Parish Office: 6 New Street, Marnhull, Dorset, DT10 1PY

01258 446268

Minutes of the Meeting held at 7.30pm
on Monday 5th February 2007 at Marnhull Village Hall

PRESENT: Chairman J Pett, Cllr Goldsmith, Cllr Lloyd, Cllr Mrs Locke, Cllr Watson, Cllr Pender-Cudlip, Cllr Mrs Plummer and Cllr Mrs Russell.

There were two members of the public in attendance.

PUBLIC DISCUSSION:

2007/025 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Cllr Mrs Bone, Cllr Fraser and Cllr Soul.

2007/026 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: Those of the Parish Council Meeting on the 8th of January 2007 and those of a Planning Meeting on the 13th and the 27th of January were agreed after some minor amendments to be a true record and signed.

2007/027 MATTERS ARISING: Action Items – Each was discussed and either completed or ongoing.
Action Item 33/06. Again the Clerk has had problems with getting the Police Force to attend one of our monthly meetings to discuss our ongoing problems with vandalism in the Village. It was decided that a letter should be written to the head of the Sherborne branch to express our concern regarding their failure to attend any of our meetings. Action Item 05/07 Chairman and Clerk.
Cllr Mrs Locke reported on how things were progessing with action item 26/06, the idea of the swimming pool at St Gregory’s School being open to the public. Mrs Hicks the Headteacher is open to the idea but explained that insurance cover, pool operator’s and staffing all need to be looked at very carefully. She has asked that the Parish Council write to the Chairman of the PTFA at the school, to see if they are happy in principle of the pool being used during the summer holidays. The Parish Council will await their reply before taking any further action at this stage. The Clerk to write to Mr Mogridge Chairman of the PTFA to seek their permission. Action Item 06/07.
Cllr Mrs Russell said that dispute the clerk’s recent contact with NDDC the tarmac behind the phone box in Burton Street is still there. The clerk to write another letter. Action Item 39/06.
Cllr Mrs Locke reported on the progress that she had made with the idea of a practice tennis wall in the Recreation Ground. She said that it was felt that the wall should be 8ft tall and that it would be made of some sort of stone as wood would make it too noisy. Peter Godwin Chairman of the Tennis Club spoke and said that he had some reservations regarding the planned area for the wall and would be happy to meet with Cllr Mrs Locke to give some advice.

2007/028 AGENDA ITEMS
Tennis Club Lease – Peter Godwin spoke regarding the new lease for the tennis club. He said that the original lease dated back to 1979 and was for 28 years, so was expiring in August of this year. He said that all the terms set out in the original lease are still valid and he recommended that this lease be for a further 20 years. All councillors were agreement of the new lease the only issue that was raised was how much the Parish Council pay through insurance for the surface of the tennis court. This would have implications on whether or not the Parish Council raise the rent the tennis club pay. The clerk to find out from the insurance company, and then the matter can be resolved at the next meeting. Action Item 07/07.
Dog Fouling – The clerk reported that there had again been dog fouling in the Recreation Ground and in the Cemetery. Unfortunately they had been fouling on some of the graves in the Cemetery which the clerk had had complaints about earlier in the day. When the clerk went to the Cemetery to see what had happened she noticed that there were five dogs running loose around the Recreation Ground while their owners played a game of tennis. Cllr Mrs Locke also noted that when she had been to the Recreation Ground on the previous Friday there had been again several loose dogs while the owners were on the tennis court. The Chairman asked Peter Godwin in his capacity as Chairman of the tennis club to speak to the members and remind them that dogs are supposed to be on a lead at all times in the Rec.
Signs to St Mary’s School – Mr Mackain – Bremner Chairman of the governors for St Mary’s School attended the meeting as Mrs Nicola Denham the Headteacher could unfortunately not attend.
He spoke first about some of the schools history and then moved on to the issue of the signs. He said that people do have trouble finding the school as it is tucked down a narrow lane. The DCC put a sign off the main road down Great Down lane at Todber and this has proved very beneficial, although a problem still arises if you come in from the other direction. They have put a brand new finger post at the end of Old Mill lane but would like to see some more in the following areas:
At the end of Hains Lane.
The beginning of Nash Lane.
By the garage at the end of Church Hill.
Somewhere at the top of Church Hill.
Cllr Watson responded to Mr Mackain-Bremner and said that he would contact Steve Howard at DCC to ask him some advice. As one of the signs is also to be placed on private land he said he would check that that is allowed by the highways department.
Cllr Watson asked if St Mary’s had a school travel plan and if the Parish Council could have a copy. Mr MB said that he would forward a copy to the clerk. Cllr Lloyd noted that at the moment the sign at the garage at the end of Church Hill is broken and maybe when they came to fix it they could put another finger on pointing to St Mary’s.
Child Protection Document – Cllr Mrs Plummer asked the councillors of what they thought of the previously circulated draft copy. Cllr Goldsmith said that he understood why we have to do a policy but felt that we were entering a field that a Parish Councillors does not understand or is qualified to deal with. He felt that we should have a very few lines clearly stating what the Parish Council’s position is. He agreed with the draft Cllr Lloyd had circulated and suggested that Cllr Locke contact the Lottery Fund and ask if that would be sufficient. All councillors agreed with this and it would also noted that it should be called a ‘Play Equipment Safety Policy’ rather than a ‘Child Protection Document’. Cllr Mrs Plummer just reiterated the point that this had to be provided to the Lottery Fund as soon as possible. All Councillors were in agreement that we would submit Cllr Lloyd’s version and if it got rejected then we would have to have a rethink. This was proposed by Cllr Goldsmith and seconded by Cllr Mrs Russell.
Guidelines for Grant Applications – Cllr Goldsmith had produced some guidelines for clubs and societies applying for grants from the Parish Council. These are as follows:

Standing Orders – Cllr Lloyd read through his previously circulated draft copy of the standing orders. All councillors approved this for Cllr Lloyd to produce a final copy for the next meeting. This was proposed by Cllr Goldsmith and seconded by Cllr Pender-Cudlip.
Clerk’s Absence – The clerk will be taking maternity leave at the end of June and the councillors discussed the best way forward to fill the job for the six months she is off. It was felt that an advert in the Marnhull Messenger and the Blackmore Vale were the best ways forward and take it from there.
Prospective Parish Councillors Information Evening – The dated agreed was Thursday 22nd March at 7.30pm, at the Blackmore Vale Inn. The evening is hoped to bring new people into the Council who may wish to know a little more about what is involved before they decide. The Chairman will attend and it was hoped that as many Councillors as possible will also attend. The Clerk to book the Blackmore Vale and get a price on some snacks. Action Item 08/07.
Village Design Statements – Cllr Fraser has volunteered to take this on and as absent from this meeting it was decided to leave it for discussion until the next meeting.

2007/029 DORSET COUNTY COUNCIL: No Report.

2007/030 NORTH DORSET DISTRICT COUNCIL: Cllr Bone had forward a report to the Chairman on meetings she had attended this month. This included a special meeting called to decide whether the council should apply for Unitary as opposed to ‘Pathfinder’ status. At the full council meeting it was agreed that the Council Tax would be set as ‘not>5%’ for 2007/08.
Fifehead Magdalen parish has applied to NDDC and have been granted full Parish Council status.

At this point Cllr Lloyd reported on some meetings he had attended.

Strong & Prosperous Communities’ White Paper
Cllr Lloyd reported that following the issue of the above by government, county & district authorities were invited to move to a unitary authority, or to follow a two-tier “Pathfinder” route to co-operate in achieving similar efficiencies by combining services. Dorset & its districts have decided to bid for the latter model, and NDDC approved bid details on 24 January. This has a strong likelihood of being accepted.

Local Delivery / Tough Choices
Cllr Lloyd reported that total commitment is now £234,000 for precept sourced NDDC Discretionary Services for 2007 – 08, although as reported last month, NDDC have committed themselves to providing £300,000 of services in response.
Methods of Local Delivery for 2008 onwards continue to be discussed; Cllr Lloyd attended a rather unsatisfactory meeting of a Shaftesbury Town Council sub-committee which considered local parish support for toilets, car parking and other services to be provided by the council. He will be attending a similar meeting of Sturminster Town Council on 27 January.
Cllr Lloyd will also be attending the next meeting of the NDDC Local Delivery Working Group on 20 February.

DAPTC Area Meeting
Cllr Lloyd attended the above meeting on 18 January at which Janet Rees (NDDC) attended and gave a presentation on the Pathfinder initiative and NDDC’s response. Most parishes represented indicated their support for that process.

Sturquest AwayDay
Cllr Lloyd was invited to attend an “AwayDay” meeting of Sturquest board at which they discussed the future role of Sturquest as the Sturminster Market Site Regeneration neared completion. Support of local parishes in their involvement in, and management of, Local Delivery activities, and the provision of skilled consultation in community projects were high on their aims.

2007/031 PLANNING:
All were circulated in the file.

2007/032 CORRESPONDENCE:
The correspondence file was circulated to all Councillors.

2007/033 ACCOUNTS:

Accounts to Date

The Payment Schedule was approved by Councillors.
The clerk passed around a final budget for all councillors for their records. The Precept has now been applied for.

2007/034 RECREATION GROUND: (Skatepark, Playarea): Cllr Locke reported on how things were progressing with the children’s playarea. She said that it is 75% likely that we should get £50000 towards the new playarea from the Big Lottery Fund. She said that the Parish Council needed to forward a letter in support of the application to say that the Parish Council is responsible for the upkeep of the land and all maintenance costs. This was proposed by Cllr Lloyd and seconded by Cllr Mrs Plummer. Action Item 09/07.

2007/035 MARNHULL MESSENGER: Cllr Watson gave a short report on this and apologised for the few teething problems that were in the last magazine. He has asked that in future if anyone has any complaints concerning the magazine could they go to him as the Chairman.

2007/036 GRASS CUTTING: Nothing to Report.

2007/037 PARISH PLAN: Nothing to Report.

2007/038 HENSTRIDGE AIRFIELD: Cllr Pender-Cudlip had previously circulated a report to all councillors a copy of which follows:

The outcome of two planning applications submitted by the Airfield Owner (Losan Ltd) discussed at our last meeting has been published.

Proposal: Erection of permanent airfield Control Building

Consent given, subject to Conditions summarised as follows:

Complete within three years, revocation of previous application, prior approval required for detailed ground floor levels, construction materials and colours, and landscaping scheme and protection of green areas. Existing temporary control building to be demolished within three of the new building going operational. No motor cross/cycle racing without prior planning permission.

Proposal: The sale, storage and de-pollution of motor vehicles

Consent given, subject to a lengthy list of conditions summarised as follows:

Complete within three years, no stacking of vehicles, revocation of previous application, no storage on flood plain, no auctions, heavy goods vehicle routing and signage. Prior approval required for landscaping scheme, surface run off scheme, external boundary treatment scheme, construction materials and colours, site lighting scheme and prevention of land contamination and remedial action to existing contamination. Much of this will be embraced by the requirement for a full environmental (land) impact investigation and remediation scheme.

I refer Councillors to the very comprehensive SSDC website if they wish to examine the consent documents more closely.

2007/039 FOOTPATHS: Nothing to Report.

2007/040 ALLOTMENTS: The plans for the new allotments are still ongoing.

2007/041 DAPTC: No Report.

2007/042 TOUGH CHOICES: See Above.

2007/043 VILLAGE HALL MATTERS: The Chairman brought up an e-mail from Mr Miller Chairman of the Village Hall regarding the new fire regulations. The Councils discussed the need for a fire assembly point and they agreed that the village hall committee plus the Fire Officer should decide the best place and a sign would be placed there. The clerk to speak to Mr Miller to decide on the best way forward. Action Item 10/07.
Cllr Goldsmith reported on a grant the village hall could get, but in order to get this then we have to put in 5% or a maximum of £100. The clerk to send Mr Miller a letter to confirm that we would support their grant by committing out of our 07/08 budget up to 5% with a maximum of £100. Action Item 11/07.

2007/044 YOUTH ACTIVITIES: Cllr Mrs Locke reported that Hugh DeLongh had brought to her attention a letter from DCA concerning grants and that they have some money that needs to be allocated by the end of March. It was thought that we should apply for £2000 to go towards the teenage seating. Again the Parish Council would have to donate 5% of this. All councillors were in agreement and it was proposed by Cllr Goldsmith and seconded by Cllr Mrs Russell.

The disco for the youth is due to be held in April either the 20th or the 27th.

2007/045 SCHOOLS: As Above.

2007/046 DATE OF NEXT MEETING: Monday 5th March 2007.
New Councillors Evening 22nd March 2007 at 7.30pm.
Annual Parish Assembly April 24th 7.30pm.

2007/047 ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA:
Tennis Club Fees.
Village Design Statement.

2007/048 PUBLIC DISCUSSION:
It was reported that there is lots of litter in the Recreation Ground down by the Skatepark and that there are two large holes in the hedge.
Mrs Sturges suggested some good bushes to put in these holes and the councillors asked her to get an estimate for the bushes. Mrs Sturges also noted that there is tree work that needs to be done in the Rec and it needs to be done in the next few weeks before the trees start to bud. The Council gave it’s approval for Mrs Sturges to get the work carried out upto a budget of £250.

The meeting was closed at 10.00pm.

Chairman …………………………