Parish Council Minutes: June 2026
DRAFT MINUTES
These minutes will be agreed at the meeting to be held on13th July 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 8th June 2026
Present:
Cllr’s J Levick, G Baylis, F Cross, J Cridland, T Davies, L Gould, J Mayer and V Stevens.
In attendance:
County Cllr S Lodge, five members of the public and the Clerk, Mrs J Larcombe.
15/06/26. To receive apologies for absence.
Apologies were received from District Cllr’s C Adcock and M Stratton.
16/06/26. Declarations of Interest.
Cllr Mayer declared a personal and prejudicial interest regarding Spurway Barton (Item 20/06/26d) as she does some work for the owners
17/06/26. Public Forum.
The dumping of soil and associated works at Oakfordbridge is still being investigated, It is concerning that it is still at this stage as the soil needs to be removed urgently. In view of this Rachel Gilmour MP has been asked to push for one of these three agencies to take leadership on this matter. The EA has greater powers and should be the organisation taking leadership. Cllr Levick will follow this up with the MP. Members of the public attending the meeting said they had been told the authorities are trying to build a rock solid case so the owner of the field, and the person responsible for the dumping of the soil, cannot appeal once further action is taken,
A member of the public introduced himself and explained he has agreed with the owner to rent the field which Footpath 5a runs across. He wants to put three young horses in the field as soon as possible and would like to fence the footpath to keep everyone safe. He would like to put the footpath back to the position on the map but doesn’t want to ‘rattle cages’. It was explained that a meeting has been called by Stuart Howell, DCC Public Rights of Way Warden, to discuss the line of the footpath. The member of the public said he would like to attend the meeting, which is being held on 10th June, and he was advised this would be subject to the agreement of an owner of the field and Mr Howell. Arrangements will be made to facilitate this. Everyone agreed that it was important to keep both the public and the horses safe.
The members of the public left the meeting.
18/06/26. To agree the minutes of the Annual Parish Council meeting held on 11th May 2026 as an accurate record of the meeting.
The minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting and they were duly signed by the Chair.
19/06/26. Matters arising from the minutes, not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
None.
20/06/26. Planning
a) To comment on any planning applications received before the meeting.
No applications received.
b) To note any planning decisions made by MDDC.
26/00564/PNAG Prior Approval for the erection of an agricultural storage building.Location: Land at NGR 289762 123318 East Tapps Farm, Oakford. Decision: Prior approval not required.
c) Update on action being taken regarding the dumping of soil and associated works at Oakfordbridge.
This was covered in item 17/06/26
d) Update on alleged planning breaches.
The Clerk has had no reply to her email and will chase again. In the case of Spurway Barton, the Clerk will email John Millar,
MDDC Area Team Leader (Development Management).
There has been no update on the Yurt.
Action: The Clerk to contact MDDC and ask for an update on planning breaches.
e) Any other planning matters.
No other planning matters.
21/06/26. Highways:
a) Any matters to note or report.
Some surfacing work has been carried out since the last meeting.
b) Update on flooding issues/blocked drains.
No update but it was noticed that a small amount of water ran down Rookery Hill after recent heavy rain.
c) Update on improvements to the fingerpost signs.
No work is being carried out at the moment. Cllr Mrs Cridland asked for suggestions for the next fingerpost.
d) Any other highways matters.
None.
22/06/26. Footpaths
a) To discuss the email from the owner of the field adjacent to the village which Footpath 5a passes through.
The Clerk has received an email from an owner of the field and this has been shared with councillors. The email complained about trespassing, criminal damage, and theft. Both footpath signs, at each end of the field, have allegedly been ripped off and removed. Some of the fence at both entrances has been torn out of the ground and discarded, and many fence posts are missing. The beehive straps have been taken off, one of the threaded bars pulled out of the ground, straps and rod thrown down on the floor, and the lid has been moved up but not off. She would like to come to some agreement where the walkers stick to the footpath that is signposted and near the original and official She would like the original footpath reinstated but in order to avoid all this confusion and negligence has offered to compromise and allow the path the run parallel to the official path albeit on her side of the fence. Stuart Howell, DCC Public Rights of Way Warden, has called a meeting to discuss the line of the footpath and he has invited his line manager. The daughter of the previous owners will be attending as their agent. Mr Cridland, Parish Footpath Warden, will be attending and the Parish Council has been invited. Cllr Levick will attend for the Parish Council.
b) To receive an update on the application for a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO) under Section 53 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for Footpath 5a.
The forms were submitted by first class post on 13th May but no Acknowledgement of receipt has been received.
The Parish Council was of the understanding the field was jointly owned but it appears the two parties concerned have parted ways, although his has not been confirmed by the person understood to be the second owner. There was concern as to whether the person claiming to be the owner has received notification about the application.
c) Any other footpath matters.
No other footpath matters.
23/06/26. Reports:
a) District Cllr Report.
A written report from the District Councillors was circulated by email at the end of May.
b) County Cllr Report.
A written report was circulated by email prior to the meeting. Cllr Lodge is pushing the road warden scheme quite hard. DCC doesn’t have the money to fix all the road defects but will pay for up to three volunteers to receive Chapter 8 training. This could be any nominated person. One trained volunteer can supervise up to three other volunteers and the materials needed to carry out the repairs will be provided. Cllr Lodge will ensure the parishes talk to each other. Morebath already has a Road Warden. Cllr Davies, Cllr Stevens and Mr Cridland volunteered to be road wardens.
Cllr Baylis referred to the statement in Cllr Lodge’s report that last winter was one of the harshest winters in recent years and asked how DCC had assessed that. Cllr Lodge explained there is team that does that.
Cllr Lodge reported that he had attended a screening of The People's Emergency Briefing, a recently released documentary presented by Chris Packham that explores the potential impacts of climate and nature change on communities across the UK. The film has been screened in community venues, village halls, universities and civic spaces around the country, often followed by an open discussion about what the issues raised may mean for local communities. It is rated 16+ due to some of the content and themes explored. He asked if the Village Hall would put this film on. The objective is to get the Government to broadcast this on mainstream TV. This would need to be discussed by the Village Hall Committee unless it was agreed this would be organised by the Parish Council. This will be added to the next agenda.
Action: the Clerk to add an item regarding the possible screening of the documentary to the next agenda.
24/06/26. Community Area:
a) Any points to note from the regular inspections of community area.
Cllr Levick reported he had emailed a copy of his report to the Clerk.
The revised quote from Hampton Maintenance for the work to the pavilion has been accepted. Changing the specification will cost an additional £109.
b) Update on the ordering of picnic tables.
Anyone interested in deciding which picnic tables to order were asked to stay behind at the end of the meeting to look at the options with the Clerk and power was given to decide which to order.
c) To decide which fitness equipment would be suitable for the community area so that an application can be made for S106 funding.
Anyone interested in deciding which picnic tables to order were asked to stay behind at the end of the meeting to look at the options with the Clerk and power was given to decide which to order.
d) Any matters to note.
A Picnic in the Park event is being held on Saturday July 4th.
25/06/26. Finance:
a) to approve any invoices or expense claims presented for payment.
It was resolved to make the following payments:
|
2627/10 |
Oakford Village Hall |
£123.50 |
Room hire |
|
2627/11 |
Jill Larcombe |
£182.81 |
Salary for May + expenses |
|
2627/12 |
Hampton Maintenance |
£189.00 |
Grass cutting |
|
2627/13 |
Cllr J Cridland |
£9.05 |
Postage for footpath matters |
Since the last meeting a payment of £189.00 has been paid to Hampton Maintenance (Payment reference 2627/09)
A service charge of £7.00 was taken from the current account at the end of May. A service charge of £7.00 will be taken from the account at the end of June. Internal transfers will be made to return the balance to £500.00
b) To note any receipts since the last meeting and the bank balance.
No receipts since the last meeting. The Current Account balance is £499.94 and the Instant Access Account balance is £17715.24.
c) Bank reconciliation 31.05.26.
The bank reconciliation was checked and signed by Cllr Stevens.
d) To agree the appointment of an internal auditor.
It was agreed to appoint Amy Tregellas.
e) To agree the Annual Governance Statement for 2025-26.
Agreed subject to internal audit.
f) To agree the Accounting Statement for 2025-26.
Agreed.
g) To agree that the Parish Council wishes to certify itself as exempt from a limited assurance review under Section 9 of the Local Audit (Smaller Authorities) Regulations 2015.
Agreed.
26/06/26. To discuss the replacement of the Oakford website before April 2027 when MDDC will no longer provide the service.
A new website which meets the WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standard will be required. There is also a legal requirement under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, and a compliant accessibility statement must be produced. Cllr Lodge suggested the smaller local parish councils could collaborate on building a template for a Wix website. Cllr Baylis asked to be involved.
Due to Local Government Reorganisation MDDC will cease to exist.
27/06/26. Correspondence.
The following correspondence was noted:
DALC Newsletters
MDDC press releases
MDDC –information about new app. Information will be put on Facebook.
MDDC – Plan Mid Devon. Information about the start of preparing a new local plan.
MDDC – Visit Mid Devon website. Cllr Baylis can provide actual pictures of Oakford.
28/06/26. To confirm the date of the next meeting.
Monday 13th July 2026. Cllr Gould gave her apologies.