Council meeting – 6th July 2026
The following Councillors are summoned to attend:
Cllr J. Abbey, Cllr I. Mitchelmore, Cllr T. Fletcher, Cllr J. Harris, Cllr S. Lange, Cllr I. Luscombe, Cllr P. Osborne, Cllr G. Sutton and Cllr J Hallett
Cllr J. Brazil, Cllr L. Lawford and members of the public are invited to attend.
The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Monday 6th July 2026, in Slapton Village Hall (main hall), at 7.00 pm.
The public comment section is 15 minutes in duration with 3 minutes allocated per person. If any parishioners wish to speak in relation to a matter on the agenda, please contact the clerk by email clerk@slaptonparishcouncil-devon.gov.uk 48 hours in advance of the meeting.
AGENDA
1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Does the PC resolve to accept the reasons for apologies for absence from…?
2 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: Councillors are invited to declare any disclosable interest they may have in any items to be considered. They are also reminded to consider whether, in the light of recent activities, any items within their Register of Interests should be updated.
3 PUBLIC COMMENT
Kate Payne, FSC
4 COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REPORTS
a) Cllr J. Brazil
b) Cllr L. Lawford
5 MINUTES OF THE MONTHLY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 1st June 2026, if agreed, to be signed by the Chair as a true and correct record. (See separate document 5).
6 PLANNING
a) Applications (for resolution):
None
b) Decisions (for information):
Reference: 1084/26/VAR,
Location Address: 8 Chantry Hill Slapton TQ7 2QY
Proposal: Application for Variation of a Condition 2 (Approved Plans) of planning consent 0629/25/HHO
Status: Approved
c0 Withdrawn: None
7 MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION
a) A379 Slapton Line
b) Defibrillator Training and inclusion on The Circuit
c) Grants
d) Ian Tomlinson Solutions
e) Appointment of internal auditor
f) Change of payroll provider
8 PROPOSALS RESOLUTION
a) Do the PC wish to publish the ICOs Model Publication Scheme on the PC website as recommended by the internal audit? (see separate document 8a)
b) Do the PC wish to approve the Standing Orders? (see separate document 8b)
c) Do the PC wish to approve the Financial Regulations? (see separate document 8c)
d) Do the PC approve the direct debits?
e) Payment of the Chair’s allowance
f) Do the PC wish to continue their current subscriptions to external bodies?
g) Do the PC wish to purchase a CoPilot subscription for use by the PC?
h) Do the PC approve the Risk Register (ese separate document 8h)?
i) Do the PC approve the Business Continuity Plan (see separate document 8i)?
j) Do the PC approve the Risk Assessment for the Recreation Field (see separate document 8j)?
9 CLERK’S REPORT: Update from Clerk
10 CHAIR’S REPORT: Update from Chair
11 COUNCILLOR REPORTS: Update from Cllrs
12 REVIEW OF ACTION LOG: Status update (see separate document 12)
13 FINANCIAL MATTERS
a) Payments to approve: Does the PC approve the payments below, which have been examined, verified and certified by the Clerk and RFO? (see separate document 13a)
| INV NO | DETAIL | AMOUNT |
| 38 | Mathias Property Solutions: Grass cutting for June 2026. Invoice no 2347, dated 28th June 2026 | 371.61 |
| 39 | DALC: AI webinar. Invoice no 7729, dated 26th June 2026 | 42.00 |
| 40 | Woolston Accounts: June Payroll Invoice: 1200 dated 30th June 2026 | 20.00 |
| 41 | Artisan Pizzeria Ltd | 165.00 |
| 42 | VC Warehouse: June phone. Invoice expected 1st July 2026 | 11.94 |
| 43 | Lloyds: Service Charge. Ref: 487139827 | 4.25 |
*Additional invoices received after the agenda has been issued will be available for review at the meeting
b) Balance at bank
| Balance as per bank statements on 26.06.26 | Amount GBP |
| Community Account | 11370.03 |
| Commercial Instant Access Account | 14471.06 |
| Total | 25,841.09 |
c) Receipts summary
| Receipts as per bank statements on 26.06.26 | Amount GBP |
| Community Account
|
0 |
| Commercial Instant Access Account
|
5.75 |
| Total | 5.75 |
d) First quarter bank reconciliation: Does the PC agree that the bank reconciliation can be signed by the Chair and another Cllr as correct? – see separate documents (13d)
e) First quarter budget update for information only – see separate document (13e)
The next Parish Council Meeting will be held on
Monday 7th September at 7.00 pm at Slapton Village Hall (main hall).
Signed: Hannah Iles, Clerk Date: 30.06.26
Those in attendance:
Cllr J. Abbey, Cllr I. Mitchelmore, Cllr T. Fletcher, Cllr J. Harris, Cllr S. Lange,Cllr P. Osborne, Cllr G. Sutton and Cllr J Hallett. Cllr L. Lawford and Kate Payne from the FSC and H Iles (clerk) were also in attendance
DRAFT MINUTES
JULY26:
1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:
Cllr Brazil was absent and Cllr Luscombe sent his resignation from the council on 30th June 2026.
2 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: Councillors were invited to declare any disclosable interest they may have in any items to be considered. None were declared.
3 PUBLIC COMMENT
Kate Payne (KP), FSC
Kate advised that there will be schools visits until mid-July (two Tally Ho pickups are arranged from Brandis Park in July) and university trips, adult courses and youth groups (Duke of Edinburgh) are planned over the summer in additional to exclusive hires (self-catering). The FSC are trying to find out the plans and intentions of the private hirers and will allocate rooms away from the village. Schools will be back from September; but no programmes in place yet to ascertain the requirement for Tally Ho transport. KP is meeting with Tally Ho to look at alternative pick up points, potential sites include in front of the recreation ground. KP will also speak to Tally Ho about the bus Convoys that are causing congestion on Deer Bridge and exasperating the grid lock.
The trail to Stokenham has been discussed at the NNR meeting and is on the agenda for the FSC sub-committee meeting next week, dependant on the response the proposal may then be taken to the main committee meeting in the autumn where routes and costings will be looked at.
KP left the meeting.
4 COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REPORTS
a) Cllr J. Brazil was unable to attend the meeting and sent his report. Cllr Brazil hopes that the extra buses are working and gave a special thanks to Jane for all the work she put in to achieve this.
Cllr Brazil is in the process of trying to get an ‘Access Only’ on all roads into Slapton. The objective is to get SatNavs to remove Slapton as a cut through to Dartmouth or vice versa. For locals it won’t make any difference, but visitors will be sent on different routes. DCC have the initial £1.2 million for the phase 1 back road upgrade. Phase 2 will include Deer Bridge Road, but Cllr Brazil thinks it’s important to get the ‘Access Only’ regime in place first. No news from government in respect of the bid for the Structural Funds pot.
b) Cllr L. Lawford
Cllr Lawford shared that there has been positive feedback from the Parkwood Leisure takeover of the leisure centres with users noting that they are much cleaner and lots of repairs are taking place with more planned. Cllr Lawford has sent another email about waste and will continue to chase the fixing of freestanding bins to stop them being blown over. Cllr Lawford praised Gemma on the waste team for her help. The pump track has opened in Kingsbridge. A Crisis and Resilience fund is open for people experiencing sudden loss of income. Items such as slow cookers will be available for free over the winter. Enquiries can be made through the SHDC website or to the Parish Council, who will forward on to Cllr Lawford. Cllr Lawford warned about scams involving QR codes on parking machines, SHDC do not use QR codes. SHDC are progressing the gate repair for the Greenbanks playpark. In Dartmouth repairs are being carried out to fencing and the Kingsbridge toilets are being refurbished at the Fore Car Park, the Quay toilet refurbishment will follow.
5 MINUTES OF THE MONTHLY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 1st June 2026 were signed by the Chair as a true and correct record.
6 PLANNING
Applications (for resolution):
None
There are no applications for resolution, but the council discussed the impact of the addtional houses planned in East Allington on the road network, which is already struggling.
Decisions (for information):
Reference: 1084/26/VAR,
Location Address: 8 Chantry Hill Slapton TQ7 2QY
Proposal: Application for Variation of a Condition 2 (Approved Plans) of planning consent 0629/25/HHO
Status: Approved
Withdrawn: None
7 MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION
a) A379 Slapton Line
SLP Full meeting attended by Cllr Abbey and Cllr Osborne. H is doing her best in her role as Adaptions Manager. There are so many organisations involved, many of whom are happy for the road not to be built again, discounting the impact on local communities. Cllr Osborne asked about the figures for the bid, highways were confused by which bid they had put forward. Of the £20,0000,000 bid 35% was for the actual building of the road. Highways did not provide an answer other than they need to have a contingency.
At the EA open day at Stokenham Cllr Abbey spoke with Dan Field and Cllr Osborne spoke with Lou Hoskin (LH) about their concerns that PCs do not have any funds or authority and the SLP has no decisions making powers. LH is trying to amend the terms of reference of the SLP. The problem on the Deer Bridge Road is difficult to fix but highways have done nothing except erect a sign at Totnes Cross, no additional hedge cutting is planned. Kier are completing the work at Torcross to protect the houses, the project is due to start next month and the tank car park will be closed in September. Rocks from Norway will be brought in by barge and work will be carried out 24 hours to fit around the tides. A slip way will be reinstated. Councillors raised concerns over the impact of the rock armour on unprotected areas, the EA are aware of the potential impact but no modelling will be carried out and there is no plan in place to mitigate.
The PC are pleased that after months of petitioning an alternative bus route has been put in place to reconnect the village in a meaningful way. The service will run until the end of August before being reviewed.
There has been progress with the inland routes thanks to the project manager who listened to the PCs. A traffic count survey is planned for august. A drone survey was carried out in June to see what is going on behind the hedges along the Deer Bridge Road, and was also used to carry out an ecology survey. A plan will be formed in September with works potentially being proposed in December.
Councillors raised concerns over accessibility to the beach and amenities for disabled people, which are not been addressed.
Slapton Line Alliance The alliance are pushing for the terms of reference to be updated for the SLP for the PCs influence to be brought in line with the influence of the statutory bodies.
The alliance has pushed for the A379 working group to be reinstated and this has now been agreed.
The planning permission for the monument has lapsed. A new plan will need to be submitted to locate the monument at Strete Gate.
The alliance met with Caroline Voaden MP to try to push actions forward. CV MP has been down at the beach today where is has been closed off for the imminent works.
Councillors thanked Cllr Abbey for the incredible amount of work she has put into the Slapton Line.
Action: Chair to chase up additional hedge cutting
Action: Clerk to put reminder about bus service on website
Action: Cllr Abbey to let councillors know when she has more information about the interactive map
b) Defibrillator Training and inclusion on The Circuit
Councillors agreed that October would be a good time to rebook the training, preferably on a Wednesday as the hall is usually available. Councillors agreed to add the defibrilliator to The Circuit
Action: Clerk to arrange training and book hall
Action: Clerk to add defibrillator to The Circuit
c) Grants
Councillors looked at amount earmarked for community grants in the budget and will listen out for potential in the community. To discuss again in September.
d) Ian Tomlinson Solutions
The PC do not plan to renew the current subscription and will review before the renewal.
Action: clerk to seek alternate 365 and email
e) Appointment of internal auditor
Council are pleased with the service of the current internal auditor and will resolve at next meeting to appoint them for the 2026/7 audit.
f) Change of payroll provider
The clerk will look at Pay Captain and other providers before the next meeting
g) PROPOSALS RESOLUTION
a) Cllr Osborne proposed, Cllr Lange seconded and the council unanimously agreed to publish the ICOs Model Publication Scheme on the PC website as recommended by the internal audit
b) Cllr Osborne proposed, Cllr Lange seconded and the council unanimously agreed to approve the Standing Orders
c) Cllr Osborne proposed, Cllr Lange seconded and the council unanimously agreed to approve the Financial Regulations
d) Cllr Osborne proposed, Cllr Lange seconded and the council unanimously agreed to approve the direct debits
e) Cllr Osborne proposed, Cllr Lange seconded and the council unanimously agreed to the payment of the Chair’s allowance
f) Cllr Osborne proposed, Cllr Lange seconded and the council unanimously agreed to continue their current subscriptions to external bodies?
g) Cllr Osborne proposed, Cllr Lange seconded and the council unanimously agreed to purchase a CoPilot subscription for use by the clerk in the next budget.
h) Cllr Osborne proposed, Cllr Lange seconded and the council unanimously agreed to approve the Risk Register
i) Cllr Osborne proposed, Cllr Lange seconded and the council unanimously agreed to approve the Business Continuity Plan
j) Cllr Osborne proposed, Cllr Lange seconded and the council unanimously agreed to approve the Risk Assessment for the Recreation Field
9 CLERK’S REPORT: Update from Clerk
10 CHAIR’S REPORT: Cllr Abbey had visitied Stokenham to view the People’s Emergency Briefing film. A parishioner would be interested in showingthe film in the village and will make all of the arrangements. Cllr Abbey did not glean much new information but is happy for the parishioner to show it. Cllrs noted that it could be shown at the winter cafe. Cllr Abbey provided a witness statement to the EA about waste in the ley. A complaint was made to the monitoring officer about a council member breaching the code of conduct, the complaint was not upheld.
11 COUNCILLOR REPORTS:
Cllr Harris noted a complaint from a member of the public about the smell of sewage from the ley. Cllr Harris attended a meeting at Morleigh and had opportunity to raise concerns over the planning process. Other parishes raised concerns over house building. some parishes have too many houses proposed and others have no sites available from landowners. Cllr Harris challenged Phil Baker, Head of Planning over the lack of powers the enforcement team appear to have. Mr Baker could not provide any information on enforcement and stated that there is nothing he can do. Cllr Harris has received a number of concerns from worried parishioners about reporting planning breaches in case of repercussions. Councillors discussed how the PC should manage planning breaches reported to them and agreed that the clerk would seek assurance from SHDC that all identifying details of anyone who reported a planning breach would be redacted should a FOI request be received. Cllr Harris has emailed Cllr Brazil about trimming the road hedges on Five Mile Lane to improve the flow of traffic.
Cllr Fletcher received an update on sewage in the ley, further to complaints earlier in the year, a witness statement was provided and the EA are looking a pursuing prosecution via Southwest Water. Parishioners have approached Cllr Fletcher about strimming, one location has now been strimmed. The water outlet infront of Higher Cottage where the dogs drink is drier than usual, councillors think that it is due to the lack of rainfall and noted that the pipes are very likely lead and no one should drink from the outlet.
Cllr Sutton has invited the new Sargeant along with PCSO Harris to come to a PC meeting in the future and is awaiting a response. There have been no further thefts and the jam is now been sold in the shop.
Cllr Lange has taken over as chair for Save Our Shoreline, councillors can see no conflict to be noted but will be monitored. The organisation will look at a plan to restore the shingle that was removed from the bay, noting that no modelling has been carried out for the work planned at Torcross to see how this will affect the rest of the bay. SOS plan to get modelling done when funding can be secured, there are potential funding sources. Fears continue that the Dartmouth side of the line may be breached before any action can be taken and the inland road network is insufficient to replace the A379.
Action: clerk to get confirmation from SHDC that identifying information will be redacted for any FOI request submitted for a planning breach report.
12 REVIEW OF ACTION LOG: Status update
Action: Clerk to add Deer Bridge dredging to the action log, noting that the PC need to look at funding
13 FINANCIAL MATTERS
a) Payments to approve: Cllr Osborne proposed and Cllr Lange seconded and the council unanimously approved the payments, which have been examined, verified and certified by the Clerk and RFO and agreed that any payments in line with current contracts, quotes (ActionWest) and employer obligations will be made in August when no meeting is scheduled to take place.
| INV NO | DETAIL | AMOUNT |
| 38 | Mathias Property Solutions: Grass cutting for June 2026. Invoice no 2347, dated 28th June 2026 | 371.61 |
| 39 | DALC: AI webinar. Invoice no 7729, dated 26th June 2026 | 42.00 |
| 40 | Woolston Accounts: June Payroll Invoice: 1200 dated 30th June 2026 | 20.00 |
| 41 | Artisan Pizzeria Ltd: APM refreshments. Invoice no: 00Slapt02, dated 30th June 2026 | 165.00 |
| 42 | VC Warehouse: June phone. Invoice expected 1st July 2026 | 11.94 |
| 43 | Lloyds: Service Charge. Ref: 487139827 | 4.25 |
| 44 | H Iles: Clerk’s salary July 2026, plus £26.00 WFH allowance | 551.56 |
| 45 | Community First Insurance. Invoice no YLL2720278713, dated 1st June 2026 | 377.35 |
| 46 | Hall Hire: Parish Council Meetings. Invoice no C071209/26, dated 6th July 2026 | 20.00 |
| 47 | Mathias Property Solutions: Road Warden for Jun 2026. Invoice no 2352, dated 5th July 2026 | 362.51 |
| 48 | HMRC: PAYE Income Tax. PAYE reference 120/LA58268 | 90.45 |
| 49 | Chairs allowance | 200.00 |
| 50 | Amazon: Ink. Invoice no 026-5606030-3724312, dated 20th May 2026 Cllr Mitchelmore expenses | 23.49 |
b) Balance at bank
| Balance as per bank statements on 26.06.26 | Amount GBP |
| Community Account | 11370.03 |
| Commercial Instant Access Account | 14471.06 |
| Total | 25,841.09 |
c)Receipts summary
| Receipts as per bank statements on 26.06.26 | Amount GBP |
| Community Account
|
0 |
| Commercial Instant Access Account
|
5.75 |
| Total | 5.75 |
d) First quarter bank reconciliation: Cllr Abbey proposed and Cllr Osborne seconded and the council unanimously agreed that the bank reconciliation can be signed by the Chair and another councillor as correct
e) First quarter budget update for information only. There were no queries regarding the budget update.
Cllr Sutton shared that he is resigning from the PC and this will be his last meeting. Cllr Sutton was thanked by the members for his service and contribution to the community.
The next Parish Council Meeting will be held on Monday 7th September at 7.00 pm at Slapton Village Hall (main hall).
The meeting closed at 9.18pm
