MINUTES of the Meeting of WESTLEIGH PARISH COUNCIL held in the Village Hall , Westleigh, on Wednesday 3rd March 2004 at 7.30 p.m.

Present
Councillors M.Hudson , (Chairman) P.Fronteras , A.Samphier and M Cumiskey.
Also Present.
Cllr. R. Cann DCC. & Cllr. L. Brown NDDC.

0304/1 Apologies for Absence.
J. May, B. Marshall, L. Kenny and M. Parks.

0304/2 Police Report.
In the absence of PC Parker there was no police report.

0304/3 Minutes of the Meeting held on 4th February. 2004.
Resolved that the minutes of the Meeting held on 4th February 2004 to be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

0304/4 Matters Arising
Memorial Garden / General Maintenance.
Mr Harris has inspected the Eastleigh notice board and will carry out the necessary repairs as soon as possible.
Westleigh Website.
Cllr P. Fronteras’s monthly report contained comprehensive details on the usage statistics for the Westleigh Website.
The information indicated that in February there were 1531 visits to the Website together with 37 “hits” relating to accommodation enquiries.

Street Lighting.
Cllr. R. Cann had received a letter from the Local Services Office informing him that Western Power were unable to obtain the appropriate Wayleaves to run street lighting cables from nearby electricity poles.
This meant that the alternative arrangements for supplies would require extensive trenching in the carriageway.
The cost of this operation would be in the region of £9,000. and in view of this and the available budget, the project is no longer viable.
It was suggested by members that this project could be raised again should circumstances change.

Undergrounding of Cables:- Nothing further to report.

Conservation Area & Listed Buildings.
It was proposed that the designated conservation area covering part of Westleigh village together with the schedule of listed buildings within the Westleigh Parish, should be reviewed by the Parish Council, with the purpose of amending and updating the existing situation.
It was resolved therefore to proceed with this undertaking, perhaps with the formation of a Sub–committee.
The Clerk was asked to seek out any relevant information on the subject and include the matter on the April agenda.

Refuse Collection & Litter
The Clerk had contacted the NDDC Environmental Health Dept, with a request for assistance over the problem of refuse bags being put out onto the Public Highway far too early, together with the nuisance caused by the recycling boxes being left out too long afterwards, following a collection.
The Environmental Health Dept would investigate the matter.

Instow and Westleigh Parish News.
Mr Scott unfortunately had not been available to attend this evening’s meeting.
The Clerk was requested to contact Mr Scott to ascertain whether he would be able to address the meeting on a future occasion.

Parish Alliance.
An inaugural meeting of the Community Alliance of Parishes, Horwood / Lovacott /Newton Tracey, Westleigh, Instow and Tawstock had been held at Tawstock Village Hall. ( Brief notes of the meeting are attached to these minutes. )
The next meeting will be held on Thursday 6th May @ 7.00 pm. At Lovacott Village Hall.
0304/5 Parishioners Questions.
There were no questions from parishioners.

0304/6 County & District Reports.
Cllr. L. Brown NDDC.
For the first time in 12 years there is a numerically effective opposition within the District Council.
This situation provides a much healthier state of affairs, with genuine debate and often uncertainty of outcome.
It also helps to ensure that spending excesses are curtailed.
In debate it was revealed that without the recent large increases in car parking charges and the scrapping of the free collection of bulky goods, the increases were kept to under 10%.
It is also interesting to note that the two North Devon Theatres are subsidised by £3.00 per ticket.

Cllr Cann DCC.
The County budget was set at 5.25% resulting in cuts of £11 m. and 60 redundancies.
Instow School Site :- Discussions and investigations are continuing
Holmacott Landfill Site :- Details of the proposals have been handed to the Chairman.

0304/7 Parking / Play Area.
Nothing further to report.

0304/8Correspondence.
A copy of all correspondence was made available to all Councillors.
Resolved that correspondence be noted.

0304/9 Finance.
As proposed at the October meeting of the Parish Council the subject of a donation towards the St. Peter’s Church Restoration Fund was to be raised later in the year.
It was agreed that the Church building was a very important part of Westleigh Parish and the maintenance and restoration of the building itself was something that the Council should support.
The Clerk pointed out that savings had been made against this year’s budget, mainly on the cost of printing / stationery and with 2003 Election budget not being needed, funds were available if required.
Following a debate it was Resolved to donate the sum of £200.00 towards the Church Restoration Fund.
This decision was proposed as a single contribution and is not intended to be a commitment to an annual donation.
A copy of expenditure was presented to Councillors. Resolved, that the expenditure totalling £414.34 be approved and accounts be paid accordingly.
Approval was also given for the clerk to attend a training course in Barnstaple at a cost of £15.00.

0304/10 Planning
There were no planning matters this month.

0304/11 Millennium Book
Nothing further to report.

0304/12 Braunton Burrows Biosphere Project.
The Clerk to contact Mr R.Butler to confirm that he would be attending the Council meeting on April 7th

0304/13 Any Other Business at Chairman’s Discretion.
There was no other business.