Draft Minutes subject to
Confirmation
LYDFORD PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES
OF THE MEETING
Held
in the Nicholls Hall on Tuesday 16th June 2009
66-2009 Present:
Cllrs J Gannon (Chairman), S Holland
(Vice-Chairman), L Cole, K Boyd, C Moriarty, I Hammerton
Mrs A Martin (Clerk)
Cllr I McPhie (WDBC)
Parishioners and others in attendance:
Twelve members of the
public were in attendance.
67-2009
Apologies for Absence:
There were none.
68-2009 Declaration
of Interests:
The Chairman noted a personal interest in the
planning application at Heather as the applicant is a friend of her family.
69-2009 Parishioners
and Visitors Time:
69.1 Inappropriate
vehicular traffic: It was reported that large 4x4 vehicles have
been using Silver Street, including the unsurfaced section. The Council responded that this is perfectly
legal, as Silver Street is a public highway.
There was also some discussion of the vehicular use, in particular by
organised groups of trail bikes, of the By-way by Bolt’s House, again perfectly
legal. It is anticipated that
inappropriate use of these ancient trackways will increase as the internet and
commercial organisations are used to draw drivers to them, and that there is
nothing that can be done unless there is a change in legislation. The Council will draw this to the attention
of Geoffrey Cox MP.
69.2 Sustrans review: A parishioner had heard that Sustrans
is intending to review the opening of its network to horses, and was concerned
that this would open the Granite way to horses. The Council responded that it was aware of the moves, but that it
had been assured by Devon highways that there would be consultation before any
decision was made. A letter will be
sent to Sustrans to ensure that the Council is included in this consultation.
69.3 Granite Way: There was a complaint about dog fouling on the
Granite Way. In addition some goats had
recently escaped onto the Granite Way and added their own contribution. Cllr McPhie offered to check with WDBC which
organisation is responsible for keeping the Granite Way in a useable condition,
and the Council will contact the probable owners of the goats to alert them to
the fact that these escapologists have found a way out of their enclosure. A reminder to dog owners to act responsibly
will be included in the next parish magazine, but there was scepticism as to
whether this will make any difference to the behaviour of the irresponsible
owners who do not use the dog bins provided.
69.5 Planning Application: The applicant at Heather spoke in
support of his application.
70-2009 To
approve the minutes of the previous meeting:
The minutes of the meetings held on Tuesday 21st
April, Tuesday 19th May and the Annual Parish meeting on Tuesday 7th April were
approved as a true and accurate record.
71-2009 Matters
Arising:
71.1 Highways, Parking and
Traffic Issues - The
Council had received two separate complaints about hedges having grown out into
the public highway in the upper section of the village. One of these was from the School, and as the
safety of the children is at stake the complaint will be immediately forwarded
to Devon Highways. A member of the
council had already spoken to the owners of one of the properties, and it was
believed that the hedge had been subsequently cut. Another property is itself owned by Devon County Council, and
this will be pointed out when the complaint is forwarded on.
71.2 Parish Plan update – A spreadsheet of the results of the
tick boxes on the questionnaires had now been received, and the individual
answers and comments had been anonymised ready for analysis.
71.3 Beating of the Bounds – Letters of thanks had been sent out
to those who helped with the day, and the Certificates for all participants had
been prepared for signature by the Chairman.
These will now be distributed.
71.4 Community Land Trust
Update – It was noted
that there was an article with information in the current Village Green
magazine.
71.5 Granite Way The “No Horses” sign has at last been
reinstated.
71.6 The Council’s Website Cllr Hammerton had prepared a tender specification
that he thought covered the new requirements imposed by the ICO. This will be circulated among councillors
ahead of the next meeting.
71.7 Ancient Spring Ongoing
Maintenance – A letter of thanks had been sent to Mr Pettitt. All councillors had seen the written
maintenance plan that he had produced.
71.8 Councillor Vacancy
It was reported by the Clerk that only one candidate had come forward
and therefore there would be no need to go any further with the statutory
selection process. It was unanimously
resolved that Mrs Judy Brookes would be co-opted onto the council, and that she
would complete her declaration of acceptance and take her place on the Council
at the next meeting, having joined three of the existing members at a WDBC
training event on the Codes of Conduct in the interim.
72-2009 Receive Reports from Councillors on
respective outside bodies:
72.1 DNPA Consultative Forum The forum met on 22nd May and the Council was
represented by Cllrs Moriarty and Holland.
The meeting began with an item on the new Dartmoor logo, which is now in
operation for goods and services generated within the National Park.
There
was then a presentation on planning policy, and this led to a lively discussion
on signage. Lydford has called for a
more consistent approach to the application of the law, and it seemed that
others agreed with the views expressed by the councillors at the meeting.
The
archive manager of the Dartmoor Trust explained how the Trust is arranging for
the digital storage of old photos of the moor, and that it would appreciate the
temporary loan of any such photos so that they could be added to the
database. Volunteers to help with this
task would be very welcome, and visitors are also welcome by appointment. The Trust is based on the South side of the
moor at Cornwood.
Finally
there was information on the Haytor Hoppa, a new bus service designed as a
hop-on, hop-off service along its route, with no limit on the number of times
passengers alight and reboard the service.
Although this is also on the far side of the moor it is hoped that a
similar service might soon be set up centered on Tavistock.
72.2 Police Authority No meeting this month.
72.3 Southern Parishes
Link Committee A meeting is scheduled for later in the week.
72.4 Nicholls Hall
Committee The Committee had met since the previous
Parish Council meeting, and had agreed that a letter box into which
parishioners could leave signed correspondence for the Council could be erected
in the vestibule. This had already been
done, and the parishioner who had kindly fixed the box into position was
thanked for his help.
The committee had also agreed to appoint a
professional cleaner for the hall.
A successful “Tea at Three” event had been held for
the children’s hospice.
The committee room is currently being painted.
The next Bistro Nite is scheduled for Friday 10th
July, to feature spicy and fragrant North African cuisine.
72.5 WDBC Cllr McPhie reported that WDBC had recently adopted
the Tamar Valley AONB Management Strategy.
An Environmental Grant scheme, giving small grants
for environmental enhancements such as the installation of bat boxes, has been
extended to last for another year.
The Waste Contract bidding process is continuing.
73-2009 Finance:
73.1
Copies of the Annual Accounts had been circulated to all Councillors
prior to the meeting. The Clerk, as
RFO, reported that the Internal Auditor had passed the accounts and had signed
the Audit Commission Return. It was
unanimously agreed that the accounts be accepted, and they, and the Audit
Commission return, were duly signed by the Chairman.
73.2
The Clerk read out the individual sections of the Annual Governance
Statement, and each was unanimously agreed as an affirmative response by the
members present. When all parts had
been dealt with the Chairman signed the Annual Governance Statement on behalf
of the Council.
73.3 The Clerk distributed the monthly
statement to all members.
The following balances were reported:
Current account – £577.62
Deposit account - £8454.41
Parish Plan - £1204.23
Ancient Spring - £163.10
A tax repayment of £96.40 had been received from
HMRC. The following cheques were authorised from the general budget: Clerk salary & expenses £344.93: HMRC £55.26: T Liversidge (grass)
17.00: Allianz Insurance £442.21: Mainly stationery £19.00: Lydford PCC (donation of internal auditor’s
fees) £45.00: Euroffice Ltd £9.11. A
transfer of £1000.00 from the Council’s flexi account to the current account
was also authorised.
74-2009
Correspondence
74.1 Correspondence requiring action or decision:
1. Letter from a parishioner requiring a reply: The clerk was requested to reply on behalf
of the Council acknowledging the letter and its contents.
2. A letter had been received from the webmaster
of Lydford.co.uk requesting that the council clearly state that this website
had no connection with the website LydfordFS in the light of an item in the
previous minutes, and this was done.
74.2 Correspondence for Information Only
1. DNPA Agenda and Reports
2. WDBC update to electoral register
3. WDBD reminder to keep register of interests up to date
4. WDBC response to the Boundary Committee
5. DAPC Newsletter
6. WDBC e-connect
7. S Devon & Dartmoor Community Safety newsletter
8 WDBC Draft Revision to Affordable Housing Code of Practice
9 WDBC Housing Strategy annual update booklet.
10 WDBC re Core Strategy Development Plan Document – booklet in appendix
11 WDBC “Your Help in difficult times” information booklet in appendix
12 WDBC invitation to councillors to attend one of a selection of training events on the Code of Conduct for Parish Councils in West Devon.
75-2009
Planning Applications
75.1 Decisions Received: Consent (some conditional) had been received for:
i) Approval had been received for the flue at Lot
Cottage
ii) No tree preservation order had been placed on
trees adjacent to the Castle Inn
75.2 Response made under
delegated powers:
i) An application to demolish a bungalow and
build a new one at Heather (0232/09). The
existing bungalow is of non-standard construction and has asbestos roof
tiles. It would be virtually impossible
to bring it up to the standard required by modern building regulations. The proposed new bungalow would be better
sited within the plot. It was
unanimously decided that: The Council supports this application.
ii) An application for alterations and extension
to the rear at Barn Hayes (0220/09).
The proposed works would have minimal visual impact in the village. It was unanimously decided that: The
Council supports this application.
iii) An
application for the replacement of existing timber play equipment with new at
Lydford Primary School. It was
unanimously decided that: The Council supports this application.
76-2009 Items raised at the previous meeting for inclusion on this agenda:
There
were none.
77-2009 Items raised for inclusion on the next Agenda
There were none.
78-2009 To
agree the date of the next meeting:
The date of Tuesday 21st July 2009 was
agreed commencing at 7.00 pm.
There being no
further business the meeting was formally closed by the Chairman at 8.15 pm.
Annie Martin
Clerk to the
Parish Council 17th
June 2009
Signed as a
true and accurate record……………………………………
(Chairman) Date……………….
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LYDFORD PARISH COUNCIL |
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FINANCIALSTATEMENT |
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June 2009 |
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ACCOUNT |
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CURRENT |
FLEXI |
AN.SPR |
P PLAN |
TOTALS |
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BALANCE B/F |
19 May 2009 |
577.62 |
9821.74 |
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10399.36 |
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FLEXI AC SPLIT BALANCE |
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8454.41 |
163.10 |
1204.23 |
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RECEIPTS |
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Tax Overpaid |
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96.40 |
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96.40 |
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TRANSFER |
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Flexi to Current a/c |
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1000.00 |
-1000.00 |
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PAYMENTS |
CHQ NO: |
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Clerk - A Martin |
881 |
-344.83 |
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-344.83 |
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HMRC - Post Office Ltd |
882 |
-55.26 |
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-55.26 |
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T Liversidge - grass |
883 |
-17.00 |
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-17.00 |
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Insurance |
884 |
-442.21 |
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-442.21 |
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Mainly Stationery |
885 |
-19.50 |
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-19.50 |
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Lydford PCC (internal
audit) |
886 |
-45.00 |
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-45.00 |
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Euroffice ltd |
887 |
-9.11 |
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-9.11 |
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FLEXI AC SPLIT TOTALS |
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7454.41 |
163.10 |
1204.23 |
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CLOSING BALANCE |
16th June 09 |
741.11 |
8821.74 |
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9562.85 |
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NOTES: |
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PROVISIONS: |
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PRECEPT: |
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Ancient Spring |
£163.10 |
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Elections |
£700.00 |
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Payments received 5th
April £3075 |
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Parish Plan |
£1,204.23 |
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plus Burial Grant £84 |
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Grant availability |
£240.00 |
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RECEIPTS AND
PAYMENTS SUMMARY 2008/09 |
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2007/08 |
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2008/09 |
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£ |
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RECEIPTS |
£ |
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84.00 |
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Burial Grant |
84.00 |
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6150.00 |
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Precept |
6350.00 |
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52.20 |
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Interest on
Investments |
110.08 |
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0.00 |
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VAT recovered |
669.61 |
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120.00 |
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Grass cutting
(DCC) |
140.00 |
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200.00 |
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Training
bursary |
0.00 |
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6606.20 |
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TOTAL
RECEIPTS |
7353.69 |
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PAYMENTS |
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327.41 |
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General
Administration |
215.05 |
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20.00 |
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S 137 Payments |
50.00 |
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550.00 |
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Grants (CAB) |
50.00 |
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405.18 |
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Insurance |
420.49 |
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189.00 |
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Audit fees |
168.00 |
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62.00 |
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DAPC Subs |
65.00 |
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80.00 |
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SLCC Subs |
80.00 |
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65.00 |
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Room hire at
Nicholls Hall |
65.00 |
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230.00 |
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Office
Provision |
300.00 |
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102.00 |
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Travel
expenses |
151.20 |
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117.00 |
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Grass cutting |
153.00 |
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522.00 |
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Clerk Salary
(D Evans) |
0.00 |
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3196.92 |
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Clerk gross
salary (A Martin) |
3358.44 |
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167.00 |
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Website |
166.09 |
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110.00 |
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Equipment
(filing cabinet) |
0.00 |
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365.00 |
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Training |
73.00 |
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0.00 |
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Parish Plan |
127.15 |
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0.00 |
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Ancient
Spring |
9225.99 |
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2325.85 |
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Capt Hunter
New Memorial |
256.09 |
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8834.36 |
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TOTAL PAYMENTS |
14924.50 |
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