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Home , Yarnscombe

PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of Council Meeting held via video link

on Tuesday 12th May 2020 at 7.30 pm.

CHAIRMAN: Cllr N Whatley.

Councillors: Cllr J Quance. Cllr M Pearce. Cllr Jax Curtis.

Cllr R Clark. Cllr C Styles-Power. Cllr L Luxton. Cllr J Stupple.

D Cllr D Hurley. 2 Members of the Public. Clerk M Whatley.

AGENDA. 2020.

CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS. Good Evening everyone and welcome to our second Virtual Meeting. This should have been our AGM but because of Covid 19 all AGM’s and Annual Meetings are cancelled until May 2021. Therefore, current officers will remain in harness until next year.

AGENDA. 2020.

196. Apologies for Absence. C Cllr Parsons. Cllr Luxton (working). No Apologies received from Cllr Franklin.

197. Public Participation Period of 15 minutes. Any questions in advance to the Clerk please. They will be answered at the meeting. None.

198. Declarations of any Councillors Interests in Items on the Agenda. (a) Discloseable pecuniary interests (Prejudicial). (b) Registerable Interests. (c) Any variations to Members Registration of Interests. (d) Requests for Dispensations. None Received.

199. Draft Minutes of the Council Meeting held on April 14th 2020 having been previously circulated, to be approved and signed. Proposed by Cllr Jax Curtis, Seconded Cllr Quance, all in favour that the Minutes be recorded as a true record.

200. Any matters arising from the Minutes. Clerks Report. Public Footpaths Following delegation of authority to the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Clerk, to enable decisions to be taken without reference to the full Council during the present virus crisis, we have experienced problems with dog walkers on the public footpaths. Accordingly, I authorised Cllr Franklin to purchase ‘footpath signage’ to be placed on all the footpaths in the parish, with a budget between £100-£150. This has come in well under the budget at a cost of £114.24.

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I can confirm we have received the £1,500 footpath grant to allow Cllr Franklin to progress the works already agreed at Lovacott Lane. Insurance We have received three quotes from the Brokers for the Insurance, namely Pen Underwriting, £332.51 + admin fee £50.00, Hiscox £644.88 + fee and Ecclesiastical £547.65 + fees. I have checked our Assets List at £22,677.47, and have accepted the Brokers recommendation of Pens at £332.51 + fees, total £382.5, for a long term 3-year fixed Contract. NALC I attended a virtual meeting of NALC National Association of Local Councils, at which there were 71 Clerks present. It was fortuitous that we had received instructions from Littlejohns, External Auditors, the previous day so were given the opportunity to have all our questions answered. VAT Have completed and submitted the VAT Reclaim Form in the sum of £699.68. Annual Accounts Have completed the Annual Accounts with a little difficulty and passed them on to the Auditor. Still with him. Catering Vans We have received two enquiries passed to Cllr Luxton. The first was Feta, a catering for weddings, etc. I passed this on to Cllr Hurley and asked if they might have a wagon in the square, who came back with the response from Torridge that they don’t need a licence, registered as 5 star rating, but are subject to Covid precautions. Food takaways are not on list of mandatory closures. The second enquiry was from Alex Mabey of Thornbury trading as Alex’s Wood-Fired Pizzas. Have again passed this on to Cllr Hurley. Dog Waste Bin Licence Finally, I have paid the £1.00 Licence Fee to Ted Lott in respect of the Annual charge for the Dog Waste Bin at Sheila’s Folly.

201. To Agree any items to be dealt with in Part 2, closed session, of the Meeting. None.

202. Any urgent Agenda business or correspondence brought forward with the approval of the Chairman. (1) Coronavirus Support for the Community. Chairman reported that he had spoken with Martin Warren, Margaret Quance and Anita Collins, all confirmed that there were no problems. (2) Footpaths (Cllr Franklin) No Report. (3) Insurance The Brokers had produced three quotations, namely Pen Underwriting, £332.51 + admin fee £50.00, Hiscox £644.88 + fee and Ecclesiastical £547.65 + fees. We had provisionally accepted the quotation from Pen Underwriting at £382.51 inclusive fees, and agreed to take the long term 3-year fixed Contract, subject to acceptance by the Councillors. Proposed Cllr Pearce, Seconded Cllr Styles-Power, all in favour that the Council accept the quote with Pen Underwriting on a 3-year fixed Contract. (4) New Parish Council Web Site Clerk reported the Web Site is progressing well. We had found a Web Hosting Site at £250.00; secured a domain name shebbearparishcouncil.org.uk; chosen a template and agreed the colours be taken from the Council logo. Clerk confirmed that Paul Watts was overall responsible for the website working closely with Cllr Jax Curtis on the technical side, and liaising with Nikki Watson on the requirements for the partially sited. The Clerk was merely overseeing the project.

203. Agenda items for Discussion and Resolution. (1) Any matters raised during the Public Participation period. None.

204. District Councillor’s Report. After several trial meetings using Zoom, and a limited number of participants, tomorrow is the first TDC

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committee meeting using that format. There could be 20+ people involved so it could be interesting.

Staff levels at TDC still ok. No reports of Covid-19. Since the latest announcements from Government regarding the change to lockdown rules numerous documents have been issued and Torridge are looking at these to interpret their applicability to the Council. These include new guidance on safe working in offices and from vehicles. One of the instant impacts related to the announcement, is that around unrestricted travel to a place of exercise. This does involve a need (almost immediate in some instances) to review some decisions around:- The Burrows, Westward Ho! beach and the dog ban, car parking and parking charges and Public conveniences. Decisions are to be taken this week and a press release will be issued. There have been a number of questions about village halls access and eligibility to the business support grants. 26 village halls have been identified who appear to be eligible, and the treasurers have been contacted individually to facilitate them applying. This month has seen the passing of two former Torridge Councillors. Johnny Langton-Lockton who represented Orchard Hill,a Ward, between 2015 and 2019 and Harold Martin who was a Torridge Councillor between 2011 and 2015. Harold represented Two Rivers Ward which comprised the parishes of High , & Yarnscombe After two requests from food Companies to operate from the Square, I contacted the appropriate officer at Torridge, and I believe that both Companies have been cleared to go ahead and serve food as requested.

205. County Councillor’s Report. No Report.

206. Planning. (1) New Applications. 1/0258/2020 Barn at Grid Ref; 243324 110756 (Caute) Detailed Application 3 bay garage/store in traditional style. Councillors approved outline and have no objections to this application.

(2) Applications Granted. 1/1035/2020/FUL. Berry Barns, Shebbear, . New Orangery to existing dwelling. Received by Councillors.

(3) Applications Refused (4) Any relevant adjacent applications. None Received.

207. Finance. (1) To Approve Final Accounts for year ended 31/03/20 Clerk apologised these were unavailable as still with the Auditor. (2) Additional Signatory to sign cheques. As Cllr Clark will be moving away, we need a fourth signatory along with Cllrs Luxton, Jax Curtis and myself as Chairman. Chairman proposed Cllr Quance, Seconded Cllr Jax Curtis, all in favour that Cllr Quance be a signatory. (3) Items to Pay - (a) Cllr Franklin - Footpath Signage £114.24. Proposed Cllr Stupple, Seconded Cllr Pearce, all in favour that Cllr Franklin be re-imbursed for the cost of the signage. (b) Came & Co. (Insurance) £382.51 inc. fees. Also offering 3-year finding long-term Agreement maintaining the annual premium of £382.51. Proposed Cllr Pearce, Seconded Cllr Styles-Power, all in favour that item (b) be paid. (c) Payment of Local Grants approved December 10th 2019 (Mins 137 Item 3) Little Bears £350.00, Cllr Clark left the meeting whilst Shebbear Shooters were discussed. Shebbear Shooters £150.00, Shebbear Football Club £250, Shebbear Youth Club £650.00,

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History Group £100.00, Cit Adv Bureau £500, Lake Chapel Graveyard £250,00, Rural Community Transport £500.00. Proposed Cllr Styles-Power, Seconded Cllr Jax Curtis, that the Grants all be paid. (d) It was further agreed that Shebbear Parish Council pay for maintenance of St Michael’s graveyard up to a limit of £300.00 (work to commence in June) and support SSSG with a grant towards books (paid).

Bank Balances.

Current Account: £10,120.17 Reserve Account: £19,796.77 (April)

208. Correspondence. Torrington Police News Letter April 2020 (Circulated). Cllr Hurley – Business Support Grants (Circulated). Cllr Parsons – Updates Covid (Circulated). Received by Councillors.

Circulation File. None.

209. Agenda items for next Council Meeting, which will be held on Tuesday June 9th 2020 via video link at 7-30 pm, and any other matters, for discussion only, at the Chairman's discretion.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.16pm.

Signed ……………………………………….. Dated …………………………….

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