Whitestone Parish Council
Minutes of Whitestone at Whitestone Parish Hall at 7.30pm on Thursday 12th February 2026.
Attendance: Chair – Cllr T Baird
Councillors: M Belt, M Frankum, C Lang, E Purser, P Stott, T Taylor.
District Councillor J Parrott
District Councillor K Smith
Apologies:- County Councillor A Connett, Councillor E Purser, Mrs P Vaughan,Clerk to the Council.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION No public participation.
96. Minutes of the Council Meeting held on Thursday 25th January will be ratified at the March meeting.
97. REPORTS FROM DISTRICT COUNCILLORS
97.1 District Councillor Kevin Smith in attendance and introduced himself.
District Councillor Parrott provided an update on Local Government Reform, all regional bids have been submitted to the Secretary of State. Teignbridge proposal includes Teignbridge to link with South Hams and West Devon. Devon County Council have submitted a tender for the single Unitary Authority. Exeter City Council has submitted a propsal for a larger joint Exeter and Teignbridge authority. Government consultation currently running and will close on the 26th March – https://www.gov.uk consultations/local-government-reorganisation-in-devon-plymouth-and-torbay/proposals-for-local-government-reoganisation-in-devon-plymouth-and-torbay.
Elections for Parish, Town and new Unitary Authority in May 2027
Match funding opportunities between Teignbridge and Parish/Town Councils. Teignbridhge have allocated £800k for capital projects – details are emerging and Cllr Stott will attend briefing event.
Cllr Parrott instructed the community to keep reporting the potholes on the website – link on the Whitestone Parish website. Cllr Stott will also approach County Councillor Connett and Highways Agency to discuss water flooding on Church Lane into track on Oak Tree Farm.
98. MATTERS RAISED BY THE CHAIR
Cllr Baird raised the 2017 Parish Plan and suggested a review of actions and updates on progress. Action has already been taken against most of the priorities, but any outstanding actions will be reviewed and discussed at the March meeting. The Parish Council will also provide an executive summary for review at the next meeting and discuss opportunities for an update of the overall Plan - including potential Council surgeries and online engagement.
Action – Cllr Baird will review outstanding Parish Plan Actions.
99. PLANNING
The following application has been received from Teignbridge District Council with a request for comments from Whitestone Parish Council:-
26/00098/HOU Single storey rear and side extension with attached garage/store and front porch at Armonija, Nadderwater
The Council reviewed the plans and had not received any major concerns from the local community. Minor issues raised during the meeting included:-
- Run-off from rainwater could cause significant issues in the future as this has not been adequately addressed in the current plans
- Potential concerns with the size of development given the original Class Q permissions.
100. MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION
100.1 Council Surgeries – see above (Item 98)
100.2 Parking and state of road at the Tilla Homes at the top of Redhills
Cllr Baird engaged County Councillor Hill and as a result Cllr Hill has visited the site and taken photos to go back to Tilla Homes.
100.3 Signage: unsuitable road access for HGV for minor roads off the C50
Parish Council agreed £25 spend to produce a sign to discourage HGV’s on Heath Lane. Cllr Stott mentioned a sign explaining the right of way for vehicles coming up Hill Lane would also be helpful which will be discussed in the March meeting.
100.4 Improvements at bus stop area
Lawrance Blades has the paint to maintain the bus shelter but is waiting for the weather to improve before repainting.
Cllr Stott and Cllr Frankum will meet on the 14th February to cut down the small dead tree in the corner of the bus stop area.
100.5 Crossway Park and Community Garden
Decision made to remove the two beds which are overgrown and have gound elder, level the area and return to grass. The Parish Council is asking for anyone who would like to volunteer to attend on Saturday 18th April at 19am. FREE TEA, COFFEE AND BISCUITS WILL BE PROVIDED.
101 FINANCE
101.1 Balances at Nat West Bank as at 31st January 2026
| Current Account | £200.00 |
| Business Reserve Account 1 | £24.811.79 |
| Business Reserve Account 2 | £3,558.42 | £28 580.21 |
Income
101.2 1 School Houses rental to 2nd March £950.00 - £114.00 (includes £19.00 VAT = £836.00
101.3 2 School Houses rental to 7th March £1,100.00 - £132.00 includes £22.00 VAT = £968.00.
Expenditure
The following expenditure was proposed and seconded for payment. All in favour and the cheques were signed by Councillors Belt and Frankum.
101.4 L Blades – £275.85 (Lengthsman works) Cheque No 844
101.5 T W Woodley (Allsorts) £64.00 (4 weeks cleaning of Whitestone Park Toilets) Cheque No 845
101.6 British Heart Foundation £168.00 (Defib pads for Parish Hall) Cheque No 846
101.7 Leigh Day £4,653.80 (includes £775.30 vat) – Challenge to decision of DCC Planning Cheque No 847
101.8 Whitestone Parish Hall £1,857.41 (Hall Insurance) Cheque No 848
101.9 Conserve Plumbing – repairs to toilet at 1 School House £198.00 (includes £33.00 VAT) organized by Winkworth.
102. CORRESPONDENCE
None received
103 REPORTS
103.1 Cllr Belt concerns raised about yellow hatched road marking in Crossways which have now faded so vehicles are blocking access. Cllr Parrott will raise the issue with Teign Housing directly.
103.2 Cllrs Lang and Stott reported that they had thoroughly enjoyed being involved in the pantomime and thanked the Parish for their support and attendance.
103.3 Cllr Frankum is investigating claiming back some of the lengthsman costs against the Parish Paths Partnership (P3) Grant.
103.4 Cllr Baird raised the flood water running across the road at Nadderwater. She has contacted the Environmental Agency about clearing out the culvert.
103.5 Two volunteers have come forward to become Road Wardens and going to undertake training.
The meeting closed at 9.12pm.