Approved Minutes 2023 March 07

Mar 17, 2023 | Minutes

The Approved minutes can be read below or downloaded here: MN_2023_March 07 BPC Approved Minutes

APPROVED Minutes of the Monthly Meeting of Blackawton Parish Council held on Tuesday 7 March 2023 at 7:30 p.m. in Blackawton Village Hall

Carbon Savers Course

Module 1 – Calculate your Carbon Footprint. The video was stopped because of a technical issue with the quality of the sound.

Open Forum

No members of the public present.

Present: Councillors Rake (Chair), Coe, Curry, Mallyon, Ougton, and Thomas were present, as were South Hams District Cllr Reeve, Devon County Cllr Brazil (for his report), and A Thom (Clerk). No members of the public.

  1. Apologies

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Mewes.

  1. Declarations of Interest

Cllr Rake declared that the vendor for the labelled wooden Cemetery post option (Agenda item 23) is a family friend.

  1. Minutes of Previous Meetings

It was resolved to approve the minutes of the Meeting held on 7 February 2023.

  1. Report from South Hams District Council Councillor

Councillor Reeve said that brown bin garden waste collections start this week. The sticker provided by SHDC must be fixed to the outside of the lid or to the front of your bin so that the sticker clearly visible. SHDC has located compost bins at a good price and a second bin can be purchased at half price, for example share the order with a neighbour. Cllr Reeve will provide the website to order the bins, for circulation to residents. Photo ID will be required to vote in the May elections. Cllr Reeve’s Locality grant budget is fully spent on projects within or to benefit Blackawton. SHDC is arranging an internal meeting of Officers to review the outstanding issues at French Furze and their management. That meeting will be followed by a site meeting, which Cllr Rake requested to attend if possible.

  1. Report from Devon County Council Councillor

Deferred pending the arrival of Cllr Brazil from another meeting.

  1. Planning Applications

    1. SHDC Planning Decisions

The following decisions were noted:

  • 0054/23/ARC Watsons Farm Blackawton TQ9 7AZ. Application for approval of details reserved by condition 9 (Surface Water Drainage) of planning consent 1709/22/FUL. Discharge of condition Approved.

  • 0149/23/AGR Land at SX 81747 50945 Blackawton. Application to determine if prior approval is required for proposed 10m x 4.26m propagation polytunnel & a 50m x 4.26m caterpillar tunnel. Ag Determination details not required.

  • 0309/23/COM Middle Wadstray Farm Blackawton Totnes. Notice of Intent to Install Electronic Communication Apparatus Comprising existing EE/H3G 3 No. 4-Port CV65BSX-2X2 Antenna on 2.2m long support poles & Z-brackets fixed to headframe corners to be removed & replaced with 3 x panel antennas mounted on 3 x new MAFI 2.5m long 46.1×2.5mm CHS poles mounted to headframe corners using 6 new MAFI 3274 universal pole mounts, existing 3 x 2100 MHAS installed behind Antennas to be removed & replaced with 3 active routers & 3 x active routers &3 DTMSD installed new MAFI CHS pole using standard pole fixings & associated internal equipment upgrades. Permitted development.

    1. Review of New Applications

  • 0020/23/HHO Heyes Main Street Blackawton TQ9 7BG. Householder application for a single storey extension to side/rear of the property to replace current shed/workshop.

It was resolved to comment in Support.

  • Variation to the premises licence of Dartmouth Wine Company, 6 Duke Street, Dartmouth, TQ6 9PZ.

It was resolved that no comment would be made.

  1. Consultations

  • National Planning Policy Framework Consultation, Closes 2 March 2023.

  • Devon Association of Local Councils & Devon Communities Together, Survey on what resources councils would find helpful in an emergency toward a community support plan for Devon. Closes 8 March 2023. Cllrs may comment as individuals.

  • South West Water, Draft Water Resources Management Plan. Closes 9 May 2023.

There is a Sustainable South Hams Assembly on 18 March to discuss Rivers. How to comment on this consultation will be reviewed following that Assembly, on the 4 April meeting’s Agenda.

  • SHDC, South Hams Electric Vehicle Strategy. Closes 17 March 2023.

Cllrs may choose to comment as individuals.

  1. Action available to BPC regarding completion and transfer of Playground, MUGA, and Car Park in French Furze

This matter was addressed above by SHDC Cllr Reeve.

  1. Community Network Project

Cllrs Thomas and Coe continue to work on this project and no new actions were suggested by the meeting.

  1. Management of Trees in St Michael’s Churchyard and in Blackawton Cemetery

The Tree Risk Survey Report was received by BPC today therefore there has been very little time for its review before the meeting. The Report will be passed on to the Village Hall and the Playing Fields Committees.

The works described in the Report for the avenue of cherry trees in the Churchyard are advisory therefore any works agreed would be done after the nesting season.

It was agreed that two proposals will be prepared for the avenue of cherry trees – one to carry out the advisory works and one to remove the trees. Parishioners can be consulted about the two proposals. BPC will research whether there are fruiting cherry trees of the size required for the avenue.

Councillors will meet in the Cemetery at 4:15pm on Friday to determine the preferred site for the for the landmark silver birch to be planted, and to consider the possible planting of replacement trees on the northern side of the lawn cemetery area.

  1. St Michael’s Churchyard

The proposal in Living Churchyards’ Draft Action Plan to plant a boundary hedge on the southern border/Main Street edge of the Churchyard where there is a considerable drop to the road beneath was discussed. It was resolved unanimously not to plant a hedge in that location. Issues discussed included visual impact and the safe management of planting and maintaining the hedge.

  1. Moles in the Cemetery

Mole hills have again been noted in the Cemetery this year. It was agreed that Cllr Coe will occasionally rake them. They are not considered to be creating a hazard to members of the public.

  1. Annual Parish Meeting Tuesday 18 April at 7:30 pm.

The guest speakers from Dartmouth Caring and from Living Churchyards have been confirmed. Cllr Rake will report on the Parish Council’s activities. Cllr Coe will liaise with the Community Shop for it to provide the refreshments with an upper budget of 1.5 times the cost for the 2022 Parish Meeting.

  1. Finance

    1. Update on Current Financial Position

The Reports showed a total balance of £52,199.73 and an unearmarked general fund of £11,793.34.

    1. Payments & Receipts

It was resolved to authorise the following payments:

  • Maintenance Contractor, War Memorial clean up and remove vegetation, £48.00

  • Clerk, February expenses reimbursement, £18.79

  • Scribe, Annual Subscription Cemetery & Accounting, £446.40

  • Advanced Arboriculture, Tree Risk Assessment Survey, £420.00+VAT

The following payments made since the February Meeting were noted:

  • Clerk, February Salary, £510.22

  • HMRC, February, £131.60

  • NEST Pensions, February, £46.06

  1. Report from Devon County Council Councillor

Devon County Council Councillor Brazil reported that DCC has held a meeting to approve its 23/24 Budget. DCC’s component of Council Tax will increase by 5%. Cllr Brazil said that DCC is consulting on cuts which will be made to non-statutory services, for example cutting its homelessness service. There is a large off-books Special Educational Needs deficit. The sale of the farms estate has been discussed. There has been a meeting about the management of the Slapton Line.

  1. Sustainable South Hams River Assembly 18 March 2023
    No Councillors requested payment of the fee to attend.

  2. Hedgehog Highway Project

The local Habitat Group is working on a hedgehog highway project and information about this national initiative (to purchase hole surrounds, information leaflets, display box, and window sticker kits) has been passed on to the Group.

  1. Correspondence

The following correspondence was noted.

  • 24/2/23 Parent Primary School, Request for playground and basketball court could be opened. BPC responded to say they are owned by the developer.

  • Keep Britain Tidy, Great British Spring Clean 17 March to 2 April.

  • South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership, Invitation to annual forum Wednesday 22nd March 2023, 09.15-13.00 on Teams
    Councillors may choose to arrange individually to attend.

  1. Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Parish Council on Tuesday 4 April 2023 at 7:30 p.m. was confirmed.

  1. Closure of the Meeting

It was resolved in accordance with the 1960 Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act to exclude the public and press during consideration of the following item(s) because of the commercial-in-confidence nature of the business.

  1. Parish Lengthsman Contract

It was resolved to accept the application from the current Parish Lengthsman.

  1. BPC Maintenance Contractor Contract

It was resolved that the quote submitted by the 2020-23 contractor is acceptable and to delegate the Clerk authority in consultation with the Chair, Cllr Rake, to make arrangements to ensure that the insurance and highway safety awareness components of the specifications are met. BPC values the work done in the role. If the insurance and highway safety awareness components are met BPC will enter into a new contract, as per the specifications, with the 2020-23 contractor.

  1. Grounds Maintenance – Churchyard ‘topping’

This work has been done as detailed in the charges approved by BPC in December 2022.

  1. Cemetery Waste Management Plan

Cllr Rake described the quoted labelled sustainably sourced oak post proposal and left the meeting. The alternative considered was 7.5 cm round posts with an aluminium sign.

It was resolved to purchase two labelled 8cm*8cm*140cm oak posts at a cost of £90 each and that the exact location for the site to temporarily store excess soil will be considered in the site meeting in the Cemetery on Friday 9 March. The final wording on the posts also needs to be determined.

Cllr Rake returned to the meeting.