Whitestone Parish Council
DRAFT Minutes of Whitestone Parish Council meeting held at Whitestone Parish Hall at 7.30pm on Thursday 12th March 2015 to be ratified on 9th April and subject to amendments.
Attendance: Chairman – Councillor L Hickman
Councillors Ms T Baird, Mrs M Belt (left at 9.10pm, Mrs B Bramhall (left at 8pm), Mrs P Fisher, M Quinn, R Phillips, A Reed
County Councillor J Brook (to give his report)
Mrs P Vaughan, Clerk to the Council
Mrs P Quinn, Mrs T Taylor, Mrs B Netherway, Mr A Charlton, Mr D Friend, Mrs S Greenfield
Apologies: Cllrs D Munro, P Nierop, District Councillor P Bromell
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Mr Friend addressed the meeting with comprehensive details of his complaints to Teignbridge District Council regarding Springdale Farm. He felt that his comments had not been dealt with satisfactorily and passed on information regarding these to the Parish Council. It appeared that the matter was in abeyance.
The Chairman opened the meeting and the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 12th February 2015 having been circulated were taken as read and signed by Cllr Hickman.
REPORTS FROM COUNTY COUNCILLOR
County Councillor Brook reported having attended a meeting at County Hall and gave some information regarding the budgetary situation. He said he was pleased to report that the filling of grit bins will continue and some of the country bus routes will get a temporary reprieve.
PLANNING
The following applications/plans were examined and discussion took place with the subsequent observations:
15/00428/FUL Siting of shipping container clad in timber and re-roof existing shed including extending over new container at The Corner Barn, Norway. Mr Charlton was in attendance for his application and gave some information regarding the appearance of the planning. The application was supported with no objections.
15/00475/FUL Single storey side/rear extension at Alta Vista, 18 Merrymeet. The application was supported with no objections.
The following five applications were discussed together
15/00109/CLDE Certificate of Lawfulness for use as food bank, studio and artist workshop at 1 Rebecca Springs, Nadderwater
15/00110/CLDE Certificate of Lawfulness for use as storage for scaffolding at 2 Rebecca Springs, Nadderwater
15/00111/CLDE Certificate of Lawfulness for use as storage for catering at 3 Rebecca Springs, Nadderwater
15/00112/CLDE Certificate of Lawfulness for use as offices/workshop for builder at 4 Rebecca Springs, Nadderwater
15/00113/CLDE Certificate of Lawfulness for use as storage and distribution for food bank at 5 Rebecca Springs, Nadderwater
It was noted that these units have been used for activities for a number of years and therefore there were no objections to the Certificates of Lawfulness. A comment was made regarding the vehicle access to the property and the possibility that for road users safety it might be advisable for the visibility splay to be enlarged owing to the large vehicles which use the premises.
Grant of Conditional Planning Permission
15/00097/FUL Raising of roof to form first floor, two side extensions, new parking area and decking on rear (north) elevation at Cherrydown, Longdown
Certificate of Lawful Use or Development
14/03133/CLDE Certificate of Lawfulness for non-compliance with agricultural occupancy at Eastern Plateau, Rowhorne Road.
MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION
Parking at Crossway/Merrymeet
The Clerk reported receiving some positive information from the resident who had voiced the concerns reported at the February meeting and she produced the leaflets for distribution to the residents as had been requested
Cllr Belt reported that there had been further complaints from Crossways when she had been requested to visit one evening and she had ascertained that there was certainly a problem. She had been in touch with Teign Housing who had stated that they were only responsible for their rented properties and not the privately owned properties. The Clerk was asked to contact the neighbourhood police regarding this problem.
Asset Group Report
Cllr Reed reported that the faulty Monkey Frame has now been removed. Some discussion ensued regarding the current position of the purchase of a seat promised by the Sports and Social Club for Crossway Park and it was agreed that this should be ascertained.
Storage facilities at Parish Hall
Notification has now been received from the Sports and Social Committee that the old mower shed store is not large enough to house the skittles apparatus and therefore they are declining the offer to move their equipment.
Suggestions for application to Budget Funds
This was discussed and there were suggestions for children’s play equipment or adult gym equipment. The latter will be explored as part of our commitment to all the community.
St John Ambulance
It was reported that the training for the deployment of the defibrillator had taken place on the 25th February and 14 people were trained resulting in an invoice for an additional two places which amounted to £100.99. The Clerk passed the Certificates for those who had attended to Cllr Fisher. The Council have received a letter from Mr Derek Fisher, who organised everything for the defibrillator, indicating that the electrode pads for the machine have a shelf life which would expire in 2019 and requesting that the Council consider the purchase of a second set of pads at a cost of £81. After discussion this action was agreed with the proviso that the shelf life of this second set should be investigated before a decision is made.
Parish Paths Annual Return
The Clerk reported that Cllr Munro has completed the survey of all paths and bridleways and submitted an expenses claim for £14.93.
Parish Council Elections- Nomination Packs
The Clerk circulated the nomination application information to become a Parish Councillor for the election process on 7th May, 2015
Parish Plan
Mrs Greenfield submitted an update for the Parish Plan and extracts taken from her report are as follows:- “The working group last met 19th January 2015 but have been actively communicating within the group via e-mail and hard copy pages in order to progress the work. We have worked with our provider and have now completed the translation of our physical paper questionnaire to an appropriate equivalent on-line format and the good news is that we now have an on-line version of the questionnaire ready for use. We will very shortly be getting the paper questionnaire copied and ready for distribution to every household in the parish. The Parish Council will note that we are seeking payment from the Council from the funds they put aside for the parish plan work within this financial year. Invoices for the next stage will fall within the next financial year. The group would like to express its appreciation of the patience shown by the Parish and Parish Council over these matters. Much work goes into the planning and design of these questionnaires. This is to try and achieve meaningful data gathering and allow some automation of the analysis of the statistical information gained to allow easy presentation of the results. At times this may seem a very slow process for all concerned.”
The Clerk presented the invoice for £504.00 (including £84 VAT) from Teignbridge District Council for the work commissioned by the Whitestone Parish Plan Steering Group committee and this is in respect of a first stage of the required work on the Whitestone Parish Plan. It covers the advice given by TDC in connection with the development and preparation of the on-line questionnaire and ensuring an appropriate consistency with the paper questionnaire developed by the WPP Steering Group.
Cllr Hickman thanked Mrs Greenfield for her report and the work the Group has put into this project.
Rural Skip Service
The Clerk reported information that the Teignbridge Rural Skip Service contract has been extended for a further two years and has been arranged for Saturday 25th April 2015 at Hill Lane Junction, near Crossways, from 10am until 4pm.
MATTERS RAISED BY THE CHAIRMAN
Cllr Hickman said he realised that there have been issues regarding dog mess within the Parish and suggested that people should ring the environmental hotline 08003286402 to report such complaints.
Having read the Police crime report he was surprised to see 1 x Assault and 1 x Harassment was amongst the figures for Whitestone.
The dates for the Annual Parish Meeting was confirmed for Thursday 23rd April and the Annual General Meeting of the Council would take place on Thursday 14th May following the election of the Council on 7th May. He noted the application to become a Councillor has to be made before the 9th April and to be hand delivered to Teignbridge District Council.
He confirmed the installation of the defibrillator in the lobby of the Parish Hall and the list of trained users at strategic positions and thanked Mr Fisher for his organisation of this. He stated receiving positive comments in regard to the training by the St John Ambulance.
Cllr Hickman said that he would be away for the April meeting and therefore this would be his last as Chairman of the present Council and he wished to thank all the Councillors and Clerk for their commitment to the Parish over the past four years.
FINANCE
Income
School Houses rents for March £1,425 – Letting Agency fees £136.80 (including £22.80 VAT) = £1,288.20
Expenditure
The following expenditure was proposed and seconded for payment. All in favour.
Whitestone Parish Hall Management Committee (March) £95.00
Clerk’s quarterly salary and expenses £224.80
Cllr Munro – Footpath Warden’s expenses £14.93
St John Ambulance (including £16.83 VAT) £100.99
Exeter Bookbinders £60.00 (binding of the Council Minutes)
Teignbridge District Council(including £84 VAT) £504.00
CORRESPONDENCE
Mr Fisher had written on behalf of the Parish Hall Committee to request that the Council consider supporting an application to Rural Aid for a grant in the sum of £1,000 towards the cost of sanding and
re-sealing the floor of the main hall and the stage. Cllr Belt intimated that the Rural Aid will be less this year and the AGM will be in May so therefore this matter will be dealt with by the new Council when the application forms are distributed. Mr Fisher also intimated that the Hall Committee had renewed the insurance cover for the Hall and entered into a new three year contract at an initial premium of £996.18 and his Committee requested re-imbursement of that amount.
REPORTS
Cllr Quinn spoke regarding the unsightly weeds in the gullies outside School Houses and Cllr Hickman said that he and Cllr Reed have had a meeting with the Letting Agents and this was one of the matter which they would be raising with the tenants.
Potholes were reported at “Greenfields”, Kennel Lane/Church Lane, Copperwalls Lodge both by Councillors and members of the public.
Also discussed was the dangerous corner at Twiscombe Farm/Greenfields
The meeting closed at 9.20pm