Minutes of the Meeting of Westleigh Parish Council held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 2nd September 2009 at 7.30pm.

Present: Cllrs.B.Marshall (Chairman), J.May, W.Dart.

0909/01: Apologies: Cllrs.Mrs.M.Parks (Vice Chairman), D.Peel.

0909/02: Police Report:
PC.T.Hodgson attended the meeting and presented the following information;
There has been one reported crime for the period 02/07/2009 – 02/09/2009
Theft from motor vehicle 08/08/2009 (crime undetected all enquiries complete).
The police have also received logs for the following- Road related 11no; Crime related 4.no; and Information to Police 1.no. for this period.
The Speed detection gun has continued to be used throughout the area.

0909/03: Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 1st July 2009.
Proposed by Cllr.WJ Dart that the minutes be agreed as a correct record, and signed by the Chairman accordingly.
Minutes of the Out of Committee Meeting held on Thursday 23rd July 2009.
Proposed by Cllr.WJ Dart and Seconded by Cllr.J.May that the minutes be agreed as a correct record, and signed by the Chairman accordingly.

0909/04: Matters Arising.
A). Memorial Garden and Bus Shelter.
The bolts sticking out on the frame of the seat at the Memorial Garden have not been made safe; Devon County Council are to be instructed to deal with this problem.
B). Westleigh Website.
Capt Fronteras has advised that the number of hits on the web site were 45,143 in July 2009 and 37,960 in August 2009. The website continues to well be supported.

0909/05: 15 Minutes for Parishioners Questions.
One Parishioner attended the meeting and informed the meeting that Ivy was growing into the guttering and could cause a maintenance problem at the Bus Shelter situated on the parish side; buses travelling towards Bideford. This matter would be passed on for action.

0909/06: County and District Council Reports.
Devon County Councillor Mr.R.Cann presented the following information:-
Work to help families with children with special needs were originally estimated at 2,500 families but the true figure could be nearer to 3,500; to date 1,742 have taken advantage of this service.
A site visit has been held at the Westleigh Junction (off the A39) to show the difficulties and confusion the junction present to motorists, with a hope that improvement can be made to alleviate this problem.
The estimated cost of the work to rectify the land slip on the A39 is £180K.
The work on the new DLU Depot is ahead of schedule, and is on course to be completed in March 2010.
The final preparations are being made ahead of the second phase of the food waste recycling service. Homes will receive a new kitchen caddy over the next few weeks to ensure that they are ready to benefit from the service from Monday 12th October 2009.
Devon County Council has teamed up with Devon Welfare Rights on a new service aimed at helping residents claim any benefits they may be entitled to.
North Devon District Councillor Mr.B.Moores presented the following information:-
Queen Street/Bear Street Barnstaple project to be cancelled; to be re-evaluated.
Funding has been secured for Devonwide Action against domestic violence.
Local Government has been delayed because of a legal challenge from Suffolk.
Unauthorised Development:-
– EMF626 White Lodge. NDDC Planners will seek to ensure that the Enforcement Notice is issued in respect of this site.
- EMF206 Lester House. The Parish Council agreed by majority vote that North District Council Planning Officer should take ‘enforcement action’ for the wall to be re-instated. Correspondence would be forwarded to the Planning Officer advising him of the Parish Council’s decision.

0909/07: Correspondence.
BT Adopt a Red Telephone Kiosk (Eastleigh): Correspondence has been received from North Devon District Council as to whether the Parish Council wish to adopt the above kiosk, otherwise it would be removed. (The Kiosk has recorded no usage during the last twelve months). The Parish Council agreed to speak to parishioners as to whether adopt or remove, as it is a feature of Eastleigh; the other query would be to check the Public Liability Insurance as to the Parish Councils responsibilities.
A copy of all correspondence was made available to all Parish Councillors.
RESOLVED: All correspondence be noted.

0909/08: Finance.
INCOME:-Repayment of VAT for Accounting Year. April 2008 – March 2009 .£63.34
Expenditure for Authorisation and Payments.
– A copy of expenditure was presented to Councillors.
RESOLVED: That the Expenditure of £135.80 be Approved and Accounts paid accordingly. Proposed by Cllr.W.Dart and Seconded by Cllr.J.May.

0909/09: Planning.
North Devon District Council. Town and Country Planning Act 1990
- North Devon District Council hereby grant permission for Extension to Dwelling at Clarendon Mount Pleasant Bideford. Application no: 48471.
- Listed Building Application for Erection of Conservatory and Replacement Extension Roof at Little Pillhead Bideford. Application no: 48872.
There were no objections.

0909/10: Parish Council Vacancies.
North Devon District Council confirm that a valid request had not been received from the Electorate of Westleigh Parish requesting the vacancy to be filled by an election; therefore the Parish Council is now obliged to co-opt as soon as possible.

0909/11. Any other business at the Chairman’s discretion.
There were no items