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A meeting of Stoke Gabriel Parish Council was held on
Monday 27th February 2006 at 7.00 pm in the Village Hall
Ten minutes were allowed at the beginning of the meeting for members of the public to put matters to the Council
18 members of the public were present
Present: Mr R Tully (Chairman), Mr W Deval, Miss P Ellis, Mr N Hill,
Mr I Jones, Mrs R Rowe, Mr B Tarr, Mr C Wigfall
Cllr T Pennington
Report by Sue Southwell on Affordable Housing
Sue Southwell, Rural Housing Officer, gave a report following the recent Affordable Housing Survey carried out in the parish. 86% of those who returned survey forms were in favour of a small development of affordable homes for local people. Part 2 of the form, which related to those already in housing need, was completed by 47 households, all of whom have a local connection. Of those, 37 were in need of housing on affordable grounds, and 44% could not afford the market price. The most need is for 2-bedroomed accommodation, the majority to set up independent accommodation, and of those 19 required this in the next two years. Although 19 families is the identified need, Sue would recommend building 10 dwellings, with a possible second phase of development at a later date. Realistically the first phase could be built as early as 2008 or as late as 2010, although Sue feels that as there are many avenues to go down, the council should explore them all, including self-build projects and Community Land Trusts. The Parish Council needs to identify three possible sites and submit this information to South Hams Council.
1 Apologies: Mrs C Hunt
2 Urgent Business brought forward by the Chairman
A roadshow vehicle from Rowcroft Hospice will be visiting the parish between 15th and 20th May to make the public aware of their work.
3 Reports from County & District Councillors
Mrs Rowe reported the following:
Council Tax – the budget increase for the South Hams is likely to be 4.85%.
Tax on Second Homes – this has increased from 50% to 95% of the total, but this will not be given back to South Hams Council for affordable housing, as was hoped. South Hams may get £200,000, not the millions they had expected.
Bus Passes – 1.3% of the budget will be used to fund bus travel for the elderly.
Leisure Centres – the contract will be awarded to one of those who have submitted tenders at the end of March.
Cllr Pennington reported the following:
Budget 2006/07 – the DCC Education Budget for schools will be £318 million, the increase is above inflation and the budget is ring-fenced. Savings will be made in the Social Services and Highways budgets. £400,000 will be spent to “improve Devon’s attractiveness to visitors” by investing in projects to enhance the County’s heritage of cultural activities.
Highways – various surface dressing will take place within the parish of Stoke Gabriel in 2006/07, including parts of Aish and Orchard Way.
Affordable Housing – the government has commissioned an independent review, including a move that a proportion of revenue generated from granting of planning permission be given to local authorities.
Travellers and Gypsies – districts will be asked to identify sites and private applicants can register as social landlords. They will then only be able to remove travellers from illegal sites if there is provision for a legal site for them to move to.
4 Planning
Mrs Rowe declared an interest and took no part in discussions on planning.
Applications
1) Stonecroft, Hillfield – Removal of condition 5 (obscure glazing) of planning permission to allow side windows serving the kitchen and dining room of granny flat to be clear pane glass. Objection.
2) Stonecroft, Hillfield – Resubmission of application for demolition and rebuilding of existing dwelling. No objection.
3) Crownley, Lembury Road – Demolition of existing bungalow and erection of new dwelling. No objection.
4) Ffynnon Wen, Byter Mill Lane – erection of extensions to dwelling. No objection.
5) Adams Orchard, Mill Hill – alterations to include porch,1 additional rooflight, alterations to 2 windows and amended pedestrian access. No objection.
Applications granted by SHDC
1) 1 Barn Park – erection of dwelling
2) Stonecroft, Hillfield – Removal of condition 5 re clear glass
3) Four Cross Garden Centre. Paignton Road – re-siting of portable toilet
4) Ffynnon Wen, Byter Mill Lane - erection of extensions to dwelling
5) Badgers Retreat, Orchard Close, Paignton Road – resubmission of application for erection of dwelling
Trees
1) Serving TPO to South Bank, Paignton Road – Liquidambar tree. No objection to TPO.
2) Rydon House, Paignton Road – Fell poplar; remove dead wood from 5 Red Horse Chestnut in perpetuity; reduce height of 4 Leyland cypress by 1 metre and maintain at a height of 5 metres in perpetuity. No objection.
5 Accounts
Payment of Accounts
Payment of the following accounts were proposed by Miss Ellis and seconded by Mr Hill:
J Hamilton - clerk’s salary Jan 06 £233.34
- clerk’s salary Feb 06 £233.34
Stoke Gabriel Village Hall – hire Oct-Dec 05 £ 33.00
Bay Tree Services – tree work at Hoyle Copse £450.00
J Crisp Plant Hire – JCB at Hoyle Copse £176.25
Tony Pook – work on hedges and bushes £ 50.00
Detailed budgeting of precept – this was not prepared. The council then formed a Finance Committee comprising Mr Wigfall, Mr Deval and Mr Jones, who will report back to the next meeting.
6 Matters raised by the Clerk
Grit bin – the salt & grit bin outside the Church House Inn has not been used for many years and will be removed.
Audit charges – the clerk wrote to Anthony Steen MP regarding the excessive audit charges and his reply was that he agrees and will remind the government to see if he can make any progress.
South Devon Mediation – the clerk has a leaflet with the contact details for anyone wishing to seek mediation regarding problems with neighbours and resolving conflict.
Light Pollution Event – this will take place on 28th March at Follaton House.
Royal Garden Party – the Chairman and his wife will be nominated to take part in the draw for tickets to this year’s event.
Training events – New Councillors Day, Introduction to Being a Chairman, Chairman’s Masterclass, Introduction to Planning and Creating Newsletters are all taking place shortly.
Clerks Regional Conference – the clerk expressed a wish to attend on 11th May at a cost of £40 but the council was not willing to fund this.
Memorial seats – former parish councillor Brian Hamment-Arnold notified the council of his late wife’s bequest to provide two seats for use by the aged and infirm within the Parish of Stoke Gabriel. The council gratefully accepted this donation and agreed that the seats would be purchased and placed at Waddeton and at Hoyle Copse, near the lime kiln. Mr Wigfall will oversee the purchase.
Apple Tree – an apple tree has fallen over in the orchard, and a request was received from a parishioner to remove the wood for firewood. The parish council refused this request and will instruct a contractor to remove it.
7 Minutes of last meeting 9th January 2006 – agreed and signed
8 Matters arising from the minutes
M8s – the first meeting of the new youth group was very positive
Highways – after Mr Tarr had liaised with DCC, temporary traffic lights had been erected and some areas of tarmac have been marked out ready to be resurfaced. It was also reported that a member of the public had turned her car over on the muddy road, and that the whole operation had been most unsatisfactorily carried out.
Area of land near Quay – the land kindly offered by Mr Lugg is being cleared of scrub and is almost ready for use.
9 Highway & Hedgerow matters
Memorial Tree – Mrs Hunt is dealing with the matter and the tree will be planted in the orchard.
Dog Fouling – the Dog Warden will be contacted regarding fouling in School Hill and possible fines.
Tor Park Road – some areas of the bank on both sides are subsiding and rocks have fallen into the road. The clerk will write to Torbay Council.
Aish Cross – the blocked drain leaking into Hoyle Lane is being dealt with.
10 Matters raised by Councillors
Trees – following an ash tree and three poplars being felled, it was suggested that all councillors make a list and photographs of prominent trees and report back, with a view to having Tree Preservation Orders put on several trees in the village.
Website – 13165 visitors so far. The site will be upgraded, adding articles about the village.
Affordable Housing – the council agreed that three sites would be put forward as possible building sites – Paignton Road, Aish Road and the bottom of Coombe Shute. This will be done immediately to avoid any delay in the process.
Hoyle Copse – the Chairman gave credit to Ian Jones and his volunteers who have worked hard to clear the copse of rubbish and carry out coppicing and clearance. Mr Jones explained the seven-year plan to coppice the hazel and that the logs had been piled up to encourage wildlife habitats. Some building stone has been donated and delivered and the stonework at the entrance to the lime kiln will commence immediately so as to attract a grant, provided it is finished by March. Proper signage will be required at a later date, to replace the temporary signs erected by nearby residents.
Stoke Gabriel in Bloom – a letter was received asking the council to fund the entry to the 2006 Britain in Bloom competition. This was agreed, and it was also agreed to donate £150 towards the planting of tubs and borders around the village, on condition that the Stoke Gabriel in Bloom committee liaise with the parish council about any work before it commences. Mr Jones has been helping the committee clear shrubs behind the bus shelter and it was agreed that the parish council would fund a closed board fence to the rear of the shelter on both sides at a cost of between £100 and £200. Enquiries will also be made of DCC as to whether it would be practical to erect a pedestrian barrier around the bus shelter to discourage vandalism and damage from ball games. Stoke Gabriel in Bloom have submitted a plan of proposals for the paved area at Rydon Cross. Mr Wigfall has studied this and stated that he could find no fault with it.
11 Dates of next meetings
Monday 27th March 2006 at 7pm in the Village Hall
Monday 24th April 2006 at 7pm in the Village Hall
The meeting closed at 10.00pm
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