Committee Meeting on 20 July.
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