Public Half Hour

CORFE CASTLEPARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL

HELD AT THE TOWN HALL, CORFE CASTLE

ON MONDAY 8th February 2016

PRESENT:

Cllr M Bond (Vice-Chairman)

Cllr S Clarke

Cllr M Dando

Cllr S Dru Drury (Chairman)

Cllr D Grinsted

Cllr Mrs L Haywood

Cllr P Morrison-Wells

Cllr Mrs E Spicer-Short

Cllr M Spinney

PUBLIC HALF HOUR

There were no questions from the public present.

ACTION
1. / APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Cllr N Dragon, Cllr Mrs R Marshallsay.
2. / DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND DISPENSATIONS
The Council adopted the Code of Conduct set out on the Communities and Local Government website at the 10th September 2012 Meeting (Page 155, para 3.7). Declarations of Interests received for all Councillors. All Councillors are granted a dispensation to set the Precept. CllrBond also has a dispensation for discussions on affordable housing sites.
[Declarations of Interest and accompanying dispensations are on both the District Council and the Parish Council websites – David Churchill.] / Clerk
David Churchill
3. / MINUTES
It was resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 11th January 2016 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record of those proceedings. / Clerk
4. / COUNTY COUNCILLORS REPORT
County Councillor, Mr Mike Lovell, was not present. / Cllr Lovell
5. / DISTRICT COUNCILLORS REPORT
District Councillor, Mr Nigel Dragon, was not present. / Cllr Dragon
6. / NATIONAL TRUST REPORT
Mr Andrew Eustace reported the following:-

• Car park apron to Castle View to be resurfaced, shuttle to Norden arranged;
• Northfield car park to be available for the Easter Bank holiday;
• Working with Dorset County Council on the provision of a minibus during the summer holidays, National Trust driver;
• Land in the Halves with cars, trailers and other metal rubbish – Phil Stuckey talking to the tenant about removing it when the ground is firmer;
• Bed Knobs and Broomsticks to be shown at the Castle in early March. Filmed in California but set in Corfe Castle. Original cast to come to the performance including Angela Lansbury;
• Dorset County Council Norden meeting – consultants Parsons Brinkerhof. The preferred expansion solution is a field west of the roundabout. Bus company very positive about stopping there. Shuttle to Studland to be arranged by the National Trust. The National Trust are funding the master-planning. Swanage Railway is still dealing with ecological issues. Coastal Community funding possible. Next meeting should be in April or May.

/ Mr Eustace
7. / MATTERS ARISING
7.1 / Re January Item 7.1
(1) Parking, Road Safety and Other Highway Issues
Items (a) and (b) below all require action from Dorset County Council (DCC) which is still absent. All problems registered on Highways or RoW reports as no updates from any of the officers.
Highways: Jenny Penney is dealing with area 8 which appears to encompass the Isle of Purbeck, Wareham and Sandford and the team leader for Team South (Areas 5,6,7 & 8) is Stephen Mepham. RoW: Katie Black at Durleston. Jon Lake is part of the Network Regulation team who carry out the necessary consultation/legal work to introduce Traffic Regulation Orders.
(a) General parking issues arising around both villages – The problem with cars and other vehicles parking on the road below Sandy Hill Lane raised at the May meeting and reported to Tony Burt at DCC. As a result of the June Meeting he was asked to reduce the request for double yellow lines to a single length between Sandy Hill Lane and the driveway to 1 East Street. Police cones still in place. Now reported on DCC:1047448. Current status : Further Investigation. Jon Lake (December 2015): Traffic Regulation Orders that cover parking restrictions such as for double yellow lines will be looked at and scored against a set criteria to see if they can be taken forward in February 2016.
The issue of the lack of parking/ bad parking/ need for overflow parking in the village is covered at (c) below.
(b) Rights of Way
(1)The cycling problem on Footpath 1 which is known as Oli Vyes Lane and connects the Church Knowle Road with the Square in Corfe Castle – MNT33380. Current status : Awaiting Works. Still no details currently available of what this means.
(2)Footpaths 75 & 76 – Footpath 76 is no longer on the definitive line so that it connects with FP75 in the wrong place. We were waiting for DCC to check out the land ownership before writing to all the landowners involved – MNT33281. Current status : Under Investigation.
(3)Footpath 7 – This footpath leads down to the harbour via Ower Passage adjacent Ower Quay Cottage. The occupier has tried to divert users down an unofficial route to the rear of the property. The Rempstone Estate has put in a gated path there. Also, a boat on a trailer and car parked so as to impede access and visibility of the correct route – MNT33277. Current status : Under Investigation.
(4)Proposed diversion of Footpaths 34 and 35 around the school playing field as per correspondence item 313. Objection raised to the proposals and a meeting put forward by County for Thursday 21 January at 2pm. Cllrs Bond and Haywood attended. Cllr Haywood reported: No one could agree on the routes suggested by DCC or the Parish Council (the Open Spaces Society liked the Parish Council's idea though). Carol McKay will now get back to us to explain what will happen next.
(c) Dorset County Council public transport strategy – councillors Bond and Dru Drury reported on the third meeting on the 5th January 2016 at Currenden.
(d) Mass Cycling and other organised events – see (2) Other Matters below.
(e) Pavement and Road Surface – The stone surfaced areas in East Street and the road surface near the crossing. The poor condition of the pavement which includes broken stones, in particular, the state of the stones which give access to the Old Curatage. The Parish Council and Cllr Lovell were to have a meeting with Highways about the cracked and broken paving stones.DCC report 1048734Current status : Enquiry Closed (14/01/16) raised to help Cllr Lovell. This was closed only a few days after opening so another case was opened : DCC report 1049963Current status : Enquiry Raised including the Chairmans comments on the repair used to close 1048734. Councillors discussed correspondence item 48 from Jenny Penney, Dorset County Council. She had been asked to discuss the matter with Cllr Lovell and arrange a meeting on site to discuss the problem. [The Parish Council has set aside £2,000 for the restoration of the pavements.]
(f) Gritting of roads – The issue of salt replenishment raised for discussion with Dorset County Council. Two one tonne dumpy bags of salt and grit currently kept down at New Line Farm by the National Trust for tractor distribution to both villages in the event of freezing weather. The Parish received a 1 tonne bag of grit on the 22nd December 2015. Mr Eustace still looking into the matter.
(g) Post Box – This has been moved to Station Road (a decision by Royal Mail and not instigated by Post Office Ltd who dealt with the movement of the Post Office.). It was unexpected as far as the Council were concerned because there was no consultation or notification. Speaking to Royal Mail a few weeks ago finally revealed the matter had been referred to Dorset County Council, Swanage Railway and the National Trust back in the summer of 2015. None of these organisations actually approved the change but did not object to the proposal. Royal Mail have said it is policy not to reverse a move after it has happened. The Council has asked them to reconsider the move and replace the pillar box in its old position or provide an additional box at the old location.
(h) Seat adjacent the Bus Stop in East Street unsafe – Councillors decided to adopt and repair the bench. A quote from Burden Building Services was accepted by the Council at the December 2015 Meeting. No work done so far.
(i) Japanese Knotweed adjacent the A351at Norden – The matter raised as report DCC 1046876. Current status : Enquiry Closed (14/01/16). Comments left : No JKW present on either verge, will spray if present spring/summer. Councillors decided not to pursue the matter despite the nonsensical removal ?
(j) Byle Brook & Corfe River – The previous blockages of the watercourses (pipe and stone) are currently clear according to Cllr Haywood. Nothing else noted by Councillors.
(k) Community temporary flood warning signs project – Six signs are available and will be delivered to Cllr Marshallsay to put out in a flood situation. Not delivered so far.
(l) Land in the Halves which currently harbours cars, trailers and other metal rubbish. Cllr Dragon suggested Purbeck District Council might be the appropriate authority to clear the cars and metal. Phil Stuckey (National Trust ranger) is involved in trying to persuade the tenant to remove the rubbish – see report by Mr Eustace above.
(m) The First School has requested Dorset County Council change the Zebra Crossing outside of the school to a light controlled Puffin Crossing. The County Council are going to instigate a further vehicle and pedestrian survey and a speed survey. However, they state that even if this survey were to meet the criteria set down by Dorset County Council there is no guarantee that a Puffin Crossing would be built in the near future. They receive many requests from communities across the County, some from areas where there is no crossing at all, and each of these must be assessed against each other because of the limited funding.
(2) Other Matters
Byway 70 – Councillors noted the route is very wet and nothing has been seen.
Councillors support the idea of a joint proposal with Church Knowle to bring about a Traffic Regulation Order to restrict use of the byway. Approved, in principle, at the December 2015 Meeting. The Chairman contacted Tony Higgens, the Chair of Church Knowle Parish Council about having a joint meeting to discuss a coordinated way forward over mass cycling events and getting a Traffic Restriction Order applied to BOAT 70 up West hill. Councillors Haywood, Spicer-Short and Spinney volunteered for the meeting in late March. / Clerk
Clerk
Clerk
Clerk
Cllrs
Bond Haywood
Cllrs
Bond
Dragon
Dru Drury
Chairman
M-Wells
Haywood
Cllr Lovell
Clerk
Andrew
Eustace
Clerk
Clerk
All Cllrs
Cllr Marshallsay
Mr Eustace
All Cllrs
Chairman
M-Wells
Haywood
Haywood
Spicer-Short
Spinney
7.2 / Re January Item 7.2 – Playground Matters
(1) RoSPA and Council Inspections – Councillors reminded to keep making at least two weekly basis inspections (preferably weekly). RoSPA inspection made and the Report received for the August 2015 Meeting. No work needed or taking place currently (except that required below).
(2) Fencing / Gate – The fence between the normal playground and the fitness equipment. This needs repair or replacement. Request to Bill Johnson at Purbeck Hedging & Fencing for a quote to repair or replace. Response received – see Financial Matters. / Cllrs Dragon, Marshallsay
Spinney
Clerk
7.3 / Re January Item 7.3 – Youth Club
Councillors discussed correspondence items 32 and 40 from Donna Bickerstaff. Nothing new has been received from the County Council. Stuart Riddle, Senior Manager - Change For Children and the Forward Together For Children Team have been unavailable. DAPTC don’t have any plans to tackle the problem. Nobody else has brought this matter to DAPTC directly or through the local meetings (Beaminster Town Council is possibly doing something). / Clerk
7.4 / Re February Correspondence Item 38 – Filming in Corfe Castle village
Members noted correspondence item 38 (other correspondence omitted). There has been further correspondence from other University students and it now appears there will be three teams of students coming to film in the village. Two during the period 11th-14th February and another on the 20th and 21st of February. They all contacted the Council individually without knowledge that the others were coming to the same location as they were different years and courses at Bournemouth University : Final Year Television Production, Post Grad Television Production and Media Production student. They have now co-ordinated their approaches so that there will be no confusion. None of them require any street or path closures so they do not require permission to film from this Council or any other. They have made arrangements where required to go into premises within the village to film. All the approaches have been extremely polite and detailed as to where they hoped to do their work. / Clerk
8. / CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED

Not for Circulation

DAPTC – Royal Garden Party Nominations – extraordinary Chief Executive's Circular, in which details are given on how to make nominations for the Royal Garden Party to be held at Buckingham Palace on Thursday 19th May 2016.
SCDP – Re: Swanage Community Defibrillator Partnership – Thanks very much for the reply. It maybe worth exploring just purchasing two cabinets by the council so that existing devices could be made 24/7 public access and accredited to the ambulance service. That would be a cheaper option for the council. I will let you know the prices of the cabinets on their own. They will just need mounting outside with a power supply.
Clerk : Existing defibrillators held by the National Trust at the Castle and at the Surgery in Corfe Castle (not available 24/7). The Surgery to be asked if they would be agreeable to putting the defibrillator outside in a purpose made cabinet for out of hours use. / Clerk
FW: 2016 Rural Bus Services Review: Briefing – email from Dorset County Council giving details of the Rural Bus Services Review which is now open for consultation up until 8th February 2016. Forwarded to all Cllrs.
Cllrs decided to write objecting in principle. Clerk: I have been asked to register the Council's concern over the reduction in service subsidy and likely increase in isolation for the rural poor, young and elderly as bus services are removed. We look forward to its replacement with substantial support for local based transport schemes which should be in place before the subsidy is removed. / Clerk
DCC – Speed Indicator Device (SID) Programme – You may or may not be aware of the Speed Indicator Device (SID) programme operated by Dorset County Council (DCC). If not, then put quite simply a SID is vehicle activated temporary illuminated sign, that displays a vehicles on coming speed. There are about 120 different locations throughout Dorset with a post in place that occasionally receives a SID deployment for about one week every 12 weeks. In light of a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of SIDs it is considered the current programme is not fit for purpose. Therefore, DCC will be reducing the number of sites it will be deploying SID units to around 14 locations. These sites were selected from the current 120 sites by using a ranking system. I am pleased to report that you have the following site included in the new deployment programme and will receive a more comprehensive service in future – A351, 125 Post located near information centre - southbound traffic. Unfortunately, the following sites did not meet the required criteria and as such, will no longer receive a deployments by DCC as of 1st April 2016 – A351, 124 a & b Posts located near Halves Cottages – Ebd & Wbd will be removed. However, there is a policy already in place whereby Parish and Town Councils can purchase their own SIDs under DCC management. I have attached details to this respect for your information. If you would like to know more, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am sure you can appreciate that DCC is under significant financial pressure at this time, and it is important that we target our limited resources where they can be most effective.
PDC – Heathlands SPD Adoption Letter – The adoption statement and the final SPD can be found at Forwarded to all Cllrs.
DAPTC Annual Conference 2016 - The Impact of Local Government re-organisation on Parish and Town Councils – This is due to take place at Kingston Maurward College near Dorchester, on Thursday 3rd March 2016. The title of the conference is The Impact of Local Government re-organisation on Parish and Town Councils and there will be a great variety of speakers who will be giving their point of views from both the national and local level. Please see the attached Programme for the full list of speakers. We are hoping that the day will give you an insight into re-organisations that have already taken place across our region and provide you with the opportunity to have a lively and topical debate on the how any changes will effect the work of your parishes and towns in Dorset. Forwarded to all Cllrs.
Cllrs Dru Drury and Bond to attend. / Cllrs Dru Drury & Bond
Dorset Waste Partnership via PDC to all Parishes – FW: Household recycling centres, Temporary closures for cleaning – Household recycling centres (HRCs) in Dorset will temporarily close for separate three-day periods from January to April for essential cleaning and maintenance. Wareham will be shut on the 2, 3, 4 February. Swanage HRC is unaffected by this cleaning programme. Forwarded to all Cllrs.