DRAFT Minutes of the monthly meeting of Dittisham Parish Council
Wednesday 1 April 2026 at 7:00pm, Dittisham Village Hall
Present: Parish Cllrs Bond (Chair), Golding, J Green, Hawkes, Neale, Pope, Unitt & Taylor were present, as was C Radford (Clerk). C.Cllr Rake was present for part of the meeting. 3 members of the public attended.
Apologies: D.Cllr McKay
Public Forum
Representatives of the Community Shop were in attendance to introduce the grant request made to the Parish Council. It was commented that the shop is seeking to raise share capital from the village but it is expected that this won’t come to the amount needed and that applications are being made to charities and funding bodies alongside the request for £5,000 made to the Parish Council. Of the total monies sought, £20,000 will go on refurbishment costs, stock and working capital. £17,000 will be used to purchase capital equipment, including new fridges and freezers, laptop and printer ,an awning, heater/aircon, and blinds for the window to protect bleaching and heat damage to stock. The shop is positive about trading over the summer, turning over £3,000 more than predicted. It is expected that this profit over the summer will tide the shop over the winter period, expecting to break even annually. In response to questions from cllrs it was confirmed that there is a list of priorities for the purchase of capital equipment, with fridges and freezers being the highest priority purchases. The current fridges are inefficient and using a lot of electricity; investment in replacement will reduce costs. Cllrs noted that approximately 120 people attended the open meeting to learn more about the shop, and there is a roster of 50 volunteers. Both demonstrate the community’s support for the shop. The County Councillor (C.Cllr) provided information about grants available through Devon County Council (DCC) and South Hams District Council (SHDC) Locality Funds. The matter was discussed at item 5.1.
1. Apologies were received as above.
2. Declaration of Interests Cllrs declared an interest in the following items: Cllr Neale on item 5.4 payment 2604_5. Cllr Bond on item 5.4 payment 2604_8.
3. Approval of Minutes To consider approval of the minutes of monthly meeting held on March 4 It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting as an accurate record without amendments.
4. Community Reports To receive reports from:
4.1 South Hams District Council Councillor (D.Cllr) There was no report in the D.Cllr’s absence.
4.2 Devon County Council Councillor (C.Cllr)
– District Leisure Centres It was reported that Fusion, the company operating the leisure centres, has gone into administration. Centres will be run by administrators for a period of 6-10 weeks before the company Parkwood will take over for a management fee. Memberships will remain valid, staff jobs are protected, classes will remain as they are.
– Internet connection It was reported that a new programme called ‘Project Gigabit’ is now in place to address connection issues for residents not supported by the prior ‘Connecting Devon and Somerset’ scheme. It was commented that this scheme could be of benefit to the 8-10 properties in Bozomzeal using Starlink due to poor connectivity. It was commented that Capton residents were expecting to benefit from Airband’s work in the area.
– Parish Paths Partnership (P3) Feedback on the relaunched P3 scheme has not been positive, with many Parishes commenting that the level of paperwork required is a dis-incentive to engage, particularly when repairs can be requested through DCC’s ‘Report it’ webpage. DCC is looking to get to the bottom of this. It was noted that the Public Rights of Way team has suffered from changes in personnel contributing to the build up of a backlog of P3 issues. The advice to Parish Councils is to sign up to the scheme again, and hopefully DCC will be able to iron out some of the wrinkles.
– Government support for low income households – oil supply The Scheme is now live. Funds are being channelled through DCC and is being administered by the District Council. (See correspondence).
– Gritting A response to proposals for shared gritting arrangements across multiple Parishes has been received from Highways. More conversation is required to open up discussion about how things might be, instead of how they are.
5. Financial Matters
5.1 Dittisham Store Grant Application Following the update given in the public session it was agreed that the Finance Committee should look at the accounts to see what funds are available and bring back a proposal to the next meeting. It was RESOLVED to reaffirm support for the shop in principle and consider making a donation of up to £5K dependent on what the Finance Committee says is available.
5.2 Seven-Day Ticket price at Dittisham Car Parks from 1 April 2026 Cllrs noted that the price of a seven-day ticket will remain at £60 as that Metric is unable to increase the price to £62 as the machines only hold 30 coins in Escrow. The most that the machine can accept is £60.00 (30 x £2 coins). Metric suggested upgrading the machines to include card payments at a cost of £675 per machine to facilitate this tariff. A monthly cost of £10 per machine would also be required for a wireless sim for card payments to work. It was RESOLVED that the Parish Council was not interested in upgrading the machines, and to review the availability of the-day ticket in the next financial year.
5.3 Asset Register To review and approve asset register at 31 March 2026 The asset register was reviewed and some minor amendments made to the Clerk’s first draft. It was RESOLVED approve the register.
5.4 Receipts and Payments between meetings it was noted that:
– Payment 2603_8 approved at last meeting for interest on the quarter 3 VAT return had not been charged following cancellation of the penalty. However, a penalty charge of £76.52 was levied and paid.
– Payment 2603_12 Lloyds bank fee = £4.25
5.5 April Payments It was RESOLVED to authorise the following payments:
– Payment 2604_1 Nest Pensions for Pension contributions on Clerk’s Mar Salary = £39.61 no VAT
– Payment 2604_2 to CRadford March Clerk Salary (month 12) = £877.41 no VAT
– Payment 2604_3 to HMRC for Tax and NI on Clerk’s March Salary = £286.16 no VAT
– Payment 2604_4 to MHurrell for monthly car park checks and banking takings (Mar) = £150 no VAT
– Payment 2604_5 to RNeale for reimbursement: JottaCloud backup services Monthly renewal Mar at 12EUR per month (£10.42) and Lebara mobile phone monthly renewal Feb at £4.08 plus 82p VAT per month. Away day refreshments at £118.78. = £134.10
– Payment 2604_6 to Judge’s Web Design Accessibility Report: Carry out Basic Compliance Accessibility Report . Update WordPress plugins. 20 March 2026= £80 no VAT
– Payment 2604_7 to RoSPA for Inv 95927 AI PARISH, Annual Inspection – The Ham Playground TQ6 0HS at £83 plus £16.60 VAT= £99.60
– Payment 2604_8 to RBond for reimbursement: HP Instant Ink at £3.74 plus £0.75 VAT = £4.49
– Payment 2604_9 to Source for Business (SWW) Bill 6093 5292 76 For services at Standpipe The Quay Dittisham 16 December 2025 to 13 March 2026 = £46.29 no VAT
Payment 2604_10 to South Hams District Council for Business Rate Demand for The Ham Car Park= £4641 no VAT
Payment 2604_11 to South Hams District Council for Business Rate Demand for The Level Car Park= £3270.80 no VAT
– Payment 2604_12 to South Hams District Council for Providing 2025/26 Payroll Service for Parish Clerk at £100 plus £20 VAT = £120
– Payment 2604_13 to ARCCAS inv 257 for Monthly grounds maintenance invoice 1 of 10 (March) at £430 plus £86 VAT = £516
– Payment 2604_14 to Devon Association of Local Councils (DALC) Invoice 7334 NALC affiliation fee at £28.21, DALC service charge at £8.32. DALC affiliation fee at £110.48 plus £22.10 VAT = £169.11
6. South Hams District Council’s Planning Decisions The following decisions were noted:
6.1 3607/25/FUL Red Lion Inn, The Level, Dittisham, READVERTISEMENT (amended description & revised plans) Construction of ground floor bay window, rear first floor extension, installation of 3.no Juliet balconies, & roof light APPROVED
6.2 0022/26/HHO Herongate, Lower Street, Dittisham, Householder application for new incidental outbuilding APPROVED
6.3 3609/25/HHO Blackberry Cottage The Lane Dittisham Alterations and extensions to property with associated landscaping work. New entrance door on the south-west elevation to provide an improved main access to the property. Two storey extension to replace an existing single storey lean-to extension. Small conservatory on the rear (north-east) elevation. New parking space accessed from The Lane. APPROVED
7. New Planning Applications to consider a recommendation to the planning authority on the following applications:
7.1 0745/26/ARC Meadow View, The Level, Dittisham Application for approval of details reserved by conditions 4 (Doors/Windows) & 5 (Cladding) of planning consent 2659/25/HHO It was RESOLVED SUPPORT the application
7.2 0698/26/ARC Meadow View, The Level, Dittisham Application for approval of details reserved by condition 5 (Doors/Windows) of planning consent 2651/25/LBC It was RESOLVED to SUPPORT the application
8. Reports from Councillors’ Working Groups and External Forums
8.1 Neighbourhood Plan Cllrs were updated that members of the Steering Group are meeting with SHDC Planning Officers to support understanding of how revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework will affect Neighbourhood Planning. Planners are talking about indicative housing numbers of between 20 – 30 homes for Dittisham, which is more than anyone had imagined. A Call for Sites would need to be undertaken, to ascertain what sites are available and suitable for development and under what conditions. The Steering Group will know a lot more following the meeting with officers. The application made to designate a Neighbourhood Plan area is in process at the District Council.
8.2 Maintenance Working Group To receive an update on the outcome of the annual play area inspection and actions relating to replacement of the Air Ambulance Landing Site bulb. It was reported that the annual play area inspection took place on. Nothing pressing on the play area, but the report comments on gaps around wet pour; a running issue with Wickstead. ACTION: Cllr Bond will follow this up. It was noted that the Parish Council had agreed to seek replacement of the Air Ambulance Landing Site bulb, ACTION: Cllr Bond.
9. Clerk’s update It was reported that the Clerk had been approached by members of the public with reference to memorials established in the village. ACTION: The Clerk to follow this up with Cllr Bond. The Clerk queried the correct protocol for processing Ham Hire requests. It was RESOLVED for the Ham Events Management Group to meet and review the application process and documents required and for these to be reviewed as part of the Council’s policy audit in May.
10. Parish Boat Park To receive update on management of the area at the end of Dittisham Sailing Club Boat Park Following a meeting of the owners/leaseholders of land/foreshore adjacent to the above area, it is being proposed that DHNA should take over management of the whole area. This would include clearance of abandoned boats, ongoing annual registration of existing actively used boats by Dittisham Residents at a reduced rate, space management including continued access to Dittisham Sailing Club and appropriate insurance. DHNA will draw up a detailed proposal which, as far as parish interests are concerned, will come up for discussion/agreement at a future council meeting.
11. Potential new car park and burial ground After receiving an update that the Red Lion, Village Hall, and St George’s church have all committed resources to the project and that the Parish Council’s support of the project would be as an equal partner as others in the community it was RESOLVED that the Parish Council: i) reconfirm its willingness to enter into the Option Agreement with minor amendments to the draft, noting that the amount of land included has increased to 3 acres. ii) approve the preparation of a pre-planning application in its name iii) approve a funding contribution up to a maximum of £4,000 for legal costs of the Option Agreement and consultancy fees in the Pre-Planning Application (including the original £2000 agreed).
12. Extra Emptying Bins on the Ham It was RESOLVED to make a request to SHDC for extra emptying of the three general waste bins on The Ham during the tourist season, as has been the case in previous years. Extra emptying would take place from Wednesday 8 July to Wednesday 28 October 2026 inclusive, for 17 visits. Costs will be advised.
13. Assertion 10 Compliance
13.1 Website Accessibility Report Receive an update following completion of the Basic Compliance Accessibility Report. It was reported that Judge’s Webdesign had carried out a basic check of the compliance of dittishamparish.co.uk with the international WCAG 2.1 AA website accessibility standard. Checks were made on March 20 2026 and a report was provided to explain the checks carried out, the issues resolved directly on the website and advice on any further steps that may be required in the future. Recommendations are as follows: Ensure that website editors remember to add text descriptions to images. Guidance can be provided if editors are not sure how to do this. Create posts for articles instead of using PDFs. If using PDFs ensure that they are meaningful titles.
13.2 Policy Approval Cllrs reviewed the following policies as produced by the Clerk.
– Information Data Protection Policy It was noted that the policy includes an appendix Data Protection Impact Assessment procedure to cover any additional services. It was RESOLVED to adopt the policy.
– Privacy notices (General and Staff/role holder) It was RESOLVED to adopt the privacy notices.
– Freedom of Information Policy It was RESOLVED to adopt the policy.
– Subject Access Request Policies and Procedures and Subject Access request form It was RESOLVED to adopt the policy, procedures and SAR form
– Document Retention and Disposal policy and appendices It was RESOLVED to adopt the policy, procedures and SAR form
– Data Breach Reporting Form It was RESOLVED to adopt the form
Cllrs confirmed that, if the policies above are read in conjunction with the current ‘Information Management Requirements Policy’ the Parish Council has appropriate and secure technical and organisational measures are in place to protect personal data from breaches. It was noted that the Clerk proposed to combine the current ‘Information Management Requirement Policy’ with the ‘Communications Policy’ in May 2026.
The only outstanding aspect of Assertion 10 remains the provision of a training programme in place Training programme in place for both staff and Councillors on GDPR principles and requirements. The Clerk will research availability of courses through DALC.
14. Councillors list and responsibilities It was RESOLVED to approve the updates made at the away day, noting that Cllr Pope replaces Cllr NGreen on the Car Parking Working Group (WG); the Clerk is added to Communications WG in relation to management of the website; Cllr Golding is replaced by Cllrs Taylor and Hawkes on the Planning WG; the ‘Tree checks post severe weather’ WG is disbanded; ‘West Dart Bus WG’ be removed, but Cllr Hawkes be listed as point of liaison under ‘liaison with outside bodies’. It was agreed to include a new ‘Parish Projects’ heading, to replace ‘task and finish groups’ which would include: ‘Car Park/Burial Ground’ and ‘Neighbourhood Plan’ for which Cllr Pope would be liaison.
15. 20’s Plenty Consider means to support reduction of traffic speeds in Dittisham It was RESOLVED to purchase 100 x 20’s plenty wheelie bin stickers at a cost of £150 for use in Dittisham and Capton. It was RESOLVED to make a formal request to Devon County Highways to repaint road signs on the highway on entry to Dittisham and Capton. It was agreed that if Highways refuse, to consider purchase of a 20’s plenty banner at a cost of £40. It was agreed that there would be limited value in initiating a Community Speed Watch in Dittisham, considering the steps required to establish a Speed Watch, and the ongoing commitment required
16. Dates for Annual meetings Consider dates and format for
– The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council It was RESOLVED this be held at 7pm on 6th May 2026 immediately preceding the regular monthly meeting of the Parish Council.
– The Annual Parish Meeting It was RESOLVED this be held at 7pm on 20th May 2026. It was noted that this is a meeting of local government electors, not a meeting of the Parish Council, although the Chair will preside. It was agreed that the format include a welcome and update from the Chair, before working group/project leads give an update on key projects, for example: a summary of the Parish Council’s finances, an update on the Neighbourhood Plan, an update on the burial ground/car park.
17. Away Day Update on the away day, not otherwise covered on the agenda It was noted that there had been discussion about the length of meetings and agreement that meetings should aim to finish at 9pm. It was suggested that perhaps the District and County Councillors attend every other month, and alternate.
18. Correspondence and Contacts to note or consider
To note
– Temporary Traffic Notice THE LEVEL, Dittisham TTRO2668670 Cllrs are informed of the road closure on The Level from Middle Meadow to Pump Cottage on June 3 and 4 2026 to enable an Openreach pole replacement. Cllr Neale to follow up, to confirm access will be available to residents.
– Oil Heating Payments Cllrs are informed that Central Government has allocated money to the County Council to distribute to low-income households affected by increased oil heating costs through a new ‘Crisis and Resilience Fund’ (CaRF). The District Council is in the process of proactively establishing those eligible through census and EPC data and cross referring this with benefits data. The team is working at pace to get the funding distributed as quickly as possible.
– Minutes of the Dart Harbour Communities Group Cllrs were informed that minutes have been circulated to Parish Clerks. The results of the Environment Agency’s water testing for summer 2025 was included with minutes, showing poor water quality at Totnes Steamer Quay & Stoke Gabriel and bathing not advised, and ‘excellent’ water quality at Dittisham, Warfleet Creek & Castle Cove. Based on these results, Dart Harbour strongly recommends that you do not swim in the upper reaches of the Dart Estuary, north of Higher Gurrow Point / Sandridge Boathouse. The Harbour Master’s (HM)’s report included news that: the Dart 10K will be taking place this year with competitors swimming up river as this will allow organisers to manage issues around water quality; a project called 1 River, 8 Destinations is underway to encourage visiting yachts to explore the river, spending more time in the Dart, thus spreading the commercial benefits to the communities living alongside; the HM is working to find a provider of a ferry taxi service to operate between the riparian towns and parishes. The Group was also informed that litigation lawyers are investigating litigation against water companies following a change in UK law that could make water companies liable under the law of “nuisance”.
To consider:
– ‘Slippery lane’ A member of the public has written to the Parish Council to comment that the that the path/ lane which leads down to Ditsum creek off lower street, has become treacherously slippy, especially nearer the bottom of lane, where the algae is particularly slippy and green. There is still quite a bit of water running down, but hopeful that something can be done. It was RESOLVED to report it to Devon County Council ACTION: Cllr Neale. Consider putting up signs to warn walkers ACTION: Cllr Bond to research purchase of signage, and to obtain permission to install them. It was RESOLVED to include regular sweeping of the lane in the Lengthsman contract.
– Progress on campaign to buy community energy locally Having been a supporter of the nationwide campaign for legislation to enable people to buy power from local community-run energy schemes, the Parish Council has been provided with the update that 114 MPs have signed have signed the Parliamentary motion in support of the campaign – Early Day Motion 2151 ‘Buying community energy locally’, which can be seen here: https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/64572. The Parish Council was not inclined to forward the briefing to the local MP.
– First Aid The Parish Council has been asked if it will be running another First Aid Course soon. It was confirmed that this will be held in the Autumn, primarily for Capton residents.
– Snow warden scheme Cllrs were informed that Devon County Council’s (DCC’s) Network Response & Winter Service Engineer has responded to draft proposals for a joint snow warden scheme. It has been suggested that the group of Parish Councils reconvenes to discuss the response, which is broadly supportive of shared voluntary efforts and makes proposals on next steps, but notes that the paid contractor element of the proposal could not form part of the voluntary Snow Warden Scheme and the Parish Councils would need to ensure any paid contractors would have appropriate insurance in place. Quantity of salt required for mechanical spreading may also be in excess of the free quantities available to parishes for hand spreading. It was noted that the C.Cllr is following this up with Officers.
– Community Asset Transfer Update Cllrs were informed that South Hams District Council has circulated its policy for the transfer of community assets and instructions on how to use a map to identify assets which the Parish Council may wish to apply to take ownership of, within the context of Local Government Reorganisation. The Parish Council did not identify any assets for transfer.
– Meet to discuss BlackBerry Cottage works Cllrs have been asked for a meeting to discuss works at Blackberry Cottage and access by workmen and equipment via Manor Street The Lane entrance. ACTION: Cllr Bond to follow up replacement of the sign with Highways. It was noted that emails have been exchanged with the owner commenting that whilst there had been an error in communication regarding access arrangements with a recent sub-contractor, the main contractor is clear that the principal access of their employees, equipment and all sub-contractors is via the Ham car park/beach as per the approved Construction& Environmental Management Plan.
19. Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Wednesday May 6 2026 at 7:00 pm.