Draft minutes subject to confirmation
MARY TAVY
PARISH COUNCIL
ANNUAL
PARISH MEETING
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
Held in The
Coronation Hall
Tuesday 24th
April 2007
Present:
Cllr T Pearce (Chairman) –Cllr P Jarvis - Cllr J Pendall
Cllr W Squire - Cllr P Hilborn - Cllr M Anning – Cllr J Higman –
Cllr A Prosser – Cllr G Hill - C Williams (Clerk)
Others present:
Cllr P Scannell (WDBC) – Cllr C Marsh (DCC) - PC K Reed
Apologies for absence:
Parishioners present:
48 parishioners were in attendance.
The meeting was opened at 7.30 pm with Cllr Pearce welcoming everyone and introducing the members.
65.2007 Community Policing:
PC Kevin Reed introduced himself to Parishioners. The greatest change this year has been the addition of PCSO Dave Chapple to the area and in consequence his patch has now been extended to cover Peter Tavy, Lydford Vale, Lifton and Lamerton as well as Mary Tavy. He has visited the school and the youth club. He detailed the incidents reported to the Police over the last year. 28 crimes were reported last year including 6 burglaries however PC Reed emphasised that this is still a very pleasant and safe area to live.
The Chairman spoke re speeding in the village. PC Reed advised that unfortunately despite his best efforts together with the support of his senior officers it has not been possible to get speed cameras for the village.
He had been using Mary Tavy as a training area for handheld lasers but following a documentary, he cannot use laser guns at present, however, the speed camera detection vehicle has been targeting the area.
66.2007 The Community Plan
Cllr Prosser advised that this was set up on 18th September 2006. The steering group was formed by 11 volunteers and funded mainly by grants with the remainder in volunteer time. Cllr Prosser praised the Steering Group Leader, Mrs Helen McShane for her positivism and excellent leadership. The group have profiled the village past and present. On 10th March 2007 they held their Open Consultation Day. This was set up and manned by the group and had over 100 attendees. The input received that day will be used to produce a questionnaire which will be delivered and then collected from every household. The Community Plan was renamed from the Parish Plan in order to reflect its aim of including everyone in the community residing in the Parish. The aim of the Plan is to show what the community wants for its future and it is a recognised document that WDBC & Devon County Council will take note of.
The Chairman reiterated how professional the Consultation day was and congratulated the Steering Group.
67.2007 The Parish Precept and
how it is calculated.
The Chairman reported that of the precept of £10760 the running costs
of the Council were about £8000 a year plus the Grants awarded. This approximated
to 56p per week for a band D property. Grants were made to village
organisations, the Community Plan, money is set aside for the conservation area
in the older part of the village, also for elections – these are every 4 years
but a provision is made annually to avoid the precept fluctuating year to year.
The Chairman listed the grants awarded. All were awarded a proportion of their
original request. The Chairman asked
the meeting if all attending were happy with grants being made to village
organisations – all appeared to be happy.
Following comments made by Cllr Hill, the Chairman advised that the
role of Parish Councillor is a voluntary one. The Chairman receives an annual
allowance of £100.
A local history group is in the process of being set up and anyone
wishing to be involved is very welcome.
68.2007 The work of the Parish
Council over the past year.
The Chairman reported that the major part of the Council’s work is
planning with an average of 2 applications per week. Although the Parish
Council does not make decisions it works within guidelines in an advisory role. Planning Appeals have also incurred a large
time load. Speeding is also a major concern and the Parish Council is doing all
it can to try and deal with this problem..
Another major issue has been flooding with 28 properties being affected
to varying degrees last autumn. The
storm drains on Blackdown are blocked and this issue is being worked on at
present. Flooding problems in
Fellingfield have also been sorted. The Council will keep nagging the
authorities so the village doesn’t get forgotten once we are into dry weather.
The Chairman introduced the new clerk, Mrs Christine Williams who has
started in June 2006.
All Parishes within DNP boundaries have been involved in the renewal of
MOD licences on the moor.
The village is entered into the Best Kept Village award – this is a
competition making the best of what you have. Although this idea was met with
some humour by some Councillors the Chairman was keen to start somewhere. It was hoped that the untidy areas such as
the old Blackdown garage and land south of the Royal Standard would soon be
dealt with.
Many other Dartmoor villages were made Conservation Areas 30 years ago.
The mining history in the village is now to be recognised. An appraisal is
being done by a company for the DNPA.
Parishioner questions:-
Q: Do you envisage the mining
works will be uncovered?
A: Not yet known – many works are complete
but covered by vegetation it is possible the company would like to see it
opened up.
Q: Is the village to pay for this work?
A: No – DNPA & English Heritage would
pay. The Parish Council will only pay funds where it has to.
Q: Best Kept Village – What about the open
tip by the Standard Inn?
A; Order to clear this area has been served
by the DNPA and legal action will be taken should it not be cleared.
Q; Has the local history group been formed
and how will everyone know?
A: In the process at present, it will be
publicised by flyers or posters.
Q: Is the Gazette defunct?
A: No. Because of cost overrun with the
spring 2006 edition it was decide not to publish in the autumn. The same sum
has been set aside for this year but the format is to be revisited so that
production is kept within budget.
69.2007 The Parish Churchyard
and the Parish Cemetery
The Chairman of the Cemetery Committee Cllr Jarvis reported a healthy
bank balance and that the Cemetery is self funding with the exception of the
grass cutting. There is currently a program to manage trees and renew the
boundary fence. A new grave marking
scheme has been fitted thanks to Cllrs Hill and Pendall. The charges and regulations have been
reviewed and 2 new regulations introduced:
Charges had not been changed for 2 years and are now increased by
approximately 4%. This compares favourably with neighbouring authorities. It was felt that the condition of the
churchyard shows the respect of the village.
70.2007 Progress report on the
proposed new housing developments in Mary Tavy.
The Chairman reported that the DNPA are expecting the detailed planning
application for the Blackdown Garage site at any time now. It was good to see so many people at the public
consultation day 258 people attended and both the DNPA and the developers were
surprised at the turnout and the amount of comments submitted. The architects have had to take on board the
comments made and redraw plans. The planning brief was finally done by the DNPA
as the developers had not produced one. Everyone is now keen to see this site
sorted for once and for all. The Down’s garage site is not currently available
so will not be developed at the same time, if at all.
The Chairman advised that the proposed community housing site to the
north of the Royal Standard Inn was refused by the DNPA for a list of reasons
including sewerage, South West Water has advised that the sewerage works in the
village are at their limit taking into account planning that is already
approved. If this site went ahead then
the Blackdown Garage site would not be able to proceed. The local needs housing
for the village will be incorporated into the Blackdown Garage site.
Parishioner questions:-
Q: Why is sewerage acceptable for Blackdown
Garage site and not the Community Housing Project?
A: Community development site is not included
within the Local Plan so money is not available for upgrading to this level at
this time.
Q: Will this affect the Down’s site?
A: No – this is already on the local
development plan.
Q: Could any pressure be put on Down’s garage
to smarten up?
A: No – cannot advise someone how to run
their business. This is a different situation to where rubbish has been dumped.
71.2007 Parish Council
elections:
The Chairman thanked all the Councillors for their support and hard
work over many years. Cllrs Hilborn, Squire, Higman and Pendall will be
standing down at the next election and a number of new candidates are standing
for election. This is to be the first contested
election for 16 years in the village.
Mr Ged Tucker thanked the members of the retiring council and those
present showed their appreciation.
No further questions were arising from parishioners.
The Chairman stated that lots of organisations in the village are
working together and he felt very proud of what had been achieved in the last
couple of years. He thanked everyone for their attendance and invited them to
stay for refreshments and an informal chat.
Parish Council meetings are held the 2nd Tuesday in the
month in the Reading Rooms.
There being no further business the meeting was formally closed by the
Chair at 8.30 pm.
C Williams
Clerk to the Parish Council 1st May 2007
Signed as a true and accurate record……………………….Date………………….
(Cllr T Pearce - Chairman)