Decision Notice
Published: 23 September 2025
WHIMPLE PARISH COUNCIL DECISION NOTICE
COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2025
Traffic and speeding in the village
The Council RESOLVED to invite the Neighbourhood Highways Officer and DCC Councillor Cathy Connor to visit Whimple and meet with Councillors to discuss concerns around traffic and speeding in the village (including Church Lane, Broadway and School Hill)
Parish Field planting proposal
Councillors considered a proposal from a local resident asking for £600 to plant trees and shrubs along the perimeter of the Parish Field (nearest to the houses). The Council RESOLVED that they support the proposal in principle and will fund up to the value of £600. Councillors Patrick, Venton and Trimblett will liaise with Mr and Mrs Goodman to firm up the details of the proposal, including the proposed planting list and costs.
Minutes of the previous meeting of Whimple Parish Council
The Council RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the Whimple Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 21 July 2025.
Village Maintenance works – Parish Car Park
The contractors appointed by the Council at a previous meeting have now confirmed that they no longer wish to do the Parish Car Park works. As a result of this, the Council RESOLVED that quotations for the works to the Parish Council Car Park are added back onto the agenda for the 20 October 2025 meeting.
Private Land adjacent to Dince Hill Footpath
Council RESOLVED that the ownership of the land should not be transferred to the Parish Council and that the Clerk should ask Devon County Council to formerly request the owner to cut back and tidy up this area (a Section 154 notice).
Allotments Communal Areas
The Council RESOLVED to add 4-5 cuts a year of the allotment communal areas to the Grounds Maintenance schedule of works for 2026/2027 onwards.
Neighbourhood Plan
The Council RESOLVED to ask Cllr Olive to liaise with the Neighbourhood Planning Officer at East Devon District Council on the council’s options for bringing forward the Neighbourhood Plan without a housing allocation and then adding one in afterwards.
Planning Applications
Planning application 25/1674/FUL – Larkbeare Court, Holly Ball Lane, Whimple, Exeter, EX5 2QX. Roofing over existing slurry store (1).
The Council RESOLVED that it has no objection to this application.
ii) Planning application 25/1675/FUL – Larkbeare Court, Holly Ball Lane, Whimple, Exeter, EX5 2QX. Roofing over existing slurry store (2).
The Council RESOLVED that it has no objection to this application.
iii) Planning application 25/1098/FUL – Lane West of Escot Park Estate Talaton.
Construction and operation of a ground mounted solar farm and associated landscaping and ecological habitat, with permission being required for 40 years, comprising solar arrays, equipment housing, sub-station, fencing, ancillary equipment and associated development; temporary change of use of land for construction compound (off site).
The Council RESOLVED to object to the application on the grounds of accessibility and traffic to site, and the landscape character and visual impact.
This is due to concerns that:
· The roads around the construction site are not wide enough for large vehicles and will cause problems for local road users
· The development is a large scale development in green fields and will have a material impact on the landscape character and visual impact
Finance
The Council RESOLVED to approve all finance reports including bank reconciliations for July and August, schedule of payments for August and September and the budget monitoring report as at end August 2025.
The Council RESOLVED to approve the LG Pay Award for the 2025/26 financial year taking the hourly pay from £16.10 to £16.62 per hour, and to pay backpay to the Clerk from April 2025. This is to be calculated as part of the Clerk’s Salary payment for October and brought to the meeting in October for approval.
Finance Proposal
New Savings Account:
The Council RESOLVED to:
1. Set up a second savings account with Unity Trust Bank
2. Once set up, transfer all but £500 from the current account into the savings account
3. Each month a transfer schedule (covering the total amount of the schedule of payments) is approved by the Council.
Ear Marked Reserve
WACY have given the Council its remaining funds to put a goal mouth in the Parish Field.
The Council RESOLVED to:
1. Set up a new EMR called Parish Field Goal Mouth
2. Transfer the sum of £2023.40 to the new EMR when it has been set up on the finance system
Whimple History Society Funding
The Council RESOLVED that it would not be able to provide Whimple History Society with additional funding and asked the Clerk to write to them to confirm this.
Cranbrook Community Governance Review
The Council RESOLVED that the Council’s response to the Cranbrook Community Governance Review be considered at the Planning Meeting taking place on Monday 6 October 2025.
Community Engagement – Improving Communications
The Council RESOLVED to:
· Add a QR code to each agenda so that members of the public can scan it and be taken to the full agenda pack on the Council website
· Continue to post details of important items – e.g. East Devon District Council Local Plan, consultations, road closures, Cranbrook Community Governance Review, Local Government Reorganisation, etc on the Council website and both the Whimple Parish Council and Whimple What’s On Facebook pages
· Publish a list of decisions that have been made (after each Planning and Council meeting) – on the website, Facebook pages and noticeboard. On the noticeboard copy add a QR code to take people to the full minutes.
· Do a regular update on what the Council is working on, on the Whimple Parish Council and Whimple What’s On Facebook pages
· Continue to do a regular column in Whimple News.
· Produce articles to talk about the projects the council is working on
· Do updates to explain what the Parish Council can and can’t do, and how the Council works
· Put together a communications plan focused for groups of residents that might be impacted by specific issues (e.g. allocations in the EDDC Emerging Local Plan).