Charleton Parish Council.

MINUTES of a Meeting of Charleton Parish Council, held on Thursday 3^rd April 2003, at 7.30 pm., in Charleton Village Hall.

PRESENT were:-  Mr. Hoggart (Chairman, presiding), Mr. Brown, Mr. Faulkner, Mr. Smith and Mrs Hawkes.

Also present were:-    Mr. Masters (DCC), Mr. Nash (SHDC) and Mrs Raymond (Clerk).

1.   APOLOGIES for absence were received from Mr. Conboy and Wg. Cdr. Leigh.

2.   The MINUTES of the previous Meeting, held on Thursday 6^th March 2003, had been circulated, and were approved and signed as correct.

3.   MATTERS ARISING:-

(a) Parking in West Charleton:- Mr. Smith and Mrs Hawkes will look at the verge opposite the school to see if it would be possible either to extend the bus stop lay by or to make a new lay by east of the barrier at the foot of Lyte Lane steps, to provide  parking for several vehicles. Mr. Halliday will then be asked to consider the matter.

(b) Parking in Lyte Lane:-  Mr. Hoggart will ask the advice of Inspector Singer regarding the vehicle which is frequently parked near the bottom of Lyte Lane.

(c) Flooding in West Charleton:- Mr. Fairweather replied to the Clerk’s letter concerning the flooding from the potato field after heavy rain, so that it is hoped that the action taken by the tenants will alleviate the problem. However, in heavy showers water comes out of the drain cover in the school lay by, so it would seem that the drains are not dealing with it satisfactorily. The Clerk will therefore write to inform Devon Highways of the problem.

(d) The Emergency Self Help Plan:- Wg. Cdr. Leigh has received guidance in this matter, and it would seem that the Plan would consist of the provision of a list of useful contact names and numbers (eg. Hall key holder, and persons with special skills). Mr. Smith has been asked as Chairman of the Village Hall Committee to supply the Home Office with information on the facilities available at the hall in case of emergency.

(e) Annual Parish Assembly:- Fliers will be distributed throughout East and West Charleton advertising the Parish Assembly on Monday 7^th April, and posters will be put in the usual places.

(f) Ashburton Arms:- Mr. Hoggart visited the Ashburton Arms to welcome the new licensee on behalf of the Parish Council.

(g) Trees at Lyte Lane garages:- These have now been satisfactorily trimmed.

4.   PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:-

No members of the public were present. Mrs Hawkes stated that she is continuing to try to interest someone in East Charleton in offering to serve on the Parish Council.

5. CORRESPONDENCE:-

6.   PLANNING:-

 Application:      Work to Tree Preservation Order Trees

Site:                  West Waterhead, West Charleton, Kingsbridge, TQ7 2AE

The Parish Council supported this Application.

Applicant:         `Mr. D. Manning

Ref. No:           09/0654/03/F

Proposal:          Erection of garage and utility room

Location:          Blakes, West Charleton, Kingsbridge, TQ7 2AL

The Parish Council had no objection to the granting of this Application.

Notices of Conditional Planning Permission were received in respect of:-

(i)  Application Number 09/0265/03/F, Herondyke, Curlew Drive, West Charleton

(ii) Application Number 09/0253/03/F, Bay Tree Cottage, West Charleton.

 7.   REPORTS:-

 (a) School:- A brief written report from Miss Lewis said that the inspections by the Office of Standards in Education and by the Diocese were very successful, and final reports of these will be published shortly. Art work by the children has been exhibited in the Quay Centre, and one pupil was awarded a cup for singing in the Malborough Festival. Kingsbridge Rotary Club made a donation of £100 to the school. The Easter fair will take place on Friday 11^th April from 2 to 4 pm.

(b) The Coleridge Association:- At the recent Meeting attended by Mr Hoggart, the Transport Forum, affordable housing, car parking problems in the villages and Devon County’s budget were discussed.

(c) The Saltstone Group:- Mr. Hoggart reported that at the recent Meeting the main items for consideration were transport, affordable housing, and Community Plans.

(d) Footpaths:- The recent repairs to the footpath beside the Post Office have been completed, at no cost to the Parish Council.

(e) Village hall:- Mr. Smith reported that a recent large bill for water alerted the Committee to the possibility of a leak. Upon investigation it was discovered that the connection to the water meter in the road which was fitted by SWWA was faulty. Since this could not be considered to be the responsibility of the Village Hall Committee, negotiations are still taking place with SWWA. The rent is to increase from £5 to £6 per hour for the main hall, and from £2 to £3 for the Committee Room.

 8.   FINANCE:-

 The annual fee for the Web site is now due, and will be paid when Wg. Cdr. Leigh has submitted an invoice.

 The annual accounts for 2002-03 will be submitted for the approval of the Parish Council at the monthly Meeting in June.

 9.   MATTERS OF URGENCY, at the Chairman’s discretion:-

 Fliers advertising the Annual Assembly will be distributed throughout East and West Charleton on Saturday.

 All present Parish Councillors remain in office until 1st May, when those four Councillors who have submitted valid nomination papers will be returned unopposed. Further Councillors will then be co-opted by the Parish Council.

 Mr. Hoggart has compared the annual amounts due in the Council Tax , and was rather surprised to discover that despite the Parish Council’s Annual Precept remaining at £2000, the amount designated for the Parish Council has varied each year. This anomaly would appear to be due to the varying number of occupied properties within Band D.

 Traffic speeds appear to have diminished slightly since the imposition of the reduced limits, and it is felt that the virtual footpaths have increased the safety of pedestrians. There are no signs in East Charleton  warning of pedestrians.

Mr. Masters said that the District Council will appreciate any feed-back about the results of the decrease in traffic speed limits in due course, and so far the general feeling seems to be that there has been a welcome reduction in speeds.

 10. Dates of the next Meetings:-

 (1) The Annual Assembly will take place on Monday 7^th April, at 7.30 pm., at the Village Hall.

(2) The next Meeting of the Parish Council, which will be preceded by the Annual General Meeting, will take place on Thursday 8^th May 2003, at 7.30 p., at the Village Hall. All qualifying Parish Councillors will be informed in writing.