Whitestone Parish Council
Minutes of Whitestone Parish Council on Thursday 12th March 2026.
Attendance:- Chair – Cllr T Baird
Councillors M Belt, M Frankum, P Stott, T Taylor
District Councillor J Parrott – arrived at 7.50pm
Apologies:- County Councillor A Connett,Councillor Lang.
104 Minutes of the Council Meetings held on Thursday 25th January and Thursday 12th February having been circulated were taken as read and signed by the Chair.
105. MATTERS RAISED BY THE CHAIR
105.1 Cllr Baird requested that fly tipping was to be reported to Devon County Council via the link on the Whitestone Parish website.
105.2 It was reported that an invoice had been received from Parish Online for £90.00 to cover mapping software. Following discussion it was unanimously agreed not to renew this procedure as several alternative mapping resources are available.
106. PLANNING
106.1 26/00263/FUL Construction of slurry lagoon at Upper Kingswell Farm, Longdown.
This application was reviewed and has not received any major concerns from the local community. Minor concerns raised during the meeting included importation of slurry from other farms and use of large vehicles to transport and distribute slurry damaging the roads and causing traffic problems.
Refusal of Planning Applications
106.2 26/00109/AGR Agricultural access track at Hill Farm Barn, Hill Lane
106.3 25/02060/CLDP Certificate of lawful use for proposed replacement single storey extension at the rear of the property at 2 Cleave Cottage.
Discharge of Conditions
106.4 25/00488/COND2 Discharge of conditions 3 (external materials) & 10 (surface & foul water drainage) on planning application 25/00488/VAR – Variation of condition2 on planning permission 21/02612/FUL (dwelling to replace existing agricultural building) to amend design of the dwelling at Styles Barton Meadow.
107. REPORT FROM DISTRICT COUNCILLOR
Councillor Parrott provided a further update on Local Government Reform with feedback from Central Government expected in June 2026 to confirm preferred remodel for Devon. Parish Council elections will take place in May 2027.
108. MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION
108.1 Feedback from Teignbridge Leaders event
Cllr Stott gave a full report from representatives from Whitestone Parish Council who attended the Local Leaders Event hosted by Teignbridge District Council. Details of a new CIL Fund were presented which offers Parish and Town Councils the opportunity to bid for “match funding” (at a 50:50 rate) to support community projects. Projects of between £1,000-£100,000 can be funded but the size of funding pot is obviously limited by the available funds from the Councils.
Whitestone Parish Council invites parishioners to get in touch with any ideas for a potential community project. The funding we would be able to access is probably limited to under £10,000 and would need to have community benefits, we are also limited to buying goods with the funds rather than paying for salaries or services. Please send any bright ideas to Councillor Stott - Phil.stott@ytko.com who will present them at the next Parish meeting.
108.2 Judicial Review
Cllr Stott reported that a further invoice for £379.80 had been received from Leigh Day Solicitors which finalized the payments for the Judicial Reviews against Devon County Council Planning and this would be passed for payment tonight.
108.3 Budget
Will be discussed at the April Council meeting.
108.4 Council Surgeries
After discussion this was fixed for Saturday 25th April 2026 from 11am to 1pm and will be advertised to “Meet and Greet of Parish Councillors”. Parishioners are invited to come along with some ideas of what you would like to see happening in the Parish. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided.
108.5 Parish Plan update
Initial discussions took place and this will be resolved at the April Parish Council meeting.
108.6 Improvements at bus stop area
We are waiting for the better weather to be able to continue with painting the bus shelter.
108.7 Whitestone Sports and Social Club Funday
This event, although not organized by the Parish Council, will take place on Saturday 18th July from 2pm to 5pm and it is hoped that all residents will support.
108.8 Crossway Park & Community Garden
Cllr Taylor reported that lots of work has been undertaken in the Community Garden to remove invasive species of weeds and ensure that paths remain accessible to all residents. The Parish Council would like to thank all those who have helped with the gardening over the past month. Next steps are being considered including a potential shelter.
The Community Garden working party will still be meeting on Saturday 18th April and members of the Parish are invited to join for refreshments and discussion of next steps.
The Parish Council are also hoping to get a team of volunteers to help paint the back and possibly front of the garages with the paint that has kindly been donated as part of the refurbishment around the Community Garden area.
109. FINANCE
109.1 Balances at Nat West Bank as at 28th February 2026
| Current Account 1 | £200.00 |
| Reserve Account 1 | £19586.95 |
| ReserveAccount 2 | £3561.010 |
| £23,347.96 |
Income
109.2 1 School Houses rental to 02/04/26 £950.00 - £444.00 (inc. £29.00 VAT) = £506.00
109.2 2 School Houses rental to 07/04/26 £1100.00 - £192.00 (inc. £32.00 VAT) = £908.00
The following expenditure was proposed and seconded for payment. All in favour and the cheques were signed by Councillors Baird and Frankum.
Expenditure
109.3 L Blades – (Lengthsman works) –
cheque 849 £286.80
109.4 T W Woodley (Allsorts) (4 weeks
cleaning Park Toilets) – cheque 850 £64.00
109.5 Whitestone Parish Hall (hire of
rooms for meetings/Park facilities)
cheque 851 £90.60
109.6 Clerk’s salary and expenses
cheque 853 £449.04
109.7 HM Revenue and Customs (Clerk’s
income tax on salary) - cheque 854 £101.40
109.8 Leigh Day – Challenge to decision
of DCC Planning – cheque 855 379.80
109.9 Exeter Property Maintenance (paid through Winkworth) £270.00
110. REPORTS
110.1 Cllr Frankum reported that he had applied to the P3 Scheme for £3,000 for maintenance of pathways etc. within the Parish.
110.2 Cllr Belt reported that the dog bin at the Parish Hall was broken and she had reported this to Teignbridge District Council. Also the broken sign for the passing place in Pound Lane will be reported by Cllr Frankum as well as the 30 miles per hour sign near Edenfield.
Cllr Belt reported to the meeting on the recent death of Peter Hanson who used to be a member of the Parish Council and condolences were offered to his family.
The meeting closed at 9.30pm