Draft Minutes of Bridford Parish Council Meeting 8th January 2018

Minutes of a meeting of Bridford Parish Council held at Bridford Village Hall on Monday 8th January 2018 at 7.00pm
Present: Cllrs F Miles (Chairperson), G Hearnden, E Price, A Lord, R Dowding, J Padgham, T Evans, Mrs J P Banks (Clerk). Cnty Cllr Jerry Brook attended for part of the meeting. No members of the public were in attendance.
1		Apologies: Dst Cllr Amanda Ford
2		Declarations of Interest – none
3		Public Discussion – no items for discussion
MATTERS ARISING
4		Minutes – the Parish Council resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 4th December 2017 as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
5		Allotments – there is one annual rental due 1st October 2017, still outstanding. Three half plots remain vacant.
6		Play Area – Table Tennis Project. The Clerk has received an offer to level the ground at no charge, in preparation for the installation of the table tennis table. A letter will be sent to officially accept the offer. Dst Cllr Ford kindly agreed a grant of £600 towards the project which has been credited to the PC bank account. A grant of £1,000 has been requested from Cnty Cllr Brook and an application has been made to Teignbridge for monies from the Electors Fund, however, it will not be known if we are successful from this source until after the closing date on 2nd February.
7		Bridford Hill and Snow Warden – the new set up with Anne Mayes at the helm of the Snow Warden team appears to be working well. The gritter is now back under cover again and a further supply of salt has been delivered. It would be good if residents who live in the vicinity of a grit bin could treat the area outside of their own properties and those of less able bodied neighbours. Volunteer team to be asked not to re-fill the grit bins from salt supplies provided for the gritter. DCC has a website where anyone can report an empty grit bin and request a re-fill. Details will be published in Unity.
8		Grit Bins – the grit bin at the top of Neadon Lane has been put back in place and refilled.
9		Village Garden – it is hoped a meeting will be arranged soon to organise a re-planting programme. There are some funds earmarked which could be put towards this.
10		Parish Footpaths – most of the Parish footpaths have now been walked by the Parish Councillors. The state of the track through the plantation by Clampitt House was notified to DNPA who replied that on completion of the work, the owner of the land should make good efforts to reinstate the track to the condition it was before the work was started. Cllr Dowding raised concerns over a two storey structure under tarpaulin observed during one of his walks along the river from Steps Bridge. It has been reported that the footpath around Hedgemoor is obscured by two fallen trees and a whole fence is down. Cllr Hearnden will telephone the owners of the property to see if they are aware.
ANY OTHER MATTERS ARISING
11	Meetings Attended by Parish Councillors – Cllr Dowding attended a Standards Committee meeting in conjunction with TALC. It was reported that bullying is a growing problem within different levels of Government. Cllr Miles attended a meeting of Bridford Trust. A drone film of the Trust land is being made and Cllr Miles is to provide the commentary. Cllrs Miles and Dowding attended a site meeting with DNPA officials at Blackenstone Cottage to meet with the owners and to discuss the planning application.
12	District Councillors Report – apologies received from Dst Cllr Ford. Nothing to report as there have been no District Council meetings since Christmas. Overview and Scrutiny meetings are on 15th January.
Cnty Cllr Jerry Brook joined the meeting at 7.30pm – the Chairperson welcomed him and invited him to speak
13	County Councillors Report – Cnty Cllr Brook did not have anything new to report. The Chairperson put two questions to him in connection with the decision to remove Bridford from the primary gritting route – 1. How is the population assessment made and are the outlying properties which use Bridford Hill for access, taken into consideration? 2. Is there a risk assessment in the event of Bridford being totally cut off by severe weather and the volunteer Snow Warden team not being able to cope, or is there a template which could be used for the Parish Council to do its own? Cllr Brook will put the questions to Devon County Council. Work is progressing with the Teign Valley road works and all is going to schedule.
Cnty Cllr Brook left the meeting at 7.45pm
PLANNING
For Discussion
The following two applications were discussed at the December meeting with the agreement that Cllr Dowding would formulate responses for approval by the Parish Council. Reponses have been submitted to DNPA
14		Cedar House, Bridford – re erection of standalone garage (DNPA ref 0575/17). Objection. Copy of PC Planning Committee’s report submitted to DNPA
15		Robertsacre Farm, Bridford – Prior Notification re erection of agricultural building (20m x 10m) (DNPA ref 0579/17). Objection. Copy of PC Planning Committee’s Report submitted to DNPA
16		Any planning items for discussion since publication of the agenda The Parish Council has many concerns over recent planning applications where there does not appear to be any consistency or transparency with regards to decisions made by DNPA. The Parish Council will send a letter of James Aven at DNPA.
For Information
17		Robertsacre Farm, Bridford – letter of approval from DNPA re Prior Notification of erection of agricultural building (20m x 10m) (DNPA ref 0579/17)
18		Cedar House, Bridford – re stand alone double garage (DNPA ref 0575/17). Application has been withdrawn
19		Any planning items for information received since publication of the agenda – none
FINANCE & ACCOUNTS
20		Account balances as at 4th December 2017 Current account Investment account	£5,373.86 £3,745.34 £9,119.20
21		INCOME S Newman allotment rent plot 3 Bank interest November 2017 TDC Dst Cllr Grant to assist Table Tennis project	£ 30.00 £ 0.16 £ 600.00 £ 630.16
22		EXPENDITURE Mrs J P Banks re December salary HMRC re Clerk’s PAYE quarter ended 5th January 2018	£ 200.93 £ 150.80 £ 351.73
23		Account balances as at 8th January 2018 Current account Investment account	£5,652.13 £3,745.50 £9,397.63
24		(Balances include earmarked funds: £120 refundable allotment deposits / £1,063 Play Area / £67.50 Village Garden / £136.76 textile bank)
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
The Parish Council resolved to accept the accounts and approve the expenditure. Cllr Dowding, delegated by the Chairperson, checked the invoices to the cheque book and the reconciliation to the bank statement.
25		Nomination for the Royal Garden Party – it was suggested that Cllr Lord should be nominated to go into the draw for one of the four places offered to attend the Queen’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
26		Any items for discussion received since publication of the agenda – none
ITEMS FOR INFORMATION
27		Notice of Road Closures B3193 Teign Valley Road and update re current works. The B3193 will be closed from 8.30am – 3.30pm from 9th – 11th and 15th – 16th January 2018. The stability of the highway to the north of this site is currently being assessed and may require stabilisation works in the near future. Local residents and businesses will be informed of any impending works.
28		Any items for information received since publication of the agenda – none
29		Public Discussion – Cllr Dowding asked that letters of thanks be sent to those involved with the Village Christmas tree, in particular Tom French who donated the tree and Mr & Mrs Douthwaite who donated the electricity to power the fairy lights. Thanks will also be made through Unity magazine. A comment was made about a caravan at Carol’s Corner. There are calor gas bottles outside which suggest that somebody might be living there. DNPA will be informed.
30		Date of next meeting – The next meeting will be held on Monday 5th February 2018 at 7.00pm in the upstairs room of the Village Hall

		Original copy of minutes signed by the Chairperson 5th February 2018

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