DRAFT

CHARLETON PARISH COUNCIL.

MINUTES of a Meeting of Charleton Parish Council, held on Thursday 30^th May 2002, at 7.30 pm., in the Village Hall, West Charleton.

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

Also present:-            Cllrs Masters(DCC) and Nash(SHDC) and Mrs Hawkes, a member of the public.                        

1.   Apologies for absence were received from Mrs Raymond and Mr R. Burner.

2.   The MINUTES of the previous Meeting, held on 2^nd May 2002 were read out by the chairman for those who had not received a copy. The minutes were passed with one minor amendment required which would wait for the return of the Clerk. Wg Cdr Leigh took the minutes for the rest of the meeting.

3.   MATTERS ARISING:-

(i) Renewal of Insurance Policy:- The Chairman had obtained a copy of the insurance policy documents. After some discussion about the kinds of cover the Parish Council required, it was decided that the Chairman and Vice-chairman would study the documents together to ensure that the council still had adequate and appropriate cover. The Chairman would then arrange for the Clerk to pay the premium which is due in June.

(ii) Casual Vacancy:- There was still a casual vacancy to be filled. Mrs. Hawkes, attending as a member of the public with a view to volunteering to fill the vacancy, offered to fill the post. Mr Faulkner proposed and Mr Conboy seconded the proposal, which was carried unanimously. The Chairman welcomed Mrs. Hawkes to the Council saying he was particularly pleased to welcome her as we would now have representation from East Charleton.

4.   PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:- Nil.

5.   CORREPONDENCE:-

 Wg Cdr Leigh expanded on the Foyer project leaflet in the circulation folder, explaining that Tor Homes would be presenting their exhibition to Kingsbridge in  Harbour House the next day and on Saturday. He urged as many people to go as possible who could ask about the depth of research that had been carried out into whether or not Kingsbridge had a youth homelessness problem which would be best solved by the introduction of a Foyer.

The Chairman highlighted that within the correspondence folder was a letter of resignation from the Parish Council from Mrs. Lang.

The Chairman read out a letter from Mrs Bateman who believed that the small piece of land at the end of the valley, outside ‘Redwings’, and which was currently covered in weeds, belonged to the Rogers family, of Croft Farm. They should be approached with a view to giving the piece of land to the Parish so that it could be grassed and cut to make it look more attractive. It was decided that the Clerk should write to Mr. Rogers to ascertain who owned the land and would then proceed from there.

6.   PLANNING:- No Applications.

7.   REPORTS:-

(i) School:- Nothing to report.

(ii) Coleridge Association:-  The Chairman stated that the next meeting would be on Tuesday the 11^th June.

(iii) Parish paths:- Nothing to report.

(iv) Village Hall:- Mr. Smith reported that he would continue to pursue his claim for damages due to the leaking radiators from the insurance company Cornhill. The Hall was gearing up for the Jubilee celebrations.

(v) Jubilee Committee:- Mr. Smith reported that the Final arrangements for the Jubilee celebrations were well advanced and that the scaffolding had been erected outside the village hall at a cost of £350 plus VAT. After much excellent organisation and fundraising from the Jubilee committee, Charleton was now ready to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee in style.

(vi) Saltstone Association:- The Chairman reported that the group of Parish Councils and Kingsbridge Town Council, now called the Saltstone Association, was still in the early stages of forming and producing terms of reference. Early discussions had centred on the Code of Conduct requirements for councillors.

(vii) 20mph Speed Limit:- The Chairman showed the council the new proposals submitted by Mr Halliday, of SHDC, for the proposed 20mph speed limit through East and West Charleton. They had produced small scale maps and a photo montage of the signing and road markings.  The plans incorporated 40mph speed limits between Kingsbridge and all the villages and 20mph through the villages. Speed limit reminders would be placed at intervals and virtual footpaths would be marked where appropriate. Road signing at the entrances to the villages would reinforce the speed limit signs. Mr Halliday was keen to begin the projects as the money was available now. After some discussion the Meeting agreed that the proposals were generally a good idea; however, the Chairman would respond to Mr Halliday expressing the Council’s wish that the 40mph limit be reduced to 30mph, and that the speed restriction signs on the Kingsbridge side of West Charleton should be moved to the approaches to Church Park, the beginning of housing in West Charleton. Similarly, the speed limit sign to the west of East Charleton should be moved back towards West Charleton to reduce the danger to pedestrians and homeowners on the north side of the road. It was agreed that the work should begin as soon as possible so that impact of the changes could be assessed during the summer.

 8. FINANCE:-  There were no cheques outstanding but it was noted that the insurance premium would need to be paid before the next meeting.

 9. HIGHWAY AND COMMUNITY MATTERS:-

(i) Skateboarding and Rollerblading:- Mr Smith stated that he was no longer prepared to spend his own time, effort and money on maintaining the village trough and its surrounds if it was to be continually vandalised by those youths who wax the edges of the trough for skateboarding etc. He also reported that the Adventure Playground was being vandalised. Paving stones were being broken, broken glass was being left and the gates were being left open resulting in dog fouling. He said that this was an evening occurrence, which needed to be handled firmly. It was decided that the Clerk would write to the Community Police officer requesting urgent action.

(ii) School Lights:- Mr. Smith reported that although work had been carried out on the school warning lights, the result had been that the eastern lights were permanently on and the western lights did not work. It was decided that the Clerk would write to SHDC to report the ineffectiveness of their work and ask for further, urgent work to be effectively carried out.

10. AOB:

(i)      Cllr. Nash informed the Meeting that he had brought the A-Z Guides as promised but warned that they were issued in January 2000; consequently some of the names may have changed but the contact numbers should still be correct.

(ii)      Cllr Masters gave the Meeting advanced warning of major road workings, which were planned to start in late September and continue until the end of March 2003. They would involve major resurfacing of the road from Frogmore through to Care House Cross in Stokenham. Diversions would be instituted during the periods off-peak periods when the road would be completely closed.

10. ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING:-

 (i) The Casual Vacancy

11. DATE of the NEXT MEETING:- the next meeting would be held on Thursday the 4^th July 2002 at 1900 hrs.

Signed as a true and accurate Record of the Meeting,

 Signature………………………………………………….                 Date……………………….