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Home , Melbury Abbas, Sutton Waldron

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING Wednesday 12th December 2018 MINUTES

Present: Chairman: David Smith Councillors: John Ellis, Iain McNeil, Sandy Millard, Claire Aartsen Clerk: Marianne Wheatley District Councillor: Sherry Jespersen

Residents: Jane McNeil, Ian Pinder, Dick Hood, Yvonne Pinder, Christl Pearson, Dave MacDonald and Alan Maisher.

1. Apologies – There were apologises for absence from Dora Sherringham, Anne and Martin Jelbart.

2. Declarations of Interest – There were no declarations of interest.

3. Minutes of Previous Meeting The Minutes of the meeting held on 19th September 2018 were read and approved and following the meeting signed by the Chairman.

4. Matters Arising i) Airfield Meeting – The Chairman had attended this meeting. There was nothing that specifically concerned Sutton Waldron. The main topic was County Highways reporting on the new junction between the airfield road and the C13. Construction is planned for Spring 2019. ii) Drains – The Clerk had followed this up and Rolly Skeats - the Community Highways Team Leader had confirmed that he had asked the owners of the field at Sutton House if Highways could have access to the field to reconnect the pipe that at present empties into the pond so that it can get to its original and preferred outfall which was the stream. The owners had asked if this work could be delayed until the spring as the work that Highways would need to do would damage the field too much at this time of the year. Rolly Skeats has confirmed he will follow this up next year. The Clerk would also follow this up early next year.

5. Correspondence/Other Parish Matters i) Reports from County Councillor and District Councillor – reports had been circulated to the Councillors. The following matters are of interest:

Planning - Notwithstanding the run up to Local Government Reorganisation planning matters continue as usual. The delays in validating applications have now largely been cleared and validations are back on track.

Work continues on the review of the North Local Plan. All the existing Local Plans and adopted Neighbourhood Plans will transfer to the new Dorset Council and continue to be part of the statutory development plan for that area. So there will be no policy “vacuum”.

The new Council will be required to produce a new Local Plan for the whole Dorset Council area within 5 years. However, there are on-going discussions over exactly how the existing local plans, Five Year Housing Land Supply calculations and Housing Delivery Test data will be implemented in the interim. Dorset are the first council to go unitary since the introduction of all this planning legislation so all of this technical detail has to be addressed for the first time.

Sale of Council land - There have been some reports in the press on District Council’s plans to sell Cattle Market. A local group applied to lodge a Judicial Review of this decision but the courts refused permission for the review, saying there was no arguable case. The sale of the site, to a low cost supermarket, will now go ahead.

There has been some discussion over whether it would be best to save the Nordon house in Blandford and convert it for flats, or demolish it and thereby create more homes and realise more capital for the new Council.

1 The District Councillor confirmed that there were also plans under discussion regarding the site of the old Co-op in Shaftesbury.

Towards the New Dorset Council - The Parish Councils are all now receiving the Town and Parish Newsletter with information on the progress of the Shadow Council. Information is also available on the Shadow website dorsetareacouncils.wordpress.com. If anyone is interested in receiving a copy of the newsletter please let the Clerk know.

Business as Usual - Notwithstanding the enormous amount of work involved in building the new Council, the work of delivering front line services continues uninterrupted.

Dogs - Cabinet, last week, agreed a Dog Related Public Spaces Protection Order which will give the Council, and local communities, the opportunity to introduce greater controls to curtail dog fouling in public spaces. Some Parish Councils have particular issues with this so these new powers should help.

DWP - Dorset Waste Partnership has teamed up with charity Ideas2Action to produce We Need That, Dorset’s Reuse Directory, which lists not for profit organisations which need items which are commonly thrown away. More information can be seen at www.ideas2action.org.uk.

Durweston Bridge - Scheduled works to the flood arches was postponed just over a year ago. The works will be extensive, requiring a road closure that will impact on the wider area. The County Council engineers are keen to ensure that the full closure of the bridge is kept to a minimum and that wherever practical and safe to do so, a shuttle system will be operating in order to keep access over the bridge open for as long as possible.

The programme of works and commencement date are currently being worked on. The proposed diversion route for the actual road closure will be consulted upon and, given the possible impacts of the closure DCC has confirmed that this consultation will take place as soon as possible.

A350 and C13 Road works update Vehicle Message signs (VMS) HGV One-way system - Christy’s Lane, Shaftesbury – the civil engineering work are complete. The sign and associated electronics are currently being manufactured with a view for installation later this month.

Works are currently taking place on the Blandford by-pass before the sign manufacturer can install the signs. It was confirmed that the works seemed to have been completed.

The Chairman confirmed that the Clerk had been chasing Highways to cut the hedges round the new 30mph signs coming into the Village from the south. The District Councillor confirmed that other Parishes along the A350 were also asking for this to be done. To date Highways had not confirmed they would be doing this. The District Councillor commented that Highways should say whether they were going to carry out this work and if they were not then the parishes should perhaps club together to have the hedges cut.

C13 - Design work has moved on with regard to the HGV pull in and the new Vehicle Activated Sign adjacent to the pull in. Dorset County Council are programming engineering work to start in January. This will require road closures to carry out the work.

C13 Gore Clump Junction improvements (by Compton Abbas Airfield) – Dorset County Council are currently in the process of consultation for a Stopping Up Order for the northern side of the triangle, to ensure that this junction can be closed off. The chairman confirmed that there were also on-going discussions with the landowner to see if a permissive path could be put in opposite the junction.

Sign & lining matters - The majority of signing and lining is complete including all speed limits. There are a few matters that need completing this includes improved signing at the junction adjacent to the pub in . ii) Inspection of The Spinney, Bus Shelter and Telephone Box – in accordance with the Risk Management Policy Cllr. McNeil had inspected The Spinney, the Bus Shelter and the Telephone Box. Cllr. McNeil had tidied up the bus shelter and reported that unfortunately there had been some human waste in the shelter. The Parish Council would consider how to stop this from happening. iii) Healthy Homes Dorset – This is a service provided by Dorset County Council. Healthy Homes Dorset provide free, impartial advice about keeping your home warm, using your heating system, understanding your energy bills and making energy saving improvements – if you’re eligible 2 for loft or cavity wall insulation it will be free. They will also register you for power cut support, a handy service to be on if you experience a power cut in your area. The advice can be given through home visits as well as over the phone. Fire safety alarm and appliance checks can also be organised in partnership with Fire and Rescue for eligible residents. If you think you might benefit from this service please contact Healthy Homes Dorset on: Phone: 0300 003 7023 email: [email protected] Web: www.healthyhomesdorset.org.uk iv) Library Survey – As mentioned in Sutton Seasons Dorset County Council are currently undertaking a Let’s Talk Libraries consultation. The deadline for this survey was 2nd December 2018 but if you want to follow this up please visit: www.dorsetforyou.com/talklibraries v) A350 Community Group the A350 Community Group is continuing to lobby on behalf of the residents and businesses along the A350. The group has recently had some new members join it and now the group represents most of the villages along the A350 from Shaftesbury nearly to Poole. There is a meeting this evening and the Clerk will circulate the notes of that meeting as and when she receives the same. As mentioned above the Clerk has also been chasing Highways to cut back the hedges round the 30mph speed signs on the A350 northbound into the village. To date she has not received a response but will continue to chase. vi) Community Speed Watch – The Police Community Support Officer recently visited Sutton Waldron with the co-ordinator for Community Speed Watch (“CSW”) in Dorset. The co-ordinator is responsible for managing CSW across Dorset and visiting areas to assess if they are suitable and conform with the policy with regard to operating CSW in those areas. They were unable to find a suitable site on the A350 through Sutton Waldron. This was due to the line of sight available for CSW teams and also drivers and the distance between the change in speed limit and the location where a team would be able to operate. It would therefore seem that the Parish Council cannot take this further at this time. vii) Defibrillator – Fontmell Magna and Bedchester have recently installed defibrillators. The Fontmell defibrillator is at the school. The one in Bedchester is in the telephone box at the Bedchester crossroads. There was a discussion as to whether Sutton Waldron should purchase defibrillator, the cost of the defibrillator including ongoing costs and where it should be located. It was agreed that the Chairman and Cllr. Millard would look into the matter further and would report back at the next meeting.

6. Planning Applications – There had been no planning applications that the Parish Council had been asked to consult on since the last meeting. There had however been an application by Sutton Waldron House to take down a beech tree due to large limb failure and evidence of fungal decay. This application was passed for immediate works. As part of the permission the applicants had agreed to plant a replacement tree – either a walnut, a lime or a tulip tree.

7. Finance i) Balance - The balance in the bank at 31st October 2018 was £4061.91. ii) Bills to be paid: It was agreed that the following bills should be paid: • Clerk’s salary for October to December 2018 - £315 • Parish Council – Planning Training £17.52 iii) Half Year Audit – The Internal Auditor – Martin Jelbart – had carried out the half year audit and had confirmed there were no issues arising. The Chairman thanked Martin for continuing to undertake this role. iv) Budget – The Clerk had prepared and circulated the Income & Expenditure to 31st October 2018, the Spend v Budget with the anticipated figures to 31st March 2019 and a precept plan. The Chairman commented that the Parish Council costs were rising, but because of the level of the Parish Council’s reserves (being more than one year’s precept) he proposed that the precept should not be raised this year. However the Parish Council would continue to monitor the situation, in particular noting any additional responsibilities that may fall on the Parish following the reorganisation to a unitary council in Dorchester. The Parish Council unanimously agreed that the precept for next year should remain at £2400.

8. Any Other Business – At the last meeting and as publicised in Sutton Seasons the Parish Council are endeavouring to set up a group email for the village residents so that the Clerk and the Parish Council can notify residents of any matters of interest for example planning applications and for example the recent library survey. The Clerk will also circulate the agendas for the meetings and the draft minutes so that residents are kept up to date with what the Parish Council are doing. To date the Clerk has only received 4 requests to join the group email. If anyone would like to join the group email please contact the Clerk.

3 Cllr. Millard asked whether there was anything that could be done about the rubbish that was being dumped in the enclosure surrounding the telephone mast at the top of Sutton Hill. She was concerned that the gates were not locked and reported that it seemed to be somewhere where people congregated at night. The Chairman confirmed he would visit the site and see if there was a telephone number or address so that the Clerk could contact the owner.

It was noted that Highways had been painting white lines around potholes that had already been patched on Sutton Hill and around some smaller potholes. The white lines had now faded and no further work had been undertaken. This seemed to be a waste of money. It was agreed that the Clerk would contact the Highways Community Officer to find out why this had happened and also to report that some of the patched holes were already breaking up.

The Parish Council had received a request to contribute to the Blandford Leisure centre. There was a discussion as to whether the Parish Council should contribute. It was agreed that the Parish Council would not contribute.

9. Reports i) Church – Iain Pinder reported that there had been a remembrance service on 11th November 2018. 45 people had attended and reference was made to 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war. The 5 parishes within the benefice were all working together and met on a regular basis. A report was being prepared on the deanery and how it was made up. The pattern of services would be changing in February 2019. Instead of their being a family service on the second Sunday of each month there would be a breakfast service. This would be open to everyone. It was going to be held in the Village Hall at 9.30am. Breakfast would be served and there would be a slightly more informal church service. This was still in the planning stage but the Village Hall had been booked for the first 6 months of 2019. Iain Pinder confirmed that this year the Church would be running at a loss and if this happened next year there were insufficient reserves to cover future losses. This would mean that the Church would be unable to meet its payment to the diocese. The Church did not want to get into this situation as this could mean that the diocese might start looking at the viability of the Church. There was a Carol Service on 16th December 2018 at 5pm. On 14th & 17th December 2018 there was Christmas Wrapping in the Church. On 19th December there was Carol singing. On 23rd December there was a nativity service. The Christmas Day service was at 10 am. ii) Village Hall – Jane McNeil confirmed there was nothing to report. iii) Footpaths – Jane McNeil confirmed that the Clerk had spoken to the owner of the field with the footpath to Fontmell Magna. Recently the cows had been grazing over the footpath and you had to walk through the cows as you could not otherwise get through the electric fence. The District Councillor confirmed that the owner was entitled to graze his cattle in fields with a footpath and was not obliged to keep them off the footpath. It was the responsibility of dog owners to ensure that dogs did not interfere with livestock. The owner was not obstructing the path by allowing it to become muddy.

10. Date of next meetings - The next meeting is on 13th March 2019 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.

Signed……………………………………. Dated………………………………………… Chairman

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