Parish Council of Langton Matravers
www.langtonmatravers-pc.org
Minutes of a meeting of Council held in the Village Hall on Thursday, 12th August at 7.00pm
Present Cllr P White, in the Chair, Cllr M Turner (Vice-Chairman) and Cllrs J Bradford, C Drayson, M. Kirby, W Knight, P Loudoun and H Tizard.
	There were 10 members of the public present.
1.	Apologies for absence were received from Cllr M Lovell.
2.	Declarations of interest: Cllr Kirby declared an interest as his wife has an allotment. Cllrs Drayson, Tizard and Turner declared an interest as allotment tenants.
3.	Public Discussion period:
 The Meeting was adjourned for discussion.
(a) In response to the Council’s consultation regarding the piece of land adjoining the allotments Ms Z Hunter said she felt that it should be left as it is and the money would be better spent elsewhere.
(b) Mr. D Duncan reported that the position of the goalposts in the playing fields had already resulted in two broken panes in his greenhouse. He emphasised that he and his wife obviously had no objections to people playing football in the playing fields, but asked that the goalposts be either turned at right angles to their present position or moved further away from his property.
Mr. K Dowling and Dr C Spilling were concerned that if the posts were moved to the west end of the field that they might experience similar problems and Mr. Dowling suggested that netting behind the goal might be the answer. The Council agreed to put temporary fencing along Mr. Duncan’s property until a permanent solution can be found.
(c) Mr. I Mackenzie apologised for the late cancellation of the public walk along Windmill Lane. He advised people not to walk it for the time being as the Council’s claim was now under consideration by DCC and reminded people that the deadline for any further evidence to be presented to DCC was the 27th September.
 The Meeting was reconvened.
4.	Matters arising from the Public Discussion: 
It was agreed that councillors would visit the playing fields again to try and find a new site for the goalposts. On the proposition of Cllr Loudoun it was agreed, by 6 votes for and 2 abstentions, that temporary fencing should be placed alongside Mr. & Mrs. Duncan’s boundary wall until a more permanent solution can be found.
5.	Planning Matters:
	(1) There were 3 objections from the public concerning Plan 0456, submitted by Cothill Educational Trust: Change of use, demolition and alterations to form two dwellings and erect two detached dwellings. Old Malthouse, High Street, Langton Matravers.
 (2) Determine Council’s comments on Plan 0456;
On the proposition of Cllr Loudoun it was agreed by 5 votes for and 3 abstentions that; 
	"The Parish Council object to this application as it feels it lacks enough information to make a 	considered decision. Consequently, the Council has asked District Councillor M Lovell to ask PDC 	Planning Department	to make this a non-delegated application so that it might come before the 	Planning Board."
 (3) Planning Decisions that affected the parish this month.
	(a) Plan 0344, submitted by Mrs. Gibbs; Erect conservatory and decking at Acton (Kestrel Cottage), Langton Matravers. (Extend time limit of PP 6/2005/0636). Approved.
 	(4) Any other Planning Matters;
	(a) Plan 0449, submitted by Dr L Francis: Insert new dormer window and rooflight to north elevation and insert replacement windows and doors at “Island View”, Mount Pleasant Lane, Langton Matravers.
	“The Parish Council has no objection.”
6.	Minutes of the last Meeting, held on the 8th July were amended and confirmed.
7.	Matters arising from the Minutes:
	(1) Item 7 (1); Parish grants for clearing footpaths. It was unanimously agreed that this work should continue to be DCC’s responsibility.
	(2) Item 7 (2); The BT phone kiosk at Acton. The Clerk reported that Mrs. H Hinsull had put in a great deal of work on this issue and had again consulted the residents of Acton to ask if they still wanted to retain the kiosk if it was left on the B3069. She had received a smaller and more mixed response, although it was generally agreed that the respondents would like the Parish Council to provide a notice board with a map of the hamlet, and the surrounding area, including property names. Mrs. Hinsull had also spoken to Laurie Clark of the NT who had said that the NT might potentially be interested in retaining the kiosk and siting it on NT land at Acton. The Clerk was instructed to find out the cost of a notice board and map and was also instructed to find out whether the kiosk could be directly adopted by the NT and, if not, how the NT might assume ownership if the Council adopted the kiosk. 
	(3) Item 7 (3); Bus shelters for Steppes and Capston Field. The Clerk read out a letter, dated 2004, from Mrs. M Underhill of DCC, which he had found in the files. In it she rejects a bus stop/shelter on the south side of the High Street at Steppes and suggests it should be sited further down the hill, just before the entrance to Putlake Farm. The Clerk reported that this was the only correspondence he could find relating to a bus shelter opposite the entrance to Steppes. Cllr Kirby reported that the previous Clerk, Mr. R Saville, had told him there was correspondence from 2008 regarding a shelter at this site and the Clerk was instructed to search the files again.
	(4) Item 9 (c); Emergency Response Plan. The Clerk had been instructed to find out if there was a Plan for the parish. The Clerk reported that there was nothing more recent than the late Nineties. Cllr Kirby volunteered to do one.
	(5) Item 10; Hanging baskets. The Clerk reported that he had received no response and Cllr Tizard reported that neither he nor Cllr Kirby had received one either. 
8.	The Clerk’s Report for the period 2.07.10. – 5.08.10. was received.
9.	Matters arising from the Clerk’s Report:
(a) Item 14; Purbeck Film Festival had asked for a donation. On the proposition of Cllr Loudoun it was agreed by 7 votes for, 1 abstention and 1 against, that the Council would not make a donation.
(b) Item 41; The replacement trees in Malthouse Lane. The Clerk reported that in his opinion two of the three trees which had been planted were dead or dying. The Clerk was instructed to write to PDC to ask them to write to The Cothill Educational Trust to remind them that they not only had to plant the trees but they were also responsible for their care and maintenance.
(d) Item 46; The Clerk reported that PDC had removed the old waste bin from the Play Area, but there were now holes in the ground which needed filling. He was instructed to ask the Caretaker to fill them the next time he cut the grass there.
(e) Item 48; Widening of the footway between Steppes and Crack Lane. The Clerk reported that Mr. O’Connell at Putlake Farm had asked if the Council knew whether the work to widen the footway would still be going ahead. The Clerk was instructed to write to DCC to find out if this work was still planned for the autumn.
10.	Chairman’s announcements;
	The Chairman reported that there was great concern regarding the news that work had been suspended on the new household waste centre in Swanage. It was agreed that the Clerk should write to DCC to express the Council’s view that the construction must go ahead. 
	The Chairman also asked councillors to contact him first before they took any action that might require the Chairman or Council’s agreement.
11.	Financial Matters:
	(1) The following additions to Council funds since the last Council Meeting were noted:
	£50.00 received from M Lovell for a memorial to the late Mrs. Nora Donovan.
	£170.00 received from James Smith Funeral Directors for the interment of the late Mr. John 	Goodhand.
	 (2) Note the following Payments by Cheque, already authorized, since the last Meeting:
	£120.00 to P Newell for 1 visit to the cemetery and Play Area.	
	£12.00 to the Langton Matravers Village Hall Committee for the June Council chamber.
	£481.90 to J Bellucci for Clerk’s salary for June.
	£146.31 to Southern Electric for supply to office/toilets.
	£50.00 to N Donald for 2 audits.
	£40.00 to DAPTC for New Councillors seminar for Cllrs Drayson & Knight.
	£110.44 to SEC for repair to the footway light in East Drove.
	£481.90 to J Bellucci for Clerk’s salary for July.
	 (3) The following payments by Direct Debit were noted:
 	 £65.00 to PDC for business rates.
 £32.91 to XLN Telecom for phone and broadband.
(4) Any other Financial matters.
There were none.
12.	Cemetery matters:
	(1) Council cemetery. 
	(a) Footpaths: The Clerk reported that the newly laid paths had been repaired by Minster Macadam. 	Minster Macadam felt that the cause of the cracking was subsidence due to the very dry summer, but 	they will monitor the repairs and if the cracks reappear Mr. Murzell has said that they will remove the 	surface and relay the paths at their own expense. 
	(b) Cemetery wall. The Chairman reported that HF Bonfield’s hoped to be able to deliver at least one 	load of stone in the coming week and that they had agreed to transport the stone right up to the wall. 	The Clerk was instructed to contact Neil Read to ask him to finish off the walling as soon as possible
(2) Closed cemeteries: Nothing to report.
13.	Allotments. 
	The Clerk reported that a parishioner had asked permission to site two beehives on the Council’s 	land, which is adjacent to the allotments.  After some discussion about the implications of insurance 	and public liability it was unanimously agreed that permission should be refused as the Council are 	not in favour of alternative uses of Council land.  
 14.	Affordable housing update.
	(a) As reported at the previous Meeting, PDC had written to say that there had been two changes of 	tenant since May 2006 in the 8 properties at Steppes affected by an S106 agreement. There had been 	no transfers. The Clerk reported that he had then contacted Raglan 	Housing to enquire about changes 	of tenancy through mutual exchange. Raglan had said that there had been two since 2006 and that all 	of the 4 changes of tenancy involved people with local connections.
	(b) The Clerk read out a letter the Chairman had received from a parishioner in which the parishioner 	explained that he was from a very long established local family, but that he and his wife and child 	could not afford to rent anywhere local to live. He asked for the Council’s help. It was agreed that 	there was little the Council could do, but the Clerk was instructed to write to PDC in support of the 	parishioner’s request for help in finding an affordable home to rent. 
15.	The Council’s land. 
	(a) The response to the Council’s consultation through The Dubber, although small, unanimously supported the option to leave the land as it is. Cllr White thanked Dr Spilling for his survey. On the Chairman’s proposition it was agreed, by 7 votes for and 1 against, that the Council should take no further action. 
	(b) Dorset Community Payback Scheme. As this was related to clearing the Council’s land no further action was necessary.
16.	The Council’s website: 
	(a) Councillors details. All councillors agreed to have their full contact details displayed on the website.
17.	The Council’s notice cases. Councillors agreed to have their full contact details displayed in the Council’s notice cases.
18.	The Parish Plan. Deferred.
19.	Communication between councillors and parishioners. Cllr Tizard read out a lengthy list of changes he would like to make to the way the Council communicates with the public. He suggested that the Council buy more notice boards and look into placing notices in local businesses. He also proposed that the Council should specify to the Clerk exactly what items it wished to be included in the Clerk’s notes for The Dubber. 
20.	The monthly Agenda. This item was not discussed as the Chairman felt that too much time had already been spent on this issue.
21.	Celebrating coming together as a village (event). Deferred.
22.	Themed (interest) evenings for the village - eg. Debate on Core Strategy (invite speaker 	- Steve Dring - and someone to encourage/lead discussion). To be organised by the Parish Council, but led by an independent 'facilitator'. Deferred.
23.	The date of the next Council Meeting was confirmed as Thursday the 9th September 2010.
24.	Items for the next Agenda; Items 18, 21 and 22.
25.	There being no further business, the Meeting was adjourned at 9:30pm.

Signed……………………………..(Chairman).               Date…………………………..