Parish Council of Langton Matravers
www.langtonmatravers-pc.org
Minutes of a meeting of Council held in the Village Hall on Thursday, 8th July  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, M Lovell and H Tizard.

1.	Apologies for absence were received from Cllr P Loudoun.
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)	Dr C Spilling spoke on behalf of the Langton Matravers Allotment Association. The Chair of the LMAA had written to the Clerk and the Allotment Liaison Officers, offering the LMAA’s help clearing the Council’s land which adjoins the allotments and asking for a meeting with the Allotment Liaison Officers to discuss what might be done
(b)	Mr S Bonfield expressed his concern regarding PDC’s Local Development Framework for housing, particularly the possibility of building on Site A at Gully. Cllr Drayson agreed that there was a possibility of this, because of the strength of opposition to building on Site B at Herston Fields.
 The Meeting was reconvened.
4.	Matters arising from the Public Discussion: 
On the proposition of Cllr Drayson it was unanimously agreed that the Clerk should write to PDC to say that the Parish Council strongly opposes any building on Site A, at Gully, and fully supports its retention as an important gap. 
5.	Planning Matters:
(1) There were no comments from the public concerning Plan 0386, submitted by Mr. & Mrs. Warren; Erect rear conservatory at 8 Steppes Hill, Langton Matravers.
(2) Determine Council’s comments on Plan 0386;
On the proposition of Cllr Knight  it was unanimously agreed that; 
“The Parish Council has no objection.”
	(3) There were no comments from the public concerning Plan 0402, submitted by Mr. Beck; Install a ten panel solar photovoltaic system on the south facing roof elevation at The Steddings, 2 Steppes, Langton Matravers.
(4) Determine Council’s comments on Plan 0402;
On the proposition of Cllr Kirby it was unanimously agreed that;
“The Parish Council strongly supports the use of green energy.”
(5) There were no comments from the public concerning Plan 0415, submitted by The Cothill Educational Trust; Demolition of two storey extension. Erection of new two storey entrance lobby and access corridors - (application for retrospective alterations - as built).
(6) Determine Council’s comments on Plan 0415:
On the proposition of the Chairman it was unanimously agreed that:
“The Parish Council has no objection.”
 (In all the above voting Cllr M W J Lovell abstained as a member of the Purbeck District Council’s       Planning Board).
(7) Planning Decisions that affected the parish this month.
	There were none.
(6) Any other Planning Matters;
There were none.
6.	Minutes of the last Meeting, held on the 10th June were confirmed and signed.
7.	Matters arising from the Minutes:
	(1) Item 3 (a); Stiles in the parish. The Clerk reported that Steve Kourik, DCC Footpaths Officer, had visited the office.  Mr Kourik had raised the subject of Parish Grants, which, with prior agreement from DCC, would allow the Parish Council to have footpaths cleared and stiles repaired by local tradesmen and for the work to be paid for by DCC. It was agreed to decline his offer and for any such works to remain DCC’s responsibility.
	The Clerk also reported that he had received an email from Barry Cullimore, manager of Leeson House, to say that if the WW2 pillbox, which is on the boundary wall of Leeson House, was not already a listed building he would support it being listed.  
	(2) Item 4 (b); The BT phone kiosk at Acton. The Clerk read out an email from BT, which said that if the Council adopted the kiosk it could be moved, but BT would not recommend it, because of the danger of damaging it. It was agreed that the Clerk should write to Mrs Hinsull to ask her to canvas the residents of Acton to see if they still wanted to retain the kiosk if its telephony was removed and it remained on the B3069. The Chairman suggested that as an alternative the Council investigate the practicalities of providing a notice board, which could have a waterproof map of the hamlet to aid visitors and delivery drivers.
	(3) Item 7 (c); Bus shelters for Steppes and Capston Field. The Chairman reported that councillors had met a representative from Queensbury Shelters. It was felt that two shelters could be provided at Steppes, one on either side of the High Street, but that there was insufficient room for a shelter on either site of the present bus stops at Capston Field. It was felt that the only way a shelter could be provided would be if the bus stop was moved further out of the village. The Clerk was instructed to place a notice in The Dubber asking parishioners if they would be willing to walk further to the bus stop if there was a shelter. It was agreed that the Clerk should also re-circulate the bus shelter brochures to councillors.
	(4) Item 9 (b); Windmill Lane. The Clerk reported that Mr I Mackenzie  had walked the path that morning with Mr Phil Hobson of the Dorset Rights Of Way Team. Mr Mackenzie had reported that Mr Hobson would send out letters of enquiry in the next fortnight to those people who had written in and was open to any supplementary evidence anyone might wish to add. He would then write his report before the end of the year and it would be published on the internet. He would then present it to DCC Highways and Public Rights Of Way Committee some time at the start of the new year. Mr Mackenzie cautioned that Mr Hobson had felt that the path petered out around Windmill Barn and that the claim for a restricted byway would probably be downgraded to a footpath.
	(5) Item 11 (9) (a); The Council’s bank account. Cllr Kirby had reported that on the advice of DAPTC the Council must legally have two councillors to sign any cheque or any other order of payment and that the Clerk should also be a signatory. It was agreed to change the account to Lloyds TSB and to open two deposit accounts, one for the Cemetery Endowment Fund and the other for the Play Project Fund.   
	(6) Item 12 (1); Stone for the cemetery wall. The Chairman reported that he had received a quote from Bonfield’s for 20 tonnes at £40.00 a tonne and £80.00 delivery. The Clerk was instructed to get two more quotes and it was agreed that the Chairman should then decide which quote to accept.
	(7) Item 18; Goal posts in the playing fields. Cllr Tizard reported that Swanage Town Football Club had donated one of its old set of goalposts and net. He suggested that the Council should make a donation to the club. Cllr Lovell proposed a donation of £50.00 and this was unanimously supported. The Clerk reported that Mrs T Stone had consulted with the Treasurer of the Play Project and they were happy for the posts to be paid for out of the VAT refund, which the Council received from the purchase of the play equipment. Cllr Kirby proposed a vote of thanks to Cllr Tizard for dealing with the matter so quickly and this was unanimously supported. Cllr Turner proposed a vote of thanks to Mrs Stone for her kind offer and this was also unanimously supported. 
	(8) Item 19; The day of the monthly Meeting.
	It was unanimously agreed to continue with the second Thursday of the month.
8.	The Clerk’s Report for the period 3.06.10. – 1.07.10. was received.
9.	Matters arising from the Clerk’s Report:
(a) Item 9, Fingerposts. Dorset AONB is conducting a countywide survey of fingerposts. Cllr Bradford agreed to conduct it locally. 
(b) Item 12, The Sustainable Communities Act. Cllr Drayson agreed to liaise on the Council’s behalf.
(c)Item 18, Newsletter for the Flood Warden. The Clerk was instructed to find out if the Council had an existing Community Flood Plan and a Community Resilience Plan.
(d) Item 19, The Parish Maintenance Units. The Clerk said that he had circulated the PMU form so that councillors would know what jobs the PMU would do. The Clerk was instructed to add clearing the weeds in the alley beside the King’s Arms to the list of jobs that needed doing.
(e) PDC Emergency Response Plan. The Clerk reported that he would pass this on to Cllr Kirby. 
10.	Chairman’s announcements;
	The Chairman said that Cllr Tizard wanted to raise the subject of Langton in Bloom. It was agreed that a notice should be placed in The Dubber to see if parishioners would be interested in joining a scheme to buy hanging baskets in bulk.
11.	Financial Matters:
	(1) The following additions to Council funds since the last Council Meeting were noted:
	£25.00 from James Smith Funeral Directors for the interment of the ashes of the late Mrs. Nora Donovan.
	£840.00 from Albert Marsh Funeral Directors for the purchase of plot B13 and the interment of the late Peter Sam Lander.
	 (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 May Council chamber.
	£481.90 to J Bellucci for Clerk’s salary for June.
	£21.00 to DAPTC for Part 1 of Model Standing Orders.
	£120.00 to P Newell for 1 visit to the cemetery and the Play Area.
	 (3) The following payments by Direct Debit were noted:
 	 £65.00 to PDC for business rates.
 £34.23to XLN Telecom for phone and broadband.
(4) Any other Financial matters.
(a) The source of funding for the payment of the re-laid cemetery paths.
On the proposition of Cllr P White it was agreed by 5 votes for, 2 against and 1 abstention, that the 	work should be paid for out of the Cemetery Endowment Fund.
12.	Cemetery matters:
	(1) Council cemetery. 
	(a) The Clerk reported that the newly laid paths had already cracked and he was instructed to contact 	Minster Macadams to get them repaired.
	(b) It was agreed that the Council would purchase 20 tonnes of stone to finish the wall at the west end 	of the cemetery and that the money should come out of the current account.
(2) Closed cemeteries: Nothing to report.
13.	Allotments. 
	The LMAA had written to offer its help in clearing and managing the Council’s land adjacent to the 	allotments. It was agreed that the clearance must be managed by the Council with the LMAA’s help. 	The Clerk was instructed to place a notice in The Dubber, asking for parishioners to suggest what 	they would like to see happen with the land. The Clerk was also instructed to write to the Chair of the 	LMAA, to thank them for their offer of help and to say that the Council would arrange a meeting 	after it had consulted the parishioners.
 14.	Affordable housing update. The Clerk reported that PDC had written to say that there had been one 	change of tenant in the properties at Steppes affected by an S106 agreement. The Clerk was 	instructed to ask if there had been any transfers.
15.	Standing Orders. Nothing to report.
16.	 Parish Communications. Cllr Kirby proposed that “The Council instruct the Clerk to produce the draft Minutes, which are distributed to councillors and published on the notice boards and the website, within 10 working days after each Meeting.” The Clerk pointed out that, amongst many other pressing duties, he was responsible for managing the cemetery, and he felt that dealing with burials and bereaved relatives was his top priority. This meant it was not always possible to write the Minutes until later in the month. The draft Minutes are always written by, and distributed to councillors on, the eighth day before the next Meeting and the Clerk had no objection to them being published then. Cllr Kirby’s proposition was defeated by 4 votes against, 3 for, and 1 abstention.
17.	Protecting the school playing fields. The Clerk was instructed to write to Fields in trust to ask that the playing fields be designated for protection.
18.	The Council’s land. Already dealt with.
19.	Putlake Adventure Farm. Cllr Tizard wanted the Council to mediate between Mr. O’Connell and PDC. It was agreed that this was not possible, but that the Council would, in principle, support an application for parking on Main Hyde.
20.	The date of the next Council Meeting was confirmed as Thursday the 12th August 2010.
21.	Items for the next Agenda; There were none.
22.	There being no further business, the Meeting was adjourned at 9:50pm.

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