Approved Minutes 2022 November 02

Nov 11, 2022 | Minutes

The draft minutes can be read below all downloaded here: MN_2022 November 02 DPC Approved Minutes

APPROVED Minutes of the Monthly Meeting of Dittisham Parish Council held in Dittisham Village Hall on Wednesday 2 November 2022 at 7:00 p.m.

  1. Present: Councillors Anderson (Chair), Nightingale (Vice-Chair), Bond, Lloyd, Neale, and Unitt were present, as were South Hams District Cllr McKay, Devon County Cllr Hawkins, A Thom (Clerk), and two members of the public.

  1. Apologies

Apologies were received from Cllr Green. Cllr Tucker’s absence has been approved by DPC.

  1. Declaration of Interests

None declared.

  1. Approval of Minutes

It was resolved to approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 October 2022.

  1. Public Issues

    1. Green Waste Collection

It was noted that the collection will not happen as the collectors may not have room for extra green waste and they cannot guarantee that there will be no cost for removal.

  1. Community Reports

    1. South Hams District Council Councillor

Cllr McKay reported that SHDC’s in-house waste and recycling service is going well, excepting some issues with brown bin collections. SHDC has received the report it commissioned on the economics of the maritime sector, especially Baltic Wharf. The report supports the importance of preserving the facility. Cllr McKay is interested in Warwick University’s report about the economic effect of the energy crisis on households, the money taken out of the economy, and the potential to save 34% of overall household energy costs by improving energy efficiency. The Overview and Scrutiny Committee is looking at Building Regulations tomorrow. SHDC’s lendology scheme has loans of over £200,000. Cllr McKay said that the housing statistics in the 2021 Census don’t support a shortage of housing and he is looking into whether the shortage may be due to the use of the housing stock. Second homes are being purchased in the new housing estate in Dartmouth.

    1. Devon County Council Councillor

Cllr Hawkins noted that there is no control over the use of the houses in the new housing estate in Dartmouth and that ‘affordable homes’ are calculated as a percentage of average house price, not with reference to the local ability to pay. From next April second homes can be charged 200% council tax. DCC has £75 million deficit in the current financial year, half or about £37 million has been found, and it is still to find the remainder from cuts. Cllr Hawkins said that it is important Dittisham submits a Locality Fund application by December or the funding may be lost. There is a weekly community hub event on Fridays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm in Townstal Community Hall with officers from Dartmouth Caring, Citizens Advice, and others, the food bank, and they are starting to serve meals. The last rollerblading event in the Dartmouth Leisure Centre had 104 participants. It is free and happens on two Fridays a month.

  1. Parish Lengthsman – Update

This item was moved up the Agenda at the Chair’s discretion. Cllr Lloyd entered near the start of this item. The new contracted Parish Lengthsman, Ian Cumberlidge, introduced himself to the full Council and described his approach to the work. The handover and orientation will take place on Friday 4 November.

  1. Events – Request for hire of The Ham 1- 4 September 2023 for a Dart 10K swim

This item was moved up the Agenda at the Chair’s discretion. A representative of the hirer addressed the Council and described the activities of the Level Water charity, which benefits from the event. A decision regarding the request for hire of The Ham was deferred pending the receipt of more information, particularly about the parking and traffic management.

  1. SHDC Planning Decisions

The following decisions were noted.

    1. 1355/22/LBC Dunedin Cottage The Quay Dittisham TQ6 0EZ. Listed building consent for new lean to shed to contain replacement electric boiler. Conditional Approval.

    2. 2855/22/HHO The Lookout Riverside Road Dittisham TQ6 0HS. Householder application for changing room & gazebo by existing pool. Conditional Approval.

    3. 2707/22/HHO & 2708/22/LBC Mill Creek Cottage Lower Street Dittisham TQ6 0HY. Householder application & Listed Building consent for new glazed link extension with internal alterations to form ground floor WC. Conditional Approval.

  2. Planning Inspectorate Confirmation of Valid Appeal APP/K1128/D/22/3304662: 0507/22/HHO Dartside, Manor Street, TQ6 0EX. Householder application for construction of free standing garden building (summerhouse) within rear curtilage (Resubmission of 1105/20/HHO).

The above appeal was noted.

  1. New planning applications

    1. 2238/22/HHO Overdart House Rectory Lane Dittisham TQ6 0HD. Householder application for alterations & additions to existing dwelling.

It was unanimously resolved to Support and, because of the large amount of glazing, to make a strengthened version of DPC’s standard comment about its concern to address the cumulative effect of light pollution on survival of nocturnal species and on residential amenity and requesting the inclusion of design features to mitigate the light pollution.

    1. 3553/22/ARC & 3466/22/ARC Fern Cottage Manor Street Dittisham TQ6 0EX. Application for approval of details reserved by conditions 3 (doors and windows), 4 (timber cladding) and 5 (rainwater goods) of planning consent. 4778/21/HHO & 4779/21/LBC.

It was unanimously resolved to Support.

  1. New tree applications
    1. 3411/22/TPO The Old Rectory Rectory Lane Dittisham TQ6 0HD. T1: fell to ground level due to low amenity value and damage to drive& T2: Eucalyptus – fell to ground level due to low amenity value and to create space for other planting.

It was unanimously resolved to Support.

    1. 3683/22/TCA Mill Creek Cottage Lower Street Dittisham TQ6 0HY. T1-8: Ash – fell due to dieback.

It was resolved to Object. Cllr Unitt abstained.

  1. Consultations

  • Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Services, Council Tax, Closes 30/11/22 12:00

  • SHDC Council Tax Reduction Scheme Closes 27/11/22

DPC will not be submitting a comment on the consultations above.

  1. Review of The Use of The Ham Policy and The Ham Hire Documents

It was unanimously resolved to approve the reorganised documents as circulated excepting the changes: leave out the Dart 10K specific conditions of hire from the approved set of documents, use the revised data protection paragraph as written for the Dart 10K hire agreement, specify in the Dart 10K specific conditions that the gate to The Ham referred to is located next to the toilet block, and delete the extra ‘the’ from The Use of The Ham Policy 2 f). Two plans remain to be created.

  1. Reports from Councillors’ Working Groups & External Forums

    1. Health Representative

Cllr Unitt was appointed DPC’s Health representative.

Cllr Unitt’s report on the Dartmouth Patients Participation Group AGM was received.

The Dartmouth PPG has a current online survey.

  1. Car Parks – Dittisham Sailing Club Permits

  1. It was agreed to retain the current system of increasing the charge for permits annually by CPI and that the Clerk will calculate the charge using most current ONS data available before the DSC AGM in November.

  1. Crocus bulbs from the Rotary Club

The proposal to plant bulbs at the entrance to the Level Car Park on the right-hand side between the line of posts and the curb was approved by unanimous resolution.

  1. Training

DPC Councillors’ access to the Devon Association of Local Councils’ Code of Conduct Webinar (delegate fee £30) or the Standards of Public Life e-learning training (£16) was approved by resolution.

It was agreed that DPC will trial, with its next meeting on 7 December, screening the first 15-minute Carbon Savvy course video at the start of the meeting at 7 pm. Members of the public will be invited to join the screening. There are ten modules with videos and support materials in total.

  1. DPC’s Information Management System

Cllr Nightingale and the Clerk have been working on reviewing how DPC manages its information. Councillors will be asked to complete a survey about their information management system.

  1. Review of Delegated Authority to the Clerk

It was resolved to approve the revised delegation document as circulated.

  1. Financial Matters

    1. External Auditor’s Report

The Report and its comments were considered. DPC noted that the opinion was qualified because the 2020/21 external auditor report and certificate was not published on the website by the required date and DPC answered ‘No’ to the wrong question in the Annual Return. The formal report included an ‘other’ matter regarding the explanation for the restatement of the 2020/21 figures from a receipts and payments basis to an income and expenditure basis. Following the conclusion of the audit the Auditor issued an official correspondence stating that the restatement of figures was correctly done.

    1. Financial Reports

The reports, which showed a total balance of £87,356.37, general fund of £39,786.60, and reconciled were noted.

    1. Payments

It was resolved to authorise the following payments:

  • Judges Web Design Website updates, 30.00

  • Car Park Attendant, Contract July-September inclusive, 500.00

  • Scribe, Annual Software Licence from 1 January 2023, 273.60

  • Clerk, Clerk October Expenses Reimbursement, 22.28

The following payments made since the September meeting were noted:

  • Pension, September £82.75

  • Clerk Salary October £1,101.62

  • HMRC PAYE/NI/ENI October £116.61

    1. Overtime Claim

It was resolved to approve the Clerk’s claim for five hours overtime.

  1. Next Meeting

It was confirmed that the next meeting of the council will be on 7 December 2022 at 7:00 pm.

  1. Closure of the Meeting

It was resolved in accordance with the 1960 Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act to exclude the public and press during consideration of the following item due to the commercial-in-confidence nature of the following business.

  1. Tree Works

The quotes to carry out the tree works recommended in the 2022 safety survey of DPC’s trees were considered and the preferred contractor was chosen by resolution (1,450 exVAT). The Clerk was delegated authority to work out the practical details for the works to take place in consultation with the Maintenance Working Group.