Draft minutes of the Combe Martin Parish Council meeting held
on 14th March 2022 at 7pm at Combe Martin Community Centre.
Present: Cllrs. S Coomber (Vice Chair), S Boyce, S Daukes, C Galloway, D Hatherley,
M Richards, P Walker and R Watkins.
Also in attendance: County Cllr. A Davies, District Cllr. Y Gubb, Andrew Wyer (Clerk) and 6
members of the public.
64/22. Apologies.
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllrs. Seldon, Woodbury and Worth.65/22. Declarations of Interest.
Cllr. Walker declared an interest in the CLT agenda item (Minute: 79/22), as she is a
member of the CLT.
66/22. Public Participation Period.
A member of the public wanted the Parish Council to do what it could to protect the
interests of local residents in the face of landlords whose focus was on maximising
their own profits, at the expense of the local community.
67/22. Minutes.
It was RESOLVED to approve and sign the minutes for the Parish Council meeting
held on Monday 28th February 2022.
68/22. Clerks Report.
It was RESOLVED to receive and note the Clerks report.
69/22. County and District Councillor Reports.
County Cllr. Davies had submitted a report which was circulated to Councillors prior
to the meeting.
District Cllr. Gubb reported that the Council Tax rebate (to offset rising energy costs)
should be automatically paid into bank accounts for those who pay by Direct Debit
and have properties in Council Tax A-D. Those who qualify for the rebate but don’t
pay by Direct Debit will be sent a form. More details will be published on the NDC
website.
70/22. Police Report.
The monthly Ilfracombe Neighbourhood Police Newsletter was not available in time
for the meeting.
71/22. Planning Applications.
It was RESOLVED to make the following submission to North Devon Council:
74818 – To support the retrospective renewal of a retaining wall at Manleigh, Kiln
Lane, Combe Martin, EX34 0LY. Grid Ref: 259072;145870
72/22. Planning Applications.
There were no applications to be considered from Exmoor National Park.
73/22. Planning Decisions.
There were no decisions from North Devon Council to be noted.
74/22. Planning Decisions.
There were no decisions from North Devon Council to be noted.
75/22. Finance.
It was RESOLVED to approve the March list of payments to be made, including one
invoice which had been missed off the original list.
76/22. Finance.
It was RESOLVED to defer noting the “Summary Balances & Bank Reconciliations”
and “Car Park receipts” reports to the next meeting.
77/22. Community Centre Works.
It was RESOLVED to receive and adopt a recommendation from the ALM Committee
that Listed Building Consent (LBC) is applied for, for the replacement of all windows
in the building, and that a second LBC is applied for, for works to the former toilets
and for CMPC signage/Notice board(s).
78/22. Inspection of Council Trees.
It was RESOLVED to receive and adopt a recommendation from the ALM Committee
that the Clerk commissions a suitable company to survey the condition of the trees
on Council property.
79/22. Seacott and other residential property.
It was RESOLVED to receive and adopt a recommendation from the ALM Committee
that CMPC should progress discussions with the CLT about option 2. The Clerk is to
arrange for a valuation of the properties. It was further RESOLVED that the Council
should approach other social housing providers in addition to the CLT. A “bid matrix”
will be created to ensure that potential purchasers are compared objectively and
against the Council priorities.
80/22. Seacott Office.
It was RESOLVED to receive and adopt a recommendation from the ALM Committee
that CMPC should respond saying that the former Council office could be available,
potentially on a 6- or 12-month agreement. It was further RESOLVED that the office
should be advertised as soon as possible.
81/22. Rosea Bridge Lane.
The public comments were reviewed, and it was RESOLVED to approve the
replacement of the bridge.
82/22. Focscle Steps.
Following a discussion about the report from Cllr. Worth, it was RESOLVED to submit
a planning application.
83/22. Kiln Car Park benches.
Following a recommendation from the Clerk, it was RESOLVED to replace the 6
benches in the Kiln car park and to mount the memorial plaques on the wall in front
of the benches. The Clerk suggested that due to their location, that the Council
should invest in the “Maritime” design benches which come with a 25 year
guarantee. The Council already has several of this design from many years ago and
they had proved good value and well built. This suggestion was agreed with and the
Clerk will try to get these in place as soon as possible.
84/22. Climate Emergency.
The Clerk agreed to liaise with a member of the public who had contacted the
Council, with a view to bringing proposals and practical suggestions to Council at
future meetings.
85/22. 20 is Plenty.
County Cllr. Davis would email the clerk about the admin and paperwork side of
trying to get a 20 mph zone within the village. As part of this, a Community
Speedwatch group would be a practical and useful scheme to show the village is
trying to address the issue. The Clerk agreed to write something for Shammickite,
appealing for volunteers to join a Speedwatch group.
86/22. Museum Car park passes.
It was RESOLVED to agree to a request from the museum that they have a car
parking pass allowing their volunteer staff members to park for free when working in
the museum.
87/22. Standing Orders and Financial Regulations.
Following a recommendation from the Clerk it was RESOLVED to adopt the revised
version of the model Standing Orders and to adopt Terms of Reference for the
current Committees. The Financial Regulations were left unchanged at this time.
88/22. Council Representatives.
It was RESOLVED to appoint Cllr. Richards as representative to CM Museum, and Cllr.
Hatherley as representative to CM Bowls Club. No representative to CM Business
Association was appointed.
89/22. Correspondence.
The correspondence was NOTED.
90/22. Date of future meeting.
The next Council meeting was confirmed as 11th April