Minutes published unapproved for ratification at the 4 June 2013

 

MINUTES OF OKEFORD FITZPAINE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

HELD AT THE PAVILION ON 7 MAY 2013

 

PRESENT: Cllr M Burt, Chairman

Cllr R Corben

Cllr B Fox

Also present: – Mrs Sandra Deary (Clerk) Cllr A Burch, NDDC and 1 member of the public.

APOLOGIES: Cllrs S Corben, A Frampton and M Paine and Wood

2. THE MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING 2 APRIL 2013: having been circulated to Cllrs and noticeboards were taken as read. It was proposed by Cllr Fox and seconded by Cllr R Corben they be signed by the Chairman, this was agreed.

3. POINTS FROM THE PUBLIC RELATING TO ITEM 7 ONLY. None

4. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: Members were reminded of the need to declare an interest if it was not already disclosed on their declaration of disclosable pecuniary interest form held by the Clerk.

5. GRANTING OF DISPENSATIONS:

6. District & County Councillors’ Report: Cllr Burch gave the following update from the Police and Crime Commissioner on safety of cyclists: The figures for 2013 still have to validated, but the early indications are that, despite some recent tragic incidents involving cyclists and motorcyclists who have been killed or seriously injured as a result of road collisions, the general trend has shown the number to be decreasing. Keeping all road users safe is an important strand of the priority in my five year Police and Crime Plan to reduce the number of people seriously harmed and I am also conscious of recent press reports referring to Bournemouth as the second most dangerous place for cyclists outside London. Working with partners in the Highways Authority, educational establishments and local authorities, the Force employs a range of tactics to both educate the public about how they can keep themselves safe, and provides appropriate enforcement where necessary. These tactics include long standing operations such as the “no excuse” campaign aimed at tackling the most common fatal four factors. The force also use preventative tactics such as engaging with the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to examine vehicles at heightened risk of causing collisions through being overloaded or in poor condition.

The lack of visibility of road users including cyclists, motorcyclists or pedestrians can certainly increase the likelihood of a collision and the effects are often more serious due to the vulnerability of these individuals. Dorset Police has run a number of operations specifically targeting the issue of visibility including the “be safe be seen” campaigns. Where cyclists have been stopped without lights they have been issued a £30 fixed penalty which can be cancelled if they provide proof of purchasing appropriate lights within a given timeframe. Local safer neighbourhood teams have conducted campaigns where youths have been stopped and rewarded for having the right equipment and clothing.

On May 8^th during “Road Safety Week” the Force is running an operation in the North of the county focusing on educating pedestrians about good road sense highlighting the importance of visibility. We are also looking to utilise volunteers through the “Community speed watch” programme which will enable local communities to provide a visible presence targeting local area where excess speed is an issue. In practice a number of creative tactics are already employed to deal with the very complex problem of preventing road collisions involving serious injury.

Cllr Burt enquired if the NDDC pilot for Universal Credit had been started yet as it had been published that the Universal Credit pilot would be starting in the North West. Cllr Burch advised that the pilot being undertaken by NDDC had started in the Autumn of 2012 and had been set up to gather statistics for the DWP and that the actual Universal Credit would be rolled out from now until 2017 starting in the North West. Concerns were raised with regard to the fact that not everybody had a computer or were computer literate as this would be the main way to make a claim. Cllr Burch advised that NDDC were aware of this issue and had highlighted it to the DWP. She added that Joyce Guest, General Manager at NDDC had informed the DWP that NDDC will need to provide face to face assistance. Cllr Fox advised that the CAB were helping claimants to complete the forms online as they were very complex.

Cllr R Corben raised the issue of a vacant property in Ridouts being given to a family from Sturminster Newton even though there was a family in Okeford Fitzpaine requiring a bigger property. A section 106 agreement was in place to ensure local families were housed within the village if they wished. He added that the land to build Ridouts was sold to the developers at half its value on the understanding that the houses were for local residents. He added that on 2 previous occasions NDDC had wrongly allocated houses in the past and had apologised for their mistakes. Mrs Deary advised that she had written to Sarah How, Housing Manager at NDDC before allocation had taken place to remind her that a S106 agreement was in place for Ridouts and again after allocation to enquire why a family from Sturminster Newton had been allocated the property, a response had been received saying that there were no eligible bids received from any resident in Okeford Fitzpaine. Cllr Burt advised that he had sat on a housing allocations panel of NDDC where it was decided that if a person had local connection then a house wold be offered to them even if under occupancy occurred, and only offered outside the village if no suitable tenant was found in the village. Cllr Burch agreed to look into this matter further.

7. MATTERS ARISING

7.1 Recreation Ground/Pavilion to include Recycling Centre Items: Cllr Burt advised that he and Cllr Frampton had been to look at new tractors/mowers and had received a quote for a new Land Legend tractor. The cost of the tractor would be £6750.00, the cost of a cab would be £995.00, the cost of an Italian mower would be £1600.00 with delivery at £70.00. The total cost would be £9,415.00. He added that he had been looking at second hand tractors which were in the region of £5-7,000 but had missed the opportunity to purchase because no decision had yet been taken on whether to purchase a new or second had tractor. He felt that the best option would be to purchase a new tractor. Mrs Deary checked the running accounts and informed Council that £5370.16 had been precepted towards a new tractor. Following discussions it was agreed to defer a decision until the next meeting when more Councillors were present. However it was proposed by Cllr R Corben that the present tractor should be sold and any monies raised put towards its replacement, this was seconded by Cllr Fox and agreed by Council.

Cllr Burt advised that the water leak under the floor of the pavilion had been isolated, however there was no hot water to the sinks. He proposed installing over ground pipework to reconnect the sinks, this was seconded by Cllr Fox and agreed by Council.

1. 1. Bowey Field: Mrs Deary advised that she had ordered the dog signs for Bowey, Cllr Burt advised that he had received them and would fit them when posts had been found. He also advised that there was a broken fence. Cllr Fox advised that she was still waiting for the Bowey Field Group to get back with their requirement for new equipment before she could start looking at bidding for funding.

1. 1. Village Hall Extension and Car Park: Cllr Burt advised that he was still awaiting amended plans from the architect. He also informed the Council that he had been keeping an eye on the number of unauthorised cars being parked there which seemed to have dropped recently.

   2. Community Planning: Mrs Deary advised that she had received an email from Mr Dyke, the Parish Clerk for Ibberton to advise that the matter of a combined Neighbourhood plan had been discussed at their last Parish Council meeting and whilst they felt that there may be some merit in having a plan covering a wider local area and provide consitency of approach to planning, before progressing any further they enquired if we had looked into the question of overall cost for such a plan, how the costs would be apportioned and whether or not we had investigated what help/grants may be available.  Their annual budget averages around £500 a year. Mrs Deary advised that she had responded to his email informing him that a grant of upto £7000 was available to help with the cost of neighbourhood plans.

   3. Belchalwell & Fiddleford Items: N.F.T.R

7.6 Home Watch: Cllr Burt read an article from the Rural G regarding a community speed watch scheme: Community Speed Watch (CSW) is a project working across Dorset empowering communities to play an active part alongside the police and the Safety Camera Partnership in tackling the problem of speeding in their neighbourhoods.

CSW is not enforcement. The aim is to empower local communities to inform those found to be breaking the speed limit by means of an advisory letter, and if appropriate, to gather evidence to support any proactive action or intervention by Dorset Police. In an effort to help tackle the common complaint of speeding, teams of volunteers, (minimum of 6) who have their local parish/town council’s support, will be trained to use speed guns. One of the volunteers acts as the coordinator and is the point of contact for the team and responsible for looking after the radar equipment. The groups are issued with a speed radar gun, 2 community Speed Watch signs and reflective jackets. Volunteers then carry out speed checks in 20 and 30 mph limits working to Dorset Police guidelines. Returns are completed logging various details such as vehicle registration mark, make, model or colour. These are then used to obtain the registered keeper details. Registered keepers whose vehicles are observed breaking the speed limit will have their details recorded and will receive a warning letter requesting them to keep their speed down. Those who persistently offend will be notified to Roads Policing and the local Safer Neighbourhood Team for police enforcement action. Cllr Burt advised that Cllr Wood had proposed the homewatch group could carry out this project. Following discussions it was agreed to consider this proposal at the next meeting.

1. Land at top of Back Lane: Mrs Deary advised that she had written to The Chief Executive of NDDC regarding the amount of time this issue had been ongoing. The Chief Executive had passed the letter to Mr J Hammond, Development Services Manager to respond and the following letter had been received from him: One of the objectives of our service review last year was to integrate the enforcement and development management arms of the service and prevent separate operating practices and standards being applied to case management whether they relate to applications or enforcement investigations.

In this instance when the case was exposed to a peer review it became apparent that significant further work would be required if we were to properly resolve the outstanding issues at this site. This message was relayed to you by Hannah Smith following John Cousen’s initial case review. It is unfortunate that John has chosen to retire as we valued his diligence and expertise, however he has made that decision and as a service we must move on. We have now appointed a successor officer and as Hannah has discussed this will be one of the new officer’s priorities given the impacts of the existing situation and the lack of clear management in the past. Whilst you can obviously express dissatisfaction with past actions we must now move forward with the new structure and staff in place & we shall revert to you once the new office has been able to review past notices, actions and the existing situation on the ground. Council agreed that another letter should be written to Mr Hammond stating that whilst they accepted many of the things he was saying this issue had been ongoing since May 2005 which made NDDC look foolish in the eyes of residents who had been the subject to enforcement on a much smaller scale, while bigger issues had not been addressed.

1. 1. Land at bottom of Okeford Hill: See Minute 7.7.

   2. Okeford Fitzpaine Housing Survey Results: Mrs Deary advised that she had written to the Chief Executive of NDDC and had received a response to advise that this matter would be investigated.

1. 1. Electronic Planning Applications: Mrs Deary advised that following concerns raised with Mr J Hammond an email had been received to advise that the quality of some plans, particularly where agents had used fine line pen drawing had caused some concerns. They had met with their scanning team to review the matter and can confirm they have accepted that this is a problem they need to take ownership of. They have secured some additional training in relation to scanning quality as a part of the council’s wider move towards electronic document management and it is hoped that parishes notice a general improvement in the quality of the more variable hand drawn submissions we consult upon.

Cllr Burt advised that he had seen a high definition box on sale at a reduce cost but had not purchased it. Cllr Fox proposed that Cllr Burt purchase a high definition box if he saw one on offer again, this was seconded by Cllr R Corben and agreed. Cllr Burt agreed to look at the best option with regard to a new projector and screen.

1. 1. Draft Core Strategy: Cllr Burt advised that we were awaiting the revised Core Strategy.

8. PLANNING MATTERS:

8.1 Applications: 2/2013/0423/PLNG – O.S. plot 4456, Higher Street, Okeford Fitzpaine, Blandford Forum, Dorset, DT11 0RQ – Form new agricultural access and close existing entrance. Following discussions Cllr R Corben proposed no objection, this was seconded by Cllr Fox and agreed by Council

8.2 Decisions: 2/2013/0166/PLNG – Castle Cottage, Castle Lane, Okeford Fitzpaine – Replace window in lieu of door and double doors in lieu of window, remove partition, carry out internal and external alterations in association with this – GRANT OF LISTED BUILDING CONSENT

8.3 Any other planning matters: None

8.4 Updates: None

 

9. CORRESPONDENCE FOR 7 MAY 2013 PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

CPEND Minutes – 14 March

Countryside News May-June 2013

New information regarding Neighbourhood Plans

Homewatch Newsletter – Blandford South – March 2013

The Rural G – April 2013

DCLG Parish Council online survey

Winterborne Division Annual Report

Funding for Neighbourhood Plans information

Temporary closure notice of A357, New Cross Gate, Fiddleford to Shillingstone.

Community Rights event in Sturminster Newton – 22 May 2013

Homewatch Newsletter – Blandford South – April 2013

The Rural G – May 2013

10. REPRESENTATIVES REPORTS:

Rights of Way/Footpaths: N.F.T.R.

Football Club: N.F.T.R.

Village Hall: N.F.T.R.

Well Being Committee: N.F.T.R.

11. POINTS FROM THE PUBLIC: None

12. FINANCIAL MATTERS:

12.1 Accounts paid since last meeting:

Southern Electric – Pavilion Electric D/D

£101.45

12.2 Accounts to be paid:

Mrs S Deary – Salary

£ 289.17 Chq No 744

British Gas – Pavilion Gas

£317.39 Chq No 746

Wessex Water – Pavilion Water & Sewerage

£99.45 Chq No 747

Mrs V Jackson – Prescription Service

£250 Chq No 748

It was proposed by Cllr Fox and seconded by Cllr R Corben that these be paid. This was agreed by Council.

£41.70 had been received for donation for Jubilee Mugs.

12.3 Annual Accounts: The Clerk had previously circulated the year end account to the Parish Council. It was proposed by Cllr Fox and seconded by Cllr R Corben that the Accounts be adopted, this was agreed. The Council agreed that the Annual Governance Statement be approved. The Clerk had contacted Mr Weeks to arrange for an internal audit to take place. The external audit will be carried out by BDO.

13. ANY OTHER BUSINESS: Cllr Burt advised that he had cleared all the brushwood from the Pound and that he would try to rake it out in the next few days. Wessex Water had now cleared all the stop cocks in Back Lane and lowered the covers. Mrs Deary advised that she had received a letter from Southern Electric advising they were having difficulties accessing the meter for readings. The Council asked her to write back to them advising that the meter was in a cupboard outside the Pavilion, where they had put it over 12 months ago. The Council extended it thanks to Cllr Frampton and Mr Dave Frampton for all their hard work at the recreation ground, their efforts to keep the place looking so good are much appreciated.

 

THE NEXT MEETING will be held on Tuesday 4 June 2013 at the Pavilion, Castle Lane at 7.30 pm. The Chairman thanked all present and closed the meeting at 9.50 pm