DOGMERSFIELD PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Annual Parish Assembly of Dogmersfield Parish Council

Held at Dogmersfield Primary School

On Monday 8^th June 2009

Present: Mrs C Lowe (Chairman) (CL)

Mr A J Clark (Vice-Chairman) (AJC)

Mr David Everett (DE)

Mr P Curnow-Ford (PCF)

Mr S Bramwell (SB)

Mrs C Toms (Clerk) (CT)

District Cllr Ken Crookes (KC), Mr Colin Clark (CC), Mrs E Waller (EW), Miss Susan Wall (SW), PC Nick Sexton (NS), PCSO Dan Bright (DB) and 23 members of the public.

APA 81/09	Welcome The Chairman, Christine Lowe opened the meeting and welcomed special guests and parishioners and thanked everyone for coming. She commented on the good turnout and thanked Miss Susan Wall, the headmistress of Dogmersfield School and the school governors for the use of the school hall for the first time. She emphasised that this was an informal meeting and an opportunity for the community to meet elected representatives, hear their reports and ask questions about the work done on their behalf. CL then read out the Chairman’s welcome. Please see attachment “A”.
APA 82/09	Apologies Apologies were received from Cllr Jonathan Glen, Cllr Stephen Gorys, Inspector Geoff Scrutton, Sergeant David Wheatstone, Canon Robin Ewbank, Mrs Marion Minter, Mrs Felix Lister and Mrs Sarah Groombridge
APA 83/09	Matters Arising from the 2008 APA The minutes of the 2007 APA were approved at the council meeting held on 12^th May 2008 – minute 60/08. There were no matters arising.
APA 84/09	Chairman’s Annual Report For those new to the village, Christine Lowe introduced herself and the Parish councillors mentioning their individual responsibilities. CL also referred to the District and County Councillors who have provided support during the year, particularly Cllr Ken Crookes who has found time to attend meetings and provide information and advice. CL expressed her thanks to the former Chairman Alastair Clark for the huge amount of work he carried out behind the scenes and his ongoing support during her first year in office. CL then presented the individual reports. See attachment ‘B’. Copies of the Financial Report were placed on the seats.
APA 85/09	County Councillor’s Annual Report CL reported that County Councillor Jonathan Glen was unable to attend the meeting due to a prior engagement. He attended the DPC AGM on 18^th May when he made a short presentation. CL asked the Clerk to provide a short synopsis of the presentation. “JG circulated a leaflet summarising Hampshire County Council’s main achievements. In particular he mentioned that the increase in Council Tax was only 1.8% and this was fixed for the next two years. JG explained that all departments were undergoing reviews and that currently the largest numbers of staff appointments were in Childrens’ and Social Services. He also highlighted the following. Speed reduction in rural villages (30mph). ‘20 is plenty’ is another campaign. Refurbished, updated and expanded libraries becoming discovery centres. In addition to the PCSOs which are part of the Police programme, 50 additional Community Safety Officers are being provided to tackle anti-social behaviour. Hook is one target area. Refurbishment of HCC building in Winchester from reserves. The devolved budget for councillors was raised. JG explained that it was for community projects and encouraged DPC to submit an application via his office for possible grant funding for our ditch clearance project. “
APA 86/09 86/09 Cont.	District Councillor’s Report District Councillor Ken Crookes presented his report. See attachment “C”. KC thanked AJC as Chairman of the HAPTC for his support in the setup of the Shadow Parish Councils which will operate until the new Parish Councils come into existence in May 2010. KC also explained that the recession had a major impact on the HDC budget causing reductions in income and increased costs. CL thanked KC for his report and asked for any questions. Chris Waller asked KC to confirm that non recyclables are not going into landfill but used to generate electricity. KC confirmed that all black bin waste is incinerated at the Chineham plant which generates electricity. The Alton facility sorts out and distributes all the recycling material. Newspaper is recycled in a week. Chris Waller also asked about the renewal of the lease for Fleet Town Football Club. KC replied that the Club was not owned by HDC but the land was leased to them. A new lease is being negotiated in order to comply with noise and light abatement. Chris Waller raised the future of the Harlington Centre in Fleet. KC answered that this site was the only council asset. It is now being run more efficiently. It is however part of a group of buildings including the library owned by HCC and the council offices which are expensive to run. HDC are considering how to develop Fleet Town Centre long term. Robert Dixon asked about the speed of traffic and if it is HDC’s responsibility. A SID was installed in Chalky Lane last year but the results were not published. KC suggested that DPC write to John Foggo. It was felt that a Village 30 scheme was needed. It was mentioned that the village starts at the A287. The 40 mph speed limit has been extended beyond the village to Winchfield. Dave Fisher commented that a child had not been lost yet with the issue of speeding but he had witnessed near death events close to where he lived. Elizabeth Waller commented that there had been no speed limit at the Hurst until now when a 30 mph has been imposed. Carole Barrow observed that the islands in Dogmersfield caused chaos but Yvonne Bevan felt that they reduce traffic speed even though they get damaged. AJC reported that the traffic police in Surrey addressed the schools on speeding. 259 speeding motorists were stopped. They were offered three points on their licences or talk to the children. Many were reduced to tears after their discussions with the children. CL reported that extending the pavement to Pilcot Hill is needed. Carole Barrow felt that walking to school should be encouraged but it was dangerous. Roddy Lister felt that double yellow lines were the solution. Jeremy Robson asked about the three sites identified in the Strategic Land Housing Availability Assessment (SLHAA). The clerk who is currently researching the DPC response described the purpose of the document and what the allocation of these sites meant. Jeremy Robson felt that the garage sites were suitable for redevelopment. DE mentioned that he lived opposite one of the Dogmersfield sites identified in the SLHAA and therefore declared an interest. Sue Smith asked if there had been a change of use of the Caravan Park in Church Lane (School Field Corner). CL agreed to find out. Carole Barrow asked at what point in Chatter Alley would ditch clearance work be undertaken and SB replied that it would be from Karibou all the way to the end of Chatter Ally. EW felt that an approach to the owner of the land on their side of Chatter Alley should be made to keep the culverts clear on both sides of the School Hall. She suggested writing as Chair of the School Governors. CL proposed a joint letter could be sent with the Parish Council. Carole Barrow asked how they could get the flashing lights working outside the school. AJC to action. Debbie Curnow Ford raised the issue of speed on the A287. No action seems to be taken. There is a footpath which crosses the road on to their land. There is a Government initiative to apply a 50 mph to all rural roads. It was noted that the A287 is considered a trunk route. AJC agreed to address the matter. Nick Sexton (NS) replied that the County preferred Speed Control Vans rather than cameras. He suggested such matters be forwarded to him for attention. Christine Smith observed that those who did observe the speed limit slowed the traffic. Mary Morrison asked about building in back gardens. This has occurred in Fleet rather than Dogmersfield.	CL EW/ CL AJC AJC NS
APA 87/09	School Governor’s Report Elizabeth Waller delivered her report. See attachment “D”. Much hard work and dedication had made the good inspection grades and achievements possible. Congratulations were extended to Miss Wall and her staff. The community were thanked for their continued support.
APA 88/09	Parish Plan Christine Lowe reported on the status of the Parish Plan. It had been around for some time. Printing was delayed in order that the plan could be reviewed under new initiatives bringing all plans into a collective framework ensuring they met standards to inform the Local Development Framework. No constructive advice was forthcoming so it had been the intention to go ahead with printing. The delay however meant that the plan now needs editing and re-organising. New criteria have appeared which need including. More work now needs to be done in the next three months for which support is welcome. AJC mentioned that the plan can be viewed on the Website. Phil Whitehead asked about any constraints with regard to the plan and expressed an interest.
APA 89/09	Parish Web Site Last year Steve Bramwell presented changes to the website. This year Paul Faraday, a volunteer, reviewed the website and is now outlining a revision plan for the content working alongside Peter Curnow-Ford. AJC asked how many in the meeting had viewed the current site. 10 had viewed the site. The following comments were made: Content should include minutes of meetings. Up-to-date news of what is happening locally. Must be current. Linked to the church – Robert Dixon is the link to the church site. Major planning applications. It was noted that the emails sent out on various matters were very useful.
APA 90/09	Any other topics of relevance to the Parish Thanks were expressed to the Chairman, Christine Lowe for her very comprehensive report. PCF referred to the consultation on increased flights at Farnborough Airport. He strongly objected to the TAG assumption that increasing flights meant increased business. Christine Smith observed that the flight path is over Dogmersfield and the low number of passengers carried per plane was an environmental disaster. PCF asked for an update on the Queens Head. CL responded that there had been a minor facelift and change of menu but it was still up for sale and could easily close. They are however trying. There being no further business, CL thanked all for coming and closed the meeting at 9.15pm.