Doddiscombsleigh Parish Council

Minutes of the Annual Council Meeting held on Tuesday 21 May 2024 at 7.30 pm at Woodah Farm

 

 

Present: Cllr W Hole (Chairman), Cllr M Moorhouse (from agenda item 5), Cllr J Sawyer, Cllr R Crocker (until item 17.1) and District Cllr A Swain (at item 5)

Clerk: A Miller

 

Annual Council Business

1         Election of Chairman

Resolved The Council unanimously re-elected Cllr Hole as chairman.

2         Declaration of Acceptance of Office

Cllr Hole signed the Acceptance of Office form.

3         Apologies for Absence

Cllr Salter sent her apologies. The Council accepted the apology.

District Cllr Purser also sent his apologies.

4         Declarations of Interest / Requests for Dispensations

None.

 

Cllr Moorhouse joined the meeting.

Two members of the public arrived. The Chairman ordered a technical break at the Annual Council Meeting at 7.44 pm for the duration of the Annual Parish Meeting.

The Annual Council meeting resumed at 7.54 pm.

5         County and District Councillors’ Report

District Cllr Swain gave his report about the changes at the Planning Department.

6         Councillor Vacancy and Co-option

No applications were received.

7         To Appoint Councillors to Dedicated Responsibilities

The Parish Council agreed to the following responsibility areas.

• Cllr Hole: Telephone box, finance, chairman, planning, Triangle Working Group
• Cllr Crocker: P3, other footpaths
• Cllr Moorhouse: hedgehog project, Triangle Working Group
• Cllr Sawyer: drains warden, highways, planning, Triangle Working Group
• Cllr Salter: Triangle Working Group, contact with the School.

Cllr Moorhouse indicated that he cannot continue as Snow Warden. The position will be advertised in the Magazine.

8         To Review of Governance Documents

• Standing Orders, Code of Conduct – Resolved: readopted without amendment
• Statement of Internal Control – Resolved: readopted with amendments
• Financial Regulations – Resolved: the new model Financial Regulations were adopted.

9         To Review the Council’s Policies and Procedures

• Website Advertising Policy – Resolved: it was agreed not to have Website Advertising Policy, as advertising is not allowed on the new gov.uk domain.
• Complaints Procedure – Resolved: readopted with amendments
• Publication Scheme under the Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Notices, and Website Accessibility Statement – Resolved: readopted without amendment
• Scheme of Delegations – It will be presented at the next meeting.

10     To Review the Memorandum of Understanding with Doddiscombsleigh Primary School Governing Body

The Council agreed to return to the topic at a later meeting.

11     To Review the Subscriptions to Other Bodies

Resolved The Parish Council unanimously agreed to continue the existing subscriptions to the Devon Association of Local Councils (DALC), the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC), the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Teign Unity Magazine.

12     To Decide about the Time and Place of Next Meetings until the Next Annual Meeting

Resolved The Council unanimously agreed to plan holding meetings on Tuesdays at Woodah Farm on the following dates:

 

9 Jul 2024

10 Sep 2024

8 Oct 2024

12 Nov 2024

14 Jan 2025

11 Feb 2025

11 Mar 2025

20 May 2025 annual meeting

 

13     To Approve the Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2023/24

13.1   Internal Auditor’s Report

The Clerk reported that the internal auditor had carried out the audit and signed the Annual Internal Audit Report for 2023/24 without comments. The Parish Council noted the result of the internal audit.

13.2   Approval of Governance Statement

Resolved The Annual Governance Statement was unanimously agreed.

13.3   Approval of Statement of Accounts

Resolved The Annual Statement of Accounts was unanimously agreed.

13.4   Decision about Certifying the Parish Council as Exempt from External Audit

Resolved The Parish Council unanimously agreed to certify the Council as exempt from external audit in 2023/24.

13.5   Agree Dates for Exercise of Public Rights

Resolved The Council unanimously agreed that the public will have a right to inspect the Annual Statements and the related documents between 10 June and 19 July 2024.

 

Monthly Council Business

Open Forum

None.

14     Ratification of Minutes of Previous Meeting

Resolved The Minutes of the Ordinary Council meeting of 16 April 2024 was unanimously accepted as a true record.

15     Planning Matters

15.1   To Note Planning Decisions and to Receive Planning Updates

24/00361/FUL Mistleigh Copse Woodland Store – Retention of existing cabin to provide rest facilities in association with the agricultural use of the land – permission granted

24/00586/AGR Mistleigh Copse – Forestry building – full planning application required

Consultation response sent by the Clerk between meetings:

24/00615/HOU Underoak – Replace existing conservatory and lobby with sun room and lobby – no objection

15.2   To Discuss Other Planning Related Issues

None.

16     Finance

16.1   To Receive a Finance Report

The bank balance on 10 May 2024 was £16,635.48. After deducting the amount of earmarked funds and grants, the general reserve was £5,492.15.

Since the last meeting the precept of £4,112.00 and Community Infrastructure Levy of £507.06 have been credited to the bank account.

16.2   To Review the Banking Arrangements

Currently three councillors can approve online payments.

Resolved The Parish Council agreed to open an instant access savings account with Unity Trust Bank.

16.3   Approval of Expenditure

Venue hire 21 May 2024 £10.00

Card monthly fee April 2024 £3.00

Drain clearing £75.00

Antivirus program £14.99

Printer ink and paper £51.19

Microsoft 365 annual subscription £59.99

Information Commissioner fee £35.00

Insurance £354.55

Norton Utility software £25.07

Resolved The Council unanimously approved the expenditures.

Cllr Crocker left the meeting.

17     To Receive Reports and Updates

17.1   To Receive a Lengthsman Update

The lengthsman has carried out three hours of drain clearing in April.

Raised footpath repair has been ordered from the lengthsman.

Devon County Council agreed to fund the Chapter 8 training for the lengthsman.

The Chairman also agreed to attend a Chapter 8 training, funded by Devon County Council.

17.2   To Receive a Highways Update

The Chairman agreed to attend a Zoom webinar about the work of Devon Highways.

The Parish Council agreed to invite the Neighbourhood Highways Officer for the next meeting.

17.3   To Receive an Update about the Triangle

None.

17.4   To Receive an Update about the Notice Board

The Parish Council agreed to try and fix the board with the help of volunteers.

17.5   To Receive an Update about the Bus Shelter

The repair of the floor has been ordered.

17.6   To Receive a Parish Path Partnership and Footpath Update

Footpath repair has been discussed at item 17.1.

18     To Discuss Support for the Village Fete

Resolved The Parish Council agreed to provide insurance for the Village Fete on 22 June 2024.

19     To Discuss a Possible Response to the Statutory Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places Consultation

No comments were made.

20     Clerk’s Correspondence

20.1   Office Laptop

The Clerk reported that the office laptop was not working for a couple of days. Later it started to work again, but there are questions about how reliable the equipment is. The warranty expired just before the problem occurred. It would be useful to have the laptop checked by an IT professional.

The Parish Council currently does not have a Business Continuity Plan, which would be useful for similar situations.

From business continuity and data protection point of view it would be better to have an office mobile phone instead of the Clerk’s personal phone.

20.2   Reporting Floods

The Parish Council was informed that flooded properties can be reported withing 48 hours on the Devon County Council’s website to receive financial support. Information about this possibility will be in the Magazine and on the website.

21     Chairman’s Remarks

The Chairman thanked everybody for their participation.

 

The Chairman closed the meeting at 10.12 pm.

 

 

 

 

Signed…………………………………………………………

Chair

 

Date