Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
Held on Wednesday 9 June 2010
In the Meeting Point, High Bickington at 7.30pm

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

In attendance:
David Venner – Community Property Trust; 1 member of the public; Mrs Di Carter - Clerk

There were no County Council, District Council nor Police representatives in attendance.

Matters raised by the public: the continuing problems with the footpath at Old Park were raised with concerns expressed about the broken fencing and horses in the field causing problems for walkers. Roger Keen reported that he has been in touch with Ros Davies, the Footpaths Officer at Devon County Council, who has undertaken to take this matter forward with the landowners. The Clerk was asked to contact Ros Davies to ascertain the current situation and see if the matter can be brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

The guttering on the bus shelter has been broken and needs repair. Peter Tucker agreed to undertake this.

Councillors wished to record their grateful thanks to Mrs Snell for her continued work in keeping the bus shelter clean and tidy.

The formal meeting was convened at 7.42pm.

1. Apologies for absence
   Apologies were received from Chris Brown (business).
   
   



2. Declarations of Interest
   
   Mike Leatham declared a personal interest in agenda items 6 as the Parish Council's representative to the Community Property Trust.
   
   David Brown declared a personal interest in agenda item 6 as Chairman of the Community Property Trust.
   



3. Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on held on 12 May 2010
   
   The Minutes of the meeting held on 12 May 2010 were agreed and adopted by Councillors. The Chairman signed the minutes.
   



4. Matters arising from the Minutes of the meeting held on 12 May 2010
   
   
   
   1. Defibrillator - The Clerk reported discussions with Mr Rob Horton, Community Defibrillator Officer for the South Western Ambulance Service Trust and circulated notices giving information on the public access machines. Councillors queried the feasibility of the time constraints stated in order for there to be a positive result. Cost of the machine is £1,275 plus a box to house it which can range from £200 for an internal box to £1,000 for an external one. The machine can be used by people with little or no training but chances of survival are increased when the user has Basic Life Support awareness. A free 4-hour Emergency Aid training course will be given to anyone interested in becoming a trained user. Following a discussion it was agreed to invite Rob Horton to the next Parish Council meeting in July and to invite the public to attend to assess support and enthusiasm. Notices will be put in Ramblings and on noticeboards to encourage as many people as possible to attend.
      
   
   
   
   2. O2 grant - football coaching. The Clerk has obtained details of the grant scheme. Peter Tucker is awaiting confirmation from a football coach regarding costs etc and will let the Clerk know when this is received. A grant application will then be submitted.
      
   
   
   
5. Police Matters
   
   Stella Burrows said the June Police newsletter reported that High Bickington has been crime free in the last 30 days. Advice was included in the newsletter about keeping items like Quad bikes, farm machinery and garden equipment locked securely away. Also to keep records of these items, Quad bikes can be taken without keys and there have been two incidents reported recently. If any suspicious vehicles are seen in the area please take registration numbers and pass these on to Police.
   
   Stella Burrows presented a Neighbourhood Watch leaflet entitled "Definition of Crimes Explained" and asked for copies to be put on noticeboards.
   



6. Parish Plans
   
   June update: David Venner circulated copies of the June report showing current bank balances. Decisions on funding for the Little Bickington Farm development have been further delayed following the Election and the Budget due on June 22nd.
   
   
   Following the offer of a grant and loan from Community Builders Fund consideration is being given to building the Community centre as a stand alone project, rather than building it at the same time as the school. Government funding of school buildings is also unknown at the moment. As a combined build one third of the costs would have been met by the County Council. The revised plan is to look at the feasibility of building the hall as a single storey building without any first floor rooms but retaining the same footprint. When the County Council is able to build the new school the Community Building could be re-modelled to fully restore the layout on ground and first floor levels. The revised plan would ensure a Community Building would be available for use much earlier than planned. The Parish Council is funding £200,000 towards the total cost of £1.5million.
   
   
   The economics of the revised plan require careful consideration and the Chairman asked that the Parish Council be consulted before a final decision is made in view of their contribution to the costs.
   
   
   The Community Directory is being printed.
   
   
   



7. Barton Meadow Recreational Play Area
   
   
   1. Hall Site gate. The Chairman reported that the gate has been removed from the Hall site and is being stored on his farm until being re-installed at the Community Woodland.
   
   
   
   2. Football nets. Peter Tucker has located suitable nets at £25.00 each.
      
      Decision: Councillors agreed that two nets be ordered at £25.00 each.
   
   
   



8. Matters raised by the Chairman
   
   
   1. The Chairman reported that a vacancy exists on the Torridge District Council Standards Board. A preferred candidate has been selected by the Standards Board interviewing panel but the final decision has been referred to the full Council. The Parish Council representatives are unhappy with this as the Parish and Town Councils do not have veto of appointments to the Committee and they feel that the full Council should not be able to veto such appointments either.
   
   
   
   2. (b) The Chairman reported a letter received from a young resident of the village who is seeking a place at medical school. He is taking a gap year working for "Tanzania Medics" and is seeking support and financial assistance to fund this. Councillors agreed that the Chairman should write a letter of support for the young person to assist him with securing funding. The Parish Council feels unable to offer financial support as this would create a precedent, but would encourage individuals who wished to do so.
   
   
   



9. Maintenance
   
   
   
   1. Highways: Stan Maskell reported that very few potholes have been repaired in the village. The Clerk was asked to report serious potholes on the road from Lower Farm to Quarry Road and in Pound Lane - North Road to the A377.
      
      
      The scheduled road sweeping has not yet taken place. The Clerk will follow this up.
      
      
      There is a further Highways Surgery on July 22nd at Kings Nympton Village Hall, 12-2pm. Information passed to Stan Maskell.
      Stella Burrows reported double signage on the A377 where new signs have been installed; the old signs have been left in place and Stella Burrows felt these were perfectly clear and did not warrant the large amount of expenditure for replacements.
      
      
   
   
   
   2. Footpaths and Byways: Roger Keen reported that the bridle gate at the top of Taylors Lane has been broken and he has reported this to the landowners. David Venner agreed to look into the repairs/replacement gate required.
   
   
   



10. Finance
    
    
    
    1. Accounts as at 30 May 2010. These were agreed, accepted by Councillors present, and showed a bank carry forward figure of £16,455.52 following authorisation for payment of the cheques below:
       
       
       100298 DALC - publication "Standing Orders for Local Councils" £25.
       
       100299 D Carter, salary (£272.18) + (Expenses £54.92) - (Total: £326.77)
       
    
    
    
    2. Refurbishment of Church Hall:
       
       
       The Clerk reported a letter from the Treasurer of St Mary's Parochial Church Council thanking the Parish Council for their generous offer of funding towards the cost of refurbishment of the Church Hall and agreeing that this money would be used to improve the kitchen facilities to comply with health and safety and hygiene requirements. An update e-mail has now been received stating that following an electrical inspection considerable works are needed to bring the electrics up to standard and this work has been authorised. When the work is completed a certificate will be issued. The Clerk was asked to respond saying that the £2,000 will be paid when the electrical certificate is issued.
    
    
    
    3. Purchase of publication "Standing Orders for Local Councils". - The Clerk confirmed that this has now been received from DALC at a cost of £25.00.
       
    
    
    



11. Planning
    
    
    
    1. Applications:
       There were no applications
       
    
    
    
    2. Decisions:
       
       
       
       1. 1/0107/2010/LBC
          
          
          Retrospective application for replacement of 4no.ground floor windows
          
          
          Northwood Cottage, High Bickington
          
          
          Mr Paul Jones
          
          
          PC Decision 14.4.10: Support.
          
          TDC Decision 18.5.10: Granted
       
       
       
       
       2. 1/0272/2010/EXT
          
          Extension of time of planning permission for proposed barn conversion to form 3 units of holiday accommodation
          
          
          Yelland Farm, High Bickington
          
          
          Mr A Woolacott
          
          
          PC Decision 12.5.10: Support.
          
          TDC Decision 20.5.10: Granted
       
       
       
    
    
    



12. Correspondence
    
    
    
    1. North Devon Community Mediation - request for a representative to talk to the Parish Council. This offer would not be taken up at the present time but the Clerk was asked to circulate details to local associations.
    
    
    2. Rural Services Network - letter to the Prime Minister re fairer funding for rural areas. This was felt to be an issue which needs attention and the Clerk was asked to forward the correspondence to the Headteacher to ask him for any evidence of reduced funding for rural schools.
    
    
    3. DAPC - Major survey by Community Council for Devon of the voluntary sector. Request for circulation to local groups, clubs etc for response. The Clerk was asked to forward this to clubs, associations, etc as appropriate.
    
    
    4. TDC - Volleyball courts - Expression of interest for provision of court. Councillors felt this would be a good facility for the village and could possibly be installed on the Playing Field. The Clerk was asked to register the Parish Council's interest.
    
    



13. Items for information
    
    
    1. Roger Keen raised a complaint from a member of the public concerned that there are insufficient warning signs on the approach to the zebra crossing. Councillors confirmed that all necessary signs are in place. If speeding vehicles are causing a problem then the registration numbers of those vehicles should be obtained and the Police informed.
    
    
    
    2. Roger Keen also raised a suggestion from a member of the public that white lines be painted outside the School to denote that cars should be parked at right angles to the railings. This would enable more spaces to be available. Whilst Councillors agreed this would be a preferred method of parking they were not in favour of more white lines being painted in the village.
    
    
    



14. Date of next meeting:
    
    Wednesday 14 July 2010 at 7.30pm in the Meeting Point, preceded by a public meeting at 7.00pm to discuss the provision of a public access defibrillator for the village

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.06pm.