HINTON ST MARY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
held at Hinton St Mary Village Hall
on Tuesday August 15th 2023 at 7pm
Present:-
Chairman – Steve Johnson (SJ)
Councillors – Jo Curtis (JC)
Clerk – Vivian Hitchmough (VH)
County Cllr Carole Jones and two new Councillors as yet to sign acceptance of office
2023.31 Apologies Cllr Rob Bartlett (RB)
2023.32 Minutes of the meeting of Tuesday May 23rd 2023 were agreed as a true record and duly signed.
2023.33 Matters Arising
Co-option Councillors The Chairman welcomed the two new Councillors and they duly signed acceptance of office declarations. The Clerk will now advise Dorset Council through the self-service portal and they will complete a register of interests to be posted on the Dorset Council website.
New Councillors are Cllr Celia Wright (CW) and Cllr Mark Steggles (MS)
2023.34 Declarations of Interest
None
2023.35 Updates from Officers
Planning JC reported three applications to fell trees which had already been carried out and the conversion of garage and MOT bay to two number dwellings at Turks Garage. Councillors had no objections and the application has been agreed.
Roads, drains and potholes
As RB had sent apologies there was no report, however Cllr Carole Jones said that Rob had met with Amanda and discussed the relevant issues regarding the drains. Other specific road issues such as road markings and speeding issues were discussed and Cllr Jones will advise Amanda accordingly.
Village Liaison/Garden
JC advised that the garden renovation is progressing. She reported that a notice board giving details of the Mosaic is in very poor repair. The Chairman said he may be able to ask a volunteer to repair the surround of the board. CW will also speak with Janet in this regard.
Speed Indicator Device
The Chairman reported that the SID is working well and he has moved it a couple of times.
MS had concerns that the SID had limitations and asked about gates on entering the village to deter speed. The Chairman advised that this had been extensively discussed at previous meetings and there are drawbacks such as grass cutting and maintenance to gates. JC advised that the Estate would not like to see gates at the entrance to the village. However, it was requested that the Clerk contact the Todber clerk to ascertain on whether their gates had had some effect. Cllr Carole Jones suggested a speed watch with volunteers where the data may be used to encourage police involvement and possibly working towards 20mph. She said the “20 is plenty” signs work well in some villages.
Defibrillator
Checked regularly, although the Chairman said it was used in an emergency recently and the person struggled to open the cabinet. This has been thoroughly checked and is in good working order. The Chairman said he was looking for a Councillor to take over the responsibility for monitoring the equipment and for training. CW volunteered for this responsibility and she will also arrange to purchase pads and batteries at the end of the year at an approximate cost of £137. The Chairman will speak to RB on his return regarding training and retraining of residents who have offered to support the emergency calls for the equipment. RB may have a contact willing to train volunteers.
Telephone Box
The Chairman had been approached regarding use for the telephone box as a book and information hub. This was generally considered a good idea by councillors although they felt there should be a monitoring system in place as it could be overwhelmed with books etc.
2023.36 Finance
A cheque for the clerk’s salary was signed.
Replacement cheques were signed for the Mosaic and the Church as originals had been damaged.
2023.37 County Councillors report
Cllr Carol Jones reported it was a quiet spell at the moment. She said there were Section 106 monies to claim should there be a project in mind for the council. Concerns were raised regarding the Playpark suggestion made at a previous meeting.
She advised that work on the Sturminster Bridge will take place from September.
There had been a lot of complaints regarding overhanging uncut hedges but pointed out that the enormous amount of rain had caused everything to grow rapidly.
2023.38 Questions from members of the public
None
2023.39 Correspondence
No outstanding correspondence
2023.40 Any Other Business
2023.41 Date of next meeting
Tuesday October 24th 2023
The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.15pm