Lifton Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting at Primary School, North Road, Lifton
Thursday 26th February 2015
15/187 PresentCllr C Edmonds (Chairman), Cllr M Hall, Cllr B Moore,
Cllr S Parsons,Cllr R Willing,Cllr T Sutton-Woodhouse, Cllr L Showell,
Cllr D Measey, Cllr G Elias, Cllr M Sparrow.
Cllr (Ward Councillor) D Horn
15/188 Members of Public Two members of public were present and also Cllr Neville Baines of Stowford Parish Council was introduced by Ward Cllr Horn, as Cllr Baines will be standing for the new Tamarside Ward.
15/189 Apologies None
15/190 Minutes Theminutesof January 15th 2015: item 15/171 was amended to read” is to be”, instead of” was”. Both the Minutes of February 6th 2015 and January 15th 2015 were agreed and adopted by all Councillors as a true and accurate recordand the Chairman duly signed the minutes.
15/191 Declarations of Interest:
Items of Interest on the Agenda:Cllr Edmonds declared a non registrable interest under general items -defibrillator project. Gifts of over £25: None
15/192 Dispensations: None
15/193 Public Participation
It was mentioned by members of the public that there are potholes at Glenvale Gardens, Parsonage Court. There is flooding at New Road and a blocked drain on the road by the green. There is also root damage on the path at Arundell Gardens. It was agreed that the Clerk will inform Highways of these issues.
Cllr Horn also reported that the verge opposite West End cottages was looking very churned up and messy. It was agreed that the Clerk will on this instance, inform Highways of the issue.
15/194 General Items:
Liftondown bus shelter – A ceremony took place to officially open the new bus shelter.
Bus Services- The Chairman informed that Tavistock Country Bus Services run a service on Thursdays, Tuesdays through Lifton to Launceston.
Turner’s Coaches run a service on Fridays from Halwill junction to Lifton and Tavistock.
The New Stagecoach timetable will try to be put on the Parish boards if there is room and also the Chairman will look at getting all the bus services for Lifton put onto the website.
Resident offer of garden –There has been an offer from a resident at Newmoor Farm for residents to be able to use a garden area for growing vegetables. The Chairman said he will put the details onto the website.
Faster BroadBand - The chairman has emailed Karen and has been informed that there are no firm dates yet for superfast broadband in Lifton but it should be due in the coming months and that the connection date is October 2015.
Vodafone Open Rural Signal –There has been a second visit, where drawings and site locations were considered and we are awaiting the cabinets to be fitted.
Return of Team Lifton donation – Team Lifton had donated £360 and had arranged for a breakfast morning to raise funds for the proposed project that the Council were going to do. The £360 donation will need to be handed back to Team Lifton ideally before end March, as the Council have decided not to go ahead with the Defibrillator project. Team Lifton have been approached to help set up a first responder group, so the funds will now go towards this project that Team Lifton and the First responder will organize. There is going to be a training day on March 24th at 7.30pm at the school for first responders.
Speed Sign update – There is a 6 week delay on the posts for the signs, so it is looking like April to complete the project.
Yew tree in Cemetery growth problem –The tree has been cut down to the stump by the contractor and the hedge has been cut at no extra cost.
15/195 Zurich insurance request of Policy document by email
It was proposed by Cllr Hall, seconded by Cllr Sutton Woodhouse and agreed by all to allow Zurich to send the Policy by email in future instead of post.
15/196 Cemetery Maintenance Contract Quotes
The three quotes were looked at and the Council made the decision to go for Perfect Pastures Quote for the next year on the condition that the costs would not be raised within the term of contract.
Proposed by Cllr Edmonds, seconded by Cllr Measey and agreed by all.
It was agreed the Clerk would write to the other tenders to thank them for their quotes.
15/197 Eastbound Bus shelter request
The Chairman suggested setting up a working group who could look into the details of an Eastbound Bus stop and report back to the full Council. The Chairman put forward himself, Cllr Sutton Woodhouse and Cllr Elias to form the working group. This was proposed by Cllr Measey, seconded by Cllr Moore and agreed by all Cllrs.
15/198 Decision for a Parish Council Laptop
The Chairman asked Cllrs if they had read guidance as asked on NPALC, NALC, DALC. The Chairman referred Cllrs to guidance on being a good employer that pointed out Council’s normally provide a laptop but not always.
Cllr Edmonds asked if any Cllrs would like to speak on the matter.
Cllr Hall recommended that the Council should look at getting a PC.
Cllr Sutton Woodhouse agreed it would be good to look at a PC and that the Council should look at best value as well as budget.
Cllr Moore spoke to read out guidance he had read from CPALC, which stated that under risk management it was deemed unacceptable for the Clerk to use their own pc, for emails, letters, accounts and finance work due to data protection procedures and the files should be kept secure.
It would be of benefit for the Council to consider a laptop as if the Clerk was ill then the access to the files would also be on the Parish PC. There would be costs of insurance, security software and running software along with cost of the laptop to consider.
It was proposed by Cllr Hall, seconded by Cllr Measey and agreed 9 votes to 1 that Cllr Moore and the Clerk would both seek ideas of costs and types of programs from other Clerks and PC companies and report back at the next meeting.
15/199 Quote for clearance of overgrown area above wall in Fore St
A quote was obtained by the Chairman from Martin Ashley for £250. Cllr Edmonds also mentioned that there may be a small grant available from West Devon Homes; this would need an application form completed and sent.
It was discussed whether to use the contractor or ask the person whose land it is to clear the wall.
Cllr Parsons asked if the quote included VAT or if it was additional.
Cllr Edmonds was uncertain, so it was agreed that Cllr Edmonds would get the exact breakdown in writing to confirm the price.
The Council all agreed to use the contractor and not ask the person to clear the wall. The quote was accepted on principle that there will be a written quote to confirm the cost.
15/200 Unauthorised disposal of fire ashes at Duntz Hill
It was reported that there has been a disposal of fire ashes at Duntz Hill. It was agreed for the Clerk to report this to Highways as it is on Highway’s land.
15/201 Parish Council details for boards
The Chairman passed around a list of Cllrs contact details and each councillor amended their details on the list to allow, the Chairman to have the details that each councillor wishes to have put on the Parish boards. The Chairman will update the information and put them on the Parish boards.
15/202 Employment Appeals Committee Group
The Chairman pointed out what the Clerk had previously mentioned, which is that the Council’s Employment Committee Terms of Reference and Grievance Policy conflict. The Chairman suggested the Council keep their Grievance Policy the part that says “To make recommendations to full Council on staff related matters” as this should not be reported at a full Council due to confidentiality. Also to be input “To deal with all grievances in accordance with the Council’s Grievance Policy” and “ To conduct disciplinary investigations and meetings in accordance to the Council’s disciplinary procedures”. This will allow the Parish Council to delegate powers to the Appeals Committee to act in accordance to the Policies. It was proposed by Cllr Edmonds and seconded by Cllr Parsons to amend as above.
It was resolved to have Cllr Sparrow, Cllr Measey and Cllr Showell on the Employment Appeals Committee.
15/203 Wall adjacent to footpath on Fore St and Arundell gardens
It was discussed and agreed that the wall looks in danger of falling onto the footpath.
The Council decided that the Clerk will try and speak to a WDBC Engineer and see if any costs would be involve; it was also suggested to write to the owner of the wall to notify them of the Council’s decision. Building Control will also be informed of the condition of the wall.
15/204 Village Sign
The Council noted the last email from Mr Brockman to the Clerk clarifying that Highways cannot allow advertising on their verges.
The Chairman informed the Council that he had emailed Mr Brockman to discuss the no advertising issue but has had no reply. It was proposed by Cllr Moore, seconded by Cllr Sutton Woodhouse and agreed by all that the Council would ask the Clerk to email Mr Brockman to request a meeting with him and Cllr Edmonds to discuss the no advertising on the verge issue.
The Clerk mentioned she had received an email saying that DCC may have funding at the year end that can pay for a village sign.
15/205 Finance
For payment:Clerks Salary -FEB £343.19p/NO VAT LGA 1972 s112
Clerks expenses FEB £23.00p
Vison ICT – WEBSITE monthly cost - £61.20p/£10.20p VAT LGA1972 s143
Perfect Pastures JAN inv 2631 – graveyard - £250/ £50 VAT LGA 1972
Highways 1980 s43/50
NHPlan invoice – Arundell Arms £20
It was proposed, seconded and agreed that the above payment be made.
Receipts: Cemetery receipt £150 interment
Community Centre repayment £1540.00p
General matters relating to finance:
It was noted that there was a request from CAB.
An invoice from The Arundell Arms will be checked as requested to see if paid.
15/206 Planning:
(i)Applications for consideration received to date:
None
(ii)Notice of WDBC decisions:
00056/2015 –Community Centre Lifton - Conditional Consent
00068/2015 Calf shed extension –Conditional Consent
(iii)General Matters Relating to Planning:
None
15/207 Reports
Business Plan up date – None
Newsletter up date – We have funding from Tinhay Mills £75.00, Arundell Arms £50.00 and Strawberry Fields unspecified. We have sufficient funding for the first issue and hope to use it to sell advertising for subsequent issues. Councillors were asked if they would contact Community groups to raise awareness and perhaps encourage the production of articles.
An offer was made by one organisation to print the newsletter in return for a mention/ad.
Finally councillors were asked to put forward any ideas for content at the next meetings.
Recreation up date– None
Neighbourhood Plan Report– Meetings were held on 22nd January and 19th February. The team have been asked by West Devon Borough Council’s Strategic planning team to join them in their Public Consultation, in the Tamar room of the Arundell Arms on March 18th from 2-8pm. It is hoped the results of the Community survey along with the draft of Our Vision and Objectives will be displayed.
There will be a draw for a £50 shopping voucher, all participants of the community survey have had an opportunity to enter. There is a list for providers of infrastructure, who will need to be consulted during the development of the plan. The plan will be formatted by a team member. The task schedule is on a tight timescale and it is proposed to meet at least every two weeks.
An understanding of the impact of West Devon Draft Local Plan is needed. This document is being studied and implications for Lifton will be extracted. The Consultation for the Draft Local Plan is from 26th February until 13th April 2015.
Community Centre report– The rest of the embankment on to Fore St has been cleared of vegetation. The Trustees thanks goes to Gerald Brown for the hard work he put in. The Community Centre Trustees are expecting a visit from The Big Lottery in the next week in connection with their application for a grant, We hope to hear the result after Easter.
15/208 Correspondence
Cllr Horn has asked for Nethercott application to go to the Planning Committee.
The Council agreed by 10 votes not to represent at the Planning Committee, as it felt the Policy decision was beyond the Councils remit.
Other correspondence included; Bratton Clovelly Parish Council defibrillator training event, invite for the Chairman to a Communications meeting, Roadford South West event.
15/209 Questions and Statements from Councillors, notice of Parish events, items for inclusion on future agenda and exchange of information relevant to the Parish:
VAT and Yr end Cashbook, NHPlan account up date, Our Plan consultee response, Wine and Wisdom event on May 16th 2015.
15/210 Part 2 (Confidential) Under LGA Public bodies Act 1960: Due to the Confidential Nature of this Business – This part of the meeting is closed to the Public and Press.
The Parish Council resolved to hold a meeting with the Clerk to discuss performance review and to write to the Clerk with the decision of the grievance from the Clerk.
The Part 2 meeting closed at 9.00pm
15/211 UNDER Part 1: Resolution of Part 2 from the meeting of February 6th 2015 and February 26th 2015.
This is to re-open the meeting of February 6th 2015 and February 26th 2015 to the public to confirm the Council’s resolutions: decision of the meeting of February 6th was to defer the discussion of the Clerk’s Performance review and Probationary period until further notice- no date. Meeting of February 26th resolution will be on the next agenda.
The Council discussed Under part 2 the Clerks grievance and also the Clerks Performance review, the resolution will be on the next Agenda. The Employment Committee will make the grievance decision.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at9.15 p.m.
Signed ...... date ...... Next meetingThursday 26th March 2015 at the Methodist Chapel, Lifton7.00 p.m.