Dartmoor Forest Parish Council

Transcription

1 Dartmoor Forest Parish Council Page: 1552 Parish Clerk: Mr S J Cox, Middle Woodley, Sydenham Damerel, Tavistock, PL19 8QU Telephone: , clerk@dartmoorforestpc.net Website: 01 August 2016 Present 28 July 2016 for the Parish Council Meeting at 1930 on 28 July 2016 in Princetown Community Centre. Hexworthy/Huccaby Ward: Princetown Ward: Cllr Alison Geen* Cllr Suzanne Davies Cllr Wendy Stones Postbridge Ward: Cllr David Worth * Cllr Paul Turnbull Cllr Julian Greatrex Cllr Gregg Manning Cllr Mark Renders * Co-Chairs The meeting was chaired by Alison Geen There were 14 members of the public present. 1. Apologies Cllr Wendy Watson, Cllr Justine Colton (Dartmoor Forest Parish Council) Cllr. Annabel Roberts (West Devon Borough Council) 2. Declarations of Interest Any changes to the Register of Councillors Interests must be submitted through a completed Amendment Form to the Parish Clerk. We have a legal requirement to notify the Monitoring Officer at WDBC of any changes within 28 days. The Clerk reminded all Cllrs to send him any forms as soon as possible. 3. of the Parish Council Meeting 23 June 2016 The minutes of the last meeting were accepted as a true and accurate record and were signed by the Chair. 4. Princetown Distillery Rowan Maule, Director of Princetown Distillers provided an overview of plans to establish a distillery in the village. High level points from the presentation and question and answer session: Plans for the distillery have been 2 ½ years in development. Pre-planning application has been completed and the recommendations will be incorporated into the final plans. Next Wednesday 3 rd August an open session will be held at the Duchy Centre for interested parties to ask further questions on the plans. Architectural, financial and environmental representatives will be available to answer questions. The motivation behind the plans is to tap into the interest and renaissance in whisky production in the UK, including English whisky. Several locations have been researched and Princetown has many advantages including location and climate which is similar to the Scottish Highlands. The distillery is expected to provide employment and tourism opportunities. Whisky distilling is not regarded as a noisy or intrusive operation.

2 Page: 1553 Expected that there will be around 22 jobs in time, a mixture of technical and non-technical, starting on Day 1 with 2 technical jobs. Whisky will be branded Dartmoor High Moorland Single Malt Whisky. Plan is to use local expertise and local companies to build distillery which will include a Visitor centre and Café. On average Scottish distilleries receive approximately 24,000 visitors/annum. Sheds at the Dartmoor prison site will be used to mature the whisky. In response to a question on what method of methane capture was being used Mr Maule advised that due to the climatic conditions this was not necessary. A concern was raised that there are already cafes in the village that this would compete against. However, Mr Maule advised that tourists who visit whisky distilleries would expect some catering facilities on site. Expected that one lorry/week will be required initially to deliver barley. Concern was raised that the access road, which is shared with the fire station, may need to be improved if traffic increases. Capital investment for project is 7.5 million, a mixture of equity, loans and possibly grants will be used to fund the project. A member of the public welcomed the investment into the village and requested that any consideration of the merits of the project recognised this. Waste products from the distillery included spent grains which could be used for cattle feed or fertiliser. Also potential to use the heated water for some form of local, small scale heating system. The Chair thanked Mr Maule for the presentation and reminded everyone about the open session on 3 August. 5. Princetown Pavilion Youth Club Parish Council agreed to make a grant to the cost of running the youth club. Dartmoor Forest Parish Council made a grant of 1,000 in and again in It was recognised that the work of the youth club is vital in providing a facility which offers genuine stimulation and interest and helps prevent boredom and behaviour that can often be socially unacceptable. This is especially important at present due to the recent anti-social behaviour issues in the village. Clerk to forward the grant forms to the club for completion and return to the Parish Council. 6. Dartmoor Classic Sportive Cycling Event The event held on 22 June 2016 has generated considerable feedback from councillors. This initial feedback has been sent to DNPA to share at the next meeting of the safety advisory group that are holding with the organisers in early August. The Parish Council agreed to complete a parish wide consultation on the impact of this event and cycling to help determine what, if any, changes they should request of the organisers and wider authorities. Potential requests of the organisers and wider authorities could include: a. Applying to close roads for the event. b. Requesting the number of cyclists is significantly reduced for the event. c. Running the event over two days with reduced numbers of cyclists on each day. d. Re-routing the event away from Hexworthy Hill. e. Re-routing the event away from Princetown. f. Changing the route annually to avoid villages having the congestion and inconvenience each year. g. Requesting that the organisers make significant, community donations for the benefit of the Parish e.g. contributing to the cost of funding Princetown Play Area Phase 3. (relevant examples include; Tavistock Carnival is an event that could be viewed as disruptive to the town but makes significant donations to community organisations, Epic Kidz is a charity that receives funds from athletes participating in cycling and running events in the North West that are then used to fund donations to youth and community organisations in the area).

3 Page: 1554 h. Work with the organisers and other bodies e.g. DNPA to use the event to promote Princetown and wider Dartmoor Forest. Cllrs. Suzanne Davies, Mark Renders, Paul Turnbull, Julian Greatrex and Alison Geen agreed to work with the Clerk on drafting the consultation for review at the next Parish Council meeting. FIRST PUBLIC SESSION A member of the public questioned why the agenda states the following Other Issues Requiring Decisions but does not specify what these decisions are without consulting the Councillor Briefing Notes. The Clerk agreed to provide more detail in future agendas. 7. Planning applications Stage No Details With DNPA 0255 Erection of garage - amended plans With DFPC 0295 Erection of open market dwelling- amended plans Single storey extension to With DNPA 0261 brewery Address DFPC Response / DNPA Decision 2, Moorland View, Princetown Supported/Approved The Villa, Plymouth Hill Dartmoor Brewery, Station Road, Princetown Supported Supported/Pending With DNPA 0326 Land at Hessary Tor, Princetown With DNPA 0332 Erection of new barn Airband Mast Huccaby Farm, Huccaby Detailed Comments/Pending Supported/Pending In addition, the Clerk has received a concern from an elector that our current process for reviewing applications could be more open and public. Currently applications are reviewed by ward councillors, outside the monthly Parish Council meetings, who then advise the Clerk their views who responds on the Council s behalf. This is often the only way the Council can respond within the timeframes set by DNPA. The Clerk has sought advice from the Devon Association of Local Councils on how best to proceed. 8. Financial management Cheques authorised this month were: ID Payee Value Chq. No: 954 David Cole Pay & Expenses Lengthsman Steve Cox Clerk s Pay Sam Jaques Litter Picking Harry Hooper Litter Picking (Holiday Cover) 958 Dartmoor Machinery Repair of Strimmer Report of Accounts. The monthly Report of Accounts was considered and accepted. 9. Project progress reports a. Neighbourhood Planning Clerk has discussed with Devon Communities Together whether a Neighbourhood Plan is appropriate for the Parish as it does not have any specified targets for new

4 Page: 1555 house building. Devon Communities Together believe a Parish Plan may be more suitable. The Parish Council to consider at a future meeting how to progress the value and objective of these forms of planning. b. Moorland Community Speed Watch. Cllr. Gregg Manning provided the following report: We have now had two sessions on the moor at the site near the Ice Cream van on the Peak Hill side of the village. The first session was a test of both the site and the position of the signs. The session took place between 2pm and 4pm and during that time 181 cars passed us in one direction only. Due to the signs being placed too far apart only one car was detected exceeding the limit. This car was travelling from the village and was travelling at 56 mph. The second session took place on a weekday morning from This session was at the same site but this time the signs were correctly placed and out of 141 cars 18 were travelling at excessive speed. The highest speed recorded was 55 mph. The split was as follows 9 cars/vans travelling up to 49 mph 9 cars/vans travelling between of the above were commercial vans. We were highly visible but the above would seem to suggest that not all people understand the speed limit on the moors. The third session was on Tavistock road in Princetown. It has long been felt that everyone speeds through the village and indeed at certain times of the day this may be true however during our session which was held from to we were passed by 79 cars and none of them were exceeding the speed limit. We did however have two groups of cyclists who were riding at over 30mph, in fact 32mph was recorded as they came down the hill and continued to accelerate. Bearing in mind how poor the brakes are on cycles we felt this was too fast. If a child or a cat had walked out in front of them there would have been a serious accident. Wednesday 20th July Fourth Session We were out for 90 minutes and during that time we recorded 19 Vehicles exceeding the speed limit. The top speed was recorded as 65 and he continued to accelerate as he passed us. We have to bear in mind that this is close to a banning speed. Limit plus 30mph equals a ban. Friday 22nd July Fifth Session We were out for 90 minutes during which time 90 vehicles passed us. A total of 13 vehicles were exceeding the speed limit. The highest speed recorded was 57. A vehicle that had previously been picked up twice before appeared during this session doing 29 miles per hour. Planned future sessions Wednesday 3rd August or Wednesday 3rd August Monday 8th August Thursday 11th August Monday 15th August

5 Page: 1556 Leaflets were handed out to members of the public who were encouraged to volunteer for the scheme. Please contact Cllr. Gregg Manning or the Clerk for further details. c. Snow Tourist Measures. Purchase of lock and chain by Duchy for Lords Restaurant car park to be raised at meeting with Tom Stratton on 12 August DFPC believe Duchy should purchase equipment. d. Play Area Improvements Phase 3. The Play Area sub group met 11 June 2016 to determine the best approach to gain funding for this phase. Key Points the group have agreed and progressed: Although the Parish Council is leading this Phase we have support from other organisations across the village. Although the initial public consultation was a few years ago we believe we can use it as a strong base for applications going forward and have refreshed it by consulting with the youth club/older children in the village. As Play Builder, the government scheme which funded Phases 1 and 2, no longer exists we will need to successfully identify and apply to a number of funds to gain the amount we need. We have completed a full application for the Dartmoor Communities Fund for 12,395. This fund has a total of 22,000 to spend in West Devon and provides 50% funding towards a capital project. Our requirement is for around 30,000 therefore if we apply and successful we will get 43% of what we require. Applications to this fund close on 29 July 2016 therefore an application was submitted on 27 July Councillor Phillip Saunders has also been contacted to ask whether Locality Grant could be used to fund this project. Applications will also be submitted to National Lottery Awards for All and West Devon BC TAP fund amongst others. e. Lengthsman Services. The Clerk contacted West Devon Borough Council to clarify invoice process for outstanding ditching work and they have provided advice on how to claim the funds for this work. In addition, due to the amount of summer grass cutting the Clerk has agreed that additional hours can be worked by the Lengthsman during the summer months and the payments then flattened out over the Autumn/Winter months. As agreed at the last meeting the Flymo will be part exchanged for a leaf blower. The additional cost is approximately 80. In addition, the strimmer required repair due to a faulty gear box, this has cost VAT. f. Adding additional names to the War Memorial. Cllr. Alison Geen Cllr Alison Geen has contacted the War Memorials Trust to seek funding for this activity and has contacted a local monumental mason for an estimate of costs. The Clerk has contacted DNPA to seek funding through the Dartmoor Communities Fund. As the War Memorials Trust could take weeks to reach a decision it was agreed that a formal quotation for the work should be obtained and the work funded by the Dartmoor Just Do It small grants scheme, if an application is successful or the Council s own funds. g. Risk assessments and procedures. All but 2 procedures are now overdue for review. Some but not all will require updating. The new Clerk will liaise with Councillors as appropriate over the coming weeks to review and update them appropriately. Councillors Suzanne Davies and Alison Geen are supporting this process. As this is overdue it needs progressing. a. Parked Projects. A number of projects have been parked until either circumstances change or resources become available to proceed: i.telephone box painting. This tasking has been accepted by BT and will take place sometime between May and October The Bellever kiosk will be restored to its original red.

6 Page: 1557 ii.defibrillators. Installing new defibrillator panels in the Hexworthy telephone kiosk until there is a suitable weather window with volunteers available. Cllr Paul Turnbull and Cllr Alison Geen to progress. iii.postbridge 3G Signal. It is now not expected to happen it was agreed to remove it from the agenda. 10. Committees, Sub-Groups & Special Interests: a. Community Centre. Cllr. Wendy Stones reported that the meeting held on 30 June was short due to the vigil for the 100 th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. Men s toilet window to be repaired at a cost of 365. New lock installed in disabled toilet. Heating system has been serviced and this will be carried out on an annual basis. Open day to be organised shortly. b. Pavilion Youth Club. No report to date. c. Emergency Committee. The Met Office are predicting average temperatures for the whole of August, with the prevailing winds being from the West. This trend would indicate a month of weather similar to what we are currently experiencing. There are predicted to be few, if any, periods of hot weather. (That hot day last week might have been it for the year!) In terms of rainfall, given the prevailing wind direction, there is a small chance of above average rainfall but an average outcome seems more likely. The Environment Agency reports that June was noticeably above average in terms of rainfall at 153% of the long term average. Although the July figures are not yet available I suspect they will also show above average rainfall. As a result of this rain the region's reservoirs are at a healthy 87% of their total capacity. In summary, I think we can safely say we have dodged a drought again this year! The longer term forecast for the next three months indicates that overall temperatures will be slightly above normal. So at least we have the hope of a mild autumn. d. Play Area Sub-Group. See Item under 10. The Clerk has placed a Record of Weekly Play Area Checks in the Post Office Stores for Councillors to certify their checks and record any comments or defects. Crawl tunnel repair; wooden post repairs; spinner cap replacement; seesaw rust. e. Postbridge Village Hall. The Hall continues in its enthusiasm and bookings amount to almost 2 per week. f. TAP Fund. Cllrs. Paul Turnbull and Suzanne Davies reported back from the recent meeting of the Southern Link. Key points were new guidelines on applying for funding from the TAP fund are to be issued, Dartmoor National Park Plan is being developed for the next 15 years, Community Payback Teams can be used for tasks in parishes, potholes need to be reported on Devon CC website. Concern was raised at the loss of white lines on certain rural roads, examples were Tavistock road near prison and Mount Tavy Road. It was agreed that further examples should be brought to the next Parish Council meeting and potentially the local MP and Devon County Council would be contacted to raise our concerns. g. Princetown Primary School. Cllr. Wendy Stones reported that Mr Wooley left the school on16 June and Mrs Dutton, School Secretary for 25 years, is due to retire at the end of term. Mr Whittley is the new head teacher. School Sports Day was held on 4 July and Leavers Service on 21 July. h. Fire & Rescue Service. Parish Council agreed to support the Princetown Rapid Intervention Unit Pilot and Cllrs. Mark Renders, Alison Geen and Wendy Stones will be working with the Fire Service to agree the pilot evaluation criteria. DSFRS have advised that they will organise for the new vehicle to be inspected by the Parish Council at Princetown Fire Station. Date to be advised. i. Cemetery. Cllr. Julian Greatrex met with Brian Beazley, Tree Officer at DNPA to inspect trees. Report as follows: I had an extremely useful visit to the Postbridge Cemetery with the National

7 Page: 1558 Park tree expert on July 7th. A botany refresher if ever there was one, with the suggestion of an exam to follow!! The outcome of the meeting was: - There are not any trees which could be called dangerous. 3 trees are not at their healthiest but are not in any way dangerous to the public considering their position and the lack of public use of the cemetery. These trees could be cut back in the next couple of years the work would be very minor. There are a few branches which could usefully be cut back thereby raising the canopy a little and preventing damage to gravestones. Branches overhanging the bridle path could be reduced so as to prevent overhanging a neighbours land. The grouping of the trees adds to their general safety, and local concerns over the movement of the cemetery walls on windy days is not a problem. In addition, a sign with the updated Clerk s details was given to Cllr. Julian Greatrex to be put on the gate. Replace wooden sign board on gate. Repair memorial cross (no relatives). g. Training. Nothing to report. Adopt General Power of Competence once CiLCA (not ILCA) achieved 11. Reports from other meetings None. 12. Other Issues Requiring Decisions See correspondence on website: Item No. Description: Proposed DFPC Action: 1 Fencing at Dunnabridge- Dartmoor Commoners Proposal approved. A further question was raised whether stiles would be required to cross this land. The Commoners have since advised that public access is not advisable and the fenced area can be walked around easily enough. 2 Plymouth and South West Devon Local Plan (excluding Dartmoor National Park) Correspondence Sent by Council 1 Letter to Police and Crime Commissioner policing levels in Princetown 2 Thank you letter Pam Law Approved 3 Thank you letter Christine Faulkner Approved 4. Letter to Governor of Dartmoor Prison re. speeding prison officer WDBC have confirmed that a separate plan will be produced for the National Park. The Parish Council decided not to collectively comment on these proposals and await specific Dartmoor National Park Local Plan. Previously approved. No further action required Approved

8 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Jul-15 Aug-15 Sep-15 Oct-15 Nov-15 Dec-15 Jan-16 Feb-16 Mar-16 Apr-16 May-16 Dartmoor Forest Parish Council Page: Urgent decisions since last meeting None 14. Exchange of Information a. DFPC Letter to Police and Crime Commissioner. Response received on 25 July advising to report all operational policing matters to the local police. No response from Chief Constable. Agreed that Clerk should write again expressing our concerns. b. Crime Trends Crime data from has been updated for Tavistock Rural East and now includes May crimes reported highest monthly number in area for two years and increase of 15 from the previous month, a 75% increase month on month. Please encourage residents to report all crimes ALL CRIME c. Livestock on roads due to damaged wall. The Clerk has contacted the Duchy about the broken wall on the prison field on Rundlestone corner as livestock were escaping into the roads. Wall has been repaired. d. Meeting with Tom Stratton, Duchy of Cornwall organised for 12 August. Cllrs. Gregg Manning, David Worth and Mark Renders representing DFPC. Agenda to be circulated. e. Jubilee Field Duchy have installed new gates and repaired fencing. f. Dartmoor Summer Fair 11am to 4pm, 30 July Visitors Centre, Princetown g. Children s Centre Play Session Tuesday 16th August from to 12.00, Princetown Play Area. h. Clerk School Holiday Arrangements Clerk is looking after children during the summer holiday and although will fulfil all the clerk requirements will not be available as much in the day as currently. However, please do not hesitate to call or as usual, it may however take slightly longer to respond. Clerk will also be away in Cornwall from 16 August to 23 August. i. Experimental Art for the Over 50 s a session is being planned in Princetown. j. School Bus Service Cllr. Wendy Stones had received a call from a concerned elector about cuts to the Devon County Council school bus service.

9 Page: 1560 k. Woods behind Bellever Close Concern raised at the state of the woods behind Bellever Close. To be raised with the Duchy of Cornwall who own the land. SECOND PUBLIC SESSION A member of the public advised that the Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez is visiting Tavistock On Wednesday 3 rd August. Clerk to investigate and circulate details to determine whether a Councillor could attend. 15. The next Parish Council Meeting will be held at 1930 on Thursday 25 August 2016 at Postbridge Village Hall. The Chair closed the meeting at 2146.