Withiel Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting held in the Village Hall at 7.15pm on
Wednesdays, 2nd and 9th January 2013
Present, 2nd & 9th January: Cllr J Piper, Cllr N Mather, Cllr M Biddick, Cllr D Hore, Cllr E Harper, Cllr W I Martyn, Cllr D Hancock. Parish Clerk: Mrs C Wilson.
Also Present, 2nd January: Cornwall Cllr M Martin and 9 members of the public.
Also Present, 9th January: Cornwall Cllr M Martin and 10+ members of the public.
Adjournment. As the minutes were being signed on 2nd January, Mr R Thomas, a member of the public, interposed that all decisions made at this meeting were illegal because certain councillors had not been served the Agenda three clear working days before the meeting. The Clerk apologised for the oversight and the Chairman declared the meeting adjourned until the next Wednesday, 9th January. Agendas were re-sent with a summons for the date when the meeting would be reconvened.
The full Council reconvened on Wed, 9th January at 7.15 pm. The Chairman explained that the meeting would continue with the signing of the minutes; however, as a gesture of good will he first invited members of the public to address the meeting.
The Chairman welcomed all and invited members of the public to address the meeting.
2nd January:
Mrs J Pentland:
• We have still not had an apology from the Council for the misappropriation of funds toward the stiles.
• Filing Cabinets with the Parish Records should not be in the basement, as it is difficult to get to them and they should be fireproofed.
• The Draft Minutes of the 12 December Parish Council meeting do not reflect what was said.
Cllr Mather:
• Advised that an apology was posted 28th December on the Withiel.com website.
Cllr Piper:
• Advised that filing cabinets for the Parish Records are fireproof; they are out of the way in the basement, but are accessible to anyone who wishes to consult them.
Mr Martin:
• Requested to record the meeting.
Cllr Piper:
• Advised that the Standing Orders do not allow recordings of meetings.
9th January:
Mr R Thomas:
• Asked the Council to reconsider Item 4c in the Draft Minutes which is not a true account.
• Referred to the Minutes of the Withiel Parish Council, 1st Feb 2012, where it states that stiles are the responsibility of the landowner.
Cllr Mather:
• Advised that the Council is now aware of the proper procedures regarding work orders, footpaths and stiles.
Mr P Malone:
• Asked the Council to budget a repayment for Cllr Biddick, who had taken personal responsibility for the stiles invoice, as it is unfair that one person should pay for the entire Parish.
Mr Martin:
• Smiled and said that Cllr Biddick’s generosity is admirable, but could be misconstrued before a Council election.
Cllr Biddick:
• Thanked Mr Malone for his suggestion. He advised that he is in the process of discussing the payment for the stiles with each of the landowners. Thus far, they have been cooperative.
• Assured everyone that he was not considering any election when he made his proposal.
1. Members’ declarations of interest. None.
2. Apologies for absence. None.
3. Minutes. The Minutes of 12 December 2012 were approved unanimously with 2 amendments.
a. Item 4c adds: It was suggested that the stiles could then be removed if they wished. An ‘off the cuff’ remark.
b. Item 12 now reads: The new dual carriageway for the A30 at Temple will begin in January 2015.
4. Matters Arising.
a. The Council would like to remind landowners that hedges must be cut before 1st March. The Clerk will send a note to the Parish Magazine.
5. Footpaths.
• Cllr Mather advised that, as newly appointed Footpath Coordinator, he has been getting to know the footpaths in the area. He invites all members of the public to let him know about footpath issues.
• He contacted Countryside Officer, Hamish Gordon, about the footbridge at Lawellen Farm, which has been washed downstream and the foundations eroded. H Gordon advised that the footpath will be signposted as closed. The bridge may be repositioned and will probably need longer beams. The work could take 3-6 months.
6. Finance.
a. Payments due: Clerk’s salary, £100.08. Proposed Cllr Biddick. 2nd Cllr Mather. Passed unanimously.
b. Set date for Internal Audit. Cllr Mather and the Clerk will set a date in February for the Internal Audit. He will also check the hours of the Clerk.
7. Precept. Cllr Mather explained his working of the 2013-14 precept with comparisons to the two previous years. Precept of £4,750.00 was proposed by Cllr Mather, 2nd Cllr Biddick and approved unanimously.
8. Planning.
a. Related correspondence. See Item 9d.
b. Planning decisions.
i. The Planning Inspectorate, Appeal Ref: APP/D0840/A/12/2179895 dated 7 January 2013. The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for the erection of 1 x 100kW 37m to hub, 47m to tip wind turbine, access plus associated works at Oak Tree Lodge, Withiel, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL30 5PA. The permission is granted in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref. PA12/01786, dated 23/2/12, subject to conditions.
c. Planning Applications. None.
9. Correspondence.
a. PCSO Paynter’s report. Posters with the dates for his Mobile Police Surgery, 10.00-10.30 am every 1st Wednesday, can be found in the Village Hall and on the Notice Board.
• Happy New Year to everyone.
• I have researched the Police Computer and am delighted to say that there are no reported crimes since I attended the Parish meeting in December.
• I feel that the discussion at the last meeting regarding the motorcycle track threw up interesting debate and, hopefully, things will move on in the new year and bring a positive resolution for everyone concerned.
• I would like to say that I noticed a couple of incidents of fresh fly-tipping today whilst on the Rural Surgeries. I detest this and encourage anyone who sees anybody or suspects anybody of committing this offence to give me a call.
• As ever this time of year, fuel theft has raised its head again. There were a couple of incidents reported locally in December, so please, keep a an eye on your fuel tanks and, if possible, give consideration to helping the more elderly and vulnerable amongst us to check theirs.
b. CC has advised us of a probable grant of £270 to Withiel Parish Council in addition to the Precept, called: Localised Council Tax Support. Cllr Mather was aware of the funds when he developed his Precept proposal, but they are not 100% certain and it is too little to rely upon for any major budget item, so this grant is not included in the proposed Precept.
c. Invitation for Code of Conduct Training. Cllr Mather and the Clerk will attend the session in Callington, 17 January.
d. Further correspondence has been received from Kronos, the firm concerned with Planning Application PA12/10939, the Photovoltaic Solar Park at Kerriers, which was opposed by the Council after a split vote at the December meeting. The Clerk consulted the Case Officer, Mark Evans, who requested that the Council reassess the application in light of the new information. The Council agreed to an Extra-ordinary meeting on 23rd January.
e. Invitation to Local Landscape Character Assessment Workshops for Community Planning in Cornwall.
10. Cornwall Cllr M Martin’s report.
• The CC Chief Executive, Kevin Lavery, is leaving Cornwall for a new job in New Zealand.
• Public Exhibition for the A30 dual carriageway at Temple in Blisland, 10-11 January 2013. It is very cleverly explained in detail.
• You can comment and suggest possible improvements at the exhibition or at www.cornwall.gov.uk/majorschemes. Consultation documents will be available from the website from early January, giving you an opportunity to consider any specific areas you would like to discuss or comment on. Alternatively, you can write to: Engineering Design Group, Cornwall Council, Murdoch Building, Scorrier, Redruth TR16 5EH. Telephone: 01872 323313
Email: A30Temple@cornwall.gov.uk
• Cornwall Council has a draft budget with a 1.97% increase, which comes to 40p/week for a Band D household. CC is being tightly stretched because grants have been cut, plus more responsibilities hve been handed over – to the tune of £6m, which equals 6% of the yearly budget.
• The CC have voted themselves a salary increase.
• Cormac will have trouble meeting the demand in the near future. They are down 60 staff, though laying on extra staff – for the short term – to deal with flood damage.
• After the 2013-14 fiscal year, Highways will no longer respond with any speed to problems on ‘unclassified’ roads, i.e., most of the roads in Withiel. Unclassified roads will not be a priority.
11. Business for the next meeting.
a. L Hancock’s field drainage between Inches Crossroads and the A30.
b. Update on Motorcycle noise.
12. Date of Next Meetings:
a. Wednesday 23rd January 2013 @ 7.15 pm. Extra-ordinary meeting to reassess Planning Application PA12/10939.
b. Wednesday 6th February 2013 @ 7.15 pm. Ordinary meeting.
The meeting closed at 8.03 pm with the Chairman thanking those who attended.
Christine Wilson – Parish Clerk
16 January 2013