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A meeting of the Parish Council was held on Monday 24th November 2003 at 7 pm
Ten
minutes were allowed at the beginning of the meeting for members of
the public to put matters to the Council
Two members of the public were present
Present: Mr R Tully (chairman), Mrs C Hunt, Mr N Hill, Mr B Tarr,
Mrs R Rowe, Mr I Jones, Mr C Wigfall, Miss P Ellis
1 Apologies: Mr W Deval, Cllr J Hawkins, PC J Hodgson
2 Speaker – Jill Davies from South Hams Council for Voluntary Service gave a talk about the work of the organisation. Jill explained that the CVS gives advice and information to volunteer groups and charities, points them in the direction of available funding and lends resources with which to get started. The CVS relies heavily on donations in order to operate their service.
3
Reports from County and District Councillors
District Councillor Mrs Rowe reported the following:
Budgets
– the budget is predicting a 14-18% increase in council tax, but
this needs to be cut because taxpayers cannot afford another increase.
Cuts are being made in management posts with some redundancies
and re-grading.
Public Toilets – South Hams Council has recommended that some be closed. They must all have disabled access and this will prove costly.
Benefits – it is estimated that about £2-million worth of benefits goes unclaimed in the South Hams because the public, particularly the elderly, do not claim benefits to which they are entitled.
4 Urgent business brought forward at the discretion of the Chairman – none
5
Planning
Applications
1) 6 Kings Rydon Close – alterations and extension. No objection
2 Gabriel Court Hotel – application to fell 24 trees – a site meeting was held with tree experts on 7th November at which some trees were found to be dying. As an interim measure South Hams Council has placed a Preservation Order on all trees within the Gabriel Court site to allow more time to make a decision.
3) Hillmount, Hillfield – extension to dwelling – Refused
4) Berkeley Towers, The Barnhay – variation to plan to allow parking spaces. Refused
5) Tullys Mead Farm – storage of 5 caravans – site meeting to be held 25th Nov
6) 9 Rydon Acres – dormer roof extension – site meeting to be held 25th November
7) Aish Cross House – amendments to plan 1471 to form dependent relative accommodation and holiday cottage. No objection
8) Little Paddocks, Aish Road – removal of condition for guest suite to use as separate dwelling. Refused
Applications
approved by SHDC
1) Aish Cross House – alterations to form dependent relative accommodation and holiday cottage. Granted.
6 Accounts
Payment
of Accounts
Payment of the following was proposed by Miss Ellis, seconded by Mr Hill and agreed
Audit Commission - audit fee 2003 £141.00
J Hamilton – clerk’s salary November 2003 £171.67
expenses £ 36.88
postages £ 7.36
£215.91
7 Matters raised by the clerk
Totnes and Dartmouth Ring & Ride – a letter has been received asking for a donation. It was agreed to make a contribution of £50
Roy Roper – Mr Roper who tidies the borders around the parish is off sick and has suggested we contact Martin Jones to take on his work. The clerk will write to Mr Jones asking for his payment rates, and will also write to Mr Roper wishing him a speedy recovery.
Parochial Church Council – are still asking for a donation from the Parish Council. It was agreed to make a contribution of £400 on this occasion and to review the situation in 12 months. This is not to be regarded as a regular payment.
British Telecom – they are still proposing to remove the payphone from the box in Barn Park. The Council will write again to protest against its removal.
Parish Councillors Guide – it was agreed to order an updated copy of this book.
New Clerks’ Course – Jill Hamilton gave feedback on the one-day course. It was noted that members of the Council declaring a personal interest in planning applications may still participate in discussions and have the right to vote, although the interest should be minuted. Any public participation at the beginning of the meeting should be kept within the time allotted and the Chairman has the authority to call a halt at the end of that time, even if there are still questions unanswered. This period is not part of the Council meeting and need not be minuted, although notes may be kept. The clerk should however record in the minutes the number of members of the public present. The Council agreed that this participation period will not be minuted.
8 Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes of the meeting of 27th October 2003 were read.
First para. line 6 to read “strength of feeling of the parishioners on the matter of the application for the full licence.” Subject to this amendment the minutes were agreed and signed.
9 Matters arising from the minutes
Item 3 – Waddeton Court now have a security guard
Item 6 – DEFRA application has been completed and sent
Item 8/10 – part of the protruding stone has been removed
Item 8/11 – Poultry Farm – the enforcement officer has attended and the caravans have been removed
Item 9 – Hoyle Lane – a “unsuitable for motors” sign is needed
10 Highway and Hedgerow Matters
Ramslade – no response has been received from SHDC regarding the change of use from agricultural to a dog walking and children’s play area. Mrs Rowe will contact the planning officer.
Tor Park Road – the private hedges at the Paignton end are falling into the road.
Waterways – following Mr Distin’s visit it has been agreed not to illuminate the navigation buoys, but instead to mark them with reflective tape.
Kings Rydon Close – due to parking problems in Kings Rydon Close there was discussion as to whether yellow lines would alleviate this. PC Hodgson will be contacted.
Aish – a replacement “Neighbourhood Watch” sign is needed on the “Welcome to Aish” sign. Also the police will be informed about the off-road vehicles using Aish on Sundays.
Barn Park – the road surface needs repairing outside No. 25.
Lidstone Lane – rubbish has been dumped in this area.
Recycling Centres – the rules regarding the use of the Yalberton centre by Stoke Gabriel residents need to be clarified. Parishioners are reminded that the Totnes centre at Babbage Road is available for use.
Yellands Field, Paignton Road – the Enforcement Officer will be contacted regarding caravans on this site.
Stoke Gabriel Primary School – plans for a three-classroom block will be presented on 1st December. A public meeting will be held as part of the Parish Council meeting on 15th December 2003 to discuss this.
11 Matters raised by Councillors
Meeting Hut for youths – it was suggested that the Community Council of Devon maybe able to make an award to fund a project of this type.
South Hams Council for Voluntary Service – following the talk by Jill Davies it was agreed to make a donation of £50 to the organisation.
Miss Birch’s Wood – Mr Jones has circulated a full report to the Councillors. A special meeting will be held to discuss this at a later date.
Stoke Gabriel Website – Mr Wigfall reported that there have been over 1400 visitors to the site. The Parish Council minutes are now published there and more enquiries have been received about advertising. Thanks to the campaign by Tom Spencer, Broadband is expected to be available by February 2004.
Aish Road – complaints have been received about the dogs at Rosneigor. The appropriate officer will be contacted at SHDC.
Office Equipment – the Council agreed to reimburse the clerk for the filing cabinet purchased for Parish Council business. It was also agreed to dispose of the Council’s typewriter/wordprocessor, which will be donated to Stoke Gabriel in Bloom.
12 Dates of Next Meetings
Monday
15th December 2003 at 7pm in the Village Hall – the
public are welcome to view the plans for 3 new classrooms at Stoke
Gabriel Primary School
Monday 26th January 2004 at 7pm in The Old Schoolroom
Monday 23rd February 2004 at 7pm in the Village Hall
Monday 29th March 2004 at 7pm in the Village Hall
The meeting closed at 9.30pm
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