Parish Council of Langton Matravers
www.langtonmatravers-pc.org

Minutes of a Meeting of the Council held in the Village Hall on Thursday 13th December 2012 at 7.00pm
Present: Cllr M Turner in the Chair, H Tizard, M Kirby, J Bradford, C Drayson, P Loudoun, W Knight.

There were 12 members of the public present.

1.	Apologies: Cllrs White and Lovell.
2.	Declarations of interest.  Cllr Turner declared a personal interest in Item 14 (4) Pre-School Grant.
3. Grant of Dispensations. None.
4. Report. a) Jonathan Kershaw noted that the National Trust had supported the recent Langton Litter Pick. He was pleased with the feedback from the Community Woodland Day at Burngate, and asked that any further ideas or reminiscences about the West Wood be passed on to him. The NT had been very busy trying to sort out flooding problems on the South side of the village, with advice from PDC and DCC’s Flood Risk Management team, especially after floods in the Hyde; they will continue their ongoing commitment to cooperate with them and local residents to improve the situation. The overflow car park at Spyway will be managed by NT tenants Mr. and Mrs. Earley, for no more that 28 days per year. The NT are planting a new hedge at the Bonfield Quarry restoration. The Chairman thanked Mr. Kershaw for his report.
5.P4C Funding Bid.  Ian Vaughan-Arbuckle, PC Footpath Liaison officer had met with the PC’s Chairman and Vice-Chairman to identify possible conversions of footpaths to bridleways, an essential aspect of the bid. The path between the end of Durnford Drove (road) and its junction with the Priest’s Way, and the path on the West side of Acton to its junction with the PW had both been agreed; these are already in use as bridleways by eg. cyclists. There had been a meeting with Kevin Haugh (Natural England), Sandra Brown (Worth ROWLO) and Ian Mackenzie (Swanage ROWLO) to agree letters and press releases and public consultation for the project; there will be open sessions at Langton, Worth and Swanage in the week around 25th Feb.2013. Ian Mackenzie will do a further survey of the PW identifying needs. A list of stakeholders has been drawn up to invite comment. RESOLVED: That the Council supports the plans, based on a grant from the Paths for Communities Fund administered by Natural England, to carry out essential repairs and necessary improvements to the Priest’s Way, in particular to improve drainage, whilst at the same time preserving the historic nature of the bridleway: also to improve access by creating three new bridleways, via Acton, Langton Matravers and Verney Farm, to link with the Priest’s Way.
6. Public Discussion. 
 Dr Chris Spilling enquired whether conversion to a bridleway would open the paths up to use by 4x4 vehicles. Mr. V-A responded that bridleways were only for use by walkers, cyclists and horses. Several residents of the Hyde expressed their concerns about the recent flooding there and the apparently unprecedented volumes of water. Jonathan Kershaw was thanked for his support during the recent flood, but some residents felt that work done to alleviate problems at Durnford Drove may have contributed to the difficulties in the Hyde. Mr. Kershaw stressed that he welcomed feedback and suggestions; see Item 4 above. 
7.  Matters Arising from the Public Discussion.  Item 17 Flooding in the Hyde was brought forward.
Following a question from a Hyde resident about responsibility for culverts and sewers, the Clerk had been in touch with Mr. Goater, Chief Engineer at PDC, who said that culverts were the responsibility of the owners of the road (private); Wessex Water are responsible for sewers.  A suggestion from Mr. Simpson about temporary filling in of gullies above Durnford Drove will be taken up by the NT. The Chairman offered his sympathies to those affected by the flooding.
8.  Planning Matters. 
  1) There were no comments by members of the public on the plans listed below.
  2) To make comments concerning the following plans:-
   a) 6/2012/0751  Application for :- Full Planning Permission  Minor Development. Mr B Young Erection of five detached buildings for use as goat shelters - retrospective. Valley Road (Nursery Bridge Farm), Langton Matravers. 
Cllr Loudoun noted that there was an adequate barn for livestock already in place, and therefore no need for further shelters. Cllr Drayson commented that at present PDC does not have a Low Impact Development Policy that supports the development of a land/rural based income, which could prevent change of use to ‘market’ housing at a later date. The PC decided not to express a view on the application.
   b) 6/2012/0766 Application for :- Full Planning Permission  Minor Development. HPB Ltd  Convert existing first floor games area to a holiday apartment. Convert and extend existing outbuilding to create new games area. Convert shelter to create a workshop and cycle store. Durnford Drove (Langton House), Langton Matravers. Observation: No Objection
   c) 6/2012/0746  Application for :- Full Planning Permission  Other Development  The National Trust  Erect timber shed. Durnford Drove (2 Spyway Farm Cottages), Langton Matravers.   Observation: No Objection
   3) Planning decisions by PDC since the last meeting:
    a)TWA/2012/0147  Mrs. K Mutendera.  Location: Durnford Drove (Spyway Orchard), Langton Matravers Description: (T1-T8) Sycamore, (T9) Ash - reduce height of all trees by AT LEAST 30% Tree Preservation Order: District of Purbeck (Spyway House, Langton Matravers) TPO 1976 (Ref.44) Approved
    b) 6/2012/0629 Home Field, Acton, Swanage A replacement Purbeck Limestone Quarry & the retention of the existing service area & extension of an existing stone processing building.  Keates Quarries.  DCC/PDC APPROVED
   c) 6/2012/0557and 0558 Location: Lewis Quarries Service Area, Acton, Langton Matravers
Proposal: Replacement of limestone quarry and Variation of conditions 1 & 2 of Planning Permission 6/2009/0320 to allow the stone from quarry 1 Home Field to be stored and processed at the Lewis Quarries Service Area.   DCC/PDC APPROVED		
 4) Other planning matters: - There were none.
9.Minutes of  the Meeting held 8th November 2012. The Minutes, having been circulated previously, were agreed as a correct record and signed.
10.  Matters Arising from the Minutes.
a) Item 9a. Langton Litter Pick/Tidy Up. This had been successful, despite limited local support. The Council warmly thanked participants and agreed to send a formal letter of thanks to Mrs Bridget Mayes for all her hard work in organising the event as well as litter collection. ACTION: Clerk. 
b) Item 9g. The Snow Plan had been completed and sent to DCC. Cllr Loudoun reported the arrival of a snow plough, and is he awaiting brackets for fixing to his tractor. 
c) Item 14c.  Cemetery Regulations. These had been updated and circulated to local funeral directors. 
d) Item 19. Play Area. The Clerk had written to Perenco asking for funding to replace the swings, and filled in the CIL form for PDC.
f) Item 17. Village Carol Service. Cllr Knight is now unable to attend: the Clerk will represent the Council at this event.
11.  The Clerk’s Report for the period 5.11.2012 – 7.12.2012.  Report received.
12.  Matters arising from the Clerk’s Report. 
a) Item 8. South West Coast path Plans 2013.It was agreed to put this on the next agenda.
b) Item 16. ’20 is Plenty’ Campaign. ACTION: Clerk to write to Mrs. Feltham expressing Council’s support for her work on promoting this in the village. 
c) Item 18. Ian Mackenzie had reported that the Order for Windmill Lane had been published.
d) Item 26. The Swanage School Open Evening had been well-supported. The new school building is likely to start on the Middle School site, subject to Planning permission, in January.
e) Item 40. Fields in Trust. It was agreed to continue to subscribe to the organisation for another year.
13.  Chairman’s Announcements. There were none.
14.  Financial Matters.
(1)   Note the following additions to Council funds since the last Council Meeting: 
        £ 550.00   Purchase of Burial Plot C1 – Mr. Alan Houghton.
        £ 550.00   Purchase of Burial Plot B1 – Mrs. Y. Wadkins.        
(2)   Note the following Payments by cheque since last Meeting:
£ 120.00   Mr I. Bugler – Grounds Maintenance (November) 
£ 498.57   Clerk’s salary (November).  
£ 122.40   PDC - Planning Advice Re: St George’s School playing field.
£ 30.00     The Sign and Print Company – repairs to Acton sign.
£ 48.00     Langton Matravers Village Hall – Sept/Oct/Nov/Dec 2012 Council Chamber (4 sessions).
£ 156.00   Langton Matravers Village Hall - Hire of Village Hall for Council Chamber 2013 – 12 Parish Council meetings plus 1 Parish Assembly (13 sessions @ £12.00 per session).   
£ 271.00   Ellis Jones legal fees for work on Crack Lane cemetery conveyancing, plus disbursements. ACTION: Clerk to write formal letter of thanks to Craig Wells on behalf of the Council.
(3) 	Payments by Direct Debit:
       £ 35.62      XLN Telecom for phone and broadband 
 (4) Other Financial Matters. 
a) Budget. Expenditure for the year is likely to be in line with income from the precept. Reserves are necessary for work on the Public Toilets renovation and maintenance when the Council assumes overall financial responsibility from October 2013. The annual Parish Precept cannot be set until the January meeting as the Council is awaiting PDC’s decision on Localisation for the Support of Council Tax for 2013-14.
b) Pre-School grant. The Council had previously promised support for the Pre-school for the furnishing of its new premises as part of St George’s school re-building project. Cllr Kirby recommended that this grant be given in the financial year 2012-3. RESOLVED:That a grant of £500.00 be given to St George’s Pre-School to help with furnishing their new premises when they are completed. 
c) Deeds. Following completion of the Crack Lane cemetery extension purchase, Ellis Jones had informed the Clerk that the deeds for the land would be kept in their strongroom. The Council were happy that this should be so. The Clerk will enquire if the other Council deeds could be kept there also, with copies in the office. ACTION:Clerk.
15.  Cemetery Matters:
(1) Council’s Cemetery. The purchase of the extension to the cemetery was completed at the end of November. Deeds will be kept in the strong room at Ellis Jones (see 14.4.c) above).
(2) Closed Cemetery. Nothing to report.
16.  Allotments.  a) Cllr Kirby reported that annual rent and water charge bills had been sent out. There had been no response to the advertisements for new tenants. These advertisements will be repeated. ACTION: Clerk. Cllr Loudoun informed the meeting that he had delivered seaweed to the allotments, and was thanked by the Chairman.
17. Flooding in the Hyde: brought forward to Item 7, see above.
18.  Community Energy Event. This will be on Thursday, 28th February, 6.30-8.30, and it will be an open event for all. St George’s School will do a presentation about how they became an Eco-school. Cllr Drayson will manage the publicity. 
19. Public Toilets Committee.  A new committee was agreed, to prepare a job specification and do other tasks in readiness for the handover of the maintenance and cleaning contract for the toilets by PDC in October 2013. Cllrs White, Bradford and Turner were elected, with the Clerk in support. 
20. Car Park Update. Cllr Kirby reported on a formal meeting with Ros Drane, Planning Officer at PDC, on 20th November 2012, regarding proposals for staff car parking on St George’s Field and vehicular access to the allotments to create a parking area for allotment holders. Mrs. Drane had expressed concerns about the visual impact, and access splay, and recommended that the parking surface should remain grass. She suggested using the present access for staff cars, with cars parked along the wall on the North side of the field, or, if a new access were made at the West end, along the North wall there; any allotment parking should be ‘well screened’. DCC Highways’ views must be sought on any proposal. She advised that different options should be explored, and that any formal application must be supported by evidence that this had been done, with choices based on visual impact and community need. RESOLVED: That the Council writes to residents of Garfield Lane to get their views on cars using the lane to access a small well-screened parking area on the Council’s land for allotment holders’ use only (max. 6 places).The Chairman  thanked Cllr Kirby for his work.
21.Traffic Management. a) Request for SID at Harman’s Cross: Worth PC had dealt with this, as it was in their parish.
b) Widening Footways: both Putlake and Steppes Hill footway projects are now in hand with DCC. It was proposed that a letter of thanks be sent to Mr. and Mrs. Purver thanking them for their help with this matter. ACTION: Clerk.
c) Yellow lines. Following a meeting with Steve Mepham of DCC Highways, on 20th Nov., Cllrs discussed a plan for inserting double yellow lines at key congestion points on the High Street to create ‘passing bays’. This would be sent as a formal request to DCC. RESOLVED:That the Council apply to DCC for double yellow lines on Langton High Street around the junction with Durnford Drove and opposite St George’s Close, as on plan dated December 2012. ACTION: Clerk.
22. SSE Heritage footway lights. The Clerk reported that SSE had re-scheduled the painting of these lights for ‘early Spring 2013’: painting had been delayed by weather. Cllr Bradford asked that a letter be written to PDC’s conservation officer, Ben Webb, to ask his opinion about the replaced style of Heritage light. ACTION:Clerk.
23. The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 7pm on Thursday 10th January 2012. 
24. Additional items for the Agenda of the next Council meeting:   Dorset SW Coast Path. Outcome of Wild Purbeck.
Closed c.9 pm. 

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