Whitestone Parish Council
PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OCTOBER 2012
Minutes of Whitestone Parish Council meeting held at Whitestone Parish Hall on Thursday 11th October 2012 at 7.30pm
Attendance: Chairman - Councillor P Nierop
Councillors Mrs M Belt, Mrs P Fisher, S Heathcote, M Quinn, Mrs B Netherway, A Reed, A Skeet
Mrs P Vaughan, Clerk to the Council
Mrs T Taylor, Mr and Mrs Greenfield
Apologies: Councillor R Phillips, District Councillor P Bromell
64. The Chairman opened the meeting and the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 13th September 2012 having been circulated were taken as read and signed as a true copy by the Chairman.
65. PLANNING
Granting of Planning Application
12/02217/FUL Change of use from private equine use of menage and field to commercial use as livery yard and for riding tuition at Bickhams Farm, Whitestone.
66. MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION
66.1 Asset Group response to Whitton & Laing Asset Maintenance Plan
In view of the fact that this Group had been unable to hold a meeting this item will be referred to the November meeting.
66.2 School Houses
Information has been received from the Letting Agency that the following repairs/work had been carried out at 1 School Houses:- supply and fit latch in lounge/stair door, refit and seal kitchen kickboard at a cost of £42.40. The Letting Agents reported that following the chimney sweep at 1 School Houses it was ascertained that remedial work is required to the fireplace in the main living room which the tenants have confirmed that they do use. A quotation of £90 was obtained for the removal of carpet from the hearth, making safe and installing fire bricks in open fire. In addition if upon removal of the carpet a new hearth is needed to be fitted then the cost for this would be between £80 - £100 depending upon what is required. Discussion took place and it was resolved that given the safety implications Devon Lettings be authorised to organise this work as obviously with the colder weather approaching the tenants would have need for a fire.
67. MATTERS RAISED BY THE CHAIRMAN
Cllr Nierop reported that following the previous "litter pick" a further date has been organised for 20th October and he appealed for help on this occasion.
Cllr Nierop reported on aspects of the draft District Local Plan which he had passed to Mrs Greenfield at her request.
Keys have now been obtained for all the garages and he gave a vote of thanks to Mr Kirkpatrick who had fixed one of the new locks.
On attending the Devon Association of Local Councils meeting he had learned of a local oil buying syndicate and has forwarded details to the Parish Magazine. The meeting proved very interesting and included a speech by Lord Lytton on neighbourhood planning.
68. FINANCE
68.1 Budget Review for 2012-2014
Cllr Quinn circulated a prepared statement itemising the budgetary position at the present time and gave explanations regarding the state of finance. This will form the basis for the budget review which will take place at the November meeting.
A pre budget request was received from the Parish Hall Management Committee for financial support for building and contents insurance, employment of caretaker and the Hall Development Fund.
Income
68.2 Precept (Payment half year) £3,500
Expenditure
The following accounts were proposed and seconded for payment. All in favour.
68.3 Whitestone Parish Hall Management Committee (October payment) £125.00
68.4 Clerk's expenses and salary £224.91
68.5 Devon Association of Local Councils £20.00 (Attendance for Cllr Nierop at AGM and Conference)
68.6 Poppy Wreath from British Legion £20.00
68.7 Balance at Nat West Bank as at 30th September 2012
Current A/c £200.00
Business A/c £12,656.08
Reserve A/c £3,396.57
£16,252.59
This balance includes cheques not banked by that date
Cheque 1043 £125.00
Cheque 1046 £50.80
Cheque 1048 £1,344.00
£1,519.80
69. CORRESPONDENCE
69.1 Letter of resignation from Councillor Netherway. The Chairman noted this with regret and thanked Mrs Netherway for her commitment to the Council over the years. Mrs Netherway said that she would continue to have an interest in Parish affairs and attend meetings as a parishioner as her family had ties going back 50 years.
69.2 A letter from Mr Fisher was read to the meeting indicating concern regarding the Trafalgar Plaque which was on the wall of "Oaklands" at Nadderwater. This has been removed by Mr Alan Smith for safekeeping following an attempt by persons unknown to prise it from the wall. Mr Smith was, at his own expense, obtaining new screws to re-affix it. The Council undertook to re-imburse Mr Smith and to investigate insurance for this plaque. Mr Fisher also expressed concern regarding the village pump at Nadderwater which he understood that Mr Smith had painted in the past and which he felt was part of Whitestone's heritage and was this something that the Parish Council should look into. The matter was discussed and it was learnt that the pump was actually on land owned by Mr Baker and Cllr Belt volunteered to approach Mr Baker regarding its upkeep.
69.3 Whitestone Parish Hall Committee of Management had provided the necessary account for the Council's record regarding the re-felting of the extension roof at the Hall and sent a letter of thanks for the continued financial support in respect of the maintenance of the Parish Hall for the benefit of the residents of the Parish.
69.4 The Clerk circulated police reports for August and September and had sent them to Mr Kirkpatrick in the hopes that they might be published. Also distributed were some leaflets regarding the Devon Heritage Services at what was the Devon Record Office at Great Moor House, Sowton.
69.5 An e-mail had been received from Devon County Council regarding a Locality Budget Grant for a salt/grit bin at Rowhorne Lane together with information. County Councillor Brook has indicated that he is willing to provide the funding for the purchase of the bin and fill initially and when the choice of bin size has been resolved the Clerk will fill in the necessary Grant Application Form.
70. REPORTS
Councillors gave the following reports on items raised by parishioners:-
Signs still missing/damaged at Pound Lane, Crossways and Hill Lane.
Large log by the bridge at Nadderbottom - this was reported on the helpline.
Surface water accumulation on the road by Barley Villas causing a hazard to motorists.
Bins on the playground area need emptying. Responsibility discussed.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Mrs Greenfield gave the following update on the Parish Plan Steering Group:-
"As mentioned in previous update reports the Parish Plan Steering Group held an informal 'Drop-in' afternoon with a free cream tea on Saturday 22nd September. Every household in the Parish received a hand delivered invitation about ten days in advance. Sheila, Margaret, Andrew, Vicky, Mary, Marian, Sam, Tony and Peter would like to give a very sincere 'thank you' to all the people who dropped in and joined us during what turned out to be a very lovely autumn afternoon. Special thanks goes to those from the far-flung parts of the Parish who had a longer trip to be with us. We hope you enjoyed the refreshments and the experience of discussing your thoughts and views on what is important for the Parish, residents and community. The members of the committee certainly enjoyed the afternoon and although we had a relatively small turn out (some 40 people joined us on the day), we were really encouraged by the lovely discussions and lots of really good ideas and suggestions which we can take forward into the next phase of the plan development. It was also especially gratifying to have both some brand new ideas as well as reinforcement of issues already identified. We also had a few more questionnaires completed!
We would also like to thank Dr Jane Richards for providing some lovely photographs of places within the Parish from bygone days including the all-important identification! Also for taking the time to organise their display.
We are also very grateful for the support and active contribution from those Parish Councillors who attended but somewhat disappointed not to have seen all of you at some time during the afternoon.
The Steering Group last met on Tuesday 9th October. After the usual general administrative matters we discussed feedback from the drop-in afternoon and how to widen engagement with the Plan. Over the next month or so Committee members will be discussing the Plan with existing parish community and activity groups, with local businesses and contacting neighbouring parishes. We also touched on finances for the Plan development/production, given that the work will continue into the next financial year (2013/14) and it was resolved to write to the Parish Council in time for their 2013/14 budget considerations to seek a specific contribution towards costs for next year to assist with the development and production of the final published plan."
Mrs Taylor spoke with regret that Mrs Belle Netherway had tendered her resignation from the Council as she was aware of her commitment over the past years and of the Netherway family connections with the Parish.
The meeting closed at 9.00pm