Netherbury Parish Council

NETHERBURY PARISH COUNCIL

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING 18th JULY 2017 at 7.30PM THE READING ROOM, NETHERBURY

PRESENT: Cllr. Robert Bowditch; Cllr. Richard King; Cllr. Graham Hawkins; Cllr Bob Huxter; Cllr. Peter Bailey; Cllr. Kevin Goodfellow and Cllr. Chris David

ATTENDANCE: Jessica Teasdale (Clerk)

There were no members of the public present.

1. APOLOGIES AND APPROVAL OF ABSENCE Apologies were received from, Cllr. Yvonne Dyke; Cllr. Clare Handford; Cllr. Caroline Pearce; Cllr Jo Mann and District Cllr. Mark Roberts. This was approved by the Council.

NOT PRESENT - Cllr Rebecca Knox

2. DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST None

3. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETINGS a. Parish Council Meeting 23rd May 2017 A Copy of the minutes from the meeting held on the 23rd May was confirmed as a true and accurate record by the Council and signed by Cllr Bowditch. b. Parish Council Meeting 27th June 2017 A copy of the minutes from the meeting held on the 27th June was confirmed as a true and accurate record by the Council, with the amendment that District Cllr. Roberts had provided his apologies, and were signed by Cllr Bowditch.

4. MATTERS ARISING AND ACTIONS UPDATE 23rd May 2017 Item 6 – The Clerk had reported the pot hole near Mangerton on Dorset For You. The hole has now been filled. The Clerk had spoken to Highways to establish what plans were in place for repairs to roads within the Parish, including Bridge Street in Netherbury. Highways informed the Clerk that Bridge Street is due to be resurfaced between 5th – 8th September with the road needing to be closed to carry out the work. Further work on the B3162, North Bowood will be carried out between 21st August – 1st September. The Clerk advised members that all planned roadworks can be viewed on the website roadworks.org

Item 6e – The Clerk had liaised with Mr Morse, member of the Netherbury Playing Fields Committee, and requested that an external inspection of the play equipment be carried out on an annual basis. The inspection had taken place and the report had been provided to members. There were currently no concerns. Action: The Clerk to request that this be carried out annually and reported to the Council.

Item 7b – The Clerk had informed Mr Morse that the Parish Council were happy to donate the £500 needed towards replacing the railings at Brandon Plot.

Item 10b – The Clerk had contacted the insurance provider on behalf of the Parish and advised members that it was not a condition of the policy to carry out checks and inspections. The council does have a duty of care which would include ensuring that items are safe for the public and are well maintained. A discussion took place about the need for the Parish to have copies of insurance certification from the Playing Fields Committee, and the village halls in Netherbury, Salway Ash and Melplash. 1

Action: The Clerk to request insurance certification for this year and then for this to form part of the annual report to the Parish in the spring.

Action: The Clerk to ensure we have a copy of our public liability insurance certificate through our insurance provider.

Item 12 – The Clerk had followed up the ongoing issue with the outstanding repairs to the railings at the bridge in Oxbridge. These are now due for repair from the 11th – 15th September. The road will need to be closed to carry out the work and letters will go out to residents from Highways.

27th June 2017 Item 3a, and 4 (Melplash land) – Discussed as an agenda item. The Clerk had spoken to a member of the Netherbury Network to find out more about the group. The group has been set up by residents of the village to provide social events for the village to attend. It is hoped that an event will be put on most months. Cllr Bailey informed members that the issue with the water leak at Camesworth Lane would be investigated by the lengthsman, Steve Lee, to try and establish the cause. Cllr. Bailey will report back at a future meeting.

5. CORRESPONDANCE AND NOTICES a. The CAB had written to the Parish to thank them for their kind donation. b. Information had previously been circulated to members updating them on the new superfast broadband fibre.

6. DEVELOPMENT OF WEBSITE Members discussed the Parish website and the wish to develop it in order to promote the work of the Parish with a view to it being a valuable resource of information for members of the public. Action: The Clerk to look at other website options and report back to members.

7. USE OF LAND AT MELPLASH Numerous conversations have taken place about an area of land in Melplash that is owned by Melplash Court and is available for use by the community. Currently Melplash Cricket Club have responsibility for overseeing it, but have not been proactive in maintaining it. The Village Hall Committee would like it to be used as a village asset and if they had overall responsibility they would ensure its upkeep. Action: Cllr. David to speak to the Village Hall Committee to resolve this ongoing issue.

8. PAINTING OF RAILINGS IN NETHERBURY The Netherbury Network have volunteered to paint the railings. The Parish are keen to support them and would like to donate the funds required for the materials needed. All were in favour. Action: The Clerk to inform the Netherbury Network of the decision made by members of the Parish.

9. REVIEW OF PARISH ASSESTS The Clerk provided members with a report outlining the current list of Parish Assets in advance of the meeting. It was agreed that an audit of assets and their value needed to be carried out. The information would then be published on the website as outlined in The Transparency Code For Smaller Authorities. Action: The Clerk to request a copy of the deeds from the Playing Fields Committee. Cllr. King to follow up, through land registry, the land at Salway Ash and Cllr David to follow up the ownership of Melpash Village Hall. The Clerk to investigate what is expected in terms of historical cost or the value of £1 for playing fields and war memorials.

10. NEW PUBLIC NOTICE BOARD NETHERBURY A member of the public had requested that a larger notice board replace the one currently in the bus shelter. Members felt that the combination of Parish Notice Board, the general notice board and an increase in the use of the websites was sufficient. Members were not in favour of funding a replacement. Action: The Clerk to provide feedback to the village member.

11. ACCOUNTS Clerk’s expenses £88.77 - All were in favour

12. PLANNING APPLICATIONS WD/D/17/001643 - Further information had been received from planning in relation to the application and had been previously circulated to members for their information.

13. ANY OTHER BUSINESS The sum of £168 owing to Cllr. Bailey for costs incurred for the signpost finials was outstanding. Cllr. King proposed payment, seconded by Cllr. Bowditch, with a show of hands all were in favour.

The Clerk had requested to attend training for new clerks, run by the DAPTC at a cost of £35. All were in favour.

The Parish Council Risk Assessment was due for review and would be brought to the next meeting.

Cllr. Hawkins reported that following recent resurfacing on Crook Hill in Netherbury, there were areas near the verge where pot holes still existed. Action: The Clerk to report to highways via the Dorset For You website.

Cllr. Bailey requested that members report any jobs for the lengthsman to Cllr. Bailey. Information about the work of the lengthsman would be added to the website.

The meeting closed at 9.05pm.