Mevagissey Parish Council Minutes – March 2021

   MEVAGISSEY PARISH COUNCIL

http://mevagisseyparishcouncil.co.uk/

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held as a virtual meeting

On Thursday 18 March 2021 at 7pm

Present                  Cllrs. M Roberts (Chairman), M Facey (Vice-Chairman), D Drake, J Gann, L Hereward, C Leiser,  J Morgan, H Nathan, G Shephard, J Whatty, A Williams, G Williams.

In Attendance      Dr Dan Murphy (St Austell Health Care), Cllr. J Mustoe (Ward Member), P Howson (Clerk to the Council),                   1 member of the public.

UNRATIFIED UNLESS SIGNED

  1. There were no apologies for absence, all members being present.
  2. There were no Declarations of Interest or Gifts.
  1. Dr Dan Murphy of St Austell Health Care provided a detailed update on the Mevagissey surgery, covering progress to date and ongoing strategy focussed on moving from a demand-led to a needs-based service.  This was followed by   a Q&A session.
  1. No members of the public wished to address the Council.
  1. Proposed by Cllr. Williams, Seconded by Cllr. Nathan that the minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 2021 be accepted.                                                                                                                                                                    Carried.
  1. Proposed by Cllr. Hereward, Seconded by Cllr. Drake that the minutes of the planning meeting held on 19 February 2021 be accepted.                                                                                                                                                     Carried.
  1. The Clerk reported that:
  • He had written to Steve Double MP to press the need to retain the option of virtual meetings beyond 7 May.  The MP had replied that he would support a short extension if needed for safety reasons, but hoped that the vaccination programme would make this unnecessary;
  • He had created a register of approved planning applications with a primary residence condition.  This is being expanded to include applications with an ancillary use condition.  When complete the register will be maintained on the Council’s website;
  • A virtual meeting was hosted on 2 March by the Community Link Officer, attended by Cormac Highways, Parish Council representatives and the Ward Member, to discuss Market Square, Polkirt Hill traffic and signage at Cliff Park;
  • The highways licence for the recycling bank had been received from Cornwall Council (CC);
  • CC had confirmed the implementation of the 2020 Parking Places Order, with a 10p across the board increase;
  • Cormac had today marked out the wild flora areas on Pentillie field ahead of the first cut of the wider field.
  1. The Ward Member presented his report, including that:
  • He has worked with the MAC and Man Down to arrange a Man Down group for men to discuss mental health issues, meeting fortnightly on Wednesday evenings at the MAC;
  • Cormac have repaired the seawall at Portmellon, although they had to be called back to clear up the thousands of plastic fibres that were left all over the beach;
  • The bench at Portmellon Cove has been repaired following the storm damage;
  • The recent road surfacing work on the B3273 has completed, and the remaining surface dressing will be carried out under ‘Stop & Go’ before the summer holiday period.

The full report can be seen on the Council’s website.

  1. To approve the monthly finances.
Bills to Pay Salaries £ 1,000.00
HMRC (PAYE) £ 250.00
Monthly subscription to Zoom £ 14.39
Temp suspension of W. Wharf PC February waste collections £ 3.14
Service glass (10/02) and cardboard (04/02, 23/02) skips £ 546.00
Penalty for contaminated cardboard skip 23/02/21 £ 30.60
Operate Valley Road PC March 2021 £ 905.34
Operate West Wharf PC March 2021 £ 941.50
Valley Road PC water 03/02/21 – 02/03/21 £ 9.40
Clearing and cutting back around Valley Road PC £ 110.00 (paid)
TOTAL £ 3,810.37
Accounts Amount available to spend as of last meeting £ 98,965.99
Expenditure last month £ 3,865.18
   plus Valley Road PC electricity 02/01/21 – 01/02/21 £ 29.46
   Advance payment for works to Valley Road PC £ 1,500.00
   New sanitaryware for Valley Road PC £ 1,386.00
   Valley Road PC water 05/01/21 – 02/02/21 £ 9.73
   Carbon audit report £ 420.00
Available to spend £ 91,755.62
Bank Statements (01/03/2021)
Current Account £ 355.19
Deposit Account £ 91,400.43
TOTAL £ 91,755.62

Proposed by Cllr. Shephard, Seconded by Cllr. Williams that the accounts be accepted and the bills paid.          Carried.

  1. Following notification by the Nare Court Residents Company that they would not commission a detailed report on the viewing platform and access path because this should be the responsibility of the ‘purchaser’, it was Proposed by Cllr. Roberts and Seconded by Cllr. Facey that the matter should be deferred until after the local elections, when a site visit will be scheduled.                                                                                                          Carried.
  1. Cllr. Facey reported that the removal of intrusive side growth from the bank behind the Valley Road Ladies PC had revealed that the bank has been slipping and is retained only by a makeshift barrier of boards and corrugated sheet materials. A site visit this morning confirmed that the danger was sufficient to defer opening. The area has been taped off and CC, as the freeholder, will be contacted as a matter of urgency to address the issue.
  1. Following a discussion about the transparency of day-to-day decision making regarding the operation of the public toilets, it was agreed that the Clerk would work with the Public Toilets Working Group to agree a catch-all resolution to provide the necessary authority and flexibility, and this would be presented as a Motion at the next meeting.

13a.        Proposed by Cllr. Facey, Seconded by Cllr. Nathan that Cllr. Gann, on behalf of the Affordable Housing Working Group, should be authorised to spend up to £250 on a land ownership survey to identify sites suitable for affordable housing developments prior to making approaches to the landowners.                                                                     Carried.

13b.        Cllr. Gann reported that the neglected Tall Trees / Hollies building appears to have moved.  This will be reported to Planning Enforcement for investigation and Cllr. Mustoe will approach the architect for an update.

13c.        Cllr. Shephard reported that he was working on the production of a questionnaire designed to justify the need for more affordable homes, and this would be presented to the Council at a future date.

  1. Cllr. Whatty said there was nothing to report on the activities of the Climate Action Group (CAG).
  1. It was agreed that Cllr. Leiser should pursue the opportunity provided by FoAM Kernow’s Evidence Support Initiative to invite a local scientific researcher to work with the CAG on the climate action plan for 3 hours per week from 25 March.

Cllr. Facey reported that 4 x electric car chargers would be operational in the Willow car park in the next few weeks, capable of providing a full charge in 3 hours.

Cllrs. Leiser and Whatty extended an invitation to all interested residents to join the CAG.

16a.        Cllr. Facey reported that he and others had dealt with the cardboard which continues to be dumped next to the cardboard recycling bank rather than being folded flat and placed within.  In future, he will give Biffa longer notice of when the banks need to be swapped.  Both banks (glass and cardboard) will remain in service throughout the summer.

16b.        Proposed by Cllr. Facey, Seconded by Cllr. Whatty that any decision on a change to Biffa’s current service arrangements should be deferred until further notice.                                                                                                       Carried.

16c.        Proposed by Cllr. Gann, Seconded by Cllr. Williams that a letter, to be drafted by Cllr. Gann, should be sent to all addresses found on cardboard packaging dumped by the recycling bank.                                                   Carried.

  1. There was no update on the proposal to set up a working group to explore longer term solutions for traffic congestion in Fore Street.
  1. There was no update on proposals to improve waste recycling and disposal for businesses.
  1. Cllr. Gann reported that the Council’s Facebook group was now up and running and would be reviewed at the next meeting.
  1. Cllr. Whatty reported that no progress had been made since the November meeting on researching the benefits and liabilities likely to arise from the adoption of a beach management plan for Portmellon, the scope of which remained open. The Chairman offered to organise a site visit with Cllrs. Whatty and Shephard.
  1. Proposed by Cllr. Whatty, Seconded by Cllr. Facey that a grant of £500 be paid to the Mevagissey Christmas Lights Committee towards the cost of replacement lights.                                                                            Carried.
  1. Proposed by Cllr. Whatty, Seconded by Cllr. Facey that a grant of £350 be paid to Wild Wonder and Wisdom CIC (Community Interest Company) towards the cost of snorkel masks, flippers and tow floats for the ‘Girls Outdoor Adventurers’ club at Portmellon.                                                                                                                         Carried.
  1. It was agreed that Cllrs. Facey, Nathan and Mustoe would collaborate to produce a costed proposal for replacing the skateboarding facility at the Valley Road recreation ground, and present this at a future meeting.
  1. Cllr. G Williams reported residents’ concerns about a) the use of the Trewinney cemetery ‘overflow’ area as a playground and b) the maintenance of the railings at the entrances to Cliff Park. It was agreed that Cllr. Mustoe would a) arrange for the back gate to the cemetery to be repaired and b) establish when the Cliff Park railings were due for repainting and, if necessary, to bring the work forward.
  1. The Chairman reported the difficulty of parking for the surgery because the suspension of car parking charges by CC has resulted in widespread use of the car park for free garaging. Cllr. Mustoe will establish the accuracy of rumours that charging is to be reintroduced from 1st April and, if necessary, ask if spaces can be reserved for surgery patients.
  1. The meeting ended at 10pm. Date of next (non-planning) meeting: 15 April 2021 (virtual meeting unless advised otherwise).

 

 

Signed ……………………………………………………………………………..              Dated ………………………………

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