Minutes of a MEETING OF LYTCHETT MATRAVERS PARISH COUNCIL

Held on Monday October 17th 2016 at 7:00 in the Methodist Church, Lytchett Matravers.

PRESENT were Cllrs M Colvey, A Cottman, J Gracey, A Huggins, K Norris, J Taylor, P Webb, E Wilson, C Wood, and Mr T Watton (Parish Clerk).

Dist Cllr W Meaden, County Cllr F Drane, Dist Cllr Peter Wharf, and 3 members of the public were also present.

1. REceipt of apologies for absence – Cllrs A Bush, R Carswell,

2. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SESSION

Dist Cllr Peter Warfe, who is also a Parish Councillor at Bere Regis Regis, commented on the success of their Lengthman scheme which is now in its fourth year with the support of £11K of annual funding from Dorset County Council. He explained that the Lengthsman is able to respond quickly to requests for any Highway related works – such as to repair finger posts, clearing vegetation, clearing gutters and gullies, undertaking hedge trimming on common areas, clearing vegetation from signs, etc. He explained that the Lengthsman also undertakes work for three other parishes which helps to keep him fully occupied and helps to defray the costs. He indicated that the Bere Regis Lengthsman provides his own tools and equipment and is paid at the rate of £15.00 per hour.

3. CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENTS. The Chairman reminded those present that the Chairman’s chain of office had been sent away to be updated and it was hoped to be back in time for Remembrance Day.

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 Sepember 2016 were approved as a true record of the meeting. The minutes were 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.

ii. Minute 13, 19th September 2016 – replacement of Wareham Rd bus stop adjacent to the primary school. It was noted that this initiative appears to be moving quite quickly. Mr. Rob Camp of Dorset County Council Road Safety is very supportive, and is working with the other DCC departments to progress this quickly from their side. The managers of the Nursery next to the primary school have no views about the minor impact upon the land at the boundary of their premises. It was noted that the Parish Council will arrange to cut back all the vegetation along the pavement on the Wareham Road side of the boundary. It is also necessary for tree behind the bus shelter to be removed. Action: Parish Clerk to approach Simon Williams to arrange for this tree to be taken down and removed from the site.

Chris Hook of DCC Highways is a key player, but has been on holiday. It is necessary for him to give approval to move the concrete base of the bus stop before anything else can be undertaken. He is also required to talk to SSE about relocating a lamppost.

iii. Minute 20, 19th September 2016 – removal of broken bench at the Recreation Ground. Action: Parish Clerk to identify best option for its removal.

7. Presentation on behalf of Lighthouse Family Church, given by Mr Phil Read.

Mr. Phil Read, representing the Lighthouse Family Church (LFC), provided an overview of the additional activity recently initiated by LFC in the Club Hall. He referred to the “Open House” initiative which had been the subject of a local leaflet drop to households in the village and which had commenced on 12th October 2016. He explained that the aim of the initiative is to provide a point where anyone with a need can visit and chat in a relaxed way over coffee – and gain advice and / or be pointed in the right direction to receive help and support from the various specialist agencies, groups and organisations available. He explained that there is a connection to the Wareham and Corfe Mullen Food Bank – with packs of food and household goods ready to be issued upon request. Support workers available at the hall have been trained by Faithworks Wessex in budgeting advice. The LFC is working to build links with other organisations and support groups with specialist knowledge and skills in the areas of benefits and housing; and also to work in a complimentary way with the Citizens Advice Bureau representative currently operating from Lytchett Matravers library. He assured Council members that, where appropriate, people with particular needs would be pointed in the direction of the CAB representative. Overall, the intention is to operate the Open House initiative for an initial one year trial period and see how it goes.

Mr. Read also commented on other activity being undertaken in the building, including:

  • A family drop-in session on Sunday mornings. He explained that this is not a church service and has no religious content.
  • The Youth Club operating on Monday evenings for the under-sixteens age group.
  • A young adults session on Wednesday evenings catering for 16-20 year olds.
  • An elderly person’s lunch club meeting on Mondays – which is just about to start.
  • A music evening for young people on Tuesdays between 7 and 8 pm. In response to a question from Cllr Webb, he explained that this is acoustic only and the volume is kept low.

In addition, Mr Read explained that DCC children’s services has approached the Lighthouse Family Church to run a toddler session at Club Hall. The details of this are still to be developed.

In response to questions from members about the numbers involved, Mr. Read explained that the Monday evening Youth Club attendances were around 15 children; and currently the Wednesday evening sessions were attended by less than 10. However the Wednesday evening session attendance tends to fluctuate over time as people at the top end of the age group leave or move away to go to college etc. and new members join as they become old enough. In response to other questions from Council members he clarified the arrangements for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in terms of the necessary legal checks and training; and also confirmed that advertising of the Youth Club sessions are currently through by word-of-mouth.

8. District Cllrs report.

Cllr Meaden reported on the following:

An Audit & Governance meeting had been held at PDC. One of the good pieces of news is that PDC is currently £28,000 underspent.

The launch of this year’s Purbeck Pledge took place. This year it is about healthy exercise, preferably out and about. There are many offers around the Purbeck area to encourage walks, the use of sports centres and visiting tourist attractions.

Cllr Meaden expressed regret at being unable to help with the village litter pick this time because of an event in Broadstone which at the last moment she had to attend due to the illness of the person who was going to attend.

Mostly this month she has been at various roadshow venues in relation to “Re-shaping your Councils”. She reported that she would be at the Upton venue on 19th October between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. She remarked that the public response from Purbeck residents has been the lowest in Dorset and that whilst this is disappointing her view is that there is an overload of public consultations – and some residents have told her they really don’t care about this issue, unlike the house building where so many people got involved and still are.

Cllr Meaden reported that she had attended a Councillors’ Briefing by Dorset County Council officers regarding current projects on the Local Transport Plan. This was led by Helen Jackson who is known to Lytchett Matravers Parish Council in respect of the proposed cycleway down Huntick Road. She spoke to Ms Jackson who commented that everything which is required for this cycleway to be considered as a future project is in place. She told Cllr Meaden that Robert Gould, the Leader of DCC, is very concerned that this cycleway is pushed forward as quickly as possible in view of pressure from Richard Drax MP, a most supportive letter from Michael Tomlinson MP, and the fact that the relevant landowners are on-side. She reported that Ms Jackson had also praised Cllr Colvey’s eloquent letter showing the support of the Parish Council. This all made my job easier when, at the Briefing, discussion took place on future projects and the proposed cycleway received unanimous backing cross party for inclusion on the Local Transport Plan. It is understood that Robert Gould has, unusually, called a meeting with Ms Jackson for Monday 24th October solely discuss the cycleway. There are certain criteria that projects must meet and this one is understood to meet all of them. Due to cuts in transport budgets, there is great impetus to look at alternative transport to cars. Cllr Meaden said that she was extremely encouraged by all of this and hoped the Council members were too. She offered a particular well done to Cllr Huggins for finally getting this project much further forward than has been the case in the past.

Cllr Meaden reported that she would be going to a meeting on Friday 21st October at PDC which is with the Environment Agency and Lympwatch (the protest group to building 650 new homes in Lytchett Minster). The EA have been producing a report regarding the flooding issue and were due to present it at this meeting. Cllr Meaden wanted to attend because the findings in this report might affect the housing issue for the village.

She reported that, unusually, she had not had any civic duties to carry out since the last Parish meeting – although there were some later in October and, as has become her practice, she would be escorted by village residents.

Cllr Meaden commented that she had been made aware of some parking issues in the village and is keeping an eye on these at the moment prior to taking individual action if necessary. Various topics have cropped up with elderly residents which she was happy to report have all been tackled and resolved. She reported that she had been involved in two house building problems which were also satisfactorily resolved for all parties.

She noted that stray dogs had been a nuisance during October and not resolved happily. She observed that some dog owners seem to think that it is completely all right to have their dogs run around in the village or other people’s properties. One dog had been reported to the Dog Warden who was going to follow up officially.

9. County Councillor’s report

County Cllr Drane reported on the following:

He had attended the meeting of the DCC People and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 11th October. This included the information that Dorset County Council response to Hate Crime – the level of risk has been identified as “Medium”. He noted that Under the Equality Act (2010) the county council have a legal duty to work positively and proactively to tackle all forms of prejudice, discrimination and harassment. There are 3 Groups of Hate Crime and data indicates Weymouth and Portland had the most incidents across all three groups. Cllr Drane reported that he had asked why “Disability” was included within the three groups of hate crime – and he was advised that it was shown to be a trigger for hate by some members of the public.

He commented on the work done by voluntary and community organisations and the use of digital technology to help deal with social isolation and loneliness. A small committee has been set up at DCC to investigate the matter and Cllr Drane is a member of that committee.

He reported that DCC have decided there will be a reduction in number of Registration Services ceremony rooms across Dorset from 8 to 3.

Cllr Drane reported that he is a member of the Executive Advisory Panel for Pathways to independence. He commented that the Care Act 2014 gives the County Council a duty to arrange care and support for adults with eligible needs; and power to meet non-eligible needs. The Care Act also says that the county council has a duty to establish and maintain a service for providing local people with information and advice relating to care and support for adults-and support for carers. In each case the County Council has the discretion to choose whether or not to charge – unless the law says that the care or support must be provided free of charge. He suggested that interested members of the public should inquire in detail regarding their rights to free service as he is aware of some of members of the public not claiming when they are entitled.

10. REPORTS FROM SUB-COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS

Village Hall Toilets Refurbishment Working Group. Cllr Wilson reported that the refurbishment work so had commenced as intended on 17th October. Cllr Wilson is planning to take “before and after” photographs. Some discussion then took place regarding how any surplus / Unspent grant money Might be used. A view was expressed that it should be used to contribute towards another “Village project”.

Sports Club Governance Working Group. It was noted that still no further meeting has taken place since the one previously reported to Full Council. Cllr Webb commented that in the light of this he intends to propose another Working Group meeting to push for progress by the Sports Club. Neighbourhood Planning Working Group. It was reported thatCllr Bush is responding to comments from the examiner.

Huntick Cycle Way Working Group. Cllr Huggins reposted that the next meeting of the Working Group will take place on 15th November in the Rose & Crown PH.

11. Recommendations from Committees:

(a) Finance & Policy Cttee – meeting 10th October 2016:

· Acceptance of the Bank Reconciliation and Accounts update as attached at Appendix 1 to the Finance & Policy Cttee minutes 10th October 2016. AGREED.

· Approval of points to feed into the Affordable Housing meeting on 16th November as listed in minute 7 of the F&P Cttee meeting 10th October 2016. AGREED.

(b) Planning Committee – meeting 10th October 2016:

· Cllr Wood reported that the committee members will trial the Planning Considerations Matrix at the next meeting of this committee.

It was RESOLVED to receive the minutes of both of the above meetings.

12. Consideration of proposals by Lytchett Matravers Branch of the Mid Dorset and North Poole Conservative Association regarding refurbishment of the bench adjacent to the Tesco store.

After a brief discussion it was AGREED that the Parish Clerk should reply to this proposal by asking the Conservative Association to arrange for the work to be undertaken. Action: Parish Clerk to write to the Conservative Association accordingly.

13. Consultation and workshops on “Reshaping Your Councils”.

After discussion it was RESOLVED by a majority of members, with one abstention by Cllr Webb, that the Council’s view was that there should be “no change” to the current arrangements in Dorset at County and District / Borough levels.

14. Report of any training activity undertaken in the past month.

There had been none. Cllr Wood expressed her dissatisfaction with County and District Council providers of training that all such sessions are scheduled at times which do not fit well with those in full time employment.

15. Reports of Representatives (by exception):-

Village Hall DAPTC Footpaths School Liaison
Youth Organisations Sports Club

Cllr Wilson reported on complaints made about the lack of heating in the Blanchard Room during the recent Purbeck Film Festival showing attended by just under 40 people.

The Parish Clerk reported that Mr Mills is attending to the necessary replacement of the connecting gate between Church Walk and the Cemetery.

16. Council to approve the following payments already made

Inv To Whom For What Net VAT Total
3656 S R Skucha Home Improvements Invoice 1 for materials for Village Hall toilets refurbishment project. 10,000 0.00 10,000
3657 HMRC PAYE & ENI quarter 2 payment 893.66 00.00 893.66

17. Council to approve the following payments due:-

Inv To Whom For What Net VAT Total
3658 T Watton Clerk’s salary – October (12 equal monthly payments by SO) 848.68 0.00 848.68
3659 DCC LGPS pension contrib Oct. 270.32 0.00 270.32
3660 T Homer Handyman duties, August – plus reimbursement for purchase of concrete for dolly posts. 296.04 3.41 299.45
3661 The Landscape Group Cemetery maintenance – September 2016 303.49 60.70 364.19
3662 Southern electricity Car park lighting Quarter 2 201-17 16.23 0.81 17.04
3663 Mark Gracey Website change retainer 09/09/16 -08/09/17 450.00 0.00 450.00
3664 Fields in Trust FIT annual membership fee 50.00 0.00 50.00
3665 DAPTC Fee for Clerks’ Seminar Sept 2016 40.00 0.00 40.00
3666 E Wilson Reimbursement of mileage expenses for DAPTC Area meeting 14.85 60.00 14.85
3667 R Carswell Reimbursement of expenses incurred in purchase of seed for Recreation Ground bund. 88.33 17.67 106.00
3668 Sutcliffe Play South West Supply and Installation of replacement Huck rope swinger 2528.00 505.61 3033.61

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

It was reported that contractors are again undertaking tidying work in Dyetts Wood.

Cllr Colvey remarked on the major work being undertaken to ascertain the potential for the ex-Royal British Legion Building to be utilised sufficiently to support a case for its acquisition as a community asset. He explained that Cllr Bush is in correspondence with PDC and has determined that any case would need to include details of commitments from local organisations and groups to its use.

It was noted that a BT notice had appeared in each of the two phone boxes – opposite the Rose & Crown PH and opposite the Primary School indicating of the intention to cease their operation. The notice advises that any objection to this proposal should be forwarded via PDC Planning. An alternative option is the opportunity to purchase the box in situ (without the telephone equipment) and retain it for other use for the benefit of the community. The cost of doing so is £1 per box. It was AGREED to submit objections on the grounds of loss of facility for emergency calls – especially given the poor mobile signal coverage in the village. Action: Cllr Colvey indicated that he would prepare this. However, it was agreed that the Council should also to be prepared to purchase the boxes if the objection is unsuccessful and decommissioning by BT becomes inevitable.

Regarding the possible Wareham Rd school parking congestion solutions and alternative route to school, it was noted that Cllrs Huggins, Bush and Carswell would arrange to meet to discuss and ascertain the cost of laying a gravel surface on the Lytchett Astro Vehicles access and also to provide a firm surface path to the school via the access off Eldons Drive and the field behind the school. Action: Cllrs Huggins, Bus and Carswell to meet accordingly.

The meeting closed at 20:35

Annotated by/on …………………………….. Signed by……………………

Full Council minutes 17th October 2016