Charleton Parish Council.

Minutes of a Meeting of Charleton Parish Council, held on Thursday 6^th March 2003, at 7.30pm., at Charleton Village Hall.

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

Also present were:-  Mrs. Raymond (Clerk), Mr. Nash (SHDC) and one member of the public, Mr. Blackwell.

1.   Apologies for absence were received from Mr. Conboy, Wg. Cdr. Leigh, Mr. Faulkner and Mr. Masters (DCC)

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

3.   MATTERS ARISING:-

(a) Parish Plan:- The possibility of devising will be discussed further at the Annual Assembly.

(b) Emergency Self Help Plan:- Mr. Hoggart has spoken informally to Mr. Burner, Chairman of Frogmore and Sherford Parish Council, about the possibility of developing both a Parish Plan and an Emergency Plan in co-operation with his Parish Council. It is felt that listing of facilities and personnel who might be useful in an emergency would be one way of beginning to draw up an Emergency Plan.  Mr. Smith said that the Gazette has been inviting village correspondents to report on matters of interest from the various villages around Kingsbridge. So far, response has been disappointing, but Mrs Joan Gross, of Nampara, 5 Compton Road, has volunteered to act as village correspondent for Charleton. He suggested that publicity might be given to the possible setting up of these Plans. The Clerk will contact Mrs Gross and liaise with her to obtain suitable publicity through the village news column.

(c) Parking in Lyte Lane:- Vehicles still park in a dangerous position in Lyte Lane, despite efforts to contact the offending drivers to persuade them to exercise more consideration towards other drivers. The Clerk will try again to contact the drivers by leaving notes on their vehicles, and Mr. Hoggart will inform Inspector Singer about the Parish Council’s concern.

(d) Village flower beds:- A letter against the removal of the raised beds has been received, and several residents have expressed verbally their dislike of the idea of removing any of the beds. Therefore it was proposed by Mr. Smith, and seconded by Mrs Hawkes, that the matter should be dropped forthwith. This proposal was passed unanimously, and so no further action will be taken The Parish Council wish the Clerk to write to the residents of properties overlooking the raised beds stating that the Council appreciates their wishes to keep the beds, but hope that some interested residents would undertake to keep the beds tidy. Meanwhile, the problem of lack of parking in the village is still unresolved. It was suggested that a small amount of parking may possibly be provided by reducing the grass verge opposite the school to give space for 5 or 6 vehicles. This would be especially useful at school times, but would be available for day long use. Care would have to be taken to safeguard at least a narrow walkway, so that pedestrians could get safely from the shop to Lyte Lane steps. The Clerk was therefore instructed to write to Mr. Halliday suggesting that such parking provision could be made.

(e) Trees at Lyte Lane garages:- The Clerk wrote as instructed at last month’s Meeting, but as yet no action has been in the matter.

(f) Flooding form the potato field:- The Clerk wrote to Mr. Fairweather about this matter, and a reply is awaited. Since some of the problem seems to be that the water is actually coming up out of one drain, Devon Highways will also be informed, so that any blockage may be removed, or action taken to increase the capacity of the drains if necessary.

(g) Correspondence:- Copies of all letters written by the Clerk will be included with the regular Correspondence circulation pack each month.

4.   PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:- Mr. Blackwell requested nomination papers, as he is interested in standing for election to the Parish Council.

5.   CORRESPONDENCE:-

 It was observed that the Correspondence circulation pack last month was slow in reaching several Councillors.  All were asked to make every effort to pass the pack on as quickly as possible, so that every Councillor is able to read  the contents.

 6.   PLANNING:-

Applicant:-       Mr & Mrs G R Shove

Ref. No:           /0402/03/F

Proposal:          Repairs to barn comprising new roof, front wall and floor.

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

The Parish Council supported this Application.

Applicant:         South West Property Services Ltd.,     

Ref. No:           09/0265/03/F

Proposal:          Alterations and extension including drawing room, garage and conservatory

Location:          Herondyke, Curlew Drive, West Charleton, TQ7 2AA

This Application will be considered by a planning Sub-Committee, and the recommendations forwarded to the Chief Planning Officer by Mr. Hoggart.

Notices of Grant of CPP were received in respect of the following:-

(a) Application No. 09/2379/02/F, 7, Lyte Lane, West Charleton

(b) Application No. 09/0022/03/F, Marton, West Charleton.

Notice of Refusal of CPP was received in respect of:-

            Application No. 09/2455/02/0, Field below Dawnside, West Charleton.

7.   REPORTS:-

(a) School:- no written report this month. Miss Lewis is to retire at the end of the academic year in August. An OFSTED inspection is shortly to take place. Interviews with parents have already taken place in connection with the inspection.

(b) Coleridge Association:- no report. The next Meeting is to take place on 11^th March. From the summer Meeting, Mr. Hoggart is to be Chairman of the Association.

(c) Saltstone Group:- nothing to report. The next Meeting is to be held on 17th March. The Forum on Affordable Housing was postponed, until April.

(d) Footpaths:- Mr. Brown reported that repairs have been carried out to the damaged footpath by the post office, with fencing and step completed and tarmac to be added shortly. The Clerk will ascertain from Mr. Lamble of Croft Farm Estates how the work is being financed, since Mr. Brown thought that Mr. Lamble implied that the Parish Council is expected to contribute towards the expense although none of the Councillors is aware of any previous discussion of the matter.. In the absence of Wg. Cdr. Leigh there was no further report on the footpaths. The Clerk will discover from Mr. Lamble what the arrangements are for paying for the work.

(e) Village Hall:- The bus shelter has been painted by the Community Punishment Unit from Torquay, a group of young persons doing community service. They also cleaned and painted the kitchen, reported Mr. Smith, and will decorate the committee room and lay the carpet shortly. Bookings are well up, with very few vacant evenings.

8.   FINANCE:-

The following cheques were approved for payment:-

            Cheque no. 100593, £25.00 to F. Raymond (Clerk) for Petty Cash

            Cheque no. 100594, £165.48 to F. Raymond for Clerk’s salary for Jan/Feb/Mar.

            Cheque no. 100595, £18.96 to E & BR Noyce for decorating materials

            Cheque no.100595, £22.80 to PRCDTR for photocopying for year

            Cheque no. 100597, £28.00 to K. Abraham for internal audit fee

9.   HIGHWAY AND COMMUNITY:-

There have been several verbal complaints about the apparent proliferation of road signs associated with the new speed limits.

The village sign at the foot of Church Lane has been damaged, but new signs are shortly to be fitted.

The daffodil bulbs in the green at the corner of Sickleman’s Close are nearly all blind this year, because they were cut rather too soon after flowering last year. The tree is growing well.

Some pavements are being raised to make it easier to get on and off the buses, but although this has been done in Frogmore already, the Parish Council has had no notification of any such work to be done in Charleton.

Mrs Hawkes suggested sending greetings to the new licensees at the Ashburton Arms. Mr. Hoggart said that he would go in person to welcome them on behalf of the Parish Council.

Mr. Smith reported that he continues to return the report cards about the Parish Lengthman, who is doing an excellent job, including cleaning Lyte Lane steps.

10. ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING:-

The next Meeting will be the AGM of the Parish Council. The Annual Assembly will take place in early April, and when the date has been agreed after consultation with the Village Hall booking list, publicity in the form of a press advert., posters, a notice on the web site and fliers will be produced. Mr. Brown volunteered to design the fliers in liaison with Mr. Hoggart and the Clerk.

11. DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING:- Thursday 3^rd April 2003. This will include the AGM. The date of the Annual Assembly will be arranged shortly.

Signed as a true and accurate Record of the Meeting,

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