Present Julia Clewes (Chairman), Sue Hembrow, Ian Parker, Irene Browning,

David House, Trevor Williams & Robert Hembrow.

In attendance Nobby Clarke (Somerset County Councillor), (Liz Smith (Clerk)

& David Lake (Footpath Officer & Tree Warden).

Apologies were received from John Hembrow and Chris Pitman.

JC welcomed Nobby Clarke to the meeting and congratulated him on his election as County Councillor.

A member of the public said that he wished to alert the Council to activities in a field in Stoke Road, opposite the entrance to Moredon. A new access has been created in Broad Lane and water supply installed. He had been to the Council Offices and established the name and address of the new owner. The new owner had been non-committal about possible new uses of the field. Any use other than agricultural will require planning permission. The clerk to contact John Hardy.

Two younger members of the public asked about provision of an area for BMX bike riding and skate boarding. Nothing very elaborate was required, piles of earth would be sufficient. An area of the playing field near the football pitch might be suitable. They would like to contribute to the playing field by helping to repaint the play area and picking up litter from time to time. They were commended for being so public spirited. It was agreed that it would be far safer to let the young people use the field rather than set up ramps, etc on the road, as happens at present.

It was agreed that the Playing Field committee would have to agree to the site and organize the work and look into the insurance situation. The clerk will look into possible sources of funding and the Council are prepared to offer support as well.

The problem of dogs on the Playing Field was mentioned again. Any member of the public can contact the dog warden immediately they see any dog unattended. The clerk was asked to contact her as well.

The clerk had obtained details and prices of shelters.

Minutes of the meeting held on Monday, 11^th April 05 were agreed to be a correct record of that meeting and signed by the Chairman.

Matters Arising

Footpaths. DL said that a broken stile at Lane End Farm is being repaired.

Low cost housing. Justin Roxburgh was unable to attend the meeting but had sent a report: The purchase of the site is proceeding and the site has been pegged out. TDBC planning department are happy to support the project and TDBC will underwrite the grant. A site in Milverton has been sold giving £90k towards the cost of this project. He is meeting Highways on Wednesday. He has appointed the development team. He hopes to start on site on 26^th September with a view to finishing by Feb 2006. He was very excited by the project which is of a high standard in terms of design, build quality and environmental standards. He will arrange a formal opening when the buildings are complete.

There will be a presentation in the Village Hall on Thursday 26^th May 3.30 – 6.15pm. Clerk to arrange notices in the shops. SH to put notices in Village.

It was agreed that the application could be submitted in the joint names of the Parish Council and Falcon Housing.

Transport. 4 people had returned the tear off slips to say they would like help with transport particularly to the surgery. It was agreed that a co-ordinator was needed in Polkesfield and a list of volunteer drivers. There is a gentleman in North Curry who delivers prescriptions and he could be asked if he could do this for Stoke as well. NC will enquire at SCC about community transport, cost, who to contact, etc.

Playing Field Memorial A drawing had been received from Nick Sloane showing the outline of the stone and the lettering and giving details of how it should be placed in the ground. It was agreed that his design should be accepted and the clerk should write to him.

School Bus. The children continue to wait outside the Royal Oak instead of using the bus shelter and the bus sometimes pulls up outside the pub, depending on the driver. The clerk was asked to write again to Berrys, the County Council and also the teacher in charge of Transport at the School.

3. Plannning

36/2005/006 Garage and roof over building at The Paddocks, Windmill.

TDBC advise that this application has been approved.

A letter has been received from Mr T McKenzie of the Village Hall Committee asking for assistance with planning fees and building regs fees.

It was agreed that the Parish Council will pay the fees for the planning application and will negotiate a discount for the buildings regs fees.

4. Finance

The following cheques were passed for payment:

000464 John Attwood 246.75 tidying burial ground

000465 Allianz Cornhill 345.45 annual insurance

000466 David Lake 50.00 internal audit

The report was received from the internal auditor. The main point to note was that money should be spent on those items to which it had been allocated in the budget. Money from reserves may be used for unexpected items of expenditure.

The clerk had obtained details from the bank about a 30 day notice account but the interest rate was only 2.5%. She was asked to try the Portman B Soc.

The notice informing electors of their rights to inspect the books and records is displayed on the notice board.

5. Correspondence

(7) TDBC re Parish Play Area Grant Scheme passed to SH for the Playing Field Committee.

(9) TDBC re Annual Meeting with Parish Councils, IB to attend with DH

(10) Trafalgar weekend to be passed to Alex Morrice

e-mail from American gentleman researching his ancestors to be forwarded to DH. ES to send him a copy of "Winter Harvest" together with history of the Parish Church and the Baptist Church.

6. Feedback from Meetings

nil

7. Any Other Business

a. Fencing A member of the public has expressed concern about a fence in Willey Road that appears to contravene the planning regulations. It was felt that since the Council had looked into the problem of a fence in Meare Green that was higher than the regulations allow, they should also look into this situation. The clerk was asked to contact the planning enforcement officer.

b. Verge Stones More stones have been placed on the verge at the bottom of Griggs Hill. It was felt that these could be dangerous, particularly at night when they are less visible. The clerk was asked to put a notice in the parish news about verge stones. She was also asked to contact the highways department about a possibly dangerous stone in the bank in Dark Lane.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.40pm.