Minutes 8.10.24

Present: Cllrs Hulett (Chair), Lenton L, Moyse, Gilpin, Skeaping, Cook. Cllr Sanders (DCC) two members of the public.

  1. Public Session

Vic Hanson asked the council for an explanation of how the money raised at the Long Ridge Garden open day in 2022 in support of the Lydford Land Appeal had been spent. The Chair explained that the council has not been involved in any way. Cllr Gilpin was able to say that donations greater than £100 or which had been received by bank transfer had been returned. However there remains a sum of between £2,000 and £3,000 where donors cannot be identified. The Lydford Community Group, who are responsible for the funds, are looking for ways to spend the money.

  1. Apologies for absence: Cllr K Lenton (Holiday) Cllr Mott (WDBC)
  2. Declarations of Interest
    Cllr Gilpin declared a personal interest in the matter at item 8.
  3. Minutes of the meeting 10th September 2024
    The council agreed the minutes. All in favour.
  4. Matters arising from the meeting 10th September 2024
    • Councillors noted the response from the War Memorials Trust recommending that at present no work be carried out on the War Memorial
    • Trustees of the Sports Field have accepted the council’s donation of the noticeboard at the field. The board has been removed from the council’s asset register.
    • The council’s letter to Meg Booth has been completed in accordance with the council’s resolution at the previous meeting, signed and posted. There has as yet been no reply.

Responding to the council’s discussion on the new disabled parking bay, Cllr Sanders stated that he had been assured that work to the bay was carried out after proper application, by an authorised contractor and to the specified size. The Cllr is not sure how the matter might progress, if at all, but he will keep trying to force Highways into taking some form of action. He felt that the council should expect Highways to give a negative response to the council’s letter and take no further action. Cllr Sanders will let the council know the name of the department and the officer in charge that approved the initial application for the installation of the bay.

  1. How to enhance the village of Lydford
    Councillors discussed several issues presently facing the village and what action the council might take to improve matters:

a. Identified at the Annual Parish Meeting as issues facing the village.

• Lydford Gorge – Councillors are growing increasingly concerned that the Gorge is becoming increasingly commercialised, at the expense of the local community. Problems enumerated were with parking overflowing the car parks and perceived restrictions on community access to the entire Gorge site. It was noted that the numbers of attendees are still lower than pre-Covid numbers. It was agreed that Simon Thompson be invited to attend the next meeting of the council to discuss concerns over parishioner access to restricted areas of the site and to feedback on his progress in plans to prevent overflow parking in days when the site might be closed. (AP1 – Clerk to invite Simon Thompson)

• Car park charging – Councillors were happy to note that uncertainty remains about the location of the equipment that is to be used to implement parking charges. The date of installation is presently unclear. (Update – South Hams are now implementing reduced charges for local residents in their car parks.)

• Public toilets. No news on the discussions between WDBC and DNPA to bring the toilets back.

• Affordable housing – Councillors considered whether there was a genuine need for affordable housing within the village. A recent survey had revealed a demand for such housing, although the sample size was very small and possibly not representative of the opinions of the whole village. Cllr Sanders stated that Holne village had been successful in having 6 affordable units created in the village. It was agreed that before the council needs to collect a lot of information before deciding whether to proceed further with this development or not. (AP2 – Clerk to contact the Clerk to Holne parish council for information on their success in bringing affordable housing to the village). (AP3 – Clerk to invite Alex Rehaag the Principle Affordable Housing Officer from WDBC to come and talk to the council).

• Community engagement with parish activities – Whilst Councillors agreed that there was a clear need for increased engagement from the village, the trustees of the Nicholls Hall are leading very effectively on this and there is presently no need for the council to take action.

b. Council initiatives
Councillors considered a variety of ways that they might increase proactive public engagement with the parish council. A variety of possibilities were introduced:

• The council could take out a stall at next summer’s fayre.
• Council “surgeries”?
• It was agreed that the developing Community Group might be an effective way to engage with the parish.

The Chair asked that Councillors take time to think of other possible means of engagement and bring these ideas to the next council meeting.

  1. 20’s Plenty campaign

Cllr L Lenton stated that she had received information from John Simmons Millers Estate Agents Okehampton that they had received a formal letter from an official at Devon Highways requiring them to remove all of the 20’s Plenty signs that they had erected.
Cllr Hulett stated that further to the council’s support for Moretonhampstead parish council’s campaign to engage with DNPA to have a 20mph speed limit imposed in all Dartmoor Villages, he has agreed to speak at the next DNPA meeting in December.
Cllr Sanders stated that Devon Highways are slowly working their way through the initial tranche of applications from parishes throughout Devon volunteering to take part in trialing 20mph zones. Lydford applied two or three years ago.

  1. Playground

Councillors were keen to reach agreement on whether maintenance and repair of the playground would remain the responsibility of the parish council or whether the trustees of the sports field would take that responsibility over, in line with their verbal offer made through Cllr Gilpin at July’s meeting and in writing by Richard Hollingsworth on behalf of the trustees on 3rd September 2024.
Referring to the draft agreement sent by Cllr Hulett on 7th October, Cllr Gilpin (in his declared role as Chair of Trustees) stated that trustees would not be happy to sign a three-year agreement for the maintenance of the playground because the period was too long and that they might not be able to fulfill the agreement in future years.

• Cllr Gilpin stated that Trustees were not happy to agree to maintain the grounds around the playground, although it was their intention to do so.

• Cllr Gilpin asked about who the council might expect to be able to carry out repairs to the play equipment. The draft agreement stipulated that repairs should be conducted by a recognized or competent workman.

• The company that installed the equipment ten years ago are now selling kits that can be used to repair or repair the common breakdowns. Cllr Gilpin stated that the company felt that the equipment should remain serviceable for another 10 years.

• Cllr Gilpin stated that because of the issues he had outlined, Trustees were not happy to proceed to sign a formal agreement.

• No-one from the body of Trustees was willing to meet with a council representative to discuss how these questions might be resolved and an agreement reached.

Questions were asked about the insurance cover of the equipment, specifically whether its use is covered when faults are identified.

  1. Does the equipment remain insured once a fault has been reported?
  2. Once a fault has been repaired, does it need to be inspected in accordance with BS EN1176 before it can be used again? (AP4 – Clerk to enquire).
  3. How long does it normally take between an inspection being requested and clearance being obtained? (AP5 – Clerk to find out).

Suggestions were made that the council should accept the Trustees’ initial offer.
Alternative suggestions were made that should agreement with Trustees not be possible, the council retain responsibility for repairing the equipment until such time as the available funds run out, after which it will have to be closed.

• There is an outstanding repair required to steps of the slide.

  1. Hall rental agreement
    Councillors agreed that the new rental agreement with Trustees of Nicholls Hall should be signed by the Chair.
  2. Remembrance Sunday
    Councillors approved the plan for the council contributions to the Remembrance Day ceremony in November.
  3. Finances
    a. Councillors approved the payments below:

i. J. Bright £368.24 October salary
ii. HMRC £87.60 PAYE October
iii. WDBC £71.10 Recharge – local election May 2023
iv. J Bright £42.98 Poppy wreaths x2
v. Parish Online £48.00 Mapping subscription

Proposed Cllr Cook, seconded Cllr Skeaping. All in favour.

b. Banking reconciliation for period 1.4.24 to 30.9.24

Opening balance 1.4.24 £10,705.30 Bank holdings at 30.9.24
Add receipts £10,483.07 Deposit Account £10,161.26
Less payments £5,996.36 Current Account £5,030.75
£15,192.01 £15,192.01

c. Actions taken under the Scheme of Delegation

Transfers:  
        £4,300.00 from current acc to savings acc

Payments:
        Nil

Councillors noted the reconciliation and the actions taken by the Clerk.

  1. Business not listed on the agenda below, by permission of the Chair.

Cllr Cook raised the question of who will be maintaining the grass verge outside of Lyneaste now that the house has new owners. The ownership of the verge is not known. Cllr Skeaping agreed to discuss the matter with the new owner.

Meeting closed: 8:55