LITTON CHENEY PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the virtual Annual Meeting of Litton Cheney Parish Council
held on Tuesday 4 May 2021

 

Present: Bill Orchard (Chairman); Quentin Blacke; John Firrell; Andy King; Diana Maston; Andrew Price; Maggie Walsh (Clerk).

 

1.    Apologies Bella Spurrier; Cllr Mark Roberts

2.    Declarations of interest None

3.    Election of Chairman It was proposed by Cllr Firrell, seconded by Cllr King and carried unanimously that Cllr Bill Orchard be elected as Chairman of the Parish Council

4.    Election of Vice Chairman It was proposed by Cllr Orchard, seconded by Cllr Blacke and carried unanimously that Cllr John Firrell be elected as Vice Chairman of the Parish Council.

5.    Democratic time N/A – no local residents present

6.    Approval of minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 9 March 2021.  It was proposed by Cllr Orchard, seconded by Cllr Firrell and carried unanimously that these be approved.

7.    Approval of minutes of the Extraordinary Parish Council meeting held on 13 April 2021.  It was proposed by Cllr Orchard, seconded by Cllr King and carried unanimously that these be approved.

8.    Matters arising since the previous meeting not part of this agenda. None

9.    Dorset Council overview – N/A

10.  Finance report and invoices for approval (Clerk and RFO) At the time of publishing the agenda, Parish funds stood at £16,970.10. Spend since the previous meeting was £1053.11 comprising £594.72 employee costs; £444.00 to Bridport Town Council Lengthsman for removal of tree; £14.39 monthly Zoom licence fee.  Income since last meeting was £115.04 comprising £115 allotment fees (relating to the previous year) and .04p interest. The RFO reported that, since publishing the report, the first instalment of the Precept had been received (£5,200).

       The RFO reported that it was not possible to predict outturns so early in the year and so any forecasts were based on the assumption that all budgets would be met. A VAT return of £708 for the previous financial year had been submitted and a refund was awaited.

       The following invoices were for approval:

BHIB annual insurance (third year of three-year fixed cost agreement)

£348.99

Reimburse Clerk for Zoom licence fee for April and May

£28.78

Clerk’s expenses

£9.24

 

£387.01

       It was proposed by Cllr Firrell seconded by Cllr Maston and carried unanimously that these be approved for payment.                                                                                               MW

       It was proposed by Cllr Orchard, seconded by Cllr King and carried unanimously that the following schedule of regular payment be approved:

            Employee costs paid in accordance with Contract of Employment and NALC salary scales by Standing Order on 11th of every alternate month;

            GDPR registration fee paid annually by Direct Debit, as this saved the PC £5.

       The PC noted that the Inventory had been updated and published on the website.

       The PC noted the Annual Audit Report and thanked Peter Collis for completing it.

       It was proposed by Cllr Firrell, seconded by Cllr Maston and carried unanimously that the Certificate of Exemption be approved.

       It was proposed by Cllr Orchard, seconded by Cllr King and carried unanimously that Annual Governance Statement, Section 1 of the Annual Governance and Accounting Returns be approved.

       It was proposed by Cllr Firrell, seconded by Cllr Orchard and carried unanimously that the Accounting Statement, Section 2 of the Annual Governance and Accounting Returns be approved.                                                                                                                     MW

       The PC noted that the Period for the Exercise of Public Rights would be from Monday 14 June to Friday 23 July 2021.

11.  Councillors’ portfolios:

Planning (Bill Orchard, Chairman): The following planning applications were undecided

Erection of 2 dwellings at Land off Barges Close (P/FUL/2021/00153): there had been a number of representations, mostly objections, regarding this application.

Erect two storey side and rear extension at Kowhai Cottage, School Lane (WD/D/20/003272)

The following applications had been decided, although the PC were not notified of either decision:

Change of use agricultural land to campsite and siting of mobile home for permanent occupation at Litton Lakes (WD/D/20/001114): REFUSED. 

Various repairs and internal alterations at Beech House, Hines Mead Lane (WD/D/20/002951): APPROVED.

The PC believed that planning breaches had occurred at both Litton Lakes and Parks Farm and were most concerned at apparent lack of progress regarding enforcement investigations at either of these 2 sites.  The PC would seek a meeting with the appropriate person at the LPA to discuss these concerns.                                                                                            MW

Highways/Transport (Andrew Price): The 2nd consultation regarding the 30mph limit through the village had ended.  It was unclear where speed limit signs would be placed on the eastern side as Baglake was close to the Parish boundary: any sign placed beyond this would involve a further consultation, which the PC wished to avoid.  The PC had, however, asked to be involved in a review of signage.  Meanwhile, if informed of businesses whose vehicles were being driven too quickly through the village, the PC would contact the business directly to highlight the issue – this had already achieved some success.

DC had been busy applying surface dressing roads but Cllr Price did not know when other, more structural, repairs were scheduled.

Agricultural Liaison/Footpaths/Rights of Way/ (Bella Spurrier/Quentin Blacke): memorial/sponsored benches could be placed beside public footpaths on private land with the land owner’s permission. Parish Councillors would explore this by email, and would consider a proposal to create a fund at the next PC meeting.                                                QB

Playground/Playing Field/Allotments (Andy King): the playground was being prepared for spring and holes were being filled on the playing field. Cllr Firrell understood that there had been cars on the playing field.

Village Fabric/Maintenance/BLAP/DAPTC/Administration (John Firrell) The litter pick had worked well – the PC wished to record its thanks to the Premier Crew and Dorset Waste Partnership. The telephone kiosk had been cleaned ready for painting and the addition of shelves. It may be used as a lending library.

He would attend a BLAP meeting the following day.  He had responded to a DAPTC survey and was pleased to report that DAPTC represented Parishes and Town Councils more effectively under the new Chief Executive.

It was proposed by Cllr Firrell, seconded by Cllr Orchard and carried unanimously that the updated Transparency Checklist; Model Publication Scheme and Risk Assessment be approved.                                                                                                                     MW

Climate Emergency (Diana Maston) Rachel Ellman had informed her that 130 trees and some wild roses had been planted on Sunday.  She hoped to obtain photos for the BVN.

12.  New planning applications for consideration at the meeting None

13.  Correspondence not dealt with as part of the agenda Bridport CAB had written requesting a donation.  This would be on the agenda for July’s meeting.

14.  Date of next meeting The Annual Village Assembly would take place at 7:00pm on Tuesday 13 July 2021, followed by a meeting of the Parish Council.

Meeting closed

Maggie Walsh
Parish Clerk