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SHIPTON GORGE PARISH COUNCIL |
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Minutes of Meeting held at 1930 hrs on 12 January 2011 in Shipton Gorge Village Hall. |
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Present |
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Councillors |
Areas of Responsibility |
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Richard Cunningham (RC) |
Chairman |
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Jean Ayers (JA) |
Village Hall/Dorset Association of Parish and Town Councils (DAPTC) |
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Peter Gates (PG) |
Highways |
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Robert Langran (RL) |
Assistant Rights of Way |
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Jane Mallett (JM) |
Rights of Way |
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David Smith (DS) |
Chairman of Planning Committee |
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Peter Varney (PV) |
Assistant Highways |
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Robert White (RW) |
Vice Chairman/Assistant Planning |
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There were eight members of the public present |
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Number |
Item |
Action |
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Open Forum Mr Tony Boughton highlighted that he was correct in suggesting that the Parish Council reconsider the purchase of more grit bins. |
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2011/01 |
Apologies There were no apologies, Councillor Amy Steele was absent. |
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11/02 |
Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest. |
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11/03 |
Minutes of the Last Meeting The Chairman highlighted that the Parish Council did not have a Clerk at the present time and asked people to be tolerant in relation to the running of the Council. He also thanked Councillors Varney and Mallett for the work that they had carried out in the interim to support the Council's work. The minutes of the last meeting were agreed subject to the following amendments:
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MATTERS ARISING |
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11/04 |
10/92 Opening Comments The Chairman stated that the Clerk, Mr Tom Grace, had stood down from the middle of December. In addition, following the Chairman's opening comments to the last meeting (where he indicated he was willing to stand down if Councillors felt that a new Chairman with more experience would be better) Councillors had continued their support. The Chairman therefore, remained in post. |
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11/05 |
10/93 Minutes of Meetings of 15 September and 03 November Councillor Mallett reported that the changes had been to the 15 September minutes as requested (there were none for the 03 November). In addition extraneous material in the minutes of the March meeting had been removed but there was no information to replace the minute. This had been indicated on the document. |
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11/06 |
10/94 Minutes Councillor Mallett reported that since the last meeting the minutes of meetings had been updated and Mr Ernie Thomas, Webmaster, had downloaded these to the website (with the exception of the March meeting minutes which were awaiting final approval from the Chairman) |
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11/07 |
10/95 Playing Field: Report on the Construction of the Field Shelter As the previous Clerk (Mr Tom Grace) was responsible for organising work on the Field Shelter the Chairman agreed to discuss the project with Mr Grace to ascertain when the work would proceed. Ms Sally Parker (a member of the public) stated that Mr Steve Larcombe (who is to oversee the building work) was waiting for Mr Grace to contact him. |
RC |
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11/08 |
10/96 Parish Council Bank Account: Access It was noted that neither the Chairman nor Councillor Varney had received any bank statements relating to the Parish Council Bank Account. It was agreed that any new clerk should follow up on the outstanding financial issues including those arising from the previous meetings that had not yet been addressed (see previous minute 10/96). |
new Clerk |
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11/09 |
10/97 Annual Return for the Year Ending 31 March 2010 Councillor Varney stated that he believed the change in reporting Parish Council assets - that had been requested by the Auditors - was to be actioned in the next financial year. Therefore, no further action needed to be taken at this time. |
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11/10 |
10/99 Gift from Village Society of Two Benches Councillor Gates reported that he is still awaiting agreement from Dorset County Council in relation to the position of the two benches (at the bottom of Rockway and in the Playing Field). He will erect the benches when permission has been gained. Councillor Smith volunteered to assist. |
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11/11 |
10/100 Allotments Group: Sustainable Communities Bill The Chairman informed the Council that, as agreed, he had written to Local Works - the Campaign to implement the Sustainable Communities Act in support of the Sustainable Communities Bill. |
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11/12 |
10/113 Parish Plan The Chairman stated that he had received an email from Mr Simon Cleveland concerning the Parish Plan. Mr Cleveland apologised that he had been unable to complete the Plan due to other priorities both at work and within the family. He stated that the Plan would be finished by the end of Januar |
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AGENDA ITEM |
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11/13 |
Clerk Vacancy: for consideration The Chairman informed those present that the post of Parish Council clerk had been advertised and a reply had been obtained by Paula Biss. Councillors Smith and Varney, with the Chairman, had interviewed Ms Biss and agreed she had the relevant background for the post. Ms Biss had agreed she would be prepared to take on the role and her personal profile had been circulated to Councillors. The Chairman asked whether or not the Council would support her appointment. Councillor Varney proposed that Ms Paula Biss should become the new Parish Council Clerk, this was seconded by Councillor Smith and supported unanimously. |
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11/14
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Grit Bins: to consider additional bin(s) Councillors discussed the need for additional grit bins and the following points were made:
The discussion also highlighted that villagers carried out much of the clearing of snow and ice as individuals or in teams (for example, clearing Port Lane) but that there had been a lot of difficulty in getting out of Shipton Gorge. There was some concern about the lack of gritting of minor local roads that were essential to get out of the village. Councillor Smith stated that he had contacted the DCC and that Shipton Lane was now designated a 'Community Link Road'. Community Link Roads are second priority for gritting after the more major roads (classified in this case as those which take 80 percent of the traffic). Councillor Smith suggested that the Parish Council write a letter to ascertain whether the designation of the Community Link Road for Shipton Lane was permanent. Councillor Gates agreed to write to the County Council and Councillor Smith passed the letter with details of whom to write (from Burton Bradstock Parish Council) to Councillor Gates to action this. Mr Tony Boughton reminded the Parish Council that a long time ago a farmer was supplied with a snow plough to be used for clearing roads. Ms Veronica Ward felt that is would be better if the snow was cleared rather than wait until it was compacted ice. No Action was placed at the meeting. (NB Immediately post meeting Councillor Gates agreed to investigate the option and degree of support from the County Council and local farmers). Councillor's discussion highlighted the view that further grit bins should be purchased. Councillor Gates agreed to contact DCC to ascertain how many bins they would provide with grit. Councillor White and other suggested the placements of grit bins included the top and bottom of Port Lane as these could be used to grit Port Lane and the 'Square' which had become very icy. Councillor White also felt that the east end of Brook Street and Rosamond Avenue should have grit bins. Councillor Varney stated that the finance should be discussed first and that the funding will need to come from the Parish Council Budget 'reserves'. Councillor White proposed that the Council should spend up to £600 on grit bins, Councillor Ayers seconded the proposal. Councillors voted in favour with one against and two absentions. Councillor Gates agreed to action. |
PG
PG
PG
PG |
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11/15 |
Defined Development Boundaries: to consider potential impact Councillor Smith stated that the Defined Development Boundary (DDB) has ceased and as Shipton Gorge no longer has a DDB the village is restricted to no further development other than alterations to existing properties, replacement of existing properties or the development of new affordable housing. The decision to remove DDB was taken without discussion as he believes that the original decision had been for a period of five years and that the situation would be subject to review in 2011. In view of this, and the possible implications, Councillor Smith had contacted Ms Alison Clothier, Principal Planning Officer (Strategic Planning) at West Dorset District Council. Councillor Smith highlighted that if Shipton Gorge does not have some controlled development then the village, for example, may not have new facilities and new people (who can play active roles to support the village) that is currently the case. Councillor Smith felt that the Council should have a policy covering development within Shipton Gorge that had been promulgated from villagers opinions. In view of this he had requested information from Mr Simon Cleveland for any relevant information in the Parish Plan. Mr Franklin Ward asked the Council if a restriction could be placed on the number of holiday homes as there could be a lot of development leading to many 'second homes'. The Chairman made the point that if the planning system is working then the village will have some say. In addition, Councillor Smith believed that the (so called) 'Localism Bill' should incorporate Parish Plans, however, there was little information in Shipton Gorge's Parish Plan relating to this topic. Following discussion it was agreed that the Chairman will discuss the issue with Mr Simon Cleveland to ascertain whether this could be part of the Parish Plan and it will be discussed at the next Parish Meeting. It was agreed that the Parish Council should formulate a policy on the DDB subject to discussions at a public level within the village. |
RC |
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11/16 |
Allotment Site: to consider demand and feasibility Ms Maxine Gilchrist reported that she had put an advert in the Bride Valley News concerning people's interest in an allotment site for Shipton Gorge and there had been no response. Councillor Ayers had then put a separate slip of paper requesting people's views. There were 10 responses of which two were negative - demonstrating that there was not a great interest. There was also a problem with obtaining a suitable site as land in Shipton Gorge tended to be hilly, damp and or stony. Councillor Ayers then described two general types of allotment. The first - where there were, for example, chickens, bonfires, compost heaps, green houses, sheds, storage for equipment etc were present and the second - where none of these were allowed. She reported that most people preferred the latter although this was in part dependent on the proximity of location of the allotments to habitation. Councillor Ayers will continue to review the matter. |
JA |
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11/17 |
Correspondence Log In the absence of a Clerk the Chairman provided the Correspondence Log for information and discussion. The Chairman stated that Ms Carly Galloway, Operations Assistant at West Dorset District Council had offered to present on emergency planning. Councillor Ayers reported that she had seen a presentation at the Dorset Association of Parish and Town Councils meeting and indicated that it would be very helpful to invite Ms Galloway which the Chairman agreed to do. The Chairman also reported that the hours of street lighting were also to be reduced, although it was noted that this would not affect Shipton Gorge too much due to most of the village having no public lamps. Councillor Varney highlighted that there were some big gaps in the correspondence log that he hoped the new clerk would be able to ameliorate. |
RC
PB |
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11/18 |
General Finance Councillor Varney stated that 'General Finance' was too far down the agenda but there were three cheques that he would like the Council to agree. All the cheques had been signed but as yet there had been no approval and an invoice could not be found for cheque number 570. The cheques to be agreed were:
Councillor Smith proposed the Council agree the cheques and Councillor Gates seconded the proposal. The proposal was passed unanimously. Councillor Varney reported that he had now finished his review of the budget which now balanced to the penny. There is £2000 allocated for Parish Plan expenditure, which, if not spent, will need to be returned to DCC. However, anticipating future expenses which must be included as well as the cost of the new grit bins, there may be approximately £7,000 remaining in the Parish Council reserve at the end of the 2010/2011 financial year. Councillor Varney felt that the Council now had control of the expenses. In addition, he felt it best to consolidate the two bank accounts. |
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11/19 |
Dorset Association of Parish and Town Councils Councillor Ayers reported that at the last meeting Ms Carly Galloway had given a presentation on Community Resilience and had stated that there was an expectation that Parish Councils had a Resilience Plan. |
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11/20 |
Highways Councillor Gates stated that the Parish Maintenance Units (PMUs) were due to fill in pot holes, straighten signs and clear gullies. The drains and gullies had not yet been done and Councillor Gates is chasing them for an update. In the meant time the weather is producing new potholes, particularly outside Dairy Cottage which will be added to the list. A member of the public raised the issue of water flowing from a manhole opposite Dairy Cottage. This is spring water emerging through the underground telephone conduit, BT has attempted to resolve this in the past but little can be done to change natural forces. If anyone has anymore information concerning highways please contact Councillor Gates. |
PG |
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11/21 |
Partners and Community Together (PACT) The Chairman stated that his continues to operate but police officers did not visit as part of the PACT programme in December due to bad weather. He reminded those present that the cards to report issues can be used to highlight issues that are not police matters. At the last PACT meeting there were no issues relating to Shipton Gorge. |
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11/22 |
Planning Committee Councillor Smith reported the following:
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11/23 |
Playing Field Councillor Steel was not present to provide a report. Councillor White informed the Council that a three-year old child had used the slide in the playing field and a bracket had come off. Councillor White said this had now been rectified but that over the years the bar had become slightly bent and needed straightening which he said he would organise. |
RW |
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11/24 |
Rights of Way - TO AMEND Councillor Mallett reported that she had recently contacted Ms Jill Exton, Rights of Way Officer West Dorset District Council (WDDC) with regard several issues, namely:
Councillor Mallett informed the Council that there was still some £2000 in the Parish Grant which we could make use of. Councillor Mallett will discuss with Councillor Langran to take forward. |
JM
RL/JM |
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11/25 |
Village Hall Trust Councillor Ayers stated that there was nothing to report. |
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11/26 |
Web Site Mr Ernie Thomas’ written report on the web site was received for information. It stated the following: 'The initial listing of planned events for 2011 can now be found on the web site. The agreed minutes of the Parish Council Meetings held on 15 September 2010 (together with an attached Rights of Way Report) and 3 November 2010 are now displayed on the web site as well as the draft version of the minutes of the PC Meeting of 10 November 2010.
Ernie Thomas Webmaster 10 January 2011' |
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ANY OTHER BUSINESS |
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11/27 |
Order of Agenda Councillor Varney indicated that the order of the Agenda had changed from previously. This had resulted in important information necessary to make decisions (such as the Clerk's report and the Finance Report) being given too late to enable informed discussion. He requested that the order of the Agenda be retained as normal, that is, the Clerk's Report and Finance Report being first on the Agenda Items. |
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11/28 |
Date and Time of Next Meeting It was agreed that the next meeting of Shipton Gorge Parish Council would be 1930 hrs on Wednesday 09 March 2011. It was agreed that the Annual Shipton Gorge Parish Council Meeting would be 11 May 2011. It was agreed that the Annual Shipton Gorge Parish Meeting would be 27 April 2011 (subject to the village hall being free). The Chairman agreed to book the village hall. Councillor Smith highlighted that when the date was confirmed that invitations needed to be sent out to organisations that participate in the Annual Parish Meeting, such as representatives from the Police, Burton Bradstock School, County and District Councillors and other village organisations etc. |
RC |
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Meeting closed 20.58 hrs |
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Signed ............................................................................ Chairman Richard Cunningham Date:…………………………. |
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