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Parish Council Minutes October 2005
Home > Parish Council > Minutes > October 2005
The Monthly Meeting of the Parish Council took place in the Village Hall on Wednesday 19th October 2005 commencing at 7.30 pm.
The Chairman, Cllr K Bryan presided; present were Cllrs. M Day, S Gibbons, C Hill, Mrs M Metcalfe, Mrs J Nudds and M Williams with G Russell in attendance. Also present for part of the meeting were County Cllr John Howell, District Cllr John Cotton, three residents and Mr Keith Symington of Thames Water.
1. Apologies for absence
Apologies were accepted from Cllr C Sleigh who was unwell.
2 Public Participation
a. Thames Water
Keith Symington of Thames Water attended the meeting to talk about the Martins Lane Rising Main Replacement which would mainly affect the High Street & Watling Lane, involving closure of the latter for several weeks. This closure has also been officially notified by the County Council. Work on other sewers in Dorchester will follow. A survey will be conducted after Christmas to identify the places where re-lining or replacement is needed.
This project has implications for the access of school buses and the annual Remembrance Day service on Sunday, 13th November. Mr Symington said that the work would involve a lot of pumping out and the Council will inform the District Council's engineer with responsibility for drainage ditches in Dorchester, Mr Trevor Gwynne, who is already scheduled to do an appraisal of the effectiveness of the present-day ditch system, which is clearly now made more urgent.
The Council asked Mr Symington if the work would help overcome the problems for Mr Vic Bates who lives at 60 Watling Lane and who has had problems with overflows from the foul drainage system. He agreed to find out about this
The Parish Council was disappointed to learn that there continues to be no immediate prospect of the connection to mains drainage of some residents living at the northern end of Abingdon Road.
An example of the problem with Queen Street drainage occurred during Mr Symington’s visit and he was asked if he could emphasise the seriousness of this problem to his colleagues.
b. Residents
Richard Devereux of Manor Farm Road drew the Council’s attention to the website of the Environment Agency which has a map showing which areas of the Village are at risk from floods.
Mr Wentworth of Queen Street asked if the Council would play an active role in obtaining a re-development of Kruczko’s Yard which would be in line with general village opinion. It was pointed out that the application has only just been refused and that an appeal may be lodged. However, Cllr John Cotton said that there is no reason why the Parish Council should not get involved as long it could determine what sort of project would be the most desirable. It would make approval of such a scheme easier to obtain if it could be shown to have general village support.
3 Declarations of Interest
None
4 Minutes of the Meeting held 14th September 2005
The Minutes were approved and signed as a true record.
5 Matters Arising from the Minutes
a. Work on the old cemetery buildings work is about to start. A notice has been placed in Dorchester News to keep residents informed and this also mentions the new scheme for fixing commemorative plaques.
b. The damage to an area of turf on the Recreation ground caused by the “Poirot” film crew appears to have been repaired.
c. The Clerk will ask Peter Ronald for his view on the suggestion that the size and position of the illuminated bollard on the traffic island just before the by-pass may be a contributory cause of the road accidents which have occurred there.
6 District Councillor's Report
District Cllr John Cotton said that whilst no further action is required on the SODC Local Plan he would appreciate the Council’s support in connection with the County Council’s housing planning consultation document. There are several groups trying to revive the idea of building new homes in the Oxford Green Belt south of Grenoble Road. The Clerk will respond to the survey and try to obtain more consultation booklets for use by others in time for the deadline of 28th October.
Cllr Cotton reported on the price reduction of the recyclable paper sacks and said that the clear plastic sacks were very suitable for flat dwellers. The Clerk will discuss the provision of these for the residents of Belcher Court. Mobile CCTV cameras will be available for use in the villages from the New Year.
Cllr Cotton confirmed that he was not aware of any plans to extend the Berinsfield scrapyard or to open any new sites for travellers.
7 County Councillor's Report
County Cllr John Howell said that the subsidy payment for the 105/106 bus service would be discussed in November and confirmed that there has been a partial reprieve for the 107 service.
Cllr Howell described the new streamlined system for managing temporary road closures for special events and the spreadsheet system for controlling highways matters. Some potholes in Bridge End have been repaired today. He suggested that the Clerk should tell Brian Short that the Parish Council has agreed to pay for Monsons to prepare a Bridge End car park scheme for discussion and costing. He will contact the Council in good time with advice as to how it should respond in the minerals consultation programme.
In answer to a question from Cllr Williams he said that the Thirteen Parishes Group needs to find a new focus or should be ‘mothballed’ until a new issue arises. District Cllr Cotton commented that SODC is employing consultants to appraise the expansion of Didcot. There were many options for growing the town and moves to expand to the north-east would revive the Thirteen Parishes Group’s reason for being.
8 Correspondence and Other Business
i). Sports Club Pavilion & Playground;
The Clerk reported that Peter Keable will cut the perimeter hedge soon. More moles have been reported but the Council now has a contract for year-round mole control.
The new graffiti on the tractor shed and pavilion door is to be painted over.
ii). Footpaths;
The styles at both ends of the footpath across Overy Mill are now considered to be both dangerous and dilapidated. The County Field Officer will be asked to take action.
iii). Cemetery;
The Clerk asked if the Council would agree to purchasing more containers for old floral tributes and general rubbish but it was suggested that, as a first step, the situation might be improved if the containers were changed more frequently.
The quotation for cutting the berberis hedge is expected soon.
Bill Joseph would like the tree branch overhanging the footpath cut back and it was agreed that a tree surgeon be invited to look at this job and the condition of the trees near the old buildings.
iv). Allotments;
Mark Townson has asked for a skip and also for an extra ‘Footpath’ sign at the west end of main path to stop people taking a short cut across plots near the newly surfaced track. He would be asked if he wanted to ask Peter Keable to do any extra clearance.
v). Parish Plan;
Production of the final document is progressing. Cllr Williams has been preparing the Council’s claim for a refund of some its expenditure by ORCC.
vi). Other letters to Chairman and Clerk
a. A colour photocopy of the Conservation Area Character appraisal and Management Plan has been received and will be circulated.
b. The SODC Publications review is a brief survey to try to determine whether the Council should produce fewer documents in print and more on the website.
c. The Council has received thanks for its support, especially in providing car parking facilities, by the co-chairs of the Dorchester Festival.
d. The ORCC’s John Hardwicke is to retire in December after 27 years of service. The Council is being asked to contribute towards a retirement gift and the Clerk was asked to find out what other parishes feel is an appropriate sum.
f. The Council has been invited to send a representative to the ORCC AGM on Friday 2nd December commencing at 11 am but no-one will be available to attend.
9 Planning
a) Application:
PO5/W0981/LB 45 High Street
Conversion of property into two(no) two bedroom dwellings
The Council had no strong views about the application but will take the opportunity of reminding the District Council about its worries about increased demand for car parking space in what is already a busy area.
b) Report on planning decisions, amendments etc
PO5/W0829 32/36 High Street – 9 new dwellings
Permission refused – schedule of reasons circulated to councillors
PO5/W0873 Land adjacent to The Chequers
Application withdrawn
PO5/W0819 Land adjacent to 9 Oxford Road
Change of use from agricultural to residential
Planning permission granted 31st August
10 Finance
a). Bank balances
Natwest Current Account 30th September £14,494.07
Natwest Reserve Account 30th September £42,466.43
b). The following accounts were approved for payment:
Berinsfield Community Business- grass cutting £76.38
David Joseph – play area hedge £160.00
SODC dog hygiene bin service £67.55
Total Pest Control (UK) Ltd – mole control £176.25
Thames Water (Sportsground £68.22/Allotments £199.24 £267.46
Glasdon UK – memorial seat £697.06
OPFA (annual sub) £25.00
GGD Russell – clerk’s salary £361.86
Geoff Willis Handyman – 5 weeks - (September £264) £264.00
South & Vale Carers appeal (last year £50) £50.00
The Council noted that the new price for dog bin emptying from Jan ’06 will be £1.39 instead of £2.49
c). Financial statement April – September
A statement of expenditure for the first six months of the year compared with the budget for the year was handed out for review. Councillors said that they would like more information about the charities which the Council supported in order to be able to establish a policy for charitable giving at the next meeting.
The Clerk said that the Council’s Cemetery fees, which were last reviewed in January 2003 would next year be approximately 15% less than those charged at Wallingford, Henley and Kidmore End, the cemeteries run by the District Council. It was agreed that the fees should be reviewed at the next meeting.
11 Bridge End Car Park
Monson are progressing the study as agreed with the Parish Council. SODC will clear the area around the public lavatories and repaint the building by the end of this year.
12 New parish boundary signs
The new signs have been ordered with the request that Dorchester-on-Thames is written on one line.
13 Village Maintenance
The Council was supplied with schedule-of-work sheets for the Handyman and invited to comment both in this meeting and privately with the Chairman. The Chairman and Clerk will meet to revise these work sheets for further discussion at the next meeting.
The County Council has asked if the Parish Council would like to enter an agency agreement under which it would undertake more grass cutting, vegetation management and weed control for which payment would be made. The County has also asked if the Council, for no payment, would undertake the removal of unauthorised signs and obstructions on the highway.
The Clerk was asked to find out more. A decision is required by the end of November.
14 Bus Services
The County has written offering to make improvements at the Bypass bus stop, following the designation of the Wallingford/Oxford service as a premium route. The Clerk will contact the officer and arrange a meeting on site.
15 Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on 9th November
16 Any Other Business
a. Cllr Mrs Metcalfe suggested that after its recent refurbishment, the War memorial should be entered in next year’s competition.
b. Cllr Williams, who is also Hon Treasurer of the Village Fete committee, asked the Council to review the way in which the insurance cover for the Village Fete is thought to be included in the Council’s cover. The Fete, historically, has been considered as being organised by a ‘sub-committee’ of the Parish Council with the Clerk being notified of all meetings and receiving copies of the minutes. It was agreed that advice should be sought from OALC and the Council’s insurers and the matter discussed at the next meeting.
c. Cllr Hill said that while some potholes in Bridge End had been filled earlier in the day, there were some which remained in need of attention.
The meeting closed at 10.00 pm
Revised 12/06/2005 © 2005 DOTWeb