KINGSWEAR PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes for 22nd July July follow those of the 14th July below

Minutes of the Meeting of Kingswear Parish Council

Held in the Trust Room on Tuesday 14^th July 2015

Present:           Cllr. J. Hawkins (Chairman), Cllr. R. Adams, Cllr. R. Coe,  Cllr. E. Essex, Cllr. J. Henshall, Cllr. H. Newcombe, Cllr. E. Parkes and  Cllr. L. Payne,  

Also in attendance were 6 members of the public, Mrs Emma Illingworth (Clerk) and PC. R. Hewett.

(Cllrs Coe and Essex signed their declaration forms before the meeting commenced)

C/078/15. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE (1)

Apologies were received from Cllrs R Searle and M Trevorrow. Also District Councillor Bastone.

C/079/15.  DECLARATION OF INTEREST (2)

Reference C/086/15. Cllr Payne said she had been advised by the Monitoring Officer that she might have an interest of perceived bias due to the proximity of her house to Jubilee Park and that the advice was to leave the room. Cllr L Payne, was referring to item 9, Playground Jubilee Park. She left the room for the discussion and did not take part in any voting/agreement for this item.

C/80/15.  EXEMPT INFORMATION (3)

It was RESOLVED that in accordance with Section 100(A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business as the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 of Part 1 of Schedule12A to the Act is involved.

This relates to:

i.               Lighthouse Beach. Update on latest correspondence distributed.

C/081/15. MINUTES (4)

The minutes of the Council meeting held on 29^th June, being just two weeks ago were not available, due to workload, so will be signed at the meeting on the 14^th July.

C/082/15.  ITEMS REQUIRING URGENT ATTENTION (5)

The following items were agreed by the Chairman:

1.             Provision of an outside tap at Cemetery Lodge. Agreement was given to providing and the Clerk requested to obtain a costing.

C/083/15.  POLICE REPORT (6)

PC Hewett presented a report, just one incident of theft.

C/084/15. PRESENTATION OF KINGSWEAR AWARD (7)

It gives the parish council great pleasure to present the award to PC Roger Hewett. PC Hewett was thanked by the Chairman for his dedication to the community. He will be retiring later this year. It is not yet known who will replace him. The Chairman thanked him for his tremendous support and reminded how lucky the community are to have PC Hewett.

Councillors were reminded that they will need to organise police/county support for traffic management at Remembrance Service.

C/085/15.  QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC (8)

None.

C/086/15. PLAYGROUND JUBILEE PARK (9)

There was a lengthy discussion concerning the playground, with views expressed for and against the facility. The following was agreed:

·                Mr Martin Rich will be attending the meeting on the 22^nd July. A list of questions will be prepared for him. It was Proposed that a group submit questions to him. This was Seconded and Resolved. It was agreed that the group will consist of the following people: Cllrs Henshall, Essex and Newcombe (Chair), Mrs Melinda Smallwood (Playground Committee), Mr Paul Folca (Waterhead Creek Preservation Society).Mrs Emma Jones will be asked if she would also attend. Mrs Smallwood and Cllr Newcombe will organise this.

·                If a consultation goes ahead, it was Proposed that a working party will need to be set up to produce a leaflet. This was Seconded and Resolved. Members of the group will be Cllrs Elizabeth Essex, Jan Henshall, Hector Newcombe, Mr Paul Folca, and Mrs Melinda Smallwood. Mrs Emma Jones and Cllr Ruth Searle will be asked if they will also join the group. It was commented that any paper would need to be based on the Electoral Roll and be numbered.

·                It was confirmed by the Clerk that as agreed at the last meeting, she was making enquiries of suitable legal adviser to clarify the parish council’s legal position.

·                So far the numbers of comments received by the Clerk have been 90 in favour of the playground and 19 against.

·                Development Management need to be consulted regarding a Certificate of Lawful Development.

C/087/15. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES (10)

Matters included in the main minutes.

C/088/15. BUDGET (11)

Latest budgets and balances were distributed to members. The new bank mandate was presented to members, to remove previous signatories and add new ones as agreed.

It was Proposed that the authorised signatories in the current mandate, for the accounts detailed in section 2, be changed in accordance with sections 5 and 6 and the current mandate will continue as amended. This was Seconded and Resolved.

C/089/15. WORKING GROUP FOR EMPLOYMENT OF NEW CLERK (12)

A working group was set up of members for the employment of the new Clerk. It was agreed that this would consist of, Cllr Jan Henshall, Cllr Lucy Payne, Cllr Hector Newcombe and Cllr Rob Adams. The following was suggested:

·                Contact the Devon Association of Local Councils for advice.

·                The hours should be 20 per week. The Clerk will send salary details.

It was Proposed that this group should have delegated powers to appoint the Clerk. Plus a budget of £400 for advertising the position. This was Seconded and Resolved.

The Clerk advised that the group however may wish to call an Exordinary meeting to confirm the appointment.

C/090/15. DARTMOUTH AND KINGSWEAR HOSPITAL (13)

Cllr Henshall updated members on the possibility there may be a proposal to close the Dartmouth and Kingswear Cottage Hospital to move to another location, possibly in Townstall. Cllr Henshall has expressed concern that there has been no consultation with Kingswear. There will however be a public consultation in September. (This has been delayed due to the general Election).

            It was agreed to place on the agenda in September.

C/091/15. NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN (14)

Cllr Payne asked members to consider this. Members felt that it is important to produce a Neighbourhood Plan. The parish council had not been able to resource this work to date. It was Agreed to set up a working group consisting of Cllrs Lucy Payne, Jan Henshall, Elizabeth Essex and Eileen Parkes. The Clerk and Chairman referred the group to relevant publications and personnel to assist.

C/092/15. MEETINGS (15)

The full council meeting is the second Tuesday in the month. It was Proposed that if a change of meeting date is necessary, a consultation is made of members at the meeting prior. Absent councillors will be advised. This was Seconded and Resolved. Standing Orders will be changed to include this amendment.

C/093/15. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT (16)

·                Due to a prior engagement the Chairman will regrettably not be able to attend Kingswear Regatta on Sunday 26^th July; Cllr Mike Trevorrow will represent Cllr Hawkins.

CLERK’S REPORT

Nothing further to report.

C/094/15. CORRESPONDENCE (17)

·                DALC latest newsletter.

·                Communication regarding cemetery maintenance.  Concern expressed over condition of the cemetery. This has been addressed with the contractor by the Clerk.

·                Devon County Council – Emergency Management for hot weather – Members advised, to be put on notice boards.

·                Lighthouse Beach - Advice on change of solicitor moving to new practise which was accepted by members.

C/095/15. DISTRICT AND COUNTY COUNCILLORS REPORTS (18)

·                Buses: First have been taken over by Stagecoach from September.

·                The District will need to be consulted concerning the lower ferry as it is withdrawing its subsidy for the evening service from April.

·                The T18 (Transformation 18) locality officer Di Anthill is keen to come to  the parish council to meet the community. Phase 1b of the T18 Programme has gone live on 1^st June 2015.

·                The District Council have given £400k for Dartmouth Indoor Pool. There are also substantial donations with the hope for more. Working parties are also required for volunteer jobs i.e. painting. The depth has been increased  and will be an infinity pool.

Report from District Councillor Bastone:

-                 Following the recent elections, the political compositions of the Council is now 25 Conservative Group Members and 6 Opposition Group Members.

-                 At the meeting of the Annual Council on 21^st May 2015, Cllr John Tucker was pointed as Leader of Council for the next four years. Cllr Tucker’sfirst decision was to appoint Cllr Lindsey Ward as the Deputy Leader for the Council. In addition, Cllr Ian Bramble was appointed as the Chairman of the council for 2015/2016, with Cllr Peter Smerdon as his Vice-Chairman.

-                 At its next meeting on 1^st July 2015, the Development Management Committee will determine whether or not the twelve month pilot whereby local town and parish council representatives have been able to utilise the Council’s Public Participation Scheme should now became permanent working practice.

C/096/ 15. REQUESTS OF THE CLERK AND ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDAS (19)

·         Dartmouth and Kingswear Hospital Consultation.

·         September agenda – resident’s parking

C/097/15.  PAYMENTS FOR THE MONTH JUNE TO JULY 2015 (21)

The total list of presented payments was AGREED.

C/098/15. URGENT/EXEMPT ITEMS (22)

Please see item C/082/15

Meeting finished at 10 pm

Signed.............................................................            Date:.................................................

The next meeting is the 22^th July 2015 at 7:30pm.  (Village Hall)

KINGSWEAR PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the EXTRAORDINARY Meeting of Kingswear Parish Council

Held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 22^nd July 2015

Present:      Cllr. J. Hawkins (Chairman), Cllr. E. Essex, Cllr. J. Henshall, and Cllr. L. Payne, Cllr. R. Searle and Cllr. M. Trevorrow

Also in attendance were approximately 67 members of the public. Mr Martin Rich from Devon Community Council, Mrs Karen Perrow from the Dartmouth Chronicle and Mrs Emma Illingworth (Clerk).

C/099/15. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE (1)

Apologies were received from Cllrs R Adams, E Parkes and H Newcombe.

C/100/15.  DECLARATION OF INTEREST (2)

None declared. In reference to the Jubilee Park playground item, Cllr Payne stated: 

“Before the last council meeting I was led to believe that my house had significant proximity to the playground and due to perceived bias I should not take part. After having consulted Michael Stevens, Lesley Smith from DALC, my fellow councillors: Cllrs. Essex, Adams, Henshall and Newcombe and a map, which I enclose I am happy that I do not have significant proximity to Jubilee Park or have any bias.” To view the map please click here.

Additional Comments;

              This was the last full council meeting for the Chairman and Clerk. Both paid a warm tribute to each other for their services to the community, which was appreciated by both. In addition the appreciation from the public was very generous. Both thanked the attending public.

C/101/15. Additional item EXEMPT INFORMATION

            The Clerk requested of the Chairman the following which was agreed.

It was RESOLVED that in accordance with Section 100(A) (4) of the Loca lGovernment Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business as the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 of Part 1 of Schedule12A to the Act is involved.

This relates to:

i.          Update on preliminary advice to establish the council’s legal position concerning legal opinions given over the playground - decisions and land ownership.

C/102/15. MINUTES (3)

The minutes of the Council meeting held on 29^th June, were agreed and signed as a correct record.

C/103/15. QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC (4)

None – all related to the playground item discussion below           

C/104/15. PLAYGROUND JUBILEE PARK (5)

The Chairman recapped on the history of Jubilee Park, including the purchase amount donated by Cllr Hearn. Also included was a recap of the council’s resolutions of October and January giving agreement to the facility and additional points of clarification i.e. planning. It also included details of the number of times the playground had appeared on the council agenda and consultations (public meetings, regatta and Kingswear Primary School, input from interested parties). In addition a recap on how the CABE report was considered and why the parish council at the time supported the Caledonian design favoured by the playground group. The Chairman stated that he believed that the consultation carried out was sufficient. Nearly £10k has been raised by the Auction of Promises demonstrating further support. He expressed concern that if you don’t support the young you have a dying community. He congratulated Kingswear Primary School for being one of the highest regarded schools in Devon.

Mr Martin Rich who has a great deal of experience with regard to playgrounds having been the secretary of the Playing Fields association, before the merger with Devon Communities, then gave a full resume of the generic process of considering a playground. Mr Rich confirmed that he had visited both the existing playground site at Mount Ridley and also Jubilee Park. He also had offered initial support to the playground group at the beginning of the project.

Main points of the presentation were:

·           Facilities need to be provided for children regardless of the numbers in the locality. It is a contribution to society generally.

·           Wider use of the facility for the community benefit should be considered.

·           Proximity to users: The playground at Mount Ridley is isolated. This is a destination play area. The site at Jubilee Park could also be classed as a destination play area, but it was deemed to be a reasonably safe journey along the Creek path.

·           The design was thought to appropriate with fencing, considering the proximity to water, boat users coming into the park and dog walkers.

·           The design should be driven by young people.

·           Maintenance, inspection and longevity of the equipment must be considered.

·           Local surveys/ referendums can be very time consuming and usually are not well responded to. Better feedback is gained from local events.  It also sets a precedent for the future regarding council decisions

·           Changing a council decision. He pointed out that it is difficult for an unelected council to change the original decision of an elected council.

In summary the Chairman asked Mr Rich on balance did he feel that had been enough consultation? Mr Rich confirmed that he had studied the council minutes and submissions and felt the process had been fair and above board.

The Chairman thanked Mr Rich for his advice and then opened the floor for discussion:

              Size of playground

Concern was raised that the playground has increased greatly in size. The playground committee confirmed that this statement was not accurate. The footprint had slightly changed shape, but the area had only increased marginally. (8m sq from original plan) The dimensions had not changed from 18.5m x 11.2m as presented to the parish council in January.  The area has being drawn in Jubilee Park for public to see.

There is an addition of a boat seat that sits outside the play ground, as requested by the school.  It was stated that the boat was positioned to be in the middle of a public footpath which would need to be resolved.

Cllr Payne asked the playground committee why they had not informed the Council about the increase in size of the playground in the January 2015 meeting. In September 2014 they had asked for a small playground of size 50ft by 43ft by 20ft and this equates to 84 sq metres. In January the design submitted was over 200sq metres. Surely they should have pointed this out.”

A gate has been provided for wheelchair access.

Drainage is being considered at present

Cllr Henshall asked how a full and proper consultation could have been carried out when in fact the proposed playground if agreed would be built across and obstruct a Public Right of Way, which you are not legally permitted to do.

Legal considerations.

The parish council was asked to ensure they consider the following by a member of the public:

A risk assessment of the decisions, the public consultation under the UK consultancy guidelines 2013, concept of the original request, potential promissory estoppels and mal administration of public bodies. A copy of the risk assessment may be requested.

Figures of communication received by the parish Clerk.

During this process (June and July) 87 people had emailed their support and 19 against.  Some emails had asked for a re visit of design. In addition 25 had called for a consultation to be held (some of whom had also objected). The school had advised of 36 names of parents who were supportive of the playground and 2 not. (It is not known how many are resident of Kingswear).

Objections raised:

In summary these were:

·           Lack of consultation. A village wide consultation was requested.

·           Lack of demand regarding children in the parish.

·           Pressure on parking in Brixham Road and dangerous road. Cllr Hawkins explained that the parish council will be revisiting the residents parking situation in the village in September.

·           Stability of the path to Jubilee Park.

·           Provision for other users

·           No information was available with regard to consultations with the following bodies: AONB, Environment Agency, Highways and Planning.

Planning

It was confirmed that the parish council and playground group need to consult with   planning over the required Certificate of Lawful, Development.

Cllr Hawkins stated that the he felt enough consultation had been carried out to support the parish council's original resolution in October 2014 (to agree in principle the construction of playground in Jubilee Park for younger children subject to the parish council approving the final design) and subsequently in January 2015 (to accept the Caledonian Play Company as the provider for Jubilee Park, customised to Kingswear, subject to any planning requirements.)

It was moved by Cllr Hawkins that the original resolution should stand, subject to legal advice concerning the council's position. An amendment to this was moved by Cllr Henshall, that no decision should be made until legal advice had been sought. This amended motion which was Seconded was put to the vote with 3 votes for and 3 against and was lost by the Chairman's casting vote. The original motion, which was Seconded, was then put to the vote and it was Resolved by 3 votes to 2 with 1 abstention that the original resolutions of October and January should stand, agreeing to the construction of a playground in Jubilee Park subject to clarification of the parish council's legal position.

Subsequently a vote of the attending public was conducted with 53 being in favour of the construction of the playground and 14 against.

C/105/15. LIGHTHOUSE BEACH – AGREEMENT OF RISK ASSESSMENT (6)

It was agreed to proceed with costing of the assessment. Cllr Trevorrow will research. A site visit the beach for new councillors will be arranged.

C/106/15. CLERK HANDOVER OF PROJECTS AND HOLIDAY COVER (7)

Cllr Trevorrow will kindly take any queries whilst the Clerk is on holiday. Cllr Henshall is kindly looking after the Cemetery Role.

Council projects were distributed as follows: Moorings – Cllr Trevorrow, Emergency Planning – Cllr Payne, Regatta Parking- Cllr Henshall, Residents Parking- Cllr Payne, Cemetery- Cllr Henshall, Fireworks and Remembrance- Cllr Payne (holding for September), Kingswear Walks Booklets and Carlow Bequest- Cllr Henshall, Planning administration – Cllr Searle.

C/107/15. QUOTATIONS (8)

1.       Church Wall: Works need to be done to a crack in the Church wall on the lower corner adjacent to Church Hill, approaching the water cistern. In addition the fence along the top bordering the hedge has been recommended for extension as the hedge is failing on places. A quote of £1300 plus vat has been received. The Clerk advised to obtain two other quotes to ensure best value. She had been assured that although the works were not urgent they should be completed before the winter weather to avoid ice increasing the crack. Cllr Trevorrow will organise and report back to the council.

2.       Outside Tap, Cemetery Lodge: The quotation for £120 plus vat was Agreed.

C/108/15. DEFRILLATOR (9)

It was Proposed to agree to the licence to situate the defibrillator by the post box.  The Clerk is currently awaiting the paperwork from the District. This was Seconded and Resolved. Ongoing maintenance costs will be established. The council could consider a part donation from the wishing well donations, although provision has been made for the 2 to 4 club. The Combined Charities will be contacted regarding the donation.

C/109/15. CORRESPONDENCE (10)

·                Playground Correspondence has been referred to in the main minutes with relevant numbers given.

·                There is a casual vacancy for the Hillhead Ward which has been advertised, closing date for the call of an Election is the 5^th August. If ten electors do not request an Election the vacancy will be filled by co-option.

C/110/15.  PAYMENTS FOR THE MONTH JULY 2015 (additional) (11)

The total list of presented payments was AGREED.

Meeting finished at 10:15 pm

The next meeting is the 8^th September 2015 at 7:30pm.  (Trust Room)

Signed.............................................................            Date:.................................................