Minutes – July 11th 2019
Minutes of the Meeting of Lydford Parish Council held on Tuesday 11th July 2019, 7.00pm in the WI Room of the Nicholls Hall, Lydford.
Present: Cllr. Squires (Chair); Cllr. Tainsh; Cllr. MacIntyre; Cllr. Skeaping; Cllr Blackmore, 1 member of the public; John Bright (Clerk).
Public Discussion:
Councillors received an email from parishioner who could not attend the meeting, who asked that they consider the hazardous junction of School Road with the A386 at Downton. The matter was deferred for consideration together with agenda item 7, and for inclusion in the September agenda. (AP1)
Parishioner attending informed the council that she had identified a clump of Japanese Knotweed in the hedge beside the Lydford Farm Shop. It was concluded that this was possibly land managed by Devon Highways and they should be informed (AP2)
1) Apologies for absence:
Cllr. Grigg; Cllr. Cook; Borough Cllr. Mott.
2) Declarations of interest:
In accordance with the Code of Conduct, members are required to
declare any personal or disclosable pecuniary interests, including the nature and extent of such
interests they may have, in items to be considered at this meeting. Members are also reminded
that any change to their Declaration of Interests must be notified to the Monitoring Officer at
West Devon Borough Council within 28 days of the change.
Cllr. Blackmore declared an interest in agenda item 9
3) Minutes of previous meeting:
The published draft minutes of the meeting of 11th June 2019 were amended for a spelling mistake, after which they were approved by all and signed by the Chair as a true record.
4) Matters arising from previous meeting:
Cllr Tainsh asked that her report for item 8 (review of speed limit through the village) be moved to September’s agenda. Approved (AP3)
5) Reports from other bodies:
Cllr Squires fed back from the latest Southern Links meeting. There is rising concern within the police service about County Lines – organised drug gangs from outside of the county organising markets and recruiting dealers locally.
6) Report from Borough Councillor:
None present or submitted in advance
7) VAS (Vehicle Activated Sign)
After a round discussion, led by Cllr Skeaping on proposals from Cllr Cook, it was resolved unanimously –
- To pay the outstanding bill from Coeval
- For Cllr MacAllister to receive and store the VAS until it can be erected (AP4)
- To dismiss location suggestions provided by Highways dept.
- Cllr Cook to liaise with Amy Garwood at Highways on locating the sign in the layby opposite the Lydford Farm Shop (AP5).
8) Public toilets:
The toilets are proving to be a valuable community asset with over 120 people using the facilities daily. Cllr Tainsh highlighted to councillors the national Places to Ride programme which has £15m available for grants to improve facilities for cyclists, including toilets. Councillors to think of what improvements could be made to the toilet facilities and locale to improve the experience of cyclists particularly. To September meeting (AP6)
9) Public consultation on proposed changes to Fire Service provision.
There was much concern expressed about the poor quality of existing fire cover, particularly regarding response times to local fires, which is not meeting current targets. With the reduced cover it would not be unreasonable to expect that situation to get worse. It was resolved –
- For the Chair to write to Geoffrey Cox MP to express the council’s concerns and ask for his support in opposing the cuts; (AP7)
- To ensure that all parishioners are aware of the proposals and are able to take their opportunity to express their concerns by –
- Inviting a representative from Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue to address the next PC meeting (AP8)
- Posting the issue and links on the council’s website and Facebook page inviting parishioners to attend the PC meeting (AP9)
10) Update and review of Council policies:
It was resolved to adopt the new versions of Code of Conduct and Standing Orders
11) Council banking arrangements:
Resolved to begin the process of transferring the council’s account to Lloyds Bank as they are able to provide internet banking and online payments schemes. Cllr MacIntyre to follow this up (AP10)
12) Finance:
- Payments: the following payments were approved –
- Coeval (VAS) 1386 £3,944.51
- J Bright (Pay & expenses) 1387 £343.91
- HMRC (PAYE) 1388 £57.80
- Grant Applications:
- None received.
- It was resolved to appoint Penny Clapham (Clerk to Kenn PC) as internal auditor for this financial year. Clerk to inform (AP11)
- Following last month’s resolution a contribution was sought from WDBC to cover necessary expenses incurred in bringing the public toilets up to operational effectiveness. A full refund was received. It was resolved to return the money (£302.27) to the general fund.
13) Planning:
- councillors noted the approval of application 0176/19 Bracken, Vale Down
- councillors resolved to support application 0268/19 Lydford Gorge NT, provision of Ice Cream Kiosk
- councillors resolved to support application 0295/19 Larrick Cottage, conversion of garage
14) Correspondence:
All matters were noted. No action required.
15) Any Other Business
The current lengthsman is moving and has sought guidance on what to do with the equipment owned by the PC. Chair agreed to store the equipment for the time being.
Cllr Skeaping reported back on the standard of the public benches. One is recommended for replacement as it is beyond repair, whilst others simply need cleaning and a coat of wood preservative applying. To September meeting for action (AP12)
Meeting closed 20:30
Next meeting Tuesday 10th September 2019
Signed……………………………………….Position………………………………Date………………………………
| Point | Action | Completed |
| AP1 | Safety at junction of School Road / A386 to September agenda | Added to September agenda |
| AP2 | Inform Highways of location of Knotweed | Email on Highways website, 17.7.19 |
| AP3 | Village speed limit to September agenda | Added to September agenda |
| AP4 | VAS sign to be delivered to Cllr MacAllister | Stored with retailer |
| AP5 | Cllr Cook to liaise with Highways re signpost | Done. Response to September agenda |
| AP6 | Agenda item re possible grant for toilets (September) | Added to September agenda |
| AP7 | Chair to write to Geoffrey Cox MP re Fire Service changes | Done. Reply circulated |
| AP8 | Clerk to invite representative from D&S Fire Service to address next PC meeting | See emails to 17.7.19 |
| AP9 | Update web & Facebook pages re September’s meeting | Done |
| AP10 | Begin transfer arrangements to Lloyds Bank | To September agenda for decision – Lloyds vs Unity Bank |
| AP11 | Appoint auditor for the current year. | Emailed P Clapham 15.7.19 (Accepted) |
| AP12 | Repair / replacement of public seating to September agenda for action | Added to September agenda |