Charleton Parish Council.

Draft Minutes of a Meeting of Charleton Parish Council, held on Thursday 1^st April 2004, at 7.30 p.m., in the Village Hall, West Charleton.

Present were:-            Mr. D. Hoggart (Chairman, presiding), Wg. Cdr. J. Leigh,

                                    Mrs Hawkes, Mr. Smith, Mr. Brown and Mr. Faulkner.

 Also present were:-    Mr. Brazil (SHDC), Mrs Gross (Village Press Officer),

                                    Mrs Raymond (Clerk) and two members of the public.

1. Apologies for absence were received from Mr. Conboy and Mr. Masters (DCC).

 2. The Minutes of the previous Meeting, held on Thursday 4^th March 2004, were read, amended very slightly, approved, and signed as correct.

 3. Matters arising:-

 a) Parish Plan:- Since the Parish Council has decided not to devise a Parish Plan, but to compile a Parish Wish-List to ascertain the hopes and desires of the residents for the future of the village, no further discussions will take place on this item.

b) Proposed Street Lights in East Charleton:- A form was delivered to  every resident in East Charleton asking for opinions on the proposal to request the provision of street lights in East Charleton. Sixteen replies were received, of which 5 were in favour and 11 were against. Therefore, in accordance with the wishes of the majority of the residents, the Parish Council will take no further action.

 c) The Wish List:- There has been a good response to the notes asking for residents to send in their wish lists. Mrs Gross will now ask in her weekly press column that the responses be returned by 15^th April, so that they can be analysed, and the results discussed at the Annual Assembly. So far the main concerns seem to be, in both West and East Charleton, speeding traffic, especially the dangers posed to pedestrians, and lack of safe parking, dog fouling, and the need to tidy up flower beds and verges. 

 4. Public participation:- None.

 5. Correspondence:-

A letter was received from Mr. Ball concerning the Travel Plan to be devised by the school. The Clerk will write to clarify the situation, and explain that the Parish Council is not compiling a Parish Plan which would include a Community Travel Plan, but is in consultation with the electorate to ascertain the wishes of the people regarding many matters including travel, traffic, and road safety.

6. Planning:-

Applicant:                     Mr. R Keep

Application number:      09/0327/04/F

Proposal:                      Formation of additional floor below the existing bungalow floor level,

                                    and balcony.

Location:                      7 Lyte Lane, West Charleton.

After a site visit by several of the Councillors, it was decided that there was no objection to this Application.

Applicant:                     Mr G R Shove

Application Number:     09/0477/04/F

Proposal:                      Siting of temporary residential caravan.

Location:                      The Creek, West Charleton, Kingsbridge. TQ7 2AW

 The Parish Council had no objections.

 Applicant:                     Mr and Mrs M Keehan

Application number:      09/0496/04/F

Proposal:                      Alteration and extension to dwelling.

Location:                      Woodcot, West Charleton, Kingsbridge. TQ7 2AB

The Parish Council had no objections.

Applicant:                     Mr and Mrs D Harwood

Application number:      09/0523/04/F

Proposal:                      Conversion of garage to ancillary accommodation and construction

                                    of linked double garage.

Location:                      Sandwood, Curlew Drive, West Charleton, Kingsbridge. TQ7 2AA

The Parish Council had no objections.

 Applicant:                     Mr and Mrs M Ashby

Application number:      09/0481/04/F

Proposal:                      Change of use from workshop to  retail unit.

Location:                      Charleton Garage, East Charleton, Kingsbridge. TQ7 2AP 

The Parish Council had no objections.

Applicant:                     Mr P Rogers

Application number:      09/0576/04/F

Proposal:                      Erection of timber framed public wildlife hide.

Location:                      Seawall to south west of Charleton Marsh, West Charleton.

 Although the Parish Council expressed some concern over the lack of convenient parking, and the fact that Marsh Lane is unadopted and so maintenance is the responsibility of the householders, there were no objections, and it was generally felt that the hide will be an asset to the SSSI and will be extensively used by many local residents, including the pupils of the school. 

7. Reports:-

a) School:-  Mr. Smith reported that the Head-teacher states that the negotiations are still under way with the Merry-Go-Round pre-school group about their future location. The main problem if the group re-locates to Charleton School would be the increased traffic at the beginning and end of the day. SHDC is to be asked to arrange 2 activity sessions under the advertised Play Schemes. A grant of £9000 has been received towards the provision of a staff-room and office, which will be begun this summer. The result of a request for funding to extend the mezzanine floor to create 2 new classrooms, so freeing the ground floor as a hall for P.E., is still awaited.

b) Footpaths:- In the absence of Mr. Conboy the Footpath Warden, Mr. Hoggart reported that Mr. Malek had replied to the Footpath Warden’s request for improvements to the stile onto Footpath 3 in Church Lane, saying that he had examined the stile, and considered that it conforms to the criteria for a user-friendly stile, and that if the Parish Council wish to fit a kissing gate, he can provide the materials only, and has no plans to alter the stile which was provided fairly recently. Mr. Brown pointed out that the gap to allow small dogs to enter the footpath has been blocked with wire, which it would seem was not noticed by Mr. Malek.

c) Village Hall:- Mr. Smith showed the Parish Councillors the plaque saying that the hall had received funding from the Lottery Board.  Work on the external painting will start shortly. The work will be done by the Punishment Unit, i.e., minor offenders who have been given Community Service to complete.

 d) Coleridge Association:- Mr. Hoggart was unable to attend the recent Meeting in early March, when a representative of the local ambulance service spoke about future ambulance provision in rural areas, and plans to improve the response times by various means. The next Meeting will be in June, when the Chairmanship will pass from Mr. Hoggart to the Chairman of another of the Parish Councils in the Association. 

e) The Saltstone Group:- Nothing to report, as Mr. Hoggart was unable to attend the recent Meeting. Minutes of this Meeting are being circulated with the correspondence. 

8. Finance:- 

The following cheque was approved for payment:-

            Cheque no. 100618, £58.75, to Audit Commission for Audit fee 2003 

Notice of Closure of Audit for the year ended 31/3/03 has been received and published in the notice board. 

The Accounts for the year ended 31/3/04 will be prepared for presentation and approval at the next Meeting.  

9. Highway and Community;- 

Mrs Hawkes said that she had written personally to Inspector Antill deploring the excess traffic speeds in East Charleton, and had received a sympathetic reply. The  radar speed gun was deployed recently, but as it was very noticeable, motorists slowed down on seeing it, and only one motorist was recorded as travelling at more than 20 mph. Inspector Antill promised that further, less obvious monitoring will be carried out soon, so that a truer picture of the actual situation should emerge. 

Mr. Brown informed the Parish Council that the broken white lines in the centre of the road between the end of Charleton Way and the telephone box have been removed, together with the slow signs on the road surface at both sides of the Rectory. This would seem to be associated with the provision of the virtual footpaths. Further information on this matter will be sought from Mr. Halliday. 

The recent vandalism at the bus shelter, when the ceiling was damaged by the application of lighters, has been reported to the police. 

10. Matters of urgency:- None. 

11. Items for the next Meeting:- None. 

12. Date of the next Meeting:- Thursday 6^th May 2004.  

The Annual Assembly will start at 7.30 pm., and will be followed by the AGM of the Parish Council, and the monthly Meeting.