Present;
Kate Organ, outgoing chair of PAPC
Cllr. Jonathan Baker
Cllr Yvonne Harris
Cllr Chris Kennett
Cllr David Lines
In Attendance:
Acting Clerk Vicky Reed
8 members of the public.
| Item No. | Action | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prior to the meeting all elected councillors completed, signed and returned their Declaration of Acceptance of Office and Register of Interests to the clerk. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019/001 |
Election of Chairman Kate Organ as the outgoing Chairman of the now dissolved Parrett & Axe Parish Council opened the meeting, and read the following report: “Thank you all for coming this evening, and welcome to the first meeting of the newly formed South Perrott Parish Council. Usually after an election for parish councils there is an AGM at which the outgoing chairman gives a brief report of the pat year’s work. However, this will no happen today as we have had a 6 month delay in reaching this point tonight. I would like to thank the 5 other parish councillors who served on the Parrett & Axe Parish Council (PAPC) for the past 4 years, Chris Birtwhistle who was a great support and help to me, together with Jane Cooper and Asha Braginton for Chedington. Sue Coutanche and Anthony de la Poer worked hard in South Perrott. My thanks also to our clerks over the past years, to Angela Gillingham for 8 years, and Rebecca Taylor for 6 months. I have been honoured and privileged to represent and serve you all in South Perrott as one of your parish councillors for well over 30 years. There have been many issues and concerns which we have dealt with. The best result has definitely been the construction of the flood defence scheme which has saved South Perrott from flooding on numerous occasions and will continue to do so. I would like to thank Vicky Reed who has worked extremely hard as our Acting Clerk for the past 6 months, to cope with all the legal and financial work in winding up Parrett & Axe Parish Council together with the usual correspondence. She has also ensured the birth of the new South Perrott Parish Council, thank you Vicky. Now due to the fact there is no public session at the start of this meeting, I need to state that the newly appointed chairperson will be able to accept questions or comments from members of the public which are raised during the meeting, if they wish to do so. This will enable us to get the meeting up and running with the election of the chairperson and vice-chairperson now, but still allow residents to raise any issues during the meeting.” Kate Organ then called for nominations for the role position of Chairperson. Cllr Kennett proposed Cllr Lines as Chairman, and Cllr Baker seconded the nomination. There being no other nominations, Cllr Lines was duly elected as Chairman. (Cllr Lines completed and signed his Declaration of Acceptance of office at the end of the meeting.) |
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| 2019/002 |
Election of Vice Chairman Kate Organ called for nominations for the role of Vice-chairperson. Cllr Lines proposed Cllr Baker for the role of Vice Chairman, and Cllr Kennett seconded the nomination. There being no other nominations, Cllr Baker was duly elected as Vice- Chairman. (Cllr Baker completed and signed his Declaration of Acceptance of office at the end of the meeting.) |
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| 2019/003 | Potential Co-option of Parish Councillor Cllr Lines thanked Kate Organ for her report, and expressed his thank to all the previous councillors who represented South Perrott within the dissolved Parrett & Axe Parish Council. Cllr Lines welcomed the new parish councillors and noted that the newly formed South Perrott Parish Council (SPPC) has a good range of councillors, from a wide cross-section of the village. Cllr Lines noted that he hopes to chair the meetings so that they are business-like and concise, and that the newly formed SPPC will make positive contributions and implement improvements for all residents living in the village. Cllr Lines reported that the recent election returned four parish councillors, and therefore a vacancy remains for a fifth parish Councillor to join the council. Cllr Lines called for nominations for the vacant position. There being no nominations, the clerk reported that the Casual Vacancy will remain, and be advertised in The Pump & Pound and on the village notice board. There was a discussion about the continuation of the Pump & Pound following the dissolution of PAPC. Local residents have agreed to continue to produce and deliver the newsletter to both villages, and SPPC news will continue to be reported. Funding for the newsletter has been offered by a number of private residents. The possibility of a donation from SPPC towards costs may be considered in the future. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019/004 |
Apologies / Declarations of interest / grant of dispensations – Apologies were received and accepted from Dorset Cllr Rebecca Knox, PCSO Alex Bishop and River Warden Martyn Gillingham. |
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| 2019/005 | Reports | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| a) |
Dorset Councillor – Cllr Knox sent her apologies and best wishes to the newly formed parish council. |
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| b) |
Police. PCSO Bishop sent his apologies and the following report “Fortunately there is nothing crime wise to report. I would also like to mention that over the last few months, I have noticed a decline in the number of scams reported to us. I don’t think that this is due to there being less scam communications, but (hopefully) people have become more aware to the threats that cold calls can pose and are actively avoiding/ignoring them. I have been advising people of a couple of options of late; to consider the use of answerphones, which when they cut in, you can hear who is calling and why, then choose whether to pick up or not. If you think it is a scam call, just delete the message. The other option is to speak to your phone provider about services to cut the scam calls coming through. There is one from Sky and BT, where the caller has to state who they are and press a button (which automated diallers cannot do), so the recipient can decide whether to pick up or not. For anyone that would like to come and speak with me, ask questions/advice, etc, I will be at the Mosterton Post Office on Monday 18th November at 1.30pm. I am there once a month, usually the second or third Monday. If you would like to see my list of engagements, they are on the Dorset Police website, www.dorset.police.uk. You can then search for your local team under Neighbourhood Policing. A resident raised a concern about a recent telephone scam, where the caller reports that the resident’s internet will be disconnected. A warning note about this will the published in the forthcoming edition of The Pump & Pound. |
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| c) |
Footpath’s Officer Report – No report received. The clerk will contact Mr Edwards to see if he still wishes to be the Footpaths Officer. |
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| d) |
River Warden Report – Martyn Gillingham was not able to be present at the meeting |
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| 2019/006 |
Highways Issues
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| 2019/007 |
Replacement Grit Bins The grit bin opposite the entrance to South Perrott has been damaged and subsequently removed during the summer. A local farmer confirmed that having damaged the bin would replace it, but no replacement has been forthcoming. Kate Organ also reported that the grit bin in Picket Lane is damaged. It was agreed to purchase two grit bins at a cost of £100 each, and the bill for one would be sent to the farmer concerned. Once the grit bins are in situ, the clerk will arrange for them to be filled. |
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| 2019/008 |
Correspondence Received Order for the dissolution of PAPC Clerks and Councils Direct Newsletter Invitation to Planning Peer review DAPTC – Help and advice on ensuring your website meets accessibility guidelines An email from a resident regarding damage to Langmoor Lane caused when cows escaped. The clerk will contact the Footpaths Officer at Dorset Council for an update. |
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| 2019/009 |
Planning Matters The clerk reported the following planning decisions in South Perrott: WD/D/19/000304 Rose Cottage, South Perrott – Approved WD/D/19/001893 & 1894 Chilmark, Churchill, South Perrott – Both approved. WD/D/19/002394 Removal of public payphones It is proposed that the payphone in The Pound, South Perrott be removed. Residents noted that this is the only phone box from Crewkerne to Maiden Newton and covers an area with very little mobile phone signal. The deadline has passed for submission of comments by parish councils; however the clerk will contact the planning officer dealing with the matter, and submit comments requesting that the telephony equipment be retained. |
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| 2019/010 |
Finance & Statutory Document Adoption The clerk reported that the funds currently held by the now-dissolved Parrett & Axe Parish Council will be divided between South Perrott Parish Council and Chedington Parish Council based on the proportion of electors in each parish council area. At the current time the clerk is awaiting final receipts and invoices in respect of Parrett & Axe Parish Council and once these have been finalised, and a new bank account set up for South Perrott the funds will be transferred. At the current time the clerk anticipates that the funds to be transferred from PAPC to SPPC will be approximately £8,000, depending on final income and expenditure. Budget – The deadline for submitting a precept request is 31st January 2020. Should the parish council not have been able by the deadline to compile a budget and agree a precept request, Dorset Council will allocate South Perrott Parish Council a precept of £3564.00 for the financial year 2020-2021, which is a 2% increase on South Perrott’s portion of the 2019-2020 PAPC precept. Cllr Lines suggested that the Pump and Pound may be used to find out what residents would like the parish council funds to be spent on. The following statutory documents were circulated prior to the meeting to elected councillors, and were adopted: Standing Orders Code of Conduct Financial Regulations Financial Risk Assessment All above proposed by Cllr Lines and seconded by Cllr Baker. |
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| 2019/011 |
Matters of report and items for the next meeting a) Chairman – no items. b) Clerk – The clerk noted that at a future meeting the council will need to consider GDPR regulations and adopt policies regarding this matter. c) Members – Cllr Baker raised the issue of a clerk for the parish council on a permanent basis. The role will need to be advertised. The clerk will send the job description to the councillors and they will consider how best to recruit and appoint a permanent clerk. Cllr Kennett requested that “Concealed Entrance” signs be placed around the village, near to Picket Lane, Pipplepen Lane and Coombe Cottage. The clerk to raise an item with Highways Department. d) Footpaths Officer – not present e) River Warden – not present |
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| 2019/012 |
Dates of Future Meetings Thursday 9th January 2020 at 7.30pm. |
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Public Session The Clerk vacancy will be advertised in the next edition of The Pump and Pound to be circulated. It was agreed that with Dorset council devolving more responsibilities to parish councils, that consideration must be made when the budget is drafted to retain sufficient reserves and budget for ongoing village maintenance. A resident requested the possibility of a note being put up in The Pound to prevent the long term parking there by nearby resident. This is not possible however as the area is public highway, and parking restrictions do not apply currently. The meeting closed at 8.25pm |