Draft Minutes subject to Confirmation

 

 

Lydford Parish Council

 

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

MINUTES OF THE MEETING

Held in The Nicholls Hall

Tuesday 8th April 2008

 

Present:

Mrs 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)

 

Apologies for absence:

Cllr A Hosking, Cllr I McPhie,  PCSO D Chapple

 

Parishioners present:

            A total of twelve parishioners were present.

            The DNPA was represented by Paul Glanville, our Ranger.

 

 

1.2008 – Chairman’s report:

Ms Ellicott reported on the achievements of the parish council over the last year as follows:

1.1 Elections– The current Council was elected in May 2007, and many of the activities and projects of the year were inherited as “work in progress” from the previous Council.

1.2 Parish Plan – The open day on 8th May referred to in last year’s minutes was well attended and resulted in 200 potential questions.  As there is a limit of 60 questions imposed by Devon County Council this gave the Steering committee a huge task in filtering and refining the material.  The draft questionnaire was recently submitted to DCC for scrutiny by the statisticians to ensure that the format of the questions does not introduced any bias.  It has recently been approved and the draft returned for final scrutiny by the Steering Group prior to publication.  The main questionnaire will be posted out to all households in the Parish by DCC.

1.3 Smells in Lydford – The Chairman reported that three sources had been identified. 

i) Work now completed at the C&CC Site is as suggested by Evironmental Health, and should have solved any problems emanating from the Site. 

ii) The sewage treatment works behind the castle is accepted by SWW as far from ideal, and there are long term plans to relocate.  In the mean time the tanking operation means that the tanks are emptied twice weekly on Mondays and Thursdays.  We have a number to ring if there is a problem.

iii) Twice in the last year there has been an outflow of sewage in the centre of the village, on both occasions caused by a blockage of the sewers by “flushable” nappies.  The Chairman reminded the meeting that such items may be flushable in large towns, but that in Lydford there is a very narrow sewer pipe and that no bulky items should be flushed away.

Lydford enjoyed a relatively odour free summer last year, but in reporting this fact the Chairman reminded the meeting that the poor weather last year meant that the system had not been fully tested in a heatwave.

1.4 New Clerk – The new Clerk took over with the new Council and has been trained.  There is a new system of Parish Council surgeries, and, after testing weekly morning surgeries, the future plans are that these surgeries will take place twice a month in the WI Room at the Nicholls Hall. 

1.5 Toilets – Regretfully the public toilets were closed this winter as a result of a sharp increase in the charge made for the service by West Devon District Council.  The Parish Council is still in negotiations with West Devon regarding options for the winter of 2008/09, and the Services Manager has agreed to attend our June meeting.  This year the managers of the Castle Inn kindly agreed to allow members of the public to use the toilets in the Inn which helped to alleviate any problems caused.

1.6 Village Shop – The loss of the shop was regretted.  The site is currently up for sale, and it is hoped that it may be taken on by new owners who will reinstate the shop.

1.7 Bus Service – The council has fought to try to keep as good a service as possible.  Our MP, Geoffrey Cox, spoke in Parliament this week on the subject of rural bus services.  In particular it is regretted that the 0930 from Okehampton service on which bus passes could be used has been withdrawn, and that the passes are not valid on the earlier service, although it may be noted that when the bus gets to the Lydford Station Road stop at 0930 they become valid, meaning that pensioners only need pay for the first few stops on the journey. 

1.8 Policing in the Village – Problems with petty vandalism last summer died down when the new school year started.  We unfortunately had one major crime in the village when a burglary occurred over the Christmas/New Year period.  PCSO Dave Chapple is now a familiar sight in the village.

1.9 Ancient Spring – We were fortunate to inherit the ING grant from the outgoing Council.  As the new Council established itself it undertook a comprehensive stakeholder consultation, and encountered a great deal of scepticism from some local residents and neighbouring landowners.  DNPA approval for the Council’s plans was confirmed in September, and a professional project manager appointed in November.  The Chairman highlighted the importance of individual councillors distancing themselves from the task of inviting tenders and awarding contracts for the work to be carried out to overcome any possible personal and/or prejudicial interests affecting the process. Our project manager has commissioned a professional wildlife survey and suggested planting scheme, which has just been received, and he will give a report at next week’s Council meeting. 

The Council has also instructed a local solicitor to seek to register the land in the Council’s ownership with the intention of securing public ownership of the land in perpetuity, and this process is ongoing.

1.10 Precept – There is an increase of 3.25% on the Precept this year.

1.11 Dedication of the new plaque commemorating Captain Nigel Hunter MC and Bar – Funding from a number of sources was obtained and the plaque was fixed in place by a team from DNPA in time for Remembrance Day in November.  The dedication ceremony was held on 25th March 2008, the 90th Anniversary of Captain Hunter’s death.  The beautiful weather on the day contributed to the enjoyment of the occasion by over 100 people who gathered on the moor for the event.  Family members had come from as far away as Belfast.  Military representation came from members of the serving Royal Engineers, from branches of the Royal Engineers Association from Bristol, Bridgewater, Taunton and Newton Abbot, and from the Okehampton Branch of the Royal British Legion, and they were joined by ex-servicemen and women from the local community.  We were delighted to welcome the Mayor of West Devon, representatives from the DNPA and Duchy of Cornwall and a good number of members of the local community. The Chairman reported that she felt privileged to be part of the occasion.  A reception was held afterwards in the Nicholls Hall, and many favourable comments were received from our visitors.

1.12 Buckingham Palace Garden Party – Lydford’s name came out of the hat for one of three places allocated to the Devon Association of Parish Councils and Mrs Cole will attend a Buckingham Palace Garden Party later this year. Mrs Cole has served on the Parish Council for over 20 years, and in that time she has hardly missed a meeting.  She currently represents Lydford on the Southern Parishes Link Committee.

1.13 For the future: i) The Chairman noted that the Post Office closures have been decided but that the information has not yet been released, and so we have to wait to see if Lydford is affected.

ii) There is a Boundary Committee Review of Local Government in Devon currently operating, and this may well result in major changes to Local Government in Devon affecting the whole county.

iii) There are plans to Beat the Parish Bounds in 2009.  This was last carried out in 2002, and normally takes place on Rogation Sunday.  The Council will work in liaison with the Church.

iv) Work has just started on the formulation of an Emergency Plan for Lydford.

v) Efforts to make Lydford a greener community are ongoing.  The recent presentation at a Council meeting by the National Trust was of great interest in this endeavour.

vi) The Chairman drew attention to the fact that Lydford now has a new pavilion at the Sports Field and that the WI room in the Nicholls Hall has recently been refurbished.  The new chairs were in use for the first time at the meeting, and the room will be permanently set up as a meeting room unless booked for an alternative activity.

 

2.2008 Questions from the floor:

            2.1 The Rev Sykes noted that he had noticed some odour around the church and its adjacent field during the warm weather last week. 

He also wished to highlight the fact that there is a farm shop at Downtown Farm, and this year’s Rogation Sunday will be held there.  The Chairman will represent the Parish Council at the event.

            2.2 Mr Powne raised the issue of the “missing link” in the Granite Way.  The Chairman informed him that we have recently sent a letter to Graham Cornish at Devon County Council, but that there seemed to be a great deal of apathy surrounding the original plans to compulsorily purchase the land to complete the cycle track. Several parishoners have already raised the issue. Devon County Council had also promised to reinstate the “NO HORSES” notices that had been torn down, and the Clerk will send a reminder.  There have been problems with the Hunt using the track, and a letter was sent to local Hunts earlier in the year.

 

There being no further business the meeting was formally closed by the

Chairman at 7.30pm.

                      

Annie Martin                                                                          9th April 2008

Clerk to the Parish Council                                                  

 

 

Signed as a true and accurate record……………………Date………………….

                                                     (Ms L Ellicott - Chairman)