ARLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting of Arlington Parish Council held on Tuesday 13 September 2016 at the Tea Rooms, Arlington Court, Arlington at 7:30pm.

33.  Present:

Cllrs B Francis(Chair), Ms A Chylak, Mrs L House, R Kilburn and Mrs J Kimberley,

In attendance:

Mr T Squire (Parish Clerk).

34.  Apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Mrs S Hill.

35.  Public Consultation

None – no members of the public present.

36.  Declarations of Interest

Cllr Ms Chylak declared an interest in the planning applications.

Cllr Francis reported that he had recently moved address, and was no longer a tenant of the National Trust. North Devon Council Member Services had been advised.

37.  Approval of Minutes of the meetings held on 12 July 2016 

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

38.  Matters Arising from the meeting

None.

39.  Highways

1.To request lengthsmans funding

Cllr Kilburn reported that the lengthsman would be visiting the parish twice a year. Some parishes had received additional funding to enable more work to be carried out. Cllr Kilburn agreed to make enquiries into the source of the funding.

Parishioners were requested to report all highway defects on the Devon county Council website. The more times a defect was recorded it increased the likelihood of it receiving attention, especially when on a minor road.

2.To Formally request  (in writing) that The National Trust address the  practice of vehicles exiting the entrance only to their car park, causing danger to other road users.

Cllr Ms Chylak, on behalf of the National Trust, reported that ‘No Exit’ signs were in place at the bottom entrance, but this was often ignored by motorists. It was not possible to use a single entrance/exit, but the Trust may be looking at making changes in the future.

She reported that the National Trust would review all the warning signage, including the size of the existing signs. 

3.To request NT check the road drains outfall near Brockham Cottage area due to A39 being impassable  (again ) on Saturday evening 3/9/16 due to heavy rain.

It was reported that flooding was always a problem in this area after heavy rain. Devon County Council was aware of the problem.

4.To consider obtaining and displaying PEDESTRIAN Signs near Arlington Court entrances

Covered in item 39.2

40.   Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebrations

A report of the celebrations had been circulated to councillors.

It was reported that the event had been very successful, with just under 100 people attending.

Some funding had been received from the Sweetings Charity. The remainder of the expenses to be split evenly between Arlington and Kentisbury & Trentishoe Psrish Counculs - £78 each. This was agreed.

41.  Future of the Parish Council

In response to the query regarding the parish council becoming a Parish Meeting, Lesley Smith from the DALC had explained that the only elected member was the Chairman. Decisions were made through parish meetings, two of which had to be held each year.

Doubt was expressed whether parishioners would attend these meetings.

Another possibility was to join a neighbouring parish. The DALC would be covering this at its forthcoming AGM, to which the Chairman hoped to attend.

42.  Planning

Cllr Ms Chylak declared an interest in the applications, and left the meeting while they were being considered.

Before leaving she outlined the applications and answered questions. It was noted that there would be no external changes to the building.

61576Conversion of garage building to form meeting / education / community space Arlington garages Arlington

61632Listed building application for conversion of garage building to form meeting / education / community space Arlington Court Arlington

Cllr Mrs Kimberley proposed that both applications should be recommended for approval. All in agreement.

43.  Correspondence

1.Rural Alliance Minutes and Agenda – circulated to councillors

2.Healthwatch Devon – circulated to councillors

3.DALC Newsletter – circulated to councillors

4.The Pensions Regulator – update on registration for employees pension

The Clerk reported that the deadline for arrangements to be complete was 4 January 2017. For employees earning less than £10k the scheme was optional.

5.Clerks and Councils Direct – September 2016.Noted.

6.DALC Annual Report. Noted.

7.Loxhore Parish Council were holding a Drop-In Event for anyone interested in finding out about affordable housing in North Devon. Noted,

44.  Arlington Magazine and Website

It was reported that the Arlington Magazine editor wished to give up, and pass it to someone else to run, bur had been unsuccessful so far. There was currently approximately £1000 in the magazine bank account.

It was understood that the website editor was currently awaiting information before ‘going live’.

45.  To Request funding from NDC to renew Notice Boards .

It was reported that the notice boards were in a poor state of repair, and that they were not big enough to display anything other than parish council notices.

Cllr Mrs Kimberley agreed to obtain quotations for new notice boards.

46.  To display Parish Clerks contact details in notice boards .

It was agreed that the Clerk’s contact details should be displayed on the notice board for anyone wishing to contact the parish council. The Clerk had no objection to this.

47.  Reports

1.County Councillor

None – County Councillor not present.

2.District Councillor

None – District Councillor not present.

48.  Finance

1.To advertise in PC notice boards , any interested charities / church etc. requests  for grant funding year 2017/18

It was agreed to advertise on the notice boards for any interest bodies wishing to apply for a grant. Applications to be sent to the Clerk.

2.To display Audit details in Notice Boards

It was agreed to display details on the notice boards advising members of the public how they may inspect the Financial Audit.

3.Payments

Mrs S Hill – reimbursement of expenses relating to the Queen’s Birthday Celebrations   £78.00   Cheque No. 203

Mr G Bayard – Audit   £10.00   Cheque No. 204

Clerk’s wages and expenses   £86.10   Cheque No. 205

The three accounts were agreed for payment.

49.  Items for consideration for the next Agenda

Replacement/Repair of Notice Boards

50.  Date of next meeting:

Tuesday 22 November 2016.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8:28pm..

Signed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chairman