Draft Minutes subject to
Confirmation
LYDFORD PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES
OF THE MEETING
Held
in the Nicholls Hall on Tuesday 16th December 2008
135-2008 Present:
Ms L Ellicott (Chairman): Ms J Gannon
(Vice-Chairman); Mrs L Cole: Mrs S Holland: Mrs K Boyd
Ms C Moriarty: Mr I Hammerton: Mrs A Martin (Clerk)
Parishioners and others in attendance: Four Parishioners were in attendance.
136-2008
Apologies for Absence:
Cllr I McPhie, Cllr A Hosking and CPSO Chapple were
accepted.
137-2008 Declaration
of Interests:
There were none.
138-2008 Parishioners
and Visitors Time:
138.1 Some tea towel sellers have been around in
the village, and were quite unpleasant to at least one resident. This will be reported to our CPSO.
138.2 Several parishioners have complained about
horses using the granite way. Highways
have been contacted about this in the past, and have not been at all helpful on
the issue. In spite of the fact that at
a time when there is a strongly positive move to inclusion in community open
spaces, this section of the Granite Way, which lends itself readily to use by
wheelchair users and other mobility-impaired users, is becoming unusable by
them because of the amount of horse manure and the fear of being trampled. The Clerk will follow the issue up with
highways once again, although that point had already been made.
138.3 A parishioner asked about the Community Land
Trust. Ms Gannon explained how that any
land being put forward for development in the next ten years in the National
Park would have to have been registered under the recent SHLAA, which closed in
November. It is expected that some
local landowners may have registered their land, but this does not mean that it
will have been considered as meeting the strict criteria applied by the
DNPA. It is not known when the results
of the SHLAA will be published. The
land about which the Council was consulted as recorded in the September minutes
may well have been registered – the Clerk explained that it is now Government
policy that there should be pre-application discussions with parish councils
with the aim of ironing out as many difficulties as possible before the
application is submitted. This has
caused concerns among parish councillors nationwide that they may then appear
to be showing bias in considering the subsequent application, and in this
awareness they are very careful in their use of language to ensure that they
are seen to take a neutral stance at the pre-application stage.
138.4 A number of parishioners have encountered
problems when walking on the track by Hartswood in that the new owners appear
to think that there is no right of way and are seeking to stop them using the
track. The Clerk will check the
definitive map.
138.5 Police Report: CPSO Chapple was in the village earlier in the day, and had stated
that there was nothing to report in Lydford this month.
139-2008 To
approve the minutes of the previous meeting:
The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 18th
November 2008 were signed by the Chairman as a true and accurate record.
140-2008 Matters
Arising:
140.1 Highways, Parking
and Traffic Issues: It is believed that the meeting with the
Road Safety Officer had taken place (from the original promised date), but no
update had yet been received.
Regarding the missing Lydford sign outside her
property, Mrs Boyd had brought in a photo of the similar sign from the other
end of the village as highways were apparently at a loss to know what it looked
like. The Clerk will scan it and send
them a copy.
It is some time since the Council received an
update regarding the compulsory purchase order for the completion of the
missing link at the Granite Way and the Clerk will ask for an update before the
next meeting.
Much of the surface of Ingo Lane was washed away by
the recent storms and the Clerk will draw the attention of the Highways
department to this.
140.2 Parish Plan update – The Council is still chasing Devon
County Council for the draft plan, but without success at present. This is being done by the Parish Plan
Secretary.
140.3 Progress re: Ancient
Spring and Opening Ceremony – The Council had
been contacted by ING to the effect that they would like to change the proposed
date. Saturday 7th March is now
a possibility, dependant on the availability of the Mayor.
140.4 Progress re: Emergency
Plan – A fresh appeal
for volunteers will go out in the New Year.
140.5 Beating of the
Bounds – The Chairman
reported that she is facilitating a meeting between the two leaders, who will
decide between them how they will apportion the leadership. At least one of them is believed to be planning
to walk the entire distance. The
Nicholls Hall is not available, but is not normally used for this event.
140.6 Community Land Trust
Update There was no
update to report.
140.7 Proposed Sewage
Treatment Works The council had checked with the independent
scrutineer regarding the copyright on his report, and he is happy for it to be freely
published including on the internet.
Printed copies were given out to parishioners at the meeting, and a copy
will be appended to these minutes.
The Clerk reported having perceived that some
parishioners seem to believe that the Council has far more powers than is
actually the case, and outlined some information that she had prepared in an
attempt to clarify the situation. The
information sheet is also appended to the minutes.
The Chairman reported that she understood that
there had been a delay in progress on the project due to a bereavement, and so
there was no further progress for the Council to report.
Some correspondence had been received from a
parishioner requesting the Council to answer some points. This was not received in time for it to go
out in the briefing notes for the meeting, and had therefore not been seen by
councillors not on e-mail. The Chairman
noted that it would therefore be deferred to the next meeting.
At this point the Chairman
suspended the meeting to allow Parishioners to speak.
Regarding the scrutineer’s report a parishioner asked
what information had been made available to the scrutineer and was informed
that he had no project specific information given to him beyond the completed
comment sheets as his brief was simply to ensure that any summary of their
contents was unbiased.
Another parishioner wanted the council to forward
specific questions to SWW and the Clerk wrote these down. Members felt that some of the information
had already been included in the information sheet provided as an appendix to
the November minutes. The questions
will, nevertheless, be forwarded to SWW on the parishioner’s behalf.
The formal meeting
recommenced.
140.8 Christmas Tree
Festival The Council
had received a letter of thanks from the Church for decorating a tree in the
festival. The Chairman thanked Mrs
Holland for organizing the decoration on the Council’s behalf. A number of members were involved in
carrying out the work.
141-2008 Receive Reports from Councillors on
respective outside bodies:
141.1 DNPA Consultative Forum Mr Hammerton attended the recent meeting and gave a report. There was an interesting item on the
restoration of blanket bogs, important for the environment as when they are in
a healthy state they actually absorb carbon from the atmosphere. There was also an item about the current
plight of upland farmers, including a short film that has been made with the
intention of better informing more remote tiers of governance about local
problems. At the meeting he had suggested to Mr Bishop that in parishes like
Lydford, which are awash with tourists during the summer months, a slightly
more tourist-oriented film show, putting over the same message, could be shown
at local events to further the spread of information, and that the idea had
been favourably received. Mrs Holland
thought that the local commoners might also want to be involved in such a
project.
Mr Hammerton drew members’ attention to the
new Dartmoor brand, which is now marketing meat boxes nationwide via the
internet. The meeting had been both interesting
and informative.
141.2 Police Authority No meeting this month.
141.3 Southern Parishes
Link Committee Mrs Boyd attended the meeting earlier in the
month and gave a report. The police had
stated that violent crimes are reported even if there is no prosecution, and
this can affect the statistics. There
is a new ASB officer for West Devon. It
is hoped to set up a social space for young people so that they will have
somewhere to congregate.
Mr G Greenaway (Principal EHO for WDBC) gave a
presentation on the Clean Neighbourhood Act.
Parish Councils can adopt powers to give fines for dog-fouling, graffiti
and littering but to do so would involve costs for which no funding is on
offer.
Mrs Boyd was impressed with a question put forward
by Peter Tavy PC regarding the lengthsman service, and reminded members that
the Council can put forward questions for the meetings.
Information was given on the Tavy Community Forum
which is aimed at fostering projects for improving the life of people in the
area. A list of projects was given at
the meeting, including Lydford’s recent work on upgrading the WI Room at the
Nicholls Hall. Information was also
given on the Sustainable Communities Act, and there was a helpful handout
listing agencies who provide support and guidance that may be of particular
need during the recession. The next
meeting will take place in January.
141.4 Nicholls Hall
Committee At the recent AGM one new member joined the
committee, and there were additionally several new Friends of the Hall. The Cabaret Night was well received, and the
Christmas Bistro was also well supported.
Work to refurbish the cloakroom and storeroom has been completed with
work on the outside planned for the New Year.
The Nicholls Hall took part in the Christmas Tree Festival, and has
provided the tree outside the hall. She
thanked a number of individuals and organisations who had given support either
financially or by donating their skills and time.
141.5 WDBC
There was no report at this
meeting.
142-2008 Finance:
142.1 The Clerk, as Responsible Financial Officer, gave
a report detailing the following points:
i) The Audit Return had been received from the
Audit Commission and the required paperwork was already on the Parish Notice
Board in accordance with the statutory requirements.
ii) The contractor who cut the grass this year had
indicated that there would be no price rise for the service next year. It was agreed that he should be asked to continue.
iii) With a
view to future expenditure the question of burials in the village was raised,
as there is a perception that the Churchyard is close to capacity. When it is full it will be the Council’s
responsibility to provide a cemetery including the purchase of suitable land.
iv) Provision for elections was also discussed as
the amount of £500 currently held in provision will not meet the projected
cost. A neighbouring parish council
puts aside £200 per anum. It was
RESOLVED that an amount of £200 should be included in next year’s budget for
elections provision.
142.2 The following balances were reported:
Current account – £519.37
Deposit account - £6478.90
Parish Plan - £1204.23
Ancient Spring - £3597.61
The following cheques were authorised from the
general budget: Clerk salary &
expenses £275.72: HMRC (via Post Office
Ltd) £55.26: CAB £50: Hepworth Workshops (website) £156.09: Audit Commission
£138.00: SLCC (subscription 2009) £80.00. The sum of £140 had been received
from DCC in respect of grasscutting. A
transfer of £600.00 from the deposit account to the current account was
authorised. Provisions held as shown on
the sheet circulated to members and attached to the master set of minutes.
142.3 The
Precept Request needed to be agreed at this meeting, and a provisional budget
had been circulated among the members.
After some discussion it was unanimously RESOLVED that the precept for
2009/10 should be set at £6150.00, the same as for 2008/09.
143-2008
Correspondence
143.1 Correspondence requiring action or decision:
1
The Council was informed by the Information Commissioners Office that approval
for all existing publication schemes under the Freedom of Information Act 2005
will expire on 31 December 2008 and that it is obliged under the Act to adopt a
new approved Publication Scheme. This,
along with a sheaf of guidance from the ICO website had been circulated in the
Councillors’ briefing pack for the meeting.
A Model Publication Scheme was included and it was UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED
that Lydford Parish Council will adopt the Model Publication Scheme for Local
Councils (Core Classes Only) from 1st January 2009.
2.
A letter had been received from the Rural Services Community offering the
Council free membership. As it is free the
Council will return the pro-forma with its own contact details.
143.2 Correspondence for Information Only
1. West Devon e-connect
2. The lengthsman winter programme 2008, from
Peter Tavy PC.
3 Lydford Boundary Stones – some new information
from Mrs J Marchand at DNPA Archaeology regarding a new stone which has been
unearthed. She was hoping that some
local information might be found, but the council has made enquiries of the
older residents and no-one has been able to help as yet.
4 DNPA Spring/Summer What’s On for publicity
for events. Community events can be
publicised at no cost through this publication.
5 DAPC Newsletter with training dates appended
6 DNPA Agenda, Minutes and Reports of the
Authority
7 The new Electoral Register has been received
from WDBC. The Clerk noted that she has
strict confidentiality instructions from WDBC regarding this document. Mrs Boyd commented that many commercial
organisations seem to have access to the contents and the Clerk drew her
attention to the option to request, when filling in the statutory reply to
WDBC, to request names to be kept off the published register, and that any
parishioner is entitled to select this option.
8 Information regarding Devon Community
Foundation grassroots grants
9 South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety
newsletter
10 Information from RD&E Hospital including
the Annual Report
11 From DCC re: Commons Registration – Nurston Farm in the Parish of Dean Prior
12 From WDBC re: Boundary Committee Review of
Devon update – the date of the Review has been put back.
13 From Digital UK – information regarding the
digital switchover in 2009. The
switchover has already taken place in the Scottish Borders.
14 From WDBC Planning Enforcement – information
re the siting of caravans. This gives
much fuller information than that given by the Clerk in Parishioners Time
during the November meeting, and corrects the statement that caravans must roll
on their wheels. They can, in addition
to being towed, be transported on a motor vehicle or trailer, and were
established as a “chattel” by the Wealden case. The rules change if a caravan is adapted to make it a permanent
structure by being fixed to the ground in some way. The relevant legislation is the Caravan Sites and Control of
Development Act 1960.
15 Village Green newsletter
16 Recycling over Christmas information for the
Notice Board.
144-2008 Planning Applications
144.1 Decisions
Received
1. Application
for tree works at Barnhayes: No
preservation order has been placed on the trees.
2. Application
for Construction of detached garage adjacent to dwelling at the Paddock (0672/08)
This
application was withdrawn as it now comes under permitted development.
144.2
Applications Received
1. Application
for amendment to existing permission at the Builder’s Office (0973/07): The time limit on amendments is only 14
days. Members looked at the amended
plans submitted and were unhappy about some new rooflights; the Council was also unsure whether
neighbouring properties had been informed.
The Clerk was instructed to check against the original drawings and to
reply accordingly under her delegated powers. She was also asked to check with
the neighbours that they were aware of the application.
2. Application
for replacement porch, side extension and garden room and alterations to bay
windows at Hartswood (0761/08)
There
was some doubt whether this application required permission or came under
permitted development, resting on the technicality of which elevation was
legally regarded as “the front”.
Members studied the plans, which mainly involved the replacement of existing
parts of the structure with better quality construction. It seemed that there was nothing contentious
about this application, and the Clerk was instructed to respond accordingly.
145-2008 Items raised at the previous meeting for inclusion on this agenda:
There
were none.
146-2008
Items raised for inclusion on the next Agenda
The Granite Way.
The Clerk was requested to obtain an update from highways before the
meeting.
147-2008 To
agree the date of the next meeting:
The date of Tuesday 20th January 2009
was agreed commencing at 7.00 pm.
A provisional diary will be produced for 2009, with
the Annual Parish Meeting to take place on Tuesday 7th April
2009. All regular meetings will
continue to take place on the third Tuesday (no August meeting) unless changed
by a resolution of the council.
There being no
further business the meeting was formally closed by the Chairman at 8.15 pm.
Annie Martin
Clerk to the
Parish Council 21st
December 2008
Signed as a
true and accurate record……………………………………
(Chairman) Date……………….
Appendix 1
: Report on the Parishioner
Consultation on the Proposed New Sewage Treatment Works in Lydford
At the request
of the Lydford Parish Council, I am reporting the results of a public
consultation on the proposal by South West Water to resite and renew the
Lydford Sewage Treatment Works. A public exhibition and consultation was held
by South West Water at Lydford on 7th October between 3p.m. and 7
p.m. Forms were made available on the day by the Council for those attending to
respond confidentially to the Clerk. Subsequently further forms were circulated
with the Parish Magazine as it was felt that some parishioners and others with
responsibilities within the parish may have been unable to attend but wished to
make their feelings known. The closing
date for submission of all completed forms was, Friday November 7th2008. Forty three forms, representing the views of fifty two parishioners were received.
No direct
questions were included in the consultation. A few respondents wrote on the
wider need for better sewage services and the role of South West Water who had
proposed a completely new Sewage Treatment Works and were seeking a site that
would be acceptable locally. Many consulted felt too little information was
being offered. This was particularly the case for those who wished to know why
the present Works could not be ‘brought up to date’ on the current site. Regretfully it was not always clear from the
responses which sites were acceptable and which were being opposed. It seemed
probable that more than one map had been displayed with the sites variously
identified on one as Sites 1,2,or3 and
Sites A,B,C on the other.
Thirty five parishioners (35) agree with SWW
proposal to build a new Sewage Treatment Works; fourteen (14) parishioners
disagree. Three (3) gave no opinion
Five (5) of those who disagree consider that
no case has been made for failure to offer an upgrade to the present Works on
the present site.
Only Fifteen (15) parishioners express clear
preferences for or against a particular site,
Five (5) for site A. Six (6) for site B. One
(1) against site C.
Two (2) for
site 1. One (1) against site 2.
Seven (7) having no preferences. The remaining thirty (30) have received insufficient
information or otherwise feel unable to answer.
A majority of
the inhabitants of Lydford village have suffered a recurring ‘smell’ in the
village, particularly in the summer, for some years. The role of the increased
summer population associated with tourist trade and the ‘Campsite’ are believed
in several replies, to contribute to this smell through inadequate or
inappropriate sewage facilities.
It would appear
that the SWW proposal to provide a new ‘Sewage Treatment Works’ is acceptable
to a majority. The numbers are small and there is no significant majority for a
particular site. There is a definite need to explain why the present ‘Works’
cannot be modernised and remain on the present site. One respondent, apparently
with technical knowledge, claims that a modern plant based on modern methods
would be small enough to fit on that site.
It is felt that
the disruption and damage to architectural, rural and archaeological factors
have not been fully considered. In particular, attention is drawn to possible
damage to older buildings in and around the village from laying the
infrastructure of new piping and sewers. The need to upgrade small lanes for
heavier traffic is also mentioned.
R.Ll.Meyrick.
Clerk’s note:
Dr Meyrick is the Independent Chairman of the West Devon Standards
Committee, and it is in that capacity that he was asked to carry out the
scrutiny on the Council’s behalf.
Appendix 2: Parish Councils – Powers and Procedures
The following has been compiled as helpful guidance
and is not intended to be taken as a legal document.
1. There is no statutory requirement for any individual or organisation to consult with the PC regarding any development plans until formal planning consent is applied for, at which point there is a statutory duty for the planning authority to consult the PC, though not necessarily to agree with or act on its comments. Any consultation which takes part outside this framework is on a goodwill basis only and has no legal standing.
2. It is not in the remit of a Parish Council to become involved in any negotiations to sell or purchase, lease or rent property within the parish except if the Council were directly involved on its own behalf. (Lydford Parish Council currently owns no property at all, and its assets are limited to a single filing cabinet.)
3. It is not in the remit of a Parish Council to have knowledge of any application by any individual or organisation to be connected to the sewerage system, and although sometimes that knowledge comes as part of a planning application any subsequent change is not reported to the Parish Council.
4. No individual councillor (including the Chairman) can speak on behalf of the Parish Council unless specifically authorised to do so in a particular situation with the majority agreement of a quorum of the council in an open meeting.
The Council itself is a statutory body which can speak only through a resolution passed in an open meeting.
The Clerk never speaks on behalf of the council, but can refer enquiries to existing minuted items, and can also give guidance on points of procedure as these are laid down by the laws of governance under which the Council operates.
5. Any communication which requires the council to speak on a topic must be considered to be in the public domain, as this is the only way that the council can form a decision. Exceptions to this only occur where other Statutes are in force, for example in employment matters. Even then although discussions may take place in a closed meeting any decisions reached must ultimately be put into the public domain.
6. In the particular case of the proposed sewage treatment works the council has been consulted by SWW on a purely goodwill basis, and has taken the following steps:
i) Helped SWW to arrange its own Public Exhibition, at which qualified engineers were present to provide information and answer questions from parishioners.
ii) Invited parishioners to voice their opinions to the PC either in conversation, in Parishioners and Visitors time at meetings and through the confidential consultation slips that were available at the Public Exhibition, were sent out with the Parish Magazine and were additionally accepted when sent by e-mail.
iii) Consulted with its own independent expert to verify the technical veracity of the information given.
iv) Endeavoured at all times to ensure that questions that parishioners may wish to ask of SWW were put forward by the council if requested, and that a reply was received from SWW.
NB Councillors have never claimed to have any specialist technical knowledge on the subject of sewage treatment, and would therefore not attempt to answer any questions themselves, nor to comment on the technical veracity of any replies received.