Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting of Electors
Held Thursday 17th May 2012
The Village Hall, Horton
01Attendance
Cllr Jerry Laker (Chairman)
Cllr Trevor Brown
Cllr Vanessa Brown
Cllr Helen Chiari
Cllr John Hayes
Linda Stocks (Rights of Way Officer, Woodlands)
Cllr Spencer Flower (Parish, County & District Councillor)
Cllr Steve Butler (District Councillor)
Lisa Goodwin (Clerk)
Cllr Mrs Lucy Clark (Chairman East Dorset District Council)
2 Members of Public
1 / Welcome & Introduction by the Parish Council Chairman
Cllr Jerry Laker welcomed those present.
2 / Apologies for absence
Cllr Morgan Antell
Cllr Sheila Maycock
Cllr Nicola Harvey
3 / Minutes of the last Parish Meeting
The Clerk read the minutes of the last Parish Meeting of Electors held 7th May 2011.
4 / Matters Arising from the minutes of the last Parish Meeting
None.
5 / Annual Report of the Parish Council by the Chairman
Chairman’s Report to the Electors for the Municipal Year 2011-2012
Knowlton Parish Council is a group council representing the electors of the wards of Horton East, Horton West, Chalbury, Woodlands and Wimborne St Giles.
The Council has an electorate of around 1310 in 707 households, represented collectively by 13 councillors.
Councillors are elected or appointed by co-option. At present, 12 out of the 13 positions are filled. Of these, 7 were elected at the last elections and 5 were co-opted by the Council. These proportions prevent Knowlton from currently adopting the ‘General Power of Competence’ available under the localism legislation until a sufficient proportion of councillors are elected, rather than appointed. This is not an uncommon difficulty in smaller rural parishes, and the Secretary of State is being encouraged to find a way of making the requirements more consistent with the circumstances.
The powers and responsibilities of parish councils are laid down in local government legislation. Parish councils are normally constrained, for example, in the allocation of funds to items not specifically covered in the existing law. The introduction of the Localism Act has, potentially, changed the basic rules in this respect. It has also potentially changed the costs to Council for servicing any arising demands for additional local democratic processes, such as local referendums, and the preparation of neighbourhood plans.
Unlike the principal authorities – East Dorset District Council and Dorset County Council - Knowlton receives no grant from central government. All payments and liabilities are met from the precept levied
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on each household. Whilst the principal authorities have been given compensatory grants to cover the current moratorium on council tax rises, no such grants are available to parish councils. We have therefore been obliged, for a number of reasons, to raise the parish precept from the 2011-12 level of £15.45 pa per household to a 2012-2013 level of £19.50 pa per household. In percentage terms this is a significant rise, although the annual change per household is quite small. We are determined to ensure that the extra money raised on the precept is dedicated to the wellbeing of the people of the parish.
Knowlton Council has been aware of the pressures on the principal authorities to reduce costs and has been vigilant where those pressures have encouraged those authorities to attempt to devolve what are properly their responsibility to parish councils – and the costs thus onto the local precept.
Your council is active in presenting the particular needs of the rural communities in the current consultation on the Core Strategy document jointly proposed by East Dorset District Council and Christchurch Borough Council.
Good road communications are vital for rural communities. We have been proactive in influencing and consulting with the highways authorities over the past year. Much of what was achieved with the resurfacing of the B3081 west of Verwood was influenced by points raised by Knowlton Councillors and members of the public in concert. We are awaiting a consultants’ report on the possibilities of improving the junction of the B3078 and the C2 at the Horton Inn. The impact of large vehicles on the structure and use of smaller roads in the area has also been a concern. We will
be seeking advice on how the needs of businesses and residents may be balanced with the potential damage to road surfaces and edges.
The consultation by East Dorset District Council on the needs for gypsy and traveller sites in the area caused concern amongst the settled community in our parish. We facilitated a meeting for residents and, having noted their concerns in detail, made a council response to the consultation. One of the local sites identified in the consultation paper has subsequently been withdrawn by the owner.
The National Planning Policy Framework, designed to remove the bulk of existing planning policy documents, has come into force this year. Although the framework is undoubtedly a more accessible document than its predecessors, it is yet to become clear how it will be interpreted in practice. Knowlton Parish contains a number of areas with constraints on development, including national and internationally-designated natural conservation sites, green belt, conservation areas for the built environment and an area of outstanding natural beauty. This is sometimes difficult to reconcile with real and pressing needs of the rural communities for services, business, employment and housing. As a council, Knowlton is invited to advise the planning authorities at East Dorset District Council on the desirability of proposed developments, both big and small. We continue to act sympathetically and in the local interest to all applications and have, on occasion, made representations in person to the planning committee.
The Council continues to support the community-led project to add a pavilion to the well-used football facilities at the Woodlands village green and the renovation of the children’s play area in New Road.
I would like to offer my personal thanks to my colleagues on the council for their participation and support during the past year. I have particular thanks for our parish clerk, Lisa, whose guidance as the council’s ‘proper officer’, and her dedication to her work, have supported both us as a council, and you as a community, throughout.
The new municipal year offers a lot of challenges. Electors may be assured that your council will continue to do its best to further the interests of our community in the future.
J G S Laker Councillor Chairman, Knowlton Parish Council
May 2012
6 / County/District Councillor Reports
District Councillor Spencer Flower:
I have majored on a change that will affect the whole of East Dorset and that is the new Dorset Waste Partnership’s revised waste / recycling collection service. The past twelve months have been active with much progress being made in a number of key aspects of the services delivered to the East Dorset Communities.So what has happened during 2011/12 Well much has been going on at East Dorset: Wimborne Square Enhancement / New Local Plan Consultation / Revised Committee Structure / Investment in Superfast Rural Broadband / No Increase in Council Tax / No Cuts in Services / Remaining Debt Free / Partnership with Christchurch creating savings of £800,000 pa / Independent Survey reveals Overall Public satisfaction has risen from 53 to 65% in 2011 / Electoral Review leading to a reduction in District Councillors from 36 to 29 to make for a more efficient Council [effective from the 2015 District Council Elections] and much, much more.
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Dorset waste collection service – Starting in October this year the first tranche of the new collection service will be rolled out in Christchurch and the mainly urban areas of East Dorset that already have the Brown Bin collection for organic waste. The remainder of the District, including all of the rural communities, will receive the service from March/April 2013.
The Dorset Waste Partnership (DWP), which is made up of the 4 District, 2 Borough and the County Council, is introducing a new collection service and disposal to replace the 12 different collections currently operating within Dorset (excluding Bournemouth and Poole). This standardised service will boost recycling, reduce service collection costs, help protect our environment and avoid the significant levels of landfill tax levied on the disposal authority.
Last year, over 82,428 tonnes of waste were sent to landfill – that’s 425kg per household, the same weight as six standard washing machines. As the partnership pays tax on every tonne sent to landfill, just under £4m was paid in 2010/11. This rate of taxation will be going up annually, so the same amount of waste will cost more and more to landfill year on year, so there cannot be a do nothing option, it would be simply unaffordable and we would not meet environmental targets.
Bringing collections together into a county-wide service will drive down costs, potentially by as much as £2m per year. The plan is to improve existing services, achieve over 60 per cent recycling of household waste by 2015/16, and free up resources to spend on other public services. The more we recycle the lower the cost the more money can be channelled to other Council services under pressure due to reduced Government grant funding. 70% recycling is our medium / longer term objective.
The new Dorset scheme will improve the service for all residents; it is flexible, easily adaptable for all households and will cope with any future changes imposed on us by legislation. With food waste collected weekly, a greater choice of recyclable materials, and a chargeable garden waste scheme for those wanting it, we will have far less residual waste going to landfill.
The service will be weekly collections on a fortnightly cycle:
- A seven-litre food waste kitchen caddy
- A lockable food waste container to be kept outside - collected weekly
- A 140-litre wheeled bin for residual refuse - collected fortnightly
- A 240-litre wheeled bin for tri mingled [paper/tins/plastic] recycling - collected fortnightly
- Glass will be collected separately in a 55 litre recycling box – collected fortnightly along with the 240-lite wheeled bin for recycled items as described in bullet point four
- An optional chargeable garden waste service at £35.00 per annum [or 70p per week]
This will be a standard service but the Waste Partnership has included alternatives for households who cannot accommodate containers.
Leaflets and a letter giving full details of the service will be sent to every household a number of months prior to the commencement of the service in their area.
SGF 02.05.2012
District Cllr Steve Butler added to Councillor Flowers report mentioning the successful Community Celebration Grant Fund of £30,000 which was distributed amongst many groups holding events for the Jubilee & Olympics this year.
7 / Reports by Tree Officers
Cllr Morgan Antell for Wimborne St Giles & Woodlands:
No major activity as far as trees with TPO’s on during the past 12 months. Recent storms brought down a large oak tree at Sutton Holmes which closed the road for a day.
Bea Ridley, the EDDC Tree Officer instructed contractor Dan Upton on work at the Remedy Oak. There were some reports of vehicles parking under the tree, hence the logs and mulch which has been spread around the trees base to reduce the competition for the declining old tree.
Anyone who has any questions on the trees in Woodlands or Wimborne St Giles or need to know if a tree has a TPO on it, please contact me and I will try and help.
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8 / Reports by Rights of Way Officers
Jane Stacey – Rights of Way Officer for Horton:
Japanese Knotweed -Some years ago I reported that these plants were growing outside the fence to Bagman's Farm on the bridleway (E59/15). They are still there and gradually spreading.
Illegal Dumping/Litter - This is an ongoing problem, particularly along the by-way section of Bagman's Lane where trucks can be driven well out of sight. The notice warning of camera surveillance seems to have had no effect whatsoever. This year the rubbish has even included a burnt out Landrover. Until this by-way is changed to a bridleway and barriers can be erected, there is unlikely to be any change.
Upgrade F/P 3 (Part) and F/P 28 to Bridleway - I walked these paths in March and was able to advise that whilst the first three-quarters of the path (from the Horton Road) was in good condition, the last quarter before joining Bridleway 32 was in need of a lot of clearance work in order for horses to pass.
Cllr Jerry Laker – Rights of Way Officer Wimborne St Giles:
The rights of way within the parish of Wimborne St Giles are substantially in good order, even after the extended period of rain we have enjoyed recently.
There is evidence that work groups tasked by the Rights of Way Team at have been trying to catch up with the backlog of maintenance, particularly of signage. Finger posts are especially vulnerable to damage from passing hedge-cutters. Other restorative work has been requested.
The co-location of large animals and people exercising their rights of way can cause a whole raft of problems, and we had an instance in the fields between King’s/Boys’ Wood and Woodlands village where this came to a head. One horse in particular was deemed to be over-boisterous and worrying to walkers – especially those accompanied by dogs. The County officer spoke with the owner and the horse was moved to pastures new. Work has been requested to make good the stiles damaged by ‘crib-biting’ and we hope this will bring this little episode to an end.
The existence of registered common land in our parish is probably not well known and frequently forgotten by the landowner. There are quite strict directions on maintaining public access. An intention to enclose a large tract of Sutton Common was prevented in part by bringing the existence of the common rights of the public to the attention of the landowner, who willingly modified his plan to meet the law. It is understood that the enclosed area, which will include the pathway leading north from Remedy Gate towards Edmondsham on the ‘Woodlands Walk’, will be put to grazing and that proper access for walkers will be maintained. Landowners might think it prudent to check their title deeds for evidence of the existence of registered common land within their boundaries. The same applied for existing public rights of way on footpaths and bridleways.
We are constantly made aware of the need for the principal authorities – EDDC and DCC – to meet their budgetary constraints. One county department feeling the pinch is the Definitive Map Team which handles the legal recording and processing of changes to the rights of way network. An illustration of the delays which can now be expected to apply to applications for changes was demonstrated recently when an application was referred to Knowlton Parish Council which had been raised in 2005. This order of delay now seems to be common place and the backlog is more likely to increase in the future. An application first raised with EDDC in 2003, referring to a re-alignment and re-designation of a complex selection of footpaths and bridleways in the north end of Wimborne St Giles, was mislaid when the responsibility for such work passed to DCC. It seems likely that this is doomed to be backlogged to reappear in about 2019 – 16 years after it was asked for.
J G S Laker Councillor Rights of Way Liaison Officer Wimborne St Giles
May 2012
Linda Stocks – Rights of Way Officer Woodlands:
Linda reported the issue with horses at E57/74 is in hand. Path E59/16 at the Bailiwick is not easily accessible with dogs and E59/5, a very old path is still shown on the definitive map to be passing through a residential garden.
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9 / Annual Reports from Village Halls
Wimborne St Giles:
In 2011 the Hall Committee held four ordinary committee meetings and an AGM as required by the Trust Deed with a short special meeting following the AGM to elect officers for the new committee.
The major works to install a fully accessible toilet, which started in 2010, were completed very early in 2011. In addition the whole of the exterior woodwork was repainted and among other improvements were the installation of extra 15 amp sockets in the kitchen and the painting of all the toilets and back hall area.
The financial position for the hall at the end of 2011 was sound. After adjusting for the inclusion of grant funding towards the toilets, which was received in 2010, there was a small increase in income for the year. Expenditure for 2011 was unusual as it included the payment for the accessible toilet, the external re-painting and the planned electrical work, but after adjusting for this, the underlying committed expenditure was similar to 2010. At the end of 2011 the total funds in hand were £9,170, giving scope for the continued maintenance and improvement of the Hall facilities where required.
The hall continued to be well used and as usual, various charities and local organisations held fund raising teas in the hall from March to early November, finishing with a tea for Wimborne St Giles Pre-school. Regular bookings were again yoga, painting and flower arranging and there were several private bookings for social events.