Minutes from Full Council meeting 26th January 2023

Burrator Parish Council

Minutes of a Meeting of the Parish Council

held on Thursday 26^thJanuary 2023

At Meavy Parish Hall

Councillors present: Cllrs Paskins, Radmore, Crewe, Wills, F Glanville, Palmer, Stribley, Scrivener, France, Brunsdon and Ayres

 Also present: Katharine Griffiths (Parish Clerk).

Absent:  Cllrs, Balkwill, France,  R Glanville and Milne

 Open session:

Two residents from Sheepstor attended. Concern was raised that the parish council were no longer using the village hall for meetings. The clerk commented that the hall was due to be used later in the year for meetings. The Chair apologised and commented that it may have been overlooked as the hall was out of use for a while when work was being carried out.

An enquiry was made as to whether contributions would be made to communities for Coronation celebrations. This will be considered at a future meeting. A request was made for a contribution towards replacement chairs for Sheepstor Hall, it was suggested that a formal written request be submitted.

A number of highway issues were also raised concerning Sheepstor. The retaining wall of the stream collapsed some time ago, which was reported. With the current rainfall the road is being undermined and washed away. The second issue is the road from Collytown to Moor Gate, there is insufficient drainage which is causing pot holes. Additionally during the cold weather, the excess water froze. This caused a number of accidents. The chair requested that photos and information be emailed to the clerk and DCC highways and the DCC councillor would be contacted with the concerns.

 The meeting was opened by the chair Cllr F Glanville at 7.52pm

Apologies for Absence.

Apologies were received from Cllrs Balkwill, Milne and R Glanville. Also DCC Cllr Sanders and WDBC Cllr Moyse sent their apologies.

2. Declarations of Interest.

None

 Minutes of the Full Parish Council Meeting held on 24 November 2022

Cllr Palmer raised the point that there was an additional item under Finance concerning the purchase of a projector. It was proposed by Cllr Palmer seconded by Cllr Crewe that the minutes were agreed as a true record, this was resolved by the council.

 Matters arising from the Minutes 24 November 2022

Discussed under Burrator Events below.

5. Planning Committee

No applications to consider.

6. The Royal Oak Inn Committee

An update from the recent meeting was given by Cllr Brunsdon.

It was proposed by Cllr Palmer that future agendas itemise the report for the ROI committee under part 2. This was seconded by Cllr Scrivener and agreed by the council.

7. Finance & General Purposes Committee
   1. Bills for Payment

It was proposed by Cllr Scrivener, seconded by Cllr Stribley and agreed by the council that the circulated bills would be paid.

A list of the payments is below.

1. Bank reconciliation

The bank reconciliation was noted.

1. Grant request.

Carried forward to next meeting.

1. To agree a grant for St Peters Church, Meavy for maintenance of the church yard.

It was agreed to pay the grant.

1. To consider a grant request for Walkhampton Memorial Hall, towards play equipment.

The grant was discussed, the question was raised as to whether the request was for the whole of the outstanding amount or part of it. It was proposed by the chair that the item be carried forward until a member of the village hall committee is present and able to discuss the questions.

8. To discuss the Snow Warden scheme and cold weather plan for the parish.

Cllr Paskins raised the matter that during the recent cold weather there had been issues with ice and there were a number of requests for salt/grit. The clerk has contacted DCC and obtained some useful information. It is possible for the parish council to purchase grit bins though DCC and for them to be added to the interactive map. It was proposed by the chair that members provide prospective locations at the next meeting. The clerk will request volunteer snow wardens via the Burrator Beacon.

9. To consider quotes and agree a new website provider to include .gov.uk email addresses.

The clerk had circulated a number of website providers to the councillors prior to the meeting and put forward her preferred choice, having carried out research.

A short discussion was held it was agreed that the clerk would look into who provides WDBC website and then make the decision. The council agreed to the clerk making the final decision.

10. Burrator Events

The council have been contacted by the organisers of the regular 10k event at Burrator reservoir. The event is due to be held on the 3^rd June 2023 and it is proposed to close the road between 6pm and 8pm. The matter was discussed. It was appreciated that the Saturday evening is a preferable time to a Sunday morning. However it was still felt that it was not acceptable for the road to be closed. Unfortunately the local residents and parish council have not been successful with their objections and a road closure has been granted by Devon County Council. Various options were considered and it was proposed that where the road is wider, between Sheepstor Dam and Burrator Dam, it would be possible to still have one side of the road open to traffic. This would need to be monitored by traffic marshals.

It was proposed that the clerk will write to DCC raising an objection to the road closure.

11. Burrator Beacon – http://burrator.gov.uk/burrator-beacon/

The next issue will be the spring issue.

1. To note the resignation of the current editor and to consider recruiting a replacement.

It was noted that the editor has resigned. Much thanks was given for their 12 years of hard work as editor. Cllr Scrivener has written an article for the Beacon requesting interested applicants contact the clerk.

12. Reports from outside bodies

A short report from Cllr Moyse had been received and circulated via email to the members. Copy below.

WDBC is obviously over the moon with the news that Okehampton will be getting a new railway station especially as the current one is doing so well.

DNPA members are having a meeting on Friday to discuss the wild camping issue.  The suggestion that payment will be given to landowners who allow it on their land and the proposal of payment could cause a problem.  Do the wild campers have to pay?  How on earth would that be able to be collected?  DNPA is in financial straits at the moment and if they had to pay this would be an added burden.

Overview and Scrutiny committee had a very interesting talk about biospheres from an expert who has set up a scheme on Braunton Burrows and who is suggesting more of us are engaged in this activity.

13. Public Relations

Nothing further.

 Parish Property

14. Defibrillator Maintenance to include considering further signage at Walkhampton.

All are working fine. The matter of extra signage was considered, it was not felt that extra signage was required at this time.

15. Community Led Parish Plan update.

The clerk has contacted a member of Devon Communities Together and is hoping to have a date soon to discuss moving the plan forward.

16. Highway matters
    1. To consider reapplying for 20mph zones.

It was agreed to reapply for the 20mph zones.

1. To include concerns regarding the potholes on the road above Walkhampton Church.

The potholes at Walkhampton are extensive and the length of road require repair.

The drain is still blocked at Nelders Lane, Sheepstor.

The hedge next to the road between Walkhampton and Huckworthy on the village side requires cutting back.

The clerk will contact DCC highways with the concerns.

17. Correspondence

Nothing Further

18. Urgent additional business, by leave of The Chair

It was raised that the PC use to walk the footpaths in the parish. Cllr Scrivener mentioned that he had a file with relevant information and the clerk will contact the ROW officer regarding who is responsible for the upkeep of the paths.

The Meeting was closed at 21.23pm.