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Minutes of a meeting of the Parish Council, which took place on Monday 8 February 2010.

PRESENT Cllrs Humphreys (Chair), England, Hallett, Hawkins, Walshe, Messrs P Robathan & K Ronaldson (District Councillors) and one parishioner.

APOLOGIES Cllrs Cripps, Rowswell, Sarker, Wakely, Mrs A Larpent (County Councillor).

MINUTES The minutes of the previous meeting were confirmed and signed.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

No interests were declared.

Mr Ronaldson spoke of the proposed integration with East Devon District Council, the Headquarters of which are in Sidmouth, and said the Scrutiny Committee would be presenting a review the following day to determine whether this will be the best option for the District Council and the community. Considerable savings will be made by the merger without any change to the services provided. Mr Ronaldson reported that South Somerset Together, which is made up of agencies, businesses and voluntary organisations and is chaired by Paul Robathan, has won a National Community Partnership Award having inspired the judges with its ability to deliver results on such a small budget.

Mr Robathan advised of a likely 2% rise in Council Tax next year, the smallest increase for 12 years. There are plans to include plastic and cardboard in the kerbside collections in the next financial year.

The poor condition of the road surface, since the icy weather, is under discussion and Cllr Hawkins agreed to draw up a list of potholes in the parish to be passed to the County Council. Cllr Hallett wondered if the Parish Council should consider changing the date of its meetings as the County Councillor has three Parish Council Meetings on the same evening each month. As the Village Hall is so fully booked, the Councillors wondered whether an earlier start would help.

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Mr Rippon reported that Mr David Ogilvie from Hinton St George has been appointed as the new Lengthsman. The Parish Council is grateful to Mr Rippon for all he has done as co-ordinator and the Clerk will send a letter of thanks. It was agreed to ask Roger Cripps if he would like to take on this role.

A cheque for £52 was drawn for Steve Hodge for carrying out repairs to the noticeboard.

No objections were raised to plans to: Erect two conservatories to rear of Little Pipers, Lambrook Road. Convert loft space to living accommodation, erect extension and install four conservation roof lights at Stephens, Church Street.

Permission has been granted for the following Reserved Matters: Erection of detached dwellinghouse with associated parking on land adjacent to Brimgrove Cottage. Conversion and extension of pair of cottages to form single dwelling and erection of dwelling and two garages at Ferndale, Buttle Lane.

Cllr Hawkins volunteered to attend a meeting at The Shrubbery Hotel, Ilminster, on 4 March, to discuss the outcomes of the cluster workshops on the subject of growth provision for rural settlements.

Cllr Walshe had been in contact with Adrian Moore of the District Council and will be discussing with him a grant for play equipment. The ‘It’s A Knock Out’ will take place at the Recreation Field on 26 June.

Wessex Water hope to have the results of the Cowleaze soil tests by the end of February. Cllr Hallett asked how the lottery grant would be paid and was advised that as each expense is approved the exact amount of money will be released to the Parish Council to pay the bill. Cllr Hallett felt the Parish Council should have more involvement, such as considering estimates.

Cllr Humphreys reported that the Events Team will not be holding an event on the same day as the Church Fete this year as it falls on the day of the World Cup Final. Following the success of the Victory Tea Party last year, a Ritz Tea Party has been suggested for this year.

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Cllr Hawkins reported on the District Council Area West Meeting he attended on the subject of education, but there is no funding available at present to make any changes.

Cllr Cripps had sent a message that the only item to report is a complaint from Barrington that people had been falling over on the footpath on their return from the Duke of York and he had reported this to the Rights of Way Department!

The meeting closed at 9 pm.