Uplyme Parish Council

A Personal View

Very and possibly just a bit biased

Of the Meeting Held on 10th.September 2003

All nine current members of the council were in attendance.

At its new starting time the meeting got off to a rattlingly efficient start and truly romped along taking John Duffin by surprise by the speed it reached the planning slot. Unfortunately at the other end of the evening it did not end as some may have wished. Planning Application Approved by the District Council Two applications for removal of trees at two Raymonds Hill sites was depressing but failed to raise any comments. There does seem to be an anti-tree movement in this area. An application from the developers of the land behind the Devon Hotel to build three extra houses on what had been agreed to be open space was tempered with the offer of car parking for the post office shop. Peter Burton reminded us that with these three extra houses the total would now be 19 dwellings and result in over development. Access to the parking trade off would be across the front of the post office. Brian Mason said this would become chaotic bearing in mind how people park there. David Sole later in the Public Forum said that in his view the planners would not allow such a dangerous situation. John Duffin said that it had been hoped that the two open spaces on this and the Barnes Meadow site would have formed the new village centre. The council recommended refusal. The saga of the illegal mobile home at Windfall (July 2003) was now entering the end game said Chris Sellers. The owner(s) has now received a warning that the next step will be a court appearance for his flagrant breach of the law. Finance There was some dicussion over why the parish council were responsible for the maintenance cost of the parish (church) clock. John Duffin added that we should be thankful the council is not responsible for the maintenance of the clock casing! Highway Matters The traffic calming measures were not working. Brian Mason said the roundabout and the two pinch points were dangerous. He thought that many people did not understand the arrow signs at the pinch points that show which direct has the right of way. Why can't straight forward "Give Way" signs be installed? It was noted that the wider road at the Devon Hotel encourages drivers to increase their speed. Beryl Denham and Peter Burton agreed that nothing could be done until the road at the Devon Hotel was finished. East Devon AONB - Management Strategy Consultation Draft. Many of the councillors attended the previous Wednesday's workshop on this. They were not amused. Peter Burton found the evening very distressing. "There were many statements but no action". "An exceedingly depressing evening". "All a waste of time" (and should I add money, a lot of money). People attending the meeting were asked to put stickers on a large choice of statements, and Mr Burton noted that they collected on statements bashing farmers and was offensive to them. He blamed Westminster for being out of touch with the countryside. Chris Sellers said that it was not long before his eyes began to glaze over. The evening was full of jargon coming from wide eyed youngsters sprouting phrases and catch words he thought he had heard the last of long ago. He could not understand why a Golden Eagle motif was on all of their literature. He refused to believe it was a Buzzard as he had been told. Colin Pratt said that he had never seen a management triangle before where the point of the triangle was at the base, in this case with the ranger Fraser Rush at the bottom supporting all the management above. Emergency Measures Introduced by Chris Sellers but almost everyone else chipped in with their little gems. The main topic was "An influx of refugees from the towns" We must prepare, the community spirit is needed, this is our last appeal. Other words uttered and I suggest you rearrange them as you think fit for it will make just as much sense, were transport, Parish Plan, a meeting, three GPs, framework, team, emergency, accident, blankets, snow, generators, refrigerator, toiletries, beds, electricity, victims, needs, specify, cut off, help, AONB etc. When witnessing this monthly event I feel that I am seeing a party game being played out before me but I don't understand the rules. Is it the first one to laugh leaves the room? Or is it the rural equivalent of Mornington Crescent? When this diversion was first introduced there seemed to be many more smiles both from the councillors and the parishioners, but as the game has progressed and the unwritten rules have become more known smiles and guffaws have become less. Something tells me that I have lost. The loser was the first person to suggest that it was nothing but a joke. District Councillor's Report The fact that Ken George's slot had been missed off the agenda did not augur well for a smooth ride. His first remarks probably did not go down at all well, which were, "I don't often agree with Peter Burton". He was referring to the AONB meeting, with depressing young people writing off mission statements. There was then mention of complaints about plans regarding traffic calming and the Devon Hotel. He referred to lack of communication between himself and the parish council. On, Shire Lane, a topic already covered by the council that evening he hinted that there was more than meets the eye. Chris Sellers then made a point that Mr George continually needles and makes digs at Peter Burton and the chairman. Yes there were a few un-necessary remarks thrown at the pair of them. This may be the result of the "welcome" Mr George received when he first appeared at a parish council meeting in May after his victory over Peter Burton in the district council election. But still to be going on some three months later is more than you would like to expect from grown men. There then followed some heated exchanges. KG:Something like he was elected not like the parish council. Mrs.H: It should not be about party politics. Then followed a lot of abuse from both sides. Brian Mason attempted pulling the sides together suggesting that without some unified approach to planning matters application could slip through holes in the floor PB: Ken is confused. Correspondence The news that the free tree scheme will run again made us think of winter. Sue Brenner and John Duffin will be doing their bit again. The Tree Council is organising "Seed Gathering Sunday" on 12th October. An opurtunity to grow your own trees> The council's continual desire to become a quality council requires each councillor to partake in training for new councillors. The day costing £35 per delegate. The official parish business finished at 9:20 Open Forum Footpath 12 across Barnes Meadow should have been opened on 1st September but because of the dangerous conditions prevailing it will remain closed until further notice. Liz Rowe, doggedly determined, asked a series of questions of the past, present and future stability of the site. The parish council said that they were not privy to these details and not being engineers would not understand them anyway. The district councillor sould be able to get this information at the EDDC.

Coming to a Green Hill Top Near You Soon? Topics on this Page: 3 More Houses at Devon Hotel Windfall End Game Parish Clock Traffic Calming Failure AONB Management Strategy Emergency Measures District Councillor's Report Quality Council Open Forum: Barnes Meadow Footpath Barnes Meadow Stability Other UPC Meetings: 8th January 2003 12th February 2003 12th March 2003 9th April 2003 14th May 2003 11th June 2003 9th July 2003 13th August 2003 8th October 2003 12th November 2003 10th December 2003 14th January 2004 With Links to Pre-2003 Meetings 2004 Meetings Other Relevant Pages Strawberry Field Sports Complex Barnes Meadow Development Rhode Hill Gardens Home Page Introduction Page

The Next Parish Council meeting will be on 8th October 2003. Starting at 7:30

Disclaimer: This page cannot be guaranteed to be void of mistakes. It is sometimes, in the hall, difficult to hear some of the councillors, for a number are determined not to use the amplification system available. An example of what can happen was at the September 2002 meeting when I heard the word "included" as "include" when a letter from John Steven was being read out. This threw an entirely different meaning to the sentence. The interpretation that I came to was so important that I put the news on the website as soon as I could. It was not until I read the Lyme Regis News that I realised how wrong I was. I even more speedily removed the offending story. If you were one of those that read the original then I apologise. If you have any doubts concerning the validity of anything you read please check with the parish clerk. Can I also suggest that you contact the Parish Council and request that the minutes of the meetings are posted on an official Uplyme Parish Council website and that the subject is accordingly added to the agenda of the next meeting.