Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
Held on Wednesday 9 September 2009
In the Meeting Point, High Bickington at 7.30pm

Present:
Myc Riggulsford (Chairman), Chris Brown, David Brown, Stella Burrows, Roger Keen, Mike Leatham, Stan Maskell, Peter Tucker.

In attendance:
David Venner – Community Property Trust; 3 members of the public; Mrs Di Carter, Clerk

Matters raised by the public – concerns were raised on the following highways matters:

1. Conifer tree in North road by Barton Meadow – requires trimming
2. Tarmac deteriorating in North Road
3. Potholes from Dobbs to Welcombe – repairs urgently required as this is a route used by the school bus.

The Clerk was asked to follow these matters up with the relevant authorities.

1. Apologies for absence
   There were no apologies for absence.


2. Declarations of Interest
   David Brown declared a personal and prejudicial interest in agenda item 6, and a personal interest in agenda item 7, as Chairman of the Community Property Trust.
   Mike Leatham declared a personal interest in agenda items 6 and 7 as the Parish Council’s representative to the Community Property Trust.
   Myc Riggulsford declared a personal interest in agenda item 12(a) – planning.
   


3. Minutes of the Annual Parish Council meeting held on held on 8 July 2009
   The Minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2009 were agreed and adopted by Councillors and the Chairman signed the Minutes.
   


4. Matters Arising from the Minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2009
   There were no matters arising.


5. Police Matters
   There was no newsletter from the Police. Stella Burrows reported speaking to PCSO Sandra Brown and understood there were no incidents to report.
   Stella Burrows reported a forthcoming event on 1 October 2009 at the Plough Arts Centre in Torrington organised by the Safety Partnership – the Scambuster musical – a story telling event with 3 professional actors based on true stories to present warnings re scams in an entertaining way.


6. Possible Sale of the Barton Meadow Hall site
   David Brown left the meeting.
   

   The Chairman invited Mike Leatham to outline the current position. Mike Leatham said he was pleased that the July meeting was well attended by members of the public when the possible sale of the Hall Site was presented. The Parish Council is keen to ensure that the views of the public are taken into account on issues such as this. It is generally felt that the site is not large enough to accommodate a village hall and car park. One option would be to sell the land back to Pearce as covered in the covenant, monies raised to go towards the provision of a village hall on the Little Bickington Farm site. In the debate at the July Parish Council Meeting members of the public had no major objection to the hall site being sold but strong feelings were widely expressed that the copse area be retained.

   A meeting was subsequently arranged with Pearce Construction, attended by Chairman, Mike Leatham, Chris Brown and Stan Maskell. Minutes of this meeting were circulated to all Councillors and a copy of a letter from Pearce confirming details of the meeting.

   The possibility of co-development of the site was discussed. This would give the Parish Council more input into the development of the site, but would mean no monies would be paid by Pearce until the development of the site was completed and properties sold. Councillors present at the meeting recommended that this option should not be taken further.

   Before property prices fell Pearce had offered £130,000 for the site, including the copse, with plans to build 4 houses. The current offer for the land, minus the copse, is £100,000 with a proposal to build 3 houses. The Parish Council would put in covenants protecting the hedge bank and copse. The Parish Council may sell the copse to a third party but the Pearce covenants restricting its use and any building on it would remain in place. The Parish Council will retain any money gained from selling the copse.

   It was felt that £100,000 was a fair offer for the reduced area bearing in mind the fall in land prices and compared favourably per house with the earlier offer. It was understood that the monies would be payable to the Parish Council on receipt of planning permission. The site may not be developed for some time. A discussion took place on the offer and it was agreed that further clarification should be sought from Pearce as follows:

   1. Pearce be asked to mark the copse site for ease of identification.
   2. Confirmation that the Parish Council retain the full hedge bank and copse.
   3. Confirmation that the Parish Council can retain all sale monies if the copse area is sold to a third party with the Pearce covenants in place.
   4. Position of water main.

   It was further agreed that the copse area be measured and surveyed in case of future sale.The Chairman proposed that the Parish Council takes forward the offer of £100,000 from Pearce, subject to the above points being clarified, to allow for planning permission on the Hall Site to be applied for. A final decision will be made on receipt of a formal contract from Pearce.

   Decision:Councillors present (7) agreed unanimously to the Chairman’s proposal. It was noted that the monies raised from the sale of the Hall Site can only be used for capital works and the monies would be ring-fenced for a specific capital purpose to be decided later.

   The Chairman raised the matter of the strip of land sold to the Council by Mrs Harpum:

   1. The Chairman proposed that the 3m strip of land previously owned by Mrs Harpum and sold to the Parish Council be handed back to Mrs Harpum before the Hall Site is sold back to Pearce. The alternative was for the Parish Council to retain the land. He asked for Councillors’ views on this.
   
   
   2. Proposed by Stella Burrows and seconded by Roger Keen, as a matter of courtesy a Councillor make an appointment to visit Mrs Harpum to explain the current position of the Hall Site and to obtain her views and wishes on the strip of land before a Council decision is made.

   Decision:Councillors present (7) agreed to proposal 2) and the Chairman will arrange to speak to Mrs Harpum on behalf of the Council.

   In view of this decision the Chairman withdrew his earlier proposal.

   The Chairman asked for clarification of the figures shown in the presentation to the Parish Council at their July meeting under the heading “Funding Appraisal”. Funding from Devon County Council of £250,000 was not accompanied by an explanation. Mike Leatham explained that the £250,000 was seed core funding and was set out in the legal contract between High Bickington Community Property Trust and Devon County Council. This money had not been sought by the Community Property Trust but had been put in place by DCC. It is, therefore, revenue and not income. The Chairman requested that this funding be clarified on a revised spreadsheet to provide a full picture of funding and expenditure for the project. Mike Leatham has provided this since the meeting*:

   *The building of the scheme for a total of £11,699,000 has been budgeted so that a scheme surplus is generated of £1 million. This amount, if achieved, is to be shared by the High Bickington Community property Trust and Devon County Council on a 1:3 basis. The first £250,000.00 (25%) will be retained by HBCPT as a ‘dowry’ so that the long-term viability of the Community Property Trust is fully assured. The remaining £750,000.00 (75% - or a lesser amount if the scheme fails to generate the full £1 million budgeted surplus) will be paid to Devon County Council as payment for the Freehold Housing Land that will have been transferred to HBCPT in the early stages of the Contract. These are both contractual sums set out in a Legal Contract between High Bickington Community Property Trust and Devon County Council.



7. Parish Plans
   
   1. September update – David Venner circulated copies of the September report, showing current Bank balances. Mike Leatham had produced and circulated a separate sheet showing a detailed breakdown of payments made and interest accrued on the Hall account.
      The 5th Annual General Meeting of the Community Property Trust will be held on Thursday 24 September at 7.30pm in the meeting Point. Model and plans of the proposed development will be on show. All residents are welcome to attend.
   
   
   2. Replacement gate at Community Woodland – Roger Keen reported that Ros Davies, Footpaths Officer at Devon County Council will deliver a new gate shortly. Councillors wished to express their thanks to Ms Davies for her help in this matter.
   
   


8. Barton Meadow Recreational Play Area
   
   1. Devon Bank Repairs – the Clerk reported that it is proving somewhat difficult to get confirmation as to who is responsible for these repairs but will continue to push for work to be carried out.
   
   
   2. Memorial Seat – It was reported that a meeting has been held with the family donating the seat and it was proposed to site it at the north end of the play area. Councillors unanimously agreed to this proposal.
   
   
   3. Peter Tucker asked whether consideration could be given to planting the bank between the play area and cycle track with some hedgerow plants and a few trees. David Venner agreed to look into this and report back to the Council at the next meeting.
   
   
   4. The cycle track is in need of trimming. It was agreed that Jim Hedges be asked to submit a price for this work.
   
   


9. Matters raised by the Chairman
   

   The Chairman reported that Atherington Parish Council had sent him a copy of their June minutes but had informed him that it is unlikely further copies will be forthcoming as Atherington Councillors felt the minutes could be viewed in the local Post Office.

   The recent village Fete raised a total sum of approximately £2,600 which will be donated to village causes. Councillors wished to send their congratulations to all involved in the organisation of the Fete for a very successful event.

   The Chairman reported that Torridge Standards Committee will shortly be circulating a leaflet to all Parish Councils on the question of dispensations. It is possible to apply for dispensations re declarations of interest on behalf of individual Councillors for a specific matter, to allow them to speak when it is felt to be in the best interests of transparency for them to do so, or when more than half of councillors are prevented from speaking due to personal or prejudicial interests.



10. Maintenance
    
    1. Highways –Repair work has been carried out at Pound Lane and Taylors Lane. The road from Ebberley to Yelland has serious gullies following resurfacing. A raised drain in North Road is still causing problems but repairs would incur considerable work. The Clerk will raise these issues again along with the potholes in the road from Dobbs to Welcombe mentioned earlier.
    
    
    2. Footpaths and Byways – Roger Keen had nothing to report.


11. Finance
    
    1. Accounts as at 28 August. These were agreed, accepted by Councillors present and showed a bank carry forward figure of £11,505.35 following authorisation for payment of the cheques listed below:
       
       100258 Audit Commission - £327.75
       100259 D Jones – grasscutting - £90.00
       100260 D Carter – salary and expenses July/August - £557.49 (Total: £975.24)
       
    
    
    2. Council insurance – The Clerk reported that she has cancelled the insurance policy with Zurich covering the cycle track as this is now covered in the policy with Came and Company. A partial refund of the annual premium is awaited.
    
    
    3. Audit of Accounts – the Clerk reported that the annual accounts have now been signed off by the Audit Commission.
    
    
    4. High Bickington Directory – A cheque for £300 has been paid into the Bank from Cllr Andy Boyd’s community funding. Peter Tucker, for the High Bickington Playing Field Association, is working on a funding application for £300 to Torridge District Council. Their Councillor funding does not allow applications directly from Parish Councils.
    
    
    5. Award of Annual Grants – The Clerk reported applications from 7 local clubs and organisations. These were as follows:
       
       Name - Councillor Declaration of interest
       HB Youth Judo Club - Chris Brown, David Brown
       Libbaton Junior Section - Peter Tucker
       HB Parochial Church Council - Stella Burrows, Roger Keen
       The Meeting Point - David Brown
       HB Primary School - Chris Brown
       Toddler Group - David Brown
       HB Cricket Club - Myc Riggulsford
       
       Following a discussion on the merit of some claims, it was agreed to postpone a final decision on this matter until the meeting in October. It was noted that some organisations previously awarded grants had not applied this year and opinions were divided as to whether it was appropriate for the Council to pursue previous applicants who had not submitted a form this year. The Clerk was asked to provide a statement listing applicants and their reasons for requesting the funding.
    
    


12. Planning
    
    1. Applications:
       
       1. 1/0616/2009/FUL
          Proposed replacement garage
          Passmores Lodge, Ebberley, Torringtonn
          Mr & Mrs S Kinsey
          Chairman declared a personal interest as Mr Kinsey had re-roofed his barn last year, but this was not felt to be prejudicial.
          Decision: The Parish Council supports the application.
       
       
    2. Decisions:
       
       1. 1/1382/2009/FUL
          Part demolition and replacement of existing building
          Kingsford Hill House, Forest Park Lodges, High Bickington
          Mr Rodney Smith
          Decision: GRANTED
          
       
       
       2. 1/1201/2008/FUL
          Erection of 3 no. two-storey houses (2 no. detached and 1 no. end of terrace) and associated parking facilities
          Kingsford Hill House, Forest Park Lodges, High Bickington
          Decision: GRANTED
          
       
       
       3. 1/0599/2009/CPE
          Non compliance with condition 3 of planning permission 1/1613/8/27/1 (Agricultural workers occupation)
          Milford Cottage, Site Back Lane, Plot 801, High Bickington
          Mr & Mrs D’Olley
          Decision: REFUSED
          
    
    
    3. 48299 – N Devon CC - Proposed blending shed, NWF Agriculture, Wixland, Atherington A decision has not yet been received.


13. Correspondence
    
    1. TDC – Request for information re empty homes in Torridge parishes – to be returned with the comment ‘Parish Council not aware of any empty homes in the Parish’
    
    
    2. BT – invitation to adopt local red telephone kiosks for £1 – Not to be taken up. Concern was raised, however, that the telephone kiosk outside the Post Office was listed for adoption as the Parish Council was not aware of any intention to remove it. The Clerk is trying to ascertain the position from BT.
    
    
    3. DCC – 20mph Zones and Limits – statement. In circulation pack.
    
    
    4. DIS – Direct Information Service – invitation to NALC members to subscribe to fortnightly news service – Councillors did not wish to subscribe to this service.
    
    


14. Items for information
    There were no items for information.
    


15. Date of next meeting:
    Wednesday 14 October 2009 at 7.30pm in the Meeting Point, High Bickington.
    

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9:34pm.