Okeford Fitzpaine Parish
Home Page Parish Council Parish council minutes 8th January 2008
8th January 2008

8th January 2008

Published unapproved for ratification at the February 5th
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MINUTES OF OKEFORD FITZPAINE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
HELD AT THE PAVILION ON JANUARY 8th 2008
Present:- Cllr M Burt (Chairman)
Cllr E Horton (Vice-Chairman)
Cllr T Burt
Cllr R Corben
Cllr S Corben
Cllr A Frampton
Cllr B Trowbridge
Also present:- Mrs D Burt (clerk), Mrs J Rees (General Manager NDDC), Mr M Pinkney (Spectrum Housing Group), Cllr Mrs A Burch (NDDC) and three members of the public.
1) APOLOGIES Cllr T Burt would be late.
2) THE MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 4th having been circulated to Cllrs and notice boards, were taken as read. It was proposed by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr R Corben that they be signed by the chairman, this was agreed.
3) POINTS FROM THE PULIC RELATING TO ITEM 5 ONLY None
4) DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllrs A Frampton, R Corben and S Corben as members of Okeford United Football Club.
Cllrs A Frampton and M Burt as members of the Village Hall Management Committee.
Cllrs M Burt and E Horton as members of the DAPTC.
Cllr M Burt as member of NDCPSG and LDWG.
Cllr E Horton as member of NDDC Standards Committee.
Cllr R Corben item 5xiii) on housing list.
All Cllrs (item 6a) – acquaintance of applicant.
The chairman asked that item 5xiii be brought forward to accommodate Mr Pinkney and Mrs Rees, this was agreed.
5) MATTERS ARISING
xiii) Ridouts
The chairman welcomed Mr Pinkney (SHG) and Mrs Rees (GM NDDC) who had come in place of Mr Hardy. He then outlined the problems that the council saw with the allocations at Ridouts. He said that he and others had experienced great difficulty getting any sort of information from the District Council (NDDC) and he told of a young local couple who had been told they had no chance of getting a house. Cllr Horton had circulated a paper ‘Rural Exceptions Sites and Local People’ and said that he felt that the allocations had not been handled well. The housing needs survey was for Okeford so the resulting houses should be for Okeford people, NDDC should have been able to give us information without mentioning any names. The chairman said that Mr Hardy had agreed to let Cllr Mrs Burch, our district councillor, see the allocations so that she could pass on relevant information. Cllr Mrs Burch had been told by the allocations department that they were forbidden to speak to her.
Mr Pinkney said that the housing needs survey proved there was a need in Okeford but there was an inevitable time-lag before this could be provided and some of those people in need will have moved on. When the houses were nearing completion the housing list was looked at and allocations were made on the basis of greatest need, priority should be given to Okeford people then the surrounding area. Cllr Horton said that perhaps houses should be built in smaller numbers to accommodate the local need at the time. The chairman said that this council needed to be satisfied that the houses were allocated to appropriate people.
Mr Pinkney said that the young couple were the sort of people that the houses were intended for.
Mrs Rees first apologised for not being able to bring anyone from allocations with her, she then read part of the section 106 agreement. (Cllr T Burt arrived at 7:45pm) Mrs Rees circulated a paper ‘Allocation Analysis’ and said that the allocation staff go through the housing list and then give a list of nominated households to the housing association and the housing association actually allocates. She said that her staff are not allowed to show any discretion in their task but must stick to the policy.
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They could not give a two bedroomed house to a couple or a three bed house to a couple with one child.
Cllr Horton asked how the housing survey related to the 0houses which were built, Mr Pinkney said the mix was based on the survey but as he said previously the need had undoubtedly changed. He felt that it would be better to allocate houses on the needs of growing families not necessarily on present family group numbers.
Cllr S Corben said that there is a need for smaller houses otherwise a couple or single person can’t live here. Cllr R Corben agreed that this situation was wrong. The chairman said that the houses on the exception site should in future be allocated to Okeford people.
Cllr Trowbridge was concerned that the policy was so rigid that it could not be altered, he said that we shouldn’t have been told that the houses were for Okeford people when clearly this had not always been the case.
Mrs Rees admitted that the allocations had not been sensitive to the needs of the village. The chairman said that NDDC would not communicate with him when he recently asked for information for an elderly villager, and that there still appear to be families in need of larger accommodation. Mrs Rees asked him to give her details of households that he thought had been missed.
Cllr Horton said he could understand the rigidity but this is an exception site for this Parish, the houses had not been allocated the way he thought.
Cllr R Corben said the Parish Council were enthusiastic about the development because it was for Okeford people.
Cllr T Burt said he had some sympathy for the policy but asked Mrs Rees if when she went away would she think about the policy relating specifically to exception sites. At the moment they don’t fit what we need to sustain our communities.
Mrs Rees said yes and went on to say that NDDC has a good record for providing affordable housing, the planning department agree with the PC and she said that there should be a more sensitive and flexible approach on future sites.
Cllr Mrs Burch said that there must be more flexibility when dealing with exception sites, Cllrs have a good local knowledge and NDDC should make use of this.
The chairman said that to sustain the community the six properties made vacant when the tenants transferred to Ridouts should be treated with exception site status.
Cllr S Corben said that no-one had a problem with the new tenants but he had expected that Okeford people would get preference, he added that it appeared that rural exception sites didn’t work as they should.
The chairman asked Mr Pinkney whether if another housing needs survey took place would another exception site be created, Mr Pinkney answered that if a need was proved then it was possible.
Mrs Rees accepted that something needs to done about exception sites.
The chairman thanked Mrs Rees and Mr Pinkney for attending the meeting and said he looked forward to future correspondence from Mrs Rees about the allocations policy.
Mrs Rees, Mr Pinkney and Cllr Mrs Burch left the meeting at 8:35pm
i) Recreation Ground
*Cllr Frampton reported that he had repaired the litter bin and base.
*A letter had been received from the landlord of the The Royal Oak pub regarding their annual beer festival. Two scooter clubs wish to organise this event and would like to camp at the Recreation Ground and have use of the Pavilion. It was agreed that clarification of details was needed before a decision is made, meeting to be set up with the landlord.
*Cllr S Corben reported that the Pavilion had been broken into on Christmas Eve a door window had been broken and it was obvious that the perpetrators had been using drugs, Cllr S Corben had called the Police who had attended and taken samples. He temporarily repaired the door, cleaned up the mess and contacted Mr Stainer to replace the glass. (This had been done today) He also reported a further incident on New Years Eve when someone had broken through the temporary repair to steal some bottles of alcohol which had been left in the kitchen prior to a party that night.

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*The chairman reported that the Youth Club had had a problem with some youngsters letting dogs into the building during their club night, although the incident was concerning it didn’t cause too much of a problem.
*The architect is drawing up plans for the proposed extension. Cllr Trowbridge suggested that perhaps an additional storey would enhance the building.
ii) Bowey Field NFTR
iii) Chicken Processing Factory Site NFTR
iv) New Cross NFTR
v) Footway – Castle Lane
Cllr Horton reported that the new owners of the parcel of land adjacent the recreation ground were not interested in selling any part of it at the present time.
The chairman suggested that the council could buy some stone to make up a path to continue it from Ridouts to the recreation ground, this would need permission from the owners, Hinton St Mary estate. Cllr Trowbridge said that the hedge along the road was in need of laying, it was agreed to contact the housing association to find out their maintenance plan.
vi) Transport study NFTR
vii) Community Planning
SturQuest meeting minutes had been received.
From NDDC an invitation to a mythodrama development event in February.
viii) Belchalwell and Fiddleford Items None
ix) Parish Plan NFTR
x) Bus shelter/museum
It was proposed by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr T Burt to go back to Mr D Corben and ask him to do the painting, this was agreed.
xi) Travellers
The Examination in Public (EiP) panel seminar took place on Monday 7th January.
xii) Mary Gardens Sign NFTR – clerk to follow up.
xiii) Ridouts Development item brought forward
xiv) War Memorial
The clerk had sent photos of the memorial to one of the conservationists and he had replied saying that from the pictures it looked as though all that was needed was cleaning with a biocide treatment and then washing.
She had also now contacted the local stonemason who said he would have a look.
Cllr S Corben gave the name of a company in Dorchester.
xv) Post of Clerk
The clerk reported having sent out 7 application forms, 3 had been returned all three applicants live outside the parish. It was agreed that the chairman, vice chairman and clerk do the interviews, clerk to arrange.
xvi) O/F CEVA Primary School
The chairman had spoken to the head teacher who had said that he was not unduly worried about the increase in numbers allocated to surrounding schools. He said that his intake was stable and had increased recently. There was a suggestion that a new school would be a good idea. It was proposed by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr Trowbridge that the council should await the outcome of the Parish Plan before putting this idea to the County Council, this was agreed.
xvii) Any Other Matters Arising None
6) PLANNING MATTERS
a) applications 2/2007/1313 – Mr & Mrs Armstrong, Drove Cottage. Erect new dwelling – demolish existing dwelling and stables. After some discussion it was proposed by Cllr Trowbridge and seconded by Cllr R Corben that the council objects to this application on the grounds that it would be out of character with the rest of the village. A vote was taken where 5 voted for the proposition, 1 voted against and 1 abstained, the proposition was therefore carried.

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b) decisions 2/2007/1143 – 7 Netherway Cottages – single storey extension, form annexe and raise roofline on existing extension, demolish existing garage. REFUSED on highway issues.
2/2007/1193 – 7 Castle Ave. – erect porch. GRANTED
2/2007/1123 (LB) – Hillview Farmhouse – install solar panel. GRANTED
c) other A letter had been received from the Planning Policy Manager, NDDC asking parish councils to identify possible new sites for housing. It was agreed to reply saying a response may be made after the results of Parish Plan are analysed.
7) LOCAL DELIVERY OF SERVICES
Blandford Forum Town Council had responded to our enquiry about the toilets at the Marsh and Ham car park saying it was a real possibility that this block would be the ones to be refurbished and kept open and the Langton toilets would be closed.
NDDC had sent notice of a press release about the future of both Sturminster Newton (SNLC) and Gillingham (GLC) leisure centres. It is hoped that the SNLC will be leased to Dorset County Council (DCC) for the use of Sturminster High School and a trust set up to enable the use of the fitness suite to be used by the local people and clubs. GLC will be closed by March 31st 2008.
A request has been received from Sturminster Newton Town Council for a contribution towards the provision of public toilets in Sturminster Newton and possibly other facilities.
8) CORRESPONDENCE
 NDDC – Landscape Character Area Assessment – consultation ends January 31st.
 DAPTC – newsletter (circulated to Cllrs), circular 14/07 - new chief executive is John Parker. LCR and Clerks & Councils Direct magazines.
 PC Mullins – introducing himself as the Beat Officer on Blandford Rural South Safer Neighbourhood Team also asking for details of council meetings and parish magazine (sent)
 Anchor Staying Put – housing options for older people – info for parish magazine
9) REPRESENTATIVE’S REPORTS None
10) DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT None
11) POINTS FROM THE PUBLIC None
12) FINANCIAL MATTERS – including 2008/2009 precept
Accounts to pay:-
Southern Electric – pavilion 122.14 Direct Debit
PO Ltd – electric - bus shelter/museum 15.90 chq no 355
Mrs D Burt – December salary 379.60}
Expenses 88.69}
Plus B&Q receipt - items to
repair boiler room door 13.32} 481.61 chq no 356
It was proposed by Cllr Frampton and seconded by Cllr Horton that these be paid, this was agreed.
The clerk reported that Allianz insurance had increased the fidelity guarantee to £20,000 and there would be no extra charge until the policy became due in June.
It was proposed by Cllr T Burt and seconded by Cllr Horton that the 3rd draft of the 2008/2009 precept be accepted, this was agreed unanimously.
13) ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Cllr Trowbridge reported that a parishioner had told him that during the recent icy spell Okeford Hill had not been gritted, the parishioner had contacted DCC about this and was told that it was not on the list to be done. Clerk to follow up.
14) THE NEXT MEETING will take place on February 5th at the Pavilion, Castle Lane and start at 7:30pm.
There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 9:40pm.