South Tarrant Valley Group Parish Council

0341
ST05/2023

SOUTH TARRANT VALLEY PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETING (Min 1 – 8) AND AN ORDINARY MEETING (Min 9 – 29) HELD ON TUESDAY, 9th May 2023
at 7pm in The Anne Biddlecombe Hall, Tarrant Keyneston

Present: Councillors Cossins (Chairman), Beale, Deketeleare, Garland, Harding, Parker, Thomson and Thompson.
In attendance: Clerk Mrs Huck, County Councillor Brown

1. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL
RESOLVED that Cllr James Cossins, nominated by Cllr Garland, seconded by Cllr Thomson and as the only nominee, was unanimously re-elected Chairman.

2. CHAIRMAN’S DECLARATION OF OFFICE
The meeting received the Chairman’s declaration of acceptance of office and undertaking to abide by the Code of Conduct.

3. ELECTION OF VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL
RESOLVED that Cllr Garland, nominated by Cllr Harding , seconded by Cllr Thomson and as the only nominee, was unanimously elected Vice-Chairman.

4. VICE CHAIRMAN’S DECLARATION OF ACCEPTANCE OF OFFICE
The meeting received the Vice Chairman’s declaration of acceptance of office and undertaking to abide by the Code of Conduct.

5. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Eaton and Sweetland.

6. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST and DISPENSATIONS GRANTED
Cllr Harding declared an interest in Planning application 02461 (Agenda item 27b).

7. REPRESENTATION ON GEORGE GALPIN’S ALMHOUSES TRUST 2019 – 2023
RESOLVED Cllr Garland continue to be the Council’s representative for the George Galpin’s Almshouses Trust, with 2023 being the first year of a 4 year term.
Council was advised two representatives were appointed to the Trust, with the second currently being Mr Simon Bowes who would complete his four years in January 2026. (Min 15, pg 0308 refers).

8. APPOINTMENT OF COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES
RESOLVED that following Council representatives be appointed:
a) Tarrant Keyneston Recreation Ground and Village Hall Trust – Chairman, Cllr Cossins, as per Min 14 Jan 22 meeting. The Council confirmed continued acceptance of this arrangement.
b) Tree Warden and Rights of Way – Cllr Harding and Cllr Thompson
c) 2 DAPTC representatives – Cllr Beale and Cllr Eaton.
d) Flood warden and Community Resilience – Cllr Deketeleare
e) Ancient Monuments Liaison Officer – Cllr Eaton.

An Ordinary meeting of the Parish Council followed:

9. Minutes of the meeting held on 14th March 2023
It was:
RESOLVED the minutes of the previous meeting be accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

10. Report by County Councillor
Cllr Brown reported the following:
Flytipping – dashcam footage was now being used in prosecution. If witnessed, the advice from Dorset Council is not to intervene. Evidence from the items can be used to trace the owners.
Homes for Ukrainian refugees – 400 families are being hosted and more hosts are being sought.
IT hardware help scheme – Ipads etc are being loaned to those job seeking and laptops being refurbished and passed on to those who need them.
Household support grant – Dorset Council continues to be proactive in helping with the current cost of living crisis.
Potholes – there is a 28 day timeline to fill these.
Animal Welfare – there has been a successful welfare prosecution over the transportation of animals.
SignVideo and Dorset Council – this partnership enables deaf residents to communicate at the Council’s customer access points on online via a Zoom call.

(The following item was brought forward with the Council’s agreement to enable the County Councillor to participate)

19. Off-Grid Homes With Oil Fired Boilers – to consider the Central Government approach being taken on this issue
Cllr Thomson had requested information be distributed to councillors on the approach being taken by central government around planned banning of new boiler installations in off-grid homes after 2026. He confirmed he had written to Mr Hoare MP and it was AGREED further information would be sought by County Councillor Brown from Dorset Council and Cllr Beale from DAPTC. It would be a July agenda item to follow up on this further information.
(Post meeting note: Cllr Thomson had received a response dated 10 May from Mr Hoare \ the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero which would be discussed at the next meeting.)

11. Open discussion
Tarrant Keyneston – it was reported the newly placed bin had not been emptied. The Clerk confirmed the Parish Council was paying for the service and would contact Dorset Waste Partnership.
MP’s meeting with North Dorset Parish Council Chairs – the Chariman reported on this meeting held on 24th April, stating that bus services, electric vehicle charging, highways \ potholes, building control and enforcement and doctors’ surgeries had been discussed.

12. Financial statements for March and April 2023 and approval of cheques scheduled
The Clerk had previously emailed the financial statements showing full details of income and expenditure set against budget, together with a bank reconciliation. It was:
RESOLVED (a) the March and April statements be approved and signed; (b) the cheques shown in the schedules be approved and signed; (c) the cheque for Mr S Kelly for grasscutting at the War Memorial be approved and signed with the thanks of the Council to Mr Kelly for his ongoing care of the site.

13. Annual Governance and Accountability Return – approval of the Annual
Governance Statement 2022\23
Council confirmed receipt and review of the Annual Governance Statement (AGS, Section 1) as circulated ahead of the meeting. The Clerk highlighted the AGS made reference to the Council’s 2022 2023 Risk Register which had also been circulated and that the accounts had been inspected by the internal auditor in April with no matters to bring to the Council’s attention. There were no further queries and it was:
RESOLVED the Council approved and so instructed the signature of the Annual Governance Statement of the AGAR for the financial year ended 2022-23.

14. Accounting Statements 2022\23 – approval
Council considered the Annual Return and the Accounting statements 2022-23 (Section 2) as circulated ahead of the meeting. It was:
RESOLVED the Council approved and so instructed the signing of the Accounting statements of the AGAR for the financial year ended 2022-23.

15. Certificate of Exemption from Limited Assurance Review
Council considered the Certificate following its circulation ahead of the meeting. It was:
RESOLVED the Council approved the signing of the Certificate ahead of its return to the External Auditor confirming Exemption from Review.

16. Council’s insurance arrangements and payment of the premium.
The Clerk reported the Council had yet to receive this year’s quote for insurance cover, though had been advised it would be at a lower figure than the previous LTA. As the insurance would need renewing ahead of the next meeting, it was:
RESOLVED the Clerk be given delegated authority to accept the lower quote when received and so renew the Council’s insurance cover for the coming year as from 1st June 2023.

17. Community Speedwatch
Councillors confirmed information on the Speedwatch Team’s progress continues to be shared on the Tarrant Keyneston Whatsapp group. A further event was being planned to raise funds for a Speed Indicator Device. On behalf of residents, councillors expressed their thanks for the voluntary and dedicated ongoing work of the team.

18. Green Canopy Project:
(a) Proposed tree planting – alongside B3082 Tarrant Keyneston
Cllr Beale reported the interested residents were willing to take this further. Cllr Harding expressed some concern over traffic sight lines, with the Clerk confirming DCC’s Highways had not raised any objection. It was AGREED Cllr Beale would consult the DCC’s Arboricultural Officer and see if a meeting with him, the residents and Cllr Harding could be arranged. It would be a July agenda item.
(b) Queen’s Copse – wildflower area – path grass cutting
Cllr Munford was not able to be present. He had reported his intention at a previous meeting to prepare the ground under the Queen’s Copse to plant rattle grass. Once established this would give wildflower seeds the best opportunity to establish. Councillors asked it be July agenda item to give an update. Mention was also made of the large amount of primroses this year and whether path cutting would be possible to enable enjoyment of the area in the summer months.

20. Fingerpost – Tarrant Keyneston Mill post roundel
Councillors considered replacement of the roundel, with original having been removed without permission in 2022. Cllr Harding advised the cost would be £250 plus VAT and that improved security fixings would be used. It was:
RESOLVED that, if Cllr Harding felt the fixings could provide security for the roundel, then it be replaced.

21. Emergency \ Resilience Plan
Cllr Thompson highlighted the need for a central gathering place to be identified and agreed. It was felt the Anne Biddlecombe Hall would be used and AGREED Cllr Thompson and Cllr Garland \ Hall Committee would meet to discuss the way forward.

22. Bus shelter – St Richard’s Close
The Chairman reported replacement roofing sheets were now available so that the repair could progress.

23. Websites
(a) Parish Council SSL certificate
The Clerk advised certification would show the website as being secure and potentially would improve its search engine performance as marked websites are preferred. The cost would be £10 per annum. Councillors considered this to be reasonable and it was:
RESOLVED the Clerk arrange the purchase of an SSL certificate for the Council’s website for the coming year.

(b) Consideration of the future of the village sites
The Clerk highlighted May would be the last of the 3 months acting as the stand in village reporter and the Council would need to consider the way forward at the next meeting. It was queried whether a stand alone Parish Council site was required or if the Council’s site could be merged with the village website. The Clerk would investigate and report to the July meeting.

24. River Tarrant
The Chairman reported he had attended a meeting of the RTPS and there appeared to be some confusion over whether natural debris was to be left in the river. He also advised the consultant would be retained to assist working with the Environment Agency.

25. Noticeboard – Tarrant Crawford – replacement
Cllr Parker advised Mr Tory was intending to repair the board and mount it under the cover of the porchway to Abbey Farm at Tarrant Crawford.

Cllr Parker also requested the Two Rivers Benefice be a Council standing agenda item to enabling the sharing of information, as happened elsewhere. This was AGREED.

26. DAPTC
Cllr Beale reported there no updates to receive. (Cllr Eaton gave apologies for this meeting.)

27. Planning updates on the following:
(a) P/FUL/2023/01700 – a site visit was to be arranged and the comments from the previous application forwarded to councillors ahead of the visit.

(b)P/FUL/2023/02461 – (Cllr Harding had declared an interest in this item. He remained in the meeting to answer questions.) Councillors had received information from the applicants’ agent confirming this was ‘a conversion to residential holiday use rather than a new dwelling per se’. It was queried whether the external appearance would be different to a previous application, for which a site visit had been made. Cllr Harding replied it was not. The application was to enable the disabled use of the holiday property. It was also queried how the holiday use would be monitored. Cllr Harding replied this was done through submission of documents to Dorset Council confirming its usage annually. It was:
RESOLVED the Council had no objections to this planning application.

(c) Little Thatch, Tarrant Keyneston
There had previously been concern over the structural integrity of the building. Dorset Council’s Building Control had undertaken an external appraisal in April \ May and did not consider there was need for immediate action.

28. Dorset Council’s Proposed guidance for planning for climate change
Councillors confirmed receipt of the guidance and did not feel a response was necessary.

29. To decide items for next agenda
Two Rivers Benefice
Emergency \ Resilience Plan
River Tarrant
Tarrant Keyneston fingerpost roundel
Off grid homes with oil fired boilers
Queen’s Copse
Tree planting – B3082 verge in Tarrant Keyneston

30. Annual Parish Meeting
Councillors considered the format for this year’s Annual Parish Meeting and it was AGREED the Clerk contact the office of Dorset’s Police & Crime Commissioner to see if he could attend. The annual reports by organisations would still take place.

31. To confirm date of next meeting
This was set for 11th July and would be an Ordinary Council Meeting. Further Council meeting dates are 12th September and 7th November 2023.