Annual Parish Meeting Minutes May 2025
Minutes of Stoodleigh Annual Parish Meeting held on the 28th May 2025 in the Parish Hall at 7.00pm
Members present -: Chairman Cllr W Knowles Vice Chair Cllr J Widdowson Cllr J Mansfield Cllrs D Wotton and R Wotton
1. Apologies – were received from Cllrs Parkman and Payne. Lizzie Issacs and Geraldine Talbot as contributors, sent full reports but were unable to attend.
2. Declarations of Interest – none declared
3. The Public -there were 11 members of the public in attendance
4. Minutes of the Meeting held 29th May 2024 – were approved and signed
5. Chairman’s Report – a summary of the past year’s major events was given by Cllr Knowles
6. Reports –
The Cricket Club – nothing was forthcoming
Parish Hall – Linda Brice explained the situation with vacancies for both Chair and Vice Chair since November last. She submitted a comprehensive written report including reference to the well attended coffee morning and tree lighting event.
The Garden Club – this is becoming increasing popular and membership in the past year is now 44. The last show in August raised £343 profit and Shirley Cope was keen to promote the next date 23rd August 2025 with schedules for show entries being available on the parish website.
The Swap Box is now fully functioning now that the door has been repaired and repainted. This was helped by a generous donation from the Trevor and Shirley Cope with Roger Hill carrying out the work.
The Church Warden – full report submitted. There is now a date for the flagpole to be reinstated. Repairs to the doors and church gates have made a marked improvement. Services have been moved to 10am which should make attendance easier for some. The heating boilers are coming to their end of effective use and these will be costly to replace.
The Parish Website -this is proving to be a most effective means of communication. A very detailed summary highlighting the amount of local interest and usage was submitted.
The Stoodleigh Inn – unfortunately neither the landlady or any of the current trustees were available to attend. Lizzie had forwarded a report summarising the special events of last year. These along with the overall support from the parish are particularly encouraging. New trustees are currently being appointed.
The Clerk has hard copies of most reports should anyone wish to read them at leisure.
7. Open Forum
In the absence of suggestions in advance of particular items of interest the Parish Council came up with their own ideas.
Fun Show/Dog Show. There has been an offer of a site from Cllr Parkman to hold such an event, but this would take much organisation and need a willing number of volunteers. A valid question was raised as to the distribution of any possible profit, would it be for the village or a charity? This has yet to be decided. The Parish Council had already agreed that they might make some contribution towards any organisational costs.
Highways. It was anticipated that everyone could identify a section of broken tarmac needing attention but funds are limited. The 3 most quoted road sections in desperate need of repair and that would be formally submitted to Highways are Ash Cross to Stoodleigh Moor Cross, Ash Cross to Vial’s Corner and Holmingham Farm to Half Penny Bridge. Cllr Widdowson encouraged parishioners to never the less keep identifying and reporting the most deserving cases in need of attention.
DCC Snow and Road Warden Training. The Devon County Council is offering to provide a day’s training for a Road Warden and the necessary materials to mend any potholes which may not technically qualify for urgent attention. With a nominated Snow Warden the parish would be supplied with salt as required although funding for any additional grit boxes would still be in house issue. Incidents have been solved in the past by kindly residents clearing snow and spreading grit. The problem arises with needing specific insurance cover and the type of diesel in any vehicle used. The Clerk will contact Morebath PC as to how they overcame this. However, if anyone feels public spirited enough to volunteer for either role please contact either the Clerk or a Councillor for further information.
Broadband and Digital Voice. Progress on this issue was slowed up by the May Election and change of councillors. Tim Hugill has been running voluntary sessions along with others to explain the process and alleviate people’s concerns. It is recognised that some elderly and those with special needs will need additional support when the present landline service is switched off in 2 years time. Explanatory sessions held during the day seem to be more popular. An item in the Exe Valley magazine may be useful. Any such presentation/opportunity should be open to several parishes.
The Parish Plan. Cllr Mansfield is taking the lead for this project. There are no special funds available to cover any costs which may be incurred. Roger Hill was heavily involved last time, approximately 25 years ago and his input would be especially useful. A survey to establish the situation and the thoughts of Stoodleigh residents is likely to have a better response through a more personal approach.
District Council Surgeries. These were considered worthwhile continuing but it was understandable that it would be useful to all parties involved if those interested booked an appointment as such, (between 6.30 and 7.00pm) by notifying the Clerk on the preceding Sunday.
The Village Shop. A question was raised as to the progress with this conversion and whether any opening date had been confirmed. This is a privately run concern. Excessive paperwork seems to be the main reason for the delay but the end is in sight.