Draft Minutes 2026 June 08

Jun 12, 2026 | Minutes

DRAFT Minutes of the Monthly Meeting of Blackawton Parish Council held on
Monday 8 June 2026 at 7:30 p.m. in Blackawton Village Hall

Present: BPC and SHDC Cllr Rake, BPC Cllrs Coe, Hadow, Luckens, Oughton, and Thomas were present, as were Clerk A Thom, and DCC Cllr Brazil for his report. There were two members of the public present.

a. Open Forum

The two members of the public were interested in separate items: one in the Wind Turbine Feasibility Study and the other in the application from The George Inn ‘Save the Pub’ Community Group for a grant from the Parish Council.

b. Councillors Forum

Cllrs agreed that the Clerk would ask for the grounds maintenance work done in the Churchyard to include cutting beside all pathways to a width of one metre, cutting next to the northern/interior churchyard walls to a width of 600mm, and strimming at the bottom of the Church walls on all sides, as described in the contract, and that BPC prioritises the grounds maintenance over wildflowers in these areas.

  1. Apologies

All Cllrs present.

  1. Co-option to fill the Vacancy for a Blackawton Parish Councillor

It was noted that no applications have been received to date. Cllrs were asked to discuss the vacancy with other residents, the PC will continue to advertise, and the Clerk will ask the Primary School to advertise it in its newsletters.

  1. Declarations of Interest

Cllr Thomas declared an interest in the The George Inn ‘Save the Pub’ Community Group’s request for a grant, as did Cllr Coe. They will both request dispensations.

  1. Report from Devon County Council Councillor

Cllr Brazil described a very positive end of financial year position. He said that changes in practice have lead to savings, which has enabled DCC to invest more in road maintenance (£4 million more than in the budget). This time next year roads will in a be better state than they are now. He said that DCC has borrowed to invest in preventative maintenance of the roads. There is a long term, three to four year, program to get roads back up to a good state, so they are just being maintained as they should be rather than in a state of managed decline. Extra money has also been invested in Children’s Services. Children’s Services have had very positive reports from the Government appointed Children’s Commissioner, recognising improvements. This reiterates Ofsted reports and monitoring letters of the current visits every three months.

Cllr Brazil reported that the Government has paid 90% (£180 million pounds) of the accumulated Special Education Needs and Disability debt on the condition that DCC has a sufficiency plan (such as inclusion units for schools etc). That plan has just been been signed off.

DCC has had its corporate peer challenge which was very positive. It congratulated senior staff and commented on the good relationship between councillors and officers. There has been an increase from 60% to 77% of staff who recommend DCC as a place to work. The report notes the strain DCC has been under related to the local government reorganisation project. The Government will advise its decision in the next two to three weeks.

  1. Minutes of Previous Meetings

It was resolved to approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 11 May 2026.

  1. Report from South Hams District Council Councillor

SHDC Cllr Rake reported that the grant scheme for disabled living facilities and similar is being tweaked to allow people with long-term degenerative diseases to access the scheme early (before an expected reduction in ability happens). Some of the Crisis Resilience Fund money is being used for South Hams Citizens Advice to employ 1.5 full-time-equivalent caseworkers to meet the needs of specific local groups such as school leavers and veterans.

Cllr Rake said that the changeover in the management of the Leisure Centres has now taken place. It has gone very smoothly because of the work done by SHDC. The Centres stayed open and all memberships and bookings were honoured. The Centres are now being run on a management basis rather than under contract. SHDC receives all the money earned, pays the bills, and pays Parkwood a percentage based fee.

There is a change coming in how planning decisions are made. Currently SHDC has its own scheme of delegation. Decisions may be made by an officer, an officer with a councillor, or by the Planning Committee. From this autumn a national delegation scheme will be imposed. Small applications will be determined by officers. Major applications will still come to the Planning Committee. If it’s a major application of over 150 homes and the Planning Committee are minded to refuse the application the application will go straight to the Planning Inspectorate. Cllr Rake gave his view that this a retrograde step and an assault on local democracy. In response to the changes SHDC has reduced the size of the Planning Committee.

  1. Planning Applications

    1. South Hams District Council’s Planning Decisions

The following decisions were noted:

  • 0902/26/HHO 26 French Furze Road Blackawton TQ9 7FN. Householder application for rear extension and alterations to existing dwelling. Conditional Approval.

  • 0795/26/HHO 65 French Furze Road Blackawton TQ9 7FN. Householder application for proposed rear dormer to form additional bedroom with en-suite. Withdrawn.

  • 0895/26/PAA Wild Bank Farm Blackawton TQ9 7AA PAA for 0211/26/AGR. Prior Approval Required and Given.

  • 0862/26/HHO Stone House Farm Blackawton TQ9 7DE. Householder application for single storey rear extension & revised front entrance. Conditional Approval.

  • 1336/26/AGR Valley View, Blackawton, TQ9 7DH. Application to determine if prior approval is required for a general purpose agricultural building. Prior Approval Not Required.

    1. Planning Inspectorate’s Decisions

The following decisions were noted:

  • Appeal #6003579, SHDC Application 1520/25/PDM, Woodford Barn, Blackawton, Totnes. Dismissed.

  • Appeal #6003542, SHDC Application 1505/25/PDM, Woodford Barn, Blackawton, Totnes. Dismissed.

    1. Review of New Applications

BPC considered commenting to SHDC on the following applications:

  • 1466/26/HHO 2 Greenslade Road Blackawton TQ9 7BP. Demolish & replace existing conservatory with minor alterations.

It was resolved that no response will be made to SHDC.

  • 1233/26/VAR Larcombe Farm East Allington TQ9 7QB. Application for variation of condition 2 (approved plans) of planning consent 1714/24/FUL.

It was resolved that no response will be made to SHDC.

The meeting noted that no extraordinary meeting was considered necessary to comment:

  • New Club premises certificate application, Dartmouth Ruby Club, Dartmouth TQ6 9RR. Licence application for Supply and Consumption of alcohol on/off the premises. Closed 5 June 2026.

  1. French Furze Development

A draft traffic management plan for the Business Units’ car parking area has been received from the developer. The Plan has to be submitted to SHDC prior to the Units’ occupation. No response has come back from the developer regarding the Business Units’ snagging list.

There will be a public French Furze residents’ meeting in the Village Hall on Wednesday 17 June. A new more local management company has been selected.

  1. Wind Turbine Feasibility Study

It was resolved to approve the proposed Terms of Reference document for the Steering Group (Advisory Committee).

It was resolved to formally appoint the three Sustainable Blackawton members of the Steering Group: J. Scott, C. Massey, and C. Everard. The Steering Group has met with the study provider and given feedback on potential sites, achieving a shortlist of four sites for further assessment. The Clerk advised that payment of an invoice for Work Package 1 should be deferred because not all of that work has been carried out. It was resolved to delegate to the Clerk, in consultation with the Steering Group, the authority to decide to when to pay that invoice.

  1. Grant Application from The George Inn ‘Save the Pub’ Community Group

It was resolved to approve the request for a grant of £580 to fund: Plunkett Foundation membership (£270 for first year) and a £310 one-of cost to use its model rules for a Community Benefit Society. It is expected that BPC will be able to directly pay an invoice from the Plunkett Foundation.

Cllr Thomas reported that the Group is accessing 15 hours of ‘free’ advice time from the Plunkett Foundation. Cllr Thomas said that the Plunkett Foundation has asked if the Parish Council supports the Group and that BPC can show support with the grant. The grant will enable the next stages of project. A legal structure is needed for a bank account. Seed funding will be needed, for example to pay for a formal valuation. The group has a website (www.saveourpubblackawton.co.uk) and t-shirts are coming.

  1. Churchyard Contract to cut back vegetation growing on Churchyard Walls

It was resolved to note that the first cut was completed in May as scheduled and that ivy was removed from the lychgate without damaging it, to alter the contract specifications to allow removal of ivy from gate piers, and to accept Cllr Luckens offer to carry out repointing work to the lychgate piers with materials costs paid by BPC.

  1. Annual Governance and Accountability Return 25/26 Financial Year

    1. 25/26 Internal Audit

The meeting noted the Auditor’s Report. The Report says that the Council has met all control objectives.

    1. 25/26 Audit Annual Governance Statement

It was resolved to approve the Statement.

    1. Signature of the Audit Annual Governance Statement

The Statement was signed by the Chair and by the Clerk.

    1. 25/26 Audit Accounting Statements

The Accounting Statements were considered.

    1. 25/26 Audit Accounting Statements

It was resolved to approve the Statements.

    1. 25/26 Audit Accounting Statements

The Statements were signed by the Chair of the Meeting.

    1. Publication of Notice of Public Rights &
      Publication of Annual Governance & Accountability Return

It was noted that the Return & Notice will be published on the website and noticeboard, with inspection dates from Monday 15 June 2026 to Friday 24 July 2026.

  1. Financial Reports

    1. Update on Current Financial Position

The Reports and Bank Reconciliation were received. They showed a total balance of £68,196.73 and an unearmarked general fund of £28,067.08.

    1. Bank Mandate

The meeting noted that Cllrs have updated the mandate to remove the Cllr who resigned recently as required.

    1. Payments

It was resolved to authorise the following payments:

  • Clerk, May Expenses Reimbursement: £45.57

  • Cllr Coe, Parish Meeting Refreshments Reimbursement: £37.02

  • Grounds Maintenance Frequent cuts May 13 and 27:
    Churchyard £210.00 & Cemetery £228.00

  • Internal Audit 25/26: £165.00

  • Churchyard wall vegetation cut back: £750.00 (when invoice received)

  • Cemetery Hedge roadside face cut 2026: £90.00

The payment authorised since the last monthly meeting was noted:

  • Works to broken Monterey Cypress branches as per quote: £432.00

  1. BPC Policies and Procedures

It was resolved to adopt:

    1. Disciplinary Policy and Grievance Policy (new policies)

    2. Document Retention and Disposal Schedule (reviewed)

  2. Correspondence

The following was noted:

  • Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service Community Conversation online event 12/6/26 12:00:
    Outdoor fire safety this summer.

  1. Next Meeting

It was confirmed that the next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Monday 13 July at 7:30 p.m.

  1. Closure of the Meeting

It was not considered necessary to exclude the public and press to discuss the Wind Turbine Feasibility Study in confidence.

  1. Wind Turbine Feasibility Study

No commercial-in-confidence aspects of the feasibility study were addressed.

The meeting closed at 20:45.