Parish Council of Langton Matravers
www.langtonmatravers-pc.org
Minutes of a meeting of Council held in the Village Hall on Thursday, 4th December 2008 at 7.00pm
Present Cllr M Kirby (Chairman) in the Chair, and Cllrs, J Bradford, P. Bradford, P Loudoun, N Priddle, and P White. 

1.	Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Mrs P. Kwantes, M Lovell & Mrs V Murray.
2.	Declarations of interest: there were none.
3.	Public Discussion period: 
The Meeting was adjourned for discussion.
Mr Tooley of “Tara” Mount Pleasant Lane, spoke about his application to fell several trees in his garden. He pointed out that they were mostly old conifers and one tree was right next to the house where the roots were in danger of disturbing the foundations and another was diseased.
The Meeting was reconvened.
4.	Matters arising from the Public Discussion:
There were none. 
5.	Planning Matters:
	(1) Plan 0755, submitted by Mr P Ferris & Mr G Smith, of 66 Riding Barn Hill, Wick, Bristol; Change of use from public house to 5 self contained flats. Erect two storey extension and insert new doors and windows. The Ship Inn, Steppes Hill, Langton Matravers. The Clerk read out a copy of an email from Mr & Mrs AG Marsh, the nearest neighbors at Manor Farm Cottage, objecting to the development on the grounds that it would introduce overlooking of their garden and the increased height would cast further shade on their house, causing dampness. 
.	(2) Determine Council’s comment on Plan 0755; 
On the proposition of the Chairman it was agreed by 4 for the proposition, 1 against and 1 abstention that;
	“The Parish Council is against this planning application on the following grounds:
1. The loss of a village facility and employment. This Public House/Restaurant with a large car park was used by both local people and tourists and provided local employment. The property was bought by property developers, for development, no effort has been made by them to run the establishment as a going concern or to allow it’s sale at a commercial price for others to try. 

2. Overlooking of the adjacent property, Manor Farm Cottage, by the large extension with an additional four windows on the East side.

3. Overdevelopment, the property has only recently been extensively extended and the proposed extension to the roof level will clearly be visible and out of proportion to all other surrounding buildings when viewed from the South and West. 

4. Insufficient Parking. Due to the current lack of roadside parking available in the immediate area it is doubtful whether the provision of nine parking places is sufficient for the occupiers and associated visitors of this new development without causing increased parking and traffic problems in this area.  

5. The narrow width of pavements leading to the village facilities and to the main town of Swanage have already been used by Mr. Brown of the Highways Department  as a reason why Affordable Housing should not be built on land the South side of  Coombe Hill. Therefore no further development of any housing on the Southside of Coombe Hill should be allowed until as stated by Mr. Brown ‘substantial improvements are made to these footways’. This dangerous situation will only be made worse by the increase in traffic and pedestrian use. 

(3) Tree Preservation Order/ Conservation Area Application No. 103. 08/09, submitted by Mr Tooley of “Tara” Mount Pleasant Lane, Langton Matravers.
	On the proposition of the Chairman it was unanimously agreed that;
“The Parish Council has no objection.”
	 (4) The following Planning Decisions were noted: 
There were none.
 (5)Any other Planning Matters;
 (a) “Tilshead” Tom’s Field Road.
On the proposition of Cllr Priddle, it was unanimously agreed that the Clerk should write to Mark Sturgess, Head of PDC Planning Services, to say that;
 “The Parish Council is concerned about the very poor standard of stone work at “Tilshead” Tom’s Field Road.”
(b) The dry stone wall being constructed on the Worth Road, between Acton Quarry Rd and Eastington Quarry Rd.
 On the proposition of Cllr P Loudoun, it was unanimously agreed that the Clerk should write to Mark Sturgess, Head of PDC Planning Services, to say that it is the Council’s view that;
“The wall being constructed by the National Trust at the above location is both unnecessary and a waste of Purbeck District Council’s funds. Particularly as the wall will now block an area marked as a viewpoint on the Acton Conservation Review map.”
6.	Minutes of the last Meeting, held on the 13th November were confirmed and signed.
7.	Matters arising from the Minutes:
(a) A notice case at the parish office. The Chairman said he would defer the matter until he had the opportunity to look into the cost of having another notice case.
(b) Cllr J Bradford pointed out that in the Langton Matravers Conservation Area Review Mr B Webb had said that he was very concerned about the missing listed gates at Leeson House and Durnford House. The Clerk was instructed to write a letter to Mark Sturgess to ask what his department planned to do about the matter.
(c) Local Councils Update magazine. The Clerk said an annual subscription was £65.00 and it was unanimously agreed not to subscribe.
(d) The Chairman proposed a vote of thanks to Cllr P Loudoun for all the work he had done to clear the new land at the cemetery. This was unanimously supported.
(e) The height of trees on the allotments. It was felt that the maximum height for trees should be 8ft and the Chairman said he would suggest this to the allotment holders at the next meeting.
(f) the Clerk announced that the new Caretaker’s contract had commenced on the 17th November.
8.	The Clerk’s Report for the period 8.11.08 – 27.11.08. was received.
9.	Matters arising from the Clerk’s Report:
(a) An extra litter bin in the playing fields. It was decided that the Council should take no further action.
10.	Chairman’s announcements;
There were none.
11.	Financial Matters:
	(1) The following additions to the Council funds since the last Council Meeting were noted:
 £170.00 from James Smith Funeral Directors for the interment of the late Mrs Freda Taylor.
£550.00 from HL Hawes & Son, T/A Abbey Independent Funeral Directors, for the purchase of burial plot D18 and the interment of the ashes of the late Mr Eric Dowell.
(2) The following Payments by Cheque, already authorized, since last Meeting, were noted:
£30.68 to J Bellucci, ex PrintCartridge.com, for toner cartridge for laserjet printer.
	£106.88 to SEC for repair of footway light at Court Pound.
	£320.00 to Mr & Mrs K & Y Ball, refund for burial plot M13.
£20.00 to the Langton Matravers Village Hall Committee for October Council Chamber and 2 hires of the Meeting Room.
	£96.15 to BT for telephone bill Aug/Nov.
£15.99 to Nildram for broadband connection. 
(3)The following payments by Direct Debit were noted:
 £72.00 to PDC for October Business Rates for office/toilet block.
(4) Receive Financial Forecast for the Year 2009/2010. 
(5) Set precept for the Year 2009/2010. The Clerk said that due to the large increases in electricity prices, phone, broadband, etc.,and because the Council was committed to spending £1,500 on the allotments start-up and £1,000 for the new wall at the cemetery, he felt the Council would need an increase in the precept of £3,000 to cover this. The Councillors were unanimous in feeling that this was far too much and it was agreed that they should have a separate meeting to discuss the matter after the results were known of the Council’s application for a grant towards the allotments from the Community Aggregates Fund.
(6) Any other Financial Matters:
The Chairman suggested that in light of the enormous changes in the financial world the Council should look into new alternatives for the deposit account. This was unanimously agreed.
12.	Cemetery Matters:
	(1) Council cemetery.
(a) The Clerk announced that Jonathon Kerhsaw of the NT had visited him at the office to look at the conveyancing deeds for the new land at the cemetery, which is a smaller area than the Council had thought. Mr Kershaw said that he planned to attend the January Council Meeting, along with the NT Community Liaison Officer, to discuss the matter. In the meantime he would investigate the possibility of selling an extra parcel of land to the Council to adjoin the new land for the cemetery. The Clerk said that he had emphasised that work on the new cemetery wall needed to start by March 2009 and Mr Kershaw said that he did not think that this would be a problem.
(b) Cllr J Bradford raised the matter of the Caretaker’s recent visit to the cemetery to cut the grass. He said that the contract was for 18 visits per year to the cemetery and Play Area, not 18 cuts of the grass, and should include such work as clearing the moss from the paths, pruning overhanging branches, and generally keeping the areas in good order. It was agreed that the Chairman should draw the attention of the Caretaker to the terms of his contract.    
	(2) Closed cemeteries.
Nothing to report.
13.	Allotments.
(a)The Chairman announced that 27 and a half allotments out of 28 had been reserved and that the first meeting of the steering group to set up an allotments association would be held the following week. He said that the allotment holders felt that an association would need more funding than had been suggested by the Council and wanted to increase the subscription it could charge. Someone had also asked if the Council could collect the subscriptions on the association’s behalf when it collected the rent and disburse it to the association in a lump sum. The Clerk was instructed to ask the internal auditor if there would be any tax or legal implications if the Council were to do this.  
(b) Cllr P Loudoun said that he could now mark out the allotment area.
(c) The Chairman announced that Dr C Spilling, of the Garfield Lane Residents Association, wanted to compose a letter of permission, which would allow the Council’s contractors to use Garfield Lane to deliver fencing etc.. anyone making deliveries would need to apply for the letter of permission to obtain access and show it if challenged by a resident of Garfield Lane.
(d) Public liability insurance for volunteers. The Clerk announced that he had contacted the Council’s insurers and had been told that the Council’s Public Liability insurance would cover anyone working for the Council on the Council’s land and property. He added that once the allotments were rented out they would no longer be covered by the Council’s insurance and any allotment association would need to acquire the relevant insurance.
14.	Affordable housing;
Nothing to report.
15.	Public Green status for the playing fields. It was decided to take no further action.
16.	Plastic recycling bin. The Clerk announced that PDC wanted to move the bin from Crack Lane and was prepared to pay for hard standing to be laid at an area adjacent to the parish office where there was enough room for 2 bins, which PDC would provide. It was unanimously agreed to accept PDC’s offer.
17.	Fingerposts. Cllr Loudoun complained that the new road signs DCC Highways had erected were more suitable for urban, rather than rural, areas. He said that the one on the Kingston road pointed to Wareham and Swanage, but did not include Corfe Castle or Langton Matravers. The Clerk was instructed to write a letter to Andy Ackerman of DCC Highways Department to complain about this. 
18.	The toilets at Putlake. The Chairman and Cllr Priddle had met with Bill Davidson, Head of Environmental Services for PDC, who had said that the public toilets at Langton and Worth Matravers were the best in the area. He said that PDC would like to upgrade them to include hot and cold running water, soap, and baby changing facilities and that PDC were looking for a partnership with the Parish Council. PDC would give the Council part of their budget if the Council would take over responsibility for small maintenance work. The Council unanimously agreed to enter into negotiations with PDC. However, the Chairman said that Mr Davidson had been under the impression that the Parish Council was already paying the water bill for the toilets, which it is not, and so the Clerk was instructed to write to him to ask that he check PDC’s records to ensure that they had been paying the bill.   
19.	Donation to Open Spaces. It was decided at this time not to make any donations until the matter of the Parish Precept had been settled.
20.	Play Area lease. Cllr J Bradford said that the Council could not yet agree to the lease as in the Langton Matravers Conservation Area Review the playing fields were marked as a “Notable Green Open Space”. The Clerk was instructed to write to Mark Sturgess of PDC to ask if this was a legal definition. It was also pointed out that, after 2 months, RJ Walker had still not inspected the fence and the Clerk was instructed to write to him again to arrange a time for him to do so.
21.	The date of the next Council Meeting was confirmed as the 8th January 2009 at 7 pm.
23.	Items for the next Agenda;
	There were none.
23.	There being no further business, the Meeting was adjourned at 9:35pm.

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