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Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Widecombe Parish Council Minutes
WIDECOMBE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of a meeting of the Parish Council held on Thursday 1 October 2015 in Church House, Widecombe
Present: Councillor Newbolt-Young (Chairman), Booty, Fenton, Morley, Routley and Tempest
Members of the Public: None
Clerk: Suzanna Hughes
OPEN FORUM
There were no members of the public present.
3897 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
• Cllr R Whale
• District Cllr Jeffery
• County Cllr Gribble
3898 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Members were reminded of their responsibility to update their Notice of Registerable Interests and
were invited to state whether they have any interests in the items to be discussed during this meeting
in accordance with the council’s Code of Conduct.
• Cllr Tempest declared an interest in item 3905 (c) as Treasurer of the WDSG who lease the field from the Parish Council
• Cllr Tempest declared an interest in item 3907 (a)(iii) as a neighbour of the property
• Cllr Routley declared an interest in item 3907 (a) (i) as the property was once her family home
3899 REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATIONS
No requests were received.
3900 RATIFICATION OF MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council on 3 September 2015 were approved and signed by the
Chairman as a true and correct record.
3901 POLICE REPORT
No report.
3902 COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
No report.
3903 DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
No report.
3904 DELEGATE REPORTS
The Chairman reported that he and Roger Claxton had attended the presentation at Parke on 16 September about the ‘Connecting Dartmoor and Exmoor’ superfast broadband project which forms part of phase 2 of the Connecting Devon and Somerset programme.
3905 MATTERS ARISING
(a) Widecombe Fair 2015
It was reported that the Fair was a success. However, members raised concerns about the one-way system which was particularly effecting horse boxes and trailers leaving the Fair via Ponsworthy Bridge. Members also expressed concerns about ambiguous signage and it was suggested that Locks Cross should be manned in order to direct traffic. It was agreed that Cllr Fenton, as a member of the Widecombe Fair Committee, would feed these comments back.
(b) Housing Needs Survey
Members were informed that it was necessary to carry out a housing needs survey as the information provided by the Church following the recent advertising of one of their properties was insufficient. Members received a template and covering letter for their approval. A concern was raised that the form will only go to households in the parish and therefore excludes people who are in need of housing in the parish but currently live elsewhere. It was agreed that the clerk would seek clarification about how the survey reaches those people and whether it would be acceptable for members to give forms to people they know who are in this situation despite them currently living outside the parish.
(c) Lease of North Hall field
Following the expiry of the lease and licence on 31 August 2015 between the Parish Council and DNPA, members received correspondence confirming that the DNPA is keen to discuss with the Parish Council the future use and management of this land with a view to seeking a long-term agreement. The Authority also confirmed that it was happy to give permission to the Parish Council to continue in occupation and management of the land for the time being, on the basis that the terms and conditions of the former lease and licence will be observed as if binding. The clerk informed members that further correspondence had been received from DNPA’s Andrew Watson, Head of Recreation Access and Estates, advising that the Authority has just received the report of its land/property surveyor and he is hoping to discuss this with a couple of colleagues next week. He will then be able to come to the Parish Council with a couple of options/ideas towards the latter end of October.
(d) Defibrillator
The clerk advised that there was an article running in October’s Parish Link appealing for volunteers to help with the day to day maintenance of the device and to take part in some CPR training. Three parishioners have been in contact already expressing their interest in taking part in the training with one of those happy to help with the day to day maintenance of it. It was agreed to ask Cllr Whale to put together a report for the next meeting about how to take the project forward.
(e) New village hall
Members were informed that the Church House Committee wishes the Parish Council to arrange a public meeting to discuss how to take this project forward. Members were also informed that the pre-school had confirmed their support in principle and a member of the Committee would be interested in being involved in the project. . After a discussion, members agreed that they do not wish to lead on this project. Their immediate concerns are the amount of work involved in seeing this project through from start to finish, who will undertake the work and the issues associated with the ongoing maintenance and running of the building. Finding an appropriate location for a new building was also a concern.
Instead it was suggested that perhaps the Church House Committee could open discussions with the National Trust about a longer lease for the building to secure its long-term use for the community and also explore raising funds to improve the facilities in Church House. It was suggested that raising, for example, £50,000 to improve the existing building would be easier than raising ten times this amount for a new building. £50,000 would also go a long way towards improving things such as heating, lighting, electricity, sanitary, disabled access etc to transform Church House into a more usable space.
(f) DNPA – Statement of Community Involvement
Members had no comments.
(g) Dartmoor Devil Cycle Ride
Members noted that this will be passing through the parish on 25 October.
(h) Casual Vacancies
Members were reminded that the Council has two casual vacancies. Advertisements have been displayed with a view to co-opting in November’s meeting.
(i) Moor than Meets the Eye
Cllr Fenton informed members that there had been a meeting of local businesses attended by Andy Bailey (Moor than Meets the Eye). A brief is being put together for the promotional material and tenders will be sought by the end of the year with a view to starting the work at Easter. Another leaflet for the wider parish is also being considered. The meeting discussed the idea of a tour of the
significant buildings with each to have a plaque outside explaining their significance. Andy Bailey will check with DNPA whether this is feasible as it throws up possible planning issues. The meeting also discussed brown signs to encourage more visitors to Widecombe and Cllr Fenton was asked to seek the opinion and support of the Parish Council with regard to installation of brown signs. Brown signs can’t be funded by Moor than Meets the Eye. Members of the Parish Council explained that some years ago, DNPA and the County Council took the decision not to erect brown signs in order to limit the number of visitors to the moor and whilst they could empathise with businesses wishing to increase the number of visitors, members pointed out that they also represented the views of parishioners living in the parish who might not wish to see the number of visitors increase.
3906 FINANCE
(a) The following payments were approved:
Cheque no 000897 - Clerk’s salary and disbursements - £230.13 (October)
Cheque no 000898 - Matthew Way - £559
Cheque no 000899 - HMRC (PAYE) - £147.80
(b) The clerk informed members that Roger Claxton had created a new page on the website so that the documents which are needed to fulful the requirements of the Transparency Code can be uploaded. The Code is a requirement for smaller authorities (annual turnover < £25,000) to make information available for local people to increase democratic accountability. A link to the page has been created from the Parish Council’s page.
3907 PLANNING
(a) New applications/appeals
(i) 0468/15 – Replacement dwelling at Woodcott (formerly Spitchwick Bungalow), Spitchwick, Poundsgate
Members support the application.
(ii) 0456/15 – Replace roof with slate to outbuildings, extension to garage and store; timber cladding to store at The Old School House, Lower Dunstone, Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Members had no objections to this application.
(iii) 0447/15 – Replace existing sliding patio door with casement window and infill wall below the sill at Springdown, Poundsgate
Members had no objections to this application.
(iv) 0476/15 – Full reinstatement of the building to its original condition following a fire a Dunstone Cottage, Ladymeadow Terrace, Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Members support this application.
(b) Decisions
(i) 0394/15 – Trenching works for underground electricity cables at Dunstone Manor, Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Members noted that DNPA has granted conditional planning permission
3908 HIGHWAYS
(a) Cllr Fenton expressed a general concern about the number of broken and missing sign posts around the parish. It was agreed that the clerk would report this to DCC.
(b) Cllr Morley reported that the stile at the bottom of Widecombe Hill (church side) has broken. It was agreed that the clerk would ask Bill Allen, DNPA Ranger, to have a look at it.
To report a pothole:
Telephone: 0345 155 1004
Email: customer@devon.gov.uk
Online: www.devon.gov.uk/road_maintenance.htm
3909 CORRESPONDENCE
(a) Members received and noted a letter of thanks from Leusdon Memorial Hall for the grant received.
Other items for information only were placed in the circulation folder or emailed direct to members.
3910 MATTERS OF INFORMATION AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIRMAN
None.
There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 9.17pm.
Signed ………………………………………….. Dated ……………………………………….
THE NEXT MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL WILL BE HELD ON
THURSDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2015 AT 7.30pm
Members of the public and press are welcome to attend any Parish Council Meeting
and make comment before the start of the meeting.
The information on this page was last modified on October 30 2015 15:47:42.