Minutes of a meeting of Bridford Parish Council held on Monday 3rd February in the Village Hall at 7.00pm
Present: Cllrs S Purser (Chairman), G Hearnden, E Price, A Lord, D Goodwin Hughes, J Bingham, Mrs J P Banks (Clerk), Cnty Cllr J Brook attended for part of the meeting. No members of the public were present.
1 Apologies – Cllr T Evans
2 Declarations of Interest – Cllr Purser declared a personal interest in a late planning item 15a
3 Public Discussion – A Parish Councillor asked about the mud and water on the road at Plaistow Green. The Clerk confirmed that the owners of Seven Acres Farm have been asked to clear it. This prompted Councillors to mention other roads in the Parish requiring attention being the road between Plaistow Green and Blackingstone and the back road from Bridford to Christow. These details will be reported to Devon County Council online.
A Parish Councillor reported that the small piece of land opposite the phone box where the substation is situated is very overgrown and offered to cut it back. As it is not known who the land belongs to, the Parish Council gratefully accepted the offer.
A Parish Councillor pointed out that the road between Seven Acre Farm and Smithacott Cross is due to undergo patching repairs commencing 24th February and that while the heavily loaded timber lorries are still using this road on a regular basis it would seem pointless for this work to take place. The Parish Council has advised Highways.
MATTER ARISING
4 Minutes – the Parish Council resolved to approve the minutes of its meeting held on 6th January 2014 as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
5 Allotments – nothing to report
6 Play Area – nothing to report
7 Village Hall – work on the ceiling was due to commence on 3rd February. It is anticipated that the upstairs room will be back in action by February 14th.
8 Textile Recycling Bank – being well used. Has been emptied and the first load collected. Cllr Price will put a sign on the bank reminding users to put their textiles in plastic bags.
Reminder also to be put in Unity.
9 Sandbags – TDC has a satellite depot at Sheldon Lane, available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week for anybody who requires sandbags. Details to be published in Unity and on the website.
10 Blocked Gullies – the gullies on Bridford Hill have been dug out and cleared.
ANY OTHER MATTERS ARISING
10a Trees at top of Bridford Hill – the contractor has been asked to quote to cut back the overhanging trees. The Parish Councillors would clear it away. As this needs to be done before the end of the month, the Clerk will follow it up.
10b Snow Warden – a blog has been set up on the new Bridford website. Details of weather warnings can be found on both Facebook and the website. An ex Parishioner of the village has offered to pay for the high visibility jackets for the Snow Warden team of volunteers.
11 Meetings Attended by members of the Parish Council
Moretonhampstead Hospital meeting held on 28th January was attended by Cllr Lord and two Parishioners. A steering group has been set up which will meet monthly but to be
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effective will need links into the feeder Parish Councils as well as inputs from other stakeholders. A form has been issued detailing the proposed services to be available at the new ‘health hub’. To show support, the group needs this to be signed and accepted by as many people as possible in the catchment area. Bridford PC has delivered copies of this form to the majority of houses in the village.
TALC meeting attended by the Chairman. Stuart Barker (Assets &Budgets) and Lesley Tucker (Finance Officer) spoke about budgets and the pressure on budgets. The TDC element of council tax won’t rise.
PLANNING
Items for Discussion
The following item was dealt with between meetings due to the short timescales for comments
12 Lower Lowton Farm, Bridford – re proposed erection of livestock unit and covered yard (DNPA ref 0018/14) “The Parish Council has no objections but would expect to see any hedgerow removed as a result of the building works, to be replaced”.
13 Pound Cottage, Bridford – re proposed erection of two-storey extension and alterations to existing dwelling (DNPA ref. 0026/14) The Parish Council viewed the plans. Having already undertaken an earlier site visit “the Parish Council has no objections and is happy with the revised design”.
14 Seven Acre Farm, Bridford – failure to remove temporary agricultural workers dwelling
(DNPA ref ENF/0186/13). The Parish Council discussed and commented as follows:
“The Parish Council would normally suggest that DNPA should apply the relevant planning policies and procedures when considering this case. However, this farm forms an important part of the community. The Parish Council would not wish to see the loss of this enterprising business and hope that the Park can achieve a satisfactory outcome which enables the business to remain in the Parish”.
15 Any items received for discussion since publication of the agenda
Lowton Lane, Bridford – re proposed Certificate of Lawfulness for an existing use in respect of barn as mixed use (equine and agricultural) (DNPA ref. 0062/14). “The Parish Council has no objections”.
Many Waters, Bridford – re proposed erection of extensions to dwelling (following removal of existing extensions) (DNPA ref. 0060/14) Comments deferred pending site visit.
Searles, Bridford – re proposed extension to dwelling (DNPA ref. 0059/14). Comments deferred pending site visit.
Cllr J Brook joined the meeting at 7.45pm and standing orders were suspended to allow him to speak
The budget for the next three years is currently the topic of discussion. In the second tranche, the Government wants DCC to make savings of £100m. The Youth Services Review – there are currently seventeen full time employees providing for youth centres. DCC is still not competing with ‘in house’ care to what can be bought in the private sector. There are consultations in place to see what can be done. There is a desire to try and target a smallergroup of youngsters who would otherwise slip through the net entirely. The road network will take a hit this year. If it is decided to cap the precept, it will restrict what can be done within individual communities. Central Government has yet to advise what the final county budget will be. A Parish Councillor asked if the subsidised bus services are to be reviewed.
It is hoped to retain rural transport services as without these services, some communities will have nothing. There is a responsibility to ensure that the vulnerable are not left high and dry.
Cnty Cllr Brook mentioned one group of residents who has approached DCC with a request
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to repair their road themselves. A Parish Councillor referred to the proposed Moretonhampstead Hub and asked if it could also be used as a day centre. The Parish Councils will be kept informed over consultations.
The Chairman thanked Cnty Cllr Brook who left the meeting at 8.00pm when standing orders were resumed.
Items for Information
16 Venn Bridge Farm, Bridford – refusal of planning permission re agricultural storage building (15m x 9m) (DNPA ref 0551/13)
17 Any items for information received since publication of the agenda – none
FINANCE & ACCOUNT
18 Account balances as at 29th January 2014 – current account £3,480.96 and deposit account
£3,083.19 (balances include £851 earmarked for Play Area, & £150 balance of refundable deposits for allotments)
Balances allow for all expenditure and income detailed below.
19 Income
Bank Interest re December £ 0.25
20 Expenditure
Mrs J P Banks re Clerk’s salary for January 2014 £ 170.51
Mr R Clark reimbursement for purchase of new Christmas tree lights £ 49.99
Mr R Clark engraving of Best Kept Allotment trophy £ 7.65
Additional item for payment not on agenda
Information Commissioner re annual Data Protection subscription £ 35.00
The Parish Council resolved to approve the accounts and authorise the expenditure.
The Chairman checked the invoices to the cheque book and the reconciliation to the bank statement.
FOR DISCUSSION
21 Teignbridge Green Infrastructure Strategy consultation for a six week period closing on 7th March 2014. Draft publication has been circulated to Parish Councillors and the item will be on the March agenda.
22 Draft Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document for consultation. Circulated to Parish Councillors for comment by 28th February 2014.
23 Change of Date re combined annual Parish Meeting and annual Parish Council Meeting. This meeting will now take place on Wednesday 14th May 2014 at 7.00pm.
24 Any items for discussion received since the publication of the agenda
FOR INFORMATION
25 Bridford Website – quarterly report received from Jarrod Poynton, statistics show visitor numbers, where they are originating and what people are looking at.
26 Devon Countryside Access Forum – annual recruitment of members. Interest to be registered by 21st February 2014.
27 DCC suspension of services – due to the significant backlog on the minor road network, the following will remain suspended for the rest of the financial year: programmed gully clearing, lengthsmen visits, routine patching, planned cleaning of ditches and easements.
28 Rural Revitalization Conference – 26th June at Bristol University.
29 CPRE Teignbridge Seminar – 21st February Newton Abbot Racecourse
30 Warnings
The Police have received a report of two men in a blue Ford Transit wishing to sell a 2012 digger for £1,000. One of the men offered to remain if the digger is bought there and then,
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while the other would go away and collect it. Anyone with any information should call the Police on the non urgent 101 number quoting log 312 of 25th January 2014.
31 Any items for information received since publication of the agenda
Medical Records: Care data project – there is a Government / NHS initiative starting March 14th which will effectively upload patient’s confidential medical records to a central point, giving access to more departments. To get a balanced view, go to these two links which provide all the information and a template for opting out if you wish to.
http://medconfidential.org/how-to-opt-out/ http://www.care-data.info/
Tree Council’s Tree Futures – offers help for tree planting through two grants programmes,
‘Trees for Schools’ and ‘Community Trees’. National tree week 29 November to 7 December
2014 is the focus for these projects. Details from the Clerk.
Superfast Broadband – available for BT lines using the Christow cabinets 1, 2 & 4 and Moretonhampstead cabinet 5. Call your internet service provider to find out if they are providing a service to your property.
Rural Housing National Conference 2014 – 21 February 2014 at Cheltenham.
Community Fire Safety – fire officer appointed to be responsible for specific aspects of safety work within the local community. Details to be passed to all relevant businesses and organisations within the Parish.
32 District Councillors Report from Dst Cllr Stephen Purser. Budget cuts are currently the main topic of discussion.
33 Public Discussion – nothing further to discuss and the Chairman closed the meeting at 8.45pm
34 Date of next meeting – Monday 3rd March 2014 at the Village Hall. All are welcome.
…………………………………………………….Chairman 3rd March 2014
CORRESPONDENCE FOR CIRCULATION (Appendix A)
Newsletters
Healthwatch voices Winter 2013/14
Everyone’s Tomorrow Winter
Clerks & Councils Direct
Reports and Agendas
Dunsford PC December minutes
Christow PC December minutes
Devon Countryside Access Forum Annual Report 2012/13
Letters sent
Various
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