Parish Council meeting: Wednesday, 13 July 2022

Key information

Meeting location: The Church of St James, Avonwick

Meeting time: 7.30 pm

Sound Recording You can download the audio recording for this meeting or use the player embedded in this page after the download link. Download the audio file here.
Agenda

Agenda for the Parish Council meeting on Wednesday, 13 July 2022

1:             Open Forum

For parishioners to raise matters of concern relevant to the work of the Parish Council

(NB matters concerning other bodies e.g. SWW, SHDC and DCC should normally be referred directly to such bodies.  The Parish Council would try assist where difficulties arise after such a referral has taken place.)

2:             Present

3:             Apologies for absence

To receive apologies for absence (if any)

4:             Declarations of Interest

To receive declarations of interest (if any)

5:             Previous Minutes

To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 7th June 2022

6:             Matters Arising

To discuss items arising from those Minutes

7:             Reports

To receive Reports from

  1. County Councillor Thomas
  2. District Councillor Pannell or Smerdon
  3. Play Park inspection
  4. others (if any)

8:             Planning

To consider Planning Applications and to note decisions:

Planning Applications to be considered:
  1. application number: 1920/22/FUL. Application Type: Full planning application, Charford Farm, Diptford TQ9 7LT. Applicant Name: Al Sayers (Holberton) Ltd. Proposed demolition of existing extensions and construction of new extension and alterations to existing dwelling and conversion of barn to create two 1-bed dwellings including part demolition of dilapidated barn, extension to ‘The Gate House’ Barn with associated landscaping, new wildlife habitat creation and parking.  (note: comments to be posted no later than 14th July 2022)
  2. application number- 1588/22/HHO – householder application for installation of 16 x 400w PV Solar panels on south facing roof with associated inverter and 15kWh battery storage. 7 Higher Moor, Avonwick, TQ10 9FE – comments to be posted by 11th August 2022.
Planning Decisions:
  1. application number: 0673/22/LBC, Bridge Cottage, Avonwick, TQ10 9NB, application type: listed building consent. Listed building consent for an extractor fan on the lower ground floor bathroom – Conditional Approval
  2. application number 1113/22/HHO, Whetcombe, North Huish, TQ10 9NG, application type: householder. Householder application for replacement single storey side extension to existing dwelling – Conditional Approval
Planning Applications Withdrawn:

Application number: 1292/22/NMM – application type – non material minor amendment (Householder application to remove existing gabled roof, extend walls and construct new gabled roof, roof lights at higher level to create accommodation.  Alter internal floor plan and apertures construct stair case to new storey, new balcony on front gable) for inclusion of 4 small windows, addition of timber cladding and inclusion of a high level window on rear elevation.

9:             Correspondence

To consider correspondence received.

10:      Finance

To note recent and future income and expenditure

Receipts
Interest Received                             £         0.08
Grant SHDC                                    £       400.00
Payments
J Widdecombe                                  £       216.00
A Kohler – Clerk’s Expenses May               £        14.90
A Kohler – Clerk’s Salary June                £        88.30
HMRC – PAYE                                   £        22.20
Balance at Bank 06/07/2022
Current Account                               £      1355.41
Instant Access Account                        £      8840.60
                                              £    10,196.01

11:      Highways

To consider Highway matters.

12:      Next meeting

To consider items for future meetings

To agree upon a date for the next Meeting. (September 2022) – to be agreed at the meeting.

Approved Minutes

Approved Minutes for the Parish Council meeting on Wednesday, 13 July 2022

These minutes were approved on 6 September 2022

Please noteEvery care has been taken to present this accessible copy of the minutes with accuracy, but the formal record of the meeting remains the signed paper copy of the minutes.

Minutes of the NHPC meeting held on 13th July 2022.

1:      Open Forum

Cllr Gabriel opened the meeting and welcomed everyone present.

There were 5 members of the public present.

Overgrowth at the North Huish junction in Avonwick has been brought to the attention of the Parish Council. Parish Council to contact County Councillor Thomas to approach Highways to resolve.

Classrooms at Diptford Primary School: likely to affect children in the parish who attend the school. In the storms earlier this year, 2 classrooms were rendered unusable. The Academy Trust which manages the school has not yet begun repairs or replacement of the classrooms. The school is currently using Diptford Village Hall (which is only available till Christmas) as a temporary classroom. Parents are concerned that parents could remove their children from the school or new parents not choose the school due to the classroom issue. It is supposed to be a priority one case but the Academy Trust are reluctant to spend their reserves to resolve this, even though they have a higher than required level of reserves.

Butterford planning application has been refused but the applicants have been invited to reapply. There is the issue as to whether the track is necessary. The applicants have stated there was a track there previously although this does not appear to be the case. A letter was sent from the parish council after the last meeting. The parish council to send another letter to be passed to Cllr Pannell to follow this up.

Planning application 1920/22/FUL – Charford Farm, Diptford. The site is currently derelict and 2 extra dwellings proposed. Partially collapsed buildings are omitted from the works and drawings appear to be out of date. Parishioners feel that not everything is mentioned as it should be in the planning application. The two one bedroomed dwellings do not make sense on the size of the land. Parishioners want to make sure that the building works are transparent and sympathetic to the surrounding area. The Parish Council have agreed that it needs to visit the site to be able to assess the site to make sense of the planning application. Clerk to submit as request to Planning for an extension on comments so that site visit and discussion can be carried out.

2:      Present:

Councillors Gabriel, Bell, Grevatt, Hunt, Luscombe, Seager-Berry, and Steer. District Councillors Pannell, District Councillor Smerdon and Ali Kohler (locum clerk)

3:      Apologies for absence

County Councillor Thomas

4:      Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest

5:      Minutes

Cllr Luscombe requested an amendment to item 12 ‘Notice Boards’. The minutes of the meeting held on the 7th June 2022 were confirmed and signed with this amendment.

6:      Matters Arising

Notice board quotes have been circulated & agreed.

Sutcliffe Play have confirmed that the guarantee should be 10 years for wooden equipment in the play park. The PC are now waiting for Sutcliffe Play’s assessment.

The interactive speed sign is now working again.

The new notice board for Avonwick has been ordered by Cllr Luscombe. It will have North Huish Parish lettering on it. It is funded by grants from our 2 District Councillors, our County Councillor and the parish council.

7:      Reports

Devon County Council

County Cllr Thomas did not attend the meeting but sent a written report.

South Hams District Council

SHDC has met with FCC to take the refuse collection back in house again from October 2022. There are likely to be financial considerations as the contract has not been completed. Refuse staff will transfer back to SHDC along with the lorries, etc.

Aldi planning application for Ivybridge was unanimously refused. Planning application issues were not properly addressed. The issue was the location of the store, not the fact of Aldi having a store in Ivybridge. There will be a total financial implication to SHDC regarding this planning application in the region of £480,000. Investigations to take place on why the planning application progressed so far, when there were clearly issues. Hopefully lessons will be learned.

Playpark

See matters arising.

Tree Warden

There is no report to be noted.

8:      Planning

Planning applications to be considered:

  • Planning application 1920/22/FUL. Charford Farm, Diptford TQ9 7LT by Al Sayers (Holbeton) Ltd. Proposed replacement extension and alterations to existing dwelling, and conversion of barn to create two one bed dwellings including part demolition of dilapidated barn, extension to “The Gate House” with associated landscaping, new wildlife habitat creation and parking – comments to be posted by 14th July 2022. It was agreed that an extension on comments be requested as Cllrs would like to visit the site to assess the plans before making any decision.
  • Planning application 1588/22/HHO – householder application for installation of 16 x 400w PV solar panels on south facing roof with associated invertor and 15kWh battery storage. 7 Higher Moor, Avonwick, TQ10 9FE – Cllrs agreed to support this application.
  • Planning application 2292/22/HHO - householder application for single storey rear extension to accommodate larger porch. Lupridge Chapel Diptford, TQ9 7NW. – Cllrs agreed to support this application.
  • Planning application 2320/22/VAR – application for variation of condition 2 (approved drawings) of planning consent 1933/21/HHO. Leigh Side, Avonwick TQ10 9LX. Cllrs agreed to support this application.

Planning Decision:

  • Application 0673/22/LBC, Bridge Cottage, Avonwick TQ10 9NB. Listed building consent for an extractor fan on the lower ground floor bathroom – Conditional approval.
  • Application 1113/22/HHO. Whetcombe, North Huish, TQ10 9NG: householder application for replacement single storey side extension to existing dwelling – Conditional approval.

Planning Applications Withdrawn

  • Application number 1292/22/NMM – non material minor amendment for inclusion of 4 small windows, addition of timber cladding and inclusion of a high-level window on rear elevation.
  • Application number 1592/22/FUL – unauthorised track application withdrawn – Land at Butterford SX719 548, North Huish TQ9 7NL.

9:      Correspondence

None to note

10:   Finance

Receipts
Interest Received  0.08
Grant SHDC  400.00

Payment
A Kohler: Clerk Pay June 22  88.30
A Kohler: Expenses May 22  14.90
HMRC PAYE  22.20
J Widdecombe  216.00

As At 6th July 2022
Treasurer’s Account  1,355.41
Business Bank Account  8,840.60
Balance c/fwd.  10,196.01

11:   Highways

Interactive speed sign is now working again.

A parishioner has suggested that an interactive speed sign on the other side of the bridge and better road markings to help with road safety and traffic speed. Chair to write letter in response. Speeding is still a problem. Parish Council to speak to County Cllr Thomas to see if any of these issues can be addressed by Highways, such as the road markings. It can be particularly dangerous for road users who are not familiar with the road layout at the bridge.

Signage for the roadworks at Kitterford Cross need to be addressed for current works due to the width of the roads.

Cobbly Walk works have been completed as per the works schedule.

12:   Notice Boards

Already noted under matters arising

13:   Parish Clerk Recruitment

Still ongoing – updates to follow.

14:   Items for Next Meeting

Jubilee Tree; Parish Clerk Recruitment.

15:   Next Meeting

Tuesday, 6th September 2022 at 7.30pm at St James’s Church, Avonwick.

County Council Report

County Councillor's Report July 2022

From Cllr Dan Thomas.

1 DCC Chief Executive

Dr Phil Norey, DCC Chief Exec. for many years, is taking early retirement at the end of the summer

2 Warning on spending from our Director of Finance: our budget situation

Like many other local authorities across the country, Devon County Council is facing unprecedented financial pressures.

Director of Finance, Angie Sinclair, has warned that Devon County Council is facing an unprecedented black hole in its finances largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis and spiralling demand for help for vulnerable children and adults.

She predicts that the County Council could overspend by more than £40 million in the current financial year, and says urgent action must be taken by every department to reign in spending.

Chief Executive, Phil Norrey, informed staff of the challenging financial position and the steps being taken to address the financial stability of the Council.

A group of senior officers from across all Council services - a Tactical Leadership Team - has been established to identify options for councillors to consider. The options to save money include modernising and remodelling services and delivery, identifying different sources of funding, and cancelling or delaying some projects.

3 20mph trials

At Cabinet this Wednesday, a report will be submitted detailing the next steps in the county wide 20mph speed trial.

4 Project launched to equip young people with entrepreneurial skills

A new project has been launched to support young people in Devon to develop key employability skills and gain an insight into entrepreneurship.

'Young Entrepreneurs' is being funded through our £6million recovery programme in response to the pandemic.

Devon has a high number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-businesses, so provision of good quality enterprise education is vital in preparing young people for their future employment in the county if they plan to be self-employed or work in small enterprises.

The initiative is being delivered through four organisations:

  1. SETSquared and Volt Entrepreneurs Ltd
  2. South Devon College
  3. Space Youth Services
  4. Young Enterprise

The Young Entrepreneurs project supports the delivery of enterprise education across Devon, particularly in disadvantaged communities. It aims to allow young people to consider alternative routes into employment and will encourage them to pursue their ideas and aspirations to create new businesses and products.

More at www.devon.gov.uk/news/project-launched-to-equip-young-people-with-entrepreneurial-skills/

5 Lower-income households invited to apply for free energy efficiency improvements to their homes

Residents in a household with an income of less than £30,000 a year, who live in Devon or Torbay, may be eligible for free energy efficiency improvements to their home worth thousands of pounds.

From this week members of the public can check their eligibility and apply through the Cosy Devon website (www.cosydevon.com).

The scheme is being delivered by the Cosy Devon partnership which consists of Devon County Council (DCC), East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge and Torridge District Councils, Torbay Council, West Devon Borough Council, Exeter City Council and Plymouth City Council.

It follows the partnership securing nearly £10m of government funding. The scheme will offer householders the chance to improve their homes by ensuring that they are warmer, less draughty, and less damp.

Improvements will also reduce their energy bills and lower their home’s carbon emissions. More than 20 per cent per cent of Devon’s carbon emissions are caused by our homes.

Devon has higher levels of fuel poverty (13%) than the UK (10.6%). Many homes in Devon need substantial investment and the Cosy Devon partnership is committed to reducing Devon’s domestic carbon footprint and lifting communities out of fuel poverty.

The scheme is available to Devon residents who have an annual combined household income of less than £30,000 and whose homes have an energy Performance Certificate rating of E, F or G.

If you are a homeowner, and live in that property, you can access funding to cover 100 per cent of costs to retrofit your home up to a cap.

District Council Report

District Councillor's Report July 2022

From Cllrs Smerdon and Pannell.

Electric Vehicle Charging Points

The first electric charging points will be commissioned the week commencing 13 June at Mayors Avenue car park, Dartmouth as part of the Deletti project. This will provide two electric charging bays for the public to use.

Powered by the renewable energy through a green tariff, the charge points are compatible with all makes of EVs and will fully charge a 50 kWh battery in two to four hours, providing a range of up to 200 miles depending on vehicle specification.

The rate of charge is dictated by the vehicle's inverter however these chargers can deliver enough electricity for up to 88 miles of travel in one hour. This means the points are ideal for both shorter stops, such as shopping trips, and regular charges by residents.

As these points are for public use, they are also available for visitors of Devon wishing to charge their electric vehicle.

The cost to fully charge a 50 kWh battery, providing a range of up to 200 miles, would be in the region of £17.50.

For ease of use, drivers will be able to pay via Scottish Power’s app, which is free to download, or through a scannable QR code which will be displayed on the charge point.

Scottish Power do not charge a subscription fee or a minimum vend. Users may need to purchase a parking ticket as normal, please check at each site.

These charging points are part of the larger DELETTI programme, a £1.3 million project which is being largely funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Scottish Power intend to carry out civil works to install the charging point at Creek car park, Salcombe the week commencing the 14 June followed by Western Power Distribution connection works the week commencing 21 June followed by commissioning for use the week commencing 11 July. These dates may be subject to change.

Press releases and social media coverage regarding the EV charging points will be carried out.

Waste Update-SHDC Members grill FCC managers

A Special Full Council Meeting was called by Members on Wednesday 8th June to once again question FCC senior management on the continuing poor performance of the garden waste service. Members spent over two hours relaying their frustrations, and those of their residents on the erratic and haphazard reintroduction of the brown bin collections, despite repeated assurances in March from FCC that all was in place for the service to restart.

All Members of the Council were unanimous in their condemnation of FCCs poor service to our communities, and FCC Director of UK Operations Steve Longdon was left in no doubt that a major improvement in the service was long overdue.

FCC continue to struggle to recruit enough workers to fully staff the service, leading to the situation  that some garden waste rounds cannot go out on their allotted collection day.

The black bin waste and the recycling collections are fully resourced and are operating as we would wish.

FCC are unable to carry out any recovery of the garden waste as recovery of black bins and recycling is being prioritised.

If a resident's bin is not collected on their scheduled day, we are advising residents to keep their brown bin out until 5pm the following day and if it isn’t collected, then to take their bin in and present on their next collection day.

Officers continue to work closely with FCC to ensure as many collections are made as possible, but in order to ensure we can hold FCC to account contractually please encourage all residents to report their missed collection online.

We do not yet know when those areas which have not switched to the box recycling system will do so.

Council Tax Energy Rebate

Just over 9,000 households who live in Council Tax bands A to D and who paid by Direct Debit on 1 April have now been paid their £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate by South Hams District Council. Despite guidance issued to councils stating that payments should be made by the deadline of 30 September, South Hams District Council knew that their residents needed this extra help as soon as possible.

Staff worked rapidly to set up the systems to those already registered by direct debit, so they could be paid as early as possible. Whereas some councils nationwide have told their residents that they won't receive payment until as late as the September deadline.To date, the Council has issued just over 9,000 payments, which was paid to residents' bank accounts last week.

Those with different direct debit payment dates throughout April will receive similar payments soon. An application form is live on the Council's website, for those who do not pay by Direct Debit, and these will be processed from May.

Solar Panels on South Hams Leisure Centres

In a meeting on 7 April, the Council's Executive Committee heard about the steady progress being made by the organisation since the approval of its Climate Change and Biodiversity Strategy in December 2020.The goals set in this strategy include reducing the Council's own carbon footprint to net-zero by 2030 and increasing biodiversity on its own land by 10% in 2025.

To back up the organisation-wide efforts to lower carbon emissions, the Executive Committee approved plans to loan Fusion Leisure £500,000 for the installation of solar panels at all four District Council leisure centres.A study on greenhouse gas emissions caused by Council activity was commissioned last year. It showed that the biggest proportion of the organisation's emissions relate to its activities from leased assets, franchising and outsourcing. That includes the four leisure centres.

The installation of the panels will reduce the carbon emissions of the centres by 131 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCOe), equivalent to the annual energy emissions of 38 homes.Predictably, the emissions study also found that the reduction in staff travel caused by the pandemic led to a big saving in CO2 released into the atmosphere; a saving of 234 tCOe was made, the equivalent of powering 66 homes for a year.

PLYMOUTH FREEPORT APPLICATION APPROVED

I’m delighted to share the news that the Full Business Case for the Freeport has been approved by the Chancellor and that the tax sites at Sherford and Oceans Gate (Plymouth) will go live July 4.

This means that the opportunities for businesses to invest and create jobs can start in earnest, taking advantage of the benefits of the Freeport. Plymouth City Council, South Hams District Council and Devon County Council have worked with private sector organisations and landowners and created Plymouth and South Devon Freeport Limited, a private company limited by guarantee without share capital. It is currently being led by interim chair Adrian Bratt, general counsel at Princess Yachts.  Cllr Bastone is a Director on the board of the company.

Work continues to secure the designation of the Langage site, which it is hoped will be in September.

UKRAINIAN REFUGEES

The total reported number of Ukrainian guests residing in South Hams under the Homes For Ukraine scheme is 120 over 51 properties (and the team are also supporting another 121 guests in West Devon).

The Support for our Ukrainian Guests is continuing in the form of essential financial support and assisting with the building blocks of sustainable living in the UK. This has also evolved into working with guests and hosts where relationships are breaking down, and planning for any moves from accommodation as required.

Locally we are experiencing a few placements begin to breakdown. One of the reasons we are seeing is when there is a single host who has taken on more than one adult, and feeling isolated and the “odd one out” in their own homes. This has been informative for our pre-arrival visits when we speak to the hosts about understanding the task they are taking on. We are also learning of husbands and fathers permitted to leave the Ukraine, so property moves due to increasing family sizes are required. These circumstances are being echoed through the country and many of the Team Devon discussions are centred around rematch placements and changes of address that will be required.  The team are visiting potential hosts and starting to build a stock of properties that can be used when guests need to move.

Nationally members will be aware the UK government has announced another £1billion of military support to Ukraine on the 30 June.

Whilst completing home welcome visits to some guests in the area I observed the attached drawing that a British child has done for his Ukrainian friend and it was proudly displayed on the guest's wall. Whilst very simple in design it beautifully shows the support that guests are receiving in our area.

New Household Support Fund

Details are starting to emerge of the government's intentions on this. Last year the funding, which gets allocated to upper tier authorities, had very little guidance. This year the government have stated that 33% of the funding should be spent on supporting children, 33% on pensioners, with the remainder allocated based on local need.

While we are still awaiting final funding allocations, initial Team Devon discussions are proposing that DCC use the children’s element as they did last year, to provide additional free school meals and the suggestion is that a one-off payment is made to those of pensionable age in receipt of Council tax support i.e. already in receipt of a benefit. Across Devon that equates to some 19,000 individuals and would result in a payment of around £85.

Additional Funding for the Council

We have been successful in a funding bid to DCC / Public Health on behalf of all Devon Districts for funding to support further outbreak management. District Councils will be continuing promotion of infection, prevention and control measures within workplace settings to limit outbreaks of infection and knock on effects of impacts on local communities. The Council will receive £55,000 and the funding is required to support public health activities directly related to the COVID-19 response, such as testing, non-financial support for self-isolation, support to particular groups (CEV (clinically extremely vulnerable) individuals, rough sleepers), communications and engagement, and compliance and enforcement.

To help guide applications, examples of the types of project the fund will consider supporting are:

  • Digital skills and inclusion projects
  • Social inclusion and connectedness projects
  • Mental health interventions
  • Employability skills
  • Projects increasing community access to outside space
  • Inter-generational support projects
  • Befriending services
  • Innovative solutions to combating loneliness.