Parish Council Minutes: May 2025
DRAFT MINUTES
These minutes will be agreed as the Parish Council meeting on 9th June 2025 and might be subject to slight amendment
The Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Oakford Parish Council held in the Main Hall, Oakford Village Hall at 7.30pm on Monday 12th May 2025.
Present:
Cllr’s J Levick (Chair), G Baylis, J Cridland, F Cross, L Gould, J Mayer and V Stevens.
In attendance:
County Cllr S Lodge, District Cllr’s C Adcock and M Stratton and the Clerk, Mrs J Larcombe.
01/05/25. Election of Officers:
a) Chair – the elected chair to sign an Acceptance of Office Form. Cllr J Levick was unanimously elected as Chair. Proposed by Cllr Mayer and seconded by Cllr Baylis. There were no other nominations. Cllr Levick signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office Form.
Cllr Levick thanked Cllr Baylis, outgoing Chair, for all his work while Chair and said he hoped he would do as well as Cllr Baylis had done.
b) Vice-chair. Cllr Cridland was unanimously elected as Vice-chair. Proposed by Cllr Baylis and seconded by Cllr Gould. There were no other nominations.
02/05/25. To receive apologies for absence.
Apologies were accepted from Cllr Potter.
03/05/25. Declarations of Interest.
Cllr Mayer declared an interest regarding Spurway Barton as she does some work for the owners. Cllr Cridland declared a personal and prejudicial interest as her son is employed by Hampton Maintenance.
04/05/25. Public Forum.
No members of the public present.
05/05/25. To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 14th April 2025 as an accurate record of the meeting.
The minutes were agreed as an accurate record and were duly signed by the Chair.
06/05/25. Matters arising from the minutes, not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
None.
07/05/25. Planning
a) To comment on any planning applications received before the meeting.
25/00472/Full Replacement of earth bank lagoon with concrete panelled slurry lagoon. Location: Land at NGR 289816 123301 East Tapps Farm, Oakford. Site Vicinity Grid Ref: 289796 / 123252. Comment: Oakford Parish Council supports this application.
Councillors noted the impact the withdrawal of funding from the Government’s Rural Payments Agency for slurry stores etc would have on this rural farming area. Cattle have to be kept inside for several months a year and adequate storage facilities for slurry are a necessity. Earth bank slurry stores can leak and there are boreholes in the area. Leaks can also lead to discharge into rivers where there are already dwindling fish stocks. There can also be problems with septic tanks leaking and there is no legislation. It was suggested that the Parish Council should write to Rachel Gilmour MP about the impact of the removal of capital grants for slurry stores etc and the need for them to be reinstated. It was pointed out that there is more impact if a number of individuals write to their MP than if the Parish Council write to them. The Council’s Facebook page will be used to encourage parishioners to write to Rachel Gilmour MP. The Parish Council will send a letter to the farming minister.
Actions: use the Council’s Facebook page to encourage parishioners to write to Rachel Gilmour MP to complain about the withdrawal of capital grants for farmers. The Clerk to write to the farming minister on behalf of the Council.
b) To note any planning decisions made by MDDC.
25/00351/Full Erection of agricultural machinery store/covered yard extension.
Location: Land and Buildings at NGR 287461 122025 South Esworthy Farm, Oakford. Decision: conditional approval granted.
c) Update on alleged planning breaches.
No update for alleged breaches at Spurway Barton. The alleged planning breach at Rainbow Woods was originally raised with the then Enforcement Officer in November 2023 and he promised to raise a case for investigation. When Cllr Adcock enquired about the progress again last month the new Enforcement Officer found that in fact no case had been raised.
Cllr Adcock has now raised the case again, along with the two others. They have now all been entered into the system and Cllr Adcock has reference numbers. Cllr Adcock has reported the alleged planning breaches in the field by the village and has received a reference number. There is no clarification on the line of the public right of way across the field yet. It was reported that Stuart Howell, DCC Public Rights of Way Warden has asked for a site meeting with the owners. Once the line of the footpath is agreed it can be made sure that the fingerpost signs are directing walkers that way.
d) MDDC’s policy on empty houses.
Cllr Adcock reported that MDDC doesn’t have an empty houses officer now. Councillors reported that there is an empty property in Oakford owned by MDDC. Cllr Adcock will look into this. If a property is empty for more than 6 months council tax has to be paid.
Action: Cllr Adcock to find out what MDDC’s plans are for their empty property in Oakford.
e) Any other planning matters.
No other planning matters.
08/05/25. Highways:
a) Any matters to note or report.
No matters to report.
b) Update on flooding issues/blocked drains.
The weather has been predominately dry and there have been no issues.
c) Update on improvements to the fingerpost sign.
Ongoing.
d) Any other highways matters.
Councillors explained the ongoing issues with highway signage on Hangmans Hill. There are warning signs at either end but they are different and don’t give the same message. Drivers are not taking any notice of the warning signage and choose to follow their satnavs. This is resulting in larger vehicles getting stuck on this steep, windy piece of road which includes a narrow bridge. Vehicles are also hitting the bridge. Oakford Parish Council’s position is that the signage is inadequate and this was brought up during the highways meeting with Melanie Mckenna, Neighbourhood Highways Officer (HNO) earlier this year. DCC believe the signage is adequate and are refusing to make any changes. Cllr Lodge asked if any monitoring has been done as he needs facts if he is to take this matter up with the HNO. Records will be kept with dates and photos. Councillors know there are still ongoing issues with traffic on Hangmans Hill as they are witness to them and in the interests of safety they want to prevent a fatality.
Cllr Lodge is not able to take on any case work until 22nd May. He does not receive a handover from the previous County Cllr. Background information about this matter will be provided to him by the Clerk.
Actions: The Clerk to provide Cllr Lodge with background information about signage on Hangmans Hill.
09/05/25. Footpaths
a) Update on 2024-25 P3 funding.
This has still not been received. It was agreed that the Council should make a formal complaint to DCC.
Action: the Clerk to make a formal complaint to DCC that the P3 Grant for 2024-25 has not been paid despite bank details being provided so that it could be paid.
b) Any other footpath matters.
No other footpath matters. Mr Cridland was thanked for presenting the footpath report at the Annual Parish Meeting.
10/05/25. Reports:
District Cllr Report.
A written report from Cllr Adcock was circulated by email prior to the meeting. Cllr Adcock was thanked for his report and was assured that councillors do read it and find it very helpful.
The report included an update on the Local Government Reorganisation plans in Devon. The newly elected County Council has no majority party. Districts are in favour of the 5.4.1 unitary option. This reorganisation is being forced on the councils by Government without any funding being given. Councils are spending money that could be used for better things. Town and Parish Councils will be expected to step up and take on more.
11/05/25. Community Area:
a) Any points to note from inspections of community area.
Cllr Stevens will look at the pinch points on the entrance gate. Cllr Levick will email a copy of his report to the Clerk.
Action: Cllr Stevens to adjust the entrance gate so that there are no pinch points.
b) Update on repairs made following the Rospa annual inspection including repairs to the bridge.
The sleepers have been laid and the repairs completed. The lips of the sleepers were creating a trip hazard but theses have been shaved off. The bridge is much sturdier now.
c) Refurbishment of pavilion interior.
Carried forward.
d) Arrangements for the community area maintenance/clean up day.
The date has had to be rearranged. It will now take place on Sunday 8th June at 10am. Cllr Mayer offered to provide a hot dog breakfast for volunteers.
e) Update on the stabilisation of the grass immediately beyond the community area gates.
This is being monitored.
f) Update on the possibilities of creating a footpath from the Village Hall car park to the Community Area.
Cllr Stevens reported that he has spoken to the person farming the land a few times and he is willing to talk to representatives of the Parish Council. The field is quite wet and he thought it would be quite difficult to do. Cllr Stevens has done a lot of research online and he is recommending looking at providing a fence that is four foot above the ground and follows the line of the fence. It will need to be about one hundred metres long, wide enough for wheelchairs and dog proof. It could be made into a nature walk. The Council will need to look at what materials to use to make it future proof. Councillors will meet to plan it out and a preliminary meeting will be held with the farmer.
Action: Councillors to meet to plan footpath. Meeting to be arranged with the farmer.
g) Any matters to note.
The Chair of the Village Fete Committee has requested permission to hold the annual fete on the Community area on Saturday 12th July. Permission was also requested to erect some marquees on the 11th July. A risk assessment was provided with the request. Permission was given and the Clerk will ask Hampton Maintenance to cut the grass during the week before the fete.
Action: the Clerk to ask Hampton Maintenance to cut the community area grass week commencing 7th July.
12/05/25. Finance
a) To approve any invoices or expense claims presented for payment.
It was resolved to make the following payments:
Hampton Maintenance – £2717.92 Grass cutting (£180.00) & repairs to the bridge at the entrance to the Community Area (£2537.92) (Payment ref: 2526/04)
Mrs J Larcombe - £154.34 salary for April (Payment ref: 2526/06)
A service charge of £6.00 was taken from the current account at the end of April and a service charge of £6.00 will be taken from the account at the end of May.
An internal transfer will be made from the Instant Access Account to the Current Account to return the balance to £500.00
b) Insurance renewal for 2025-26.
It was agreed to accept the quote from Community First Trading Ltd and enter into a three year agreement with a payment of £380.62 (Payment ref: 2526/05)
c) To note any receipts since the last meeting and the bank balance.
Since the last meeting there have been no receipts.
The Current Account balance is £500.00 and the Instant Access Account balance is £16,273.31.
d) Bank reconciliation 31.04.25.
The bank reconciliation was checked by Cllr Levick. As Cllr Levick is now the Chair of the Council it was agreed that Cllr Stevens would check the bank reconciliations.
e) Annual accounts for 2024-25.
Documentation to be checked by the Internal Auditor.
13/05/25. Correspondence:
the following correspondence was noted.
DALC Newsletters
MDDC press releases
MDDC - latest side waste data
Citizens Advice - Mid Devon service: dedicated debt and energy team based in Mid Devon
14/05/25. To confirm the date of the next meeting.
The next meeting will be held on Monday 9th June 2025.
Apologies were received from Cllr Levick and Cllr Stevens.
The meeting closed at 9.04pm