LITTON CHENEY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Litton
Cheney Parish Council
held on Tuesday 9 May 2023
Present: Bill Orchard (Chairman); Quentin Blacke; John Firrell; Andy King; Andrew Price; Bella Spurrier, Maggie Walsh (Clerk). Also in attendance Cllr Mark Roberts and 1 member of the public
3. Election of Chairman Cllr Orchard confirmed that he was prepared to stand for one more year leading up to local elections next May. It was proposed by Cllr Firrell, seconded by Cllr Blacke and carried unanimously that Cllr Bill Orchard be elected as Chairman.
4. Election of Vice Chairman It was proposed by Cllr Orchard, seconded by Cllr King and carried unanimously that Cllr Firrell be elected as Vice Chairman
5. Democratic time There was a discussion about how to attract new members to the Parish Council, given that several existing Parish Councillors would likely step down in May 2024
6. Approval of minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 14 March 2023 It was proposed by Cllr Firrell, seconded by Cllr Price and carried unanimously that these be approved.
7. Matters arising since the previous meeting not part of this agenda N/A
8. Dorset Council overview Cllr Mark Roberts gave a recap on DC budgets. The net budget was #348m, of which 55% was allocated to Adult Services and 25% to Childrens Services. Transport for Special Educational Needs cost #12m per annum. DC provided 450 services to 350k residents. There were 4.5k staff, since the creation of the Unitary authority, 720 had left and19 had been made redundant. There had been no compulsory redundancies. Support services would likely be downsized further. DC had inherited numerous hotels in Weymouth which were in poor condition but subject to long leases, to which there was no easy solution. The Government did not pass legislation permitting double council tax on second homes in time for DC to implement it this year. DC had successfully obtained a number of grants, including #19.5m from the Levelling Up Fund. Grants had enabled over 200 DC owned buildings to be adjusted. DC had been unsuccessful in its bid for a grant for rural bus services but would submit a further bid in the forthcoming round. Short stay parking would be extended to 3 hours in all car parks and the residents short stay permit would also be extended to 3 hours. All 260 car park meters would be replaced: the new machines would accept cash, card and phone touch.
DC had adopted a 20mph policy but reducing speed limits to 20mph was not straightforward.
DC and Weymouth TC were not in favour of the Migrant Barge, which would result in additional costs to the Council as a bus service would be required to take migrants to and from Weymouth, despite Portland itself not having a decent bus service.
DC had a new Director of Climate Change. Cllr Roberts had been made lead member for Childrens Services and Safeguarding and would retain Harbours.
9. Finance reports and invoices for approval (Clerk and RFO)
9.1 The PC noted the payments and receipts for the year ended 31 March. Year end receipts exceeded payments by #216. However, a year end underspend of #1,750 had been budgeted to allow for agreed contributions to earmarked reserves the additional spend had arisen because of playground repairs. The RFO had transferred the full #1,750 to earmarked reserves as agreed at the meeting in January, thus reducing the general reserve by approximately #1,500. Nevertheless, the general reserve still fell within recommended levels.
9.2 The Parish Council noted the internal audit report. The PC wished to record its thanks to Peter Collis for undertaking the internal audit and noted the need to appoint a new internal auditor for the current financial year. MW
9.3 It was proposed by Cllr Firrell, seconded by Cllr King and carried unanimously that the Annual Governance Statement (Section 1 of the Annual Governance Returns) be approved. MW
9.4 It was proposed by Cllr Orchard, seconded by Cllr Firrell and carried unanimously that the Annual Accounting Statements (Section 2 of the Annual Governance Returns) be approved. MW
9.5 It was proposed by Cllr Price, seconded by Cllr Blacke and carried unanimously that the Certificate of Exemption be approved. MW
9.6 The PC noted that the Period for the Exercise of Public Rights would be 5 June to 14 July.
All year end financial documents would be published on the website in due course.
9.7 The PC noted that the inventory had been updated and published.
9.8 NALC had published amended model standing orders during 2022. It was proposed by Cllr Firrell, seconded by Cllr King and carried unanimously that these be approved. MW
9.9 The PC noted that the Financial Regulations, based on NALCs Model Financial Regulations, were approved in May 2020 and remained up-to-date.
9.10 It was proposed by Cllr Orchard, seconded by Cllr Spurrier and carried unanimously that the PC approve the recently reviewed Risk Assessment. MW
9.11 The PC noted that the Model Publication Scheme and Transparency Checklist had been reviewed and updated, with no significant amendments MW
9.12 At the time of publishing the agenda, Parish funds stood at #30,896.87. Approved spend since the previous meeting was #154.78 comprising #75 DAPTC conference/workshop; #37.49 for Bitdefender Anti-Virus licence renewal; #20.99 for print cartridges from Amazon; #13.50 for mileage and #7.80 for Footeprints printing costs. Income since last meeting was #8,964.87 comprising #5,000 precept, #3,129.12 Community Infrastructure Levy, #834.13 VAT refund and #1.62p interest. DC had confirmed that the PC would receive a further #11,254 CIL payment in October.
9.13 It was proposed by Cllr Firrell, seconded by Cllr Spurrier and carried unanimously that the following regular payments be approved: Employee costs paid by standing order in accordance with contract of employment and NALC salary scales on the 11th calendar day of alternative months; #35 GDPR registration fee paid annually in July by direct debit.
9.14 The PC noted that it had appropriate insurance. It was coming to the end of year 1 of a 3 year agreement. The renewal quote for 2023-24 (year 2) was #418.36, which was slightly below the amount estimated when setting the budget.
9.15 The following invoices were for approval:
|
BHIB Public and Employer Liability Insurance year 2 of a 3 year agreement. |
#418.36 |
|
DAPTC annual subscription |
#144.71 |
|
Reimburse Cllr Firrell for The Queens Bench Stonework by Keates Quarries |
#90.00 |
|
BLAP annual subscription |
#43.83 |
|
Reimburse Clerk for ream of paper from Footeprints |
#7.80 |
|
|
#704.70 |
It was proposed by Cllr Blacke, seconded by Cllr Price and carried unanimously that these be approved. MW
10. Councillors portfolios:
Planning (Bill Orchard, Chairman): the PC had been consulted on a Certificate of Lawfulness for change of use from agricultural to extension of curtilage, construction of driveway and use of building for domestic purposes at Summer Hill, Chalk Pit Lane, DT2 9AN (P/CLE/2023/01772). The PC had been unable to offer any evidence to support or refute the evidence provided and had dealt with this via delegated powers.
An application for removal of hedge at Charity Farm had been approved (P/TRC/2023/00775)
Cllr Orchard had circulated a synopsis of the planning event he and Cllr Firrell had attended. Cllr Roberts reported that DC received 400 planning applications per month, which made them the 7th busiest LPA.
Highways/Transport (Andrew Price): there had been a number of road closures. Village roads continued to require considerable attention, rather than repeated refilling of potholes. Cllr Roberts said that DC had been awarded #2.9m for road improvements but significant increases in costs meant this simply enabled the Council to continue its existing programme with no extra work. Discussions continued regarding HGVs on Whiteway.
Agricultural Liaison/Footpaths/Rights of Way/ (Bella Spurrier/Quentin Blacke): the Youth Hostel site had been tidied up Cllr Spurrier would make an informal approach to ask what was planned for the Youth Hostel. BS
The wall of the old sheep wash had partially collapsed. Some footpaths were overgrown and a replacement bridge was still awaited.
Playground/Playing Field/Allotments (Andy King): there had been no progress regarding the purchase of full sized goal posts. The playing field had received its first cut: regrettably the machine had become stuck in the mud. The Big Help Out day at the playground had been postponed due to weather conditions and waterlogged ground. He had been encouraged by the level of interest shown and would reschedule. He would welcome suggestions from playground users regarding what equipment the PC might purchase to replace the climbing frame, as the rope was worn and expensive to repair. He would chase the allotment income. AK
Village Fabric/Maintenance/BLAP/DAPTC/ Administration & Probity (John Firrell) Cllr Firrell continued to represent the PC at DAPTC and BLAP meetings both were well run. The Queens Bench looked impressive and, once finished, he intended to write letters of thanks from the PC to those involved. Cllr King and Philip Dyke were working together with local residents to produce a village map which would be circulated for comment. The Kings Coronation picnic (The Big Lunch) was well attended and much enjoyed.
Climate Emergency and Environment (Vacant)
Planning issues arising since the last meeting: there were no new planning applications for consideration.
11. Correspondence not dealt with as part of the agenda none
12. Date of next meeting Tuesday 11 July 2023
Meeting closed
Maggie Walsh
Parish Clerk