MINUTES OF SPARKWELL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON
TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2016 AT SPARKWELL PARISH HALL
Present: Councillors:- R. May (Chairman) , G. Milford, R. Pearson-Bunt, J. Roach, G. Small
and J. Hart (Clerk)
In Attendance: Cllr K. Baldry (District), J. Hart (County) B. Hudson, J. Casey and Annie Bent
(Wolf Minerals) for Agenda Item No: 6) ii), E. Spurway and Helen Clayton (Devon County Council)
for Agenda Item No: 5). 3 members of the public.
Apologies: Cllrs A. Ashley, A. Hartley, G. Peacham, J. Taylor, I. Blackler (District)
Approval of Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2016 were approved and signed by the Chairman.
Police Business:
A report for September was provided by PCSO Brokensha which was read out by the Chairman
– 1 crime reported for September:- Failure to stop in a vehicle at Sparkwell with no licence or insurance
driver arrested.
District Councillors Business:
A written report provided by Cllr I. Blackler was read out by the Clerk and updated by Cllr K.
Baldry:-
The street sweeping lorry will be replaced by smaller adaptable machines which will allow more
villages to be visited.
The District Council is looking at alternatives to the recycling bags which are being stolen.
The Plymouth Local Plan consultation has received 1609 emails. Cllr Baldry will pursue the response
submitted by the Parish Council.
25,000 complaints were made to South Hams District Council (SHDC) during September due to the
telephone problems at Follaton House.
Cllr Baldry awarded a £500.00 grant to the Parish Pump magazine from the Councillors Sustainable
Community Fund.
Cllr R. May: The Parish Council has not received a response regarding the S106 agreement with
Blue Cedar Homes with respect to the new housing development at Welbeck Manor which is
unacceptable. It is hoped that Cllr Blackler will be able to report on this matter at the next meeting.
A discussion took place regarding the impact of the Sherford development on the infrastructure
of Plymouth. There are four developers on site with the first show house due to open in December
and work has started on the new primary school.
Presentation by Emily Spurway, Public Rights of Way Officer, Devon County Council –
review of the public rights of way in the Parish of Sparkwell:
The Definitive Map (DM) review is being carried out across the county, parish by parish and is
currently focused on the South Hams area. The DM is a legal record of public rights of way and
is the responsibility of the highway authority. It is prepared by Devon County Council (DCC) and
shows the categories of public rights of way. It provides evidence of the existence of public rights, but
may not show the whole picture and can be amended if evidence of missing rights of way are discovered
or to correct errors.
The DM is available to inspect at County Hall or on the DCC website.
There are four types of right of way: a) Footpath, b) Bridleway, c) Restricted byway, d) Byway
There are currently 33 public rights of way in Sparkwell with 21 footpaths and 12 bridleways.
The DM and Statement was created by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.
The review is being carried out to look at amendments and anomalies on the map. This can be
achieved by user, landowner or documentary evidence such as maps, photographs, estate plans,
parish minutes etc. This is then presented to the Public Rights of Way Committee.
DCC are now requesting that the Parish Council and local residents submit any relevant information
by early December as part of the review, such as old parish maps.
Action: Members agreed to discuss this matter further as an agenda item at the November meeting.
3 members of the public left the meeting.
Public to Comment:
i) Update by a representative of Wolf Minerals regarding Drakelands Mine.
J. Casey: The Lee Moor diversion together with the public right of way will be finished by the end
of the year.
The planning application for the extension of time consultation has been extended to permit
comments including the response from the Parish Council. The DCC Development Committee will
consider the application on 23rd November 2016.
Work continues to the process plant to resolve the Low Frequency Noise (LFN) problem. 33 steel
uprights have been erected with a further 16 brackets to be installed across the roof by the end of
November as recommended by BRE.
Cllrs Roach and Peacham will be attending the Local Liaison Group (LLG) meeting on 19th October.
A summary and technical update will be provided at this meeting.
Annie Bent was introduced as the Senior Local Liaison Officer for WM who has been consulting with
GWP and working on the new community website which should keep the public up-to-date re the LFN,
planning matters and blasting. A letter is being sent out to the community asking for feedback and
comments.
Cllr R. May: Pleased to have improved channels of communication and that WM are listening to the
community.
B. Hudson: WM are looking at other consultants not just to carry out research, but also design solutions.
It is felt that BRE are at the end of their technical expertise.
WM have struggled to manage surface water, but now have a storage tank to ease this problem.
Cllr G. Milford: A WM lorry has demolished a wall to residential property in Hemerdon and that the
occupier is still waiting for the insurance to be resolved.
B. Hudson agreed to liaise with the haulage company involved.
J. Casey: WM admit that they have breached noise limits at the site hence the request to increase the
permitted decibel level.
The representatives of Wolf Minerals left the meeting.
County Councillors Business:
Cllr J. Hart: Watery Lane, Lee Mill – money has been allocated by DCC to improve the ongoing
safety problem with the developer, but until this has been satisfactorily resolved, DCC will not adopt
the road from Cavanna Homes.
Highways England are currently clearing the gullies and drains to the A38, but not in the areas underneath.
Following the public meeting concerning the proposal to turn the green at Lee Mill into a resident only
car park, Devon and Cornwall Housing (DCH) have not responded favourably to this suggestion and they
have also refused to fell the overgrown trees. DCH should at least agree to cutting back the trees.
DCC have received a good report from their peer review and have come out of special measures for
looked after children.
Works at Deep Lane, Plympton will continue until March 2017.
The first draft to create a new Ivybridge and Tavistock ward by 2020 under the Boundary Committee
review has been circulated for consultation.
DCC are continuing to work on the repair of pot holes.
The Sparkwell road closure in November will go ahead to comply with regulations.
Cllr R. May: The Parish Council response to the extension of time planning application for the mine will
be submitted after the Local Liaison Group meeting. The Council had supported the opening of the mine
due to the opportunity of employment and boost to the local economy, but the severity of the noise issues,
LFN and environmental impact was not known and because of this conditions must be attached to the
current planning application. Mine activity is very intrusive to the village.
Cllr J. Roach: It is too early to grant planning permission when so many issues have not been resolved.
Cllr J. Hart: The Council should lobby the DCC Planning Chairman, Jerry Brook. WM must honour their
pledges and get the process right.
Declarations of Interest: None.
525 Finance:
Budget Analysis and Payments Reports 01.09.16 – 30.09.16
It was also noted that the Clerk’s pay for September 2016 = £217.80
The Clerk presented 2 quotes for the refurbishment of the War Memorial: -
Quote A - £640.00 + VAT
Quote B - £385.45 + VAT
Quote B was proposed by Cllr R. May and seconded by Cllr R. Pearson-Bunt with all Members in
agreement.
Action: Clerk to arrange for the work to be carried out as per Quote B.
Agenda Item No. 10) Bottle Park, Lee Mill grass cutting incorporated under Finance.
Lee Mill Community Association submitted a request for the Parish Council to meet the cost of fuel for
cutting the grass at Bottle Park at £90.00 per year until 2019 after which the whole site will be the
responsibility of the parish, together with the three-yearly service for the lawnmower. Agreed.
502 Highways and Pot Holes:
Covered under Agenda Item No. 12 below.
530 TAP Fund:
A discussion took place regarding the engagement of a road warden, but Chapter 8 training will be
required to repair pot holes on the highway.
Action: Cllr May to discuss with Cllr Peacham and agree to a proposal at the November meeting.
522 Correspondence: None.
523 Planning and Reports:
South Hams District Council - request for street naming and numbering. Two new roads to be named at
the Welbeck Manor development, Sparkwell. ‘Fairway Gardens’ has already been requested by the
developer which was accepted by Members. Following discussion, it was agreed to nominate either
‘Blacklands Way’ or ‘Blacklands Close’ due to the historical association with Brunel’s Blacklands estate.
524 Any competent business approved by the Chairman:
Members discussed the LFN survey which had been distributed to all households in the parish.
Action: Clerk to send the survey to Cornwood and Shaugh Prior Parish Councils to consider sending to
their own residents to ascertain the effects and distance beyond Sparkwell
BT telephone box consultation, response to be submitted by 28th October 2016.
Action: Clerk to request that the Sparkwell kiosk is retained due to the very poor mobile signal, usage
and location and to express an interest to adopt the Hemerdon kiosk for £1.00.
The Clerk was asked to thank the Parish Pump team for their help with the distribution of the LFN
survey.
Action: Clerk to apply for funding from Cllr Blackler to cover the cost of posting 600 surveys.
Cllr R. Pearson-Bunt: The Newnham Solar Array has been sold to a new company although the new
owner still has a moral commitment to honour the community fund. It was noted that this matter is
currently in the hands of the solicitors acting on behalf of each party. Cllr Pearson-Bunt to monitor this.
526 Date of next meeting:
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 8th November 2016 at Sparkwell Parish Hall
commencing at 7.00pm.
Meeting closed at 9.55pm
This is a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Signed………………………………………….
Name………………………………………….. Date………………………………………