Minutes of
the meeting held at West Lulworth Village Hall on Monday 2 June 2014 at 7:30pm
Councillors present: Mr J Davey (Chairman), Mr N Miller (Vice-Chairman),
Mrs V King, Mrs M Colvin, Mr M Whittle, Ms C Matthews, Mr E De Chazal, Mrs S Jackson, Mrs C Neal.
In attendance: County Councillor Mike Lovell
District Councillor Barry Quinn
Miss E Blake (Clerk)
5 members of the public
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Election of Officers/ Acceptance of Office
All Councillors accepted their office after
an uncontested election.
Election of Chairman/Vice-Chairman
Cllr King proposed Cllr Davey to continue as
Chairman, seconded by Cllr Miller and unanimously agreed. No other nominations were proposed and Cllr
Davey accepted the office.
Cllr Colvin proposed Cllr Miller continue as
Vice-Chairman and Cllr Jackson seconded.
All agreed and Cllr Miller accepted the office.
Delegation of Councillor’s Responsibilities
Reviews
To be carried out at the next meeting.
Public Questions and Discussions Period
Mr Phil Roberts asked if the Parish Council (PC) would consider
changing the seating layout in order that members of the public could see and
hear all of the Councillors more easily.
A request was made that a notice be displayed of who the Councillors
are and what their roles are. Cllr
Davey stated there is a list of Councillors currently on the notice board and
the roles were to be designated at this meeting. Updated details will be put on the PC
website.
Mrs Sylvia Hawkins, a resident of
Mr Andrew Lance read out a letter he has sent to Dorset County Council
and this is attached to these minutes.
District Councillor Quinn clarified queries on what would happen to the
land the school was currently sited on with the information that the planning
application will be determined by the County Council and District Council
should have a consultative role. Cllr
Davey wondered if there is a planning brief for the site but Cllr Quinn
stated there is not as it is owned by the County Council. There is no provision within the District
Council’s Local Plan. Cllr Lovell
stated if there was to be housing on the site it would have to be 50%
affordable due to the planning policy.
Cllr Davey ended by adding local people have concerns with the traffic
that may be generated from further development at
Apologies
None received.
Declarations of Interest
Cllrs Davey and Miller declared
an interest in the Boat House application.
Minutes
The minutes from the meetings held on Monday 12 May were amended to
replace the word ‘hedges’ with ‘verges’ on page 770 (13/14/210 section e) and,
along with the amended minutes of the Annual Parish meeting held on Monday 7
April 2014, were agreed as being a true and accurate representation of the
meeting and were duly signed by the Chair.
Reports from District And
a) Cllr Colvin congratulated
District Councillor Quinn on his re-election.
b) County Councillor Lovell gave
details of ‘Ask Dorset’ which are stands appearing at various places across
the County asking people what they value and what they would like to happen.
The Council still have to find
another £43 million over the next two years and this gives an opportunity to
say how funds available should be spent.
c) District Councillor Quinn has
investigated controls over the recent “Wiggle” cycling event which has taken
place in villages. As the event was
non-competitive the Police and/or Council do not have to be informed and have
no control unless any offences are committed.
Cllr Lovell noted that the events are detailed on the Wiggle website
and Cllr Whittle believed that cyclists are unable to be prosecuted for
speeding as that offence only applies to motorised vehicles. Cllr Whittle had observed bunching of
cyclists which made it difficult for other road users.
County Council believe proper
legislation is needed to be put in place and encourage Parish Councils to
lobby their local MP, particularly as the British Cycling organisation are
hoping to get legislation put in place to make it easier to arrange events
due to the increased interest in cycling after the Olympics success.
Cllr Jackson has observed
cyclists overtaking other cyclists in ‘non-time trial’ events and thought
there should be some obligation on the cyclists to ride safely, she believed
that the very nature of a qualifier would propel cyclists to ride faster
which was especially concerning due to this time of year having more tourists
and increased traffic.
Cllr De Chazal added that he was
concerned for children in the village and suggested noting any unsafe cycling
in future events.
Cllr King stated the issue was
discussed by other Parishes at a recent PTAG meeting. Cllr Quinn agreed to forward a copy of the
email he received from County Council for Cllr King to forward to PTAG.
d) The Weld Estate planning
application for the Beach House café was turned down and this has meant any
major refurbishment of the public toilets may be delayed until an alternative
plan is devised. Purbeck District Council
(PDC) is obtaining quotes to carry out some minor refurbishments, such as new
cubicle doors, in order to tidy up the toilets. A full refurbishment is expected to cost
circa £80,000 and will not be carried out by PDC as the Weld Estate may
demolish and replace the toilets as part of their future plans. The water seeping under the toilets has now
been identified as coming from the Pump House and Wessex Water are to carry
out repairs.
e) A walkabout was carried out
in the village with officers from the Highways department. An action list has been drawn up mainly
relating to the drainage problems.
f) Cllr Quinn contacted DWP
about the removal of the bottle recycling bin at Lulworth Cove car park and
was informed it has already been removed.
It will not be replaced by DWP due to the costs and private ownership
of the site. Cllr Matthews expressed
her disappointment that plastic bottles from the public in Lulworth will now
go to landfill in spite of it now being accepted for recycling. She wondered if it was worth talking to the
Weld Estate about it and Cllr Quinn responded that it costs more to send
waste to landfill so recycling bottles could save money.
g) Incorporating the Dark Skies
Policy within PDC’s Local Policy is to be discussed with PDC officers.
h) Mr White has not yet
responded regarding a lease on the new bus shelter.
i) Mr Allen is pursuing
enforcement action on the overgrowth at
j) There is an emergency
planning event to be held at DAPTC’s AGM.
A Parish Council can produce its own Community Resilience Plan which
can then be lodged at PDC, a template plan can be found online.
Cllrs Quinn and Lovell left the
meeting.
ACTIONS: Clerk to distribute dates and
sites of ‘Ask Dorset’ stands and detail on the notice board.
Clerk to check for future
cycling events on cycling websites.
Cllr Quinn to forward cycling email for Cllr King to forward to PTAG. Clerk to contact the Weld Estate to supply
a plastic bottle recycling bin at Lulworth Cove car park. Clerk to get further detail on Community
Resilience Plans.
Planning Applications / Updates on Previous Planning
Applications
6/2014/0220 – Main Road (The
Boat House), BH20 5RQ. Change of use
from boat/workshop store to gallery, exhibition rooms and meeting rooms.
Cllr De Chazal thought a gallery
sounded a lovely idea but wondered if it would be a long term use. Cllr Jackson expressed concern at the size
of building being able to accommodate many guests and wondered if the
concrete area at the front of the building would be closed off but Cllr Davey
stated that would not be allowed. She
thought it inevitable that people would spill out onto the front thus making
it difficult for other people to access that side of the beach.
Cllr Miller suggested there were
several fishermen who could make use of the building and it had previously been
promised to them for giving up the shed until development was proposed.
Cllr Jackson commented that the
building regularly floods from the sea and Cllr Miller added that the water
runs through when it rains and there is considerable damp on the southern
wall due to the collapsing bank.
Cllr King was concerned that
there used to be a small concrete jetty that had afforded some protection from
the sea (where wheelchairs used to sit) there but this was removed when refurbishment
took place recently.
Cllr Jackson commented that
Cllr Davey believed there would
be an amount of traffic for any meeting and Cllr Matthews added that if there
was to be a wedding reception it was customary for people to arrive by car or
buggy. Cllr De Chazal suggested the
road should be traffic free and Cllr Miller confirmed that between May and
September the road is closed to traffic.
Cllr Davey ended with the observation that with so many ongoing
proposals it is hard to see what the future will entail for the Cove and how
any development will fit in with surrounding businesses.
6/2014/0236 – Britwell Drive
(Lovat House), BH20 5RS. Erect rear
extension. Certificate of lawfulness
proposed. Cllr Davey queried why no
plans were sent to the PC and there is no requirement for the PC to comment
on this application.
6/2014/0238 – Lulworth Camp (
ACTION: Clerk to pass on the PC’s views
to PDC.
Applications for Tree Works / Updates on Previous Tree
Works Applications
None
Finance
The following were approved for payment:
Consultations and New Items for Discussion or Report
a) Lulworth and Winfrith school
consultation – a further consultation took place in the village hall prior to
the PC meeting at the request of the PC and District Councillor. Cllr Jackson stated she was tired of
receiving no response from County Council to letters she had sent as a
resident of the Parish. Cllr Davey
suggested the issue of a lack of acknowledgement be notified by the PC to the
Chief Executive. Cllr Whittle believed
the school were informed of updates.
Cllr Miller has been trying to
get hold of the original plans for the school proposal from approximately six
years ago. He believes the funds to
build a hall onto the existing site are still ring-fenced. Cllr King recalled that she was a Governor
at that time and the plans were presented but she was unsure that they ever
progressed to District or County Council.
Lulworth school was unable to achieve an ‘outstanding’ grade from
OFSTED due to there being no large hall (the old hall having been made into a
classroom). There was a promise from
Weld Estate that as soon as plans went through they would give the land as
far as the YHA for a playground but years passed as the talks were ongoing of
which school to close.
Cllr Jackson had requested the
local authority to provide a projection of the number of children to attend
the school but they were unable to give a reply. Cllr King stated the number is derived from
the number of live births within the area (including Chaldon). She added that the Lulworth Army camp was
due to complete renovation of a large number of properties and it could be
any number of MOD personnel moving into them as they are not just for the
Army.
b) War memorial – Mr Ray Derrick
has looked at the memorial which is badly cracked with no foundations or
backing wall and the flagstones have subsided. It is repairable but will need to be done
in sections. Cllr Miller suggested
contacting the British Legion and war Memorial Trust for grants.
c) Hedges and verges – Cllr
Matthews is sick of the overgrowth at the junction of
Cllr Matthews has complained
online but had no response yet. She
added that it was supposed to be a clear view fence and she wanted the hedge
to be removed.
Cllr Davey commented that the
issue was discussed at the meeting with the Highways officer that morning and
it would be cut. Cllr Matthews worried
that it was said the job was to be passed to the relevant people which did
not necessarily mean it would be cut and suggested she would get it cut herself
and forward the bill onto the PC. Cllr
Colvin replied that the PC could not pay a bill if the work has not been
approved beforehand.
Cllr Miller proposed that as an
emergency measure the PC get the path cut and Cllr Matthews posed that the
weeds would regrow and wondered whether the PC should employ a lengthsman to
tackle the problem in the long term. Cllr
Whittle thought that would mean doubling the precept to cover the cost and
Cllr Matthews suggested reducing the amount of donations could help pay for
it.
Cllr Miller suggested an email
be sent to Highways indicating the urgency and Cllr Davey proponed that if no
response was received by Highways by tomorrow then they should be contacted. Cllr Davey suggested Cllr Matthews speak to
Libby about the issue and Cllr Neal informed the meeting that Libby normally
cuts twice a year. Cllr Miller
wondered if the Weld Estate would be responsible as for road safety the hedge
should be cut.
The Chairman took a vote on
whether the Weld Estate should be contacted about the hedge and the majority
agreed.
d) Play area inspection results
– no issues were raised. Cllr Miller
informed the meeting that the new swing has now been installed and payment
would be required.
Cllr King has been trying to get
a copy of the Synergy map, showing who the land belongs to around the
playground in order that it is easy to identify who to approach if any
problems arise.
e) Request for Clerk to
contribute to Parish News – The Parish News has asked local Clerks to write a
summary of ongoing issues. All
Councillors agreed this was acceptable, Cllr Davey requested a copy be sent
to him.
ACTION: Clerk to write to Chief
Executive of Dorset County Council to enquire why no acknowledgement is made
to letters sent. To obtain three quotes for repairs needed to the memorial. Clerk to follow up with Highways and
contact Weld Estate about the hedge.
Ongoing Actions/ Updates from Previous Meetings
a) New Parish email address –
the new email address has been set up by DAPTC. The Clerk is to set it up on the new PC and
let contacts know of the change.
b) New grit bin installed – the
new grit bin has been received and will be installed shortly.
c) Bus shelter – no updates.
d) Notice board repairs – no
update yet. Cllr Miller now has the
second key to the notice board at the bus shelter.
e) Grant request from
Cllr Jackson thought that drugs
prevention should be taught in school in lessons and suggested the PC do not
donate at to Wessex Life project at this time. All agreed.
e) Insurance renewal – two
quotes have been received, a renewal from Came & Company was £796.82 and
ACTION: Clerk to forward school
donation and inform Wessex Life of no donation at this time. Clerk to forward payment for insurance and
obtain information on coverage while travelling.
Neighbourhood
Planning
Cllr King informed the meeting
that other areas have dropped the word ‘neighbourhood’ from their plans and
wondered whether to rename the Neighbourhood Plan the ‘West Lulworth
Development Plan’. A Development Plan
is to notate how people see the area developing in the next ten years.
Cllr Colvin worried that naming
it a Development Plan could mean the County Council start to look to put
housing in the village as the term ‘development’ gives a connotation the
village wants further development e.g. housing. Cllr Jackson concurred and added that to
the lay person the term ‘development plan’ may be misunderstood. She suggested naming it ‘The Plan for
Cllr King stated this plan is
different from the Parish Plan as that was community led with no PC involvement
and this will be more PC led and we need to start looking for grants.
Feedback
from meetings
Cllr King attended the recent
PTAG meeting and mention was made of fracking. Cllr De Chazal noted that
there was currently fracking happening at Wytch Farm,
Cllr King also attended the Tranquillity workshop which should see results published shortly.
Training
Cllr Davey suggested Councillors
contact the Clerk if they wish to book onto any training course.
Footpaths
Correspondence
Grant request from NSPCC – to
defer to the next meeting when a budget will be set for grants
Items of information and Items for the next Agenda
Reviews
IT Officer
Cycling race lobby
Grant budget
Hedges and verges
Update on summer bus (X43)
Date of the Next Parish Council meeting
The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Monday 7 July 2014 at
7:30pm at West Lulworth Village Hall.
With no further business the meeting was closed by the Chairman at 10:12
pm.
Chairman: …………………………………………………. Date:
……………………………………………
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Letter from Mr Andrew Lance sent to Dorset County
I’d like to express extreme scepticism
about the need for the proposed project.
No-one is opposed to the idea of upgrading the facilities of the school
on the present site. But has the need
been rigorously demonstrated for spending £2.4 m on a brand new school, with
continuing leasing costs (how much) thereafter?
At the end of 2012 the County Council
found that the school had adequate capacity for 79 pupils. Figures subsequently indicate that this total
will not be reached in any of the next few years. Moreover, there must be considerable doubt about
the numbers of Army children coming to Lulworth in future, given the reduction
in Army personnel over the next few years (100,000 down to 82,000) and
technical developments in modern warfare.
Our experience is that this project
is for an entirely new school – has been pursued without prior consultation
with the wider community, with the result that – not for the first time –
people feel that they are being presented with a fait accompli. This has caused a good deal of avoidable
anxiety and alienation in the wider community.
A number of solutions have been
suggested for improving conditions at the school – for example, building on the
existing site (for which adequate space seems available – of the two schools at
Wool, and schools at Corfe
Castle
Given the pressure of growing
population in England and
the fact that we produce only 60% of our food needs, it seems particularly
reprehensible and short-sighted that we should be contemplating building on a Greenfield
Although the proposed site is rather
less obtrusive than others which have been considered, the proposed building looks
utterly out of sympathy architecturally and aesthetically with its surroundings
– more like a factory than a school.
Finally, it would be useful to know,
if the project goes ahead what is to become of the present school site? – more
houses to become holiday lets is unfortunately the likely outcome.
For all these reasons I hope the
council will consider the proposed project very carefully before deciding its
position and maybe having to justify it further down the line.
