SHALDON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING 27 th November 2007 AT 7.15pm

IN THE METHODIST CHURCH HALL

Present: Cllrs Clarance, Chair (CC), Cllr P Williams, Vice-Chair (PW), Cllr A Storton (AS) Cllr R Smith (RS),
In attendance: Mrs Barbara Coley, Clerk
Prayers taken by: Revd Geoffrey Richardson

1. Apologies : Cllr Kim Sturgess, Cllr S Shelter, WPC Joy Stoppard

2. To approve and sign the Minutes of the Meeting of 30 th October 2007 : Prop AS Sec RS Carried

3a. Matters Arising from the minutes of the meeting of 30 th October 2007:
RS : Item 11 Re: Wall at Shipwrights: In response to our copy letter to the Chief Exec: TDC had mistakenly inspected the slipway at the Shipwright's and have now agreed to look at the correct place ie adjacent to the slipway. CC said that TDC have admitted ownership of the slipway at Shipwrights and he was pleased to have reached agreement with DCC to repair the holds in the wall some 25 metres seaward of the Shipwright's slipway. He said DCC had finally admitted to ownership of this wall.
PW : Item 8: Letter re flood prone roads had been sent but no reply received to date.
CC : Item 5: Re: Gate at KGV field. Karen Christie at TDC will allow the gate to be locked up to prevent parking on the field. In case anyone should require access to the embankment for emergency purposes, copies of the key to the gate will be held by (i) nearby resident, John Chapman, (ii) Cllr K Sturgess and(iii) the clerk

3b. Matters Arising from the minutes of the meeting of 5 th November 2007 (to discuss SPC's proposal to acquire the former library building):
Cllr Williams presented an update of this situation - see Appendix I Current situation is that we are unable to tender at the present time unless there is postponement to the bidding process granted until at least January. AS supported in principle and thanked PW for his excellent presentation. In her capacity as responsible financial officer the clerk asked whether costs for insurance, rates, maintenance, equipment etc had been taken into account. PW said this would be attended to if a postponement is granted and a bid proposal formulated. RS was concerned re putting up the precept without a mandate from the village and felt there should be a wider consultation with parishioners. PW agreed that if a postponement is forthcoming then SPC needed to rally public support and he said there would be time enough to seek this agreement from people in the village. AS said that council taxpayers were unaware of the small amount of precept collected by SPC. The Chairman suspended S/Os to allow the public to speak: Mr Dale Carter agreed that as a village a small amount of precept was collected by SPC. He would hesitate to support the purchase of the library. Mr Mike Iffould said the Chairman of DCC has £48m from the sale of Exeter Airport which can only be used for improvements in particular libraries. Mrs Joan Lord supported asking the village.. S/Os reinstated. AS envisaged that council documents could be stored in the building in the future.
In summary, PW proposed that in the event that DCC grant more time to prepare a tender - he will prepare a cost based plan and present this to the council before arranging a further public meeting. He will then apply for a loan so that the money is in place if needed. Proposed PW Sec AS Carried.
PW further proposed that if DCC fail to agree to a delay then SPC should publicise the fact that DCC had ignored the content of the Quirk report. Because SPC are bound by statutory rules we are unable to tender in this short time frame. All agreed.

4. Chairman's Announcements : CC was pleased to announce another successful bonfire event and sent his thanks to all those who contributed. AS proposed that the clerk's overtime hours should be deducted from the Bonfire Account. She also proposed sending thank you letters to Bonfire volunteers including marshals and collectors and especially Fred Curry AS re-emphasised that our auditors required receipts for food purchased by Mrs Manester and this should be included in her letter of thanks. All agreed.
Re Bunting Display for Summer 2008: CC asked for councillors' views on the logistics for displaying the bunting for the six week summer period next year. AS put forward a proposal of contacting Richard Elliott, our rep on South Area Highways, in order to meet with him for face to face discussions to find the best solution. RS thought that by confronting him he may resist. AS said this would offer an opportunity to build a relationship with him similar to that enjoyed with previous incumbents in this post. AS proposed SS arrange a meeting. RS seconded. Carried. Action: SS to arrange meeting to discuss bunting.
Re Asset Disposal : CC reported that a dialogue continues re the bowling club. He suspended S/Os to allow Mr Dale, who represented the bowling club, to speak: He said the bowling club, district and parish councils needed to work together to find a joint solution because the bowling green was a valuable asset to both the club and the village. This is a club with no facility to earn money as in other clubs who can earn revenue from bars etc. With S/Os reinstated, CC agreed that all parties wished this to remain as a working bowling green with a club. CC also confirmed that he was happy with the way things were progressed on the other four asset disposals and will provide a further update at the next meeting.

5. Devon & Cornwall Constabulary: See report at Appendix II

6.. Correspondence: AS A3: Offer of a meeting from Teignmouth Town Council to discuss fishing from Shaldon bridge. AS recommended taking up this offer. RS and AS were chosen to attend and prefer evening meeting on Monday, Weds or Thurs. Action: Clerk to reply to TTC. RS said the local environmental agency person had confirmed that the river is a nursery area for bass and would be more vigilant in the future with monitoring this situation.
PW: Highlighted RYR's letter in support of the library bid which had been circulated with the agenda.
RS T5 Shipwright's repair of sea wall. RS said this was in hand as the information contained in letter T5 was inaccurate (see 3a above).
CC A4: CC tabled a letter from Mr David Carter complaining about traffic chaos from recent road works in Coombe Road , which was added to the list of correspondence. Action: Clerk to reply to Mr Carter advising that SPC had addressed this problem at this meeting. Action: Clerk to send an urgent letter to the contractor expressing disappointment at the poor signage and the chaos that had been caused and asking that in future the contractors work with SPC to find the best solution. cc South West Water and South Area Highways.

7. Devon County Councillor: There was no report.

8. Teignmouth District Councillor: See Appendix III

9. Parish Councillors' Report :
AS Continues to liaise with TDC about benches and any issues should be addressed to her. Attended police liaison meeting.
PW Tabled the Shaldon & Ringmore Flood Response Plan for acceptance by SPC. This will be published at the end of the month. All were happy to accept the plan and had every confidence in PW. PW said that at the public meeting re the flood plan there was a suggestion re flood boards reducing the need for sandbags. TDC had agreed to supply these and to do the necessary works to put them in place. This means 100 less sandbags to be carried around in the case of the emergency. Asked for approval to purchase a lock for the shore side shore. Spend of £100 Sec AS Carried.
A white line has appeared outside the entrance to the church which means no parking for residents. PW had no record of that being agreed. SS to be asked to look into this. Action: SS.
10. Dispensation for Flooding: CC said that as 50% of councilors live in areas considered by the EA as being at risk of flooding. He proposed that SPC should apply to Legal Services at TDC for dispensation to discuss matters pertaining to flooding for AS, PW, CC and KS. This is a renewal of the dispensation for the previous council. All agreed. Action: Clerk to apply

11. Approval of spend
(i) re beach clean up: AS agreed and proposed this be accompanied by a good PR job for our contribution. AS asked who was paying the £150 for teas and coffees. CC clarified that this money was included in the £1500. All in favour. Carried
(ii) AS proposed accepting this year's quote from Lea Park Nurseries and to agree to the purchase of a container for the war memorial at a cost of £23. The barrels on Marine Parade should be spaced differently - AS to sort out and the clerk to get back to Lea Park Nurseries . All agreed. Action: Clerk

12. Budget/Precept 2008/9 : AS proposed that our precept was agreed at £14,500 but ratification was delayed until January in case it needed to be changed in view of the library proposal. All Agreed.

13. Accounts : AS proposed. PW sec Agreed

14. Planning: RS gave an overview of latest planning applications.

15. Date of next meeting: Tuesday 29 January 2008

16 Public Comment: Mrs Joan Lord asked that the reply from DCC regarding delaying the library tender process, be posted on the notice board to notify the village of the result and this was agreed.

Part II

17. Applications re co-option of new councilor: After due consideration the council proposed that Mr Peter Stokes should be offered the opportunity of being co-opted on to the council. The remaining candidates will be sent regret letters. Action: Clerk  

18. Review of Clerk's Salary: CC proposed increasing the clerk's salary in line with the national pay review for 2007/8. This was carried unanimously.