COLEBROOKE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Colebrooke Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday March2017 at
7.30 pm at Colebrooke Parish Hall
Present: Cllrs G Shepherd (Chairman), N Enderson (Vice Chairman), D Clarke, R Hodder, S Graham, P Niklaus, I Butt
In Attendance:Mrs D Shepherd, Clerk and 1 member of the public
16/17 – 143To receive and accept apologies
It was resolved to receive and accept apologies from Cllr Way (DCC)
16/17 – 144To receive Declarations of Interest: To receive declarations of personal interest and disclosable pecuniary interest in respect of items on this agenda
There were no declarations of interest
16/17 – 145Public Participation: To receive public comment on items on the agenda.
There were no comments
16/17 -146Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on January 17th2017:To approve and sign the minutes as a correct record
It was resolved to approve and sign the minutes as a correct record (Proposed Cllr Graham)
16/17 - 147Annual Parish Meeting 28th March 2017: To receive the minutes of the Committee meeting held on the 6th March and to approve the final arrangements for the Annual Parish Meeting
The Clerk had circulated the minutes in advance.
It was resolved to receive the minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting Committee 6th March 2017 and to approve the final arrangements for the Annual Parish Meeting(Proposed Cllr Shepherd)
16/17 – 148Asset Management Committee:To receive the minutes of the Committee meeting held on the 6th March and to approve the recommendations
The Clerk had circulated the minutes in advance. The Clerk was asked to write to John Richards to thank him for his help in taking down the old bus shelter in Colebrooke and to Simon O’Sullivan and his group from Granny’s Meadow for their help in maintaining the Millennium Garden year after year. Cllrs approved the expenditure on the new bus shelter most of which will be recouped from the grant that has been awarded and that can only be claimed once the expenditure has been incurred. Cllrs thanked the Asset Management Committee for their work in repairing and improving the Council’s assets for the benefit of the community and approved an annual repair and maintenance budget of £500.
It was resolved to receive the minutes of the Asset Management Committee and to approve the budget and the programme of work (Proposed Cllr Shepherd)
16/17 – 149Mid Devon District Council – Planning Applications: Mid Devon District Council has asked for comments from Colebrooke Parish Council on the following planning applications:
Reference:17/00120/121
Proposal:Erection of pitched thatched roof to replace flat roof and replace window and door
Location:2 Norton Cottages, Coleford
Applicant:Mr J Cann
Reference:17/00174
Proposal:Variation of Condtion 4 of Planning Permission 16/0344
Location:West Studham Farm
Applicant:Mr Ryan Sheppard
Reference:17/00239
Proposal:Formation of Access and provision of hard standing for vehicles
Location:Reeves Cottage
Applicant: Mr P Walker
Reference:17/00340
Proposal:Conversion of Barn to Dwelling and demolition of timber building
Location:Road Farm
Applicant:Mr and Mrs Attenburrow
Reference:17/00328
Proposal:Erection of garden room extension with glazed link from existing dwelling
Location:The Byre, Coleford
Applicant:Mr and Mrs Gillespie
It was resolved that the Council were neutral in respect of all the above applications (Proposed Cllr Enderson)
16/17 – 150Mid Devon District Council: Planning Decisions
It was resolved to note that Mid Devon District Council had approved the following application with conditions asfiled:
Reference:16/01920
Proposal:Notification of intention to remove overgrown Leylandii and
Fell 1 ash tree
Location: Bell House
Applicant:Mr T Bentley
16/17 – 151Parish Plan: The Chairman to report
The Chairman reported that all the focus groups would provide an update on progress at the Annual Parish Meeting on 28th March
16/17 – 151Road Warden: The Chairman to report
The Chairman reported that NealHerridge had agreed to be the Road Warden for the parish and he was awaiting a training course. Mr Herridge needed some additional clothing which would cost between £50 and £70 and requested that the parish consider paying for this. Cllr Graham said it might be possible to recoup this expenditure from a grant.
It was resolved that the Council would pay for the additional clothing (Proposed Cllr Shepherd)
16/17 – 152Dog Fouling at Bellingate: To receive a report from the Clerk
The Clerk reported on her liaison with MDDC and the visit from the Dog Warden who had put up notices in the area and spoken to the resident who had raised the matter with the Council. The Clerk had also put an item in the Colebrooke Bell about dog fouling to alert people to the problem. The Clerk said that the Dog Warden advised that if the person responsible can be identified then MDDC would act and that would include a fine of £1000. The Clerk was asked to put a further item in the Colebrooke Bell and to purchase a tin of pink biodegradable paint to highlight visually where the dog fouling had taken place. This latter strategy has been tried successfully elsewhere in MDDC and in Cornwall.
It was resolved to approve the further action to raise awareness of dog fouling within the parish (Proposed Cllr Shepherd)
16/17 – 153Colebrooke Broadband: To receive a report from Cllr Graham
Cllr Graham reported that nothing had changed since his last report to the Council
16/17 – 154Budget and Accounts: To receive a budget report
The Clerk had previously circulated a budget report noting the income and expenditure. Total Council funds currently stand at £9962.11
It was resolved to note the following receipts:
National Savings£7.35
Memorial (Stevens)£75.00
Locality Grant£200
Invest in Devon Grant (to be claimed following expenditure)£1239
It was resolved to approve the following for payment:
Clerk’s monthly salary (April/May)£154.06
HMRC PAYE (April/May)£102.70
Clerk’s excess hours (17.25 hours)£182.85
Colebrooke Bell (Refund)£10
DALC (Course)£30
Cllr Graham (Travel expenses)£21.15
Vision ICT – Annual cost of website£125 plus VAT
Colebroooke Village Hall (Interest)£36.19
Admin Supplies£243.07
Replacement drum£11.90
Cllr Shepherd (Board for APM)£15.80
SLCC£56.34
Beryl Bending (Hedge)£86.25
Cllrs noted that there would be further approved costs associated with the Annual Parish Meeting which would be met from the Parish Plan budget. Cllrs also noted the bus shelter would be paid for once erected on 23rd March. The base of the shelter was also an additional approved cost.
16/17 – 155Planning Training: Cllr Graham to report
Cllr Graham reported that he had attended an excellent course on planning. He referred to a number of documents which he had been given and the Clerk circulated the list of material and non-material planning considerations. Cllr Graham said that there had been a number of examples given by Cllrs on the course demonstrating a gap between theory and practice in applying the planning rules. Cllr Graham said that he had learnt that the Council had not been approaching planning applications correctly. Cllrs discussed what should be best practice. There was further discussion about Brocks Farm and the Clerk advised that MDDC had not yet received a complete retrospective planning application in relation to the dirty water store. The Council had received some further comments and queries from residents about the store. The Clerk said she had not been able to get any information about the principles involved in the siting of a dirty water store. Mr Eginton (MDDC), who was present as a member of the public, suggested that the Council invite Simon Trafford to attend the next meeting of the Council to explain the position
It was resolved that the Planning Committee should meet to review the way that it operates (Proposed Cllr Shepherd)
It was resolved that the Clerk invite Simon Trafford to the next meeting of the Council (Proposed Cllr Shepherd)
16/17 – 156Colebrooke Parish Hall: To consider the updated constitution and to receive
a report from the Chairman
The Clerk had previously circulated the updated constitution and this was approved
It was resolved that the updated constitution was approved and that the Clerk should forward the signed constitution to the Charity Commission explaining this was a supplement to the Deed of Conveyance(Proposed Cllr Shepherd)
The Chairman read a report from Mr Butt the new Chairman of the Village Hall Committee stating that the hall now had a number of regular users, a new heating system and that the next project in progress was refurbishing the bar area. Several events were planned for the forthcoming months starting with the annual Colebrooke concert on March 25th.
16/17 -157MDDC Town and Parish Charter and Planning Charter: To respond to the consultation
The Clerk had circulated these in advance and the Council discussed its response to the documents. Cllrs felt the documents were fine in principle but that again there might be a gap between the principle and the practice. Cllrs discussed the 21 days allowed for Parish Councils to respond to planning applications and it was agreed that this could form part of the Planning Committee’s review of their practice. Cllr Graham acknowledged how much the Planning Committee currently relied on Cllr Enderson’s extensive local knowledge.
It was resolved that the Clerk should now respond to the consultation (Proposed Cllr Shepherd)
16/17 – 158MDDC: Local Enforcement Plan: To respond to the consultation
The Clerk had circulated this plan in advance and Cllrs discussed this and questioned how effective enforcement was in practice.
It was resolved that the Clerk should now respond to the consultation (Proposed Cllr Shepherd)
16/17 – 159Roads and Hedges in the Parish: To receive reports from the Councillors re the roads
The Chairman said that Cllr Way and Steve Tucker (MDDC) had done a tour of the parish this week. Cllr Graham referred to the continuing issues with the road to North Down Farm. The Clerk referred to the bicycle accident on that road. Cllr Enderson referred to the drainage issue at West Studham and the Clerk confirmed that Crediton Hamlets Parish Council had been concerned about this. The Clerk was asked to report this. Cllr Butt referred to the problems of parking in Coleford and to the muddy layby. The Clerk was asked to find when the road sweepers came round so that cars could be asked to keep out of the layby that day to enable it to be swept.
16/17 – 160Mid Devon District Council: To receive a report from Cllr Squire
Cllr Squire referred to the cost of refuse collection and recycling; to the number of dog and litter bins; to the amount collected from rentals and the expenditure on maintenance of those properties; to the new car parking machines and the new litter picking scheme. Mr Eginton said that two operatives and a van would be available to pick up litter in the whole MDDC area from April; there would be planned visits but they would also be on call to parishes. The Clerk asked why the Council Tax appeared to indicate that Colebrooke Parish Council had raised their precept when in fact they had not done so. The Clerk was referred to Andrew Jarret MDDC.
16/17 – 161Police Report: To receive a report from the Police
The Clerk reported that since 17th January there had been three calls to the police: 1 concern for welfare; 1 damage only RTC and 1 suspicious vehicle. Two crimes had been reported: a criminal damage to property and 1 theft of motor vehicle
16/17 – 162Correspondence: To receive Council correspondence
The Clerk received the following correspondence:
Items for Action:
1.Devon Countryside Access Forum – seeking new members
2.MDDC: Invitation to Annual Church Service
3. MDDC: Planning Correspondence
4.Correspondence re Annual Parish Meeting
5.MDDC: Annual Safety Partnership Conference
6. MDDC: Highway Community Enhancement Fund
7. DALC: Transparency Code survey
8. MDDC: Tap Fund
9. Further complaint re dog fouling
10. Vision ICT invoice
11. Penstone Glade Association: Funding request
12. DCC: Promoting Independence Consultation
13. Penstone Glade Association: Request for support
14. Pascho House: Licensing Application
15. DCC: Road engagement survey
16. Dirty Water Store: queries from parishioners
17. MDDC: Greater Exeter Strategic Plan consultation
18. DCC: Highways Engagement Survey
19. DCC: Promoting Independence Survey
20. DCC: Highways Community Enhancement Fund
Items for Note:
- MDDC Parish Newsletters
- Rural Health Newsletter
- Rural Services: Weekly Newsletter
- Mr Roberts: notification of electricity work
- Rural Broadband bulletins
- DALC: Monthly newsletters
- DCC: Connect Me
- CAB: Newsletter
- CAB: Thank you letter re grant
- DALC: Feedback on website
- MDDC: Key Decision Document
- Google: Website report
- NHS: Healthwatch Devon
- Healthy People: January edition
- Involve: Annual Report
- NHS: Update on Future Care Consultation
- MDDC: correspondence re Dog Fouling
- NHS: Acute Services Review: Stake holder briefing and discussion events
- Devon Communities Together – courses
- Report a Problem – update
- MDDC: Town and Parish Newsletter
- Devon Communities Together: Training courses
- Dartmoor Park: Otters Trail Sponsorship Request
- Grant Thornton: End of year
- DCC: Pinpoint Poster
Part II
16/17 – 163Appraisal of the Clerk:
The Council received the minutes from the HR Committee that met on the 7th March and approved the recommendations and the Clerk’s appraisal
16/17 – 164Date of Next Meeting:
It was resolved that the date of the next meetings were as follows: Annual Parish Meeting 28th March; Annual General Meeting 16th May at 7.30 pm followed by the Council meeting
Meeting closed at 9.23 pm
Signed :……………………………………………. Date :…………………….