ASHPRINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the PARISH COUNCIL MEETING on Thursday June 6th, 2024 at 7.30 pm held in Ashprington Village Hall.
Present; Cllr Rogers {Chair}, Cllr S. Paterson, Cllr. Thompson, Cllr Tom Green,
Cllr Thompson, Cllr Stocks.
Also present: Michael Read, Clerk. 1 member of the public.
Parking in Ashprington.
There was a lively debate with ten parishioners responding to an invitation to discuss potential solutions to ongoing parking issues in “upper” Ashprington. Cllr Rogers set out the issues which have concerned counsellors for some time. Broadly speaking there are too many vehicles seeking a parking space and on too many occasions there has been irresponsible parking leading to the fact that large lorries, fire engines and the gritting lorries have at times been unable to pass through the village. Furthermore, Devon County Council Highways have cancelled the gritting lorry service through the village. There were a number of potential solutions proposed such as double yellow lines, more signage and “self gritting.” The Chair thanked those who contributed and the issue will be discussed at the July meeting of the council although it was recognised that there are no easy solutions.
1.Declaration of interest in items on the Agenda.
None
- Apologies. Cllr Greaves, Cllr Throgmorton, County Cllr. Hawkins, District Cllr J. McKay
- Pearey, Tree Warden, P Macey, P3 Coordinator
- The minutes of the Parish Council meeting and the Annual General Meeting dated May 2nd were approved.
- Matters arising from the meeting not on the agenda;
Highway Maintenance Community Fund.
It was agreed that the Council would apply for funding from this fund to maintain the verges of the parish’s roads. Cllrs Stocks and Thompson have toured the parish looking at areas which will need attention. They have contacted Cllr Hawkins and Lisa Edmonds of DCC Highways, and are contacting a contractor to ascertain the cost after which an application can be made.
Parking above Ashprington Village Hall.
Please see content at the beginning of this report.
P3 Report.
The National Trust have visited Crownley Woods strimming overgrown vegetation and removed a large fallen tree.The owner of the land has used a brushcutter to clear footpaths. The bridge seems in good repair but the hand rail needs to be repaired – P3 funds can be used for the work if the cost is reasonable. The path through the away gardens at Holly Villas/Duncannon Lane need attention
The cycle path through Sharham has been strimmed.
6 District CouncillorCounty Cllr report Report
Neither were present.
7.Tree Warden Report
Nothing to report.
- Planning
0756/24/HHO Wild Rose Cottage. Reconfiguration of ground floor, single storey ground floor extension & conversion of detached garage to home office. Support.
0763/24/HHO 9 Church Close. New Garage, internal alterations, replacement of door/window with window & replacement of External cladding.Conditional Approval SHDC.
1421/24/TCA The Coach House Various Tree Works –No objections Raised SHDC.
- Correspondence
Nothing to report.
- Finance
Treasurers Account -Balance £27,340.47, Cemetery Account – £353.84, P3 Account – £487.71. Attributable to Defibrillator Fund – £2887.10.Expenditure approved –Defibrillator expenses -£30.00. Joe Todd, trim Holly Tree – £40. Income DCC Grant – £600.00. P3 Grant – £221.00.
- Ashmeadow site Report
General maintenance work parties are proceeding well, Thanks to all volunteers who have attended. We also have a new work party volunteer namely Tom Matthew Lee (Mandy’s son in law) who is very welcome.
Communication with our SHDC ground maintenance team continues to be good and helpful but the planned timetable has not been achieved as they have found themselves to be very busy and the weather has not helped. Grass cutting is behind schedule
Following the ROSPA visit we have commenced work on some of the safety advice which was suggested. The branches and hazards mentioned in the report for the cycle track have now been removed. The exercise equipment has now been serviced. My thanks to Nick Mallalieu who arranged and completed it all. Cost £60 ex VAT. We have purchased and used some fresh chippings for the climbing frame as suggested but we need at least 4 more bags to provide the required depth. This will cost £560 of which £90 is VAT!
I mention VAT specifically because all our equipment is owned and insured by the Parish council and there is a thought that, particularly as a maintenance item, this could therefore qualify for VAT relief. The Parish Council chair, clerk and myself are working to resolve this anomaly once and for all, hopefully in our favour, as the saving of our funds could be substantial with future purchases in mind.
One suggestion for the Parish Council to consider is to withdraw from being a CIC (although it is governed by a majority of Parish council members) and ensure we are deemed a sub committee of the PC.
Composting area
The new Container, purchased in the end by the Parish council, is installed at £2475 ex vat.It has been agreed by the Parish clerk following research that this will qualify for VAT relief. We also purchased a lock at £50.
Whilst we have transferred funds temporarily to the Parish for the new container payment, funding has been achieved of £3600 from the SHDC from the councils composting facility fund. These monies will be sent in due course to the Parish council to assist VAT relief on the items it will be used for including the container. The funding represents 50 % of the total cost.
We are proceeding to make arrangements to install the remaining items such as the new concrete fencing and possibly some CCTV.
I have applied for further funding for the new gate and the balance of the fencing needs we require following the installation of the container.
I applied for and received £350 for Councillor Jonathon Hawkins for which we are very grateful.
I would like to thank formally Robert Rogers and Harry for their assistance with several matters associated with the smooth running of our facility, it really is appreciated saving much time and money.
We have still had some dumping of general wooden rubbish and also some irresponsible individuals seem to think they can deposit large logs which fortunately were discovered before they went in the shredder.
I attended a sustainability weekend workshop which was interesting and enabled some useful contacts as well as some good ideas to assist our service provision.
I have also met on our site with Martin from Cornworthy who is heading up a project to build a composting site in the village. It will certainly assist us to have another site nearby as we could then seriously consider joining forces.
Locking up pilot
Continues with no issues. Thanks to those who assist with locking and unlocking. I will remove this from future reports unless issues arise.
Activity on the site
The tractor fest will take place as reported last time on 20th July and plans are proceeding in a very positive fashion.
We have agreed to again hold a celebration for bonfire night. This however will be a much reduced affair for the Parish residents only, as far as possible, and quite possibly may only be a bonfire but with BBQs and games for all the family.
Katherine Weare is to put together a proposition for a family sports day to be held on 7th September. This will be very similar to previous years which have always been popular.
We are also in the early stages of considering holding a BBQ for everyone involved in the various volunteer groups in the village – more on this if it gets off the ground
Finances
We maintain a healthy situation.
12 Other Business/Councillors Areas of Responsibility
Kings Portrait – a framed, coloured photograph of the King has been presented to the Council – it was resolved that the Clerk suggests to the Village Hall Chair, that the
Photograph be hung in the Village Hall first floor meeting room.
Cemetery The Chair requested that a tree used to mark a grave is growing too large and risks causing damage to adjacent graves. Cllr Stocks agreed to contact the family to discuss the issue whish will involve the tree’s removal.
The meeting closed at 9.05pm.
Next Council meeting will be on Thursday July 11th, 2024 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Michael Read Ashprington Clerk spooks49@michaelread.plus.com.Tel. 732047
Download in Microsoft Word format: PC Minutes June 2024