Cllr Weeks, Borough Councillor for the Exbourne Ward, was present. There were also two members of the public present.

Public participation a member of the public was present to address the parish council, but it was concerning a planning application being discussed. The chairman felt, and all agreed, that it would be more appropriate to have the discussion when this application is considered.

The minutes of the last meeting were signed as a true record.

PLANNING

The following application has been received:-

The Barton, S.C. proposed dwelling (alternative design)

The member of the public addressed the council and drew their attention to the breaches of planning permission that have been made.
The Chairman stated that concerns have been expressed.
Cllr Weeks stated that opinion has been sought as the applicant has breached planning permission. Cllr Weeks has spoken to the enforcement officer, who informed him that there was case law which states that if a building is substantially built then windows etc. can be added. The applicant has been advised to submit a new application. Cllr Weeks is meeting with the planning officer next week and he is going to recommend that this application goes to committee.
It was resolved that the parish council would object to this planning application as it was overdevelopment for the site.
A separate letter would also be sent stating that this is an abuse of the planning system and a further letter sent to the building control department asking if this new development complied with building regulations. The Chairman and Clerk will meet to discuss the wording of these letters.

Cllr Squire stated that there were not enough inspections to ensure the building regulations were followed at Stonewold.

One of the members of the public left the meeting.

MATTERS ARISING

Parish Plan - leisure, sport and recreation. There were many suggestions such as regular organised footpath walks. Indoor pursuits would benefit from a refurbished village hall. Events such as yoga would also be popular. Pilates has been held in the hall and did prove popular, but this event has now ceased. Italian classes are still being held on a regular basis. Concern had been expressed about the distribution of the parish magazine. The distribution has now improved, but there now appears to be a delay in getting the magazines out on time.

An improved play area was something requested in the parish plan and this has been addressed. There was also some interest expressed in resuming the Britain in Bloom, but not interest has been expressed recently.

Parish Paths Partnership Tim Freeman has been asked about signs warning of bulls in a field. The sign should only be displayed if the bull is permanently in the field. When the bull is elsewhere the sign should be removed. The clerk to write to Mr. and Mrs. Lowe and ask them to remove the sign when the bull is no longer in the field.

Public Toilets the clerk has still to acquire low energy bulbs for the toilet lights.

Owing to other commitments Cllr Weeks left the meeting.

Playground Equipment Inspection Cllr Cartwright had carried out the inspections. There were no problems with the equipment, but he hasn't yet had time to look at the fence. He did state there was a problem with mole hills down on the village green.

He also stated that when the tender process for the grass cutting came up he would be interested in submitting a quote for the grass cutting and would be declaring an interest when that item arose.

Cllr Mardon stated she would carry out the next set of inspections.

Highway Matters the clerk has sent an email to DCC concerning the missing mirror and blocked drains at Sampford Chapple and also the overgrown hedges. An acknowledgement has been received, but not yet a full response.
Cllr Squire stated that there was a farmer travelling with slurry making a mess of the verges in the northern part of the parish. He stated he would contact the clerk if the problem arises when we have a period of wet weather.

Removal of BT payphones Cllr Coleman stated he had written to DCC and WDBC asking them to meet and form a central opinion to the proposal to remove certain payphones. He stated he would be interested in knowing anything that can be done to organise this meeting.
He also requested the clerk send a copy of the letter from BT to DAPC for circulation on the e-group as he felt there was some interesting new information in the letter.

Land Registration the clerk is awaiting the draft statutory declaration and is still going through the old minutes with regard to the village green.
She has tried again online to find the details of the person registered as the owner of the ground under the telephone box at Belstone Corner via the Land Registry website, but again there was a problem with the pdf file. She has requested the necessary paper documents to proceed with this and seeking to register the parish council as owners of the plot of land under the phonebox in the village.

Bus Shelters a meeting was held on December 11th at Sampford Chapple with Bill Banting from DCC, parish councillors and residents to discuss the possibility of erecting a bus shelter in the lay-by to the east of the crossroads. DCC would fund the shelter if the parish council takes on the maintenance of it. He is to send drawings of the proposal (these have not yet been received).
An objection has been received from a resident at Sampford Chapple stating the small number of people who catch the bus, the cost implications to the parish council in maintaining it and that it will block the view for motorists coming out from the Honeychurch side as they look left.

The clerk asked Cllrs if they were interested in the one being offered from North Tawton Town Council? She was informed that she can contact the Town Clerk and advise him that their bus shelter is not suitable.
Freedom of Information Act the clerk has consulted with the Chairman and once she has made a few alterations will place the information on the village website. She will also include some information in the press release in the Roundabout advising residents that the information is on the website.

FINANCE

Cheques were signed for the following: -
Mr. L. Beer (Toilet cleaning 8/12/08 - 4/1/09) £45.84
W.D.B.C. (tenth instalment of rates owing on public toilets) £34.00
Audit Commission (Fee for external audit) £138.00
Mrs. M. Weeks (Clerks wages + £9.67 telephone expenses) £639.67

The audit fee is the usual £120 + VAT, but is slightly lower because of the reduction of the VAT rate to 15%.

Cllrs signed a letter of authorisation to transfer £800 from the reserve account to current account.

Review of budget the expenditure on the public toilets would be the main area of concern, but tonight's payment for the rates is the final one for this financial year and, hopefully, any overspend in this area will not be detrimental to the overall budget. The P3 funds are getting low, but there would be little expenditure through the winter months. Cllr Askew stated there would be the lengthsmans final payment, ?96, which will result in an overspend of about £25.

Everyone should have received a copy of the approved budget for 2009/10. The Chairman stated the hourly rate had not been altered to £8.

Discussion of effectiveness of audit with internal auditor the Chairman welcomed John Hodge, the internal auditor. He stated that it was important that the internal audit was reviewed. There is a checklist of items that should be checked by Cllrs. His job is to check that Cllrs are doing this (e.g. checking petty cash, book keeping and budgetary controls), which he does by referring to the minutes.
If there is something that is not covered then mention it. Cllr Coleman queried risk assessment. Cllrs and Mr. Hodge informed him that a risk assessment has been carried out. The clerk will see that he received a copy.
The council should also think about who carries out the internal audit. Cllrs were happy with the current internal auditor.

The Chairman stated she had received a letter from a firm of accountants confirming that the clerk had declared her income for tax year ended 5 April 2008.

The Chairman conducted a mini audit.

Amount in bank is £146.62 and total in Reserve Account is £5297.58 TOTAL - £5444.20
Represented thus P3 - £35.77 Precept, toilets + other £5063.94 Interest £297.58 Countryside Agency - £46.91

CORRESPONDENCE
Devon and Cornwall Police Authority - Appointment of independent members to the police authority, Communities and Local Government - communities in Control: Real People, Real Power Code of Recommended practice on local authority publicity a consultation, DCC - Helping you to help yourselves Newsletter No. 5, WDBC - A meeting of the Standards Committee to be held on Tuesday 13th January 2009, various emails sent to those with the facility.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Cllr Cartwright stated that on the Boundary Committee website a consultancy has carried out a study into the financial models and the only plan that is very viable is the unitary county authority.

He also sent his apologies for the next meeting as he will be in hospital.

The dates for the next few meetings are: -

Tuesday 3rd February 2009 at 7.30 p.m.,Tuesday 3rd March 2009 at 7.30 p.m.,
Tuesday 31st March 2009 at 7.30 p.m.,Tuesday 28th April 2009 at 7.30 p.m.,
Tuesday 26th May 2009 at 7.30 p.m.,Tuesday 23rd June 2009 at 7.30 p.m.,
Tuesday 21st July 2009 at 7.30 p.m., Tuesday 18th August 2009 at 7.30 p.m.,
Tuesday 15th September 2009 at 7.30 p.m.,Tuesday 13th October 2009 at 7.30 p.m.,
Tuesday 10th November 2009 at 7.30 p.m.,Tuesday 8th December 2009 at 7.30 p.m.,
Tuesday 5th January 2010 at 7.30 p.m.,

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.30 p.m.

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