HOLNE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 4th June 2008 in Holne Village Hall
Present ; Cllrs Paul Arrowsmith ,Gill Simpson , Cynthia Irish , Liz Ross, Belinda Owen and Richard Copus
Clerk ; Karen Gilbert
Members of the Public ; Mr & Mrs Mudge , , District Cllr C Jones , Keith Evans and Michael French
Public Forum
Keith Evans requested the permission of Holne Parish Council to hold the Annual Holne Fete in the Playpark on 9th August 2008 and advised the Council of the closure of the Road for the Fete . He was advised that none of the Councillors had any objections but that the matter would form part of the agenda of the July 2008 meeting to formalise the request.
Mr Evans also enquired whether the Holne and Scorriton Housing Report had been finalised and was subsequently advised that Sue Hitchcock was currently working on the final report and summary
Cllr Owen proposed that Cllr Simspon chair the meeting until the new Chairman was elected - seconded by Cllr Irish
08.06.01
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 May 2008 HPC meeting
Councillor Simpson had previously sought advice from Leslie Smith , DAPC on these changes . It appears that , in view of the fact that many Parish Councillors are co-opted , the election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman from only elected Councillors ( i.e. not co-opted ) may cause a considerable problems especially to smaller Parish Councils . Cllr Simpson was advised that the new regulations may come into force later this summer but for this Election for Chair/Vice-Chair , any Councillor can stand.
08.06.02 - Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman
a) Election of Chairman
Cllr Owen proposed Cllr Simpson for Chairman . This was seconded by Cllr Copus
Cllr Simpson accepted the Chairmanship and duly signed that Acceptance of Office . Cllr Simpson stated that she was reluctant to take on the role but recognised the fact that the Council needed a permanent Chairman rather that one elected for each meeting together with a strong Vice-Chairman for support.
b) Election of Vice Chairman
Cllr Simpson proposed Cllr Owen . This was seconded by Cllr Ross
The committees were elected as follows
1. Finance Cllrs Arrowsmith , and Irish
2. Planning Cllrs Owen , Irish and Ross
3 Village Hall Cllr Simpson
4. Housing Work Party Cllr Arrowsmith , Owen , Simpson and Ross
Village Hall - Should two representatives be required for Village Hall Committee , Cllr Copus agreed to sit on the committee.
Dartmoor National Park Authority Forum - Cllr Ross expressed an interest in this Forum but commented that it would be preferrable if more notice of the meetings were given
Ru Roberts would also be willing to represent Holne at these meetings if required.
08.06.03 Apologies for absence
Cllr Jones telephoned the Clerk to advise that he would join the meeting later and it was agreed to hear his report at the end of the Meeting
08.06.04 Minutes of the Meetings
The minutes of the meetings held on 7th May and 21st May 2008 were agreed by the Council and duly signed
08.06.05 Declaration of Interest -
Cllr Owen declared a personal and predjucial interest in 08.06.06 - Planning application 0342/08 which was registered accordingly
08.06.06 Planning
Cllr Owen left the Meeting
Planning Application 0342/08 - 6 Church Park , Holne - Extension to existing front porch for Mr P Owen
Cllrs Simpson and Ross attended the Property which currently has a wooden porch which was seen to be in a poor state of repair . The proposed UPVC porch will be twice as large as the present one but remaining in proportion to the house The property has previously been extended at the back. The proposed porch will not impact on the neighbouring properties and is set back from the building line of the street. Attempts to consult the neighbours revealed that the property to the left is empty and to the right has an absentee landlord
Cllr Ross proposed that the Council raise no objection . This was agreed by all the Councillors and the Clerk was asked to advise DNPA planning accordingly
Cllr Owen rejoined the meeting
Planning Matters
Catkin Cottage - A reply from Jo Burgess was read out following the Council's letter to The Enforcement Officer regarding the unauthorised domed rooflights.
Cllr Owen stated that whilst the amendment was minor , the principle of the omission by Dartmoor National Park was dismissed lightly.
Cllr Arrowsmith felt that Holne Parish Council had been misled and that the manner in which The Council's last enforcement letter had been dismissed went against the promises made by Chris France . Head of Planning at DNPA, in February 2008.
Cllr Owen proposed with full Council agreement , that the Clerk write to DNPA to stress that the Holne Parish Council feels it has been misled especially in view of the complex planning history on this property and it is saddened that the matter has been dismissed in this fashion .
Listed Building - Village Farm - no further action
Draft letter to MP and Planning procedure - It was the opinion of all Councillors that, as considerable time and effort had already been spent on general planning issues , it was decided that no further correspondance or discussion should be entered into at this stage.
08.06.07 Finance
The following payments were approved and payments made
Karen Gilbert - salary for May 2008 £104.52
Karen Gilbert - expenses - internet £5 , use of home/equipment £8, refreshments , Parish meeting £5.00 ,
Stamps 50 x 2nd class £13.50 = £31.50
Karen Gilbert - May mileage 36 additional miles at 40p per mile = £14.40
Cllr Gill Simpson - reimbursement of Fee - Chairman's training course 3/6/08 = £48.00 ( payment
authorised 21/5/08)
To cancel chq no 000505 £58.50 to DAPC (Approved 7/5/08) and redraw chq to DAPC for £13.50
Diff = £45.00DAPC subs - deducted from 2008/9 precept ( not previous practice)
The internal Audit of the Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2008 has been completed
The issue of insurance for the Playground area of Playpark was raised as no cover was shown on the Zurich Insurance Schedule . Further investigation proved that the third party liability for this area is covered by South Hams' insurance.
The Chairman thanked for Mr Keith Evans for providing the internal audit service for yet another year.
08.06.08 - Parish Councillor Vacancy
The Clerk advised that the Notices advertising the Parish Councillor vacancy have been posted on the Noticeboards , the Website and Holybrook Exchange.A copy had been sent to the Returning Officer at South Hams . If an election is not called by at least 10 of the electorate by 13th June 2008 , the position will be filled by co-option
08.06.09 Playpark - Dog restrictions
Tim Pollard , South Hams - Leisure and Landscape - had advised the Clerk that any byelaws relating to the Playpark will prove to be outdated , difficult to enforce and copies of byelaw documentation not easy to access .
He added that , it was hoped that a new set of byelaws - relating particularly to the control of dogs - will be introduced in the near future after consultation with Parish Councils.
The Councillors of Holne Parish Council were all in agreement that there was a need for a replacement sign regarding dogs in Playpark. , the original having been mislaid some while ago.
With regard to the location of the sign , Cllrs Owen and Copus were of the opinion that the dog restriction should cover the whole area ( Playpark field and enclosed Playground ) as the entire Playpark is used by children for play. Cllr Arowsmith strongly disagreed with this proposal as he considered it unfair to responsible dog owners who regularly use the field for exercising their dogs , especially during those times when dog walking on the open Moor is restricted , to which Cllr Owen replied that there were plenty of places to walk/exercise dogs in the surrounding area . Cllr Arrowsmith added that perhaps the Council could be accused of double standards as the field is used for the dog show at the Holne annual fete . He also stated that The Church House is also experiencing problems with dog waste on the Village Green outside the Pub.
Cllr Owen suggested that the sign read - NO DOGS , PLEASE . Cllr Simpson stated that - EXCEPT GUIDE DOGS - or EXCEPT DOGS FOR THE DISABLED -should be incorporated if possible
Cllr Arrowsmith also suggested that a letter be written to the Church Charity Trustees- who are responsible for Playpark .
Cllr Owen proposed that a sign stating NO DOGS PLEASE ( but with the possible addition re Disabled users) should be placed at the entrance to the Playpark.
This was voted on - 5 councillors for - 1 against
It was therefore resolved that the Clerk write to the Church Charity Trusees to advise of the Council's proposed actions and also to send a letter to Frank Niering to ascertain whether he would be willing to quote for the manufacture of the sign
08.06.10 ; Holne and Scorriton Local Housing Group
Sue Hitchcock will write to all respondents in Holne Parish requesting that they write to the Clerk , Holne Parish Council in order that a housing register be drawn up.
A list of suggested sites has been made and a map marked up accordingly . Sue Hitchcock has contacted DNPA for comment and is currently awaiting a reply
A meeting is to take place on 10th June 2006 with the Church Charity Trustees re the possibility of using Playpark
Cllr Copus added that during a recent meeting with Lembit Opik ,he was advised that the Liberal Democrats are trying to speed the process between the proof of need for Affordable Housing and the actual construction
08.05.11
Cllr Irish mentioned the potholes in Michelcombe and confirmed she would contact Highways herself
Cllr Owen asked that the Hedgelaying at Playpark be placed on the agenda for September 2008 . Meanwhile , it was agreed that the Clerk write to Gill Gray to ascertain whether there is any funding available for such work . Cllr Ross asked whether Western Power may contribute towards the cost of the hedgelaying to which Cllr Arrowsmith commented that , in his opinion , he doubted that they would.
The Clerk was asked to write to Western Power to investigate .
Cllr Simpson explained that there was a new system regarding complaints against Councillors and asked the Clerk to provide South Hams with a copy of the adopted code of conduct
08.05.12 Correspondence
a) enquiry from parishioner re Holybrook exchange
b) conference - Devon Community at Totnes 21/6/08 re recycling
c) Dartmoor Access Forum 10/6/08 - Parke
d) Survey - South Hams CVS
e) Devon & Cornwall Police - advert for independent members to Police Authority from 1/10/08
f) Devonrcc - Housing Award - Closing date 25 July 2008
These items were brought to the attention of the Council
With regard to item f - Housing Award - this is being being dealt with by the Housing Group
08.05.13 The Chairman had nothing to report
There being no further business , the Meeting was closed at 9.45pm
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Cllr Jones advised that the Boundary Committee is currently working on the Local Government Review but by July will produce one draft proposal rather than the three proposals previously mentioned
He also stated that the criteria attaching to the Community Grants Fund has been relaxed as the amount of applications had been small . He thought that the deadline was 29th August.for applications
Cllr Arrowsmith suggested that it may be worth approaching this organisation with the Playpark hedgelaying in mind