Draft minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
on 7th July 2009
in Holne Village Hall at 8.00pm
The meeting commenced at 8.00pm.
Present: Councillors Simpson (Chairman), Owen (Vice Chairman), Irish, Powell and Ross.
In attendance: Cllr Jones
Clerk: Suzanna Hughes
Members of the Public: 6
OPEN FORUM
1. Ross Gray referred to item 4 (a)(i) and his letter which had been forwarded by the clerk to all councillors for their information. He reported that he had spoken to DNPA who are in the process of withdrawing the application once confirmation has been received by the applicant. It appears that the applicant has proposed to position the pole inside the property which Mr Gray is building.
Mr Gray also alerted the Parish Council to Mr Soble’s hedge which is in need of trimming. The Parish Council would itemise this for discussion in the September meeting.
2. Mike Barkus spoke on behalf of the Holne Fete Committee in respect of the Affordable Housing Group’s assumption that they could have a stand at this year’s fete. He explained that the Fete Committee is not political and is not against affordable housing. However, they do believe that it is a potentially contentious and sensitive issue which could cause confrontation on what us supposed to be a fun day and therefore do not believe that the fete is the correct forum at which to inform the public about proposed ideas. Despite this, the Committee are keen to clear the air and whereas they are against a manned stand, they would compromise by suggesting an unmanned stand and/or a leaflet to be inserted into the programme. However, it feels that if the Parish Council insists on having a manned stand at the event, thus ignoring the thoughts and opinions of the Committee, then members of the committee, whilst not wishing to jeopardise this year’s fete, would stand down after the event. Their preference, however, is to work in an amicable way.
Keith Evans added to this that he felt that offering the compromise of a manned to an unmanned stand was very fair and weighted in favour of the Affordable Housing Group. Referring to a letter from the Affordable Housing Group, he believed that the group was disrespecting the efforts and views of members of the Holne Fete Committee and if they are forced to accept that they are to go ahead with a manned stand then it will be a struggle to find Fete Committee members next year.
3. The Chairman read correspondence from Cllr Copus, at his request, as he was unable to attend the meeting. In outline the letter objected to the Holne Fete Committee’s decision to refuse to allow a stand at this year’s fete on the following grounds:-
‘That the lack of social housing is a problem in our community and the fete is the perfect platform for the community to meet and discuss such housing issues;
That the group has been represented at the fete in the past and at the Scoriton Flower Show and to ban it now would be unsconscionable;
I disagree with the view that affordable housing is too serious a matter for a happy fete; this contradicts the presence of the RNLI, Rowcroft Hospice and similar charities at our and other village fetes.’
Keith Evans commented that he was staggered at the tenure of the letter and wished to reiterate that members of the committee were not against affordable housing – this wasn’t the issue. It is about the appropriateness of having a stand at the fete to promote a serious subject at what is supposed to be a fun day. He confirmed that it was done in 2007 but again no permission was sought.
Mike Barkus concurred with Keith Evans stating that he felt that the letter was directed at Holne Fete Committee members as individuals. He agrees that the public need information about affordable housing but feels that the Village Hall would be a more appropriate venue.
4. District Councillor Jones reminded members that the Boundary Committee are nearing its decision which is due on 15th July. In a letter from John Denham, he stated that, in addition to the two proposals being considered, they are also now considering Exeter as a unitary authority. After 15th July, there will be a two month period where people can express their views on the recommendation with the Secretary of State intending to make his final decision by mid-October.
070709.01 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received as follows:
Cllr Arrowsmith - on holiday
Cllr Copus - work commitments
Cllr Pennington – personal reasons
070709.02 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillors were reminded of their responsibility to continually update their Notice of Registerable Interests and invited to state whether they had a personal or prejudicial interest in any matter to be discussed during this meeting.
None declared.
070709.03 RATIFICATION OF MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting dated 2nd June 2009 were approved by all present and duly signed by the Chairman as a true and correct record.
070709.04 PLANNING
a. NEW APPLCATIONS/APPEALS RECEIVED
(i) Land to the rear of Priddons Farm House, Holne
One wooden pole, 7.2m above the ground
The Planning Committee had agreed that there would be no objections to this application based on the information that they had received. However, the Chairman reported that since Ross Gray’s letter notifying the Parish Council of the exact proposed position that the pole would be sited, she had established, from speaking to the DNPA, that the application would be withdrawn as soon as the applicant had confirmed this in writing.
b. DECISIONS
(i) Corner Cottage, Holne
Replacement timber windows to south elevation
The clerk reported that permission had been granted (subject to conditions).
070709.05 FINANCE
(i) The following payments were agreed:
Cheque no 000542 - DAPC membership – £52.00
Cheque no 000543 – Mrs S Hughes (stamps) – £12.42
Cheque no 000544 – Mrs G Simpson (paper and ink cartridges) – £35.71
Cheque no 000545 – NALC (for renewal of subscription of Local Council Review) - £13.50
(ii) The clerk requested that the Parish Council helped to fund her to complete the Certificate in Local Council Administration. Achievement of the certificate would improve the clerk’s knowledge which could be passed on to members of the Council and if the Parish Council wished to become a Quality Council, it would need a clerk who was qualified. The clerk explained that the fee of £150 would be split between each of the Parish Councils by whom she is employed and she may also be able to secure a bursary from the NALC. Members present AGREED to financially support the clerk.
(iii) The monthly bank reconciliation was noted.
070709.06. HOLNE VILLAGE HALL
The Chairman explained that the Village Hall Management Committee are trying to
improve the heating and efficiency of the building. It has applied for funding to replace the double glazed windows and Ugbrook Environmental Ltd has agreed to grant a sum of £5,000. The total cost is £6,800 + VAT, 10% of which must come from a third party. The VHMC are therefore requesting that the Parish Council, as the third party, pay £500 to Virador, the parent company, and once the work has been completed in around six weeks, Ugbrook Environmental Ltd will pay the contractor £5,000, the Parish Council will have paid £500 and the VHMC will pay the remainder. At this point, the VHMC will also refund the Parish Council.
After discussion, councillors AGREED in principle to support the VHMC’s request but would require full details in writing of the proposal including when the money would be required, to whom it is payable and why and when it would be repaid etc. As the money would be required soon, it was agreed that a meeting would be convened on 28th July to agree terms.
070709.07 PLAYPARK REPORT
(i) Cllr Powell reported her disappointment that so few people had commented about the proposed ideas for playpark and urged parishioners to share their opinions with the committee. It was suggested that with the permission of the Fete Committee, details of the proposals could be circulated at the fete and maybe flyers could be distributed through letter boxes in the parish.
(ii) Cllr Powell obtained three quotes for the framing of the AO size OS Map of the parish.
- £90 (for a medium from and no mount),
- £60 (for a thinner timber frame with a mount); and
- £12 (to have it laminated).
It was AGREED that the clerk would write to the VHMC asking whether they would like to display the map and, if so, where.
070709.08 HOLNE AND SCORITON HOUSING GROUP REPORT
(i) The Chairman reported that there is a meeting scheduled for Thursday 9th July to look at some block plans which are being drawn up to show what Playpark and Little Bewden would look like with houses.
There was a suggestion that Colin Jones joins the Housing Group and all members present AGREED that this would be a good idea.
Gill Gray is standing down as chair as she feels that a member of the Parish Council should have that role. This therefore leaves a vacancy for the role of chairperson. Cllr Owen, whilst respecting Gill Gray’s decision, disagreed with this view stating that in her opinion it is good to have a non-Parish Council member as chair. Cllr Ross concurred and stated that another member was needed from Buckfastleigh West and Scoriton. It was AGREED that these issues would be discussed at the Affordable Housing meeting on Thursday.
(ii) Correspondence had been received from Rev’d Corynne Cooper on behalf of the Trustees of Holne Church Charity which was read by the Chairman. In it she expressed concern that the minutes of the meeting on 2nd June had reported that the Holne and Scoriton Housing Group is to hold public presentations of plans for affordable housing which include the “firm option” of the Playpark/Little Bewdon site and felt aggrieved about plans relating to the Charity’s land were going to be presented to the general public before sharing them with the trustees.
In response to the letter, the Chairman commented that the wording ‘firm option’ as reported in the minutes of the June meeting were not accurate and apologised for the sites being described in this way. She agreed that the Trustees have an important role and acknowledges that they take their responsibilities for Playpark seriously. The Affordable Housing Group has tried to communicate with the Trustees. However, a meeting was declined by the Trustees as no plans had been produced. This is still the case but nonetheless it would be beneficial for the Affordable Housing Group and the Trustees to meet in order to work together. She agrees that houses can’t be built on Playpark without the agreement of the Trustees. The Chairman invited comments from members.
Cllr Owen expressed that the Parish Council should write to the Trustees and apologise for not respecting their request. Cllr Ross concurred and stated that the Trustees should have been approached first before publicly announcing the sites.
After discussion, it was AGREED that the clerk would write to the Trustees of Holne Church Charity and apologise on behalf of the Parish Council for misleading them that Playpark and Little Bewden are ‘firm options’ and for not approaching the Trustees prior to announcing information to the public.
(iii) Having listened to members of the Fete Committee in the Open Forum and discussed the issues raised, members AGREED that the Parish Council should write to the Holne Fete Committee apologising for assuming the Affordable Housing Group could have a stand at the fete rather than officially requesting one. It should also seek permission to have a stand (preferably manned) and provide information to the Committee about what would be involved. Members wished to stress that the stand would be to provide information to parishioners and had no intention of being confrontational which is what is feared by the Holne Fete Committee.
070709.09 POTHOLES AND HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE REPORTS AND OTHER HIGHWAYS ISSUES
It was noted that the road to Hembury Woods has now been surfaced dressed.
The clerk reported that having previously written to Highways about issues raised in May’s meeting, she had, having not received a written response, spoken to Gerry King. Whilst he could not comment on specific incidents, he did explain that the highways department were slowly beginning to catch up with the winter damage. At the moment, potholes with a diameter in excess of 300mm were the priority.
070709.10 CLERK’S OR COUNCILLOR’S REPORTS ON MATTERS AUTHORISED BY THE COUNCIL AT PREVIOUS MEETINGS NOT OTHERWISE ON THIS AGENDA
The Chairman reported that she had attended the ‘Meeting the Funding Challenge’ event. There was nothing appropriate for the Parish Council but maybe some funding ideas for the village hall.
In respect of the proposed Local Development Framework on which the DNPA invited comments, Cllr Powell commented on the ‘other information required’ as part of the validation process and queries, from the applicant’s point of view, how the applicant would fulfil the conditions particularly in terms of cost. The clerk would report these observations to the DNPA.
070709.11 CHAIRMAN’S URGENT BUSINESS FOR ACTION BY THE CLERK IF COVERED BY DELEGATED POWERS OR FOR INCLUSION ON THE AGENDA OF THE NEXT MEETING
(i) The Chairman requested that ‘Chairman’s Allowance’ be put on the next agenda.
(ii) Cllr Ross requested that the Neigbourhood Watch Scheme be included on September’s agenda as the absence of a scheme operating within the parish could affect parishioners’ home insurance.
070709.12 CORRESPONDENCE
Further correspondence not covered by items above included:
(i) Letter from Martin Rich, CCD re parish planning
It was AGREED that the clerk would invite Martin Rich to attend the October meeting to discuss the advantages of putting together a parish plan and how it can be achieved.
(ii) Empowering Communities in Devon Conference – 22nd July
The date was noted.
070709.13 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 1st September 2009 at 8.00pm in Holne Village Hall. An additional meeting will be arranged for 28th July 2009 at 7.00pm in Holne Village Hall to discuss outstanding matters as agreed in this meeting.
Matters not requiring discussion and placed into the folder for circulation and perusal by Councillors included:
(Please ensure that you have informed the Clerk if any need attention at the next Parish Council meeting).
(i) SHDC – Agenda & Minutes of the Council – 25th June
(ii) Village Green
(iii) Dartmoor Access Forum Report 2008
(iv) Dartmoor National Park Forum Bulletin – May 2009
(v) News release – Tor Homes
(vi) DAPC Newsletter
(vii) DCC Highways – Surface Dressing leaflet
(viii) SHDC – Executive Forward Plan
(ix) DCC - Devon Talk – Summer 2009
The meeting closed at 10.00pm.
Cllr Gill Simpson Suzanna Hughes
Chairman Clerk
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