Westleigh Parish Council Meeting Minutes
Wednesday 19th July, 7pm, at the Village Hall
Attendees – Cllrs David Fairbrother (Chair), Colin Frajbis, Lyn Gear and Lesley Burgess. Also in attendance, Parish Clerk Roger Levick, plus 11 members of the public
Apologies Cllr Heard, NDDCllr Renshaw, and DCCllr Biederman
1. Min 30 23/24 – Opening of the meeting at 7pm – all welcomed by the Chair!
2. Min 31 23/24 – Declarations of Interest – none declared
3. Min 32 23/24 – Confirmation of the Minutes from the 23rd May -
4. Min 33 23/24 – Matters arising – 1) Cancellation of the fete, postponed to 2024, when it will be hoped to hold a joint Westleigh/Instow/Yelland, and Tapeley event
5. Min 34 23/24 – Correspondence – 1) North Devon Link Road update. Parish Clerk has details for anyone interested 2) Email from Nicky Bennington apologising for not being able to attend, but asking that the PC fully support the Village in their opposition to the development plan 3) A letter from Westleigh Cricket Club asking for funds to help complete the proposed improvements to the ground and pavilion – they need £25k. After a brief discussion, it was decided to donate £250 towards their fund raising.
6. Min 35 23/24 – Public session – the Chairman introduced the session by welcoming the attending Parishioners, and reiterating that as there had been no actual submission of a planning application, that any answers from the PC were only opinions, and not fact, as details were not known. The Clerk said that he had spoken to Andrew Woollacott of Christies, who thought that planning submission would not be until late August, and may even ‘creep’ into September. The Chairman assured the meeting that once anything was known, that an extraordinary meeting of the Parish Council would be called, to which the Village would be invited. Bearing that in mind, the questions from the public were of necessity ‘general’, as there was no absolute knowledge to answer specifics. Brian Lees reiterated the need to prepare questions/objections in plenty of time before the application is submitted – it will be no good just doing anything last minute. He will publicise generic advice on ‘objecting’ as soon as possible so that individuals have a template to work to! The meeting thanked Brian for his input.
7. Min 36 23/24 – County & Ward reports – Cllr Renshaw apologised for her absence owing to NDC business. She has followed up on the request that asked for the Green Bin collection lorry to reverse down the road to the ‘dip’ opposite the defibrillator, to collect green waste, so saving the elderly and infirm parishioners having to drag their heavy bins up to the junction with Rock Cottage. NDC are looking into the possibility of using a smaller lorry. We await an answer! DCCllr Biederman responded regarding the proposed development by the Village Hall, explaining that as a potential member of the planning committee, he cannot be seen to have pre-
8. Min 37 23/24 – Finance. Retrospective agreement to the payments of Internal Audit, and Clerk’s quarterly salary needed to be documented, and a payment of £100 to J Harris for maintenance. The Clerk went through some issues identified by the internal auditor for the AGAR submission, those being an overpayment by NDC to the Clerk of £63.95 over the past 15 months, acknowledged as a mistake by NDC which will be rectified in the next salary pay run, and some remedial and missing information on the website which needed updating. The Clerk admitted that the website had not been given the attention it needed, and asked for a proposition that in line with other Councils, that a fixed fee of say £20 per month should be paid to the ‘Maintainer’ of the website (Cllr Frajbis), with a list of monthly, annual, and seasonal ‘must do’s’. Cllr Gear volunteered to help with the checking of information and content. The proposal was made by Cllr Fairbrother, seconded by Cllr Gear, and carried unanimously. Balance in account after all expenditure is £4130.80p. A proposal from the Finance Committee that the Clerk’s hours should be increased from 4 to 5 per week, will be raised at the next PC meeting, as it was felt that the workload warranted the increase to ensure that unpaid overtime did not continue.
9. Min 38 23/24 – Environmental update on the Investment in Nature Grant. Many items had now been ordered as a start on the project, and Cllr Burgess informed the meeting that she was still looking for sites for many of the items. There were offers of help from the meeting, and it will be raised in the Parish Magazine again.
10. Min 39 23/24 – TTEF update – Cllr Frajbis had been on holiday and missed the last meeting. He will update the Council in September
11. Min 40 23/24 – Planning update. Application 76295 has now passed its’ final date, and as previously documented, all await the submission of planning for the proposed new development.
12. Min 42 23/24 – AOB not on the agenda. Cllr Burgess raised the issue of the incomplete ‘Westleigh Conservation Area Management Plan’, and felt there was a need to question why it was still in draft form, and why it had not been completed. Her proposed email is attached as Appendix 1, and the Chair committed to forwarding it on to the relevant Officers of NDC. Cllr Burgess was thanked by the Chair for her work on this important aspect.
13. Min 43 23/24 – Next meeting, Wednesday 6th September, 7pm at the Village Hall. However, if a planning application for the development is submitted prior to the 6th, then it may be necessary to bring forward that meeting!
14. Min 44 23/24 – Meeting closed at 20.00hrs
Appendix 1
Dear Roger Bagley and Collette Hall,
I am writing on behalf of Westleigh Parish Council.
We note the Westleigh Conservation Management Plan is still in draft and Section 8 not completed.
WPC use the Westleigh Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan as essential planning resources, when considering planning applications; Stoney Barton and most recently, Lester House, called in by Selaine Saxby/ Frank Biederman. The Conservation Management Plan details all the special features of the conservation area which we work to safeguard.
I have checked through your list of Village Conservation Areas and see in most cases the Conservation Management Plan, Section 8 has been completed, including Fremington, Swimbridge and Woolacombe. However, in some villages, Witheridge and Knowstone, Section 8 has been completed, but the management plan is still in draft and Westleigh Section 8 has not been completed and is in draft.
I would be very grateful if you could give us some indication of the present situation by answering the following questions :-
What action must be taken to complete Westleigh Conservation Management Plan, Section 8. Action Plan?
What is the timescale to finalise the Action Plan and take it out of draft form?
Do you require a site visit or could it be finalised on line?
Is the Westleigh Character Assessment valid, without the management plan complete and in draft form?
Are the safeguards in place as it stands?
Would it stand up to legal action if challenged?
with kind regards,
Lesley Burgess
Councillor
Westleigh Parish Council
