RIVER YEALM & DISTRICT ASSOCIATION.
MINUTES OF A COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE RYDA.
1. APOLOGIES. All members of the Committee were present. This was Janet Martin’s last meeting as a member of the committee and the Chairman thanked her for her contribution to the work of the Association.
2. THE MINUTES OF COMMITTEE MEETING DATED 19th June 2007 were approved.
3. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT:-
· Village Benches for Noss Green - The Chairman gave the meeting an update on progress:
· Alex Whish, the Landscape and Leisure Manager for the SHDC (01803 861234), had ordered the five benches, four for Noss Green and one for Newton Ferrers. He was also negotiating a contract for their delivery, assembly and installation at Noss Green.
· The question as to what sort of plaque commemorating this event should be used was debated and it was decided that “Presented to Newton & Noss by the RYDA and the Revelstoke Trust – 2007” would be the inscription and that the Chairman would, after discussion with the Regatta Committee, commission these from the person who handled the engraving of the regatta prizes each year.
· The question of where these benches should be placed was then discussed. It was agreed that one should be placed alongside the tennis courts as requested by the Revelstoke Trust, one should be beneath the trees in the “spinney” next to the car Park and two alongside the northern hedge with one next to the new entrance to the Green to provide seating for those waiting for the bus.
· It had been agreed with Alex Whish that he would contact the Chairman when the contractors were ready to undertake this installation. Chris Bradley would be the alternative liaison should the Chairman be away for any reason.
· The fifth bench was to be installed on the plinth at the Green at Newton Ferrers using local resources. It will replace a bench dedicated by the RYDA in 1997 to The Silver Jubilee and will carry a dedication to the Queen’s 80th Birthday in 2006. This plaque will be in addition to the old plaque which has been retained and will be remounted.
· In discussion the point was made that this whole event might appear to benefit Noss Mayo in preference to Newton Ferrers. Noss Green is very much a Parish resource which, together with the tennis courts, belonged to the SHDC. It was, therefore, possible to take full advantage of this connection to achieve these benches and their installation at a preferential rate for the benefit of the whole Parish. The Chairman agreed to write a short piece for the Parish Magazine once the benches were in place.
· Village Conservation Appraisals & Action Plans. Copies of these were given to CB who volunteered to reproduce copies for the committee. Many had already made their comments on these documents to the authors and it was agreed that there was no need for any separate “RYDA Contribution”.
The “Noss Appraisal” had raised the subject of the state of the Loos at Noss Hard. In discussion it was agreed that these loos did not add to an otherwise attractive part of the village and were in need of modernisation both in terms of plumbing and landscaping. It was agreed that the RYDA might contribute both voluntary effort and, possibly in conjunction with the NNPC and the SHDC or DCC, some funds towards a renovation. It was left to the Chairman to discuss this with the Chairman of the NNPC to see what might be the best way forward. CB would talk to the owner of the surrounding land in due course.
· Affordable Housing. The Chairman briefed the committee on the present state of play. The action had long since moved to the NNPC and the SHDC and negotiations were currently underway to try and find a way of building at least a small group of houses on one of the recommended sites identified in the earlier Community Housing Working Group Study.
· Brookings Down Wood. The Chairman had been alerted to the need for the Woodland Trust to be informed of the current members of this committee who were, by definition, trustees. He would submit to the Woodland Trust a new “Schedule 4” for inclusion in the lease.
· Available Grants. We had been alerted by an article in the Parish Magazine that grants, ranging from £50 - £900, might be available from Devon County Council though matching funding would be required. It was agreed that the Chairman would see whether there was any possibility of acquiring some of this grant money retrospectively to assist with the Village Bench purchases. If successful, this would free up funds for further projects in support of the two villages.
· Possible gift or bequest. The Chairman had received a letter from a former resident of the Parish suggesting that he might donate some monies to the RYDA for the general benefit of the Community. The Chairman circulated the correspondence and it was hoped that he would meet the prospective donor shortly. Once the scale and timescale of any such gift was known then a further debate would be needed as to how best to make use of it.
4. TREASURER & MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY’s REPORT.
· AL briefed the Committee on the present healthy situation. Membership was rising despite the inevitable departure of some of the older members and now stood at 380. The RYDA had some £1,700 in the current account and £1,400 on deposit. We had yet to pay for the five benches but the Association was currently adequately funded.
· Insofar as the Village Directory was concerned, business had been brisk and AL had recently topped up the holdings of both the Chemist and the Post Office. Marchand Petit and Bettisons also held these directories and were useful outlets for sales.
5. PLANNING REPRESENTATIVE’S REPORT.
· RC briefed the Committee on all outstanding local Planning Applications.
· The RYDA had asked the SHDC whether there should not be ‘Start’ and ‘End’ Dates imposed by the SHDC on all applications that involved extensions or re-builds. In reply, the SHDC has said “The ongoing disruption from a development site is a common source of objection. Government advice is that a condition requiring the whole of a development be completed is likely to be difficult to enforce and should not normally be imposed. The Local Planning Authority does not as such have any direct control over the duration of a development. If problems arise because of noise, dust and hours of work undertaken, ie unduly early starts/late finishes, then it may be possible to pursue matters through the enforcement of Environmental Health Legislation.
I trust this helps clarify the position for you although I appreciate you have not been given the answer you probably wanted.”
Bins for Dog Poo. It had been suggested to the Chairman that there were not enough of these around the village resulting in large quantities of dog poo left on the ground through the lack of adequate opportunities for disposal. This was felt to be particularly relevant in Newton Ferrers. The Chairman undertook to approach the NNPC to see what could be done to improve the situation.
The Committee. The Chairman raised a series of related issues, all to do with membership of the Committee and its future Chairmanship. We clearly needed a replacement for Janet Martin, ideally this should be another lady. There was also a need to find a new Chairman well before the next AGM in April when the current Chairman was due to retire under the terms of our constitution.
Whilst realising that any new Chairman would have to be voted in by the membership at the next AGM, it was agreed unanimously by the committee that there would be great advantages in selecting a member of the present committee. Continuity is important in any organisation and the RYDA Committee had operated for too long with the role of Chairman and Secretary combined. It was agreed, therefore, that we would recommend to the next AGM that His Honour Judge Taylor should become Chairman and that Robin Hogg would retain the role of Hon Secretary.
Some names were suggested for a successor to Janet Martin on the committee and the Chairman was asked to make an approach in due course.
7. DATE OF NEXT MEETING. Bill Taylor volunteered to host the next meeting at Firslea at 7.30pm on Friday 16th November. He suggested that the meeting should be followed by a light supper in honour of the work Janet Martin had put in during her membership of the committee. This was unanimously agreed.
There being no further business the meeting was concluded at 9.30 pm
Robin Hogg. Chairman. 6th September 2007.