Parish Council meeting: Tuesday, 5 November 2024

Key information

Meeting location: Avon Vale Tennis and Croquet Club

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, 5 November 2024

1) Open Forum

For Parishioners to raise matters of concern relevant to the work of the Parish Council. (Matters concerning other bodies e.g SWW, SHDC, DCC should normally be referred directly. The Parish Council would try to assist where difficulties arise after such a referral has taken place)

2) Present

3) Apologies for Absence

4) Declarations of Interest

5) Minutes

Minutes of the meeting held Tuesday 1st October 2024

6) Matters Arising

7) Reports

  1. County Councillor D Thomas.
  2. District Councillor G Pannell & D Hancock.
  3. Play Park.
  4. Tree Warden.
  5. P3 Co-Ordinator.

8) Planning Applications / Matters.

Applications received from South Hams District Council –

  1. Application no 2557/24/HHO – Southornwell, North Huish TQ10 9NL – Householder application for removal of porch and roof, single storey extension and new roof extending over extension and original single storey.
  2. Application no 3311/24/FUL – Charford Farm, Diptford TQ9 7LT – Replacement agricultural building (retrospective).
  3. Application no 2989/24/LBC & 2990/24/HHO – Neighbouring Parish Consultation – Broadmead, Diptford TQ9 7LX – Enlarged conservatory to replace existing conservatory.
  4. Application no 2001/24/FUL – Avon Inn, Avonwick TQ10 9NB – Use of two pods in private garden for full time B&B (resubmission of 3337/23/FUL).

Decisions received from South Hams District Council

None

9) Correspondence

  1. Devon Fire & Rescue Precept Consultation.
  2. Letter regards Woodland Barton.

10) Highways

  1. Road Closures.

11) Finances.

  1. Annual Website Hosting Charge.

Payments

BACS 7.10.24 = £22.75 – Avon Vale Tennis (Hall Hire).
BACS 8.10.24 = £139.20 (vat £23.20) – John Widdicombe (Lengthsman).

Bank Balances October 2024

Treasurers Account 2933.11
Business Account 8001.74
10,934.85

Monies held within PC Balance

P3 = £110.00

12) Any Items to go onto the next Parish Council meeting Agenda.

  1. Next Meeting Date 3rd December 2024.
Approved Minutes

Approved Minutes for the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday, 5 November 2024

These minutes were approved on 3 December 2024

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.

1) Open Forum

  1. Concerns were raised about the Fireworks at the pub on Saturday 2nd, they were very loud which has affected pets in the area and the Carparking and signage on the night was not clear.
  2. Defib session on Saturday 2nd Nov – 4 people attended, it was a shame that no one else attended from the Parish as it was a very good session put on by the Devon Air Ambulance.
  3. Car Parking on Junctions in the Village, the Police have been informed and a Parishioner has received a warning.

2) Present

Cllr Steer (Chairman), Cllr Grevatt (Vice-Chair), Cllr Hunt, Cllr Gabriel, D Cllr Hancock, Cllr Bell, Cllr Snoxall.

Attended by – no public present.

3) Apologies

Cllr Ring, C Cllr D Thomas.

4) Declarations of Interest

Item 8a) Cllr Snoxall has declared an interest.

5) Previous Minutes

Minutes of the meeting held Tuesday 1st October 2024.

The above minutes have been circulated and read.

Proposed by Cllr Hunt and seconded by Cllr Grevatt with all in agreement. Duly signed by the Chairman.

6) Matters Arising

  1. Avonwick Pumping Station – Lorries are still coming and going, no firm reply has been received from SWWA, the Clerk will write again and if necessary copy in Caroline Voaden (MP) if the reply is not forthcoming.

7) Reports.

  1. County Councillor D Thomas – reported by email – Snow Wardens – ensure information is up-to-date. Order more Salt for the winter if needed.
  2. District Councillor G Pannell & D Hancock – report circulated by e-mail – online surveys to be completed, cycling and walking on Dartmoor & the NHS. Pensioners who are eligible for pension credit and not claiming are being asked to come forward for help if needed. Leisure centres in the South Hams are not bringing in much revenue, the recommendation by the officers is to raise car parking charges to help with the shortfall,  they are proposing a cheaper charge for residents of the South Hams and an increased charge for non South Hams residents, this is still being discussed.
  3. Play Park – all ok, but a bit muddy in places.
  4. Tree Warden – nothing to report.
  5. P3 Co-Ordinator – nothing to report.
  6. Defibrillator – all in working order, but the cabinet had been opened.

8) Planning Applications / Matters.

Applications received from South Hams District Council -

  1. Application no 2557/24/HHO – Southornwell, North Huish TQ10 9NL – Householder application for removal of porch and roof, single storey extension and new roof extending over extension and original single storey. Cllr Snoxall declared an interest and left the room. Support - Proposed Cllr Bell & seconded Cllr Hunt – all in agreement.
  2. Application no 3311/24/FUL – Charford Farm, Diptford TQ9 7LT – Replacement agricultural building (retrospective). Support – proposed Cllr Bell & seconded Cllr Hunt - all in agreement.
  3. Application no 2989/24/LBC & 2990/24/HHO – Neighbouring Parish Consultation – Broadmead, Diptford TQ9 7LX – Enlarged conservatory to replace existing conservatory. No comment proposed Cllr Steer and seconded Cllr Hunt – all in agreement.
  4. Application no 2001/24/FUL – Avon Inn, Avonwick TQ10 9NB – Use of two pods in private garden for full time B&B (resubmission of 3337/23/FUL). Support – proposed Cllr Bell & seconded Cllr Hunt – all in agreement.

Decisions received from South Hams District Council – none.

9) Correspondence

  1. Devon Fire & Rescue Precept Consultation – This is currently available online for comments.
  2. Letter regards Woodland Barton – The Clerk to contact the sender and direct them to the Devon Rural Archive at Shilston Barton, Modbury where they should be able to find more information as they are looking for family members.

10) Highways

  1. Road Closures – there have been lots of road closures in the Parish, including an emergency closure for a collapsed drain which has now been sorted.
  2. White lining, there are several places where they are worn off and need replacing.

11) Finances

 

  1. Annual Website Hosting Charge – Cllr Grevatt reported that this is now due and is still good value being £26.34 – all in agreement.

Payments

BACS 7.10.24 = £22.75 – Avon Vale Tennis (Hall Hire).

BACS 8.10.24 = £139.20 (vat £23.20) – John Widdicombe (Lengthsman).

Bank Balances November 2024

Treasurers Account 2933.11
Business Account 8001.74
10,934.85

Monies held within PC Balance

P3 = £110.00

12) Next Meeting

  1. Next Meeting Date 3rd December 2024.

There be no further business the meeting closed 8.23pm

County Council Report

County Councillor's Report November 2024

Contact information for Snow Warden Scheme 

Over 300 parishes and towns participate in the Snow Warden Scheme, with responsibilities including ordering additional salt supplies, organising volunteers, and responding to weather alerts.

Each day the Council uses bespoke weather forecasts, over 35 weather stations and 20 TempCast/GroundCast sensors for route-based forecasting to determine when to treat the network. We email snow wardens with updates but are no longer able to offer a text service.

It is important we hold up-to-date contact information for snow wardens. The newsletter that goes out to parishes and towns in advance of winter service commencing will ask for up-to-date contact information along with requests for additional salt.

Please can you remind your parishes to check all contacts are accurate and fit for purpose.

Additional salt

Towns and parishes who are signed up to the Snow Warden Scheme and whose snow warden has completed online training are generally entitled to an allocation of 5 tonnes of salt per winter, supplied in 25kg bags. Once approved orders will be delivered directly to the town or parish by the salt supplier.

Forms to request salt and update contact details can be found on the Devon Highways self help section of our website (www.devon.gov.uk/devonhighways/self-help). Snow wardens can request access to the online training by emailing communityselfhelp@devon.gov.uk.

District Council Report

District Councillor's Report November 2024

Active Travel on Dartmoor

Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) has been awarded funding from Active Travel England to develop a Local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP).

This will be similar to the LCWIP that we are completing, but with a greater focus on leisure trips given the rural populations and the high visitor numbers to the national park.

DNPA want to hear about the new active travel routes or ideas you would like to see developed, and any existing active travel routes that need improvement.

You can learn more about the project and comment on the DNPA website.

Pension Credit Take Up Campaign

The Cost of Living and Financial Support Officer will shortly be sending letters to pensioners who are currently receiving housing benefit and/or council tax reduction and whose income falls below the threshold to claim Pension Credit Guarantee Credit (PCGC).

The letter advises the resident to make a claim for PCGC as soon as possible and signposts them to the PCGC calculator and to organisations, including the Council, that can assist them with any questions or help complete an application form.

Pension Credit can be worth on average £3,900 per year and, from this year, it will automatically passport eligible pensioners to receive the Winter Fuel Payment. 21 December is the last possible date to make a successful backdated claim in order to receive the Winter Fuel Payment.

The Cost of Living and Financial Support Officer is also arranging drop-in sessions at local libraries to try to reach residents that may need additional financial help.  As soon as we have confirmed dates and locations we will provide Members with a further update.

There will be many more residents that could potentially be entitled to claim PCGC who may be struggling with their energy costs. We would like to identify and help these residents, but unfortunately we don’t have the data.

How can you help?

You may be aware of residents in your ward that are struggling financially and we have set up an email address (support.vulnerability@swdevon.gov.uk) for you to refer their details to us.

To help us identify them, please can you provide their name, address and contact telephone number and confirm that you have obtained permission from the resident to pass on their details.

This could be anyone that is struggling financially, they don’t have to be pensioners, although we do want to identify all pensioners that may be entitled to PCGC and not currently claiming.

Change NHS

The government has launched ‘Change NHS: help build a health service fit for the future’ to have the biggest ever conversation about the future of the NHS. Members of the public, as well as NHS staff and health experts will be invited to share their experiences, views and ideas for fixing the NHS via the online platform, change.nhs.uk.

The portal will be live until the start of next year, and available via the NHS App.

People who visit the website can:

  • give their views on the NHS and health and care
  • tell the government what they feel is working well and what needs improving
  • share their experiences
  • post their ideas for improving health and care in the future

The public engagement exercise will help shape the government’s 10-Year Health Plan, which will be published in Spring 2025 and will be underlined by three big shifts in healthcare - hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention.

Please feel free to share this information with residents in your wards and encourage them to get involved.