DRAFT MINUTES OF ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
ON 29TH APRIL 2009
IN HOLNE VILLAGE HALL AT 7.30PM
IN ATTENDANCE: 21 members of the public including councillors and guest speaker.
APM290409.01 APOLOGIES
Cllr Trevor Pennington, Rosemary Bonney, Margie Powell, Gill Gray
APM290409.02 MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 2008
Cllr Simpson apologised for not having any minutes. These could not be located following the change of clerks.
APM290409.03 MATTERS ARISING
None.
APM290409.04 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Cllr Simpson reported as follows:
‘My first year as Chairman has been a challenging year but I’m very grateful to all my Councillors who have supported and helped me. It has been a steep learning curve and amazing, having looked back at old minutes, how items for the agenda seem to go in cycles, every 10 years or so. Topics on the agenda this year have included highways and potholes, work on Playpark (ably led by our sub-committee) and ‘dogs or no dogs’, leats, Affordable Housing and a car sharing scheme. Amongst our many challenges has been the closure of Venford Reservoir Dam for 3 months, which had a big impact on traffic movement in the area, let alone businesses. The continual planning applications at Catkin Cottage and Hazelwood seemed to keep us on our toes, and then came the Boundary Commission report recommending a Unitary Authority for Devon. We were delighted when Suzanna joined us as Clerk in January and thanks to her. As you know it had been a disjointed year with Clerks and my thanks go to Sharon Raggett who helped us out so well as temporary clerk. Thanks to Keith Evans for auditing the accounts, to Joanna Radford for updating the website and all you Parishioners for your support. Finally, we no longer have a Neighbourhood Watch scheme, so I shall be happy if anyone wishes to comment during the Public Forum’.
APM290409.05 FINANCIAL REPORT
The clerk presented the financial position of the council including year end bank reconciliation and explanation of significant year on year variances.
A discussion followed about the loan from the Public Works Loans Board and whether early repayment was an option. It was agreed that the Parish Council would investigate this further.
APM290409.06 REPORTS FROM PARISH ORGANISATIONS
Rev’d Corynne Cooper – St Mary’s Church & Garden Society
Thanked the Parish Council for the grant towards the cost of maintaining churchyard and reported that the church was endeavouring to keep costs to a minimum. A tender went out for the cost of maintaining the new part of the churchyard – this went for £1,200 compared to £1,500 last year. Rev’d Cooper reminded everyone that the church was a facility for all and all were welcome. The building is being made user-friendly and adaptable and she wishes to listen to views. A cross has been dug in the churchyard and it is now ready for planting - volunteers needed. Rosemary Bonney has retired from leading the Friends of the Church and they are now looking for someone else to carry it on.
Cllr Belinda Owen – Playpark Committee
The committee consists of 3-4 members and would welcome anyone else who would like to join. The committee was set up to improve the ambience and facilities of playpark. The committee has already made a start with the hedgelaying and the sheep to improve the grass. The committee is now looking at funding opportunities.
Mike Bonney – Village Hall Management Committee
The main problem facing the committee during the year was the lack of heating in the hall. This was caused mainly by the boiler continually breaking down. To try and resolve the problem, it was decided that three things needed to be done: (i) Get a new boiler, (ii) Change the windows to double glazing, (iii) Apply some form of insulation to the building. The new boiler has been fitted and is working satisfactorily. A quote has been accepted for double glazing and the committee is awaiting the outcome of their grant application for £5,000 towards the £7,800 costs. Various forms of insulation are being investigated. The DNPA was unhelpful when enquiring about grants but Gill Gray has been a great help. Gill also supplied the committee, free of charge, with some display screens which it is hoped the community will find useful.
As a result of the increase in the price of both liquid gas and electricity, it has been necessary to increase the charges for hire of the hall.
A new car park sign was purchased for £100 and six padded chairs with arms.
Some redecoration of the hall has been carried out, mainly to repair the marks caused by the installation of the new boiler and thermostat.
Last year’s plant sale was extremely successful raising some £685. This year’s plant sale will be on 30th May and as always, your plants, cakes and raffle prizes are needed.
The Christmas Fair takings were down on previous years with only £732 profit which was shared with the church. Therefore, although the financial situation is still healthy, funds will be considerably reduced after the various jobs have been completed.
A major source of income has come from the sale of books by Mike and Gill Cunniam. Since they took over from Frank Niering, they have raised a substantial amount of money for the village hall and for this the committee is extremely grateful.
Thanks were given to Keith Evans for keeping the books in order. As always, Margie Powell does a wonderful job as booking clerk doing many tasks well beyond the call of duty and Gill Simpson has proven to be a fantastic secretary. Thanks were finally given to all the other members of the committee both during this rather difficult year and in previous years.
Mike reported that he and his wife Rosemary are standing down from the committee next month with Mike having served eleven years (six as chairman). Having in the main enjoyed his stint, he wished to thank everyone for their support.
Ross Gray – Tree Warden
‘Tree wardens are charged with the care, protection and enhancement of the trees, shrubs and hedges within their parish. We have undergone considerable training by SHDC over the years. We are the first port of call for advice on tree matters. If we don’t know the answer we will endeavour to pass you on to those who do. May I remind the Parish Councillors and clerk that this applies to them as well as individual parishioners, perhaps more so. This year we have been to various meetings and training especially to see the Arboretum at Follaton House which you can all visit. I have fielded numerous enquiries, the most striking this year being “Why is the ancient yew in the churchyard looking yellow and sick?” My investigations brought Polly Stone, the South Hams Tree Officer, to Holne and we were all greatly relieved with the diagnosis of an attack of caterpillars of the Fruit Tortix Moth and the remedy – let nature take its course.
The hedge on the lower side of Playpark has been beautifully laid by beginners on a DNP course. I marked 8 small trees in the hedge for retention using the Tree Council’s Official Tree Warden scheme tags. 6 of the tagged trees survived the operation. These should enhance the view in the future whilst giving song posts and berries and even nests for the birds while the hedge regrows.
The woods on Holne Moor are cared for by DNPA and paid for by the Commoners Holne Moor ESA for the last 10 years up to 31 August 2009. Then they will come under Higher Level Stewardship if Holne Commoners are successful in their application.
Early this month, Rupert Lane, Head of Trees and Woodlands at DNP took a small party of David Powell, chairman of the Commoners, Gill Simpson, chairman of the Parish Council and myself round White Wood to see its wonders, discuss management and future intentions. The alarming thing was to observe the large number of mature oak trees which have crashed to the ground under the winter weather this year. However, nature turns all to her advantage. There will be more lying dead wood for insects and the holes in the canopy will let in vital light for a new generation of seedlings.
Another tree show can be seen from the road above the village by Tunbly or by walking past Knap or up the Sandy Way from Mitchelcombe. These are the areas of protected moorland shrub totaling 5 acres that I have prevailed on Holne Commoners to keep as an experiment. My thanks to Sue Goodfellow for all her help and support in settling this up some years ago as Head of Ecology and I ask that she keeps reminding all those concerned with the management of the common that this experiment should be allowed to continue to run a full 30 years.
The majority of the rowans are now some 12 years old together with a few hollies and hawthorn. In addition this year I have observed the first alder backthorn saplings appearing. The matrix of western gorse is now ageing and becoming more open so grazing animals are again getting into the thickets. A fortnight ago there were half a dozen Red Deer.
Finally there is a new planting scheme just started. This is called South Hams Tree Planting Year 2009 and is well funded. If anyone is interested or has suggestions of planting sites on public or private land do get in touch.
Cllr Paul Arrowsmtih - Fete Committee
Cllr Arrowsmith reported that due to the poor weather the fete made a loss last year of around £500. He thanked everyone for their help on the day. This year, the committee has four new members to breathe new life into the event and more volunteers would be most welcome.
Gill Gray - Chair, Holne & Scoriton Local Housing Group
Members of the Group are: Gill Gray, Paul Arrowsmith, Liz Ross, Belinda Owen, Gilly Simpson, Sue Colwill, Mike Bonney.
1. The Group has met five times during 2008/09. Sue Hitchcock, the Devon Rural Housing Enabler has attended all our meetings and Phil Markham of the DNP has attended two meetings.
2. We have discussed:
(i) The results and the implications of the two Housing Needs Surveys in Holne and Scoriton with Sue Hitchcock.
(ii) Possible sites – these were established by writing to all the known landowners in the two parishes, plus those put forward in the Housing Needs questionnaire.
With Phil Markham and Sue Hitchcock, we have given consideration to the merits/disadvantages of all sites, under the guidance of Chris France, the DNPA Chief Planning Officer who has walked the parishes with representatives of the Group.
Playpark - this site was originally identified as a possible site for affordable housing by the previous DNP Chief Planning Officer. Graham Wall. Chris France also concurs with this view. In June last year the Housing Group met with the Holne Church Charity, which ‘holds the field in trust for the recreation of the inhabitants of Holne’, to explore the possibility of a part of the field being released for the purposes of building a modest number of affordable homes. The Housing Group felt that there was some merit in considering the Playpark site and a part of Little Bewdon, already offered by a parishioner, as being a possible way forward.
A previous enquiry to the Holne Church Charity in October 2005 resulted in the following response “we would be willing to enter into discussion regarding the proposed change of use only following a parish-wide referendum of registered electors in which a majority were in favour of the change of use envisaged.” The ‘majority’ referred to the total number of electors on the electoral register and not to the percentage of voter turnout. This requirement was re-iterated at the meeting in June and the Housing Group felt that this requirement effectively made the proposition impossible as the turnout was unlikely to be sufficient to achieve such a majority bearing in mind the turnouts for local and general elections.
At the conclusion of the meeting with the Holne Church Charity, it was agreed that the Housing Group would:
Investigate the degree of control that the district council could exercise over the selection of beneficiaries of local affordable housing.
Correspond with the DNP regarding the ownership of Playpark and the implications of establishing a site which could include part of Playpark and part of Little Bewdon.
Investigate what would be involved regarding a Community Land Trust, in relation to greater control of occupancy of any future affordable housing.
Since June, these three issues have been explored and during the past two months we have been attempting to arrange a suitable date when the Holne Church Charity to discuss these.
(iii) Community Land Trusts (CLT) – in July last year Philip Vogel, the Clerk to Chudleigh Parish council came to a meeting of the Group and explained the merits of a CLT in delivering affordable housing for local people. In essence it would give control of the occupation of housing units in accordance with an agreed criteria, to local people. Chudleigh has now set up the Land in Hand Trust which covers a number of parishes within Teignbridge and includes Holne and Scoriton. Our group has not discussed this issue fully and therefore does not have a view but it is a subject which we could pursue which could give reassurance about the concerns we all have about the occupancy of affordable housing being given to non-local people.
(iv) Little Bewdon – we have discussed with the owner of this site, the possibility of it being used in conjunction with part of Playpark and in principle it has been looked upon favourably with ideas of providing greater space for the community of Holne in the form of allotments and space for all ages to recreate.
(v) Affordable Housing Awards Competition – in July we entered the Community Council of Devon’s competition and whilst we didn’t win, we were highly commended for the work we had done.
(vi) Funding – it had been felt all along that we should try to access external funding so that we could get some drawings and sketches done. We could then stage an information evening in both parishes so that people could see what a small development of houses would look like. We applied to the Dartmoor Trust for a small grant towards the cost but were told that we were not far enough forward in our plans. South West Water generously gave us £250 and we are waiting a response to a similar request to May Gurney. In addition to this the Tudor Trust will also consider funding CLT projects.
As a group we have worked hard over this past year – from advice we have received, we know we are doing things in the correct way. We are all volunteers and some of us work full time so it is not easy with the commitments we all have to move things on as quickly as we would like.
Without doubt the most difficult aspect of this work is convincing the doubters in our parishes, that there is a need for affordable housing for local people.
Our most urgent task now – and the sole subject of our next meeting – is to resolve the issue of a preferred site, which we would then take forward to public consultation.
APM290409.07 GUEST SPEAKER – SUE GOODFELLOW, DNPA
Sue Goodfellow explained her position and role within the DNPA before talking about the challenges for the future. These challenges include climate change, the evolving landscape, how people will be using Dartmoor (including tourism) and managing resources.
During a period of questions and answers, various issues were raised:
Should the government have the right to directly elect members to the authority?
Who is ultimately responsible to the management of Holne Moor and woods? - disappointment was expressed about how it is being managed.
The state of the leat running through the village – is this the responsibility of the DNPA?
Does a reduction in the DNPA’s budget mean a reduced ranger service?
Concerns were expressed that the ranger for Holne is rarely seen in the village.
On issues which Sue was unable to answer, she promised to report back to the clerk. This would be included on the agenda at the meeting in June.
APM290409.08 PUBLIC FORUM
Cllr Copus referred to the Parish Council’s decision to ban dogs from playpark and expressed concerns that no-one was able to walk their dogs in playpark anymore. He asked for the opportunity for parishioners to comment. Cllr Arrowsmith supported Cllr Copus and stated that the Parish Council should be promoting responsible dog ownership. Cllr Copus proposed that the Parish Council should gauge the opinion of parishioners as to whether dogs should be banned from the outside the play area or not. Opinions were mixed. Cllr Simpson added that the playpark committee will try and look at accommodating dogs.
Mike Cunniam advised parishioners that if anyone was interested in taking over the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme he has the necessary information, signs and leaflets.
A concern was expressed about the continual increase in the precept. Cllr Simpson explained that it had been recommended by Keith Evans that a sum of money be set aside as buffer money which coupled with the funding of the PWLB meant that the precept had to increase.
APM290409.09 CLOSE
The meeting closed at 9.30pm and was followed by tea and coffee.
Cllr Gill Simpson Suzanna Hughes
Chairman Clerk
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