There was a meeting of Chawleigh Parish Council on Wednesday 25th August 2021 at 7.30pm held in the Chawleigh Village Hall.
Members Present: Parish Councillors Steve Godley (Chairman); Daphne Cockram; Jan Flavin; Henry Martin; Andrea Huxley; Bert Batty.
Also Present: No-one
In attendance: Rob Martin, Locum Clerk
No members of the general public.
.
MINUTES:
| 2122-54 | APOLOGIES Apologies were received from Cllr. Stuart Swift and District/County Cllr. Clive Eginton. |
| 2122-55 | DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST (PECUNIARY AND NON-PECUNIARY) Non-pecuniary interests were declared by: The Chairman in relation to anything on the playing fieldCllr. Cockram in relation to anything on the playing fieldCllr. Flavin whose husband was involved with the CCT |
| 2122-56 | MINUTES OF LAST MEETINGS On a proposal by Cllr. Batty, seconded by Cllr. Flavin, the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 1st July 2021 were approved with minor alterations as a correct record. |
| 2122-57 | COUNCIL REPORTS a) Clerk’s Report – the Clerk reported that: 1. Cllr. Batty had questioned the existence of a reserve for the P3 grant money received to date and not spent. The analysis of reserves to be circulated following the meeting shows how the current balance is spread between the Earmarked Reserves and the General Reserve – with a new P3 Reserve showing the balance of £550 Earmarked (ie £400 last year plus £150 this year). 2. The Noticeboard has been ordered and delivery is expected on 25th October 2021. This will be paid for upon delivery. 3. The Finger Post sign has been ordered and this will come upon payment of £991.08 (including VAT). The sign needs to be approved as drawn. This was Approved. 4. The Trustees for the Playing Field Charity have now been changed to current councillors on the CC website. The accounts will be put on shortly. 5. Communication received from a resident wanting adapted affordable housing, which was then passed to the CCT for their consideration. 6. The Illegal Road Entrance matter was raised with MDDC, with the conclusion that they were about to enact their enforcement following legal approval to do so. 7. The Plandscape quotation for weed spraying had been received, for £100 excl VAT, and I would suggest that the Clerk (+Chairman) are delegated authority to accept this. This action was Agreed. b) Chairman’s Report 1. Laura is no longer acting as caretaker. Her replacement has been taken on £5 a day, amounting to £152.08 per month as contractor. Job Description Supplies from shop 2. The Playing Field Committee AGM is Monday 6th September at 6.30pm and everyone is welcome to attend. 3. Weed Spraying contract with Plandscape will be set up. c) Other Councillor Reports 1. Cllr. Flavin had been informed that there was paint peeling from the toilet windows in the village hall and the Chairman undertook to sort that out. She had also heard that some hedging was overhanging a footpath which would be reported on the Highways website. 2. Cllr. Batty had been approached about potholes that were affecting the ability of a resident to use, even for short distances. This would be reported on the Highways website. He also reported that the overgrown hedge at the entrance to Shooting Lane was still a problem, which he would also report on the website as an individual. 3. Cllr. Martin also reported a number of highways matters, including a street light that was permanently on. Once more these would be reported. |
| 2122-58 | CHAWLEIGH COMMUNITY TRUST (CCT) The Chairman reported the enquiry for an adapted property as part of the project had been passed to all of the relevant organisations involved. There have been a variety comments on the planning application, both positive and negative including one from the police about the proximity to neighbours. Things might be changed as a result. |
| The Chairman declared the meeting out of session to allow updates from District and County Councillors and questions from any members of the public | |
| 2122-59 | PUBLIC AND OTHER BODIES’ SESSION District Cllr. Eginton was not able to be present but had emailed two reports: Further to the discussion at the last meeting re S106 monies and schemes I can confirm the following: 1. The last payment made to Chawleigh PC was on 26/11/19 for £4,835 for the purchase of a free standing slide and table tennis table. 2. £3,615 is currently available and there are 2 approved projects for the monies to be spent on: a. Improvements to Chawleigh playing field and other public space within the parish of Chawleigh to include the provision and refurbishment of play and exercise equipment and open space furniture, fencing, surfacing and associated paraphernalia (reference 20/00049/PROJECT) b. Provision of trim trail equipment and associated paraphernalia for Chawleigh playing field and other public open space within the parish of Chawleigh (reference 20/00048/PROJECT) There is a total of £36,387 allocated. The £3,615 available now , and a further £1,442 pending commencement of developments. The remainder comes from the erection of 26 dwellings at The Barton (off Bells Close ). However the remainder is not due until the occupation of the first property and is subject to change depending on the number of properties built and other factors. Under my agenda item the only other matter that I would like to raise is that the Public Spaces Protection Order has now been adopted. The points to raise are: 1. Public space is defined as land within Mid Devon which is open to the air including covered land open on at least one side, to which the public are entitled and permitted to have access. 2. If a dog defecates at any time the person in charge of the dog must remove the faeces from the land forthwith. 3. The person in charge of the dog must have the appropriate means to pick up the faeces and must produce this if required to do so by an authorised officer or policeman. 4. The number of dogs a person can be in control of in a public space is 6. 5. A fixed penalty if £100 will be reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days . Refusal to pay the fixed penalty can result in court action and a fine of up to £1000 could be imposed. The Chairman requested the Clerk to contact Cllr. Eginton to see whether this was in the public domain and, if so, how should it be presented so that it could be put in the local magazine. There were no members of the public present. |
| The Chairman declared the meeting open | |
| 2122-60 | DEFIBRILLATOR GROUP Cllr. Huxley reported that having ascertained that the parish council would be able to oversee and ring-fence the finances of the group as a parish council working party, the group still had to consider whether they wanted to operate in this way. |
| 2122-61 | FOOTPATH WORKS Cllr. Batty reported that the two-part gate had been installed and that an invoice had been received in the sum of £622.80, slightly above the original estimate, but an extra £150 of P3 grant had been received to cover this. |
| 2122-62 | POPPY APPEAL The parish council had been asked what it was going to do about the fact that there was no-one available to do door to door poppy sales this year. The Parish Council believed that this was not a matter for it to solve and Resolved to make its usual donation to the appeal, but not be involved in recruiting volunteers. |
| 2122-63 | SHOP NOTICEBOARD It was Resolved that the parish council should replace this noticeboard and the matter would be pursued before the next meeting at which a quotation(s) would be presented and a decision made. |
| 2122-64 | WEBSITE Cllr. Swift was not present to report on this. The Clerk needed to be trained in updating the website, to ensure it is kept up to date. |
| 2122-65 | WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT Cllr. Huxley would produce an accessibility statement for the website. |
| 2122-66 | ONLINE BANKING The Chairman reported that the Parish Council was now able to use online banking, at least it would be able to once the necessary card reader and accessibility codes were received. The Chairman would ensure that the Clerk was added as a signatory and would then pass all of the information to the Clerk. |
| 2122-67 | SHOP STORAGE The Chairman had talked to Jane at the shop about additional storage. Her suggestion had been to use the loft space for storage, but there were many health and safety issues with this. The alternative would be to install an ‘office container’, much like a shipping container only smaller (5ft 11 wide, 7ft tall and 7ft deep). There was a space on the shop site where this could be installed which would just need to be levelled to accommodate it. The cost of providing this from John Elworthy would be £2,795 (excl VAT), plus £50 delivery and this compared favourably with similar provision elsewhere. Further quotations will be obtained in time for the next meeting. The idea would be to include such a container as Parish Council property and include it within the lease. The funds for this would come from the Shop Account, containing the rent from the lessee and standing at £10,546.24 currently, meaning there is no charge to the precept. It was Resolved in principle that this would be the best way forward. Further quotations would be obtained before a final decision is made, which would be aimed for the next meeting. |
| 2122-68 | DRAINAGE OUTSIDE BUTTS COTTAGE Cllr. Martin had circulated two pictures showing the flooding situation before and after the drain had been jetted. It is quite obvious that the jetting has been ineffective and that more drastic solution is required. The Clerk is to send the picture in his overall submission to County Councillor Margaret Squire. |
| 2122-69 | QUEEN ELIZABETH II PLATINUM JUBILEE 2022 The Chairman proposed that the parish council fund items for the celebration for a sum of up to £500, which was seconded by Cllr. Martin, which was unanimously Resolved. |
| 2122-70 | BANK RECONCILIATION The Clerk had not received the bank statements for June 2021, so a reconciliation could not be provided. This would be resolved when online banking was working and the Clerk undertook to circulate the reconciliation and other financial statements at that time. |
| 2122-71 | RECEIPTS & PAYMENTS TO DATE COMPARED TO BUDGET The statement of Receipts and Payments compared to Budgets was also not available until the reconciliation was done. |
| 2122-72 | RECEIPTS & PAYMENTS SCHEDULE On a proposal by Cllr. Batty, seconded by Cllr. Flavin, the payments in the table below were unanimously Approved |
| PAYMENTS Payment to Services Amount £ Payment No. 2020/2021 Caretaker – August 2021 142.27 SO RJ Martin Locum Clerk – July 2021 385.80 1546 TK Play Table Tennis Table 1,840.80 1547 The Sign Maker Finger Posts 991.08 1548 Ian Woollacott Installation of PROW Gate 622.80 1549 Plandscape Grass Cutting 315.00 1550 RECEIPTS Receipt from Services Amount £ Method 2020/2021 Devon County Council P3 Grant 150.00 BAC Chawleigh Shop Rent – June 2021 170.76 BAC Chawleigh Shop Rent – July 2021 213.45 BAC NatWest Bank Interest – June 2021 0.04 BAC NatWest Bank Interest – July 2021 0.03 BAC Payment items in bold will be made following the meeting. | |
| 2122-73 | PLANNING APPLICATIONS To consider the following Planning Applications and to agree comments: Reference 21/01289/LBC Location Leaches House Chawleigh Chulmleigh Devon EX18 7HH Proposal Listed Building Consent for renovation works to barn Decision: No comment |
| Decisions made by Mid Devon District Council since the last meeting Reference Location Proposal Decision None | |
| 2122-74 | DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting of Chawleigh Parish Council is to be on Wednesday 29th September 2021, at 7pm in Chawleigh Village Hall. The following meeting will be scheduled for Wednesday 10th November 2021. |
| 2122-75 | CONFIDENTIAL MATTERS Section 1 paragraph 2 of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 stipulates that a council may, by resolution, exclude the public from a meeting (whether during the whole or part of the proceedings) whenever publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted or for other special reasons stated in the resolution and arising from the nature of that business or of the proceedings. The Council Resolved to close the meeting to the public and press on the basis of confidential personal details that need to be considered. |
| 2122-76 | MEETING CLOSURE The public section of the meeting closed at 8.pm. |
Signed:………………………
Print: S GODLY
Date: 29/09/2021
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