Notes of a West Hill Parish working party meeting at 10am on 2nd December 2014 West Hill Village Hall
Attendees:
Margaret Hall (WHRA),
Sue Nield, (West Hill Primary School)
Matt Fripp (West Hill Pre-School)
Ian Heard (West Hill Village Hall)
Cllr Tony Howard (EDDC)
Cllr Claire Wright (EDDC, DCC)
Mike Potter
Cllr Jessica Bailey (OSMTC)
Cllr Jo Talbot (OSMTC)
1.One of the primary purposes of the meeting was to seek views from the keyrepresentatives of the community on whether West Hill would benefit from establishingaParish Council for West Hill. The current position is that West Hill hascouncillors who sit onOttery St Mary Town Council.
2.The working group were collectively very positive towards the prospect of West Hill having its own parish council and did not identify any "show stoppers" which would prevent this project moving forward. Sue Nield and Ian Heard both commented on the strong sense ofcommunity within West Hill.
3. Ian Heard suggested that some members of the working party should work on a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats) and it was agreed that he, Jo Talbot, Margaret Hall and Jessica Bailey would arrange a meeting to discuss this further.
4. The working group reviewed the geographical extent of the West Hill electoral ward on a map provided by EDDC and considered that this would be the appropriate area to be covered by the proposed West Hill Parish Council; EDDC will carry out a formal consultation on this, once a petition has been submitted to it.
5. Mike Potter gave background to a previous attempt to seek parish status for West Hill in the early 1990s. Although around 70% of West Hill residentshad been in favour the Boundary Commission had not supported the proposal. However it was noted that the procedure and rules had changed since then. Members of the working group reported back comments they had received fromthe public suggesting that this proposal for parish status was "long overdue".
6. Sue Nield said that the school could support the proposal with projects in the school and she noted that the school had historic West Hill at its heart with ahouse system based around four of the original houses in West Hill.
7. It was noted during the meeting, that despite a request, EDDC had not been able to provide figures for the contribution by residents of West Hill to the overall OSMTC precept. Mark Williams of EDDC had estimated that it was £40,000. Matt Fripp commented that he had carried outsome investigation and certain information was available from the VOA and the census. It was noted that the contribution to OSMTC (the precept)only formed around 2% of residents overall council tax contribution.
Action points arising from the meeting
1. Claire Wright to (a) identify the specific decision making process within EDDC (b) to identify what criteria EDDC will use when considering the petition (c) to request from EDDC figures for the contribution made by residents of West Hill to the Ottery St Mary precept
2. Jessica Bailey to contact Mark Williams CEO of EDDC in connection with the availability of theelectoral roll
3. Tony Howard to notify Hugo Swire of the proposal.
4. Matt Fripp to investigate financial information further through the VOA and census.
Next Steps
Further working group meeting to be held at 10 am on Tuesday 13th January 2015in West Hill Village Hall
Public meeting Friday 6th March 2015 in West Hill Village Hall (evening)