WIDECOMBE PARISH COUNCIL
                                     Minutes of a meeting of the Parish Council held on Thursday 5 October 2017 in Church House, Widecombe
Present: Councillor Newbolt-Young (Chairman), Booty, Fenton, Hassell, Lomax, Morley, Routley & Welby
Members of the Public: Nine (including three representatives from the Widecombe History Group)
Clerk: Suzanna Hughes
4191 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
 Cllr J Southcombe
 Cllr M Welby
 District Cllr Jeffery
4192 OPEN FORUM
Roger Claxton gave a presentation on behalf of Widecombe History Group about their project to restore the old pig house and create a memorial garden.
Why do it?
The land was gifted to the WHG.
Pig houses are worth preserving. Few survive in Widecombe and they were an important part of village life.v Also an opportunity to provide a small but important piece of open space for public use.
Background
The pig house site was originally offered to WHG in 2013 for the Heritage Centre but it was too small for any sort of building.
The owners offer still stood.
Pictures comparing the building in 2013 and 2017 show that the building is deteriorating quite rapidly.
Aims and objectives
Open to the public and accessible to all
Light touch restoration
In-keeping
Maximise site richness – inform about rural skills, plants etc
Long term sustainability
Current situation
WHG owns the land
Security fencing is in place
Public liability insurance is in place
Full planning permission is required
Grant applications have been made
Funding
Indications of grant support given by Parishscapes and Dartmoor Community Fund
Noticeboard will be funded by MTMTE
Sign will be provided by ‘Welcome to Widecombe’
Widecombe Fair charity this year
Pig House
Light touch
New roof timbers and replacement slates
Repointed (lime mortar) and repaired stonework
New oak doors to match old door
New heritage door fittings
Clear acrylic panels to view interior
The interior will be cleaned and will house artefacts and items of local historical interest
Inside of door will have Welcome to Widecombe information panel.
Possible rubbing post?
Garden
Open to public
Two oak or granite benches
Noticeboard, table, rubbish bin, paved area
Stream crossing
The crossing is the only access to the site
DCC consent required for changes to the stream and crossing
DCC will approve a culverted crossing
Current clearance between stream and bottom of existing sleepers is only 10-12.5cm
Stream currently lined attractively with bricks and WHG would rather not change
Current aim is therefore to erect a flat wooden bridge approx 1.3m wide (after discussion this will probably be wider)
Other points The sycamore overhanging the pig house will be trimmed
Replace chain and post arrangement on the roadside with granite boulders
Bat inspection has been carried out and is clear. Intend to introduce some bat-friendly features once completed.
All work is to be done in consultation with the owners of 2 Manor Cottages.
Maintenance
WHG volunteers will maintain the site
Rubbish will be cleared regularly
The Chairman thanked Roger for the informative presentation which was much appreciated. The planning application had now been received by the Parish Council and would be discussed at the next meeting.
4193 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATION
Members 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.
Cllr Booty declared an interest in item 5000 (a)(i).
4194 RATIFICATION OF MINUTES
Members received the minutes of the meeting of 7 September 2017 which were approved and signed by the Chairman as a true and correct record.
4195 POLICE REPORT
No report.
4196 COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
Cllr Gribble reported difficulties with cattle grids. Fencing, sign posts and gates have recently been damaged by stolen vehicles. Newbridge has been knocked again and DCC will be checking CCTV. Hedge trimming is now being undertaken.
Cllr Morley advised that he had received a phone call from a parishioner asking what course of action can be taken for preventing animals onto the roads in and around the village. Whilst this issue had been raised with the Parish Council previously and the Parish Council had responded, the latest incident involved two cattle that have been grazing the verges of Bonehill Lane for the past few days and one chased/attacked the parishioner and his dog whilst walking in the lane. He is therefore concerned that one day himself, his wife, or someone else will be injured. A discussion ensued and the Chairman advised that cattle have straying rights. It was suggested that the parishioner contacts Dartmoor Commoners Council. County Cllr Gribble confirmed that DCC does not have the funds to install new cattle grids.
4197 DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
Cllr Jeffery was not able to attend the meeting but had advised the clerk that he was meeting with Acting Chief Executive of TDC on 7 November to look around his ward. He would be happy to raise any issues councillors have on their behalf. A question was asked about TDC’s recycling statistics and how much of what is sent for recycling is actually recycled. The clerk was asked to contact Cllr Jeffery for some more information.
4198 DELEGATE REPORTS
No reports.
4199 MATTERS ARISING
(a) Widecombe Fair
(i) Members understood that this year’s Fair had been a success. This was supported by the secretary of Widecombe Fair Committee who informed members that she is very happy with the new arrangements. The trade stands covered the fee paid to the Parish Council. A draft contract had been drawn up for next year but it was agreed to defer discussion about this until WFC had discussed it.
(ii) The Chairman read a letter from Mr & Mrs Raymond asking the Parish Council to broker a compromise allowing WFC to use the greens and for Raymond Amusements to use Mr Way’s car park, subject to his agreement. The letter also expressed disappointment over the way they had been treated by the WFC on the day of the Fair. The secretary of the WFC was not aware of this and apologised. In response to the correspondence, members were of the opinion that the system worked well and would like to encourage Raymond Amusements to come back. However, they will have to make their own arrangements with Mr Way.
(b) Communication sign up page
(i) Cllr Hassell advised that he had been working with Roger Claxton to finalise a means of easily communicating with parishioners. He showed members a copy of the proposed sign up page which members approved. Cllr Morley offered to help Cllr Hassell with the project.
(ii) Cllr Hassell proposed that the Parish Council makes a contribution to The History Group towards the cost of hosting and running Widecombe website. He presented some cost comparisons from other parishes about their hosting costs. The average cost is around £220 per year. Members expressed their thanks to Roger Claxton and his team for the excellent website and for uploading the Parish Council’s documents. It was agreed to make a grant of £120. This would be reviewed annually.
(c) Tree Survey
Members were reminded that they had been advised by Rupert Baker in his report in June 2016 to carry out a survey of the trees on the green in late autumn 2017. It was agreed to do this after the tree work had been completed by Geoff Partridge.
(d) Defibrillator
Members were advised that Teign Heartbeat would be carrying out training in Church House on 16 October at 7.00pm.
(e) Mobile Phone Coverage
Members were asked to consider a proposal by EE to take part in a project to improve mobile phone coverage in Widecombe using micro cells. It was agreed to explore the proposal further.
(f) Hazards of Horse Riding
Members received correspondence from a parishioner about the hazards of horse riding and noted the response which had been received from DNPA.
(g) Moor than Meets the Eye
Cllr Fenton reported that Phase 1 of Welcome to Widecombe is complete and signs are now in place in the church, pubs and cafes (£17,000). Phase 2 involves signs in the church about the bells and bell ringers, a possible sign in the lych gate, a sign at the restored piggery and installation of the rubbing posts. A ’Walk around Widecombe’ book will be produced in due course and possibly a blank booklet with wax crayons for rubbings.
(h) Rural Skip
Members were reminded that the Rural Skip will be located in the car park on Saturday 7 October, 10am-4pm.
4200 PLANNING
(a) New applications/appeals:
(i) 0480/17 - Erection of a general purpose agricultural barn with hardstanding at Land at Higher Sherwell,Poundsgate Members agreed to support this application.
(ii) 17/0055 - Proposed tree works, Widecombe Green It was noted that this application had been submitted by the Parish Council and was therefore supported.
(b) Decisions:
(i) 0358/17 - Erection of livestock shed at Great Cator Farm, Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Members noted that DNPA has granted conditional planning permission.
(ii) 0359/17 - Erection of lean-to on existing shed (46m x 6m) at Great Cator Farm, Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Members noted that DNPA has granted conditional planning permission.
(iii) 0500/16 - Works relating to a change of use to form residential educational centre, including the conversion of existing buildings and erection of new, for residential educational purposes and demolition of existing and erection of new farm buildings, East Shallowford Farm, Widecombe-in-the-Moor Members noted that DNPA has granted conditional planning permission.
4201 FINANCE AND GOVERNANCE
Members received and approved the following payments for approval:
 Cheque no 000961 - Clerk’s salary and disbursements - £243.97
 Cheque no 000962 - HMRC (PAYE) - £150.80
 Cheque no 000963 - G Partridge (Strimming work around the village) - £300
4202 HIGHWAYS
Members noted the dates of this year’s Parish and Town Council Highways Conference.
4203 CORRESPONDENCE
Members noted that the Dartmoor Devil Cycle Ride will be held on Sunday 29 October and passes through the
parish on both the outward and return legs.
4204 MATTERS OF INFORMATION AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIRMAN
None.
There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 9.15pm.
Signed ………………………………………….. Dated ……………………………………….
The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Thursday 2 November 2017 at 7.30pm.