Parish Council of Langton Matravers
www.langtonmatravers-pc.org
Minutes of a meeting of Council held in the Village Hall on  Thursday 14th June 2007 at 7.00 pm.
Present: Cllr N E Priddle (Chairman) in the Chair; Cllr P E Loudon (Vice-Chairman); Cllrs Mrs V C Murray, Mrs P M Kwantes, J Bradford, P J Bradford, P White & M W J Lovell, also County and District Councillor.
1.	Apologies for absence: None, all Members being present.
2.	Public Discussion: No matters were raised.
3.	Matters Arising from the Public Discussion: None.
4.	Planning Matters:
	(1) There were no comments from the public concerning Plan 370, submitted by Mr & Mrs D James, 	to replace gable roofs to dormers with hipped roofs, replace conservatory roof with tiled roof and 	alter porch at ‘Pinhoe/Ponsonby’, The Hyde.
	(2) Concerning Plan 370, on the proposition by Cllr White, it was unanimously agreed that “The 	Parish Council has no objection.”
	(3) There were no comments from the public concerning Plan 374, submitted by Miss M Butcher, to 	replace existing door and sidelight and rebuild chimneys including lead trays at “Greenhayes”, Castle 	View. 
	(4) The normal Statutory Notification had been received on Plan 374, which refers to a Listed 	Building.
	(5) Concerning Plan 374, on the proposition by Cllr Mrs Murray, it was unanimously agreed that 	“The Parish Council has no objection.”
	(6) There were no comments from the public concerning Plan 375, submitted by Mr & Mrs Bryceson, 	to erect rear conservatory at ‘Spyway Edge’, No. 9 Steppeshill.
	(7) Concerning Plan 375, on the proposition by Cllr J Bradford it was unanimously agreed that “The 	Parish Council has no objection.”
	(8) There were no comments from the public concerning Plan 393, submitted by Mrs D Garrett, to 	replace four front windows and rear door at No. 2 Serrell’s Mead Cottages.
	(9) Concerning Plan 393, on the proposition by Cllr Loudoun, it was unanimously agreed that “The 	Parish Council has no objection.”
	(10) It was noted that Mr Newman of ’Yard’s Brake’ had taken the refusal of Plan 06/764 to Appeal. 
	(11) It was noted that the plan to site a residential caravan at Toms Field Camp Site without 	restrictions had been refused.
	(12) The Clerk suggested that PDC’s individual notices of new plans should not in future be sent to 	the two outlying Council notice-cases, unless a plan happed to be relevant to that outlying area, as all 	planning applications appeared on the Planning Agenda each month anyway. This was agreed.
	(13) There were no other planning matters.
5.	Minutes of the Council Meeting held on May 10th 2007, having been distributed to members prior to 	the Meeting, were unanimously confirmed and duly signed.
6.	Matters Arising from the Minutes:
	(1) Item 4(1). A discussion ensued concerning Mr & Mrs Bibra’s letter asking for the Bus Stop Sign 	to be transferred from the south side of the High Street near Durnford Drove to the north side, in 	order to deter drivers from parking along the stretch of the High Street immediately west of the 	driveway to ‘Flagstones’. On the proposition from the Chair it was agreed (For 7; Against 0; 	Abstention 1; Absent 0) that an emollient reply should be sent, regretting the problem, but pointing 	out that the only way to prevent parking along a stretch of the highway would be to introduce double 	yellow lines.
	(2) Item 6(5). No Councillor was prepared to take on the position of a second Representative on the 	Purbeck Association of Parish and Town Councils.
	(3) Item 6(7). Some Members felt strongly that Cllr White should not have to give up his membership 	of the Timson Trust Management Committee just because he owned the premises next door. There 	was provision in the Code of Conduct for him to declare Interest if any matter arose at a Trust 	Meeting concerning which his position might be compromised. It was agreed that the Clerk should 	ask DAPTC about this.
	(4) Item 7(5). The Clerk reported that the grass at the Play Area had been cut and strimmed and that 	Mr Travers had been paid. Mr Travers said that he would be willing to continue to do this work as 	necessary. The Clerk suggested that perhaps the title of Mr Travers‘s position might be altered from 	‘Caretaker of the Council‘s Cemetery‘ to ‘Caretaker of the Council‘s Lands‘? This was unanimously 	agreed.
	(5) Item 9(2). As nothing had been done about the trees in Twoleas Meadow which were damaging 	the north wall of the Closed Cemeteries, on the proposition of the Chairman, it was unanimously 	agreed that this item should be taken off the agenda for the time being.
	(6) Item 9(3). It was agreed that Signs concerning Dog Litter should be discussed at the July Meeting.
	(7) Item 9(5). The Clerk reported that the County Officer had still not contacted him concerning the 	possibility of parking on what is now a wide grass verge towards the south end of Crack Lane. 	Chairman reported that the Officer whom he met concerning the widening of the footway from Crack 	Lane to Putlake was shown the site in Crack Lane and that he had said that he could see no immediate 	problem. Cllr Lovell agreed to expedite  this matter.
	(8) Item 11(3). Cllr J Bradford said that he might have a frame suitable for the Certificate of 	Membership of the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities.
	(9) Item 15. The possible siting of Dog-Litter Bins. On the proposition of Cllr Lovell, it was agreed 	that this matter should be deferred to the July Council Meeting.
	(10) Item 17(1). It was noted that the pole for the SID had been put on the north side of the road at the 	top of Three Acre Lane. It was agreed that the greater speed (which had been proved by the recent 	survey) was uphill towards the west, so the SID should be sited on the south side of the road. The 	Clerk was asked to contact Scott Oliphant about this.
	(11) There were no other matters arising from the Minutes.
7.	The Clerk’s Report for the period from 4.5.07 to 7.6.07 was received.
8.	Matters Arising from the Clerk’s Report:
	(1) Item 7. It was agreed that no Grant in Aid should be given to ‘Vitalise’.
	(2) Item 34. The Clerk reported that he had put the By-Election on the Council’s Website, giving the 	names of the three candidates, and with a plea to parishioners to use their vote, as the Election was so 	expensive. This action was agreed by members.
	(3) Item 42. No Councillor wished to attend the training sessions on Planning to be held at Westport 	House. The Clerk said he would like to attend the first session and Cllr Lovell agreed to take him.
9.	Chairman’s Announcements:
	Cllr Priddle reported that Mike Clarke and his wife would be conducting the By-Election in Langton.
	They would also do the count at 10 p.m. The Clerk reported that he had been told that the count 	would be conducted at Westport House the following morning, as it had to be done electronically, but 	he would check on this.
10.	Financial Matters:
	(1) The following additions to Council funds were noted:
	     £200.00 for Burial Plot C17, sold to Mrs J Ardern,
	     £25.71 from the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities as overpaid Subscription for 2007
	     £1,240.00 from James Smith for two path-side plots Q16 and 17, and the burial of the late 			Margaret Edmonds (extra-parochial).
	(2) The following payments by cheque, already authorized, were noted:
	     £10.00 to Village Hall for April Council Chamber,
	     £805.58 to Allianz Cornhill Insurance as annual premium,
	     £216.81 to DAPTC (Annual Subscription, Meeting Notices and booklets for new Councillors).
	     £58.75 to Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (Annual Subscription),
	     £53.31 to SEC for repairs last November to the Footway Light at Acton Gate,
	     £63.23 to BT for Office Telephone Bill,
	     £450.00 to Ian Travers for cutting grass at the Play Area, 4 visits to the Council’s Cemetery and 
		12 hours work (two workers 6 hours each) at the Closed Cemeteries.
	(3) The following Payments by Direct Debit were noted:
	     £69.00 to PDC for June Rates on the Office/Toilets Block.
	(4) On the proposition from the Chair, it was unanimously agreed that Council should purchase a 		copy of the book on ‘Tombstones in the Langton Matravers Non-Conformist Cemetery’.
	(5) Council considered the appointment of an Assistant to the Clerk, particularly for IT work, such as 	the Website, Emails, Computer Updates, etc. Cllr Priddle said that in his opinion candidates for this 	position should be in training to eventually become Clerk to the Council. Cllr Lovell said that the 	appointment would have to be a Legal Contract and payment under the PAYE scheme. The Clerk 	agreed to contact DAPTC concerning a specimen Contract and Cllr Lovell agreed to ask PDC if they 	would undertake management of the PAYE. Council agreed that a decision on this matter should be 	deferred to the July Council Meeting, when more information would be available.
	(6) Photocopies of Sections 1 and 2 of the Annual Return to be sent to the District Auditor having 	been distributed to Members prior to the Meeting, on the proposition from the Chair, these pages 	were confirmed and approved unanimously by Council and duly signed by the Chairman.
11.	Cemetery Matters:
	(A) The Council’s Cemetery:
	(1) Cllr Priddle suggested that at some time in the near future the land designated for an enlargement 	of the cemetery, or half of it, should be fenced, levelled and cleared. This was agreed in principle.
	(2) Cllr Lovell asked if Council would be willing to put £1000.00 into building the proposed wall at 	the west end of the cemetery, and if it would not be sensible to continue it along the west end of the 	land for eventual enlargement of the cemetery?  He thought that a gift of some of the stone required 	might be forthcoming from Langton’s quarry-owners, but Cllr Priddle said that such gifts might not 	be of the best quality of stone, and he would like to see really good quality stone used, so as to 	enhance the appearance of the Parish Cemetery.
	(3) Cllr Mrs Murray said that the stone indicating ‘No public footpath’, etc. near the upper gate 	needed to be cleaned.
	(B) The Closed Cemeteries:
	(1) Cllr Priddle reported that he had asked the Banyard’s Manager to ensure that the perimeter areas 	were strimmed, to prevent recurrence of the undergrowth. At their recent visit this had been done.
	(2) Cllr Priddle referred to the pillar at the east end of the south wall, which has been forced out of the 	upright by the roots of the naturally-seeded tree at the SE corner of the cemetery. He asked that a 	letter might be sent to Mr Bill Davidson of PDC, pointing out the Health & Safety Risk, and asking if 	this section of the wall might be properly repaired.
12.	Affordable Housing:
	Chairman said that he was toying with the idea of calling a Parish Meeting to discuss preferred sites. 	Alan Davis, the PDC Chief Planning Officer, thought this might be a good idea, and was prepared to 	provide maps. 
13.	The date of the next Council Meeting was confirmed as Thursday July 12th at 7.0 p.m.
14.	Additional Items for the Agenda of the July Council Meeting:
	(1) Cllr J Bradford wished to discuss the Parking Restrictions at the north end of Durnford Drove.
	(2) Cllr J Bradford wished to have Standing Order No. 4 amended in the light of the recent co-option 		fiasco.
There being no further business, the Meeting was adjourned at 8.40 p.m.

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