Parish Council Minutes: November 2024
DRAFT MINUTES
These minutes will be agreed at the Parish Council meeting on 9th December and might be subject to slight amendment
The minutes of a meeting of Oakford Parish Council held in the Committee Room at Oakford Village Hall at 7.30pm on Monday 11th November 2024.
Present:
Cllr’s G Baylis (Chair), J Cridland, F Cross, L Gould, J Levick, J Mayer and V Stevens.
In attendance:
County Cllr R Chesterton, District Cllr C Adcock and the Clerk, Mrs J Larcombe
88/11/24. To receive apologies for absence.
Apologies were accepted from Cllr Potter.
89/11/24. Declarations of Interest.
Cllr Baylis declared an interest in item 98/11/24 a) because he had submitted an expense claim.
90/11/24. Public Forum.
No members of the public present.
91/11/24. To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 15th October 2024 as an accurate record of the meeting.
The minutes were agreed as an accurate record and they were duly signed by the Chair.
92/11/24. Matters arising from the minutes, not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
None.
93/11/24. Planning
a) To comment on any planning applications received before the meeting.
No applications received.
b) To note any planning decisions made by MDDC.
No decisions received.
c) Update on alleged planning breaches.
No further update. Cllr Cross referred to the session on planning enforcement, appeals and obligations she had attended and said the situation we are in is a joke. MDDC only issued 2 enforcement notices in the year ending June 2024 and other district councils in Devon had similar low figures. She will send the slides to Cllr Chesterton and Cllr Adcock.
Action: Cllr Cross to share slides from planning enforcement, appeals and obligations training with Cllr Chesterton and Cllr Adcock.
d) To minutes the comment submitted as part of the Devon Countywide Local
Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) consultation.
The following comment was submitted: Whilst Oakford Parish Council would not expect Oakford to be specifically included in any future walking/cycling routes (we do already have eight established walking routes) we would fully support any plan that established greater connections between Tiverton and the Exmoor National Park, perhaps following the River Exe and/or disused railway routes through the area.
e) Any other planning matters.
No other planning matters.
94/11/24. Highways:
a) Any matters to note or report.
The triangle with the Summer’s bench has suffered tyre damage and it was suggested that concrete planters could be added to stop people driving onto it. This will be added to the list of items to be discussed at the meeting with Cllr Chesterton and Melanie Mckenna.
The hedges on the road from Spurway to the A361 are very overgrown and cars are getting scratched. Hedges are the landowners responsibility and they do have until the end of February to get then cut. Some of the overgrown hedges are on the boundary of plots sold by Woodland.co.uk. Their agent could be contacted.
b) Update on meeting with Cllr Richard Chesterton and Melanie Mckenna to discuss highways issues in the parish.
This meeting will be arranged for the 9th December. A venue will be agreed and Cllr Baylis offered his house. Cllr’s Baylis, Cross, Gould, Levick and Stevens volunteered to attend. Signage on Hangmans Hill will be one of the items to be discussed. The metal railings between the bridge and the river are bent. Satnav information needs updating but lots of drivers use their mobile phone to give them directions. At certain times of the year the road becomes very slippery even for cars.
c) Update on flooding issues/blocked drains.
After recent heavy rainwater is not running away behind the triangle with the Summers bench and is pooling across the road in front.
Cllr Baylis has reported flooding and blocked drains on the road from Fordmoor Cross to Stuckeridge Cross, Oakford. He received a response to say that following a site visit on 21 October, the pipe entering the field on the corner is taking water. The owner of the field advised it has been ditched on the inside hedge, but the field is the same height as the hill. Water on the carriageway is less than I’ve witnessed before. I will look to do an improvement drainage scheme here once I’ve looked into the best options.
d) Grit bins – to note the damage and replacement of a grit bin: bins that need refilling.
Councillors have checked the levels of grit in the bins and there is still plenty of grit.
One grit bin was damaged beyond repair when a car overturned and collided with it. There was still a lot of gritting material in it, It has been replaced with a plastic grit bin.
95/11/24. Footpaths:
a) Update on 2024-25 P3 funding.
No further update. The Clerk has not received a response to emails.
b) Any other footpath matters. Quite a lot of work is needed on the footpath in Walk 4, known as the Hundred steps. The steps themselves need work and the chicken wire on the bridge is dangerous. Cllr Gould reported she has contacted Stuart Howell, DCC Rights of Way Warden, about this.
96/11/24. Reports:
County Cllr Report.
Cllr Chesterton said he didn’t have much to report.
More than £8 million will be spent on housing projects in East, North, Mid and West Devon, the South Hams and Torbay. They are part of the £16 million of capital funding from Devon County Council and Torbay Council’s devolution deal. Mid Devon has two Community Land Trust projects in Chawleigh and Thorverton. This is a good help for affordable housing.
District Cllr Report.
A written report for November from Cllr Adcock was circulated by email earlier in the month. Community Risk Register - MDDC is creating a register of risks to support its Resilience Strategy. District Councillors have been asked to identify what they see as the top three community risks across the direct to form an initial list. Flash flooding is identified as a risk and Oakfordbridge has been included in the areas at risk.
97/1124. Community Area:
a) Any points to note from inspections of community area.
Cllr Levick gave the Clerk a copy of his report from his last two inspections. The planks that someone put in the hedge have been removed and the fence is fine.Cllr Levick has asked Hampton Maintenance for a quote for grass cutting for 2025 and for work to remedy the slippery area at the entrance of the playing field. There has been a report of someone slipping over recently. It was suggested a bid could be made to Cllr Chesterton’s Locality Budget for funding towards this work. Cllr Chesterton advised that an application should be made as soon as possible, before funding runs out. Someone has also slipped on the bridge. Gritting material will be added to the surface of the bridge.
Action: Cllr Baylis and Cllr Levick to put gritting material on the bridge.
It was reported that there are lots of flies in the pavilion. These are believed to be cluster flies which will disappear when it gets frosty.
b) To discuss cutting back the overhanging branches and improving the surface at the entrance to the Community Area.
Cllr Stevens suggested using an extendable pruner to cut back the branches. A working party could be arranged for a Saturday morning. Cllr Baylis and Cllr Levick volunteered to help. Some overhanging branches on the lower hedge could also be cut back.
c) To discuss the possibilities of creating a footpath from the Village Hall car park to the Community Area.
Cllr Stevens is still trying to liaise with the land owner.
d) Any matters to note.
No other matters to note.
98/11/24. Finance
a) To approve any invoices or expense claims presented for payment.
It was resolved to make the following payments:
Devon Association of Local Councils - £36.00 Attendance of Cllr Cross at Planning Enforcement (Payment ref: 2425/26)
Cllr Baylis declared an interest and took no part in the agreement of the payment for his expense claim.
Cllr G Baylis - £7.80 expenses claim for replacement lighting tubes for the defibrillator kiosk (Payment ref: 2425/27)
Mrs J Larcombe - £200.25 Clerk’s salary for October and backpay. Councillors agreed the Clerk should receive the 2024-25 nationally awarded pay increase which is backdated to 1st April 2024. (Payment ref: 2425/28).
Since the last meeting a payment of £180.00 has been made to Hampton Maintenance (Payment ref: 2425/25).
A service charge of £5.40 was taken from the current account at the end of October.
A service charge of £6.00 will be taken from the account at the end of November.
An internal transfer will be made from the Instant Access Account to the Current Account to return the balance to £500.00.
b) To note any receipts since the last meeting and the bank balance.
There have been no receipts since the last meeting. The Current Account balance is £500.00. The Instant Access Account balance is £13,039.40
c) To agree a donation to the Royal British Legion.
It was agreed to donate £50 to the RBL (Payment ref: 2425/29)
d) To discuss the grant request from CHAT.
Since the agenda was published a request for a grant has been received from Mid Devon Mobility. These will both be added to the December agenda and the letters requesting funding will be circulated with the agenda
e) Bank reconciliation 31.10.24.
The bank reconciliation was checked against the bank statements and signed by Cllr Levick.
f) To adopt the new NALC Model Financial Regulations.
Councillors agreed to adopt the new model Financial Regulations which had been personalised for Oakford Parish Council.
99/11/24. Update on relaunch of the Oakford Parish Council Facebook page.
Mr Brain is no longer an administrator. Cllr Baylis and Cllr Cross will get together to look at reformatting the page. Useful information from DCC, MDDC and DALC will be included.
Action: Cllr Baylis and Cllr Cross to get together to look at reformatting the Facebook page.
100/11/24. To confirm arrangements for the defibrillator training on Saturday 30th November.
The room has been booked for the training session which will run from 10.00 to 12.00. The trainer will bring his own projector and screen. Anyone is welcome. Cllr Mrs Cridland will do tea, coffee and biscuits.
101/11/24. Correspondence.
The following correspondence was noted:
DALC Newsletters
MDDC press releases
MDDC – latest side waste statistics late September to mid October
CAG Devon SkillShare24 event for community groups
Devon Countryside Access Forum Membership
MDDC – Let’s Talk Mid Devon Residents Survey 2024
Connecting Devon & Somerset (CDS) Update
102/11/24. To confirm the date of the next meeting.
The next meeting will be held on Monday 9th December 2024.
The meeting closed at 9.10pm.