Minutes – June 13th 2023
LYDFORD PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the monthly meeting of the parish council
Tuesday 13th June 2023 at 7:00pm
Present: Cllrs Grigg (Chair), Skeaping, L Lenton, K Lenton, Hulett, Gilpin, Southcott (WDBC), Paul
Brookes (Beating the Bounds), Sue Powne (Coronation funds to notice board)
- Public Session (15 minutes)
Nil - Apologies for absence
Nil - Declarations of Interest
Nil - Business not listed on the agenda, by permission of the Chair.
- All the WC signs in the village have now been either removed or taped over.
- Enquiries into updating the Council website are ongoing. (AP1) Clerk & Cllr Grigg to investigate
whether the existing website can be satisfactorily updated. (AP2) Cllr Southcott will circulate
website developers used by other parish councils. - Councillors should have dedicated email addresses used only for Council business. (AP3) Clerk
to set up emails for each of the Councillors). - An unknown metal detectorist has been seen digging in the village, including on the Saxon Banks
and Lydford Castle site. (AP4) – Clerk to notify English Heritage, include a note in the Parish
magazine. - Cllr Southcott reminded the Council of the Road Warden scheme operated by Devon Highways
and questioned whether Lydford might want to take part. It would require volunteers from the
village being trained to repair defects in minor roads through the parish.
- Minutes of the meeting 16th May 2023
- It was resolved that they be accepted as an accurate record of the meeting.
Proposed Cllr Grigg, seconded Cllr Hulett. All in favour.
- Matters arising from the meeting 16th May 2023
Nil - Notice Boards outside Nicholls Hall
(The Chair suspended Standing Orders to allow Sue Powne to take part in discussions).
- Both boards are the property of the Parish Council and are in poor condition. Mick Jones who
has previously been suggested as a repairer is not looking to carry out the work. - Sue Powne reported that there is £826 presently in Coronation fund which might be well spent on
providing replacement boards as a commemoration of the King’s Coronation - Cllr L Lenton reported that her researches to date had revealed the best option being a powder
coated aluminum board costing £752 + VAT per board. A board made of recycled plastic is too
expensive. - (AP5) – Cllr L Lenton to circulate designs & investigate prices.
- Cllrs agreed that they are willing to use Council reserves to contribute to the cost of replacing
both boards but wondered whether the Hall Committee would be willing to contribute to the cost
of the Community board. (AP6) – Cllr Grigg to sound out trustees on the matter at the next Hall
Committee meeting.
(Chair reinstated Standing Orders at the conclusion of the discussion).
06/2023 - 17 –
- 20’s Plenty
- Councillors were very keen to commit the Council to engaging in the 20’s Plenty campaign as a
way of ensuring that a 20mph speed limit is established for traffic moving through the village. - Cllr Skeaping agreed to represent the Council at the coming inaugural meeting and circulate any
information coming from it. (AP7)
- Speedwatch
- The initial purpose of Speedwatch in Lydford was felt to have been a way of collecting data to
support an argument for 20mph limit through the village. - Cllr Southcott referred to the group in Mary Tavy which is very active and is proving to be very
effective at controlling speeds. - Cllr L. Lenton is a member of the Lydford group.
- The group was coordinated by Cllr Cook, who has since retired. There is now a need to find a
new coordinator and more volunteers. Cllr Southcott has a list of those early volunteers. He will
make contact with them to start building the new group. Copy to Cllr Grigg (AP8) - Cllr Southcott will attend the Lydford Summer Fayre 8.7.23 to try and recruit new volunteers.
- Clerk to include a piece in the monthly bulletin for the Parish Newsletter asking for volunteers
(AP9)
- Lydford Resilience Plan
- Cllr Hulett has assumed responsibility for updating the plan considering changes to weather
patterns and flooding emergencies locally. - The purpose of a village emergency plan is to provide an immediate response to local
emergencies and ensure parishioners safety and welfare until the duly appointed emergency and
social services can assume responsibility. - It was felt that the existing Lydford Emergency Plan was no longer fit for purpose and will need to
be improved. Cllr Hulett stated that any future plan will need officers to be named in it together
with their responsibilities. - Cllr Southcott is planning to provide facilities for a meeting of all councils in the Bridestowe ward
who are looking to write or update their plans. Cllr Hulett to liaise with Cllr Southcott and report
back in July. (Because of planned absences, this matter will now be deferred until October’s
meeting. (AP10) – Clerk to include emergency plan in the October meeting.
- Playground
Cllr Gilpin reported that all the repairs identified by the recent ROSPA report as needed have been
carried out. There remains only a need to source new steppingstones to replace those removed. - Southern Links Councils, training opportunities for Councillors
- Cllr L. Lenton explained to the Council that there is a balance of funds left in Southern Links
coffers which is available to provide training opportunities. - There is felt to be a particular need for training for newly elected Councillors.
- The most cost-effective method of communicating the training was online; 2 meetings of two
hours each. Courses are produced and run by DALC. - DNP are looking to put together their own training courses on how to respond to planning
requests.
- Gorge Hill
- Cllr Hulett reported that the footpath at the top of Gorge Hill was obstructed by growth from the
hedge. Cllr Skeaping stated that the hedge and the field were part of the Lydford Gorge site
owned by the National Trust (AP11) – Clerk to write to National Trust asking them to cut back
hedge. - Councillors agreed with Cllr Hulett that the bench at the top of Gorge Hill was unusable because
of the overgrown hedge which now obscures the seat. The seat is also in need of repair. (AP12)
Clerk to contact the man who installed the seat outside Sue Powne’s house to establish costs for
repairing & moving bench.
06/2023 - 18 –
- Finances
a. Councillors resolved to approve the following payments:
i. J. Bright £340.58 June salary
ii. HMRC £80.60 PAYE June
iii. Alison Stacey £60.00 Catering for Parish Meeting 16.5.23
iv. J Bright £8.70 Drinks for Parish Meeting 16.5.23
v. J Bright £82.00 Printing for Beating the Bounds
Proposed Cllr L Lenton, seconded Cllr Hulett. All in favour.
b. Councillors noted the following receipts received:
i. Sue Powne – proceeds of Coronation fund-raising £403.00
ii. Sue Powne – further funds raised £73.00
c. Councillors noted the banking reconciliation 30.5.23
Opening balance 1.4.23 £10,015.25 Bank holdings at 30.5.23
Add receipts £5,724.56 Deposit Account £12,000.00
Less payments £2,762.50 Current account £977.31
£12,977.31 £12,977.31 - Planning
The DNPA responses to applications below were duly noted:
- 0124/23 Bella Mead, Silver Street Two storey replacement dwelling.
Approved by DNPA with conditions. - 0161/23 Clifton Cottage EX20 4BH Side and rear extension.
Approved by DNPA with conditions. - 0173/23 Smalland Farm Certificate of lawful development – single storey
extension to existing dwelling. Application refused by DNPA.
- Beating the Bounds
- Paul Brookes reviewed the activities of the day for the Council. He reported that the initiative had
been very well received with 89 walkers taking part, although it was disappointing to note that
only 40 of these were from Lydford. - Expenditure was just within budget. Paul received a quantity of donations (£850) The committee
suggested that the funds received should be used to provide photo books of the event to be
distributed to the Parish Council, Nicholls Hall and Castle Inn. Any funds remaining would be
donated to the Nicholls Hall and the Recreation Ground. - Paul and the group of volunteers were roundly congratulated on the success of the day.
- Actions taken under delegated authority.
The payments were duly noted.
- WDBC £20.46 VAT on electricity recharges already paid.
- Sue Powne £58.24 Invoices paid – Beating the Bounds
- Paul Brookes £188.62 Invoices paid – Beating the Bounds
Meeting ended 20:15
Action points from meeting
| 1 | Cllr Grigg, Clerk Evaluate existing council website provision with a view to updating and maintenance. | Existing website is no longer fit for purpose. Clerk does not have the skills necessary to update the site. |
| 2 | Cllr Southcott Circulate details of website developers used by parish councils locally | |
| 3 | Clerk Provide dedicated email addresses for Cllrs | Delayed pending decision on whether to transfer Council website to a new provider who also offers email accounts. |
| 4 | Clerk Inform English Heritage of the activities of an unknown metal detector user on the grounds of Saxon Town Banks and Lydford Castle. | Emailed 15.6.23 Note in Parish News to inform parishioners. |
| 5 | Cllr L Lenton To circulate possible designs of notice boards and prices to Cllrs. | |
| 6 | Cllr Grigg To sound out trustees of the Nicholls Hall on their willingness to contribute to the costs of providing new community notice board to match the proposed new parish council board | |
| 7 | Cllr Skeaping To attend online meeting of “20’s Plenty” campaign group and circulate observations to Cllrs | Meeting attended. Observations circulated 28.6.23 |
| 8 | Cllr Southcott To contact previous volunteers of Lydford Speedwatch with a view to reforming the group. | |
| 9 | Clerk To include in the article for Parish News a request for volunteers for Speedwatch. | Completed 20.6.23 |
| 10 | Clerk To include Resilience Planning in the October agenda | |
| 11 | Clerk Write to National Trust Lydford Gorge with a request for them to cut back the hedge at the top of Gorge Hill (South side) | Completed 22.6.23 |
| 12 | Clerk Contact Dave the Handyman to establish price for repairing and relocating the bench at the top of Gorge Hill. | Currently away on holiday. Will contact on his return (3.7.23) |