Annual Parish Meeting – 25th April 2024
Agenda
The following Councillors are summoned to attend:
Cllr J. Abbey (Chair), Cllr M. Crowson, Cllr I. Mitchelmore, Cllr C. Staines, Cllr J. Waters, Cllr P. Osborne, Cllr S. Lange and Cllr I. Luscombe.
Anthony Mangnall MP, Cllr J. Brazil, Cllr L. Lawford and Neil Powers (Neighbourhood Police) are invited to attend.
The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Thursday 25th April 2024, at Slapton Village Hall (main hall), at 6.00 pm
1) Welcome
2) Apologies for absence
3) Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 26th April 2023
4) Anthony Mangnall, Member of Parliament report
5) County and District Councillor reports
a. Cllr J. Brazil
b. Cllr L. Lawford
6) Police report
7) Parish Council annual report
8) Community Support Group (CSG) Committee report
9) Community group reports
a. Parochial Church Council
b. Slapton Village Hall
c. Slapton Village Community Shop
d. White Close Trust
e. Horticultural Society
f. SAPs
g. Strollers (TBC)
h. Other community groups using the Village Hall
10) Comments and questions
Signed: Bella Moor, Clerk 16th April 2024
DRAFT MINUTES
Those in attendance:
Cllr J. Abbey, Cllr I. Mitchelmore, Cllr C. Staines, Cllr M. Crowson, Cllr P. Osborne, Cllr J. Brazil and Cllr L.
Lawford.
Also in attendance: Anthony Mangnall (left at 6.35) and approximately 50 members of the public.
1:24 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Cllr S. Lange – away on holiday. No apologies received from Cllr J. Waters or Cllr I. Luscombe. Neil
Powers (Community Police Team Leader) – away for work.
2:24 MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON 26th APRIL 2023
Were agreed unanimously and signed by the Chair as a true and correct record.
3:24 ANTHONY MANGNALL, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, REPORT
a. Anthony Mangnall MP summarised the role of the Slapton Line Partnership and explained that he is
now chairing the partnership. He is keen to prolong the life of the A379 Slapton Line as he recognises
its importance to residents and the socio-economic impact its loss would have on the area. He also
explained that the Slapton Line Partnership’s adaptation plan has been revised so that planning
permission can now be sought for the installation of sea defences (like at Beesands) at the most
vulnerable locations along the road. He noted that it is likely this planning permission will be refused
initially as Natural England will object, and that the next step after that would be to take the issue to the
Secretary of State.
b. Parishioners raised concerns about SWW, spills into the Ley and water quality. Anthony Mangnall MP
explained that he would arrange a meeting with SWW on behalf of the Parish to discuss this important
issue further. Parishioners raised other questions about a variety of different issues including spending
on education/special educational needs spending.
4:24 COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REPORTS
a. Cllr J. Brazil
i. Cllr Brazil thanked Anthony Mangnall for the impetus he has brought to the Slapton Line Partnership.
ii. Cllr Brazil explained a devolution deal is likely to go ahead for Torbay and what that might look like.
He also explained some of the overspend at County level was due to children and adult services.
b. Cllr L. Lawford
i. Cllr Lawford summarised some of the successes SHDC has had over the past year, in particular in
relation to bringing waste services back in-house.
5:24 PARISH COUNCIL REPORT
a. Parish Council
i. Cllr Abbey summarised the PC’s activities with regards to village maintenance and mowing, Public
Rights of Way, tackling anti-social behaviour, dealing with DCC Highways (regarding drains, potholes,
obstructions, landslides and oversized vehicles), ensuring integrity of The Tower, updates to statutory
documents, installation of a new SWAST defibrillator, councillor training, supporting parishioners with
concerns and queries and securing grants. Cllr Abbey also explained the PC’s intention to continue to work with DCC Highways to solve outstanding issues and tackle the PC’s key objectives for Slapton
relating to speeding and oversized vehicles. Finally, she noted that the PC were in discussions about
the viability of developing a Neighbourhood Plan.
ii. Cllr Mitchelmore explained the PC had reviewed 34 planning applications in the past year, attended a
SHDC Planning Committee meeting in support of an appeal and attended a meeting with SHDC’s
planning department about concerns over the accuracy of a Planning Officer’s report.
iii. Cllr Abbey summarised the role of the Slapton Line Partnership and explained that councillors had
attended four SLP meetings over the past year. She further explained that the PC also participated in
an economic consultation in September 2023 and produced their own 40-page report in preparation for
the consultation, and thanked those who had contributed to the report. Cllr Abbey also shared DCC
Highways information about proposed alternative inland routes should the A379 be closed or partially
closed, and invited parishioners to share their thoughts with herself or the Clerk.
iv. Cllr Osborne explained the role of the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) Councillor
Advocate Scheme and summarised what a councillor advocate does, including attending quarterly
police briefings, an annual seminar, reviewing monthly and quarterly newsletters and disseminating that
information to the PC.
vi. The Clerk summarised the end of year accounts for year-end 2023–24, together with the budget for
year-end 2024–25. She explained that all accounting information was available for review on the PC’s
website.
vii. James Curtis explained the roles and responsibilities of the PC’s Tree Wardens, including their
liaison with SHDC’s Tree Officer, and shared some interesting examples of work they have undertaken
in the last year. Cllr Abbey thanked James and Mike Hitch for the valuable work they do on behalf of the
PC.
b. Community Support Group (CSG)
i. Julie Hinder (Chair of the CSG Committee) summarised some of the CSG’s activities over the past
year, which included the launch of a Community Cinema, running of the Community Café by the Clerk
and councillors through winter 2023–24 and a Halloween event for children and families of the Parish,
which was attended by nearly 40 people. She explained that funding has been secured for 2024–25
and that the CSG would like to run some more outdoor-based activities as well as a ceilidh, but more
volunteers would be very welcome.
6:24 Community Group Reports
The following groups presented brief reports, which summarised what the groups had been doing for the
past 12 months, what the plans are for the future and, in some cases, what the financial position of the
group is:
i. Parochial Church Council
ii. Slapton Village Hall
iii. Slapton Village Community Shop
iv. White Close Trust
v. Horticultural Society
vi. SAPs
vii. Written report from Short Mat Bowls
viii. Other community groups using the Village Hall
Cllr Abbey thanked all the groups for their reports and contribution to the meeting.
7:24 Comments and Questions: None
Signed:
Date:
