Atherington Parish Council

ATHERINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 15 March 2016 at the Church Hall, Atherington at 7.30pm.

Present:Cllrs W White (Chairman), Mrs M Beauchamp,A Boyce and J Frayne.

In attendance:     4 parishioners, County Councillor R Edgell, Parish Clerk.

153.Police Report

A report had been received from PCSO Beverley Bray for the period between 13 February and 13 March:

The Rising Sun Hotel, Umberleigh was broken into.

Abandoned call, alarm sounding in the background.

Alarm going off at Fishleigh Rock Garage. All was ok on attendance.

Sheep on road near Fishleigh Rock and Kingsford Hill.

It was noted that other hotels in the area had also been broken into.

154.Matters Raised by the Public

Mr Gosden reported on the recent meeting with NWF. The manager was now in charge of transport, and was keen to take up the issue of potholes with DCC. He apologised for the inconvenience caused by a lorry heading to NWF becoming stuck on Barnstaple Hill, he was very unhappy with the lorry using that road.

A letter was being sent to Scott Mann MP expressing disappointment that his Bill had been withdrawn due to lack of support.

A letter had been received from Peter Heaton-Jones MP including a response from DCC regarding the speed limit through the village. DCC had noted that only one accident had been recorded between January 2010 and December 2014. It was known that there had been more accidents, but as these had not been reported to the police, there was no record of them. Mr Gosden stressed the importance of reporting every accident, and obtaining a log number.

The result of the speed survey conducted by DCC indicated that there was no problem of speeding traffic through the village. This was considered to be largely due to the poor siting of the speed monitors. Another check was being requested with sensors to be placed in more appropriate positions. It would be necessary for these locations to be selected by someone with local knowledge.

Mr Gosden would be replying to Mr Heaton-Jones, and would be requesting a full set of data from DCC.

Concern was expressed over the danger to customers by speeding traffic outside the Riing Sun at Umberleigh, and the lack of streetlighting over the bridge.

It was agreed to request the police conduct a speed check in the area.

It was also agreed to request lighting on the bridge, and a site meeting with DCC.

It was reported that a planning application had just been submitted for 3 affordable and two open market dwellings at Bonds Farm. As a response would need to be submitted before the next parish council meeting, it was agreed to hold a meeting to consider the application on 29 March.

Cllr Mrs Beauchamp reported on mud on the road to the playing field, which was considered unavoidable due to the weather.

Cllr Boyce reported that he had walked the other roads which had been affected by mud, and found it still about 100mm thick in places. The road had clearly not been cleaned as had been requested. It was agreed to contact the police and ask them to meet Cllr Boyce and to tour the affected roads with him.

It was agreed to contact Highways and report the dangerous condition of the road which were almost impassable due to damage caused by inappropriate vehicles.

155.Apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Ms C Norman.

156.Declarations of Interest

None.

157.Approval of Minutes of meeting held on 16 February 2016

The Minutes of the last meeting was agreed and signed as a true record.

15.03.16 – 2

158.Matters Arising from the last meeting

Min. 138A representative from BT had confirmed that he was able to attend the April parish council meeting. It was agreed to start the meeting at 7.00pm.

Cllr Mrs Beauchamp confirmed that letters had been sent to all farmers in the parish requesting their cooperation in keeping the roads free from mud.

Min. 143It was noted that the additional funding from central government to DCC was £84m for this financial year. A smaller amount was due to be received next year.

Min. 145The District Councillor grants had been maintained at £1000 per councillor.

Min. 150It was agreed to make a donation of £240 towards the cost of retaining the North Devon Record Office.

159.County Council

Cllr Edgell stated that he had nothing to add to what he had reported at the last meeting.

160.Highways

It was noted that traffic lights were still in place outside Springfield, and that the road surface was getting worse.It was agreed to enquire when work was scheduled to begin.

161.District Council

Cllr White reported that the District Council was increasing its portion of the Council Tax by 1.8%.

The Parish Grant was being retained for the forthcoming year.

162.Neighbourhood WatchNo report received.

163.Planning

North Devon Local Plan Consultation.

It was reported that concern had been expressed expressed in other parishes over the current consultation which proposed wind turbines being allowed across the whole area, with just some restriction over size. 

It was agreed to oppose the current proposal, which did not include an option for no turbines. It was agreed that Cllrs Frayne and Mrs Beauchamp would draft a response and circulate to councilors.

164.Finance

1.Payments since last meeting:

Bernaville Nurseries £542.95Cheque No. 689

2.Payments due this meeting:

1.Atherington Childrens Paying Field£3997.00Cheque No. 693

2.Clerk’s Salary & Expenses£  125.63Cheque No. 691

3.Barnstaple Town Council (North

   Devon Record Office donation)£240.00Cheque No 692

The three account were approved for payment.

165.Playing Field

It was reported that both the District Councillor Community Grant, and the communities Fund grant had been approved.

A programmable control for the heating system had been installed.

Thanks were extended to those who had done the weeding, and kept the area tidy.

166.Correspondence

1.North Devon Council was conducting a Planning Enforcement Review, and was asking parish councils what should be prioritised.

It was agreed to respond, stating that maintenance of listed buildings should be a priority item.

2.Clerks & Councils Direct – noted.

3.Sample medal to commemorate the Queen’s 90th birthday – passed to Playing Field Committee.

167.Matters Arising at the Chairman’s discretion.

None.

168.Date of next meeting:

Tuesday 19 April 2016, in the Church Hall at 7pm

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9.27pm.