Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 7th May 2008 in Holne Village Hall
Present ; Cllrs Paul Arrowsmith (Chairman) , ,Gill Simpson , Cynthia Irish and Liz Ross
Clerk ; Karen Gilbert
Members of the Public ; Mr & Mrs Mudge , Ross Gray , District Cllr C Jones , PC Alison Hooper
Public Forum
Mr Mudge brought to the Council?s notice , the pot holes and general state of the Highway. Cllr Ross commented that she believed that the recent heavy vehicles serving the works at Venford had contributed to the damage . The Chairman added that any repairs that are completed are of such low quality , that the problems soon return
The Chairman advised that Cllr Jones intended to join the Meeting later and .it was agreed that the meeting be adjourned for this purpose
PC Alison Hooper who has served the Ashburton and Holne area for seven years , gave a report on the crime statistics for Holne for the period April 2007 - March 2008 . She then took questions from the Council and from the public. Cllr Ross queried one of the incidents - the destruction of a bird nest - and asked whether any action had been taken against the culprit .Cllr Ross was infomed that , in this case , only advice was given . This gave rise to the question of who and where was the designated Wildlife Officer for this area , PC Hooper replied that there are Wildlife Officers who cover the Holne area and that she would advise the Council of the names and contact details . Cllr Arrowsmith raised the question of speeding through the lanes surrounding Holne Village to which PC Hooper replied that Ashburton Police had a Radar gun and would welcome input from the Council as to siting and timing . Mrs Mudge asked about sheep worrying and was subsequently advised that the matter is taken seriously and dealt with by the Officers on duty at the time
08.05.01
The Council was advised that Section 70 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 amends the 1972 Local Government Act with the result that the Chairman and Vice Chairman of a Parish Council can no longer be chosen from amongst members who have been co-opted . These Office holders can only be Members who have stood for election. ( Advised by DAPC 03/08) Item Deferred from April 2008 HPC meeting
08.05.02 - Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman
Cllr Arrowsmith stated that he was not standing for re-election as Chairman for the following year . Cllr Irish proposed Cllr Simpson who informed the Council that she did not feel she could dedicate enough time to the position . Cllr Irish then proposed Cllr Ross who advised that as she was co-opted , she could not stand .Cllr Arrowsmith advised that a Chairman could be elected for just this meeting , a role he was willing to take on.
It was therefore decided to defer the election of Chairman and Vice Chairman until the June 2008 meeting , at which time the members of the various Committees could be elected.
08.05.03 Apologies for absence ;Cllr Roberts , Cllr Owen
08.05.04 Minutes of the Meetings
The minutes of the meetings held on 5th March , 2nd April and 9th April 2008 were agreed by the Council and duly signed
08.05.05 Declaration of Interest - None was declared
08.05.06 Planning
Planning application 0271/08 - Priddons Farmhouse - Certificate of Lawfulness in respect of existing use of a mobile home . The application was accompanied by many letters and photos to prove continual use and the Councillors were aware of the mobile home . Cllr Simpson contacted the applicant by phone to discuss the matter . Cllrs Owen and Simpson raised no objections to the application . The Councillors present at the May 2008 meeting had no objections although the question was raised as to whether there should be a condition attached limiting the use of the mobile home to the existing owner and family . This was subsequently dismissed as it precluded its use by farm workers employed during the lambing season
It was resolved that the Clerk write to DNPA to approve the application.
Planning application 0286/08 - Catkin Cottage , Holne - Small increase in gravel parking and turning area
Cllr Simpson advised that the increased area was already in place but caused no problem
It was resolved that the Clerk write to DNPA to advise that Holne Parish Council raised no objection
Planning application 0289/08 - site adjoining Hazelwood , Holne - Revised design from permission 0943/07 re new dwelling and carport . The revised drawings show an additional roof light facing the neighbouring property Hazelwood to which Cllr Simpson had no objection . Cllr Owen had slight reservations regarding its impact on the neighbouring property , Hazelwood . The other revision was the addition of a kitchen window which faced down the garden of the property concerned .
The Council agreed that these revisions were acceptable and the Clerk was asked to contact DNPA to advise there were no objections to this application.
Planning Application 0316/08 - Leat Cottage Holne - Extension to form bathroom and porch for Mr Forbes-Wood. A Planning meeting is to be arranged following a site visit by Cllrs Ross and Irish.
Planning Matters
Whilst attending Catkin Cottage , it was noted by Cllr Simpson that two domed roof lights have been incorporated in the kitchen area . As these are not supported in any of the Planning applications and with the additional concern regarding their noise impact on the neighbouring property , it was resolved that the Clerk contact the Enforcement Officer at Dartmoor National Park
Application no 0207/08- Field shelter for sheep at Hunter?s Reach , Michelcombe Lane
A revised drawing showing the new position of the shelter away from the neighbour was shown to the Council . As no objection were raised , it was decided that no further action was required
The discussion regarding the procedure of Listed Building applications was deferred to the June meeting
Cllr Ross wished it noted that she felt that some planning applications are allocated insufficient time for discussion and debate and cited the application at Hunter?s Reach as an example . The Chairman agreed that the Planning meeting at which this was discussed should have been arranged for more suitable date and time when there would have been no need to vacate the meeting place by a specific time. It was suggested that the Councillors took the opportunity to discuss the matters amongst themselves before the Planning or regular Parish meetings to ensure that each Councillor fully understands the issues on which he/she will be voting or commenting.
08.05.07 Finance
The following were paid at the Meeting
Karen Gilbert - salary for April 2008 £104.52
Karen Gilbert - expenses - internet £5 , use of home/equipment £8, stationery £39.15 = £52.15
Karen Gilbert - April mileage 72 additional miles at 40p per mile = £28.80
Holne Village Hall for April 08 meeting = £10.50
Peter Owen - Hedgetrimming Play park = £14.10
South Hams - Parish Election expenses 3/5/07 = £153.56
DAPC membership + Local Council Review = £58.50
Devon Playing Fields Assoc = £15.00
Community First ( Zurich Ins) = £202.64
Payment made out of meeting
Public Works Loan Account = £574.43
The Clerk was asked to investigate the possibility of re-negotiating the loan in order to obtain a more favourable interest rate . It was agreed that the method of payment remain as cheque rather that standing order.
A contribution of £60.00 towards the Parish Link was approved.
The Accounts for the Year ending March 2008 were approved by the Council and duly signed by the Chairman .The Annual return for the year ended 31/3/08 sections 1 and 2 were agreed and signed. The Chairman suggested that the Clerk contact Mr Keith Evans to ask him if he would kindly carry out the internal audit as he had in previous years
08.05.08 ; Holne and Scorriton Local Housing Group
The Council agreed to adopt the Holne and Scorrition Local Housing Group Report .
Cllr Simpson advised that a meeting with Mr Neiring and the Church Trustees was to take place in the near future to discuss the possibility of using their land in the local housing scheme
08.05.09 - Newbridge- possible alterations and restrictions
The March 2008 Minutes of Widecombe Parish Council had previously been given to all Councillors . These Minutes detailed the approval of the Council for the possible widening and straightening of the bridge and approaches to try to reduce the damage to the bridge .
Cllr Ross felt strongly that the bridge should be protected rather than widened and that the bridge should be conserved as a fine structure rather than be subjected to alteration to suit modern motoring trends
Cllr Irish stated that the matter should be dealt with in accordance the County Council?s Engineers recommendations.
It was decided that , as the bridge is on the boundary of the two parishes , Holne Parish Council write to Widecombe Parish Council to ensure that its opinions on this matter are known
08.05.10 Dogs in Play Park
Cllr Owen requested that South Hams be contacted to ensure that the necessary signs are displayed in Play Park to encourage dog owners to behave in a responsible manner in this area .
The Clerk was instructed to write accordingly
08.05.11
None of the Councillors had anything to report
08.05.12
a) Boundary Committee- conf receipt of Council?s comments
b) Dartmoor Discovery 32 mile marathon - 7/06/08 - route and timing
c) DAPC - courses available
d) Devon CC - Community Listening Event - Ash Burton - 22/05/08 7-9pm
e) DNPA Planning
Hazelwood/Catkin - Copy letter
Little Coombe - Grant letter with conditions
f) NALC conference 2008 - 20-22 May 2008 Eastbourne
These items were brought to the attention of the Council
08.05.13 The Chairman had nothing to report
There being no further business , the Meeting was closed at 9.30pm
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Cllr Jones advised the Council that permission had been obtained for the development of a new village - Sherford -covering a large area in the South Hams on the outskirts of Plymouth . It was anticipated that 5500 houses would be built to house 12000-14000 people . In addition , 67,000 sq ft of Commercial , 17000sq ft of Retail , 3 schools and open amenity space would be created.
Cllr Jones also reminded that responsibility for parking enforcement had now passed from the Police to South Hams District Council and would welcome any feedback in this regard
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