Okeford Fitzpaine Parish
Home Page Parish Council Parish council minutes 3rd April 2007 - Annual Parish Meeting
3rd April 2007 - Annual Parish Meeting

3rd April 2007

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MINUTES OF OKEFORD FITZPAINE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
HELD AT THE PAVILION ON TUESDAY 3rd APRIL 2007

Present:- Cllr M Burt (chairman of meeting)
Cllr E Horton (vice chairman)
Mrs D Burt (clerk)
R Corben, S Corben, A Frampton, B Trowbridge, B Gillingham, E West, and one other.

1) APOLOGIES Cllr Mrs Buckley, Cllr M Bignell (NDDC).

2) THE MINUTES OF APRIL 4th 2006 having been circulated to Cllrs and notice boards were taken as read. It was proposed by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr Trowbridge that they be signed by the chairman, this was agreed.

3) MATTERS ARISING
� The planning permission for the extraction stack has now been resolved with a temporary permission until July 2009.
� The Village Hall extension has made good progress and work continues apace. Funds will decide the completion date. The chairman thanked the management committee and all the volunteers for their magnificent efforts.
� Signpost Housing has responded to the housing need by building 12 houses in Castle Lane.
� The SID has been allocated to the parish once this year. There is now scope for parishes to purchase their own or buy jointly with other parishes.
� The recycling banks appear to be successful in the Recreation Ground with only one complaint being received.
� The Pre-School has now completed its move to the Village School.

4) CHAIRMAN�S REPORT
Cllr Burt - Another year has gone by, it seems with ever increasing speed.
At last years meeting we introduced a new clerk, unfortunately personal circumstances did not allow her to continue and she resigned in January. The Parish Council re-employed Mrs Burt for a 6 month period to keep the council working and to see it through the upcoming elections. The situation will be reviewed later in the year.
I would like to extend thanks to all the councillors and all the other volunteers for the work they do for the parish. I feel that we have some of the best facilities in Dorset, this could not be achieved without our volunteers.
Over my time as chairman one person has been a stalwart volunteer in all areas of parish work, he is Dave Frampton and he can be seen working at the Churchyard, the Recreation Ground, the Village Hall and many other areas. As well as on behalf of the Parish I would like to give him my personal thanks for his support.
There is still no resolution to the problem of the approach to New Cross from Castle Lane but the Parish Council is pursuing this.
A path has been provided at Bowey Field to improve access to the play equipment and currently under a scheme with the Prison Service work is being carried out to remove brambles and weeds from the footpath edges and other areas.
The 30 mph speed limit in Shillingstone Lane has been extended, not for the whole length to Shillingstone as we had requested, but it now includes the most dangerous bends.
A grit bin has been provided at Belchalwell as it is not included on DCC�s regular gritting runs.
Due to problems beyond our control the drainage work was not carried at the Recreation Ground.


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Regrettably the Doctor�s village surgery can no longer be provided but the prescription service to the shop has been retained thanks to the shop owners. The PC has agreed to help with expenses to keep the service going.
Travellers have finally been moved from the old tip at Conygar, a letter has been received from DCC saying that it is no longer being considered for a permanent site.
The Football Club donated funds in order that the PC tractor could be replaced.
Parish Councils have been working with NDDC to help to solve its problems with funding optional services. This has resulted in an agreement being drawn up stating that parishes will provide funds to keep some services going for 2007/08 whilst the District Council explores other avenues.
A team under the leadership of Ted Horton has begun work on preparing a Parish Plan. Work will continue during the coming year and I urge parishioners to participate.
The election nominations close on Wednesday 4th at 12 noon and on Tuesday 10th we will know who is standing for the council.
I wish them every success and hope they will continue the work to improve our parish for the benefit of all.

5) OPEN SESSION
The chairman invited members of the public to speak but as there were no items put forward he closed the meeting at 7:37pm.
The Parish Council meeting followed immediately.