Minutes for the meeting of the

Diptford Parish Council

held at the Parish Hall, Diptford on Monday 6th February 2006 at 7:30pm

 

MEMBERS

Cllr J Foster - Chairman

Cllr S Franklin - Vice Chairman

Cllr V Haddy Cllr S Hill Cllr S Walton

Cllr M Palmer Cllr P Preston-Day

District Council Representative - Cllr I Steer

County Council Representative - Cllr G Date

OPEN FORUM

There were three members of the public present. Parishioners from Curtisknowle thanked the council for looking into sightline improvement at Crabadon Cross, they thought there was enough interest in Curtisknowle to take this work on with some advice from Cllr Foster. District Cllr Steer offered to investigate the exact planning requirements needed.

  1. Apologies
    • Apologies were received from Cllr Foster, Cllr Palmer, Cllr Walton and Cllr G Date.
  2. Declaration of interest
    • Cllr Franklin in 15a
  3. Minutes of the previous meeting Tuesday 3 January & Planning Meeting 19 January
    • After accepting a rephrasing of 15a both minutes were approved by the council and signed.
  4. Co-option of New Councillor
    • The council unanimously voted to co-opt new councillor Keith Stow and welcomed him to the meeting.
  5. Planning Matters
    1. A report on the planning meeting of 19 January was received.
    2. 2789 17/0009/06/F Field near Lower Larcombe Farm, the erection of an agricultural building. This planning application was supported by the council.
    3. Creber Barn, the clarification of the permission granted received from SHDC stated that the colour finish of the timber cladding condition 3 had yet to be complied with and the timber chalet should not be on the site.
    4. The council noted that SHDC had granted permission for the following:
      • 17/2154/05/F Mount Zion Mill amendments to approved planning
      • 17/2140/05/F 2 Gara Cottages alterations to garage block to provide indoor swim pool
      • 17/2200/05/F 2 Copse End Curtisknowle erection of conservatory
      • 17/1905/05/F Brushford erection of garage/barn
      • 17/2283/05/F 10 Wheat Park erection of conservatory
  6. Highways and Paths
    1. 2793 it was confirmed that the moss on the pavements had been treated
    2. 2795 Horse Sign Greyhills - DCC require details of the number & frequency horses & length of road in question. Cllr Preston-Day is liasing with the parishioners and will let the clerk have the figures.
    3. 2796 Signage of Green Lanes - the council support these and agreed with the signage.
    4. Frogwell Hill to Diptford Cott mud on road - the clerk was instructed to ask for this road to be cleaned also to remind SHDC regarding Mill Lane.
    5. Cllr Franklin reported that the lengthsman has been working in the parish.
    6. DCC informed the council that the Diptford to Avonwick road would be closed from 20 February for 5 days to repair the wall from Broadmead to Oakenham Bridge. The clerk was asked to put a notice on the board and tell the website.
    7. Footpath 5 - the new dog-gate was reported to be unhelpful. Cllr Franklin informed the council that this will be altered next year.
  7. District Councillor’s Report - Cllr Steer
    • Cllr Steer reported that last month SHDC moved on their plan to work together with Teinbridge council in some fields, such as building control, for greater efficiency. There are new ideas in rural housing mix leaving some ownership control with the landowner to be more flexible. SHDC budget meetings are looking for efficiency savings that will not affect service delivery. Concessionary bus fares are a budgetary problem as it is not sure how many people will apply.
  8. County Councillor’s Report - Cllr Date
    • Cllr Date reported he attended the Education & Social Services Scrutiny committee on 9 & 17 January, Kevicc’s Foundation Governors on the 24th. The big issue at the moment is the budget, the government grant is £15 million short, (if we received the national average per head, we would have £36 million more) and here is a possibility of compulsory redundancies, a thing he never thought he would be part of when he first became a councillor. He had always hoped that reductions could be dealt with by natural wastage, redeployment and voluntary redundancies.
  9. Budget Detail 2006/2007
    • The council agreed the details of the budget.
  10. Local Bus Service
    1. 2794 S Brent PC community bus: The council agreed they support the idea of a community bus in principle and look forward with interest to receiving further plans. The clerk was instructed to reply to South Brent Parish Council.
  11. Parish Plan
    1. Cllr Hill said that now the Neighbourhood Watch and Diptford Website were up and running the other projects needed prioritising. The council suggested that upgrading the notice boards in the village, improving the entrances to the village by planting and revamping the emergency plan should be considered.
  12. Waste Collection Changes
    1. Cllrs Foster and Franklin attended the SHDC briefing for councillors, they reported that all houses will be leafleted before the start. There will be a road show in the parish hall on 24 February and the new system is expected to start in the middle of March.
  13. Parish Notice Board
    1. The council agreed that a larger condensation free board was needed where a map and the notices could be displayed. Cllr Hill was asked to investigate village centre sites.
  14. Emergency Planning
    1. Cllr Haddy reported that this was in hand and a draft would be with the council next month.
  15. Correspondence and Points of Information
    1. 2801 Car Scheme - the council voted to donate £100 to the Diptford Car Scheme, they confirmed that this can be used by anyone in the parish for doctor/hospital visits, emergencies and ‘one off’ occasions.
    2. 2802 South West Water are looking for a venue for their mobile information unit, the Diptford & District Show was suggested and Cllr Preston-Day agreed to handle this matter.
  16. Additional Items as per the Chairman
    • The council voiced their thanks to Richard Paul for ‘the best Christmas tree ever’ and to Mrs Welford for providing the electricity. They agreed that a new set of lights and a long extension should be purchased for next year and requested the clerk to investigate suitable sets.
  17. Sub-committee Reports
    18.
  18. Finance
    1. The financial report and bank reconciliation was presented to the council.
    2. The cheques were agreed and signed.
  19. Date of next meeting
    1. Monday 6 March 2006
    2. The council agreed to alter the date of the April meeting to THURSDAY 6 APRIL

    20. Signed

     

     

    Date

    Chairman of Diptford Parish Council