Parish Council of Langton Matravers
www.langtonmatravers-pc.org
Minutes of a meeting of Council held in the Village Hall on Thursday, 9th April 2009 at 7.00pm
Present Cllr M Kirby, in the Chair, and Cllrs, Mrs V Murray, J Bradford, P. Bradford, P Loudoun, M Lovell, N Priddle and P White. 

1.	Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Mrs P. Kwantes
2.	Declarations of interest: there were none.
3.	Public Discussion period:
 The Meeting was adjourned for discussion.
(a)	Ms Collette Drayson said that she had attended Worth Matravers Conservation Area Review meeting with PDC and she wondered whether parishes could communicate with each other regarding such matters. 
(b)	Mr Barrie Mayes wanted to raise two issues; firstly he wished to reinforce the point of his wife’s letter to the Council regarding signs about dog litter. They felt that the signs Paul Loudoun had put up last year were a good idea, but something more permanent was needed and repeated his wife’s offer to supply the signs.
He also said that he had spoken to the police when they were recently giving warning notices to people who parked on the pavements in the High Street. He believed that this was counter-productive as he felt that if people were not allowed to park their cars on the pavements the High Street would effectively become a one way system. He asked that the Council think hard before supporting the police on this issue.
4.	Matters arising from the Public Discussion: 
Cllr P Bradford said that he had gone to two meetings with the police and public recently and the      two main issues that had been raised regarding anti-social behaviour were vehicles speeding and parking on pavements. He added that when the police had visited Langton Matravers they had only issued 3 warning notices, specifically to vehicles with all four wheels on the pavement.
Cllr P White said that he agreed that cars should try and keep off the pavement, but that the Council needed to be careful not to be too dogmatic. He felt that a few people spoilt it for the rest. He added that regarding speeding in the High St, that the SID at the bottom of the village should be turned around sometimes and that it would be a good idea to have another SID at the top end of the village.
Cllr P Bradford agreed that it would be a good idea to have a SID at the top of the village and said that PC Barry Ashdown hoped to attend the next meeting when he would give the official readings of the recent traffic speed survey.
Cllr Paul Loudoun said that he had bought more permanent signs, asking people not to leave bags of dog litter behind and hoped to have them put up soon.
The Chairman asked whether the Councillors thought they should accept Mrs B Mayes offer to supply more signs for paths that were not on Cllr Loudoun’s land and Cllr M Lovell said that he did not think it was right that parishioners had to supply such things themselves and he would see whether PDC would provide some on similar lines to Cllr Loudoun’s.
5.	Planning Matters:
(1) There were no planning applications this month.
(2) There were no Planning Decisions that affected the parish this month.
 (3) Any other Planning Matters;
There were none.
6.	Minutes of the last Meeting, held on the 12th March were confirmed and signed.
7.	Matters arising from the Minutes:
(a) Item 5 (4) (a); Putlake Adventure Farm Planning Appeal. Cllr J Bradford said that he and Cllr P White had attended and the application to use the field “Mainhyde” for overflow parking had been turned down due to lack of evidence. Instead they would be allowed to use it for that purpose for 6 weeks in summer and 2 weeks at Easter. He felt this was a shame, because as a consequence it would mean many visitors to the farm would have to park in the High Street.
Cllr M Lovell said that the Council should again see whether it could acquire a car park and                          suggested the land opposite Putlake Farm as a suitable site.
(b)	Item 7 (a); The illegally felled trees in Old Malthouse Lane; The Chairman reported that he had recently met Jason Hasaka PDC Arboricultural Officer who had said that no one would be prosecuted for cutting down the trees, because PDC had messed up the notification procedure. Cllr Priddle said that it was a shame that they had not come clean from the start and saved everyone a lot of time and trouble. The Chairman said that in Jason Hasaka’s opinion the felled trees had been planted too close together and the replacements should be further apart and he would be happy to go along to the Malthouse with Parish Councillors to find the right places to plant them. He had also apologised for not keeping the Council informed.
(c)	Item 7 (b); The new wall at the Council’s cemetery. Cllr Lovell said that the stone had been delivered and he had personally shifted it to the site himself. Neil Read had started work and the grant was still okay. Cllr Loudoun had spoken to NT Warden Jonathan Kershaw, who had noticed that the fence had been cut, so the Council must reinstate it when the work was finished. The Clerk was instructed to write to the NT to enquire whether there had been any further progress in the Council’s request to acquire the small piece of land next to the cemetery.
(d)	Item 7 (c); The fingerpost at Worth Gate. The Clerk read out Mr Andrew Hinsull’s letter of support for the Council’s request that the fingerpost be reinstated.
(e)	Item 15; Mrs T stone’s request that someone speak to the children at St George’s First School about the Council’s work on the Play Area. Cllr P Bradford said that he was waiting to hear back from Mrs Stone. Cllr Lovell said that people had said that a lot of the equipment was not suitable for younger children.
(f)	Item 16; The possibility of putting Council posters in the PO window. The Clerk said that it would cost £100 pa, a discount of £44, to put 4 posters in. After some discussion he was instructed to be more selective regarding what notices he put in the Council’s notice case.
8.	The Clerk’s Report for the period 6.03.09 – 2.04.09. was received.
9.	Matters arising from the Clerk’s Report:
(a) Item 7. The Clerk announced that the phone had been transferred to XLN and the broadband connection would follow shortly.
(b) Item 11. The sign for the recycling bins. The Clerk said that they were still waiting for a special tool to fix the signs to the light pole.
(c) Item 16 Overgrown hedges. Cllr J Bradford raised the matter of the overgrown verges in the access road into Acton, which the Council had been trying to get DCC to cut back for 2 years. The Clerk was instructed to write to Rod Turner of DCC and ask again that they be cut back. 
(d) Item 25. A donation to Victim Support. Cllr Mrs V Murray proposed that a donation be given and suggested £100. The Chairman proposed £50 and this was seconded by Cllr J Bradford and carried unanimously.
(e) Item 52. The overgrown bushes at the bus stop on Three Acre Lane. The Clerk said that there had been a mix up at DCC, but his letter had now belatedly reached the right department.
(f) Item 9. Cllr J Bradford suggested that the Environment Agency should be advised about the danger of flooding at The Hyde, Durnford Drove, Putlake Farm and in Acton Rd. The Clerk was instructed to write and inform them. Cllr Priddle said that if the run off water coming down from Spyway and Tom’s Field could be slowed then the problem of flooding would be solved.
10.	Chairman’s announcements; The Chairman said that due to work commitments he would not be standing again for Chairman when his term finished in May.
11.	Financial Matters:
	(1) The following additions to Council funds since the last Council Meeting were noted:
£80.00 from James Smith Funeral Directors for a memorial to the late Mrs Eva Shoesmith.
	(2) Note the following Payments by Cheque, already authorized, since last Meeting:
	£104.65 to Burden Building Services for repair of pavement.
	£13.98 to J. Bellucci, ex- Printcartridge.com, for inkjet printer refills.
	£44.03 to I Mackenzie, for Windmill Lane application expenses.
	£803.00 to Suttle Transport for supply and haulage of grit for the allotments.
£642.25 to Wilkswood Farm, for professional fees and expenses regarding the allotments.
£553.20 to M. Kirby, ex AVS Fencing, for supply and delivery of water troughs for the allotments.
	£428.38 to J Bellucci for Clerk’s salary for March.
£10.00 to Langton Matravers Village Hall Committee for November Council Chamber, one hire of hall and one hire of meeting room. 
 (3)The following payments by Direct Debit were noted:
 £15.65 to Nildram for broadband connection.
£73.57 to PDC for business rates.
 (6) Any other Financial Matters: 
It was decided  that thesignatories for the application form for the A&L deposit account should be deferred until after the May Meeting.
12.	Cemetery Matters:
	(1) Council cemetery.
 The Clerk said that he had been advised that the cremation plots in most other cemeteries were 2’ x2’ and he suggested that any new plots should be reduced to this size. It was unanimously agreed and he was instructed to change the Cemetery Regulations & Fees accordingly.	
(2) Closed cemeteries.
 The Clerk said that he had spoken to the Matron of The Old Rectory with regard to the overhanging branches of the ash tree and she had promised to speak to the owners about it.
13.	Allotments.
(a) The Chairman said that the NT had still not signed the lease. Cllr Priddle said that his suggestion that the parish have allotments would not have got anywhere without the support of the parishioners and the Council. However, he was now concerned that the councillors and Clerk were not being kept informed of their progress.
The Chairman then announced that the shed had been ordered and would need foundations putting down. He said that Kelly Feneche had written to say that the members of the Allotment Association would rather have more trolleys than more wheelbarrows. They would also like signs to stop dog walkers, campers from Tom’s Field, etc. entering without invitation, and the option to be able to lock the gates. This was agreed as long as the Council had a key/s. It was also agreed that compost bins should be restricted to 4ft in height.
14.	Affordable housing;
The Chairman said that at the recent public meeting with Raglan Housing Mr Cronk of Raglan had said that he was in consultation with the Council and PDC to find a suitable site for a play area for the older children. The Chairman said, however, that Mr Cronk  had never spoken to the Parish Council about this matter . He added that he would email Mr Cronk to find out what was going on. 
15.	Play Area lease. The Clerk said that the Council’s agreement to sign the lease must be minuted. Cllr P Bradford said that the Council should only sign the lease if the date it commenced was changed to the date of signing. This was unanimously agreed and the Clerk was instructed to write to DCC and tell them.
16.	Public meeting with the police to discuss traffic and parking. Cllr P Bradford said that the originally planned tri-parish meeting would now be 3 separate meetings. 
17.	The date of the next Council Meeting was confirmed as Thursday the 14th May, immediately after the Annual Parish Assembly, which would commence at 7 pm.
19.	Items for the next Agenda;
	A car park for the village.
	The site for the replacement trees at Malthouse Lane.
20.	There being no further business, the Meeting was adjourned at 9.15pm.

Signed……………………………..(Chairman).               Date…………………………..