LITTON
CHENEY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Village Assembly
held on Tuesday 14 May 2019 at Litton and Thorner's Community Hall
Present: Bill
Orchard (Chairman); Bella Spurrier; John Firrell; Maggie Walsh (Clerk). Also in attendance: 31 local residents
1
1. Apologies: Kathryn Brooks; Andy King.
2.
Chairman’s review
of the year
The Chairman, Bill
Orchard, thanked everyone for coming and began summarising recent events.
Dorset Council had
not consulted the Parish Council about its intention to introduce a double
decker school bus. The PC only learned
of the plan when a number of villagers received letters requiring them to clear
overhanging hedges and vegetation within 14 days. The PC believed the route unsuitable
for a double decker bus, as evidenced by problems caused when HGVs attempt to
drive through the village. The PC also felt
the proposed journey of one hour ten minutes from Winterbourne Abbas to the Sir
John Colfox School was too long for schoolchildren. Following representations
from several Parish Councils, Dorset Council had put the matter on hold pending
further discussions.
Parish Councillors
from Litton Cheney and Long Bredy attend regular meetings with Ashley Chase
Cheese Farm. Ashley Chase now use Ashley
Cooper to project manage transport via a hub, which had helped reduce HGVs in
the village. A working party was looking
into the feasibility of a private road to the Cheese Farm, which would keep
HGVs out of both villages.
The stream
opposite The Old Tithe Barn had been damaged by heavy plant entering Charity Farm.
Some remedial works had been carried out and the PC had been in discussion with
the Environment Agency (EA) and Dorset Highways to find a long-term solution
that both would support. Agreement had
been reached to excavate the stream and lay slabs angled towards the road. The PC hoped work could shortly be completed
by Bridport Town Council from funds already budgeted for the lengthsman scheme,
but would look to the farm owner to recover costs from contractors should they
cause any subsequent damage.
In 2017 and 2018
there was a substantial increase to the Parish Council precept, partly in
anticipation of work devolving to Parish Councils as a consequence of local
government reorganisation and the financial challenges it faced: the new
Unitary had commenced with a significant deficit. There was still no further information on how
this might impact on Parish Councils and the PC had therefore chosen to freeze
the precept at £10,600 for the current year.
At approximately £52.21 per year for a band D house, he hoped villagers
felt this represented good value for the services they received from the Parish
Council.
John Firrell had organised
a team of volunteers - the “Premier Crew”, of around 15 people who carried out
various works around the village. E.g. preparing
the stream for the duck race and various clearance works including the
allotments, The Rocks and bottom of Whiteway.
Two years ago, the
village was consulted about a Neighbourhood Plan (NP), which would allow the
community to influence the location and nature of development in the village. At that time, villagers voted against a NP,
concluding the Local Plan provided sufficient protection for the village. Subsequently planning permission for 7 houses
at Charity Farm suggested the Local Plan did not provide as much protection as
had been thought. Under the new Unitary,
the various Local Plans inherited from the previous District and County
Councils will need to be aligned/amalgamated. The PC would await the outcome of
current deliberations before deciding whether villagers should be asked if they
wished to revisit a Litton Cheney NP.
A number of people,
including John Firrell, David Hearn and children from the village school, had worked
hard to mark the 100th anniversary of the WW1 Armistice, focussing
on the contribution made by men from the village. The village should be proud of their efforts.
Various works had
been undertaken to improve drainage and the surface of The Rocks, whilst trying
to keep costs down. This had not been
entirely successful and this may need revisiting.
The allotment
plots were well administered by the Allotment Society. However, following an
incursion by sheep and problems with rabbits, the PC had supported the
allotments by paying for new fencing: this had been successful. The refurbished playground was also popular.
Most dog owners
acted responsibly and cleared up dog poo.
Dorset Council no longer install or service new dog bins but accept
limited quantities of dog waste in general litter bins and household bins. Unfortunately, a small number of people had recently
deposited sacks full of dog poo in the village litter bin, which smelled
offensive and overflowed at times. An
additional bin could be provided, if villagers were prepared to use the PC
precept to pay for its installation and servicing. The village bin should now be
emptied weekly.
The Chairman
finished by saying the PC continued to struggle to fill vacancies and asked
villagers to consider becoming a Parish Councillor: a worthwhile role and not
too onerous.
3.
Open floor: this was an
opportunity for local residents to raise matters they wished to bring to the
attention of the Parish Council and/or other residents
Dog fouling was
discussed. The PC cannot enforce bylaws
preventing dog fouling. Dorset still has a dog warden whom anyone can notify
about loose dogs. The location and
number of bins were discussed.
The
waterway down the track towards the playground was blocked – JF would ask the
Premier Crew to clear it.
The area around
the telephone box was muddy after rubbish had been left there awaiting
collection: this had been an oversight and should not happen again. The PC
would probably be asked to take ownership of the telephone box so this area may
come under future discussion.
Parish Councillors
recently met with the Police Community Support Officer to discuss crime rates
in the village and how crime is recorded.
4.
Presentation by
John Firrell – regeneration of the bus shelter area
JF explained that
a group of villagers were considering how the area around the bus shelter/ Jubilee
Hut might be improved. Items being
considered included
·
an interpretation board including information about
the village now and in the past. He hoped the school would be involved in this.
·
extending the rustic kerbstones in front of the
shelter
·
location of existing noticeboard
·
removing/moving the existing bench
·
moving the bin further away from the bus stop to
reduce smells
·
location of the village stone
Villagers made a
number of observations, including whether improvements were needed. JF stressed discussions were at early stages
and no decisions had been made. His
presentation was to give villagers a chance to have their say, promising their
views would be heard.
JF also
highlighted that Dorset Council had insisted the turnstiles at each end of The
Rocks impeded access and could not be retained as they were. This had proved contentious with
villagers. He shared an artist’s
impression of a possible solution whereby the turnstiles are retained with a
swing gate at the side. Most present
felt this was a good idea.
Some of those
attending felt a number of interesting ideas had come from the floor and there
was some discussion about systems by which, other than attending PC meetings,
villagers might be able to convey further ideas to the PC
At the close of
the meeting, Freddie Spicer thanked the Parish Council on behalf of the village
for their work over the past year.
Maggie Walsh
Parish Clerk