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A meeting of Stoke Gabriel Parish Council was held on
Monday 10th January 2005 at 7.00 pm
Ten minutes were allowed at the beginning of the meeting for members of the public to put matters to the Council
51 members of the public were present
Present: Mr R Tully (chairman), Mrs C Hunt, Miss P Ellis, Mr I Jones,
Mrs Rowe, Mr B Tarr, Mr C Wigfall
1 Apologies – Mr W Deval, Mr N Hill, Cllr J Hawkins
2 Speaker – Mr John Cottingham from Affordable Homes UK, accompanied by Mr William John from Midas Homes gave a presentation about the proposed new housing development on land adjacent to Rowes Farm, Aish Road. Mr Cottingham explained that “intermediate” housing is aimed at people on incomes of between £14,000 and £25,000 pa, particularly local key workers employed in services essential to the locality. The company would retain a share of the equity, but no rent would be charged on this share, and the housing would remain affordable in perpetuity. The housing would probably comprise a range of apartments and two-bedroomed houses/bungalows in keeping with the local style. Plans will be drawn up very shortly, and presented to the council in the normal way.
3 Hoyle Copse – Mr Ian Jones gave a presentation about Hoyle Copse, land bequeathed to the Parish Council by the late Miss Birch. Mr Jones explained that land of approx 6.6 acres, comprising a wood and a meadow, was left for the residents of Stoke Gabriel to quietly enjoy. In conjunction with the Devon Wildlife Trust a party of volunteers, under the direction of Mr Jones, has been following a programme of clearance and coppicing to make the area safe and to clear overgrown pathways. He described the flora and fauna and invited further prospective volunteers to contact him if they wish to become involved in the project.
4 Urgent business brought forward by the Chairman
PC John Hodgson gave his report:
28 crimes were reported in the parish in 2004, compared with 29 in 2003.
2005 already shows 4 crimes – 1 assault, 3 burglaries.
5 Reports from County and District Councillors
Nothing to report.
6 Planning
Mrs Rowe declared an interest and left the room while the applications and works to trees were being discussed.
Applications
1) Ramslade Caravan Club site – siting of portakabin to provide disabled toilet.
Objection. The council felt that it should be a properly constructed building in keeping with the other buildings on the site.
2) Four Cross Garden Centre, Paignton Road – change of use to class B1 (business), B2 (general industrial) and B8 (storage). The council were confused on this case, as they were under the impression that the businesses as stated were already operating, and that this should therefore be a retrospective application. Clarification will be sought from the planning department.
Works to Trees
1) Gabriel Court Hotel – fell magnolia in front of hotel. The council felt that they needed the tree warden to assess the situation, and they would abide by his report.
Applications approved by SHDC
1) Rowes Farm – creation of field access through Devon bank
2) Kings Cottage – internal refurbishment and renovation works.
Applications refused by SHDC
1) Tullys Mead Farm – retrospective change of use to B2.
Licensing
1) Castle Inn – change of licensee. No objection.
7) Accounts
Payment of Accounts
Payment of the following accounts were proposed by Mrs Rowe and seconded by Mr Tarr:
PCC – grant towards churchyard maintenance £400.00
W Deval – “No Dogs” signs £ 6.76
C Wigfall – laminating £ 1.53
M Jones – works to borders £ 47.25
ER Teague – grass cutting £ 15.00
South Hams CAB – donation £ 70.00
J Hamilton – clerk’s salary December 04 £171.67
- quarterly expenses Sep-Dec £ 50.00
Postage and subscriptions £ 16.50 £238.17
JMT Solicitors – fees re land at Hoyle Lane £355.10
SLCC – subscription £ 69.00
To review clerk’s salary – The council unanimously agreed that they were unable to meet the clerk’s written request of a salary increase in full. However it was agreed to increase the annual salary from £2060 + £200 expenses to £2800 + £200 expenses, backdated to 1st September 2004. It was agreed to review this level of remuneration at a later date.
To set the precept for 2005/06
The council agreed to set the precept at £6700
8 Matters raised by the Clerk
Totnes & Dartmouth Ring & Ride – a reply to the clerk’s letter asking for the route showed that the bus does in fact visit Stoke Gabriel. The council agreed to make a donation of £50.
Signs at Yalberton Road – the highways department have the “No heavy lorries” sign in hand.
Trees at the Gabriel Court Hotel – South Hams Council have sent a map showing which trees are to be felled. Mrs Hunt will investigate.
Cars at Longcombe Cross – a reply has been received from South Hams Motor Co. taking note of the council’s points about parked cars causing an obstruction. They urged motorists to slow down when driving through this junction.
Proposed pontoon at Mill Point – an acknowledgement has been received to Mr Tarr’s letter to the Dart Harbour & Navigation Authority, expressing the Council’s views.
Hoyle Copse – two cheques, for £4 and £13 have been received from Eastleys solicitors, being an overpayment of the estimate of Land Registry fees in respect of land transferred from Major Gillmore.
9 Minutes of the Last Meeting
The minutes of the meeting of 29th November 2004 were agreed and signed.
10 Matters Arising from the Minutes
Rights of Way – Miss Ellis felt that she could not undertake the task of completing the questionnaire. Mr Deval and Mr Wigfall will discuss the document.
Trees at Port Bridge – it has been established that the trees which had been cut were not on Dr Rhodes’s land.
Whitehill – the road still floods after heavy rain.
11 Highway and Hedgerow Matters
Coombe House Land – Miss Ellis will contact the lengthsman to ask him to clear the gulleys.
12 Matters Raised by Councillors
Stoke Gabriel in Bloom – they are still anxious to remove the cherry trees at Rydon Acres in order to win a competition, despite the report from the Tree Warden that the trees are alive and in their prime. Advice will be sought from the SHDC Tree and Wildlife Officer, and Stoke Gabriel in Bloom will be asked to provide a written survey on the trees from a qualified person. A meeting was held with the Stoke Gabriel in Bloom Committee and parish councillors regarding future planting, at which they agreed to make their plans known to the Parish Council as well as Devon County Council in future.
Stagecoach Bus Route 25 – the service is not as well used as had been hoped and its future is in question. The clerk will write to Stagecoach asking them to maintain the service, even if this means a limited service in winter.
War memorial – a crack in the wall needs attention.
Southlands Farm – the enforcement officer will be asked to investigate four scrap cars and a caravan that have appeared on the land.
Recycling bins at Whitehill – these are allegedly for public use.
Website – Mr Wigfall reported there have been over 6000 visitors.
Village map – this has been removed from outside the village hall. Mr Wigfall will arrange for a replacement to be installed in a safer place.
Stoke Gabriel brochure – Mr Wigfall is compiling a brochure, with a view to letting visitors access it, pointing out places of interest.
Broadleigh Farm Caravan Park – in her role as Ward Councillor, Mrs Rowe was asked to present the business with a Bronze Award for Green Tourism.
Complaints to Standards Board – following replies from the StandardsBoard, Mrs Rowe and Mrs Hunt wish the following to be minuted:
Councillor Rosemary Rowe
Two complainants alleged that Councillor Rosemary Rowe improperly sought to influence decisions on two planning applications by a hotel in Stoke Gabriel. Councillor Rowe was a member of South Hams District Council and Stoke Gabriel Parish Council. The hotel applied to the district council for permission to demolish part of a wall by the hotel and to create a car park, and the parish council was consulted on the applications. Councillor Rowe declared a personal interest in the applications when the parish council discussed them on 19 January and 26 April 2004, because she was going to consider them again as a district councillor. Councillor Rowe later considered the applications with another member of the district council and recommended that they be approved, in line with council planning officers’ recommendations. Councillor Rowe’s niece had worked for the hotel, her husband had worked as a plumber at the hotel and her ssiter was a partner of a business that supplied poultry to the hotel.
The Ethical Standards Officer concluded that Councillor Rowe had a personal interest in the applications that were submitted to the district council because they could have affected the well-being of her husband, who had previously been contracted to do plumbing work at the hotel.
The Ethical Standards Officer considered, however, that Councillor Rowe did not have a prejudicial interest in the applications. This was because the applications did not directly concern Councillor Rowe’s husband’s work as a plumber. As Councillor Rowe did not have a prejudicial interest, the Ethical Standards Officer concluded that Councillor Rowe did not improperly seek to influence a decision on the applications.
The Ethical Standards Officer did not have to consider whether Councillor Rowe should have disclosed her personal interest or withdrawn from a meeting because the applications were not considered at any district council meetings.
The Ethical Standards Officer found that there was no evidence of any failure to comply with the Code of Conduct.
Councillor Christine Hunt
The complainant alleged that Councillor Christine Hunt failed to disclose a personal and prejudicial interest in the consideration of two planning applications at Stoke Gabriel Parish Council meetings on 19 January and 26 April 2004, and failed to withdraw from the meetings. The applications were made by a local hotel to demolish part of a wall by the hotel and to create a car park. Councillor Hunt allegedly had a prejudicial interest in the applications because a business in which she is a partner supplies poultry to the hotel and her daughter used to work for the hotel.
The applications did not directly concern or affect the supply of poultry to the hotel and Councillor Hunt’s daughter no longer works for the hotel. The Ethical Standards Officer therefore concluded that Councillor Hunt did not have a personal or prejudicial interest in the applications.
The Ethical Standards Officer found that there was no evidence of any failure to comply with the Code of Conduct.
The meeting closed at 9.45pm
Next Meetings
Monday 28th February 2005 at 7pm in the Village Hall
Monday 21st March 2005 at 7pm in the Village Hall
Note: On 12th January the chairman agreed to give permission to the Friends of Stoke School to hold a Wassail in the church orchard on 16th January 2005.
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