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Parish Council Minutes June 2004

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The Monthly Meeting of the Parish Council took place in the Village Hall on Wednesday 2nd June 2004 commencing at 7.30 pm.
The Chairman, Cllr Mike Smith presided; present were Cllrs K Bryan, M Day, C Hill, Mrs M Metcalfe, Mrs J Nudds and M Williams with G Russell in attendance.

1 Apologies for Absence
Cllr Chris Sleigh and County Cllr John Howell.

2 Declarations of Interest
None

3 Minutes of the Annual Meeting of 12th May 2004
These Minutes had been circulated and it was agreed that they should be approved and signed as a true record.

4 Matters arising from the Minutes
a). Bridge End seat
Delivery of the seat was expected within a few days. It was agreed that David Joseph and Alan Smith be asked to fix it into position.
b). New notice board
Following the receipt of catalogues from several suppliers it was agreed that the quote from PJS Joinery offered the best value for money and should be accepted. The present notice board would be re-located because it is still relatively new. The Bridge End car park is a possible new location.
c). Abbey closed churchyard
Cllr Day is obtaining estimates of the cost of maintaining the large horse chestnut tree, which is the responsibility of the Parish Council to maintain.
d) New Editor for Dorchester News
Although the Parish Council is not directly concerned it was agreed that it should take a keen interest in the search for a new editor of Dorchester News especially since there is likely to be a need for close liaison between the magazine and the Parish website, upon which work is currently progressing through Brian Oliver.
e) Repair of damaged gates to Recreation Ground.
An estimate had been requested from James Pratt for the repair of the gates in the corner of the Recreation Ground near the tennis courts but he had in fact gone ahead and repaired the gates, submitting an invoice to the Parish Council for £85.25 plus VAT. It was agreed that this should be paid provided that on inspecting the gates the Chairman found that the work had been carried out satisfactorily; but it was also agreed that the Clerk should write to James Pratt asking that in future he wait until his estimates have been approved before carrying out the work.

5 District Councillor's Report
District Cllr John Cotton explained that the delay in development on the High Street garage site had been caused by the need to resolve what should be done about measuring the degree of contamination of the soil and then how this contamination should be dealt with. It was a complex and expensive matter but he hope that there would be a conclusion soon.
He had been approached about the Village School's problem in getting its broadband connection but this is in fact a matter for the County Council.

6. County Councillor's Report
John Howell had sent a few comments by e-mail. He thanked those who had been to the SE Plan seminar. Cllrs Bryan and Williams commented that they thought that it had been a useful meeting and agreed that it was a good way of dealing with requests for consultation about local opinion on this type of planning issue.
Cllr Howell said that he would pursue the matter of the school's connection to Broadband when he returned from holiday.
He asked if there were any areas identified by the Parish Plan exercise that he could help with.

7 Correspondence and Other Business
i). Sports Club & Playground;
The mole catcher has promised to return in the next few days but the people who had brought ferrets to catch the rabbits back in January had not responded to requests to return. The firm that deals with rabbits by shooting would not undertake such work on a public recreation ground - their insurance company would not provide cover.
It was agreed that a meeting should be held when the schoolchildren's views about the playground proposals could be obtained and the proposals would be revised by one of the prospective suppliers, Wicksteed, for display at the Village Fete on 3rd July.
The Chairman said that he would ask Bruce Ferriman to carry our a survey of the state of the wiring at the Pavilion and to carry such urgent repairs as might be necessary to ensure that the wiring is up to the required standards.
Some local residents had complained about the difficulties of passing along Drayton Road when the parked cars of people playing cricket occupy so much of one side. It was agreed that the cricketers should be encouraged to park on the grass overlooking the cricket ground.

ii). Footpaths;
It was agreed that the Clerk should contact both Roy Tudor Hughes and Janet Clerc about their boundary hedges and that he should see what progress Sarah Golding from the Countryside department of the County Council had made about the path at Overy.
A letter about the cycle barriers on the footpath beside 7 Rotten Row had been received from Stephen Barstow and it was agreed that the advice of the Countryside department should be requested. The Rotten Row barrier is a replacement rather than a new idea but the height of the barrier, which had been adjusted for the benefit of those using 'buggies', was causing concern to Mr Barstow and some others.

iii). Cemetery;
A letter about the Council's options regarding the old cemetery buildings had been received from the specialists, IJP Building Conservation of Binfield Heath. The District Council's conservation team approves this contractor.
Cllr Williams said that the results of the Parish Plan questionnaire, which would soon become available in detail, indicated that a large majority of residents would like to see these buildings stabilised and a use found for them. IJP's estimate of the cost of this option is similar to that provided by Boshers of Cholsey last year.
It was proposed by Cllr Bryan and seconded by Cllr Mrs Nudds that the Cemetery Buildings should be stabilised and used for the display of memorial plaques. This was carried unanimously.
IJP will be asked to develop their ideas in more detail and to advise if they are aware of any possible sources of financial aid for a project of this nature.
The Clerk will again ask Gilbert Hobbs to contact Cllr Maurice Day.
iv). Allotments;
The mower for the Allotment Society has now been purchased. The vehicular access to 51 Watling Lane will be constructed in the next few weeks.

v). Parish Plan;
On 1st July the questionnaire results will be presented to the Steering Group including the chairmen of all working groups. The working groups will then reconvene to develop their recommended action plans, which will be submitted to the Parish Council for adoption. The questionnaire results will also be presented at the Village Fete.

vi). Car Parking;
It was agreed that some new signs are needed which specifically mention the availability of the 'Park 'n Ride' service and an extra quantity of cones would be helpful. A very well attended Roman Catholic service held in the Abbey had briefly caused congestion in the High Street because the cones had not been present.
Cllr Day pointed out that the development of Hallidays buildings as individual dwellings will have a major impact on the demand for car parking spaces in the centre of the Village.

vii). Other letters to Chairman and Clerk
a). The Council had been notified that film crews involved in the making of 'Midsommer Murders' and the new series of 'Miss Marple' would be using the Village as a location in the next few weeks. Both Bentley Productions and London Weekend TV would be making contributions to the Parish Council.
b) The Council was told about the arrangements between the Chairman and the Rector for a 'Dorchester celebration' on Sunday 5th September.
c) Details of the Thames Valley Police: 'Community Officer of the year' award' and a letter from Mrs Green about the new bus timetable would be circulated.
d) The Council noted the receipt of notification from Dorset Licensing Consultants about the change of licensees at the Fleur de Lys.
e) The Chairman said that he been contacted by Dr Katherine Clarke to say that some of the local bus drivers are being less than helpful about the bus connection arrangements for passengers travelling to Dorchester.

8 Planning Applications
PO4/W0551/LB 14 Rotten Row
Removal of partition wall that separates existing bathroom and wc, construction of doorway between bedroom four and bedroom one to create en suite bathroom for bedroom four
The Council considered that this application should be approved.
PO4/W0552 Overy Manor, Overy
Erection of greenhouse to south elevation
The Council considered that this application should be approved
PO4/W0543/LB Co-Op
Satellite dish for ATM
The Council considered that this application should be approved

9 Finance
a). The bank balances at 30th April were reported as:
Current Account £31,329.16 Reserve A/c £13,754.40
The statements for the end of May had not yet been received but a transfer of £25,000 from current to reserve account was approved.
The Clerk reported that the Bank of Ireland Treasurer's Account interest rate is 3.50%
b). The following accounts were approved for payment:
Allianz Cornhill (Annual insurance) £1,420.63
Oxford Green Belt Network (subscription) £15.00
GGD Russell (Clerk’s salary) £305.00
Geoff Willis (Handyman - 3 weeks to 29/05/04) £166.25

10 Village Maintenance
The Clerk had prepared and circulated a list of duties for the Village Handyman. This will be reviewed at the next Council meeting

11 The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 14th July 2004

12 Any Other Business
a). Cllr Mrs Jenny Nudds asked if the Dorchester News could be used to request that people remove their posters from trees etc as soon as the event in question had taken place.
b) Cllr Chris Hill asked the Clerk to send thank-you letters to those who have contributed towards the cost of the Village brochure.
c) Cllr Ken Bryan said that the dangerous tree in The Limes had been dealt with the day before the meeting. There are pot-holes near Plough House that need attention..

The meeting closed at 9.40 p.m.

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