Westleigh Parish Council Meeting Minutes
Wednesday 5th March 2025, 7pm at Westleigh Village Hall
Attendees – Cllrs Heard, Gear, Stewart, Moores, NDCllr Coombs, DCCllr Biederman, & Parish Clerk
Min 64 24/25 – Apologies received – Cllrs Fairbrother & Stewart
Min 65 24/25 – Declarations of Interest – none declared
Min 66 24/25 – Minutes – To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on the 8th January 2025 – agreed unanimously
Min 67 24/25 – Matters arising – Emergency planning, Cllr Gear volunteered to take on the completion of a District wide EP survey, Safeguarding contact is Sarah Ansell (safeguardwest@ttec.org.uk)
Min 68 24/25 – Co-
Min 69 24/25 – Correspondence – a letter had been received from Morroco-
Min 70 24/25 – Public session, 15 minutes – no members of the public attended
Min 71 24/25 – County & Ward reports – NDCllr Coombs report is attached at the end of the Minutes. DCCllr Biederman reiterated the high costs of care for DCC in delivering disability needs, and his determination that the costs are absolutely necessary to provide a service for the needy of the County. The Solar Farm monies continue to wait for agreement from the Providers for agreement on the distribution process. Cllr Heard asked DCCllr Biederman to take up on the Councils behalf, issues at Eastleigh where a cess pit was overflowing onto a local road. DCCllr Biederman agreed and asked Cllr Heard to forward details. Cllr Heard also remarked that there had been an outbreak of Flytipping on the Barnstaple side of the Village – NDCllr Coombs agreed to look into it. The Clerk raised the issue of flooding along the Southcott Road – NDCllr Coombs to look into it for WPC.
Min 72 24/25 – Finance – 1 retrospective payment was agreed:-
Min 73 24/25 – Planning – App 79740, Firs View Eastleigh, no objections, App 79478 Barn Owl & Tawny Owl Eastleigh, no onjections, notice of appeal against planning refusal for 36 dwellings at Wooda Road Appledore (from TDC), notice of plans to remove/mothball red phone box in Westleigh. As it is a listed ‘building’, the options are 1. Remove telemetry and lock, 2. Remove telemetry, and sell to WPC for £1, and WPC utilise within the Parish, 3. Appeal against the removal of telemetry as it is very useful as an emergency standby when power cuts occur. Clerk to liaise with BT, but fully expect a ‘No’ regarding leaving it ‘as is’, in which case, WPC will ask to purchase for the nominal £1.
Min 74 24/25 – Next Meeting 7th May, including Parish AGM. 6.30pm start for AGM, followed by 7pm, May Council meeting
Bank Reconciliation – March 2025
Balance as at 31st March 2024 £3433.71
Precept £5388
Total £8821.71
Cheques paid out and presented £5145.12
Cheques outstanding £279.54
Total £5424.66
Balance allowing for outstanding cheques £3397.05
Report from NDCllr Becky Coombs
There will be an EMG for ND District councillors on the 19th March for discussion to take place on government reorganising/devolution and direction the council would like to take.
Annual Performance report -
It will shortly be going out for public engagement. It will also be presented to Council at the next meeting on 26 February 2025 so that Members can discuss the Corporate Plan and performance to date.
The Chief Executive highlighted the following:
· This would be a regular annual update reviewing the Council’s performance against the Corporate Priorities.
· Five priorities had been agreed by Full Council in February 2024, these were:
Ø Achieving Financial Security
Ø Housing
Ø Climate and Environment
Ø Pride of Place and Prosperity; and
Ø People Matter
To achieve financial security, a balanced budget had been set, the commercialisation strategy had been reviewed and refreshed, financial plans were continually reviewed, and services had been reviewed to ensure they were efficient. Property had been purchased to help ease the burden of temporary accommodation placement costs, Green Lanes was providing an additional income and we were always looking at ways to share services such as the Joint Building Control services with Mid-
· To achieve our Housing provision, £800,000 in funding had been secured to provide affordable housing in rural areas through a Community Land Trust.
· Land had been purchased in Braunton to help ensure affordable housing was available as part of a new development.
· To help residents in need of temporary accommodation, 13 properties had been purchased. £1.7 million had been secured from the Local Authority Housing Fund.
· £2 million funding had been secured for the Ilfracombe Healthy Homes project.
· 180 homes were to be developed on the site of the old Leisure Centre at Seven Brethren, 54 of these would be affordable.
· We continued to work with local landlords to improve property standards in the private rental sector.
· To achieve our Climate and Environment priorities, a new section of woodland had been planted at the community woodland near Frankmarsh.
· Exploring options to install solar panels on the Ilfracombe swimming pool and the North Devon Crematorium.
· Investment into the recycling facilities would ensure we can recycle more waste efficiently as well as offering the opportunity for third parties to recycle with us.
· Options to make the vehicle fleet more environmentally friendly were continually reviewed.
· Funding had been secured to carry out energy efficiency improvement works at Brynsworthy Environment Centre and the Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe.
· The priority of Pride of Place and Prosperity had seen us complete the Ilfracombe Watersports centre.
· Further works were due for completion along Ilfracombe sea front in Spring 2025.
· The £12 million Barnstaple market quarter project was underway, this included the completed works of the refurbishment of the Pannier Market and Guildhall, the redevelopment of Queen Street and Bear Street carparks, the renovation of a grade II listed building at 36 Boutport Street into a cultural hub for North Devon was progressing.
· An economic strategy for North Devon and Torridge had been delivered.
· Reviewed and refreshed our strategies for car parking and asset management.
· To fulfil our People Matter priority a community hub was being developed in Green Lanes shopping centre, giving greater access for residents and extending our face-
· A behaviour framework, developed by staff, had been implemented and recruitment was undertaken using this framework. Working to achieve making North Devon Council an employer of choice.
· For the sized authority we are an impressive range of projects had been undertaken such as building a new leisure centre, to extending the museum, from redeveloping Seven Brethren and to the purchase of Green Lanes shopping centre.
Parish Forum:
12 March 2025 (6;30pm – 8:30pm): In person Parish Forum -
Consultations: North Devon Council is inviting people to have their say on a new draft Housing Strategy, which sets out a high-
The Housing Strategy will guide the Council's activities in delivering and discharging its housing functions and responsibilities, whilst ensuring that resources and efforts are best directed to tackle the housing challenges that the area faces. It was compiled following the publication of the Devon Housing Commission <https://news.exeter.ac.uk/wp-
The draft Strategy has been prepared in full consultation with a working group of elected Members, who have been involved through a dedicated workshop and feedback sessions. It is built on a foundation of three themes:
*Prevent Homelessness: Preventing homelessness by supporting citizens to stay in their current home if they have one, but if this isn’t possible/or they are already homeless seek to help them find alternative solutions.
*Provide New Housing Supply: Supply new housing to meet social demand, delivering affordable & sustainable healthy homes wherever possible.
*Make Homes Healthy: Improving the quality of existing homes making them safe and healthy, in turn making their occupants healthy too.
The Council recognises the value of gaining different perspectives and insights and therefore inviting you to submit your views. The draft strategy is available for wider consultation for a period of seven weeks from Monday 10 February 2025 to Monday 31 March 2025.
You can view the draft strategy and find out more by visiting the Council's website at Let's Talk North Devon <https://letstalk.northdevon.gov.uk/>
The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete and your views and feedback are valued.
The Council is using a new IT platform for consultation and engagement and you are invited to register to be kept up to date with opportunities to have your say and get involved with shaping the future of North Devon Register | Let's Talk North Devon <https://letstalk.northdevon.gov.uk/register>
Thank you for your time when the survey closes the results will be summarised and presented to the Strategy and Resources Committee on 12 May 2025. You can find Committee agendas and reports on the North Devon Council Committee Meetings webpage. Browse Meetings, 2025 | North Devon Council <https://democracy.northdevon.gov.uk/ieDocHome.aspx?Categories=>