Whitestone Parish Council
Minutes of Whitestone Parish Council held at Whitestone Parish Hall on Thursday 12th April 2018 at 7.30pm.
Attendance:
Chairman − Councillor L Hickman
Councillors Ms T Baird (left meeting at 9.45pm), Mrs B Bramhall, Mrs M Belt, Mrs L Fairley (left meeting at 9.30pm), D Munro, Mrs B Netherway, R Phillips (left meeting at 9pm), A Reed, A Rose
County Councillor A Connett
Mrs P Vaughan, Clerk to the Council.
Mr and Mrs Mingo, Mrs M Dyer, Ms L Dyer, Mrs S Greenfield
27. Cllr Hickman opened the meeting and the Minutes of the Council Meeting held on Thursday 8th March 2018 having been circulated were taken as read and signed by the Chairman following noting amendments raised.
28. REPORT FROM COUNTY COUNCILLOR
County Councillor Connett reported on a Review of Local Planning Consultation which is to be published by Teignbridge District Council on 21st May. He also stated that he has monies available for grants to any organisations in need of funding. Further discussion will take place at the May meeting.
29. PLANNING
Cllr Hickman declared an interest in the application for Styles Barton Farm.
The following applications were examined and discussions took place with comments from members of the public who were in attendance and the subsequent observations were confirmed to be relayed to Teignbridge District Council:-
29.1 18/00586/FUL Use of field for equestrian use including erection of new stable block, sand riding arena and grazing area at Chapel Cottage. Not supported on grounds of safety/access to the site in terms of horses and road traffic.
29.2 18/00644/NPA Application for Prior Approval under Part 3 Class Q (a) and (b) and paragraph W of the GDPO change of use of agricultural buildings to two dwellings at Styles Barton Farm. Not supported because of information provided regarding reservations in the survey indicating that it will not fully comply with Class Q as indicated in the ‘Hibbert v. Secretary of State Case’.
29.3 18/00599/FUL Dwelling at Upper Kingswell Farm, Longdown. Supported on the basis of an agricultural tie being attached.
29.4 18/00741/NPA Application for Prior Approval under Part 3 Class Q (a) and (b) and paragraph W of the GDPO change of use of agricultural building to a dwelling at Oak Tree Farm, Whitestone. Amendments to this application have now been agreed with Teignbridge District Council. Supported as the supporting statement indicates the family will continue the running of the farm.
Grant of Conditional Planning Permission
29.5 18/0059/FUL Replacement of conservatory with new extension and conversion of barn to ancillary unit of accommodation at East Kent Farmhouse.
30. MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION.
Rural Skip
31.1 It was reported that this will take place at Crossways on Saturday 28th April 2018 from 10am to 4pm. Cllr Hickman will contact Mr Hanson with regard to placing the information as the Parish e-mail system together with looking to advertise the actual site of the skip.
Annual Parish Meeting
31.2 This will take place at 7.30pm on Thursday 26th April when all organisations within the Parish are invited to attend and give reports.
School Houses
31.3 Discussion took place regarding the rental issues raised at the January meeting following which Cllrs Hickman and Reed had visited the Letting Agents. The letter which had been forthcoming from Carter Geering having been circulated to Councillors was discussed at length with three proposals being brought forward to the meeting regarding a rent increase and after debate it was resolved that there should be no increase this year but the rents should be reviewed on an annual basis. Referring back to the March meeting following Cllr Bramhall’s query regarding the selection of tenants for the houses, it was also confirmed that there is not a policy to only house families with children.
31.4 Cllr Belt reported on some holes in the plasterwork which had appeared on the frontage of the houses. This will be investigated and a report given to the Council.
Crossway Park
31.5 Cllr Bramhall reported that the grounds are very muddy as a result of the extreme rainfall which there has been. Cllr Belt asked if it was possible to do anything to obviate the problem. Further investigation to be put in place as the recent extreme weather has had a detrimental effect on the grassy surface.
31.6 Cllr Reed reported that he was in the process of exploring prices for the replacement of the derelict shed at the rear of the garages which would probably cost in the region of £1,000. Discussion took place regarding the need for the replacement and it was agreed that this should go ahead as there is a requirement for extra storage.
Discussion re nominations for posts at the May AGM
31.7 Councillors were issued with a form listing the posts within the Council which are determined at the Parish Council’s AGM to be held on 10th May 2018. Cllr Hickman requested that Councillors should nominate candidates and the Clerk would then present this to the meeting for formalisation.
32. MATTERS RAISED BY THE CHAIRMAN
32.1 Cllr Hickman reported that he had been given three hard copies of the Parish Plan document. It is proposed that one should be passed between Councillors, one should be kept for archival purposes with the Clerk and one should be placed in the Parish Hall − this copy to be read only and not removed. It is anticipated that more in depth consultation regarding the outcomes required will be discussed at the May meeting.
31.2 Cllr Hickman reported that he had attended a workshop in company with the Clerk regarding the new General Data Protection Regulations which will come into force in May 2018. These are designed to prevent security breaches of personal identification information and he distributed a worksheet summarising the items raised in the workshop. Further overall action may be needed to ensure the Parish Council is compliant.
32.3 Several items for improvements within the Parish are still in hand and he hopes to have the plough in place soon but this has been hampered by the bad weather.
32.4 Cllr Hickman raised the question of the Clerk’s honorarium and at this juncture the members of the public vacated the room whilst the discussion took place. Following deliberation it was resolved that this be raised as from 1st April 2018 and reviewed annually.
33. FINANCE
Parish Council accounts for year ended 31st March 2018
33.1 The Clerk reported completion of the accounts/balance sheet for the year ended 31st March 2018 and details had been circulated to the Council. The closing balance at Nat West Bank at the year end is:-
Current A/c |
£200.00 |
Business Reserve A/c 1 |
£29,528.93 |
Business Reserve A/c 2 |
£3,404.52 |
£33,133.45 |
33.2 Cllr Bramhall proposed that details of the Budget which was passed in December 2017 should be shown on the Council website. Discussion took place regarding this issue but the proposal was not seconded and therefore not carried.
Annual Audit for 2017/18
33.3 The Annual Audit for 2017/18 was presented to the meeting for authorisation. It was resolved by the Council that the Annual Governance and Accountability Return statement was approved and this was signed by Cllr Hickman as Chairman and the Clerk in her role as Responsible Financial Officer.
33.4 The accounting statement for 2017/18 was also presented to the meeting for authorisation and agreed for presentation and the Annual Governance and Accountability Return was duly signed by Cllr Hickman and the Clerk in her role as Responsible Financial Officer.
The meeting gave a vote of thanks to the Clerk for her work in compiling accounts/balance sheets and Annual Audit forms.
The Clerk then reported on the following:-
Income
33.5 Devon County Council Parish Paths Grant £300.00
33.6 Teignbridge District Council £500.00 (Grant from Cllr Bromell for Church Bells)
33.7 2 School Houses rent to 01 May 2018 £800.00 − £76.80 (includes £12.80 VAT) = £723.20
33.8 1 School Houses rent to 29th April 2018 £675.00 - £64.80 (includes £10.80 VAT) = £610.20
Expenditure
The following expenditure was proposed and seconded for payment. All in favour and the cheques were signed by Councillors Belt and Munro.
33.9 Clerk’s expenses £109.17 (Cheque No 395)
33.10 Devon Association of Local Councils Membership £170.20 (includes £22.34 VAT) (Cheque No 396)
33.11 Whitestone Parochial Church Council £500.00 (Grant from District Councillor Bromell) (Cheque No 397
33.12 Whitestone Parish Hall Management Committee £8.00 (Cheque No 398)
33.13 Exe Valley Design & Print £524.11 (includes £12 VAT) (Cheque No 399)
34. CORRESPONDENCE
A letter of thanks has been received from Anna Kellagher on behalf of the Whitestone Bellringers and the Parochial Church Council to thank the Council for the generous grant towards the work on the church bells.
35. REPORTS
35.1 Councillor Reed reported that he and his wife had attended the Commonwealth Flag Raising Day on 12th March at Teignbridge District Council Offices at Newton Abbot.
35.2 Cllr Bramhall felt that the Gardening Club should be congratulated for the display in the garden at Crossway Park.
35.3 Cllr Netherway reported on potholes in Pound Lane and Rowhorne Road. Cllr Hickman said that he had reported this to Devon County on the website following being contacted directly by a parishioner earlier in the week.
35.4 Cllr Belt reported the number of cars parking at Southlands once again. She had also attended the Rural Aid AGM where she had been appointed Vice Chair.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Mrs Greenfield gave the following report on behalf of the Parish Plan Steering Committee:- “The Whitestone Parish Plan is completed. The Steering Group members have, as promised, hand delivered a summary of the Parish Plan and a copy of the Parish Action Plan to every household in the Parish. We have delivered three good quality copies of the full Parish Plan and its separate Appendix, printed and bound to Les Hickman − these are for parishioners and Parish Council use, i.e. one copy is for the Parish Council records, one copy is for Parish Councillors’ use and we suggest that the third copy is placed in the library area of the Parish Hall (with permission ofcourse) where parishioners without internet access can read or refer to it but not remove or copy it.
We have also made three copies available of the delivered Parish Plan Summary and Parish Action Plan to be held with the bound documents. We will also be putting PDF copies of the four documents (i.e. Full Parish Plan and its separate Appendix, the Parish Plan Summary and the Parish Action Plan) on the Parish Website.
These PDF documents are currently being checked to remove personal data prior to being made accessible on the website. Parishioners will be able to download these documents for their personal use if required.
For information, once all cheques have been presented and paid we will have a zero balance on the steering group bank account”.
Cllr Hickman congratulated and thanked the Parish Plan Group for the high standard of work and completing the first stage of the project.
The meeting closed at 10pm.