Minutes of a MEETING OF LYTCHETT MATRAVERS PARISH COUNCIL
Held on Monday January 16th 2017 at 7:00 in the Methodist Church, Lytchett Matravers.
PRESENT were Cllrs M Colvey, A Bush, A Cottman, J Gracey, A Huggins, K Norris, J Taylor, E Wilson, C Wood, and Mr T Watton (Parish Clerk).
Dist Cllr W Meaden and two members of the public were also present.
1. REceipt of apologies for absence – Cllrs R Carswell, P Webb and County Cllr F Drane.
2. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SESSION
Mrs Scorer described an incident which had occurred on the steps between the pharmacy and Tescos in July 2016 where her husband fell and sustained a serious life-changing injury. She commented on the exceptional kindness and concern of staff from the nearby businesses and of passers-by in very promptly coming to the aid of her and her husband, and of their continued care and concern since then. She expressed her gratitude to residents of the village and her appreciation of living in a place where people are so considerate. She went on to ask the Council if it would exert what influence it can in reducing the danger caused by the steps on which Mr Scorer fell.
In response, the Chairman thanked Mrs Scorer and observed that it must have been difficult to come and speak in this way. Council members also asked if Mrs Scorer had spoken to the owner of the Pharmacy premises, which includes the steps in question, regarding action to remove or reduce the danger posed by them. The Chairman assured Mrs Scorer that the Council would do whatever it can to encourage appropriate remedial action to be taken regarding the steps.
3. CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENTS. Cllr Colvey referred to the local training session he had previously proposed. He hopes to rearrange this for sometime in the first quarter of 2017. He will write to members to seek availability and preferences.
4. DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST; AND CONSIDERATION OF REQUESTS FOR SPECIAL DISPENSATIONS UNDER SECTION 33 OF THE LOCALISM ACT 2011. There were none.
5. Minutes of Council Meeting on 19th DEcember 2016 were approved as a true record of the meeting, then signed by the Chairman.
6. MATTERS ARISING & UPDATE ON ACTION POINTS.
i. Minute 14, 21st September 2015 – website updating. It was noted that producing the set of personal profiles is still in train and Councillor Colvey will follow up any outstanding profiles.
ii. Minute 13, 19th September 2016 – replacement of Wareham Rd bus stop adjacent to the primary school. It was reported that no revised date for a site meeting had yet been made by DCC. Mr Hook is expected back in the office on 17th January, when Cllr Wood will try again to contact him about this.
iii. Minute 20, 17th October 2016 – Decommissioning of Telephone Kiosks: Cllr Colvey reported that he has made contact with the Conservation Officer at PDC who is handling liaison with BT regarding both the cases for operational retention of kiosks and also their purchase by local communities.
7. District Cllrs report.
Cllr Meaden wished all members a happy and successful 2017; and then reported on the following matters:
She expressed sadness at the news of the death of past parish councillor Peter Burbidge. She recalled that Peter had worked very hard as Footpaths Councillor to keep the footpaths and bridleways in and around the village passable and in good order. He had organised the New Years Day walk every year which always incorporated as many footpaths and bridleways as was possible. This walk always set off from the village hall and was immensely popular. His agricultural knowledge was a real asset to the Parish Council and he was keen to take part in projects such as children’s playgrounds and the recreation field maintenance.
Cllr Meaden commented that recently has been a time of trying to discover what local residents think about the reshaping of council boundaries. She observed that it seemed to her that almost everyone she had spoken to does not want to become part of Poole and Bournemouth, so would welcome the Rural Shire Unitary Authority. She went on to say that she had gathered the opinion that few people believe that staying as we are is an option as most feel there will be savings by cutting tiers of government. Certainly in Lytchett Matravers it seemed to her that there is a prevailing opinion that our local tier of government does a good job and could be capable of doing more with the right funding and tools. At Purbeck District Council the meeting to make the decision on this issue is 31st January at 7 p.m. She believes that the vote will be recorded. PDC is the last council in Dorset to vote.
She commented that the PDC full Council meeting is on 17th January and one of the topics for consideration is the Domestic Rate Relief report. Domestic Rate Relief is awarded to mostly charities and also to support small local businesses such as a post office and local store in a small village. The recommendation, if carried, will be to continue to support all current beneficiaries and increase their awards slightly.
Cllr Meaden commented that it had been a relatively quiet time over the last month; but that in the village she had been involved in some Christmas activities.
She was pleased to report that on the issue of Nitrogen Mitigation in Poole Harbour, PDC had decided to only allow major development where the developer must consider new technologies/methods of dealing with human excrement. The option of diverting agricultural land into tree planting to indirectly offset development will only be allowed as a final resort after the developer has clearly evidenced a thorough investigation and failure to generate any new technologies/methods. This has been included in the supplementary planning document going forward for approval in the next two months and it is the hope of PDC that it will be able to persuade other Dorset authorities to follow PDC’s lead. This has been a major success. Cllr Meaden continues to work with Kingston Maurward agricultural college to try to organise a training day into agricultural practices for councillors and officers to attend.
In response, Cllr Bush expressed concern on the matter of Nitrogen Mitigation and wondered how the above squared with PDC’s wish to build 1000+ houses between Lytchett Matravers and Poole Harbour.
8. County Councillor’s report
County Cllr Drane was unable to be present.
9. REPORTS FROM SUB-COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS
Village Hall Toilets Refurbishment Working Group – It was noted that there is no news yet of an opening ceremony. This is an important issue as the Council wishes to be able to pass on this information to Giles Clark, representing organisation which donated the funds for the refurbishment.
Sports Club Governance Working Group – It was reported that the Village Fayre Committee are in touch with the Sports Club regarding the date for the Fayre. However, it was noted that this is not Sports Club Working Group business. The Parish Clerk commented on the recent fly-tipping incident alongside the Sports Club bin in the car park and the approach from PDC threatening the Parish Council with an Enforcement Order to get it cleared. He reported that he had discussed this incident with the Sports Club Chairman and Secretary, as well as the need for the Sports Club and the Parish Council to share information and collaborate regarding a campaign to consistently report to the police every incident of crime suffered by either organisation.
Neighbourhood Planning Working Group – It was reported that a new examiner has now been appointed, who has agreed to complete the process by the end of January 2017.
Huntick Cycle Way Working Group – Helen Jackson of DCC was contacted week commencing 9th January 2017. At that point she was finalising a pre-feasibility brief which requires costings to be added before it is submitted to the next available DCC Local Transport Plan meeting. Cllr Meaden indicated that she would attend the briefing on 1st February 2017.
10. Recommendations from Committees:
The following recommendations were considered:
a) Environment & Amenities Cttee – meeting 9th January 2017:
(a) That the DCC contractors are asked to remove the Ash tree stump when they attend to dig up and remove the bus shelter concrete base. It was AGREED that Cllr Wood would take this up with DCC.
- The painting of distance marks on the tarmac path on the Recreation Ground at 100 metre intervals for the benefit of walkers and joggers; and that this work is undertaken internally by a Council member during the Spring / Summer. AGREED.
- Regarding grass cutting of the southern part of the Recreation Ground that:
(i) A request is made to the Sports Club for information about the contractor who now cuts the main playing field…and that this contractor is asked to quote for cutting the southern part of the rec.
(ii) That Mr Mills is asked to quote for cutting the southern part of the rec.
AGREED.
- Repair the substantial continuous run of damaged length of the Rocket Park fence to an upgraded standard as a trial. Specification to include double-sided palings affixed with “tap-in” screws. It was AGREED, and that the Parish Clerk should obtain quotations for this work.
- That a review should be carried out by a Working Group to map out the alternatives to strengthen the Recreation Ground defences in general, and the bund in particular. AGREED.
- That the Parish Clerk should undertake an initial review and update of each of last year’s risk assessments and then distribute to members to check and further update against the assets involved:
– Benches…..Cllr Bush.
– Old School Green….Cllr Cottman.
– Allotments….Cllr Wilson.
– Recreation Ground….Working Group from E&A Cttee.
– Cemetery…..Cllr Wilson.
– Bus Shelters…..Cllr Norris.
– Club Hall….Cllr Wood.
– Foxhills Open Space……Cllrs Huggins and Carswell.
AGREED.
b) Planning Committee – meeting 5th January 2017:
· No recommendations.
It was RESOLVED to receive the minutes of both of these meetings.
11. Acceptance & Signing of deed of dedication for protection of Old School Green under “Centenary Fields” by Fields in Trust.
The Council Chairman and Vice Chairman formally signed this Deed of Dedication and its accompanying plan. The signatures were witnessed by District Councillor Wendy Meaden.
12. Acceptance of investment report from Mark Pincott & Associates.
Receipt of this report was noted, as was the total growth of 16.07% since inception.
13. Annual Parish Meeting 2017.
The Council Chairman remarked that he is researching an initial idea he has for an approach to this year’s Annual Parish Meeting. He also encouraged other members to develop and investigate any ideas that have – ready for a discussion to take place at the February Full Council meeting. Action: All Council members to consider possible approaches / formats for the 2017 Annual Parish Meeting.
14. Report of meeting on 16th November 2016 with representatives of DCC at Club Hall
The Chairman clarified that this meeting had been between representatives of DCC and the Scouts. Members of the Parish Council had merely been present as observers. The Scouts request for a significant lengthening of the lease to 100 years was turned down by DCC who felt that a maximum of 50 years was reasonable. The matter of possible transfer by DCC of the freehold to the Parish Council was not addressed. However, it was noted that the re-structuring of Dorset councils may result in an opportunity to discuss this again with a different body in the relatively near future.
15. Report of any training activity undertaken in the past month.
There was none.
16. Reports of Representatives (by exception):-
| Village Hall | DAPTC | Footpaths | School Liaison |
| Youth Organisations | Sports Club |
Village Hall – Cllr Wilson reported that Not Just WI have an event planned at the Village Hall on 14th February and have indicated that they wish to donate any money raised from it to the purchase of plants or bulbs for the Recreation Ground bund. Cllr Wilson is to email to thank them for this.
DAPTC – Cllr Norris reported that due to late notification he was unable to attend the Purbeck Area DAPTC meeting scheduled to take place on Wednesday 25th January.
Footpaths – Cllr Norris drew Cllr Taylor’s attention to a problem with a footpath near Loop Farm which has eroded steps. Cllr Taylor indicated that he would investigate and refer to DCC if necessary.
School Liaison – Cllr Bush reported that that the school governors are discussing improvements to the connecting path between the school and the Lytchett Astro, and may approach the Parish Council about this.
17. Council to approve the following payments due:-
| Inv | To Whom | For What | Net | VAT | Total |
| 3696 | T Watton | Clerk’s salary – January (12 equal monthly payments by SO) | 848.68 | 0.00 | 848.68 |
| 3697 | DCC | LGPS pension contrib Jan. | 270.32 | 0.00 | 270.32 |
| 5698 | HMRC | PAYE & ENI Quarter 3 | 879.66 | 0.00 | 879.66 |
| 3699 | T Homer | Handyman duties, December. | 230.69 | 0.00 | 230.69 |
| 3700 | The Landscape Group | Cemetery maintenance – December 2016 | 303.49 | 60.70 | 364.19 |
| 3708 | Southern Electric | Car Park lighting, quarter 3, 2016/17 | 16.58 | 0.82 | 17.40 |
| 3709 | BWBSL | Allotment water supply, 24/06/16-28/11/16 | 231.40 | 0.00 | 231.40 |
| 3710 | Brighstone Landscaping Ltd | Grounds maintenance, Foxhills Open Space, 01/10/16-31/12/16 | 620.43 | 124.09 | 744.52 |
| 3712 | J Gracey | Reimbursement of expenditure on supply of outdoor steel heated AED cabinet | 395.00 | 90.85 | 485.85 |
Council APPROVED all of the above payments.
18. “Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014”, Part 3, Paragraphs 6-10, Record of Decisions and Access to Documents – record of decisions taken by Parish Clerk.
There were none.
19. CORRESPONDENCE.
There was none.
20. MATTERS OF INTEREST AND INFORMATION
Cllrs discussed and AGREED the following items for the next issue of Lytchett Link – copy deadline 15th March:
– Chairman’s address: Cllr Colvey
– Vandalism in the village: Cllr Gracey.
– CALM and Neighbourhood Plan: Cllr Bush & Cllr Norris.
– Fly tipping: Cllr Norris.
– Village Hall toilets refurbishment: Cllr Wilson.
– Defibrillator: Cllr Cottman.
Cllr Norris advised that the next litter pick would be on Saturday 4th March 2017. Cllr Colvey’s suggestion of the purchase of banners for litter picks was AGREED, with a budget of £100.
It was reported that the Castle Players are understood t be on the point of disbanding.
In response to the issues raised in item 2 above in these minute, it was AGREED to refer this matter to the next meeting of the Finance & Policy Committee for further consideration. Action: Parish Clerk to add this to the draft agenda of that meeting accordingly.
The meeting closed at 9:05
Annotated by/on …………………………….. Signed by……………………