LYDFORD
PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES
OF THE MEETING
Held in The Nicholls Hall
Tuesday 20th July 2005
78-2005 Present:
Mrs L Cole: Mrs P Martyn: Mrs K Boyd (Vice-Chairman): Mrs S Holland: Mrs L Ellicott: Mr S Powne
(Chairman): Mr P Fletcher
Mr DG Evans (Clerk)
Parishioners in attendance:
Two members of the public were present and Cllr A Hosking DCC
79-2005 Apologies for absence:
None
80-2005 Parishioners and Visitors time:
None raised
81-2005To approve the minutes of the previous
meeting:
81.1. Before the minutes of the meeting held on 21st June were
signed, Mrs Martyn asked for an explanation as to why the Standing order
regarding “dual hated” PC members signed at the previous meeting had not been
displayed on the notice board as the draft minutes had suggested. She said concern had been expressed to her
by several people about the possibility of nepotism amongst the “dual hatted”
members on the PC, although she was not prepared to name them. The Clerk explained to PC the difference
between a change to Standing Orders and minuted resolutions affecting the
electorate. Mrs Holland stated that
anyone with concerns regarding the Parish Council should speak at the beginning
of meetings during the slot reserved for members of the public. Mr Fletcher agreed, and stated that as this
was the second time unknown or unnamed parishioners had made allegations
concerning the good conduct of the PC he felt that Mrs Martyn should advise
them to speak directly to Council and not hide behind anonymity. During discussion it was agreed that there
had always been “dual hatted” PC members over many years and this was not a new
situation. The Chairman proposed that the
change to standing orders regarding ‘dual hatted’ members, as agreed by the members
at the meeting held on 17th May and recorded in the minutes of the
21st June should be displayed in the Notice Board. This was seconded by Mrs Martyn. He called for a show of hands to agree
this. The ensuing vote was 2 for – with
3 against and 2 abstentions. Resolved not
to display the notice. The Chair
proceeded to sign the minutes of the meeting held on 21st June as
true and accurate.
82-2005 Matters arising:
82.1 Receive progress report on Notice Boards – Only the Board at the Post Office is now left to be re-sited.
82.2 Dartmoor Inn crossing improvement – Nothing to report.
82.3 VJ Day celebration – All items progressing. It was agreed to hold a separate meeting on Thursday 28th July commencing at 7.00pm to enable the final details to be finalised.
82.4 Neighbourhood Watch – Mrs
Holland stated that she is progressing a meeting with PC Reed and PC Frost in
an effort to hold a meeting to agree new coordinators which is not likely to be
held until the autumn.
82.5 Sewage problems – The clerk reported that since contact had been made with
the Camping and Caravan Club the problem of smell had diminished. It was agreed
that a letter should be sent to the owners of the site requesting that they
must ensure that this problem is finally corrected and as owners of the site
the members consider that the responsibility for this lies with them.
82.6 Hedges in Chapel Lane/Town Bank – The Chairman reported that he has had a response from English Heritage who state that the responsibility for the cutting and laying of these hedges lies with the tenant of the grazing and that they will write too them requesting attention in the autumn.
82.7 Tree warden – It would appear that Mr Stokes has resigned from this position and notification of his replacement is awaited from WDBC.
83-2005 Receive reports from Councillors on
respective outside bodies:
83.1 DNPA – No meetings held.
83.2 Police Authority – No meetings held.
83.3 Southern Link Committee – The minutes of the last meeting were circulated to members prior to tonight’s meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for September.
72.4 Nicholls Hall Committee – Mrs Boyd reported that all was well.
84.2005 - Receive financial report:
84.1 The clerk circulated balances as follows;
Current - £3071.02
Flexi - £6584.35
Petty cash - .44
84.2 The following payments were
authorised for July & August:
Clerk (July) – £258.30 – Clerk (August) - £254.70 – Grass cutting £30 – Web
site - £40.95
84.3 Audit – The Financial officer explained that the books for 2004/05 have been
returned from the Internal Auditor with no queries. He then detailed that the
Statement of Assurance was now required to be agreed by the members and read it
out accordingly. It was unanimously agreed that this parish council complied
fully with the requirements as listed in Section 2 – Statement of assurance of
the Audit Commission annual return. The statement of accounts was also
confirmed as accurate. Accordingly the return was signed by both the Chairman
and the Clerk. It was also reported that the required notices enabling
parishioners to view the accounts have been posted.
85.2005 - Correspondence:
85.1 A letter from a Mr Wroth of Springers Vale Down complaining about the speed of traffic at this point was read out and agreed that this be placed on file to be referred to when progressing the problems of the A386 with Highways in the future. The clerk confirmed that a letter had been sent to Mr Wroth acknowledging his concerns. The clerk was also requested to write to Inspector Sherwood, Brian George and Cllr’s Hosking and Williamson supporting the comments made by Mr Wroth.
85.2 A quotation from Adrian Hepworth to continue being the Web Master was discussed. It was agreed to place this work out to tender. The clerk was requested to organise this.
85.3 The results from the recently conducted Housing Needs Survey by WDBC were discussed. It was agreed to place this item onto the September agenda and to invite John Packer or Marion Pyle to this meeting in order to seek clarification of the statistics. The clerk was requested to copy the survey to all members.
85.4 A letter was received from Lydford House Hotel complaining about the failure of DCC to complete the Granite Way to a totally off road track. The clerk was requested to write to Graham Cornish seeking clarification and progress on this matter and to advise the owners of Lydford house accordingly.
85.5 Recent e-mails received from Cllr Williamson – The Chairman again requested that all correspondence from this Councillor should be in the form of letters sent via the postal system. Mr Fletcher was flabbergasted that this one Councillor can be allowed to send correspondence of this sort. The Chairman proposed a vote of support for the clerk who had been cited as doing his job improperly by Cllr Williamson. This was unanimously agreed. It was further agreed that the Chairman should formally write to Cllr Williamson re-iterating this councils’ concerns with his handling of certain items and refuting the comments he has made in e-mails to the clerk.
86.2005 - Planning applications:
86.1 Office extension for Lydford Primary School – It was noted that this had been approved by DNPA.
87.2005 - Items raised for inclusion on the
September agenda:
87.1 None raised.
88.2005 - To agree the date of the next
meeting:
88.1 The date of Tuesday 20th September 2005 was agreed commencing at 7.00pm
There being no further business the meeting was formally closed by the
Chairman at 9.15 pm.
DG Evans
Clerk to the Parish Council 27 July 2005
Signed as a true and accurate record……………………Date………………….
(Mr S Powne - Chairman)