Parish Council meeting: Tuesday, 4 October 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 Tuesday, 4 October 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 6th September 2022
Matters Arising
To discuss items arising from those Minutes
6: Reports
To receive Reports from
- County Councillor Thomas
- District Councillor Pannell or Smerdon
- Play Park inspection
- others (if any)
7: Planning
To consider Planning Applications and to note decisions:
Applications:
None received.
Decisions:
- Application number: 2320/22/VAR. Location: Leigh Side, Avonwick TQ10 9LX. Applicant name: Mr Grahame Ridsdill. Application Type: Variation or Removal of Condition. Grid reference 2711129,58225. Proposal: Application for variation of condition 2 (approved drawings) of planning consent 1933/21/HHO. Decision Date: 26 August 2022. Decision: conditional approval.
8: Correspondence
To consider correspondence received.
9: Appointment of External Auditor
To consider option to opt out of the SAAA central external auditor appointment.
10: Finance
To note recent and future income and expenditure.
Receipts
Interest September £ 0.34 2nd Precept Payment £ 2000.00
Payments
J Widdecombe £ 158.40 A Kohler – Clerk Expenses August £ 9.50 A Kohler – Clerk Salary August £ 88.30 HMRC PAYE £ 22.20 A Kohler – Clerk Expenses Sep £ 14.90 A Kohler – Clerk Salary Sep £ 88.00 HMRC PAYE £ 22.50
As At
Treasurer’s Account £ 7,841.31 Business Bank Account £ 2,467.71 Balance C/fwd £ 10,309.02
Note Payment for notice board repairs to Cllr Grevatt still to be processed when bank details received, also payment to local resident for cleaning materials for cleaning off the graffiti still to be received.
11: Highways
To consider Highway matters.
12: Parish Clerk Recruitment
To discuss future arrangements for permanent parish clerk.
13: Jubilee Tree
14: Graffiti
Payment for materials to clean up still to be received.
15: Next meeting
To consider items for future meetings
Date of next Meeting. 1st November 2022
Approved Minutes
Approved Minutes for the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday, 4 October 2022
These minutes were approved on 1 November 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 4th October 2022 at St James’s Church, Avonwick.
1: Open Forum
A parishioner read a copy of an e-mail that had been sent to SHDC regarding the garden waste collection service, asking where tax payers’ money had gone that should have been used to fund the service, objecting to the poor service from SHDC and expressing concerns that the chargeable service would mean that taxpayers would be paying twice for the waste service that they had come to expect from SHDC. A second parishioner was concerned that the chargeable service would continue to be poor. A third parishioner asked about the final collection of the brown bins under the existing scheme. NHPC will ask a representative from SHDC to attend a meeting to answer residents’ concerns.
There has been no further news on developments near Butterford Mill (see last minutes). We await a response to the PC’s letter to SHDC. This will be resent.
The condition of the churchyard in North Huish was causing concern; clarification is also needed regarding the closure of the churchyard: NHPC will contact Diptford PCC.
2: Present
Cllrs Gabriel, Bell, Grevatt (taking minutes), Hunt, Luscombe, Seager-Berry and Steer. District Cllr Pannell.
3: Apologies for Absence
County Cllr Thomas.
4: Declarations of Interest
None.
5: Minutes
The minutes of the meeting of 6th September were confirmed.
6: Matters Arising
The Council wishes to thank Richard Blackwell of Hamwell Builders for the installation of the notice board.
There has been no further progress on repair of the play park by Sutcliffe Play.
7: Reports
Playpark
The playpark’s condition is broadly unchanged, but quotes to be sought for replacement of the rubber rings on the climbing frame.
County Council
County Cllr Thomas supplied a written report (on PC website), including the Devon Carbon Plan, the reinstatement of locality budgets and online support for young people and parents.
District Council
District Cllr Pannell supplied a written report (on PC website) including changes to garden waste collections, cost of living crisis and the COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund.
Cllr Pannell stated that money held back by SHDC from FCC will be spent on increased costs of the in-house waste service. All areas should move to the new recycling system by June next year. All brown bins will be emptied on the final collection in October, or as soon as possible after. Missed collections on the new chargeable service will either be rectified or compensated. There is nothing to stop neighbours making arrangements between themselves to share the use and cost of a brown bin on the chargeable service.
8: Planning
It was noted that application number 2320/22/VAR had been granted conditional approval.
9: Correspondence
Specific items were noted as follows:
- E-mail from South Hams re. North Huish churchyard.
- E-mail from Community Heartbeat Trust confirming replacement of faulty RCD in North Huish ‘phone box.
- E-mails received regarding development near Butterford Mill.
10: Appointment of External Auditor
PC will continue with the current arrangements.
PC accepted with thanks the former clerk’s offer of guidance for next audit.
11: Finance
Receipts
Interest September 0.34 2nd Precept Payment 2000.00 Payments
J Widdecombe 158.40 A Kohler – Clerk Expenses Aug 9.50 A Kohler – Clerk Salary Aug 88.30 HMRC PAYE 22.20 A Kohler – Clerk Expenses Sep 14.90 A Kohler – Clerk Salary Sep 88.00 HMRC PAYE 22.50 As At
Treasurers’ Account 7,841.31 Business Bank Account 2,467.71 Balance C/fwd 10,309.02
12: Highways
The interactive speed sign was reported to be defective.
Closure of road to South Brent: information to be sought from DCC.
A number of matters remain outstanding from the meeting of 6th September, and a message will be sent to County Cllr Thomas regarding them.
13: Parish Clerk Recruitment
The Council unanimously approved the offer of the post to Zoe O’Sullivan. Contract to be drawn up and documents to be checked before signing. Ms O’Sullivan thanked the former clerk for his offer of help during her training.
The council voted unanimously to thank Ali Kohler for her work as Locum Clerk.
14: Jubilee Tree
The Jubilee Tree will also commemorate the death of Queen Elizabeth II. A Dawyck Purple copper beech will be purchased. The PC accepted with thanks the kind offer of the Steer family to pay for the tree. A guard will be supplied by the Church of St James. The PC will source a commemorative plaque.
15: Graffiti
The Council had accepted an offer to clean the graffiti in the play park, but no invoice has been received. Some graffiti still remains. Action will be taken to remove it.
16: Next Meeting
Tuesday 1st November at 7.30pm at St James’s Church, Avonwick.
Items for next meeting:
- Donation to St James’s Church
- Graffiti
- Outstanding Highways issues
- Garden waste collections
County Council Report
County Councillor's Report October 2022
County launches its carbon plan
The Devon Carbon Plan is the roadmap for how Devon will reach net-zero emissions by 2050, at the latest. It has been built on detailed, ongoing assessments of Devon’s greenhouse gas emissions. Its publication follows a summer which was the joint hottest on record, where the impact of human-induced climate change has never been more apparent. The Plan’s launch marks the beginning of a new phase of action – it is crucial that everyone in Devon now works to implement the Plan.
Broadly speaking, emissions in Devon can be divided into five key sectors: economy and resources; energy supply; food, land and sea; transport; and the built environment. The Devon Carbon Plan outlines actions for how each of these sectors can reach net-zero emissions by 2050, and how people at every level can contribute – including individuals, communities, organisations and local policy makers.
You can find it at www.devonclimateemergency.org.uk/view-devon-carbon-plan/
U-turn on Councillor locality budgets
Cllr Hart has decided to bring back our £8000 annual locality budgets after much negative feedback. Members successfully argued the importance of the budget as a funding source for small scale parish council projects. Please consider how a payment could help your parish.
Public Health Nursing launches online support and guidance for young people and parents
Life can be difficult enough sometimes, and for children and young people, those day-to-day interactions with others, your attitude about yourself, your relationships with people at home, at school or work, can be especially overwhelming.
It’s also a challenge for parents and carers seeing changes in their child’s behaviour or personality and not really knowing what’s going on or the best way to support them.
We have launched the latest in a trio of websites dedicated to providing help and advice for young people, and parents, from pre-natal right through to teenage years.
- Health for under 5s (www. co.uk/devon/) – pre-natal up to children aged five, was launched earlier this year.
- Health for Kids (www.healthforkids.co.uk/devon/) – the primary school years – includes games, videos, and quizzes. It’s split into four ‘worlds’: healthy bodies, healthy minds, health issues and getting help. It’s aimed more at the parents and carers.
- Health for Teens (www.healthforteens.co.uk/devon/) – the secondary school years – is for young people and their parents and carers and tackles the issues many teens go through as their bodies change, and they become more self-aware, while also still working out who they are.
The sites welcome any additions from residents. If you have any content, articles or local events you would like to submit for consideration please email: health.publichealthnursinghealthwebsites-mailbox@devon.gov.uk
District Council Report
District Councillor's Report October 2022
WASTE - SHDC to charge for brown bin collections
South Hams Council has agreed that residents will have to pay £49 a year for brown bin collections from next March. The current service will finish at the end of October and collections will be suspended over the winter. The vote was 22 in favour, seven against. Residents who don’t take up the subscription service will be able to retain their bins. Those who don’t yet have recycling boxes should be on the system by next June.
The Council has been looking at every option to ensure that the core waste and recycling collection service can remain as smooth as possible when it comes back in-house on 3 October. The Council will inherit increased operating costs and must contend with inflation in the price of fuel and wages, as well the need for additional resources. Introducing a charge for the garden waste collections – a discretionary service, not a statutory one – will ease the overall cost pressures on the Council.
As well as easing financial pressures, ceasing the service from 31 October will also ease pressure on the core waste and recycling collections, helping to keep those as stable as possible in the early months of the transition. The Council will ensure that all households will get their brown bins emptied on or around their last scheduled collection day before the service is ceased.
For many years the Council had been able to provide the garden waste service without charging a subscription fee but doing so from spring 2023 will bring them in line with most other districts in Devon, who already charge for garden waste collections. Plymouth City Council recently took the decision to end their garden waste collections early this year to ease their own budget pressures.
Cllr Keith Baldry, South Hams Executive Member for the Environment, said: “We know that nobody will want to pay a subscription fee for the service, but the inescapable truth is that rising costs have forced our hand. Ultimately, we must protect our core statutory services. Ceasing the collections over the winter will help us do that as we transition to an in-house waste collection service. Compared to what private companies charge for collections, that fee represents good value for money. The subscription fees will purely cover the cost of the service and there will be no profit made. We will provide residents with information in due course on how they can sign up and subscribe for the service.”
Residents can also expect to receive a letter explaining the changes in the coming days.
During the debate, residents were encouraged to compost their garden waste. People can find out more on home composting possibilities here: https://www.recycledevon.org/in-the-garden/how-to-compost
For those who decide to not sign up for the service, they can take their garden waste to all three recycling centres in the South Hams. Full details, including opening hours, are available online here: https://www.devon.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling/centre/
Keep up to date on the latest here: https://southhams.gov.uk/recyclingwaste
COST OF LIVING CRISIS
The Council has resolved: to write to the Prime Minister to make sure she realises the serious impact the Cost of Living crisis is having on residents of not only the South Hams but the United Kingdom; work closely with HM Government to deliver South Hams share of the £500m Household Support Fund on a timely basis and to continue to develop and support Better Lives for All to identify and help those most in need or at greatest risk of hardship to ensure they are fully aware of the help and assistance that is available and to ensure they receive that assistance.
COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF)
A total of £1.68million was made available by Government to SHDC to support businesses that have been affected by COVID-19, but have been ineligible for other business rates support.
Councils were responsible for developing and implementing a scheme based on local need, however we were unable to award relief to ratepayers who were entitled to Extended Retail Discount (covering Retail, Hospitality and Leisure), the Nursery Discount or the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme. Relief can also not be given to unoccupied properties.
The Council has awarded rate relief totalling £1.61million to 509 business properties following a meeting of the Council’s rate relief panel on 23 September. The amount of relief awarded is equivalent to 26% of the 2021/22 business rates liability, based on rateable value. We have primarily been able to support businesses in the manufacturing, wholesale and supply chain sectors.Ratepayers benefiting from relief will shortly receive a new bill with a covering letter explaining the terms of the award of the relief. As the relief must be applied to the 2021/22 business rates liability, most businesses will find that their account for 2021/2022 will go into credit. This will be transferred to the 2022/23 financial year thus reducing the amount of business rates payable. Should a ratepayer request that any credit be refunded, a refund will be raised.