Parish Council meeting: Tuesday, 4 March 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, 4 March 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 4th February 2025.

6) Matters Arising

  1. Avonwick Pumping Station.
  2. Parish Emergency Flood Plan.
  3. North Huish Notice Board.

7) Reports

  1. County Councillor D Thomas.
  2. District Councillor G Pannell & D Hancock.
  3. Play Park
  4. Tree Warden.
  5. P3 Co-Ordinator.
  6. Defibrillator
  7. Website Accessibility Statement to be adopted (Draft Circulated).

8) Planning Applications / Matters.

Applications received from South Hams District Council

  1. Application no - 0189/25/FUL – Land & Buildings Opposite Bickham Farm Diptford - Erection of 3 x agricultural buildings, to include roofing over existing silage pit, demolition of storage shed & construction of agricultural storage building & demolition of parlour building to construct livestock building.

Decisions received from South Hams District Council

- none

9) Correspondence

10) Highways

  1. Black Hall Lane – Road State – letter received from Parishioners.

11) Finances.

Payments

4.2.25 – BACS - £22.75 – Avon Vale Tennis Club (Room Hire Jan).
4.2.25 – BACS - £139.20 (vat £23.20) – John Widdicombe (Lengthsman).
13.2.25 – BACS - £22.75 – Avon Vale Tennis Club (Room Hire Feb).
26.2.25 – BACS - £290.00 – Sharon Raggett (Clerks expenses 10 months June24 to March 25)
26.2.25 – BACS - £410.70 – Sharon Raggett (Clerks Wages Jan, Feb, March 25).

Bank Balances March 2025

Treasurers Account 503.80
Business Account 8,028.95
8,532.75

 

Monies held within PC Balance

P3 = £110.00

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

  1. Next Meeting Date (Annual Parish Meeting) – 1st April 2025.
Approved Minutes

Approved Minutes for the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday, 4 March 2025

These minutes were approved on 1 April 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

  1. Richard Hosking (DCC Conservative Candidate) was present – DCC Elections taking place on 1st May 2025.
  2. Car companies fly posting notices around the Parish – D Cllr G Pannell will raise this at SHDC to see if anything can be done to prevent this happening.
  3. Road between Causewell Cross & Hawkridge, effluent on the road has been noted. This is now being spread on fields so the problem my abate, the situation will continue to be monitored.

2) Present

Cllr Steer (Chairman), Cllr Grevatt (Vice-Chair), Cllr Hunt, Cllr Gabriel, D Cllr G Pannell, Cllr Bell, Cllr Ring, Cllr Snoxall, C Cllr D Thomas.

Attended by – 3 members of the public.

3) Apologies

4) Declarations of Interest

Item 8a) Cllr Bell has declared an interest.

5) Previous Minutes

Minutes of the meeting held Tuesday 4th February 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 Chairman – Cllr Steer.

6) Matters Arising

  1. Avonwick Pumping Station – noted that when a heavy rain event occurs lorries are still coming and going from the site. No reply has been received to several e-mails sent to SWWA from the Clerk and Cllr Bell, another e-mail will be sent with a copy to D Cllr G Pannell who confirmed that SHDC will be hosting a Water Summitt and he may be able to raise this matter at the meeting.
  2. Parish Emergency Flood Plan – Cllr Ring has organised an open meeting at the Pub on the 26th March which has been advertised on the website & noticeboards.
  3. North Huish Notice Board – Cllr Grevatt reported - some options have been circulated to Cllrs, there is a restriction on size but the same size with a smaller frame would fit 9 sides of A4, quotes will be sought for a Plastic screen with a brown metal frame.

7) Reports.

  1. County Councillor D Thomas – written report received and circulated to Cllrs.
    Since last month, County has agreed its budget for 2025/26 which includes the usual 2.99% rise in council tax plus the extra 2% for integrated care.
    Local Government Reorganisation latest: - It appears that Plymouth City Council wants to take over the 13 parishes to the west of the South Hams (currently in Rebecca Smith MP’s South West Devon consitituency). The Districts have offered a 4:5:1 unitary solution. We wait to see that County will propose.
  2. District Councillor G Pannell & D Hancock – written report received and circulated to Cllrs – Bottlebanks – SHDC are removing however they a negotiating with some communities as £200 can be paid to keep it with a cost of £200 each time it is emptied. Council Tax Rise and carparking changes going ahead.  Local government reorganisation – Plymouth are looking to expand out to Ermington and Ivybridge and Tavistock to make a large unitary authority, proposals are then to form 2 more authorities as follows:
    • A Unitary combining the South Hams, Teignbridge and West Devon areas with Torbay.
    • A Unitary including East, Mid and North Devon alongside Torridge District and the City ofExeter.
      These are just proposals at present.
  3. Play Park - Cllr Hunt reported, the new Bench is ready to be installed, woodchip has been put down in the entrance way to prevent further erosion.
  4. Tree Warden – Cllr Bell reported - National Grid in the area at the moment cutting back trees. There are grants available to landowners for hedging and trees at the moment.
  5. P3 Co-Ordinator – Cllr Snoxall reported – Bridleway 9 – bollard to stop vehicles going along has been knocked out of the ground.
  6. Defibrillator – Cllr Grevatt confirmed both in working order.
  7. Website Accessibility Statement to be adopted. Cllr Grevatt has circulated a Draft to all Cllrs – all in agreement for this to be adopted.

8) Planning Applications / Matters.

Applications received from South Hams District Council

  1. Application no - 0189/25/FUL – Land & Buildings Opposite Bickham Farm Diptford - Erection of 3 x agricultural buildings, to include roofing over existing silage pit, demolition of storage shed & construction of agricultural storage building & demolition of parlour building to construct livestock building.
    Cllr Bell – declared and interest.
    The Parish Council support the application – proposed by Cllr Grevatt ans seconded by Cllr Gabriel with all in agreement.

Decisions received from South Hams District Council

none

9) Correspondence

10) Highways

  1. Black Hall Lane – Road State – letters have been received from Parishioners – they have all been advised to report any potholes and defects on the DCC website. The Clerk will also advise Nick Colton DCC direct regards the road state and blocked gullies. The blocked gullies to also be reported on the DCC website.
  2. Overhanging trees – The agent for the Land Owner will be contacted regards this.

11) Finances

Payments

4.2.25 – BACS - £22.75 – Avon Vale Tennis Club (Room Hire Jan).
4.2.25 – BACS - £139.20 (vat £23.20) – John Widdicombe (Lengthsman).
13.2.25 – BACS - £22.75 – Avon Vale Tennis Club (Room Hire Feb).
26.2.25 – BACS - £290.00 – Sharon Raggett (Clerks expenses 10 months June24 to March 25)
26.2.25 – BACS - £410.70 – Sharon Raggett (Clerks Wages Jan, Feb, March 25).

Bank Balances March 2025

Treasurers Account 503.80
Business Account 8,028.95
8,532.75

Monies held within PC Balance

P3 = £110.00

12) Next Meeting

  1. Next Meeting Date 1st April 2025.

There be no further business the meeting closed 8.25pm

County Council Report

County Councillor's Report March 2025

Since last month, County has agreed its budget for 2025/26 which includes the usual 2.99% rise in council tax plus the extra 2% for integrated care.

This graph, representing spending, is quite useful:

Infographic showing the Council's spending plans for 2025/26 compared to 2024/25.
Image description

The pie charts below illustrates where the money comes from:
Graphic for gross income in 2024/25
Image description
Graphic for gross income in 2025/26
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Local Government Reorganisation latest:

It appears that Plymouth City Council wants to take over the 13 parishes to the west of the South Hams (currently in Rebecca Smith MP’s South West Devon consitituency). The Districts have offered a 4:5:1 unitary solution. We wait to see that County will propose.

District Council Report

District Councillor's Report March 2025

SHDC Budget

At its February meeting the Council agreed to a rise of 2.99% in its share of the Council Tax. That’s the maximum allowed by the Government without a referendum, and also the increase the Government expects SHDC to agree when it calculates Council spending. The increase, roughly £200,00 will be totally swallowed up by the increase in Employers’ National Insurance contributions, for which the Government has only provided partial support. Our Rural Services Grant, worth £500,000 and which compensates rural councils for the extra cost of delivering service es in a sparsely populated area, has been abolished. No members voted against the budget. The average increase in Parish and Town precepts across the District is 21%, reflecting the additional burden being shouldered by these because of the tight grip on spending by bigger authorities.

Local Authority Reform

The Devon District Councils – minus Exeter – have issued the following statement on their preferred option for Local Government Reform:

“National government signalled in December 2024 its intent to end the current system of District and County Councils and smaller unitary Councils. Instead, these are to be replaced by unitary Councils covering much larger areas, with a guideline minimum population of 500,000 people. We are proud of our track record in delivering high quality and cost-effective public services. Each of our Councils is well established and has, over many years, built a connection with local communities such that we understand how best to tailor the delivery of these services to meet the needs of local residents. We are also very concerned that the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) as stipulated by government including the timetable runs the real risk of financial unsustainability from inception. The most significant funding challenges facing the people of Devon concern Adult and Children Social Care, SEND, and NHS funding. Government proposals address none of these, but rather risks uprooting the very organisations holding the line today.

However, it is our duty to respond to answer national government’s demand for structural change through LGR.

We are united in our belief that the interests of the nearly 1 million people of Devon and Torbay will not best be served by a single ‘mega’ Council covering the entirety of this area. As districts, we have therefore reached initial agreement to work towards the formation of two new Councils that combine our existing areas as follows;

  • A Unitary combining the South Hams, Teignbridge and West Devon areas with Torbay
  • A Unitary including East, Mid and North Devon alongside Torridge District and the City of Exeter

There is considerable further work to do to develop these proposals. We want to maintain local distinctiveness whilst seeking to secure ongoing service improvements. We are having to move at pace to meet the initial deadline set by national government for Interim Plans to be submitted by the 21st March. Final decisions on the content of the Interim Plans will continue to be made by individual Councils and we will engage with all our Devon council colleagues on an ongoing basis. We are mindful that the LGR process is fast-changing still and until submission date further options may need to be considered in addition to the currently preferred option.

We are in active dialogue with Torbay Council concerning the potential for a new unitary council covering a wider geography encompassing the 4 areas described above. We also recognise that Plymouth City will be looking to change their boundaries, which is a matter for government to decide on.

We are resolute in our shared commitment to engaging with our residents, partners and stakeholders to help shape these proposals going forward. This includes in the period through to November and the submission of final proposals. We will provide ongoing updates as we reach key milestones.”

Go ahead for residents’ discount parking scheme

The Executive has agreed to go ahead with a two-tier parking fee scheme. Prices will rise for visitors to the area, with discounted fees for local residents. Prices haven’t risen for four years, and the Council is seeking extra revenue to meet the increased cost of local services. The new fees will bring South Hams into line with neighbouring authorities. Prices will go up from October, rising yearly after that in line with inflation. Households will be entitled to apply for residents’ permits, which will operate via a mobile phone app. Residents who don’t have a smartphone can apply for a card which would allow them extra parking time. After consultation with the public and towns the fees for residents will increase slightly more, and those for visitors slightly less. Watch out for publicity on how to apply for a permit.

County Council Election ‘purdah’

Between Tuesday 25 March 2025 and Thursday 1 May 2025 we will be in the pre-election period ahead of Devon County Council’s local elections. During this time, the Council must comply with restrictions outlined in Section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986 and recommendations in the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity. What this means: In general, it is business as usual and the Council can carry on with its ordinary functions. However, it must not issue any publicity which seeks to influence voters.

We must not:

  • Publish any material or hold any promotional events which could directly, or be perceived to, influence public support for a political party or candidate. This includes press releases, consultations, leaflets, adverts, newsletters as well as social media and website content.
  • Use council facilities or resources which could directly, or be perceived to, influence public support for a political party or candidate.

However, we can:

  • Continue to promote and carry out normal council business which isn’t related to the Devon County Council elections or candidates.
  • Provide information relating to the poll e.g. how to register to vote, reminders to vote and opening times at polling stations etc.
  • Publish factual information to counteract misleading, controversial or extreme coverage.

During this heightened period of sensitivity elected members are still able to publicly express their personal opinions and views relating to the election, but they must not be attributed as official council statements.