WEST LULWORTH PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual parish meeting held in West Lulworth Village Hall on Wednesday18March 2014 at 7:30pm
COUNCILLORS PRESENT: Councillor J Davey (Chairman)
Councillor N Miller (Vice Chairman)
Councillor S Jackson
Councillor C Matthews
Councillor E de Chazal
Councillor M Colvin
District Councillor B Quinn
COUNCILLORS ABSENT: Councillor M Whittle
Councillor C Neal
County Councillor M Lovell
GUESTS: PC 2358 Claire Jephcott
Mr Rob Boyles representing Lulworth Estate
IN ATTENDANCE: Miss E Blake (Clerk)
10 members of the public
APM 1. Welcome from the Chairman
Parish Council Chairman Davey welcomed everybody and introduced the Councillors and thanked them all. Councillor (Cllr) Colvin has recently joined the village committee and Cllr Matthews has taken on the role of Tree Officer. Cllr Jackson has been involved with planning and Cllr Miller has been working on the playground. CllrdeChazal is Footpaths Officer and the past year has seen some paths fall into the sea.
APM 2. Apologies
Apologies were received from Councillor Neal, County Councillor Lovell and MrJamesWeld.
APM 3. Speaker: PC 2358 Claire Jephcott
PC 2358 Claire Jephcott introduced herself as the Safer Neighbourhood Officer for West Lulworth aka the ‘Beat Bobby’. Telephone fraud is affecting Purbeck at the moment with cold callers pretending to be Police Officers or from the bank and then tricking money out of victims. A huge amount of money is being scammed and people are encouraged to spread awareness to NEVER give bank details. PC Jephcott asked that incidents are reported by telephoning 101. The Dorset Police page on Facebook has further details and posters are being displayed.
Leaflets detailing contact details and schemes were left for the meeting to look at and take away.
8pm PC Jephcott left the meeting.
APM 4. Speaker: Rob Boyles representing Lulworth Estate
Mr Robert Boyles joined Lulworth Estate six months ago and is the Estate Manager and assistant to Mr Andrew Bird. His responsibilities include Durdle Door and car parks. AnnaNelson has also recently joined the Estate as Events Manager and her duties include retail at the Cove.
There is a current application to change the use of the Boat House to a tea room and the car parks are having an annual spruce up. Mr Boyles expressed that he was new to the role and was keen to listen to views and comments and had an interest in working with local people to increase job opportunities.
Cllr Jackson asked if progress had been made on the dust suppressant for the car park and Mr Boyles replied that dust suppressant would be in conjunction with the redress of the car park currently underway.
Exterior lighting on the Boat House was queried as it was felt refurbishment would be a great opportunity to target suitable lighting in line with the Dark Skies Policy.
The resident’s car park at The Cove is often full and Mr Boyles was asked if residents could park in the main car park. The cost is £46 a year which is greatly discounted in comparison to the regular charge. Any issues with the car park should be reported to Adrian at the Heritage Centre. Issues with unauthorised parking occurring on Britwell Drive should also be directed to Adrian.
There are no plans for the British Legion, Cllr Davey noted it was closed by the national Legion and attempts by the local Legion to reopen it were unsuccessful due to lack of support.
APM 5. Speaker: Maureen Colvin representing Holy Trinity Church
Cllr Colvin stated the future of the Church is in jeopardy. Upkeep and running costs are not being met and repairs are now needed. Fundraising will be carried out and grants and donations will be requested. Cllr Colvin asked for any donation, however small, to be given in order that the Church can remain open. Mr Simpson stated that approximately £15,000 a year is needed to keep the Church going and he will be leading a campaign to get people to help.
Suggestions were made to use the Glebe Field as a temporary car park in summer to raise funds but it was thought the cost of insurance would be prohibitive. Additionally the Field belongs to the Diocese rather than the Church and is currently being tenanted out.
Village fetes have been held previously and this was suggested although is not a long term solution.
Car parking at the village hall was considered as an opportunity to raise funds but again insurance issues would arise. It was expressed that parking at the village hall would be more popular if there were double yellow lines up Church Road. Cllr Davey noted the Parish Council have been pushing for double yellow lines for more than ten years. Mr Halsall thought double yellow lines may stop parking on the footpath and Cllr Davey added that getting the footpath adopted could help although issues could arise if tarmac has to be put on the path.
APM 6. Chairman’s Report
Cllr Davey thanked the speakers.
The past year started with the Glebe Field being under review as a potential site for the new school. The school has now been granted planning permission at School Lane and works are expected to commence on Monday which may cause some difficulty for residents there.
There have been some interesting planning applications and one big one is the ongoing Navitus Bay with ongoing concerns, particularly over visibility. Recentlyconcern has been raised about the horse field and stabling.
The footpath disappeared at The Cove and work is underway on the steps leading to Durdle Door.
The toilets at the Cove are still tied into the overall refurbishment of that area. Water leaks from the pumping station are being investigated.
The Parish Council are still chasing double yellow lines at Church Road and the surface on the road to Marley Wood has almost disappeared so County Council are being contacted.
There have been some repairs and updates to the playground and Clyde is continuing with the grass cutting in the area.
Cllr Miller is sorting out new notice boards and repairs to the war memorial.
The Parish Council are consulting with the MOD about the missing Army signs and one has now been reinstated at Corfe Castle.
The Neighbourhood Plan is not being progressed at the moment.
Last year West Lulworth won a special award in the Best Village Awards competition.
Cllr Viv King retired but is still carrying on in her role as Transport Officer.
Cllr Davey extended his gratitude and thanks for all the hard work carried out.
District Cllr Quinn has investigated the leak at The Cove toilets and it is not believed to be coming from the water main. He will be determining what to do and will liaise with Lulworth Estate for solutions.
APM 7. Conservation Area Review
Purbeck District Council is undertaking a Conservation Area Review of West Lulworth. District Cllr Quinn informed the meeting that there is a statutory duty to review.
One comment was made that areas identified for removal from the Conservation Area are coterminous with areas that have been earmarked for development.
Cllr Jackson had spoken with the Conservation Officer who assured her the areas often overlap and the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designation covers what the Conservation Area no longer would. Cllr Jackson believes the AONB body will not stand against the government and that the Conservation Area designation has more ‘clout’.
West Lulworth losing a large designated Conservation Area is in contrast to East Lulworth who will gain a large Conservation Area.
Cllr Davey summed up that West Lulworth is in a valley and the vista that is created is not seen clearly on a map. The Conservation Area Review will be the main item on the Agenda at the next Parish Council meeting on Monday 13 April and the Conservation Officer, Benjamin Webb, will be attending.
The meeting ended at 9pm.
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