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DRAFT MINUTES

These minutes will be agreed at the Parish Council meeting due to be held on 14th April 2025 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 10th March 2025

Present:

Cllr’s J Cridland (Meeting Chair), F Cross, J Meyer and V Stevens.

In attendance:

County Cllr R Chesterton, District Cllr C Adcock, three members of the public and the Clerk, Mrs J Larcombe.

152/03/25. To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were accepted from Cllr’s G Baylis, L Gould, J Levick, and P Potter.

153/03/25. Declarations of Interest.

Cllr Mayer declared a personal and prejudicial interest in item 157/03/25 c) as she does some work for the owners of Spurway Barton.

Cllr Cridland declared a personal and prejudicial interest in item 161/03/25 c) as her son works for a business that has been asked for a quote.

154/03/25. Public Forum.

Steve Lodge introduced himself as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Tiverton West electoral division in the County Council elections.

155/03/25. To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 10th February 2025 as an accurate record of the meeting.

The minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting and they were duly signed by Cllr Cridland, Chair of the meeting.

156/03/25. Matters arising from the minutes, not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

None.

157/03/25. Planning

a) To comment on any planning applications received before the meeting.

25/00262/CAT Notification of intention to fell 1 Ash tree in a Conservation Area.Location: The Old Smithy, Bampton, Tiverton. The application was noted.

b) To note any planning decisions made by MDDC.

25/00063/PNAG Prior Notification for the erection of roof to provide covered yard.

Location: Land at NGR 287478 122018 South Esworthy Farm, Oakford. Decision: no prior approval needed.

c) Update on alleged planning breaches.

Spurway Barton breaches: John Millar Area Team Manager (Development Management) MDDC, is still progressing this case. Cllr Adcock has been advised that part of the development could be policy compliant but it is unlikely that all of it could be supported.

d) MDDC call for sites.

MDDC is launching a new Call for Sites in 2025 to inform a new Local Plan for Mid Devon. Small and medium sized sites are particularly of interest. For homes, they should be more than 0.15 Hectares (0.37 acres) for 5+ homes. For Economic Development, they should be more than 0.25 Hectares (0.62 acres) or potentially provide 500 m2 of floor space. Councillors noted there was a potential site in the village that the owner might be interested in developing. This will be discussed at the next meeting. It is hoped to engage with the owner of the site to find out if they are interested in developing the site.

e) Any other planning matters.

No other planning matters.

Two members of the public joined the meeting.

154/03/25. Public Forum.

It was agreed to allow the two members of the public to speak.

They explained they had bought a field in the parish which is crossed by a public footpath. They would like to fence the sides of the footpath to keep people and dogs on the path and to stop dog poo over the field. They have been trying to find out the correct line of the footpath but DCC’s website and the signage do not show the footpath in the same place. They were advised to contact Tania Weeks, DCC Public Rights of Way Officer and Definitive Map Researcher.

158/03/25. Highways:

a) Any matters to note or report.

Cllr Meyer reported to MDDC the need for a road sweeper to clean the leaves from the side of the road from the Village Hall to the lower part of the village but was told it wasn’t needed. Some roads in other parts of the parish have been cleaned.

b) Highways priorities – to note the reference number for Priority 2 has been updated to 244572667as scheme 244624274 has been amalgamated into it.

Noted.

c) Update on flooding issues/blocked drains.

No update as the weather has been dry.

d) To further discuss improvements to the fingerpost signs.

As Cllr Gould had given her apologies this item was deferred to the April meeting. The Clerk will check whether the Parish Council will have to join one of the highway schemes to be able to apply for funding. There will be some further research on the condition of the fingerposts in the parish.

Action: the Clerk to check whether the Parish Council will have to join one of the highway schemes to be able to apply for funding

e) Any other highways matters.

None.

159/03/25. Footpaths:

a) Update on 2024-25 P3 funding.

Jon Boyd, DCC Public Rights of Way Officer, has finally replied to the Clerk’s emails. He has asked the Clerk to supply details of the Parish Council’s bank account for the 2024-25 P3 grant to be paid into. These details have been supplied.

b) To note the submission of the P3 forms for 2024-25.

Forms are ready to submit but the Clerk is hoping the P3 grant will be paid before the deadline so it can be included on the finance form in the correct year to keep the records straight.

c) Any other footpath matters.

It was reported that the 100 steps are not too bad. A tree has come down close to a path but the path is clear to walk.

160/03/25. Reports

a) County Cllr Report.

Cllr Chesterton reported that DCC would be increasing its budget by 4.9% for 2025-26. This is a general increase of 2.9% plus 2% for adult social care. There was one amendment to keep the County Councillors locality budget at £8,000 per councillor instead of reducing it to £5,000 as proposed. This is an excellent way to give support to communities. The 4.9% increase is similar to other local authorities. The discussions to consider options for Local Government Reorganisation are continuing and the Government will probably end up making the decision. They asked for a definitive answer by 21st March but they are now asking for proposals and the thinking behind them. The District Councils are favouring the 1.4.5 proposal as it keeps to the district areas. This would be a unitary combining the South Hams, Teignbridge and West Devon areas with Torbay; a unitary including East, Mid and North Devon alongside Torridge District and the City of Exeter and Plymouth remaining as a unitary. Plymouth is likely to ask for their boundary to be changed. Keeping to the district areas will mean there is no need for a full public consultation. There are likely to be three or four different proposals. Plymouth’s proposal is likely to be similar to the districts. The County and District Councils will go when the unitary councils take over. Cllr Mayer said she feels more will fall on town and parish councils as a result. Some Town and Parish Councils would welcome the opportunity to take on more. Elsewhere in the country there has been no funding for the change to unitary and it has resulted in hefty council tax rises. There will be a shadow unitary council for a year before the unitary council comes in place.  Central Government funding has decreased over the years. Once 50% of council’s funding came from the Government. The spending powers of councils is less now. This was Cllr Chesterton’s last meeting before the County Council election and he will not be standing for the Tiverton West electoral division of. He was thanked for all that he had done during his period as County Councillor.

b) District Cllr Report.

A written report from Cllr Adcock was circulated prior to the meeting. The District Councils are working together on Local Government Reorganisation and their preferred option is for two unitary councils for Devon. The final decision is likely to be made by the Government in November. Oakford is not in a bad position regarding broadband but not all properties have fibre to the premises. The site in School Close, Bampton, has been cleared for the Mid Devon Homes project for 18 new modular homes.

161/03/25. Community Area:

a) Any points to note from inspections of community area.

Cllr Levick had given his apologies. Cllr Stevens reported that he and his son had cut back further the overhanging branches at the entrance to the community area and he was thanked.

b) To note the annual inspection of the play area was carried out on 3rd March

Cllr Levick to report at the April meeting. Noted.

c) Refurbishment of pavilion interior.

This was deferred to the April meeting.

d) Update on the possibilities of creating a footpath from the Village Hall car park to the Community Area.

It still hasn’t been possible to arrange a meeting with the family that own and farm the field involved. Cllr Stevens has been doing some research and has some ideas about the creation of the footpath.

e) Any matters to note.

A date for a tidy up of the community area will be agreed at the April meeting.

162/03/25. Finance

a) To approve any invoices or expense claims presented for payment.

It was resolved to make the following payments:

Mrs J Larcombe - £154.34 Clerk’s salary (Payment ref: 2425/37)

Play Safety Ltd - £110.40 Annual playground inspection (Payment ref: 2425/38)

A service charge of £6.00 was taken from the current account at the end of February. A service charge of £6.00 will be taken from the account at the end of March.

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 £11,678.44.

c) Bank reconciliation 28.02.25.

This was checked by Cllr Mayer.

163/03/25. Defibrillator – to consider the report from Cllr Baylis and decide how to proceed.

Cllr Baylis had written a report setting out the options and this was circulated prior to the meeting. It was agreed to order a new Semi-Automatic CU-Medical iPad SPR Defibrillator at £895.00 + VAT and a new Polycarbonate heated, locked Defibrillator Cabinet with light at £525 + VAT from Andrew Deptford of aadefib.com

164/03/25. VE Day 80th celebration – to note any plans in Oakford.

Nothing major is planned. It was suggested that bunting could be put up and/or the poppies displayed in November could be displayed again. This will be discussed again next month.

165/03/25. Correspondence.

The following correspondence was noted:

 DALC Newsletters

 MDDC press releases                    

 MDDC - latest side waste data, review of unauthorised bins and pots and pans trial   

 MDDC - Joint statement on Devolution & LGR

 MDDC – Building Control team re-secures accreditation

 Keep Britain Tidy – Great British Spring Clean 21st March to 6th April. Something might be arranged but not necessarily within these dates.

 Business Information Point – free online business startup workshop 3rd March

 DALC – 8th April Smaller Councils meeting to give a LGR update

166/03/25. To confirm the date of the next meeting.

The next meeting will be held on Monday 14th April 2025. Cllr Cross and Cllr Stevens gave their apologies.

The meeting closed at 8.42pm