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Minutes of the Annual Parish meeting of Spreyton Parish Council held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 29th March 2006 at 7.30 pm Present: Mr W Porritt (Chairman), Mrs E Collins (Vice Chair), Mr C Lott, Mrs Z Smith, Mr R Brook and Mr C Wootton (Clerk). Also Cllr P Ridgers (WDBC). Members of the public: 2. 1 Apolgies: Mr R Henderson. Absent: Mr E Osborn-Hodge. 2 The Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 2nd March 2005 were read in abridged form. They were agreed and signed with no matters arising. 3 Chairman’s Report At the May meeting we discussed an emergency plan for the village using a DCC model plan as a guide. A draft plan was completed at the July meeting but has yet to be finalised. Dog fouling continued to cause problems and an article giving notes and advice was put in the Parish Magazine. It had been hoped to put this article in the Spreyton Flyer but that august organ had ceased publication, however I am pleased to hear that it may rise from the ashes this year. Drainage was also a continuing problem and in July SWW confirmed there is something wrong with the sewer system and agreed to put us on a six monthly cleaning programme. After further incidents the problem has now been identified as a collapsed pipe which SWW will be attending to. In September we had the results of our entry to the Best Kept Village competition and once again we had moved up the charts scoring 88 out of 100 with no adverse criticism. November’s meeting had 8 members of the public present when we discussed our response to the planning application for the wind farm. We confirmed our resolve to submit a formal objection in writing. This was prepared and deposited with WDBC. The wind farm was refused consent in January and to date no appeal has been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. Speeding through the village was discussed more than once during the year and an opinion emerged that the type of warning sign that operated only when the limit was being broken should be installed. However these are costly. Although not strictly a PC matter I think it worth noting that due to community efforts the new tennis court was built and officially opened in September. Also the curtains for the Village Hall stage were found and cleaned. They now need hanging but this is proving difficult due to cost. I am pleased to hear that the web site continues to be used widely. 4 Parish Council Financial Report The Clerk gave a brief financial statement. Anticipated reserves as at 31.03.06 £2831. Budgeted expenditure for 2006/07 was £1374 and the Council had resolved to keep the precept at £1300 with any shortfall met from reserves. Much of the surplus resulted from a change of insurer which saved over £100 but with enhanced cover. 5 Cllr P Ridgers West Devon Borough Council In terms od cost pressures the Council has been faced with inflationary increases from its own services as well as extra government demands such as the new electoral administration legislation, the Freedom of Information Act and the new Licensing Act which hasleft the Council with a£95,000 bill. The free bus travel arrangements are expected to Cost the council in excess of £350,000. To finance this, savings in expenditure have been made. This year we have listened to residents and are not increasing car park charges across the board, instead we are working with residents to tailor charges to local needs. This consultation will be long term. The Council has also continued to cut the discount on second homeowner’s Council Tax for the next financial year. This means that second homeowners will continue to pay 90% Council Tax instead of 50%. The extra money will be used towards providing affordable housing. There will be an increase in the West Devon element of the Council Tax of 4.9%, that is £7.75 a year on the average property.#But there are some new initiatives this year. Free bus travel across Devon for the disabled and residents over 60 from 1st April. It is available in the county and to some towns outside the county. Info is available on 01271 383688 Existing yellow pass holders will be sent a new pass automatically. Application forms are available from the Council and libraries. Also, WDBC will be extending the plastic milk bottle collection to accept all plastic bottles – West Devon is one of the top 5 authorities for recycling in the south west, this year the rate will hit 33%. A new customer service centre is being opened in Okehampton. The wind farm proposals have received a major setback when WDBC voted against them. No appeal has been lodged, RES have until August to do so. 6 Mr A Noon – West Devon Borough Council Planning Officer Mr Noon gave a talk on how planning works and the role of Parish Councils in the process and made suggestions as to how PCs should respond when planning applications are sent to them for comment. 7 Any other business: None. 8 Closing comments and vote of thanks to the speakers by the Vice Chair Cllr S E Collins Cllr Collins thanked the speakers for attending the meeting. The meeting closed at 8.30 pm.
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