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Parish Council Minutes April 2005

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The Monthly Meeting of the Parish Council took place in the Village Hall on Wednesday

13th April 2005 commencing at 7.30 pm.

The Vice Chairman, Cllr Mrs J Nudds presided; present were Cllrs K Bryan, M.Day, C Hill, Mrs M Metcalfe, C Sleigh and M Williams with G Russell in attendance. Also present for part of the meeting were Nick Charlton from McLennan Architects, County Cllr John Howell and District Cllr John Cotton.

1 Apologies for absence

None: all Councillors were present

2 Public Participation

Nick Charlton from McLennan Architects came to the meeting in order to explain the development options for his client, Oxford Swindon & Gloucester Co-Op Society, in converting the living accommodation above the store in the High Street. On the basis that at least one car parking space per flat could be expected Mr Charlton said that there were no development options that would have no impact on the demand for car parking in what is known to be an area of high demand. He said that his client is anxious to try and find some way of assisting the Parish Council to deal with these difficulties and further discussions should take place along these lines. The Council told Mr Charlton that his initiative in attending the meeting was much appreciated.

3 Declarations of Interest

Cllr Mark Williams said that as a close neighbour he had an interest in P05/W0334 18 Abingdon Road; Erection of a conservatory at the rear. He also stated that on behalf of BCB he has recently submitted a quotation to Cllr Day for landscape work in the Cemetery.

4 Minutes of the Meeting held 9th March 2005

These were approved and signed as a true record.

5 Matters Arising from the Minutes

i. SEERA Consultation; the Clerk had prepared a draft letter which summarised the Council's opinion about the consultation process. This was approved. It was suggested that copies should be made available at the Annual Parish Meeting on 26th April.

ii. Dorchester Festival car parking; it was agreed to postpone discussion on this item until the May meeting.

iii. Affordable Housing; a notice asking those in housing need to register with SODC has appeared in Dorchester News. Cllrs Cotton and Howell asked to be sent a copy of the affordable housing survey report. Cllr Cotton said that he would check who was on the housing register.

iv. First Responder scheme; information about a similar scheme in Hampshire was passed to Cllr Howell. The Hampshire scheme appears to be entirely staffed by volunteers.

v. The Limes; the Clerk confirmed that Fred Cherrill has been asked to refurbish the street signs.

vi. Concrete slab on John Pratt's land. The Clerk said that so far he had taken no action on this matter. It was said that the slab had been built on and Cllr Mrs Metcalfe said that she would view the site. Cllr Cotton said that the Council should contact the District Council's enforcement team about its concern.

6 District Councillor's Report

Cllr Cotton said that the Planning Committee's vote over the Hallidays applications for planning approval and listing building consent was unusually close. He said that this was a tribute to the presentation by Cllr Hill.

He suggested that the Council should follow up the parking issue arising out of the residential development above the Co-Op, possibly trying to obtain a section106 agreement for parking improvements. He would support this when it came before the Planning Committee.

Cllr Cotton said that the District Council is introducing a system for composting garden waste. Residents can obtain a heavy-duty paper sack for their 'green' waste and there will be separate collection arrangements. More details will soon be available.

7 County Councillor's Report

Cllr Howell said that he was pleased to have been involved in the Parish Council's efforts to obtain conditions for the approval of the Hallidays plans. He pointed out that even though County Council officials, usually Highways, are consulted during the planning application process this does not mean that he personally is automatically made aware of what schemes are being processed.

He has arranged a meeting with John Wright of Thames Travel to discuss the future provision of bus services to Dorchester; several residents have made known their anxiety about the future of these services. He will look through the County Council's recently distributed transport consultation documents.

Cllr Howell confirmed that the County has removed the reference to gravel extraction in the Stadhampton-Dorchester-Benson area from the Structure Plan. The matter will be reconsidered under the Minerals and Waste Local Development Framework which is expected to be completed by 2007/8.

8 Correspondence and Other Business

i). Sports Club & Playground;

It was agreed that the damaged 'springer' play unit should be removed. The RoSPA inspection in July is offering a risk assessment appraisal as an additional service at a cost of approximately £75 and it was agreed to request that this be done.

Cllr Day will attend the OPFA 'roadshow' at Chalgrove on 26th May.

Fifty free trees have been received from SODC and have been planted to fill a gap in the hedge on the far side of the Recreation Ground. SODC have said that they hope to have a further supply next year.

ii). Footpaths;

Cllr Mrs Metcalfe said that she would study the consultation documents on the Rights of Way improvement plan.

There has been a complaint that one end of Albert Place is hard to walk because of overhanging branches etc. The Clerk will investigate.

The Clerk was asked to organise the tidying of the area off The Green at Bridge End known as 'Waterloo' and to research the availability and cost of publicity materials encouraging dog owners to be more responsible about dogs fouling footpaths.

The 'topic note' about 'ownerless land' is still being circulated.

iii). Cemetery;

IJP will be asked to confirm the date upon which they will start work on stabilising the Cemetery buildings. A representative from Town & Country Memorials Ltd is to visit and advise on the type and costs of memorial plaques.

The Council agreed to follow the advice received from SODC's Martin Gammie who had suggested that the elms along the Drayton Road boundary should be given a chance to grow into a 'hedge' about 5' high. It was estimated that this would cost around £150. It was also agreed that the hedge along the footpath between the old buildings and Drayton Road should be cut at a cost estimated to be around £115.

iv). Allotments;

There was a query about what qualifications, if any, are needed by persons who carry out spraying work. There is probably a different requirement by those who carry out work other than on their own allotment.

Mark Townson will be asked to investigate this matter. He will also be asked for the Allotment Society's view about whether the plots adjacent to the Andersons' home at 51 Watling Lane are being 'cultivated' in an appropriate manner.

v). Parish Plan;

Cllr Mrs Metcalfe has written a piece about the 'Hidden Britain' project for Dorchester News and, together with the Clerk, is progressing an entry for the village on the Hidden Britain website. The tourism content of the Parish's own website is being reviewed and there continues to be every possibility of obtaining outside funding for the electronic publication of the Millennium Album.

Cllr Williams said that 19 out of 34 Parish Plan action points have been completed. There will be a committee meeting soon to discuss what needs to be done to progress those things that still need action. A report will be given at the Parish Meeting.

vi). Other letters to Chairman and Clerk

a. The Council noted a Transfer of Licence at the Co-Op, 43 High Street.

b. A brochure will be circulated about the plans for Trafalgar Weekend, 21st-23rd October, which is supported by the National Association of Local Councils.

9 Planning

a) Applications:

P05/W0327 5 Tenpenny; Erection of replacement porch, single storey rear and

side extension, conservatory to rear and loft conversion including the construction of dormer window and chimney above the roofline.

The Council had no strong views concerning this application

P05/W0334 18 Abingdon Road; Erection of a conservatory at the rear.

The Council had no strong views concerning this application

P05/W0381 Gable House, 83 Abingdon Road; To replace existing flat roofs

with pitched roofs to form additional first floor accommodation.

The Council had no strong views concerning this application

P04/W1296 Amended 45 High Street; Conversion of dwelling above Co-Op.

The Clerk will discuss this matter with the architect. Among the ideas put forward were introducing a waiting limit for cars which wish to park in the lay-by outside the shop; placing bollards on the York stone to prevent cars parking on the pavement; and asking the Co-op to make a payment from its 'community fund' to assist the Parish Council in paying for improvements to parking facilities generally.

b) Report on planning decisions, amendments etc

Hallidays P04/W1172 & P04/W1173/LB

Planning permission and listed building consent were granted on 6th April subject to several conditions including (Condition 11) a requirement that prior to the commencement of development a study shall be carried out to ensure that the sewerage system is sufficient to accommodate the proposed development.

Mollymops, 3 Samian Way P04/W1245; Replacement of sheds

Planning permission was granted on 24th March

23 Bridge End P05/W0234LB Installation of oak support post

Listed building granted on 6th April

10 Finance

a). Bank balances

Natwest Bank:

Current account at 31st March £382.14

Reserve account at 31st March £42,004.54

b). The following accounts were approved for payment:

Jenks Oxford Ltd (Recreation ground trees - phase 2) £3,049.13

M Townson (new Allotment water taps and pipes) £328.39

Carved Pine Mantlepieces Ltd (Millennium album cradle) £411.25

SODC (dog hygiene bin service) £228.21

Pipeline Direct (Pavilion water supply) £35.00

SODC Cemetery Business Rates 2005/6 £103.37

Thames Water Cemetery Water Rates 2005/6 £67.80

OALC (annual subscription) £184.36

Gwen Hall (Welcome evening food) £14.04

GGD Russell - salary £320.25

GGD Russell - admin expenses (Feb/Mar) £127.40

Geoff Willis Handyman - 5weeks - (March £154) £223.50

Susan Jupp has sent a message to the Parish Council thanking the Council for its support for the 'Newcomers Welcome' evening on 7th April.

11 Parish Council Vacancy

There has been no application for an election and the Council is free to co-opt a new member. It was agreed that notice of the vacancy should appear in Dorchester News and on the village notice boards with the request that all nominations should be made to the Clerk by Tuesday 10th May so that the Council could make a decision at its meeting on 11th May

12 Consultation on Code of Conduct

The deadline for the Council's response is mid June and the Clerk was asked to obtain more copies of the documents.

13 Local Bus Transport Plan

The deadline for response is 13th May and the Clerk will ask Cllr John Howell for his comments in good time for the next Council meeting.

14 Petition re Cycle Barrier

The letter from Michael Evans dated 4th April 2005 had been copied to all councillors. Accompanying Mr Evans's letter was a petition with 130 signatures, including those of 38 allotment holders, under a message that read, "We, the undersigned, urge the Parish Council to remove the barriers to the Rotten Row and Samian Way entrances to the allotments. We are unaware of any significant problems with bicycles and motorbikes on the allotments before their erection, and they are unnecessary and inconvenient, particularly for prams and wheelbarrows. They are also dangerous obstructions in the dark, and are ugly additions to our attractive village."

In his letter Mr Evans had also drawn the Council's attention to an allotment holder, Colin Slaymaker, and said that Mr Slaymaker would have a major problem with the barriers when trying to pass the barriers in his wheelchair.

The Council thought that this problem would be unlikely to occur since the barriers were especially adjusted in 2003 to allow the safe passage of another wheelchair user. The Clerk was, however, asked to raise the matter with Mark Townson.

The Council referred to two letters received from Mr Evans in September 2003, both of which describing cyclists riding along the path outside his home and one mentioning two or three occasions when he himself had had cyclists pass the gateway to his house just as he was leaving causing him 'to step back smartly to avoid them'.

In the penultimate paragraph of Mr Evans's letter dated 13th September he had suggested that the 'logical place for the barrier would be halfway or a little further down the path where our privacy would not be affected, but the risk of cyclist/pedestrian collisions at both ends would be significantly reduced.' He continued, 'If we had been consulted beforehand I am sure we could have agreed a satisfactory position….I will be happy to meet the Council on site to discuss a relocation thereof to everybody's satisfaction.'

That meeting did take place and a new position for the barriers was identified. Before further action was taken, however, Mr and Mrs Evans attended the Parish Council meeting on 8th October 2003 and, during 'Public Participation', spoke of their discontent about the cycle barrier which had recently been installed on the footpath outside their home at 7 Rotten Row. They queried the need for such a barrier and said that, if it is decided that the barrier is definitely required, they would appreciate it being relocated away from their ground floor windows as a measure both to improve safety and also to restore the level of privacy which they had previously enjoyed. Later in the meeting the Parish Council had agreed that, subject to the cost being low, the cycle barrier complained of by Mr and Mrs Evans should be moved. A short while later the barrier was moved and the height increased on one side to allow wheelchairs to pass beneath.

Since that date the Council has received no other letters concerning these barriers except for one from Stephen Barstow of Rotten Row who had written to the Clerk regarding his concern about the possible dangers caused by the bar which had been raised to allow wheelchair users to pass beneath it. Following this letter the Council had received the advice of the County Council's Countryside Agency and a special photoluminescent tape had been obtained so that the barrier would be seen, even in the dark.

In his report to the Annual Parish Meeting on 5th May 2004 the Chairman had reported that the cycle barriers between Rotten Row and the Allotments had been moved to a new location at the request of Mr and Mrs Evans and the height of one side increased at the request of a resident.. Sixteen residents were present at this meeting and none had commented on this matter at the time.

In November 2004 Michael Evans had told the Clerk that the Evans suspected that the installation of the barriers had caused some damage to their water supply pipes and that there was a water leak on their side of the meter. By the Council's December meeting, however, the Clerk was able to report that Mr Evans had confirmed that Thames Water had found and repaired this leak and that the installation of the cycle barriers had not been the cause after all.

Finally it was pointed out by Councillors that the design and specification of the barriers to the Rotten Row and Samian Way entrances to the Allotments is a standard type and that there are several other examples of these barriers in other parts of Dorchester that have been in position for many years.

After due consideration of these matters, the Council agreed that the objections from Mr and Mrs Evans had been fully and fairly considered at its meeting on 8th October 2003, following which the location of the barrier had been moved. While the number of signatures on the petition received at the beginning of April 2004 was indeed significant, the case presented by the petition contained no arguments that the Council had not previously considered at its meeting on 8th October 2003, barely 18 months previously. The Clerk was therefore instructed to inform Mr Evans that the Council had decided not to remove the barriers.

There was some discussion as to how the Council should communicate its decision to all those who had taken the trouble to sign the petition. It was agreed that there should be further discussion about this at the next Council meeting. Among the options are the Parish website and the notice boards, including the Post Office, Dorchester News and a letter to each person who had signed.

15 Date of Next Meeting

Wednesday 11th May was confirmed as the date of the next meeting

16 Any Other Business

Cllr Hill said that he had noticed some building work taking place by the river on land adjacent to Simon Madden's property. The Clerk will investigate.

The meeting closed at 9.45

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