DRAFT Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting

Friday 24th April 2015

Memorial Hall, Christchurch Road, West Parley

Present: Councillors: John Cullen (Chairman); Pat Couper (Vice Chairman); Stuart Couper; Chrissie Davies; Geoff Dark; Diana Penwill; Malcolm Plascott; Sheila Gooden

Approximately 80 Parishioners

Apologies: Apologies received prior to the meeting for Cllr Jordan, Linda Leeding (Clerk)

1. The Chairman opened the meeting at 7.30pm and welcomed parishioners, District and County Councillors and thanked the WI for providing refreshments.

2. Core Strategy / Housing Update - Cllr Cullen

The Core Strategy was signed off last year but the Election and District Council Elections may change the strategy and policy regarding planning applications. The Wimborne, Cranborne Road Estate application has been delayed and so has not reached Planning Committee yet. Cllr Cullen will be attending their meeting to see if he can obtain any information that will help with our opposition to the proposed developments in West Parley.

3. Appearance of West Parley & the South & South East in Bloom Competition - Cllr Pat Couper

The mowing contract has been organised by Moors Valley who have just done the first cut and proved to be a huge improvement on last years cuts. We are entering the South and South East in Bloom competition again this year but this time we will be entered as a village rather than a small town because apparently this is decided by the electoral roll, not the number of residents. There will be a best front garden competition and Cllr Pat Couper pointed out that the application forms were at the back of the room. It is intended to have hanging baskets put up in front of the shops and more blue planters on New Road but these will not be planted up until after the Bournemouth 7's Competition at the end of May. The judging will be on 7th July. The Gardening Club has been meeting the last Tuesday of every month since last September, the next one being on 28th April where there will be a speaker giving advice on how to plant up baskets and containers. The coffee mornings are still proving popular on Wednesday mornings as are the walks with between 30 - 57 walkers attending. There are also plans to add some more equipment to the play area this year.

4. Volunteer Work - Cllr Stuart Couper

Cllr Couper thanked all of the volunteers for their hard work and support. In the last 12 months, the volunteer team have given 1400 hours of their time, mainly spending it on putting down a boardwalk in Parley Woods to enable better access. Donated decking had been used in places with the rest paid for by way of a grant from the District Council. The pathways have also been improved with chippings. Volunteers took advantage of New Road being closed for repair in March and litter picked both sides of the road from the bridge back to the first property. They collected 18 sacks of rubbish which was removed by Dorset County Council. If any parishioners have any suggestions of jobs around the village for the volunteers to do, they would be welcomed, as would anyone who wants to join the team.

5. Volunteer Car Scheme - Kate Ward

Parishioners had previously requested a volunteer car scheme to enable older residents to attend doctors, hospitals, banks, hairdressers etc. To date 1018 trips have been completed since it started last September. using volunteer drivers. If a resident requires transport within a 10 mile radius (this is flexible and negotiable), they contact Clive Butcher and he will arrange a driver for them. There are 15 registered drivers, but of these, 5 are couples, so drivers are always needed to cover holidays, illness etc. The client pays 50 pence per mile, 45 pence of that is given to the driver to cover their costs and the balance covers administration. Car insurance is not affected but Kate advised volunteers should notify their insurer that they are part of the scheme.

6. Developments Last Year and Future Plans - Cllr John Cullen

Cllr Cullen introduced Hilary Moody from POPPS ( Partnership for Older People Programme) who had a display at the back of the room and reminded parishioners to look at the other display boards and leave their email addresses if they wanted to receive regular updates from the Parish Council as Cllr Davies would then put them on her newsletter mailing list.

Highways Department of DCC have now agreed to put ‘Keep Clear’ boxes on the junctions close to Parley Cross to enable cars to exit safely. Full details of roads affected and timescales will be published when confirmed. Last year cars speeding was brought up as a matter for concern. District Cllr Manuel had arranged for a speed check to be done at the entrance to Oakland Walk on New Road. The result was marginal so it may not justify a speed indicator device here.

Last year the Parish Council received £30,000 from ECO for the community. This has been partly spent resurfacing and lighting the car park by the Country Club and donated to local organisations. If local groups need funding, they can apply to the Parish Council to be considered for a grant.

The Parish Council is looking at producing a Parish Guide to issue to new residents. They are also working on putting up a number of village signs to highlight the facilities and heritage of the village.

As part of the aim to improve the appearance of West Parley, Christmas lights are being considered but costs have to be checked.

Cllr Davies reminded everyone that we do regular articles in the local magazine,West Parley Directory, that keeps everyone up to date on local issues.

7. Meeting open for residents' questions and points

Can something be done about cars parking on the pavements? Cllr Cullen explained that as long as there is no obstruction and you can get past the vehicle with a buggy, no action can be taken. Police are supposed to enforce this but have to catch the culprit in the act and resources are thinly spread. District Cllr Wilson pointed out that footpaths are classed as the highway. Cllr Cullen asked if photographs could be used as evidence? District Cllr Wilson felt that this may be possible if it was persistent and only a warranted officer can bring a Prosecution. Chine Walk seems to be a problem road for pavement parking possibly due to the large number of property developments in this road. District Cllr Manuel commented that PCSO's can put warning notices on the vehicles but not sure if members of the public could.

Action Point: District Cllr Manuel to ask at next PACT Meeting if residents can put sticky notes on offending car windscreens.

A 300 year old oak tree has recently been cut down at the old Coppins Nursery site where there is a new building development. this tree had a Tree Preservation Order (TPO)on it. Does this mean developers can just cut down trees to suit their needs regardless of TPO's? District Cllr Manuel answered by saying that when planning is granted, this overrides any TPO's on the site. The tree was checked by the TPO Officer and although it was not diseased or dying, it was believed to be 150 years old and in decline. Services had to have access on to the site and there were two options, one being where this tree stood, the other being in the centre of the road frontage where there is another oak tree. The TPO Officer had to agree which tree to lose and this one was chosen as it was in decline and close to another which also enabled the better tree to be saved. Cllr Cullen said that as part of the Heritage Project, he had measured all of the trees in the area. He believed that 3 were over 300 years old and a further 40 are about 200 years old. After taking advice from a local tree expert, he believed the tree in question was nearer 300 years old and in good health. The life expectancy of a healthy oak is nearer 500 years, therefore this tree was hardly in decline, however, it is too late now as sadly, the tree has gone.

Can TPO's be put on other trees where building is likely? District Cllr Manuel replied that it used to be possible to put blanket TPO 's on trees but this is no longer the case. Any one can ask the District Council for a TPO to be put on a specific tree. The TPO Officer will then look at the tree and decide if it is appropriate. If a TPO is awarded, that tree can then have dead wood work maintenance but cannot be taken down.

A couple of years ago, West Parley was the second safest place to live in England but this is no longer the case. Due to an increase in burglary's and car break-ins, the crime rate has soared. Is it possible to ask for a greater police presence? Cllr Cullen agreed that we need to see more police presence in West Parley and the Parish Council could raise awareness.

Who is responsible for keeping the area around the shops clean and litter free? District Cllr Manuel & District Cllr Wilson agreed that Tesco's are responsible for the area by their shop and the Chip Shop but the rest is Highways responsibility and they are supposed to be doing a sweep twice a week. Unfortunately, the Manager of Tesco Express changes frequently and therefore the reminder requests to keep the litter problem under control go by the wayside. It would help if all the shopkeepers picked up the litter outside their shops. The shopkeepers have all received written notification telling them they can use 'A' boards providing it is done responsibly.

Action Point: Parish Council to look in to putting up signs asking people to take their litter home, or put it in a bin. Maybe Parley School could be asked if the children could come up with a design incorporating something like 'West Parley is trying to keep the area tidy, so please take your litter home with you' or 'Covert CCTV in operation, £500 fine' but the legalities of the latter would have to be checked.

Cllr Plascott asked if anything could be done about horse droppings on the pavements especially on Christchurch Road towards the airport? A resident horse rider said their was no excuse for droppings being on the pavement. Riders should nudge their horses to encourage them to move on to the verge.

West Parley seems to be a dumping ground for Bournemouth and Christchurch events due to being on the fringe. There is the Bournemouth 7's festival, the University Ball and now a Car Show. This means we get the problems that go with them for example, litter, noise, vandalism, traffic congestion etc. What is being done to keep it to a minimum? Cllr Cullen answered that following the 2013 vandalism during the Rugby 7's, he along with District Cllr Manuel had managed to obtain extra policing, security and litter patrols and as a result, there were many less problems last year. The live music for these events goes off at 23.00 hours but the DJ's go on to 01.00 hours. Unfortunately, we are reliant on the wind direction as to which area it affects. Environmental Officers from EDDC and Christchurch Council stay on site constantly monitoring noise levels. If residents have any problems during any of these events this year, they are advised to ring 101. Although the original request was for a capacity of 10,000 attendees, a request was made for this to be expanded to 15,000. Unfortunately, the police did not make any objection to this request, which was subsequently granted however, it is expected that the number attending will be between 12 - 13,000.

Action Point: Parish Clerk to check details of proposed Car Show and publicise it to local residents

Is it true that Chapel Gate is going to be used by AFCB for training purposes and will possibly become the new ground when AFC Bournemouth join the Premiership next season? Various parishioners said that they had heard that land had been bought at Iford Golf Course for a new stadium which would be accessed directly from the Bournemouth Spur Road.

If development happens, will residents be notified? Cllr Cullen replied that as soon as the Parish Council will publicise it.

Is there any truth or is it just rumour that the field opposite the shops on New Road is soon to be built on? A parishioner said that they had recently spoken to the farmer who had been told by the land owner that nothing was going to happen before December. He is not allowed to use insecticides or plant crops but the field must be maintained. District Cllr Manuel confirmed that Wyatt Homes have purchased the land at Wimborne where 650 homes are due to be built. The agreement according to the Local Plan is for 50% of these to be Social Housing however, Wyatt Homes have said that this is not viable and want this figure amended to 30-35%. This basically means that they spent too much on purchasing the land and are trying to recoup their losses but why should we line the developers pockets. We need to keep an eye on this to ensure it doesn't happen here.

There have been 2 burglary's in Winnards Close since the street lights have been turned off for part of the night. Can anything be done about this? District Cllr Wilson replied that this is a County Council decision. If the Police ask for them to be put back on, they would be. In Dorchester, crime actually reduced when the lights were turned off.

Action Point: Cllr Cullen asked District Cllr Manuel to obtain the crime figures when she attends the next PACT meeting.

Are there going to be traffic lights installed at the entrance to the new build on the Coppins Nursery site? District Councillor Wilson answered that there will not be any traffic lights or any alteration to the speed restriction as far as he is aware.