Parish Council meeting: Tuesday, 7 January 2025

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, 7 January 2025

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 3rd December 2024.

6) Matters Arising

  1. Avonwick Pumping Station.
  2. Parish Emergency Flood Plan.
  3.  Community Assets List for SHDC.

7) Reports

  1. County Councillor D Thomas.
  2. District Councillor G Pannell & D Hancock.
  3. Play Park
    1. Grant for a new bench from South Devon National Landscapes
  4. Tree Warden.
  5. P3 Co-Ordinator.
    1. Annual P3 forms.
  6. Defibrillator.

8) Planning Applications / Matters.

Applications received from South Hams District Council

None

Decisions received from South Hams District Council -

a) Conditional Approval – Application no 2846/24/FUL – Higher Colmer Farm, Modbury PL21 0SG – Conversion of an agricultural building into a residential dwelling following Class Q approval (2523/23/PDM) to include making improvements to design, incorporating landscaping, biodiversity & renewable energy technology.

b) Conditional Approval – Application no 3311/24/FUL – Charford Farm, Diptford TQ9 7LT – Replacement agricultural building (retrospective).

9) Correspondence

10) Highways

a) Traffic Speed Sign.

11) Finances.

Precept 2025/2026

Payments

13.12.24 – BACS - £22.75 – Avon Vale Tennis Club (Room Hire).
13.12.24 – BACS - £139.20 (vat £23.20) – John Widdicombe (Lengthsman November 24)

Bank Balances January 2025

Treasurers Account 2363.40
Business Account 8015.11
10,378.51

Monies held within PC Balance

P3 = £110.00

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

a) Next Meeting Date 4th February 2025

Approved Minutes

Approved Minutes for the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday, 7 January 2025

These minutes were approved on 4 February 2025

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

2) Present

Cllr Grevatt (Vice-Chair), Cllr Hunt, Cllr Gabriel, D Cllr D Hancock, Cllr Bell, Cllr Ring, C Cllr D Thomas (from item 7a).

Attended by – no public present

3) Apologies

Cllr Steer (Chairman), Cllr Snoxall

4) Declarations of Interest

5) Previous Minutes

Minutes of the meeting held Tuesday 3rd December 2025.

The above minutes have been circulated and read.

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

6) Matters Arising

  1. Avonwick Pumping Station – The Clerk reported that no further reply has been received from SWWA – email now to go to  [South West Water] asking for an update on the situation.
  2. Parish Emergency Flood Plan – a flood group needs to be formed, Cllr Ring will take the lead but some Parishioners will need to get involved, a date for an open meeting at the Pub to be decided.
  3. Community Assets List for SHDC - the Clerk will do a draft list and circulate to Cllrs so this can be added to if necessary.

7) Reports.

a) County Councillor D Thomas

Devolution White Paper – DCC will be meeting to discuss the formation of a unitary authority, no details for this meeting have currently been released.

b) District Councillor G Pannell & D Hancock

Cllr Hancock reported - New app for Car Parking in the South Hams, current proposals for residents discount Car Parking charges are still under review having been out for consultation. South Brent Community Woodland was launched over the weekend, 2000 trees were planted, Biodiversity net gain credits will be produced from the site which will be sold to developers.
Local Government Funding – £300,000 less from main government for 25/26.  Devolution White Paper – details have now been published – proposals are that District Councils will be abolished, the District Councils have all got together and are opposed to the proposals of DCC to form a single Devon Unitary with Torbay Council and to not hold any County Council elections this year.

c) Play Park

  1. Grant for a new bench from South Devon National Landscapes – The Clerk has received confirmation that the application was successful and a bench will be provided.

d) Tree Warden – Cllr Bell

Look out for Ash Dieback trees in the high winds which are in danger of falling.

e) P3 Co-Ordinator.

  1. Annual P3 forms – Cllr Snoxall has these forms now for completion.

f) Defibrillator

All in working order.

8) Planning Applications / Matters.

Applications received from South Hams District Council - none

Decisions received from South Hams District Council –

  1. Conditional Approval – Application no 2846/24/FUL – Higher Colmer Farm, Modbury PL21 0SG – Conversion of an agricultural building into a residential dwelling following Class Q approval (2523/23/PDM) to include making improvements to design, incorporating landscaping, biodiversity & renewable energy technology.
  2. Conditional Approval – Application no 3311/24/FUL – Charford Farm, Diptford TQ9 7LT – Replacement agricultural building (retrospective).

9) Correspondence

  1. South Hams Motor Club – Primrose Rally 11th & 12th Jan 25 – this is taking place at midnight to 1am and a copy of the letter will be made available on the website. The Clerk to write to The Clerk of Course and Club, not all Parishioners received a letter and more notice is needed for these events.

10) Highways

  1.  Traffic Speed Sign – additional sign at the end of the village at the old bridge coming into the Village – Cllr D Thomas confirmed that £500 could be granted from his budget but the best way is to share the cost with neighbouring Parishes. Some costs will be looked at and Nick Colton – DCC will be asked where would be the best positioning for it.

11) Finances

Precept 2025/2026

This years expenditure has been circulated to Cllrs and noted that it was overspent by £500 on this years £5000 precept. Next year items such as the Notice Board, Defib Pads and Playpark will need expenditure. Proposed by Cllr Hunt £6000 for 25/26 seconded by Cllr Bell, all in agreement.

Payments

13.12.24 – BACS - £22.75 – Avon Vale Tennis Club (Room Hire).

13.12.24 – BACS - £139.20 (vat £23.20) – John Widdicombe (Lengthsman November 24)

Bank Balances January 2025

Treasurers Account 2363.40
Business Account 8015.11
10,378.51

Monies held within PC Balance

P3 = £110.00

12) Next Meeting

  1. Next Meeting Date 4th February 2025.
  2. Items for next meeting – North Huish Noticeboard.

There be no further business the meeting closed 8.47pm

District Council Report

District Councillor's Report January 2025

Local Government Funding

In the week before Christmas the Council received the details of the 2025/26 Local Government Funding Settlement. Comparing all of the different funding streams, the Council has about £300,000 less funding than previously envisaged in the Medium Term Financial Strategy. This is mainly due to the loss of the Rural Services Delivery Grant which used to be around £0.5m, although this has been partly offset by a higher allocation of New Homes Bonus (NHB) funding. We were expecting around £0.7m in NHB and we will receive £0.9m. This loss of funding will have to be made up from within the Council’s budget.

Local Government Reorganisation

SHDC Resolution 6/1/25

Following the publication of the Devolution White Paper, and subsequent statements by the leader of Devon County Council, South Hams District Council does not support the creation of one unitary council for Devon including Torbay.

Devon and Torbay are diverse and made up of over 970,000 residents across urban, suburban, and rural areas. Any reform of local government in Devon and Torbay should follow a period of proper consultation with residents, businesses, elected representatives and stakeholders. Looking at the evidence, all councils should decide collectively what is best for Devon and Torbay. A single unitary council for Devon and Torbay risks diminishing local representation with decision-making that is remote from the communities it purports to serve.

South Hams District Council does not support postponing the county council elections scheduled for May 2025. The government has indicated that this will only happen in priority areas that have clear and agreed plans. This is not the case in Devon and Torbay and in consequence this area cannot be in the first phase of these reforms.

South Hams District Council recognises that the government’s white paper sets a clear direction of travel. It is proposed that all Devon and Torbay councils work collaboratively to agree how best to respond. Any changes must be carefully considered, transparent, and inclusive, ensuring that residents and businesses are fully engaged in shaping the future governance of Devon and Torbay.

The objective must be to get this right for our residents and businesses. That cannot be achieved if rushed decisions have not been given the serious consideration they deserve.

As such this Council strongly opposes the Government’s current proposals, as set out in its White Paper, which would result in the abolition or merger of SHDC without full consultation and support by residents.  We note the following:

  • The Government has no mandate for abolishing district councils as this was not included in the Labour election manifesto
  • There is little evidence that merging rural councils will result in financial savings as many unitary councils are in debt or suffering financial difficulties
  • Devon CC has a budget of £1.837bn in 2024-25, an increase of £127m compared to a year earlier. The total budget of SHDC is minor in comparison.
  • Any merger that abolishes SHDC will reduce democratic representation and move decision making away from local people.

Therefore, while we welcome the stated Government objectives of devolving power to regions and local communities, and getting councils back on their feet with long-term settlements, the proposed plan for a unitary council will not achieve this but instead will:

  • Divert resources and funds to restructuring at a time when services are already stretched
  • Lead to a reduction in the quality of services where SHDC currently operates, such as leisure centres, public toilets, waste collection, sustainable communities, planning and local housing, environmental protection, parks and open spaces, etc. - due to inevitable financial pressures on any future unitary council
  • Lead to a reduction of local democracy, fewer public representatives and less support for local people who need it

Therefore the Council :

  1. mandates the Leader to write to the Government on its behalf outlining this Council’s concerns, with all related correspondence being copied to the wider membership, for their information and reference only.
  2. supports the joint statement issued by the leaders of the eight district councils throughout Devon, that includes not supporting:
    1. a Single Unitary Council for Devon; and
    2. the postponement of the County Council elections in May 2025
  3. will widely consult with its residents, businesses, community organisations and town and parish councils once a firm reorganisation proposal is ready for consideration.

Separate recorded votes were taken on Points 2 a and b

  1. Carried unanimously
  2. 21 for, 2 abstentions

Overall resolution carried unanimously

Launch of South Brent Community Woodland

On January 6th South Brent Community Woodland was launched with a community planting day. Two and a half thousand trees were planted by hundreds of residents in less than to hours. The 64 acre site will continue to be planted over the next year and there are plans for further publicly open planting sessions.

Car parking app changing

Please be aware that the cashless parking app contract with our current supplier RingGo for the South Hams will finish at midnight on 11 January 2025.

Following a procurement process the new contract will start on 12 January with PayByPhone.

PayByPhone is one of the biggest suppliers of mobile parking payments in the UK. It already operates in some car parks in Devon and is the current provider for Somerset Council, amongst many others.

After Christmas, signs will be going up in our car parks, asking our customers to download the new app ready for the switch over.

To help communicate the change there will be:

  • social media posts as well as adverts and articles in local media publications prior to the go live day.
  • new signs and information boards going up on the changeover day

The use of the cashless parking app has grown steadily since its introduction and now between 60 and 70% of our parking revenue comes through the app. It is therefore very important to get the message out to customers ahead of it going live, but not too early as this may cause confusion.

The new contract will allow South Hams District Council make savings. There will be no changes to what we charge our customers at changeover.

Please look out for the information and share with your constituents.

Stuart Noyce / Head of Community Services

Help for existing and aspiring market traders

Please encourage entrepreneurs in your constituency to make the most of new grants.

For market traders who want to improve their market presence or for those who need help with the costs to set up a pitch, new funding is available to help.

Through the Government’s Rural England Prosperity Fund, we are offering financial support to eligible businesses across the South Hams, with grants available from £150 to £1,000.

Grants can be used to buy essential trading equipment like gazebos, tables, and digital payment terminals.

The funding is designed to enhance winter trading, promote participation across all three local markets (Totnes, Kingsbridge, and Ivybridge), and reduce start-up costs for new traders. Eligible businesses, including limited companies, sole traders, and charities, can apply by completing an online form. Applications close in January 2025 or when funds are exhausted.

We want to help support the local economy, including our wonderful market traders, as much as we can.

Interested businesses can find out more and apply online here.

Rebecca McKee I Food and Agricultural Officer