WASHFIELD PARISH COUNCIL

The Minutes of a Meeting of the Parish Council held on Tuesday 17th September 2019 in Washfield Memorial Hall at 7.30pm.

Present: Cllr’s R Arnold (Chair), M Balment, J Boundy, J Mock, Mrs A Taylor-Ross and R Webber. In attendance: County Cllr Mrs P Colthorpe, District Cllr R Stanley and the Clerk, Mrs J Larcombe.

26/09/19. To receive apologies. There were no apologies.

27/09/19. Disclosure of interest in item on the Agenda. There were no disclosures. . 28/09/19. To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 16th July 2019 and the Planning Meeting held on 3rd September as accurate records of the Meetings. The minutes were agreed as accurate records of the meetings.

29/09/19. Matters arising from the minutes. At the Planning Meeting held on 3rd September Washfield Parish Council agreed to support Oakford Parish Council’s request for S106 funding towards a new basket swing for their play area. Stoodleigh Parish Council has now requested S106 funding towards a trim trail. It was agreed to support this request. There is now about £6,000 remaining in the old S106 General Fund monies; the pot shared between Oakford, Stoodleigh, Washfield, Loxbeare and Templeton parishes; and Washfield could apply for this if it has a qualifying scheme. Cllr Mrs Taylor-Ross proposed installing a piece of play equipment on the Village Green but it was noted that there might be an issue regarding the amount of space available. Another suggestion was to install more seats on the Village Green. Costings will be obtained for both suggestions.

30/09/19. Parish Council Vacancy/Co-option of Councillor. As more than 35 days have elapsed since the parish council elections the vacancy will need to be formally advertised in order to give parishioners the right to request a bye-election. Once it is known that someone in interested in being co-opted as a councillor the Clerk will inform MDDC so that the process can be started.

31/09/19. Planning a) To make a recommendation on any planning applications received before the meeting. No applications received. b) To note any decisions on planning applications made by MDDC. 19/00803/House Erection of extension. Little Haydon Cottage; Stoodleigh. Decision – Conditional approval granted.

19/00889/Full Retention of change of use of agricultural land to residential garden and erection of a domestic building (Revised Scheme – additional drawing) Kensington Farm Bungalow, Washfield. Decision – conditional approval granted. c) Any other planning matters. There were no other planning matters.

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32/09/19. Highways a) To report on any highways work carried out in the parish and to note any highways work needed. It was reported that the road sweeper had visited the village. The surface of the road from Hatherland Mill to Parkhouse Water and Lower Washfield Road is very poor. Only a few of the potholes have been repaired. A large pothole near Spillifords, Lower Washfield, has been reported. On Stoodleigh Drive between Stoodleigh Bridge and Carscombe, the parish boundary, the side of the road is subsiding and this is effecting the rest of the road. At Emmerford Cross the drain is still higher than the road surface due to the tarmac that was placed around it. The Planning Enforcement Officer is looking at this. The damaged drain cover on the road between Moorhayes Cross and Pilemoor Cross still needs to be repaired. b) To note refurbishment of fingerposts signs completion. The work has been completed and the signs are back in place. The Clerk has received an email from Mr Fitzhugh, who approached the Council initially, expressing his appreciation to the Parish Council for their initiative in restoring the historic road signs. He has viewed the restored posts and was delighted by the quality of the workmanship and the manner in which the original designs had been retained. He asked that his personal gratitude be passed to all members of the council for taking this forward and to the individuals who were responsible for undertaking the work. Parishioners are noticing them now and positive comments have been received. c) Any other highways matters. No other highways matters.

33/09/19. Finance: to approve any payments. It was resolved to make the following payments: Cllr Balment declared a pecuniary interest as his family business had submitted an invoice and took no part in the approval of this payment. F C S Balment & Sons Ltd - £136.80 fingerpost sign refurbishment (Chq no 517) Mrs J Larcombe – £72.91 Clerk’s salary and expenses (Chq no 518)

34/09/19. Boundary Commission Review. The Independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England is carrying out an electoral review of Mid Devon Council. The first part of this two part process has now finished and the LGBC are minded to put forward that Mid Devon District Council should have 42 Councillors which is the same as they presently do. The second part of the process is to look at ward boundaries and a projected increase in population of 6,000 up to 2025. The reason for this is that over time some of the wards in Mid Devon have failed to meet the three legal criteria used by the LGBC which are:-  To delivery electoral equality where each district councillor represents roughly the same number of electors as others across the district.  That the pattern of wards should, as far as possible, reflect the interests and identities of local communities.  That the electoral arrangements should provide for effective and convenient local government. Mid Devon’s elector per councillor ratio for 2025 will be 1,660 electors to each councillor (69,724 / 42 = 1,660. This will be an increase from the current ratio of 1,506, given the approximate 6,000 elector increase. Variance of plus or minus 10% Washfield Parish Council Minutes 17th September 2019 Page 2 of 3

from the desired ratio of electors per councillor is not acceptable to the LGBC except under exceptional circumstances. Clare & Shuttern Ward has two councillors and in 2019 has an electorate of 2,906 (-4%). This is predicted to rise to 2,967 by 2025 (-11%). Although numbers are lower it covers a larger area than some other wards. Some ward boundaries might be moved. There is a consultation running until 4th November. The Parish Council agreed they would not make a comment. Draft recommendations will be published in February 2020.

35/09/19. County & District Cllr Reports. Cllr Mrs Colthorpe will circulate her report by email.

36/09/19. Chairman’s Announcements and Correspondence. The Chairman had no announcements. Tiverton Town Council has invited new councillors to a training session on Saturday 5th October. MDDC will be arranging planning training sessions.

37/09/19. Public Questions. There were no members of the public present.

38/09/19. Date of next meeting. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 21st January 2020.

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