ASHPRINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting Held Thursday 7th November 2024
@ Ashprington Village Hall – 7.30pm
Download as a pdf document: Minutes of the Meeting 7th November 2024.doc
1) Open Forum
a) Questions from a Parishioner had been sent to D Cllr J McKay regards the spending of the extra revenue to be brought in by the Council Tax on second homes in the 25/26 budget and the provision of Affordable Housing that is planned to be built with the extra monies. These questions had been answered by email before the meeting.
b) Bin by the Bus Stop is overflowing – D Cllr J McKay will report this at SHDC to get it emptied as soon as possible.
c) Duncannon Lane – this is full of dog mess and is horrible to walk along, users of the lane should be made aware that this is dangerous to children and its irresponsible and should be picked up when you walk your dogs. Cllr Mckay will speak to the dog warden about getting some signage put up. Also, a suggestion of using a spray marker campaign on the poo to make dog walkers think and clear it up.
2) Present
Cllr R Rogers (Chairman), Cllr S Greaves, Cllr K Throgmorton, Cllr S Paterson, Cllr P Thompson, D Cllr J Mckay, C Cllr J Hawkins.
Attended by – 1 member of the public.
3) Apologies
Cllr T Green, Cllr L Stocks.
4) Declarations of Interest
5) Previous Minutes
Minutes of the meeting held Thursday 3rd October 2024.
The above minutes have been circulated and read.
Proposed by Cllr K Throgmorton and seconded by Cllr S Paterson with all in agreement. Duly signed by the Chairman.
6) Matters Arising
a) Repair to War Memorial & Bus Shelter – Cllr K Throgmorton reported – war memorial has been done all the sharp spikes have been rounded off, many thanks to Simon Roberts for helping. Bus Shelter – this is in hand and will be done shortly.
b) Remembrance Sunday 10th November – Cllr S Greaves – many thanks to Tom Lee and to Tractorfest this has enabled us to have a bugler & piper this year, 4 horses will be present, plus people representing the forces.
c) Noticeboards – Cllr P Thompson will do Tuckenhay notices & Cllr R Rogers will do Ashprington. The Clerk will email through anything that needs to be posted.
7) Reports
a) County Councillor – J Hawkins reported – Many thanks to Mike the outgoing Clerk. HATOC meeting held at Follaton House – no issues raised for the Parish. Overview & Scrutiny meeting was held and a representative from SWWA was present, this meeting can be viewed online, lots of questions were asked – main points, sewerage going into the rivers, flooding in towns and villages.
b) District Councillor – J McKay reported – also attended the SWWA meeting, disappointing that they did not answer questions directly and they have yet to come back to SHDC with answers which they promised. Water summit on Dec 12th with Environment Agency, SWWA and delegates for District Councils and DCC, they will be asked about spills which are very frequent. South Hams Festival – looking like this will be put back to 2026 to give more time for organisation. Climate change symposium was very well attended and information will be forthcoming from this.
Differential car parking fees, there is a revenue shortfall at SHDC so car parking charges will be raised to help bridge this gap, Residents of South hams will pay a cheaper fee than non-residents, this will be discussed at the next meeting November 21st, details of how this is going to work have yet to be decided. Budget meetings are now being held for 2025/2026. Local food hub at the Dartington Cider Press – this is currently going forward.
c) Ash Meadow Recreation Ground – written report received from Ian Bentlett as follows:-
General maintenance tasks proceeding well. Issue of coping with the amount of green waste being left on site has been addressed and summarised below.
Tom Matthew – Lee and Roger Marston have attended their first meeting and made excellent contribution. Exercise equipment bearing replacement on “walker” is underway at cost of circa £60 including VAT.
Closure of CIC has been agreed. Final accounts will be produced at the appropriate time.
Robert Rogers has been in discussion with our new Parish Clerk Sharon Raggett regarding our new structure, possibly an Unincorporated Community Organisation, operating as a sub-committee of the Parish Council and transferring our funds to the Parish council. This change may enable us to claim back VAT on all purchases. Giving this support consideration was appreciated by the committee.
Weekly inspection of site was being undertaken by Ashmeadow chair as required by insurance clauses. No issues but it is clear the climbing frame has a quite limited safe life remaining
We are to considering extending the electricity supply from the current mains box to the container which would provide several advantages both for accessibility and lighting in the container.
The orchard area has presented some challenges associated with wild life provision and protection associated with the length of the grass which this year was mowed quite late and was unable to be raked up afterward. We had also received some comments regarding the apparent untidiness of the area. This was discussed and we agreed a balance needs to be met. In order to achieve this it was agreed to discuss the situation with Devon Wildlife Trust. It has also been suggested, after our meeting, that we consider signage to explain what is happening in the meadow.
Composting area:
New concrete barriers for the green waste deposit area is in hand. Funding (£3600) for this and other needs mentioned in the funding application is held by Parish Council. These funds must be utilised within next 6 months.
Amount of green waste becoming excessive was discussed with the following agreements.
• Consideration to installing camera equipment to improve security and dissuade dumping suspected from unauthorised persons. Roger Marsden has researched legalities and there appear to be none that are a problem on our site.
• We are to change the combination at regular intervals and not share unless those requesting the number are listed and known. IB to advise authorised contractors and be advised of anyone who requests combination.
• Entry in Parish Magazine and Community connectors to explain issues and resolutions.
No progress on the issue mentioned last time associated with replacement of old sleepers enclosing shredded material. Funding will be required for this as mentioned in last report in the region of £3600.
Activity on the site:
The bonfire night, led by Simon Roberts, was very well received and we received many compliments despite the fact that we did not have fireworks. The hot soup and self-cook BBQ were all very much appreciated and the music, which was a first at the event, was a great addition. Donations amounted to £57.29.
The Chair, whilst prepared to remain in situ if required by committee to do so, was no longer prepared to lead on social arrangements for the meadow usage. No one offered to become chair and it was agreed to continue as is but on the following basis.
• Any person or persons requesting to have an activity in the meadow would, after gaining the agreement of Ashmeadow committee, provide their own lead and committee to manage the requirements. The Ashmeadow committee would offer guidance and assistance to ensure legalities were met. Any activities would require their own risk assessments to meet insurance requirements which would need to be signed off by the Ashmeadow committee.
Proposed that the Parish Council look after all the accounts as it will then become a sub-committee of the Parish Council – all Cllrs in agreement. The Clerk will ask for a copy of the Ashmeadow Insurance Document to see if it can be incorporated into the Parish Council insurance with the same cover.
d) Tree Warden – nothing to report.
e) P3 Co-Ordinator.
£200 Locality Budget has been received, this is for Footpath maintenance by Holly Villas – this will now go ahead.
f) Defibrillator Group – Cllr S Paterson reported that there has now been a full
handover, the group is slightly smaller and new members would be welcome.
g) Emergency Plan Group – nothing to report.
h) Village Hall – Cllr L Stocks reported by e-mail as follows:-
There have been two resignations from the committee which ideally need to be filled. There has been quite a bit of expenditure recently, the biggest item being the replacement of the boiler. Finances are holding up but the committee are always looking at the possibility of applying for grants to cover replacement of large items. Bookings are down slightly and a couple of hirers have cancelled through lack of uptake/attendees. This trend will have to be looked at more closely if it continues. There have been minor repairs/replacements to items through wear and tear. The interior of the hall is to be painted. The Autumn disco had to be cancelled but the Winter Lunch will go ahead as planned on Saturday 7th December. Cost : two course meal including first drink -£15.00.
8) Planning Applications / Matters.
Applications received from South Hams District Council –
a) Application no 3411/24/TCA – Tuckenhay House TQ9 7EQ – Tree Works in a Conservation Area – proposed to support the application – all Cllrs in agreement.
b) Application no 3093/24/PDM (Notification only) – Higher Sharpham Barton Farm, Ashprington TQ9 7DX – Application to determine if prior approval is required for a proposed change of use of agricultural building to 5 no dwellings (Class C3) & for associated development (Class Q (a&b).
Decisions received from South Hams District Council –
a) Discharge of Condition Approved – 2855/24/ARC, 2856/24/ARC, 2857/24/ARC & 2858/24/ARC – Land at SX 805 583, Ashprington.
9) Correspondence
a) Devon Fire & Rescue Precept Consultation – this is available online for cllrs to comment if they wish.
b) E-mail from Derek Allum – Cemetery Plot Reservation – the Clerk will write to Mr Allum and ask if he would like a refund of the costs paid in 2020 when the plot was reserved as he has now decided to give up ownership of the plot.
10) Highways
a) Village Gritting Route – confirmation required from DCC that they have now reinstated the gritting route through the Village.
11) Finances.
a) To agree removal of old Cllrs and addition of Clerk and Chairman to Bank Account – all Cllrs in agreement.
Payments
Bank Balances November 2024
Treasurers Account = £32,079.40
Monies held within PC Balance
Cemetery Fund – £353.84
P3 – £487.71
Ash Meadow – £3,600.00
Defib – £3,336.56
12) Any Items to go onto the next Parish Council meeting Agenda.
a) Next Meeting Date – 5th December 2024.
There be no further business the meeting closed 8.23pm
ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WHO HAS SPECIAL NEEDS AND REQUIRES A COPY OF THESE MINUTES SENT TO THEM – PLEASE CONTACT THE CLERK 01364 654607. They can also be found on the Parish web site – ashpringtonandtuckenhay.co.uk