YARCOMBE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES
Held in The Jubilee Hall, Yarcombe, Monday 2nd September 2019 at 8.00 pm
In Attendance:
Cllrs C Stone (Chair), S Horner, T Long, D Little, C Ford, S-J Martin (Clerk & RFO)
Members of the Public present – 4
Cllr Stone welcomed everyone to the meeting gave apologies as per the below:
1. Apologies for Absence:
• Cllr L Pidgeon, Cllr C Vining, Cllr S Vining, Cllr D Key, Miranda Gudenian, Luke and Annie Davis-Keogh,
2. Declarations of Interest
• Retrospective Declaration of Interest from Clive Stone following further information established after the last meeting which became relevant.
3. Minutes.
• The Councillors were asked if they were happy that the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 8th July, received by email were a true and accurate record. These were accepted and shall be signed at the next meeting.
4. Parish Council Priorities
• No priorities were scheduled to discuss at this meeting, but Cllr Stone had a couple of reports being that the Yarcombe Inn is now open and the new post box has been re-instated.
• There have been some noticeable drainage improvements carried out.
5. Open Session for Public Participation
• Sandra Newton from Marsh has located a place to put a defibrillator in Marsh which is the Flintlock have very kindly offered to have the device on the side of their building and pay for the on-going electricity and insurance.
Various organisations have been in contact with, to get an idea of costs of purchase and on-going maintenance and Sandra has asked the Parish Council for some financial support for the project.
Iain Chub was asked if this could possibly qualify for some of the locality budget and he very generously said up to £1,000.
David Barnes mentioned it was a good idea to put it on the Flintlock wall as it will be very visible.
Cllr Horner commented there is one at Bishopswood but as this is over 200 meters (outside the activation zone) and a drive down narrow winding lanes it would not be feasible to get one from there and additionally he asked that the Parish Council needs a fully costed proposal.
Cllr Stone thanked Sandra for her work on this project and re-iterated the need for some costings.
• Sandra Newton also mentioned a small plot of land in Marsh which has become a dumping ground but also where animals are kept. Cllr Horner responded that if he is fly tipping, this is an environmental issue and concerning the animals, this is an animal welfare issue and again, not an issue for the Parish Council.
• Mervyn Edgecombe asked if Cllr Stone would like him to talk about his planning issue now or in the planning section and Cllr Stone asked that it could be now but as he has declared an Interest in the property he will temporarily move away from the Chairmanship and let the Vice Chair, Cllr Horner take over. Mervyn’s comments as follows:
o Following the discussion of the feed plant and Certificate of Lawfulness at the last meeting, he wasn’t happy and took matters into his own hands.
o Mervyn and Clifford Sochon went to the Membury PC meeting, being the responsible PC over Duffield’s as he sees the planning for Duffield’s in a dead-zone, not Yarcombe PC remit to look at the planning but within our area and for Membury it is out of sight and out of mind plus he thinks there has been an oversight by EDDC.
o Membury PC was alarmed by what Clifford had to say about the animal feeds 24/7 site and the size of the site admitted they had not paid enough attention.
o This is no longer a small farmer, this is a major industrial business and although he same business, has massively up scaled.
o EDDC had asked Membury for comments on the Certificate of Lawfulness but were not asked to look into the matter, only comment. There were numerous objections, but it still got passed
o Cllr Paul Haywood has been excellent and has said he will be very diligent about any future applications and thinks there will be no further development at the site. He has written to Yarcombe Parish Council which has been circulated, suggesting the 2 Parish Councils combine forces on any future applications. He also wishes to be copied into any future developments and hopes there will be more liaison between Yarcombe and Membury PC’s
o The AONB Manager responded to an email that they had never been contacted about the planning application and Cllr Long responded that Conservation had been.
o Additionally, he is aware the Fire Authority hadn’t been contacted and he contacted the Yeovil Fire Authority with a view to them undertaking a fire inspection, but this will just be a familiarisation visit from Chard to look at low level fire concerns and Mervyn wants them to take a stronger stance. Cllr Brown later responded to this comment that as the Fire Authority is not a statutory body and it is only statutory bodies which are contacted for planning matters.
o Cllr Horner thanked Mervyn for his excellent job in brining everyone together and that he has helped stop any further development and added that thanks to, to our Yarcombe Planning Officer who has also done an excellent job.
o Clifford Sochon added to the above that Duffields moved here in 2015 and that they are a national company. Last year they brought in 48,000 tonnes in 30 tonne trucks making 1600 trucks a year / 33 trucks a week plus a lot goes out in much smaller vehicles. He stated that “all I ask, is that there is no more expansion since Duffields took over” and added that there could be an explosion risk.
Cllr Ford mentioned once having been turned away from purchasing grain as their business was now deemed too small.
For clarification, Cllr Horner asked about Duffields helping the Crediton Mill following a serious fire and it was confirmed they are separate businesses.
Cllr Barnes stated Yarcombe Parish Council knew nothing about the 4- storey application and when we did see the application, it looked like Membury PC had just rubber stamped it.
o Cllr Little added to Mervyns comments about the fire authority that Chard is a retained station and the expertise is in Yeovil. Additionally, he mentioned that the HSE would be interested in knowing about any explosion risk and would inspect to look at their risk assessments. He also mentioned the ruts and potholes where the road is getting churned up.
o Cllr Horner mentioned that there have been no comments made to the Management / Board at the company and asked if it would be an idea for Yarcombe Parish Council to express our concerns?
o Cllr Barnes asked why it has increased in size her and refers to the site at Yeovil which is on an industrial site and commented that possibly the locals have objected to it being there and don’t want any increase in size
o Cllr Brown commented that no-one brought the site to the attention of the planners in the 10 years prior and it is now difficult to comment at the last minute and after planning has been approved. Clifford responded that it wasn’t a last-minute thing as it gradually changed without anyone noticing until it changed in height.
6. Finance
• The Councillors received the Clerks report on the current Financial Position.
• The payments within the schedule in the Clerks Report were approved for payment.
7. Reports
To receive the following Reports
a. County Councillor, Iain
Iain advised at this time of year a lot of staff have been on holiday. Devon CC have put £250k aside for the Climate Change project and they are talking to various organisations. There is a lot of funding being provided for care packages to RD&E, Iain to email a footnote which will be circulated.
Concerning potholes, Iain has tried to catch up with the Parish Council over the Summer and plans on meeting up with Cllr Barnes shortly. The 7-mile straight was to be done but it has been put on hold due to funding.
Cllr Long raised an issue of seeing car transported off loading vehicles on the A30 and Iain advised this would be an issue for Highways. Email to be sent to the Clerk to forward on.
Cllr Stone asked if there was anything Iain could do to help with the non-response from Streetscene as we wanted to know what they can do for us in Yarcombe. Iain asked if we had any dog bins, waste bins or play parks which we don’t so possibly the only thing they would do for us is litter picking.
b. District Councillors – Cllr David Key and Cllr Colin Brown
Cllr Brown reported that with holidays in August there hasn’t been much happening, but he has a meeting coming up with the Blackdown Hills and will being up the issue of Duffields.
Cllr Stone asked Cllrs Chubb and Brown if it would be better for them for the Agenda to change enabling their reports to be earlier. This was agreed so they can also get to other meetings and shall be changed for the October meeting.
c. Police
• A report was received showing crime in the area has reduced since last year. Additionally, Honiton is back to being fully staffed and there is a new member of staff.
d. Yarcombe Community Land Trust
• Cllr Horner reported progress has been made in August and they have been permitted to clear the land. An Ecologist has been on-site, climbed trees and confirmed there are no bats within them. 9 samples of boreholes have been taken and the clay is good for foundations. The only issue now is that some space may need to be set-aside for some dormice.
e. Reports from Individual Councillors
• Cllr Stone received an email from Sandra Newton concerning the placing of the Agenda and Minutes in the Noticeboard. We shall add Sandra to the distribution list for both documents.
• Clive also mentioned that there had been some consideration to move the Parish Council meetings to Tuesdays so we can support the Yarcombe Inn but the pub has now changed its closing day to Tuesdays (as many pubs round here close on a Monday) and we therefore shall keep the Parish Council meetings to a Monday.
• Cllr Ford read out a note from Cllr S Vining concerning the Parish paths:
“I have been out to 1 enquiry that said the path was overgrown only to find it had been cut and was clear – I emailed the person to let them know. I have also repaired and fixed up the style and gate and re fenced the entrance to the path that goes between my house and the cottage next door. I have been in touch with East Devon and will be meeting with the lady shortly. I have asked Caroline to update the e mail addresses of all the walker’s, but I am not sure if this has yet been done”
8. Clerk and Correspondence – Discussion / Decisions and Actions required:
• St Johns Ambulance First Aid training – Unfortunately they don’t have anyone in our area to undertake the training as before so we shall diarise to next year to possibly re-consider.
• Village Post Box – re-instated 30.08.19.
9. Planning
To receive and endorse the Planning Decisions of the Council taken since last meeting under delegated authority.
• Cllr Long reported on the current planning applications.
With no more comments or questions from the Councillors, Cllr Stone called the meeting to a close at 9.15pm.
To confirm the date of the next meeting being Monday 7th October at 8pm at the Village Hall, Yarcombe