Okeford Fitzpaine Parish
Home Page Parish Council Parish council minutes 1st July 2008
1st July 2008

1st July 2008

MINUTES OF OKEFORD FITZPAINE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
HELD AT THE PAVILION ON 1st JULY 2008

PRESENT: Cllr M Burt (Chairman)
Cllr E Horton (Vice-Chairman)
Cllr T Burt
Cllr R Corben
Cllr S Corben
Cllr A Frampton

Also present: - Cllr Mrs. Audrey Burch (NDDC), Cllr Mrs. Hilary Cox (DCC), Mrs. R Burrows (Clerk), and 4 members of the public.

1. APOLOGIES: None

2. MINUTES: the Minutes of 3rd June having been circulated to Cllrs and notice boards, were taken as read. Cllr Frampton noted that in Matters Arising, item 5.10 Bus Shelter/Museum, it had been incorrectly stated that the Chairman would try to find out if the Army could assist with the replacement of roof tiles. Cllr Frampton himself had agreed to undertake this job. It was proposed by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr Frampton that the amended minutes be signed by the Chairman, this was agreed.

The Minutes of the Emergency Meeting of 22nd June to discuss the Pavilion Doors having been circulated to Cllrs and notices boards, were taken as read. It was proposed by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr Frampton that they be signed by the Chairman, this was agreed.

3. POINTS FROM THE PUBLIC RELATING TO ITEM 5 ONLY None

4. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllr M Burt as a member of the Village Hall Management Committee.
Cllrs M Burt and E Horton as members of the DAPTC.
Cllr M Burt as member of CPEND and LDWG.
Cllr E Horton as member of NDDC Standards Committee
Cllr R Corben (item 5.14) on housing list
Cllrs R Corben & S Corben, Cllr A Frampton (item 5.1.6) as members of Okeford United Football Club

5. MATTERS ARISING
5.1 Recreation Ground/Pavilion
5.1.1 Pavilion doors: the Chairman had called an emergency meeting on 22nd June to discuss the doors which had been installed by Newglaze. Newglaze had visited the Pavilion again since and Cllr R Corben reported on a telephone conversation he had had just prior to the meeting, to the effect that Newglaze were now going to try to install the same doors as fitted on the Village Hall.
5.1.2 Pavilion Changing Rooms: painting of the changing rooms had been done and Cllr S Corben said that the football club would like to freshen up the paint in the main room. This was agreed and the Chairman asked for thanks to be passed on to the football club.
5.1.3 Extension plans: The revised plans were shown to the meeting. It was thought that more window space would be desirable and the Chairman undertook to go back to the architect to see what could be done.
5.1.4 Land located south-east of recreation ground owned by Mr Tony Muir: the Clerk had sent the revised draft of the letter the PC wanted to be sent to Mr Muir and she had received back an email to say that the letter had been sent but had not been given a copy of it. She had emailed Alan Horne, the solicitor and had tried to phone his office on three occasions without success (no answer). The Clerk was asked to contact the solicitor and obtain a copy of the letter that has been sent.
5.1.5 Dumping of other (not recycling) waste: the Clerk had nothing further to report. She was asked to contact I Manley (NDDC) again to remind him that part of the agreement to have the recycling bank in the car park was that it would not cause any problems but other waste was continuing to be dumped by the bins. Whilst it was accepted that the placement of a sign would probably not stop rubbish being dumped, it certainly would do no harm and might just remind whoever is responsible that they should not be leaving non-recyclable rubbish in that area. The Chairman said he would take a photo of the next lot of rubbish to support our request for a sign.
609
5.1.6 Soccerpitch Football Leagues: the Clerk reported on the various exchanges of emails with the organisor of the 5 a side tournament (C Catling). Two dates – 19th or 26th July – are now possibilities and Mr Catling will confirm which Saturday at least two weeks beforehand. When the date is confirmed, the Clerk will give him the name of the contact on the day for keys etc. Mr Catling has indicated he will be donating £50 as a thank you for allowing the use of the facilities.
5.2 Bowey Field
5.2.1. The Chairman had sourced a stainless steel field gate closer but it was expensive (£250) and he was not certain it could be fitted to a metal post. The Chairman agreed to further research this item and report back.
5.2.2 See-saw: as far as can be ascertained, the RoSPA inspector had not yet appeared in the village for the annual playground inspection so the Chairman had not been able to check out the health and safety issues yet.
5.2.3 Football posts: Cllr Frampton has made a start on the works and this is progressing.

5.3 Chicken Processing Factory site – N.F.T.R.

5.4 New Cross: Cllr Mrs Cox agreed to contact DCC to find out the latest on this item.

5.5 Footway – Castle Lane: Cllr Mrs Cox said this was an item that should be being submitted in the autumn plan and she would check with DCC to find out the latest status.

5.6 Community Planning: N.F.T.R.

5.7 Belchalwell & Fiddleford Items:
5.7.1 BT Payphone: The Clerk had sent a letter to BT advising there had been no objections received concerning the removal of the payphone, as per the instructions from NDDC. A reply to the effect that all responses have to be routed through the Chief Planning Officer, NDDC had been received. She said she was confused and had rechecked the NDDC letter to make sure she had not misread it.

5.8 Parish Plan: Cllr Horton reported that he had manned a small exhibit at the recent Fippenny Fair which had displayed information from the results of the questionnaire in graph form; 62 people had visited the stand. It is now his intention to hold a Steering Group meeting and finish collating the results to produce a consultation document by October. A member of the public asked about the unclaimed £100 prize money. Cllr Horton said he would need to review costs before agreeing to pass this on to the person who had said he had lost his ticket and who had indicated he would split the prize between the Church and the Village Hall.

5.9 Bus Shelter/Museum: Mr D Corben is progressing with the painting. The Chairman thanked Cllr Frampton for obtaining the materials and repairing the roof.

5.10 Travellers: Cllr Mrs Cox said a Notice to Quit had been served. As a date could not be agreed, the matter is going to court and is now with the DCC legal team.

5.11 Ridouts Development: the Clerk said that a cheque for £500 had been received from Signpost Housing as a contribution towards the cost of re-surfacing the path from the Ridouts to the recreation ground. She was asked to send a letter of thanks to Mr Pinkney. The Chairman said he would find out when Goddard Landscapes would be starting the work.

5.12 NDDC – Housing Allocation Policy: the Clerk said no reply had been received from Ms Janet Rees in response to the letter she had sent on 12 June; the Chairman said he had seen Ms Rees and she had indicated she had replied. The Clerk was asked to follow up with another letter the next day or ASAP.
Choice-Based Lettings: A further discussion took place on this topic. Cllr Mrs Burch agreed to take up the two issues of banding and local connection which still seemed to be unclear. The Parish Council’s view was that this scheme had been rushed through without proper consultation or thought.

5.13 Post of Clerk: the Chairman and Clerk had discussed the contract and it was now ready for signature. However, following a comment from the internal auditor (see item 12.3.1) an additional clause regarding tax and N.I. contributions should be added. The clerk will amend and prepare another contract for signature. However, in the meantime, the Clerk confirmed that she has already been in contact with HM Customs and Revenue and has informed them of her self-employed status.

610
5.14 Missing 30mph sign at Castle Lane: the Clerk had ‘phoned Mike Hansford on 12th June and he confirmed that a conversation with the Chairman regarding the positioning of the sign was on their file and he would check progress. The sign has still not been replaced. Cllr Mrs Cox said she would take this up with DCC.

5.15 Post Office closures: Nothing has been heard regarding the Okeford Fitzpaine post office but an announcement is expected on 15 July.

5.16 Broken fingerpost at The Cross: the Clerk had contacted DCC and they had confirmed a works order has been prepared but as yet there is no indication of when it will be repaired/replaced. Cllr Mrs Cox said she would investigate.

5.17 Shrubs overhanging footpath at Corner Cottage: the Clerk confirmed she has written a letter to the owner, as this property is no longer managed by Dorset Lettings. Various other over-hanging trees and shrubs are making some footpaths in Okeford Fitzpaine difficult to walk on and the Clerk was asked to make mention of this in the PC’s note in the Fippenny News.

5.18 PC Casual Vacancy: the Chairman reported that Mr Mark Paine was willing to be co-opted. It was proposed by Cllr M Burt and seconded by Cllr S Corben that Mark Paine be co-opted to the Parish Council. The Clerk to arrange for declaration of acceptance of office forms to be completed ASAP.

5.19 Blandford PACT and Home Watch: Cllr Horton had attended the Rural PACT (Partners And Communities Together) seminar on 5 June at which Dorset Police had launched Safer Neighbourhoods. He explained how it was hoped this would operate to tackle issues that have the most effect on quality of life and the environment in which people live and work. The intention is to identify local concerns and work in partnership with other agencies and the community to tackle those issues. Post cards have been printed up for the purpose of notifying issues and items of concern and perhaps these can be held in the Village Shop (Clerk to check). However, concern was expressed that “Safer Neighbourhoods in Blandford” had been printed across the top of these cards and this would not appeal or be of interest to the Parish. The Clerk was asked to point this out to PC Mullins and to find out if this could be changed to “Safer Neighbourhoods” if not before, then certainly before a reprint of the cards. Cllr Horton agreed to register his name as the Parish Council contact although he cannot attend the next meeting which is being held on the 8 July. Cllr Frampton said he might be able to go along to this and would telephone PC Dave Mullins to find out venue and time.
There is still a need for local people to become involved in Home Watch and a co-coordinator is urgently required. Clerk to put note in the Fippenny News.

5.20 Any other Matters Arising: None

6. PLANNING MATTERS
6.1 Applications - the following application had been received after the Agenda had been issued:
2/2008/0601 Teresa Callanan, The Paddocks, Fiddleford. Erection of a domestic double garage with open fronted parking bays and adjoining covered log store. It was proposed by Cllr R Corben and seconded by Cllr T Burt that there be no objection, this was agreed.
6.2 Decisions: None

7. LOCAL DELIVERY OF SERVICES
7.1 SID’s (Speed Indicator Devices): the Clerk said a letter had been received from the Town Clerk of Sturminster Newton asking if a SID post already exists in the Parish and if so, where it is located and also if we would like more SID’s where would we want them located. The Clerk was requested to respond by asking for a reply to our letter of 8 May as until the questions raised then are clarified, the Parish is not in a position to say whether or not they would ask for additional SID’s.

7.2 NDDC's Local Delivery Programme “Tough Choices”: an invoice covering the first payment of our contribution towards Public Convenience Service in Blandford Forum has been received (see item 12.1).



611
8. CORRESPONDENCE
8.1 email from DDC (E Jones) re Parish Maintenance Unit. – due in Parish for 4 weeks during the months of August and February. Send in form 4 weeks prior to their arrival. Cllrs M Burt and Horton to complete and send to DCC.
8.2 DCC letter re structural maintenance programme for 2008 – 2009 – delays and reprogramming of some works – none directly affect our Parish.
8.3 email from Paul Minter of Nethermead re large tree in back garden – Chairman has made contacted and given name of responsible person at NDDC.
8.4 email from Stephen Hubbuck re photo of village hall before it was rebuilt – referred to Mrs D Burt who cannot help but Cllr T Burt thinks he may be able to.
8.5 email from Ringmaster – copied to Cllr Horton
8.6 DAPTC Chief Executive’s circular no. 07/08 – copied to all Parish Cllrs.
8.7 letter of thanks from Robert James for PC’s annual grant.
8.8 email from Matt Lee of Lecourts re Parish Council play facilities (advert)
8.9 Sutcliffe Play brochure re Parish play facilities (advert)
8.10 Newsletter DCC re Dorset Country side News Summer 2008 – copied to all Parish Cllrs.
8.11 Magazine Community.com Sturminster Newton’s magazine June 2008 issue
8.12 Magazine LCR Volume 60 No. 2 (Nat Assoc of Local Councils magazine)

9. REPRESENTATIVES’ REPORTS
9.1 Okeford United Football Club: Cllr S Corben said that a soccer week for young people was being arranged for August 11th – 15th . He asked if it would be ok for the football coaches to stay overnight in the Pavilion (one night). There was no objection.
9.2 Village Hall: Nothing to report.

10. DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
10.1 Cllr Mrs Burch reiterated the Post Office closure situation in North Dorset and said that many sub-masters were becoming very despondent. Plans were being drawn up to prepare for the worse scenarios. Once the announcements had been made by the Post Office there would be a public consultation period.

11. POINTS FROM THE PUBLIC
11.1 Allotments: At the current time there are no allotments in the Parish but with the rising cost of living more people might want to grow their own produce. It was suggested that anyone without a garden or sufficient ground could place an advertisement in the Parish Magazine to see if anyone has spare ground in their garden that could be used.
11.2 Barking Dogs: The chairman had received two complaints from persons in the village that his dogs were always barking. He wished to make it clear that it was not his dogs but those of a breeding kennel at Froghole Farm, next door.

12. FINANCIAL MATTERS
12.1 Accounts to pay:
Mrs R Burrows – clerk’s salary June £348.44, expenses £16.56 cheque no. 383 £ 365.00
Blandford Forum Town Council contribution to public conveniences 384 £ 255.20
Southern Electric (Pavilion) direct debit £139.18
All items proposed by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr T Burt that these be paid, this was agreed.

12.2 Monies received:
Contribution of £500 from Signpost Housing (see item 5.11)
Donation from Okeford Auctions of £80.00*
Donation from Three Okefords Preservation Society of £10.00*

*handed to clerk at the meeting

12.3 Financial other: the Clerk reported that before the accounts to pay have been deducted, the balance of the current account is £660.93, and the reserve account £16,177.66. Cllrs M Burt and A Frampton signed a transfer request form from reserve to current of £250.00.

612
The clerk said that Mr M Weeks of Sheephayes Farmhouse had completed the Internal Audit of the 2007-2008 accounts and everything had been found in order and they had been signed off. However, there were a couple of points which had been raised:

12.3.1 Lack of documentation regarding tax and N.I. contribution arrangements for the Clerk. In the past, this had been referred to in the PC Minutes and for the future, would be included in the Clerk’s contract of employment.

12.3.2 Annual Risk assessment, Mr Weeks offered some input and suggested this be documented in conjunction with drawing up the annual budget for the precept. For the time being, it was agreed that the current procedure of discussion at each January meeting was adequate.

13. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
13.1 Okeford Fitzpaine Primary School: The Vice-Chairman of the School Governors (Ian Berry) had asked for this item to be included on the Agenda for the meeting. The Governing body is concerned about the impact the primary school in Child Okeford and their pursuits to expand could have on the village school. Cllr Mrs Cox said that as far as she was aware there was absolutely no risk of the school closing. After a lengthy discussion, it was agreed that the P.C. would support the School Governors and keep lines of communication open. The approach would be to quietly keep the situation monitored and be aware of what is happening in surrounding villages rather than begin a campaign to “keep the village school” which actually is not under threat. A recent press article in the Western Gazette had not helped the situation. The school is actually doing extremely well under the new headmaster, as is the pre-school with 11-12 new children due to start in September. Mr Berry said there could be a vacancy on the Board of Governors and if so perhaps a member of the Parish Council would like to fill that. They would need to be CRB checked; he will check and get back to the Chairman.

14. THE NEXT MEETING will be held on Tuesday, 5 August 2008 at the Pavilion, Castle Lane at 7.30pm. The Chairman thanked all present and closed the meeting at 9.40pm.





MINUTES OF OKEFORD FITZPAINE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
HELD AT THE PAVILION ON 1st JULY 2008

PRESENT: Cllr M Burt (Chairman)
Cllr E Horton (Vice-Chairman)
Cllr T Burt
Cllr R Corben
Cllr S Corben
Cllr A Frampton

Also present: - Cllr Mrs. Audrey Burch (NDDC), Cllr Mrs. Hilary Cox (DCC), Mrs. R Burrows (Clerk), and 4 members of the public.

1. APOLOGIES: None

2. MINUTES: the Minutes of 3rd June having been circulated to Cllrs and notice boards, were taken as read. Cllr Frampton noted that in Matters Arising, item 5.10 Bus Shelter/Museum, it had been incorrectly stated that the Chairman would try to find out if the Army could assist with the replacement of roof tiles. Cllr Frampton himself had agreed to undertake this job. It was proposed by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr Frampton that the amended minutes be signed by the Chairman, this was agreed.

The Minutes of the Emergency Meeting of 22nd June to discuss the Pavilion Doors having been circulated to Cllrs and notices boards, were taken as read. It was proposed by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr Frampton that they be signed by the Chairman, this was agreed.

3. POINTS FROM THE PUBLIC RELATING TO ITEM 5 ONLY None

4. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllr M Burt as a member of the Village Hall Management Committee.
Cllrs M Burt and E Horton as members of the DAPTC.
Cllr M Burt as member of CPEND and LDWG.
Cllr E Horton as member of NDDC Standards Committee
Cllr R Corben (item 5.14) on housing list
Cllrs R Corben & S Corben, Cllr A Frampton (item 5.1.6) as members of Okeford United Football Club

5. MATTERS ARISING
5.1 Recreation Ground/Pavilion
5.1.1 Pavilion doors: the Chairman had called an emergency meeting on 22nd June to discuss the doors which had been installed by Newglaze. Newglaze had visited the Pavilion again since and Cllr R Corben reported on a telephone conversation he had had just prior to the meeting, to the effect that Newglaze were now going to try to install the same doors as fitted on the Village Hall.
5.1.2 Pavilion Changing Rooms: painting of the changing rooms had been done and Cllr S Corben said that the football club would like to freshen up the paint in the main room. This was agreed and the Chairman asked for thanks to be passed on to the football club.
5.1.3 Extension plans: The revised plans were shown to the meeting. It was thought that more window space would be desirable and the Chairman undertook to go back to the architect to see what could be done.
5.1.4 Land located south-east of recreation ground owned by Mr Tony Muir: the Clerk had sent the revised draft of the letter the PC wanted to be sent to Mr Muir and she had received back an email to say that the letter had been sent but had not been given a copy of it. She had emailed Alan Horne, the solicitor and had tried to phone his office on three occasions without success (no answer). The Clerk was asked to contact the solicitor and obtain a copy of the letter that has been sent.
5.1.5 Dumping of other (not recycling) waste: the Clerk had nothing further to report. She was asked to contact I Manley (NDDC) again to remind him that part of the agreement to have the recycling bank in the car park was that it would not cause any problems but other waste was continuing to be dumped by the bins. Whilst it was accepted that the placement of a sign would probably not stop rubbish being dumped, it certainly would do no harm and might just remind whoever is responsible that they should not be leaving non-recyclable rubbish in that area. The Chairman said he would take a photo of the next lot of rubbish to support our request for a sign.
609
5.1.6 Soccerpitch Football Leagues: the Clerk reported on the various exchanges of emails with the organisor of the 5 a side tournament (C Catling). Two dates – 19th or 26th July – are now possibilities and Mr Catling will confirm which Saturday at least two weeks beforehand. When the date is confirmed, the Clerk will give him the name of the contact on the day for keys etc. Mr Catling has indicated he will be donating £50 as a thank you for allowing the use of the facilities.
5.2 Bowey Field
5.2.1. The Chairman had sourced a stainless steel field gate closer but it was expensive (£250) and he was not certain it could be fitted to a metal post. The Chairman agreed to further research this item and report back.
5.2.2 See-saw: as far as can be ascertained, the RoSPA inspector had not yet appeared in the village for the annual playground inspection so the Chairman had not been able to check out the health and safety issues yet.
5.2.3 Football posts: Cllr Frampton has made a start on the works and this is progressing.

5.3 Chicken Processing Factory site – N.F.T.R.

5.4 New Cross: Cllr Mrs Cox agreed to contact DCC to find out the latest on this item.

5.5 Footway – Castle Lane: Cllr Mrs Cox said this was an item that should be being submitted in the autumn plan and she would check with DCC to find out the latest status.

5.6 Community Planning: N.F.T.R.

5.7 Belchalwell & Fiddleford Items:
5.7.1 BT Payphone: The Clerk had sent a letter to BT advising there had been no objections received concerning the removal of the payphone, as per the instructions from NDDC. A reply to the effect that all responses have to be routed through the Chief Planning Officer, NDDC had been received. She said she was confused and had rechecked the NDDC letter to make sure she had not misread it.

5.8 Parish Plan: Cllr Horton reported that he had manned a small exhibit at the recent Fippenny Fair which had displayed information from the results of the questionnaire in graph form; 62 people had visited the stand. It is now his intention to hold a Steering Group meeting and finish collating the results to produce a consultation document by October. A member of the public asked about the unclaimed £100 prize money. Cllr Horton said he would need to review costs before agreeing to pass this on to the person who had said he had lost his ticket and who had indicated he would split the prize between the Church and the Village Hall.

5.9 Bus Shelter/Museum: Mr D Corben is progressing with the painting. The Chairman thanked Cllr Frampton for obtaining the materials and repairing the roof.

5.10 Travellers: Cllr Mrs Cox said a Notice to Quit had been served. As a date could not be agreed, the matter is going to court and is now with the DCC legal team.

5.11 Ridouts Development: the Clerk said that a cheque for £500 had been received from Signpost Housing as a contribution towards the cost of re-surfacing the path from the Ridouts to the recreation ground. She was asked to send a letter of thanks to Mr Pinkney. The Chairman said he would find out when Goddard Landscapes would be starting the work.

5.12 NDDC – Housing Allocation Policy: the Clerk said no reply had been received from Ms Janet Rees in response to the letter she had sent on 12 June; the Chairman said he had seen Ms Rees and she had indicated she had replied. The Clerk was asked to follow up with another letter the next day or ASAP.
Choice-Based Lettings: A further discussion took place on this topic. Cllr Mrs Burch agreed to take up the two issues of banding and local connection which still seemed to be unclear. The Parish Council’s view was that this scheme had been rushed through without proper consultation or thought.

5.13 Post of Clerk: the Chairman and Clerk had discussed the contract and it was now ready for signature. However, following a comment from the internal auditor (see item 12.3.1) an additional clause regarding tax and N.I. contributions should be added. The clerk will amend and prepare another contract for signature. However, in the meantime, the Clerk confirmed that she has already been in contact with HM Customs and Revenue and has informed them of her self-employed status.

610
5.14 Missing 30mph sign at Castle Lane: the Clerk had ‘phoned Mike Hansford on 12th June and he confirmed that a conversation with the Chairman regarding the positioning of the sign was on their file and he would check progress. The sign has still not been replaced. Cllr Mrs Cox said she would take this up with DCC.

5.15 Post Office closures: Nothing has been heard regarding the Okeford Fitzpaine post office but an announcement is expected on 15 July.

5.16 Broken fingerpost at The Cross: the Clerk had contacted DCC and they had confirmed a works order has been prepared but as yet there is no indication of when it will be repaired/replaced. Cllr Mrs Cox said she would investigate.

5.17 Shrubs overhanging footpath at Corner Cottage: the Clerk confirmed she has written a letter to the owner, as this property is no longer managed by Dorset Lettings. Various other over-hanging trees and shrubs are making some footpaths in Okeford Fitzpaine difficult to walk on and the Clerk was asked to make mention of this in the PC’s note in the Fippenny News.

5.18 PC Casual Vacancy: the Chairman reported that Mr Mark Paine was willing to be co-opted. It was proposed by Cllr M Burt and seconded by Cllr S Corben that Mark Paine be co-opted to the Parish Council. The Clerk to arrange for declaration of acceptance of office forms to be completed ASAP.

5.19 Blandford PACT and Home Watch: Cllr Horton had attended the Rural PACT (Partners And Communities Together) seminar on 5 June at which Dorset Police had launched Safer Neighbourhoods. He explained how it was hoped this would operate to tackle issues that have the most effect on quality of life and the environment in which people live and work. The intention is to identify local concerns and work in partnership with other agencies and the community to tackle those issues. Post cards have been printed up for the purpose of notifying issues and items of concern and perhaps these can be held in the Village Shop (Clerk to check). However, concern was expressed that “Safer Neighbourhoods in Blandford” had been printed across the top of these cards and this would not appeal or be of interest to the Parish. The Clerk was asked to point this out to PC Mullins and to find out if this could be changed to “Safer Neighbourhoods” if not before, then certainly before a reprint of the cards. Cllr Horton agreed to register his name as the Parish Council contact although he cannot attend the next meeting which is being held on the 8 July. Cllr Frampton said he might be able to go along to this and would telephone PC Dave Mullins to find out venue and time.
There is still a need for local people to become involved in Home Watch and a co-coordinator is urgently required. Clerk to put note in the Fippenny News.

5.20 Any other Matters Arising: None

6. PLANNING MATTERS
6.1 Applications - the following application had been received after the Agenda had been issued:
2/2008/0601 Teresa Callanan, The Paddocks, Fiddleford. Erection of a domestic double garage with open fronted parking bays and adjoining covered log store. It was proposed by Cllr R Corben and seconded by Cllr T Burt that there be no objection, this was agreed.
6.2 Decisions: None

7. LOCAL DELIVERY OF SERVICES
7.1 SID’s (Speed Indicator Devices): the Clerk said a letter had been received from the Town Clerk of Sturminster Newton asking if a SID post already exists in the Parish and if so, where it is located and also if we would like more SID’s where would we want them located. The Clerk was requested to respond by asking for a reply to our letter of 8 May as until the questions raised then are clarified, the Parish is not in a position to say whether or not they would ask for additional SID’s.

7.2 NDDC's Local Delivery Programme “Tough Choices”: an invoice covering the first payment of our contribution towards Public Convenience Service in Blandford Forum has been received (see item 12.1).



611
8. CORRESPONDENCE
8.1 email from DDC (E Jones) re Parish Maintenance Unit. – due in Parish for 4 weeks during the months of August and February. Send in form 4 weeks prior to their arrival. Cllrs M Burt and Horton to complete and send to DCC.
8.2 DCC letter re structural maintenance programme for 2008 – 2009 – delays and reprogramming of some works – none directly affect our Parish.
8.3 email from Paul Minter of Nethermead re large tree in back garden – Chairman has made contacted and given name of responsible person at NDDC.
8.4 email from Stephen Hubbuck re photo of village hall before it was rebuilt – referred to Mrs D Burt who cannot help but Cllr T Burt thinks he may be able to.
8.5 email from Ringmaster – copied to Cllr Horton
8.6 DAPTC Chief Executive’s circular no. 07/08 – copied to all Parish Cllrs.
8.7 letter of thanks from Robert James for PC’s annual grant.
8.8 email from Matt Lee of Lecourts re Parish Council play facilities (advert)
8.9 Sutcliffe Play brochure re Parish play facilities (advert)
8.10 Newsletter DCC re Dorset Country side News Summer 2008 – copied to all Parish Cllrs.
8.11 Magazine Community.com Sturminster Newton’s magazine June 2008 issue
8.12 Magazine LCR Volume 60 No. 2 (Nat Assoc of Local Councils magazine)

9. REPRESENTATIVES’ REPORTS
9.1 Okeford United Football Club: Cllr S Corben said that a soccer week for young people was being arranged for August 11th – 15th . He asked if it would be ok for the football coaches to stay overnight in the Pavilion (one night). There was no objection.
9.2 Village Hall: Nothing to report.

10. DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
10.1 Cllr Mrs Burch reiterated the Post Office closure situation in North Dorset and said that many sub-masters were becoming very despondent. Plans were being drawn up to prepare for the worse scenarios. Once the announcements had been made by the Post Office there would be a public consultation period.

11. POINTS FROM THE PUBLIC
11.1 Allotments: At the current time there are no allotments in the Parish but with the rising cost of living more people might want to grow their own produce. It was suggested that anyone without a garden or sufficient ground could place an advertisement in the Parish Magazine to see if anyone has spare ground in their garden that could be used.
11.2 Barking Dogs: The chairman had received two complaints from persons in the village that his dogs were always barking. He wished to make it clear that it was not his dogs but those of a breeding kennel at Froghole Farm, next door.

12. FINANCIAL MATTERS
12.1 Accounts to pay:
Mrs R Burrows – clerk’s salary June £348.44, expenses £16.56 cheque no. 383 £ 365.00
Blandford Forum Town Council contribution to public conveniences 384 £ 255.20
Southern Electric (Pavilion) direct debit £139.18
All items proposed by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr T Burt that these be paid, this was agreed.

12.2 Monies received:
Contribution of £500 from Signpost Housing (see item 5.11)
Donation from Okeford Auctions of £80.00*
Donation from Three Okefords Preservation Society of £10.00*

*handed to clerk at the meeting

12.3 Financial other: the Clerk reported that before the accounts to pay have been deducted, the balance of the current account is £660.93, and the reserve account £16,177.66. Cllrs M Burt and A Frampton signed a transfer request form from reserve to current of £250.00.

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The clerk said that Mr M Weeks of Sheephayes Farmhouse had completed the Internal Audit of the 2007-2008 accounts and everything had been found in order and they had been signed off. However, there were a couple of points which had been raised:

12.3.1 Lack of documentation regarding tax and N.I. contribution arrangements for the Clerk. In the past, this had been referred to in the PC Minutes and for the future, would be included in the Clerk’s contract of employment.

12.3.2 Annual Risk assessment, Mr Weeks offered some input and suggested this be documented in conjunction with drawing up the annual budget for the precept. For the time being, it was agreed that the current procedure of discussion at each January meeting was adequate.

13. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
13.1 Okeford Fitzpaine Primary School: The Vice-Chairman of the School Governors (Ian Berry) had asked for this item to be included on the Agenda for the meeting. The Governing body is concerned about the impact the primary school in Child Okeford and their pursuits to expand could have on the village school. Cllr Mrs Cox said that as far as she was aware there was absolutely no risk of the school closing. After a lengthy discussion, it was agreed that the P.C. would support the School Governors and keep lines of communication open. The approach would be to quietly keep the situation monitored and be aware of what is happening in surrounding villages rather than begin a campaign to “keep the village school” which actually is not under threat. A recent press article in the Western Gazette had not helped the situation. The school is actually doing extremely well under the new headmaster, as is the pre-school with 11-12 new children due to start in September. Mr Berry said there could be a vacancy on the Board of Governors and if so perhaps a member of the Parish Council would like to fill that. They would need to be CRB checked; he will check and get back to the Chairman.

14. THE NEXT MEETING will be held on Tuesday, 5 August 2008 at the Pavilion, Castle Lane at 7.30pm. The Chairman thanked all present and closed the meeting at 9.40pm.