South Tarrant Valley Group Parish Council

0299
ST09/2021

SOUTH TARRANT VALLEY PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF AN ORDINARY MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, 14^th September 2021
at 7pm in The Anne Biddlecombe Hall, Tarrant Keyneston

Present: Councillors Beale, Cossins (Chairman), Eaton, Garland, Parker, Topliss and Thomson
In attendance: County Councillor Brown, Clerk Mrs Huck and 2 members of the public

1. Apologies for absence
Apologies for absence from this meeting were received from Cllr Deketeleare, Cllr Harding,
Cllr Munford and Cllr Sweetland.

2. Declarations of interest not previously disclosed and to grant any dispensations as requested
Cllr Eaton declared an interest in item 7c (planning application for Tarrant Keyneston House).

3. Minutes of the meeting held on 4th May 2021
Cllr Garland referred to minute 8(a) and advised he was no longer a Trustee of the Anne Biddlecombe Hall and Recreation Ground. He would contact the Trust to establish the number of Parish Council representatives and report back to the November meeting. With this noted, it was:
RESOLVED the minutes of the May meeting were approved for signing by the Chairman.

Note: The July 2021 meeting had been cancelled following email AGREEMENT on this course of action by councillors in response to ongoing concerns over in person meetings during the continuing pandemic.

4. Report from the County Councillor
Cllr Brown reported on the following:
(a) Dorset Veterans and their families – with the impact of recent international events, £58000 was being made available to signpost help and support.
(b) Afghan Refugees – Dorset Council was seeking help from those with second homes who could offer temporary accommodation. Cllr Cossins asked if empty MOD properties could be used. Cllr Brown responded this was not an option.
(c) Moors Valley County Park – recently voted the UK’s best play trail. Given Dorset Council’s efforts around social prescribing, this was significant.
(d) Trial project – an AI possible solution to supporting living longer at home and helping with discharge and re-enablement was being funded by a private company in Dorset. Cllr Topliss asked if there were numbers of care assistants to support this and Cllr Brown replied this was an associated challenge.
(e) Parking Strategy – Cllr Thomson highlighted the Parish Council’s response stating residents would effectively pay more and so were not supportive. Cllr Brown replied shoppers’ permits would be available to support the local population, whereas charges in tourism areas would provide further income which must be ‘recycled’ into Highways as opposed to other council expenditure.
(f) Covid statistics – Cllr Brown encouraged caution in the response to local level dataset statistics and councillors agreed the wider sharing of information would fall under the jurisdiction of Public Health and potentially the GP surgeries.
(g) Verges and cutting – Cllr Topliss highlighted uncut verges are impassable by pedestrians in rural areas, forcing walking on the road. Further issues were created at road junctions. Cllr Brown responded all road sight lines should be kept clear whilst Highways worked to encourage biodiversity. The Clerk suggested a conversation be had with Highways next Spring to raise awareness of rural villages’ verges being used as footpaths where there were no pavements.

The Clerk would coordinate concerns around verges being unusable by pedestrians and interrupted sightlines.

5. Open discussion of up to 30 minutes: members of the public may raise issues here
(a) (Item 7c was resolved to be brought forward to enable discussion with the members of public present. Cllr Eaton had declared an interest and did not take part in the discussion.)

7.(c) Application Tarrant Keyneston 02031 – a resident shared concerns over this application. A site visit had been made by the Parish Council and an Objection would be submitted. Cllr Garland added the access to these properties would be onto a narrow road opposite a bus stop used for school transport, that stopping delivery vehicles would cause obstruction and there would potentially be water run off. Concerns were also expressed around the properties not being set back from the road, as was the character of other properties in the Conservation Area.

(The 2 members of the public left at this point.)

(b) Dog waste bin – the Clerk was requested to investigate the provision and cost of further bins.

6. Galpins Almshouses – Parish Council representation (May 21 min 7 refers)
Cllr Garland spoke on behalf of Mrs A’court, Chairman of the Almshouses Trust. There was a vacancy for a Trustee to represent the Parish Council though not necessarily needing to be an elected councillor. Possible candidates were being sought via an article in the Tarrant Times.
Cllr Garland would report back to the November meeting.

7. Planning
(a) Level of Service and Applications letters to neighbours
The level of service by Planning and Enforcement, correspondence around this and the withdrawal of sending letters to neighbours of applicants were discussed. Cllr Brown confirmed currently the level of service was not meeting expectations and would receive copy emails from the Clerk to follow up. He also confirmed where an application had a material change made during the process, the Parish Council would be further consulted.

(b) Ashley Wood Recovery – building development (Jan 21 min 6d and others refer)
Councillors discussed the reply received from Enforcement confirming the building development had started within the required timeframe. It was:
RESOLVED the Council lodge a request for Enforcement to confirm the development had taken place as per the submitted plans and all conditions had been met.

(c) Application updates on the following (Dorset Council reference numbers):
Tarrant Crawford 00224
Tarrant Keyneston 02031(see Min 5 above); 01277; 00749; 1292; 0930
Tarrant Rawston 02263
Tarrant Rushton 01664; 00598; 00177; 1732; 02790

Appendix A to these Minutes refers.

Finances
8. Financial statements for July and August 2021 and approval of cheques scheduled
The Clerk had previously emailed the financial statements showing full details of income and expenditure set against budget, together with a bank reconciliation. It was:
RESOLVED (a) the July and August statement be approved and signed; (b) the
cheques shown in the schedule be approved and signed.

9. Model Councillor of Conduct Code 2020 and Register of Interests
As councillors were asked to consider adoption of the Code, it was AGREED this item be deferred to the November meeting when more may be present.
Register of Interests – the Clerk highlighted Dorset Council’s requirement these be submitted digitally by 31st October 2021 when the scanned hard copies would be removed from their website. DAPTC training was available and the Clerk would forward details of this.

10. Community Speedwatch
Cllr Topliss provided an update on this community initiative, reporting volunteer numbers had increased and 7 sessions had taken place. Dorset Police were very supportive, drivers were becoming more aware of the Group’s presence and it was felt there was already an impact on local driver speeds.

11. Speed Indicator Device
The Clerk reported funding for this was still being sought, with a reply from the Hall & Woodhouse Community Chest application due shortly. It was also reported a secondhand device may be available and the Clerk would report back on this at the November meeting.

12. Wildflower planting – Queen’s Copse
Councillors discussed this and considered the non maintenance of verges may prove detrimental to the initiative with the planting being overrun. The high level of shade under the copse itself was also noted.

13. Website development – to receive an update on this
The Clerk provided a brief update on behalf of the working party, explaining the input of a volunteer diarist was still considered vital to the success of the website. It was felt an outline person specification may assist with finding volunteers and would be sent to councillors for their help.

14. Tarrant Rushton Airfield – parking and access
Cllr Harding was not present and it was AGREED this be deferred to the November meeting.

15. Bonfires
The Chairman had contacted both the resident reporting the nuisance and the resident at the address and had not received any indication of bonfires occurring during Spring and early Summer. Cllr Topliss reported an occurrence on 4th August. The Clerk confirmed information had been sought from the Dorset Council Environmental Health and the Police and, given concerns over toxic smoke, it was:

RESOLVED emergency numbers to be used in response to weekend bonfires be published as part of an article in the November Tarrant Times.

16. Proposed bench donation
(The May meeting minutes refer: The Chairman advised of an offer to place a donated memorial bench at The Splash. The Council expressed their thanks. Cllr Harding considered there was enough space and the use of reconstituted material for the bench was supported, reducing ongoing maintenance. He also offered to be the liaison for the installation. The Clerk advised the insurance costs form part of the decision. It was:
RESOLVED (a) the offer of the donation of a memorial bench be accepted; (b) the increase in insurance premium of approximately £6 per annum be approved; and, (c) the Council reply formally to the donors on completion of the project.)

The Chairman would discuss an update with Cllr Harding (not present at this meeting) on this and report back to the November meeting.

17. Tarrant Crawford Noticeboard – replacement
Cllr Parker advised he considered there were Tarrant Crawford residents who did not use IT and therefore the noticeboard be replaced. He was in discussions with the Parochial Church Council on its possible provision and with a resident on the safer siting of the board. It was AGREED this item be deferred until the outcome of these discussions was known.

18. To decide items for next agenda.
Anne Biddlecombe Hall and Recreation Ground – Parish Council representative
George Galpins Almshouses Trust – representative
Bonfires
Proposed bench donation
Community Speedwatch
Speed Indicator Device
Ashley Wood – planning enforcement
Website development
Code of Conduct adoption

19. Next meeting date
This was confirmed as 9th November 2021 (Annual Parish Meeting followed by Ordinary Council Meeting)

Planning Applications