DRAFT Minutes of the Meeting of Cornworthy Parish Council
In Cornworthy Village Hall on Monday 16th October at 7.30pm
Present: Cllr Tuppen (Chair), Cllr Bailey (Vice Chair) Cllr Hunt, Cllr Fowler, Cllr Thompson, Cllr John McKay (SHDC)and Cllr Jonathan Hawkins (DCC) C Campos Parish Clerk.
Open Forum
A resident reported that BT are planning to turn off the copper wired service nationally and replace it with a digital service which runs over the internet by the end of 2025. The issue is that, in the event of a power cut, there would be no access to a working landline. This presents a problem in places like Cornworthy where the mobile signal is very weak. Therefore, he felt that CPC should investigate how the village can improve its mobile signal. Cllr Tuppen agreed this issue should go onto a future agenda for further discussion.
Apologies for Absence
Cllr McKay
75. Declaration of Councillors Interest
None
76. Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the meeting of 16th September were approved.
77. Matters Arising from the Minutes
None
78. Reports from District and County Councillors
78.1 Cllr Jonathan Hawkins DCC: Cllr Hawkins referenced the constructive meeting with CPC Councillors and the DCC Neighbourhood Highways Office. He offered a £250 grant towards the creation of the new CPC website which he said was excellent and reflected what a lovely community Cornworthy is. He asked if the resident who has been the Parish’s Snow Warden for many years would continue in the role and Cllr Tuppen confirmed that he would do so until March 2024. Cllr Hawkins reminded CPC that supplies of grit and the replacement of any damaged grit bins should be sorted out now before Winter really arrives. Cllr Tuppen said the areas around the bins should be strimmed. Cllrs will check the condition of all the grit bins and report any which are damaged to the Clerk. He reminded everyone about the upcoming Southwest Water meeting in Dartmouth. He mentioned his campaign to increase the number of fire men serving rural communities and the issue of the poor Stagecoach services running out of Dartmouth. Cllr Tuppen reported that since the Devon Highways meeting both the mechanical sweeper and drain clearer have visited the village and asked for CPC’s thanks for this to be passed on. The Clerk will keep a record of all visits and will be in contact with authorities to get a schedule for upcoming visits, which can then be publicised in the village so that roads can be kept as clear as possible.
79. Local Issues
Parishioners Correspondence to Action The Clerk said there had been one application for the Councillor vacancy from Clare Hammond who was co-opted onto Cornworthy Parish Council. Cllr Hammond was welcomed by councillors and joined the Council for the rest of the meeting
80. Devon County Council Highways
Upcoming Roadworks between Alexandria Place and Green Close in November were wrongly notified to residents as happening in October. CPC will try and inform residents that the works will take place next month,
81. Planning
No new applications, decisions or consultations have been advised.
82. The following CPC Policies were approved and adopted until the next review in April 2024
- CPC Financial Regulations Policy
- CPC Complaints Policy and Procedure
- CPC Grant Awarding Policy
- CPC Health and Safety Policy
- CPC Risk Register
- CPC Safeguarding of Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy
Cllr Bailey also proposed an amendment to Record Retention Policy whereby recordings of CPC meetings are retained for three months and then deleted. The amendment was approved.
83. The following additions to the CPC website were approved
- The Nolan Principles of Public Life
- The Good Councillor Guide
Cllr Tuppen thanked Cllr Bailey for updating the policies. Cllr Bailey said he was working his way through the NALC recommendations to identify any further policies which should be adopted by CPC. Once adopted these will be reviewed annually every April.
84. To Update on CPC Finances.
- Cllr Tuppen said an up-to-date report detailing payment, receipts and bank reconciliation has been circulated to all Councillors and posted on the CPC website.
- The following payments were approved.
It was noted that these payments are from July onwards
To authorise the following payments:
| Netwise Website | £1186.80 |
| R Baker Tree Surgeon | £153.50 |
| Lazerpic Map Lamination | £48.00 |
| C. Campos August Salary | £260.00 |
| C Campos PAYE | £65.00 |
| DALC D. Bailey Training | £90.00 |
| Mike Stapleton Map Cabinet | £300.00 |
| C.Campos September Salary | £240.00 |
| C.Campos PAYE | £60.00 |
| C.Campos Clerks Expenses | £108.74 |
| Village Hall Room Hire | £87.50 |
| Road Sign for Willow Lane | £172.92 |
| Donation to the Handbell RF | £250.00 |
| Batteries for Head Torches | £7.50 |
| VETS Telephone System CHT | £270.00 |
| Paint for Jubilee Stone | £51.54 |
84.3 To appoint an internal auditor for 2023/24
The same internal auditor who completed CPC’s Internal Audit for 2022/23 will be retained to complete the CPC Internal Audit for 2023/24 next Spring.
84.4 To Discuss commissioning an interim Internal audit for CPC.
Cllr Tuppen said that he and Cllr Bailey would review the checklist used for this year’s Internal audit to gauge how CPC would fare in an internal audit now. This will be circulated for all councillors’ input.
84.5 To Discuss and Approve the CPC budget for 2024/25
Cllr Tuppen said that a first draft has been circulated to all Councillors. This draft shows CPC running at a loss. So, CPC must carefully consider projected expenditure and the proposed level of precept for 2024/25. Cllr Fowler confirmed that the cost of hiring the Village Hall for CPC meetings will be known after the CVH AGM. The Clerk confirmed that the process of setting next year’s precept starts in December. The Clerk was asked to establish how much CPC must pay to cover the cost of the May election and to supply a figure by the next CPC meeting.
85. To give CPC’s support to the Climate and Ecology Bill
Cllr Fowler explained that Parish Councils were being asked to give their support to the Climate and Ecology Bill. Cllr Hammond felt that this needed some in depth consideration before CPC gives its support and requested more time to do this. After some discussion it was agreed that Cllr Hammond and Cllr Fowler would do further research on this matter and bring their findings back to the rest of the Council for a decision on whether to support the bill with a view to making a resolution via email by 17th November
86. Reports
86.1 Clerk and RFO – The Clerk circulated her reports prior to the meeting There were no questions.
86.2 Tree Warden – Cllr Thompson reported that an application has been made to SHDC for the tree works recommended for the Oak tree on the Green and was waiting to hear back. The Clerk confirmed she has lodged CPC’s approval for the application on the SHDC portal. Cllr Finn had posted a brief piece written by the Tree Warden on the CPC website.
86.3 Defibrillators and VETS Report – Cllr Fowler reported that CPC had received a bill for an annual subscription for the VETS telephone system. There was some discussion on whether to amalgamate the two budgets. The Defibs are all working although a set of spare pads will need to be replaced in November.
86.4 Village Hall – Cllr Finn was pleased to announce that stage one of the works on the Village Hall has been completed. The heating system is working well. The Fire Alarm system has been installed which include visual and sound alarms. The new trickle ventilation system is now in place. New fire doors will be fitted in November which will help with heating efficiency. Apple Day was a big success raising around £1000, she thanked everyone who had supported the event. The 100 Club Draw has also resumed with September and October draw taking place at the end of the meeting. 170 tickets have been sold raising around £1200 for the Hall. She also mentioned that a Christmas tree should be delivered and erected before the Christmas Fair on 25th November. A budget of £100 was approved.
86.5 P3 Paths- Cllr Finn said that the resident who is doing the work has been given a list of priorities. She will be walking the paths shortly to put in a new bid for next year’s grant. She hoped to include the new map cabinet in this year’s grant under the promotion of footpaths. She would like to add more information on routes and timings to the map. Cllr Tuppen noted that some trees in Millennium Wood (Woodland Trust) are overhanging the Bow Wood path. Cllr Hunt will inform them.
86.6 Parish Volunteers- Cllr Thompson noted that there are lots of exciting events being organised by Volunteers, including a Ceilidh, a Christmas disco, a Folk Night, Burns Night and Valentines Disco. He said that many residents turned out to tidy up the roads before the heavy rain. He hopes to expand this type of initiative. Cllr Tuppen felt that CPC should continue to lead by example. There are some issues of how to dispose of dead leaves and vegetation. Cllr Hawkins said SHDC will collect this but only sporadically. The Clerk will find out how this could be organised.
100 Club Draw
September 67, 71, 134
October 102, 69, 10
The next Parish Council Meeting is:
Tuesday 5th December at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall