DORCHESTER ON THAMES Home

DORCHESTER ON THAMES Home | Contents | Search |

Parish Council Minutes May 2004

Home > Parish Council > Minutes > May 2004

The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council took place in the Village Hall on Wednesday 12th May 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, C Sleigh and M Williams with G Russell in attendance.

1 Apologies for Absence
None; all members of the Council were present.

2 Declarations of Interest
None

3 Minutes of the Meeting of 14th April 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
The Clerk confirmed that insurance cover for seats does include All Risks and seats which have been presented to the Council. The two favoured seats were both supplied by Glasdon: the 'Phoenix' costing approximately £400 and the 'Stanford' costing around £620. It was agreed to order the less expensive option.
b). New Co-Op Notice Board
PJS Joinery had quoted £475 to supply a new oak notice board to fill the larger wall area that is now available. It was agreed that other quotations should be obtained. The existing notice board could be repositioned and the wall of the Bridge End car park seemed an appropriate location.
c). Belcher Court satellite dish
The Chairman has received a letter from Ted Jones complaining about a newly installed 'dish' which is prominent at one side of Belcher Court. The matter had been reported to the Planning officers at SODC but it was understood that they planned to take no action as they believed that the dish was within the permitted standard.
d). 'Village of the Year'
The Clerk reported that no one had so far come forward in support of the Village entering this type of competition.
e). Visit by SODC Forestry Officer
Mr Gammie's recent visit had revealed that some work needs to be done in the Abbey closed churchyard which will be the Parish Council's responsibility. Cllr Day said that he would obtain quotations from suitable contractors

5 Election of Parish Council Chairman 2004/5
(The Chair for this item was taken by the Vice-Chairman, Cllr Mrs Jenny Nudds) Cllr Mike Smith was proposed as Chairman by Cllr Mrs Jenny Nudds and seconded by Cllr Maurice Day. There were no other nominations and Cllr Smith was duly declared elected. He resumed the Chair.

6 Election of Parish Council Vice-Chairman 2004/5
Cllr Mrs Jenny Nudds was proposed as Vice-Chairman by Cllr Maurice Day and seconded by Cllr Ken Bryan. There were no other nominations and Cllr Mrs Nudds was duly declared elected.
7 Declarations of Acceptance of Office
Cllr Smith and Cllr Mrs Nudds signed their Declarations of Acceptance of Office which were witnessed by the Clerk

8 Allocation of Councillor Responsibilities for 2004/5
After some discussion the following allocation was agreed:
School Governor: Mike Smith
Sports Club: Mike Smith & Chris Hill
Footpaths: Margot Metcalfe
PCC: Jenny Nudds (Maurice Day to deputise as required)
Street Lighting: Ken Bryan & Jenny Nudds
Cemetery: Ken Bryan and Maurice Day
Flooding & Drainage: Chris Hill
Parish Plan: Margot Metcalfe & Mark Williams
Allotments: Chris Sleigh
Playground: vacant
Thirteen Parishes: Mark Williams
Village website: Margot Metcalfe & Mark Williams
Bus Services: vacant
Car Parking: Mike Smith, Ken Bryan, Chris Hill and Chris Sleigh
Village Hall: Ken Bryan

It was agreed that should playground improvements become a serious topic it would be a good idea to form a working group at which all interested parties could state their views.
The Dorchester News will be used to ask people who are regular users of the bus services to form an advisory group.

5 Correspondence and Other Business
(a) Sports Club, Pavilion and Playground
The rabbit problem this year is worse than ever and attempts to control the population have clearly failed. The Council agreed to investigate whether properly organised shooting could be sanctioned because the only other effective method of control - a rabbit-proof perimeter fence- is thought to be prohibitively expensive and likely to be impractical too. The mole catcher's services are required again.
The handyman has cleared the pavilion roof and disposed of the broken wooden ladder. The Chairman will speak to Gordon Taylor about getting quotations for some of the remedial work that is required and other Councillors are invited to make suggestions about possible contractors.
The Clerk will contact the Head teacher for feedback from the School about the ideas for playground improvements. A further supply of safety bark can be ordered as soon as required.
(b) Footpaths
The Clerk will contact Mrs Janet Clerc about her boundary hedge at 24 Bridge End and he will ask the handyman to clear Footpath 13 which runs behind 14 Watling Lane and to cut the grass at the High Street/Watling Lane junction.
Concern about the path at Overy Mill continues. There are a few residents who tip garden refuse on and beside footpaths within the Parish and Dorchester News will be used to point out that, actually, this is illegal.

(c) Cemetery
Cllr Day will try to contact Gilbert Hobbs about the perimeter ditch clearance work and payment of a small outstanding invoice to Scion Estates will be withheld pending the company's completion of the tree-stump clearance. Cllr Mrs Metcalfe asked if the Council might be able to claim ownership of the small square piece of ground by the old cemetery buildings on the grounds that the Council had always maintained it.
(d) Allotments
It was agreed to purchase an Allen 450 Hover Professional - hover with steel blade 4 stroke 200cc 5.5 horsepower - from Oaks Brothers for £340.43 plus VAT.
The Clerk will order a skip as and when required. There will be some topsoil available from the Anderson's new vehicle access. The Clerk will discuss how this could be best distributed with Mark Townson.
(e) Village brochure
Contributions have been received from The White Hart (£150), Dorchester Antiques (£50) and The Chequers (£50) and promised from The George (£150) and Dorchester Abbey PCC (£100) so the total to date is £500. A contribution from Hallidays is expected in due course and the Co-op has invited the Council to apply for a grant from its Community Dividend Scheme. Ownership of the Fleur de Lys is about to change hands and the new owners would be approached in due course.
It was agreed that the print-run for the next edition of the brochure would be intended to last for two years - 12,000 copies was suggested as an appropriate quantity. Cllr Mrs Metcalfe said that she would review the copy contained in the first edition and suggest any necessary changes, which would hopefully be limited to one side only in order to keep costs down.
(f) PAGE
Cllrs Bryan and Williams will attend John Howell's Parish Council Workshop Mount Farm CEC 7.30 pm on 18th May. The Chairman signed the pro-forma response that had been prepared by Cllr Howell and the Clerk said that he would use his database of Dorchester e-mail addresses to encourage others to complete the pro-forma that was suitable for individual residents to use as response to the SEERA Regional Minerals Strategy document.
(g) Other Correspondence to Chairman & Clerk
(i). The temporary closure of Queen Street will now take place on a non-school day to avoid problems for the school buses.
(ii) An invitation has been received from South & Vale Carers to attend the organisation's ten-year celebrations but no-one is available to go
(iii) A letter about SODC's Environmental Improvement Schemes has been received and noted.
(iv) The Council was informed that eleven parish councils and two town councils 'top-up' the District Council's concessionary travel token allowance of £20 to a greater amount and that should it wish to do this in a future year it was simply a matter of informing the District Council of this intention in the February of the year concerned.
(v) The Clerk will use Dorchester News to advise residents how they may obtain additional supplies of 'Green boxes' now that households are permitted more than one.
(vi) SODC's document about Corporate Plan consultation will be noted.
(vii) The Clerk has been informed that there has been an application for the sale of intoxicating liquor at Fox's Diner.

10 Planning Applications
PO4/W0457/A Co-Op Store, 45 High Street
Erection of one facia sign and one projecting sign to the frontage
It was understood that this application had already been approved. The Council would in any case have approved this.
PO4/W0514 Co-Op Store, 45 High Street
Installation of 1 metre satellite dish for connection to ATM
There were concerns about this but the Council decided to recommend approval as long as the dish is made to be as unobtrusive as possible.
Other Planning Matters
PO4/W0283 Erection of single storey extension 1 Queens Close
Planning permission granted 27th April
PO4/W0315 Erection of double garage rear of 7 Meadside
Planning permission granted 29th April
11 Finance
The following accounts were approved for payment
Southern Electric (Pavilion) £18.66
Scion Estates (Tractor shed) £117.50
GGD Russell (Clerk’s salary) £305.00
GGD Russell (Office expenses) £78.40
Geoff Willis (Village Handyman) 5 wks to 7/5/04 £165.00
The Anderson payment of £20,000 has been placed on deposit at NatWest but at a very low interest. The Clerk will investigate deposit accounts with other institutions.
Cllr Williams asked for cheques in the sum of £75 and £25 to be prepared for the winners of the Parish Plan Questionnaire draw.

12. Village Maintenance
The Council noted the new arrangements that SODC has made for its Litter Reduction Campaigns.
It was agreed that the work done by the Village Handyman is in need of review and Geoff Willis is to be interviewed to see if he is still keen to carry out these duties.

13 Model Publication Scheme
The NALC draft, having been circulated, was adopted without amendment.

14 Complaints Handling Procedure
The NALC draft, having been circulated, was adopted without amendment.

15 Any Other Business
(i) The Council noted that the editorship of Dorchester News is about to become vacant and there is a possibility that the magazine could disappear altogether unless someone or some group of people is found who can take it on. Cllr Mrs Metcalfe said that she would make further enquiries.
(ii) Pot holes were reported in Bridge End around The Green and the general state of Manor Farm Road after recent building work was said to be in need of repair.

It was agreed that the date of the next Parish Council Meeting should be Wednesday 2nd June 2004

The Meeting closed at 9.40 p.m.

Back

Home :: Contents :: Search