THE DRAFT MINUTES OF A MEETING OF TARRANT GUNVILLE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON TUESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2019
Present: Councillors Jim Shephard (Chair), Geoff Percival, Charlie Regnart, Jan Robinson, Heather Sandison, Paul Wentworth
In attendance; Roger Andrews, Flood Warden; Tony Langdown, Rights of Way Officer; Dorset Councillor Sherry Jespersen; Ian Stone, Parish Clerk
Members of the public: There was one member of the public at the meeting
19/28. Welcome and opening remarks
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
19/29. Apologies for absence
There were apologies from Cllr Farquharson.
19/30. Minutes of meeting held on Tuesday 13 August
These were agreed as a correct record.
19/31. Briefing from Councillor Sherry Jespersen, Dorset Council
Cllr Jespersen said she was seeking views from residents on the draft Dorset Council Plan. The finalised Plan would go to Full Council in February 2020. She said that she was holding a joint meeting to consult Parish Councils on Thursday 5th December at Stourpaine.
Sherry Jespersen said that Highways have new road repair machines which are very large and work faster than the previous models. Because of their size and the way they operate it is necessary to close roads for short periods of time.
Cllr Jespersen said that the Dorset Council had decided it would not be charging Council Tax to young people who had been in care in the County.
On the Climate emergency Cllr Jespersen said that the Council was thinking what it should do differently on a range of issues – however solutions could not be found quickly.
Sherry Jespersen said that Dorset Council would be working with town and parish councils to find out how they would like to work together and to improve communication.
Tony Langdown asked whether it might be possible for the Dorset for You website to host local websites to save each parish having to set up its own. Cllr Jespersen said she thought it might be possible and would take the suggestion back. The Clerk asked the Council whether they wished to continue with a village website, which was in fact a requirement. Members agreed that the website as maintained by Alan Bailey should continue. The Chair said that Alan Bailey had written to him saying that he felt no-one used the site and was reluctant to continue. Jim Shephard said he would discuss it with Alan Bailey.
19/32. Matters arising from the meeting
- Village Telephone Box: proposal for possible use (19/18a) Cllr Wentworth said the shelving issue had to be followed up. Members agreed to investigate a temporary solution to provide some shelving.
- Great Dorset Steam Fair (19/23) Cllr Robinson said that local people seemed relatively happy with the organisation of the Steam Fair. He said that he has now used some of the funds collected from ticket sales for daffodil bulbs, to sponsor a diabetes charity event, and for Speedwatch
19/33. Reports from appointed representatives and committees
Roger Andrews, Flood Warden, said there seemed no likelihood of flood in the near future – there had been no rise in levels at the aquifer in the last couple of weeks.
Tony Langdown, Rights of Way Officer, said he had no new items to report. Cllr Sandison said she had found the footpath around the field near Chettle Long Barrow had been ploughed over. Tony Langdown said he would check what had happened and then let Heather Sandison know.
Jan Robinson, Homewatch Co-ordinator, said he was pleased that the email list for briefings and alerts had now grown to 80. He said that there were more Speedwatch sessions planned in November and December.
19/34. Planning Matters
- Applications and notifications received
The Clerk reported that there had been no planning applications in the three months since the last meeting.
- Any other planning items
Ian Stone reminded Councillors that the question of whether the Parish should draw up a local plan needed to be considered. Cllr Jespersen said that if any local plan was to be drawn up it would need to be a Neighbourhood Plan, and this would involve an enormous amount of work and expense. Such a plan would not prevent development, but it would control it. She said she was not sure what benefit it would bring to a small rural village. She said that Tarrant Gunville was classed as a “countryside village” in the Dorset Council Plan and this meant the village was well protected. Councillors discussed whether it would benefit the village and decided not to carry out any further planning work.
19/35. Financial Matters: report from Clerk
Ian Stone said the Council needed to agree a precept for 2020-21. He said he had drawn up an initial proposal [copy filed with minutes] for the members to discuss as follows:
- NFU Insurance for Village Hall Committee and Parish Council, paid in January £1475
- Playground insurance, paid in May £475
- DAPTC Annual Subscription, paid in August £90
- Clerk’s expenses, as incurred £70
- Unallocated £ 90
- Total ££2200
Member agreed the proposed sums but also decided that they needed to do more than simply maintaining activities and agreed to add £400 to the submission to help towards funding community activities in the village. They agreed a precept totalling £2,600.
19/36. Squires Playing Field: oral report from the Trustees
Ian Stone, Trustee, said that the Trustees had found someone who could undertake basic maintenance at the Playground for a reasonable sum. He would carry out the repairs that were identified as necessary in the RoSPA report earlier in the year.
19/37. Cranborne Chase AONB: to discuss
Cllr Robinson said he had attended the Dark Skies Conference where there were interesting presentations on the local area. He felt it was going to be important to get lighting right. Jan Robinson said he also thought it would be good to organise an evening on the AONB for the whole village.
19/38. 75th Anniversary of VE Day: to consider village participation
Councillors said they thought it was appropriate to explore whether this anniversary could be celebrated in the village. The Clerk was asked to consult Pearse Lally on what might be a suitable event
19/39. Correspondence Received: briefing from the Clerk
The Clerk said he had received a letter from Blandford Town Council asking for a contribution to the cost of their public toilets. Councillors discussed this and agreed they did not want to make a contribution. Ian Stone said he had received an email from Nick Armand Smith, which he had copied to Councillors, offering to investigate the possibility of restoring the finger posts in the village. Councillors discussed this offer and asked the Clerk to convey their thanks to Nick Armand Smith and accept his offer of investigating and reporting his findings to them.
19/40. Any Other Business
There were no items.
19/41. Items from Members of the Public
There were no items.
19/42. To confirm dates of future meetings
Dates for further meetings confirmed as follows: 4 February 2020, 5 May, 4 August - all Tuesdays at 7.00pm in the Village Hall.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.05pm