BURTON BRADSTOCK PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 3^rd November 2010 at 7.30pm in the Reading Room, Burton Bradstock.

Present: Cllrs. G. Moody, K. Delves, S. Churchill, N. Bowles, D. Venn, D. Dixon, P. Toms, F. Moore (Clerk), and fourteen members of the public.

1. Apologies: Cllrs. A. Mackie, D. Batten, S. Pett, DCC Cllr. R. Coatsworth, WDDC Cllr. M. Parsons.

2. Declarations of Interest:

There were no declarations of Interest.

3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting, 6th October 2010.

The minutes were approved and signed by the Chairman as a true record.

4. Matters Arising & Clerk’s Report:

• Appointment of Flood Warden: Cllr. Delves agreed to consider representing the Council as local Flood Warden. The Clerk to place appropriate information in his in tray.
• New Tenders for Allotment Wall, and repairs to Village Greens: The Clerk reported that new tenders would be sent out for the increased work to be done. Additional contractors would also be contacted. The current tenders would be emailed to councillors for their comments on the specifications. Action Clerk
• Play area: A new inspection form has been designed based on the Annual Inspection format to assist R.Brown with his inspections. This inspection form will identify work needed, minor repairs and maintenance undertaken as part of the inspection and work that needs to be done. It will be stored in a ring binder in the Reading Room. The Clerk is also obtaining quotes for the specialist work that needs to be done.                                                               Action Clerk
• Cliff Road: Details of the problems regarding brambles and soil/rocks over the yellow lines have been reported.                                       Clerk to follow up

Planning Committee Quorum: It was agreed that the Council’s Standing Orders should be amended so that all Councillors are members of the Planning Committee and a quorum consists of 3 members. It was also agreed that the Clerk offers three dates for Planning Meetings to Councillors:                                                                    Action Clerk

5. Democratic Quarter Hour:

The Chairman stated that to enable debate with the public he would bring agenda item 10. Library Update forward to the latter part of this Item, so that the first part of the Democratic Quarter Hour would address only non library issues.

• G.Adderley: Expressed concern that the work on the allotment walls was taking such a long time. In a response to J.Harding, the Chairman stated that the work did not include the western boundary of the allotments, due to the fact that the Council were in negotiations with the National Trust about extended the allotments further to the west. As well as having extra allotments there might also be an opportunity for volunteers to do some dry stone walling with National Trust tuition.
• D.Edwards: Expressed concern about the stone work around ‘The Greens’ feeling that vehicle drivers would not pay attention to the stones and still drive onto ‘The Greens’.
• R.Graham: Felt that cheques that were regularly required for payment did not need to come for approval to the Council meeting. The Chairman reported that the RFO (Responsible Finance Officer was looking at this point at the moment). The Chairman also reminded parishioners that the Finance & General Purposes Committee was an open meeting and agendas are posted on the Council’s notice boards, the library and the Council’s website.

6. Library Update:

Cllr. Moody reported that following the October Parish Council meeting he had spoken to DCC Cllr. R.Coatsworth and also put his concerns in writing to him and to DCC, this was done on the 12^th October. On the 13^th October DCC’s solicitors declined to meet without our solicitor being present. On the 15^th October M.Harvey (our solicitor from Nantes) informed the Cllr. Moody that he needed his fee cap increased to be able to continue.

On the 18th October the Cllr. Moody contacted DCC formally requesting an increase in the fee cap, DCC confirmed an increase in the fee cap of up to £2,500 stating that this was an absolute maximum, on 26th October. Our Solicitors were informed on the 27th October; M .Harvey stated that he was attempting to get from DCC the latest/definitive lease draft to ensure that we were all looking at the same drafting. M. Harvey emailed Cllr. Moody on 3rd November stating that he had just received the documents and Cllrs. Bowles and Moody had arranged to meet with him this Friday, 5th November.

The Chairman stated that everyone has found the delays in finalising arrangement frustrating, but the Parish Council is seeking to secure the Library premises for community use for a 99- year period, and we need to get everything right. The Council would not be thanked for rushing into a deal with DCC that proved not to be robust for the long term.

Concern was expressed by B.Hynds and the parishioners about the delay in sorting out the lease and getting all the documents signed. They all felt it was imperative that all out standing matters needed to be resolved within a very short timetable and that timetable to be made known to the public. Cllr. Delves stated that a lot of problems had arisen due to the original format of the lease by the DCC, who had not been through this type of process before.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their comments and stated that he hoped to resolve matters quickly.                                         Action  Cllrs. Moody & Bowles

7. Correspondence:

Details of correspondence received prior to the agenda being set had been circulated and are attached to the minutes.

The Clerk reported on ‘Ring & Ride’ shopping trips in November and December. Details will be placed on notice boards.                                     Action Clerk   

The Clerk reported that we had received 95.59% marks in the Best Kept Village competition, loosing marks on the notice boards and the bus stop.

8. Planning Committee:

Minutes of the Planning Committee Meeting held on the 21^st October were circulated prior to the meeting and details are attached to these minutes. Cllr. Toms gave a detailed update to this report for parishioners.

9. Finance & General Purposes Report:

The monthly Finance Report including matters arising from the F &GP Committee, Draft Budget and Precept recommendations for 2011/12 were circulated on the 28^th October 2010. Details of all the reports are attached to these minutes.

The following recommendations were unanimously approved:

That the Council approves and adopts the budget and corresponding precept of £22,700 for the year 2011/12.

That the following cheques be ratified:

J. Hill (RFO)               £54.68             Salary/Minor Expenses/ Electric Settlement   

Village Hall                 £34.00             Hire of Hall Parish Plan

Alvian Ltd                   £88.13             Playground Annual Inspection.

BDO Audit     £364.25             Annual External Audit

F.Moore Clerk £364.25             Salary/Expenses

Village Hall £1,250.00              Grant Aid

That the Annual Return is approved by the Parish Council and that the external auditor’s recommendations are implemented.

That the internal audit assessment distributed to all councillors following the 2009/2010 audit be approved and adopted by the Parish Council.

That a new councillor should be sought for the Finance Committee following the resignation of P. Dutton.

That the AGM will be held on 16^th May 2011 with a Parish Council meeting being held 30 minutes before to approve the accounts. The Annual Council Meeting to be held on 18^th May 2011.

That the application from Bridport Fencing Association be turned down (Action RFO)

10. The Post office:

A report was circulated by Cllr. Moody prior to the meeting; details are attached to the minutes. Further work has been done by Cllrs. Moody, Delves and Dixon to resolve the way forward, including meetings with the tenants, the Village Society and meetings with valuers.                                                     Action Cllrs. Moody, Delves, Dixon   

11. B3157 Update:

Cllr. Churchill had circulated a report prior to the meeting; details are attached to the minutes. A detailed map of the road safety improvements was available and Cllr. Churchill highlighted various points. This map will be placed on the Reading Room’s notice board for parishioners’ information. It was hoped that A. Brown and Cllr. Finney from DCC will attend the December meeting. Any proposed alterations to what has been proposed or any new points need to be with Cllr. Churchill or the Clerk as soon as possible prior to the December Parish Council meeting so that A. Brown can be informed. Any ideas for village gateway signs should be emailed to Cllr. Churchill as soon as possible as the deadline for responses on this matter is 22^nd November. ,.                                                                                                                        Action Cllr. Churchill/ Clerk

Concern was expressed by Councillors that the plans did not always reflect the changes requested and agreed during the consultation with the Parish Council and the parishioners. The Clerk to add the issue of consultation on the B3157 to the agenda for the meeting with the Chief Executive’s of DCC and WDDC.                               Clerk

12. Items for meeting with Chief Executives of DCC and WDDC, 15th November 2010.

Details of items had been passed on to the two Chief Executives and confirmation of their attendance between 7.30 - 9.00pm had been received. Specific councillors have agreed to lead certain items.

13. Approved List of Contractors:

Details of a list of possible approved contractors had been circulated prior to the meeting. Further contractors had been identified Cllr. Batten, which the Clerk would circulate. Councillors would look through the two lists and let the Clerk know if they wish to make any amendments prior to a formal list being approved at the December Parish Council meeting.                                                                                 Action Clerk & Councillors

14. A.O.B.

• Loose Stones: Cllr. Toms reported loose kerb stones near the Anchor. Clerk to pursue.                                                                                          Action Clerk
• Christmas Tree: It was agreed that Cllr. Batten would organise the Christmas tree for the Village Green, and the Clerk would to let the Village Society know. Action Cllr. Batten/ Clerk
• Bus Shelter Bin re-site: Clerk to finalise.                              Action Clerk
• Lottery Community Wildlife Fund: Cllr. Dixon reported that he was unable to submit a detailed application in time and asked for help to undertake this. He had all the details and would be able to discuss a way forward with someone had time to help.                                                                             Action all Councillors.

15. Date of Next meeting: 1st December 2010. Christmas refreshments would be available after the meeting.

The Chairman stated he try to get details of the meeting and issues to be discussed into the next issue of the BVN.                                                             Action Cllr. Moody

16. Democratic Quarter Hour:

• Best Kept Village Competition, G. Adderley: Disappointment was expressed that no one went to the prize giving to receive our plaque.
• S. Moores: Thanked the Parish Council for its financial and administrative support to the Village Hall refurbishments.
• B. James: Encouraged everyone to write to O. Letwin regarding the re-instatement of central white lines throughout the B3157.
• Freshwater Holiday Park: The spoil near the road is from the current approved planning excavations.
• C. James: Would it be possible for the meeting with the Chief Executives be an open one? The Chairman said that this initial meeting had been approached as for Councillors only, but hoped that future ones could be open to the public.
• Notice Board in Mill Street: This is not an official notice board and it is not maintained by the Parish Council.
• R. Graham: Expressed that he was surprised by the lack of debate regarding accepting the budget. If possible he would like more information on the breakdown and allocation of donation and what is the Council planning to do with its current financial surplus. The Chairman responded that the budget had been discussed in detail at the Finance & General Purposes Committee. He had already offered to email details of the “rules” applying to donations to Mr Graham, but there were no planned donations in the budget figure. Rather this was the amount suggested by the Council’s previous experience of applications. .

The meeting closed at 9.33pm.