Minutes Council Meeting January 28 2025
Minutes of the Meeting of Stoodleigh Parish Council, held on January 28th 2025 at 7.00pm in the Village Hall
Members present – Chairman Cllr W Knowles Vice Chair Cllr J Widdowson Cllr J Mansfield Cllr G Parkman Cllr D Wotton
County Cllr R Chesterton and District Cllr C Adcock
1. Apologies and Resignations - Apologies were received from Cllr Payne due to ill health. The resignation of Cllr Davey was accepted, the council had greatly appreciated her input while in post. A Casual Vacancy will be advertised shortly
2. Declarations of Interest – none declared
3. The Public – 3 members of the public were present who expressed concerns on the performance of broadband and how local business was being detrimentally affected. This subject is further covered under Item 6 by County Cllr Chesterton. Tim Hugill recommended a very explanatory map on the website “Think Broadband” illustrating the amount of existing broadband coverage.
4. Minutes of the Meeting held November 26th – these were approved and signed as a true record.
5. Planning Applications and Outcomes :
24/00285/FULL Erection of 7 workshops (Use Class B) and café to serve development (Use Class E) following demolition of general industrial buildings, Shadow Ponds – awaiting appeal.
24/00818/FULL Demolition of Oakdale, work has been proceeding but perhaps not in the approved manner. The owner has been contacted by MDDC, Building Control and a reply is awaited
24/01551/CAT To fell 1 conifer and reduce the height of a Cornus Tree within a conservation area, Orchard View – no objection
24/01634/PNCOU Change of land use to a temporary campsite consisting of 12 pitches, 3 touring vehicles and associated structures under Part4, Class BC – permitted. The original application was misleading and later amended
24/01647/CAT Intention to pollard 1 Oak Tree, 1 Goat Willow and 1 Ash Tree with in a conservation area, Stoodleigh Court – no objection
24/01655/CAT Remove branches and pollard an Ash Tree within a conservation area, Quoit-at-Cross – no objection
24/01786/PNCOU Change of use for 1 agricultural building to a dwelling under Class Q, NGR 294540 119596 Hazel’s Farm- decision awaited.
25/0006/HOUSE Erection of a 1 and 2 storey extension, 3 Court Gardens – decision awaited. The council felt that a visit might be useful.
6. Reports
County and District Council -reports from both parties had been previously circulated.
It was disappointing that Airband had opted out of their contract and Tiverton West, Cove and Washfield were among the worst affected. County Cllr Chesterton is planning to set up a local meeting and with involvement from the local voucher scheme this should generate sufficient interest for remedial action.
Parish Councillors
Cllr Widdowson is to liaise with Devon Air Ambulance to suggest Stoodleigh Barton airfield as a night time landing site, this would appear to meet all the criteria. The cricket field might be a second option. Any issues with local footpaths should now be directed to Cllr Wotton.
7. Highways and Byways – the complaint on the overgrown road hedge at Warbrightly Hill, referred by Oakford PC, is to be investigated by the Cllr Knowles.
County Councillor Richard Chesterton is meeting with Highways to discuss priorities when allocating funds for improvement/repair on local roads and will endeavour to get mutual dates for local involvement.
The appointment of a Stoodleigh Snow Warden may have to be revisited in order to have free salt deliveries. Additional grit bins may have to be commercially purchased.
8. Defibrillator Rota – now that there are 2 defibrillators in the village it would be logical to include them both when carrying out the monthly checks.
9. Devolution White Paper – District Cllr Adcock emphasised that there would still be a need for Parish Councils in the future. Despite the proposed changes not being in the Labour manifesto the time scale for implementation is extremely short. The intention is to become more efficient and save costs by consolidating local government functions into a single authority. Parish councils will generally remain intact but their role and responsibilities may widen. It is most important to retain input at a local level.
10. The Playground – the annual inspection is due in March and it was agreed that it is valuable for Cllr Widdowson to be present although this incurs an additional charge. The church appears reluctant to take over ownership of the newly repaired boundary wall, a formal response is awaited. Cost of conveyancing is one of the stumbling blocks.
11. The Parish Plan – little progress has been made to date. Roger Hill was keen to be involved and has been unwell. He was part of the steering group for the existing, if outdated plan and so his experience is valued. No specific MDDC funding is available to cover costs such as printing.
12. The Notice Board – Cllr Mansfield had had a highly competitive quote from Steve Partridge which would incorporate the Gerald Palfrey plaque. Acceptance of £1325 for the order was proposed by Cllr Mansfield and seconded by Cllr Wotton. Unanimously agreed and to pay the deposit.
13. Community Risk Register- the Clerk was tasked with responding. Much of the questionaire is not directly relevant to Stoodleigh
14. Digital BT – the council was unaware of anyone attending any BT Digital Voice Events.
15. Finance
HSBC current account 12/1/2025 £8453.32
NS&I £2844.55 + interest for 2024
Unity Banking – the Clerk had begun the application process to transfer accounts from HSBC and NS&I. The 3 proposed signatories signed the submission forms and the other required documents for verification would also be forwarded. The savings account was a definite for transference.
Payments approved – J Widdowson £23.87 Clerk £360 HMRC £90