WIDECOMBE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of a meeting of the Parish Council
held on Thursday 7 July 2016
in Church House, Widecombe
Present: Councillor Booty (Chairman), Fenton, Morley, Routley, Southcombe, Tempest & Welby
Also present: County Cllr Gribble, District Cllr Jeffrey
Members of the Public: There were no members of the public present.
Clerk: Suzanna Hughes
4013 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
 Cllr R Newbolt-Young
 Cllr R Whale
4014 OPEN FORUM
There were no members of the public present.
4015 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST & REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATIONS
Councillors were reminded of their responsibility to continually update their Notice of Registerable Interests and to declare any disclosable interests, including the nature and extent of such interests they have in any items to be considered at this meeting. Unforeseen requests for a Dispensation to be considered at this point only if there was no way a Councillor would have been aware of such before the meeting.
There were no declarations of interest or requests for dispensation.
4016 RATIFICATION OF MINUTES
The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 6 June 2016 were approved and signed by the
Chairman as a true and correct record.
4017 POLICE REPORT
No report.
4018 COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
Cllr Gribble reported on the launch of the Tour of Britain last Monday to publicise the event. Devon will be
hosting a stage of the event on Friday 9 September finishing at Haytor.
Members from Leusdon reported that they had been woken by a road sweeper on two separate occasions operating at 2am in Lower Town. Cllr Gribble did not know the reason for this and would make enquiries.
4019 DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
Cllr Jeffery reported that he had attended a meeting of TDC last Monday. The current main issue is the cleanliness of the streets and the dustbins. He advised that the recycling leaflet which was distributed to every household sets out how boxes should be stacked to prevent rubbish from blowing out. He advised that no landfill is going to sites now. Finally, he reported that 303 people were questioned about how they have been treated by TDC. The results showed 180 had been fairly treated, 47 had not been fairly treated and 76 had no opinion.
4020 DELEGATE REPORTS
Cllr Tempest reported that she had attended the Church House Management AGM. The new Chair is Michael
Pascoe. The lease on Church House lease will run out in approximately 5 years and a National Trust agent has
been invited to talk about that at the next meeting. At present there is no Dartmoor manager for the National
Trust. It is thought that a new hall could be developed within the next 4-5 years. If this is the case, it is hoped to
keep Church House as well but only if financially viable.
4021 MATTERS ARISING
(a) Annual Walkabout
Members received an update on items raised on the walkabout:
 Trees on the Green - Simon Tame will continue as Tree Warden. He has instructed Rupert Baker to carry out a survey of the trees on the Green which has now been completed. In
conclusion, the report states that although two of the trees have risk ratios worse than 1:1million, the assessed level of risk, at 1:400,000, is low enough that they may be retained as they are for the present, since the cost of remedial works would be disproportionate, and the work likely to be counterproductive in terms of the loss of vigour and ability to resist further decay. The other trees on the Green are sufficiently sound and healthy to be retained as they are. It is recommended that the next survey be carried out in 18 months time, during the late autumn/early winter of 2017.
A question was also raised about the insurance. The clerk advised that the insurers have confirmed that the Parish Council is covering the maintenance and inspection adequately enough for purposes of insurance cover. The Parish Council will be covered under the public liability if the trees caused damage or injury to a third party.
Cllr Fenton raised the point again about whether there were too many trees on the Green as it was becoming dark and overcrowded. It was agreed that the clerk should contact Brian Beasley, DNPA, to establish the legalities of removing any of the trees including the requirement for planning permission etc. In the meantime, members agreed to have a closer look at the trees on the Green for further discussion at the next meeting.
 Sandbag store – the clerk advised that she had sent a short article to the Parish Link to remind parishioners about the facility and how it can be accessed. A notice had also been stuck on the store with the contact numbers of the key holders.
 TDC has been contacted about the fence at the bottom of the car park which still needs repairing to prevent sheep are escaping from the adjacent field. An officer has looked at it and quotations are now being sought.
 TDC has been contacted to request that a fence is erected between the car park and the section of the field just beyond the inner gate to prevent sheep from entering the field. It was unclear whether this was TDC’s responsibility and a photograph has been requested to confirm location.
 Parish Field – the clerk advised that she had emailed Matt Storrs about the jobs in the Parish Field which were identified on the walkabout and was awaiting a response.
 DNPA has been contacted about the willow hedge near North Hall field which needs cutting back and the small group of trees consisting of oak and sycamore which require either removing or cutting back. The clerk is waiting to hear back from Brian Beasley, DNPA, so that a meeting can be arranged.
 DCC has been informed about the overgrown vegetation near the tennis court and this will be pursued.
(b) Connecting Devon and Somerset
Six members of the Parish Council attended a meeting with Airband at DNPA on 27 June, the purpose of which was to discuss the implications of the withdrawal of the Primms Cottage application for an Airband Telecoms mast. Six other locations were suggested and Airband will now contact the land owners to establish whether a mast could be erected. The notes of the meeting will be circulated by the Chair of Buckland-in-the-Moor Parish Council in due course. Cllr Fenton thought that it was important for parishioners to be informed of the radiation impact of the Airband masts and what kind of signal is being beamed. [Members had been informed that exposure to radio frequencies is lower or comparable to the exposure from TV and radio transmitters.]
(c) Defibrillator
Cllr Southcombe reported that she was hoping to have some more information for this meeting but had not yet made contact with those who could advise. It was hoped this information would be available for the next meeting at which a decision could be made about how to proceed.
(d) Strimming around the village
Members agreed that Geoff Partridge should be asked to carry out the strimming around the village as in previous years.
(e) Tour of Britain cycle race –
Members received confirmation that DCC is hosting a stage of the event on Friday 9 September finishing at Haytor.
(f) Blackdown Piper Farm
It was noted that there had been no further communication regarding the recent planning application at this location.
4022 PLANNING
(a) New applications:
(i) 0322/16 – Linhay Hill Quarry, Ashburton
Members agreed to support this application.
(ii) 0288/16 – Certificate of Lawfulness application for the change of use to residential dwelling at Coach House, Pitt Park, Widecombe
Members had no objections to this application.
(b) Decisions:
(I) 0229/16 - Single-storey garden room extension at Drywell Farm, Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Members noted that DNPA has refused to grant planning permission
4023 FINANCE AND GOVERNANCE
(a) Payments for approval:
The following payments were approved:
 Cheque no 000921 - Clerk’s salary and disbursements (July & August) - £470.71
 Cheque no 000922 - HMRC (PAYE) - £149.60
 Cheque no 000923 - Event Hire Solutions (portable toilets balance) - £171.90
 Cheque no 000924 - Rupert Baker (tree report) - £295.85
4024 HIGHWAYS
There were no new highways issues.
The clerk advised that DCC Highways Officer, Scott Riddell, is aware of the issue at Blackaton Manor which was reported last month and this will be sorted although it will take a bit of time as it requires a road closure. He has also visited Cator but was unable to spot anything that was a defect. He identified a low patch beside the small bridge but this is not considered a defect and doesn’t look as though it will worsen.
4025 CORRESPONDENCE
(a) Members received further correspondence from Dartmoor Commoners Council re straying sheep and boundary maintenance. The Commoners Council is unable to give the Parish Council the name and contact details of the owner of the sheep. Further, the issue of the poor perimeter fencing on the land at Coombe Farm that abuts Widecombe Common was bought to Council’s attention in March of last year and they have been trying to address this. Members were also informed that the Commoners Council is in the process of trying to arrange a site meeting to address some of the issues regarding straying sheep & fencing against the common. A representative from the Parish Council will be invited to attend this meeting.
(b) Members received and noted a letter from St John the Baptist Church, Leusdon, thanking the Parish Council for the grant received
4026 MATTERS OF INFORMATION AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIRMAN
Cllr Routley reported a car which had been parked for 3 weeks on a grass verge opposite Leusdon Memorial Hall. Details of the vehicle were given to the clerk so that it could be reported to the police.
Cllr Tempest reminded members that there will be an afternoon tea at Leusdon Memorial Hall on 22 July. The Annual Fun Day will take place on the Village Green on 19 August.
There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 8.33pm.
Signed ………………………………………….. Dated ……………………………………….
The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on 1 September 2016 at 7.30pm