Uplyme Parish Council

A Personal View

Very and possibly just a bit biased

Of the Meeting Held on 9th October 2002

Just six councillors were present, those not present were Mrs.Hebden and Peter Burton. There are still two vacant seats.

It was much appreciated to see or more to the point hear the loud speaker system in full use at this meeting. Not once did I hear the the usual "Can you speak up please?" John Steven not having been seen since June had a lot to report. Some of his topics can be read on Barnes Meadow page for details. Parish Council Vacancy Six candidates came forward to fill the two vacant places. They are Bob Crabbe, Jenny Perham, Joy Raymond, Christopher Sellers, David Warner and P. Whiting. They will all be invited to attend an informal gathering at the village hall, where it is hoped all the current councillors will be in attendance and have the opportunity to get to know the prospective new parish councillors. Rhode Hill The planning sub-committee had considered an application to carry out work on various trees at the Red House, Rhode Hill. This included the pollarding of 9 lime trees, removal of branches of a bay tree, the removal of laurel trees and the cutting back of a purple rhododendron. They did not approve of the first three but had no objections to the work on the rhododendron. The parish council are not happy with the amount of tree cover that has disappeared at Rhode Hill in recent years. Each year brings a new application to work on these trees and in total equals major alterations. This once magnificent parkland is just a reflection of it's former glory. Living next to Rhode Hill I remember the mature Holm Oaks, Wellingtonias and other conifers. The desasterous hurricane of the early nineties destroyed many a grand tree on the estate, a small proportion of these kept us warm for three or four years. When the Woodroffe school sold Rhode Hill I was hoping that a clause could have been put in the contract that the parkland could have been replanted to replace the lost trees. This opportunity was lost and I believe the former parkland remains just fields. Also at Rhode Hill you may remember there was a problem with a track and shed. It seems that a decision on this is still to be made. The owner states that the shed was there when they bought the property and is visible on an aerial photograph of 1999. The district council have made quite a faux pas here, for when neighbours wished to build a shed in their section of the same woodland they incorrectly gave the go-ahead. This does not bode well for a good neighbourly relationship. The EDDC has a lot to answer for. The enforcement officer on one of his visits to Rhode Hill noticed that some fencing had been erected around part of Rhode Hill House that is owned by the same owners of the disputed track and shed. The erection of fencing is apparently not allowed in the agreements signed by owners of the various units. This is to maintain the open feel of a country house in single ownership. The enforcement officer has served a notice on the owners to either make a planning application or remove the fence. The enforcement officer is suddenly very busy in Uplyme. Planning Application for Double Garage at Barns Meadow. I wonder what John Steven thinks about this one. After all the work of designing and now building the estate and thinking that he has got it just right then someone decides that what the house they are buying needs is a double garage. The one in question is no. 40, the house at the south end of the terrace block now nearing completion. It must be exceedingly frustrating for him, for if planning permission is grated for this garage, it will mean that he will never see the estate exactly as he planned it. Colin Pratt could not understand why someone would buy a new house and immediately build a garage, when you would think that with such a variety of designs on the estate, there surely is one that would be suitable, complete with double garage. He reflected on at what stage did the buyer discover that he had inadvertently bought a house without a garage! If you would care to make an objection to this application, write to: The Chief Planning & Technical Officer Knowle, Sidmouth. Quoting P2231. The applicants are Mr.& Mrs. Hoffman. Briefly..... Mr Ostler is appealing against the condition that a window must be bricked up in the extension at Brooklands, for which retrospective planning permission was granted. Planning permission was granted for replacing the bungalow in Lime Kiln Lane with a two storey house. A restriction on the roof height was imposed.  Regarding the Uplyme Traffic Calming Scheme, as revealed last month it is not exactly what the parish council thought they were getting. The plans in their possession apparently were not the most recent ones. All the same even if the working plans have been adhered to, what you see is not necessary what you'll get, for before the layout is finally accepted it must be subjected to an audit by a third party independent body. John Steven also had a bit to say on traffic calming. The November meeting will be held on the 13th.

Topics on this Page: Parish Council Vacany Rhode Hill Barnes Meadow Planning App. Briefly..... Including:Brooklands (filling station), Lime Kiln Lane and Traffic Calming Other UPC Meetings: Meetings in 2003 Pre-2003 Meetings: 13th June 2001 11th July 2001 12th September 2001 10th October 2001 14th November 2001 12th December 2001 9th January 2002 13th February 2002 13th March 2002 10th April 2002 8th May 2002 12th June 2002 10th July 2002 14th August 2002 11th September 2002 13th November 2002 11th December 2002 Other Relevant Pages Barnes Meadow Development Rhode Hill Gardens Home Page Introduction Page

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 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.