Minutes of the Meeting held at Church House, Widecombe on Thursday 23rd Nov.2000
PRESENT : Mr.N.Smerdon (Chairman), Mr.R.Newbolt-Young (Vice), Mr.S.Booty,Mr.M.Nosworthy, Mr.M.Pascoe, Mrs.M.Phipps, Mr.C.Whale, Mr.M.Yates.
APOLOGIES : Mrs.N.Tempest, Cllr.Mr.H.Whitley
IN ATTENDANCE : the Clerk Mr.P.Roper.
2373 MINUTES : The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 26th October 2000were signed by the Chairman as being an accurate record of the meeting.
2374 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
(i) TDC Toilet Lighting : the Clerk reported that TDC had mistakenly fitted a solar cell lighting system to the public toilets in the village. This had theeffect of turning the lights on at night, the opposite of what had been requested by WPC.
After much consultation with TDC it was agreed that they would fit a timer switch which would turn the lights on at 7 p.m. every morning and off at 5 p.m.in the winter and 8 pm. in the summer.
(ii) Widecombe and District Sports Group : the Clerk had received threereplies after seeking help on the matter of third party indemnity in respect of possible claims in connection with the use of the Children’s Play Area at NorthHall Playing Fields.
(a) Devon Association of Parish Councils had said that this topic was a”minefield” of problems.
(b) DNPA had made clear that, although they owned the land in question it wasthe responsibility of WPC to keep them ‘fully and effectively indemnified’.
(c) Cornhill Insurance, the Parish Council’s insurers, had sent a lot ofinformation and made clear that the responsibility of said indemnity rested with those responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the Playing Fields. Theyalso suggested that the Children’s Play Area should be fenced. Cornhill Insurance were “unable to extend the WPC’s insurance policy to cover theliability’ of the Sports Groups use or the children’s play.
The Parish Council therefore decided to send copies of all this informationto the Secretary of the Widecombe and District Sports Group. It was clear that the onus of responsibility passed from DNPA to WPC and then to WDSG. If thestatus of the Management Committee of the Sports Group was not clear then perhaps some legal advice should be sought.
(iii) Local Needs Housing : three letters of reply concerning the ‘finishings’ and occupancy of the said Houses have been received.
(a) from DNPA ; the matter of finishings had been agreed at the planning stage and a copy of this was included with the reply. The colour white wasindicated for the rendered finish of the six houses. The fencing and landscaping was also shown and Councillors were able to examine the plans showing thedetail. It was the responsibility of Hastoe Housing Association’s contractors to complete the approved plans.
(b) from Hastoe Housing : Anne Harries has offered to show Councillors around the interior of the Houses before they are occupied. She also informed theCouncil that due to the adverse weather the Houses would not be painted until the Spring. She agreed to reconsider the colour of the paint to be used. Perhapsa light grey would be more appropriate, this could be discussed at the time of the viewing. The Council wished to express their thanks to Mrs.Harries for herinvitation and co-operation.
(c) from Hastoe Housing : Judith Dearlove has sent the list of possibleoccupants all of whom would be visited in November by representatives from Hastoe. After this process and before the final committee meeting made theirdecisions Mrs.Dearlove has offered to meet with a sub-committee of the Parish Council to clarify any outstanding questions. This was agreed by the Council andthree Councillors nominated to meet with her on a date yet to be arranged at mutual convenience.
(iv) Cattle in the Village of Widecombe : the Clerk reported that Mr. Bell, the Chairman of the Widecombe Commoners Association, had been in touch with himto complain that the account of the discussions held, as written in both the minutes of the Parish Council and the brief summary of this in the Parish Link,were not accurate. The Clerk had therefore consulted with the Chairman and as a result written to the grassiers to explain further. The Clerk apologised that hehad not fully understood the implications involved.
(v) Community Groups Inventory : TDC’s request for a list of all theorganisations in the Parish, their secretaries and addresses was still outstanding and WPC had received a further request for same. Despite the workinvolved the Clerk will attempt to make this inventory. Hastoe Housing Association had also indicated that most village communities made such aninventory available to new arrivals in the Associations houses.
2375 CORRESPONDENCE
(i) Devon Fire and Rescue Service Questionnaire : this was completed collectively during the meeting. It seemed that the re-organisation proposedwould move the controls further afield leading to greater centralisation. This the Council felt was a retrograde step.
(ii) TALC : the agenda for the next meeting was passed to the Chairman.
(iii) The Countryside Agency Questionnaire : this important informationseeking document was kindly taken by Mr.Pascoe for completion.
(iv) North Hall Playing Field Charity Commission annual questionnaire andreport was taken by the Clerk for further work.
(v) Car Parking Outside Church House : a letter of complaint has beenreceived from Mr. Ensor concerning the blocking of the Lane to Venton, by parked vehicles, during evening meetings at Church House. In particular the recentmeeting of the History Group had caused such a problem.
The Clerk was asked to write to the Secretary of the History Group explainingthe concern.
(vi) A letter of thanks was received from Nigal and Liz Storrs of KingsheadFarm following the recent Millennium Time Capsule photographs taken by Chris Mayhead. It was felt that this documentation would be a lovely reminder forfuture generations.
(vii) Devon & Cornwall Constabulary : a letter of request from InspectorTaylor has been received. He informed the Council that in future meetings with the Police Force would be organised into two distinct groups of Councils (a)rural and (b) conurbation. There would be 17 villages included in the rural grouping. Widecombe was asked to send a representative to the next meeting onSunday 17th December at Middlemoor, Exeter.
Unfortunately this date and venue were not convenient for any of theCouncillors.
2376 PLANNING
(i) CH.1/CD/0331/00 & 0332/00 Old Langworthy Farm : the Clerk had written to the planning officer Chris Hart to complain that WPC had not received anydetails about the amended plans until after they had been approved. Although in this case, there were no serious concerns it was felt that in general theCouncil should be consulted in future with regard to all amended plans. Mr. Hart felt that the given time scale was usually a problem in this matter.
(ii) 0559/00 : Old Glebe House Amended Plans : discussed and approved
(iii) Greenacres, Leusdon : the question of one remaining corrugated buildingat this site had been raised with the senior planning officer. The Council was informed that this had been agreed at the planning consent stage.
(iv) 0709/00 Restoration of original stock building at Foxworthy, Poundsgate. : Recommended for approval.
2377 HIGHWAYS
(i) Cattle Grid at Buckland Bridge : Bob Jones of DCC Highways Department(Environment Directorate) has informed the Parish Council that although there is not enough funds in this year’s budget to build a Cattle Grid at Buckland Bridgethere is sufficient funds to begin a survey and drawing works necessary to prepare a scheme for consultation and detailed estimates. This progress waswelcomed.
(ii) Minor Road Repairs within the Parish : increasing concern is beingexpressed about the sad state of some of the smaller roads within the Parish.
The Clerk was asked to write to Mr. Graham Heath, the Local Service Officerof DCC to express this concern. He has been asked to telephone the Chairman of the WPC to discuss what problems are causing this deterioration in our roads andwhat the Council can do to improve communication, quality of workmanship and action.
(iii) Local Flooding : the Chairman asked the Council to look out for more storage space for sand bags that could be quickly accessed in the event of anylocal flooding.
(iv) Grit/Salt Bags : he also informed the Council that DCC Highways nolonger supplied such bags for road gritting.
2378 MATTERS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIRMAN
(i) Bridle Path Map : Mr.Newbolt-Young reported on a meeting held by Holne PC. to discuss the legal responsibility of maintenance of Foot Paths. This responsibilityrested with DNPA but the Parish Council might like to consider walking the Paths to check on their condition. This has not been done for at least five years.
The Clerk was asked to find the map of the footpaths within the Parish.
(ii) A further report was given on the MAFF’s plans for ESA status across theMoors.
(iii) A number of Councillors asked about the album of Millennium Photographsthat had been made for the Parish Council by Mr. Mayhead. It would appear that the Council has lost control of the circulation of the album. There was concernexpressed and remedial action will be quickly made to recover control.
2379 FINANCE
(i) Income Interest on Deposit £36.21
(ii) Expenditure Clerk’s Salary and Disbursements £128.43
Water Rates of Sports Group £6.62
(iii) Annual Balance Sheet of Receipts and Payments for the year ended 31stMarch 2000 was circulated by the Clerk and was signed as an accurate record.
2380 DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING 4th January 2001, 7.30pm. at Leusdon
(i) From the New Year Parish Council meetings will in future be held on the FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH
The Chairman closed the meeting at 10.00 p.m.