HINTON ST MARY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
held at Hinton St Mary Village Hall
on Tuesday February 13th 2024 at 7pm
Present:-
Chairman – Steve Johnson (SJ)
Councillors – Celia Wright (CW) Mark Steggles (MS) Cllr Rob Bartlett (RB)
Clerk – Vivian Hitchmough (VH)
Mr Chris Hardiman
2024.01 Apologies:- Jo Curtis (JC) County Cllr Carole Jones
2024.02 Minutes of the meeting of Tuesday October 24th 2023 were agreed as a true record and duly signed.
2024.03 Matters Arising
The Chairman and Councillors were all saddened after the death of Janet Bolton. Janet was so well loved and will be greatly missed in the village. She was a Parish Councillor until recently and gave a great and loyal service to the village.
Mr Chris Hardiman gave an interesting insight into the history and ongoing maintenance and upkeep of the Village Hall. He said there is a need for more volunteers and is placing a notice in the Mosaic. The Chairman agreed that more village people should be encouraged to help in this regard. Mr Hardiman suggested there should be more integration between the Village Hall Committee, the Parish Council and Church and the Chairman assured him of the Parish Council’s support. The Chairman thanked Mr Hardiman for attending the meeting.
The Chairman reported there had been several complaints from one resident regarding parking outside the White Horse and the complaint suggested yellow lines which Councillors regarded as unsuitable. However, the Chairman will email the Estate suggesting signage in the area.
2024.04 Declarations of Interest
None
2024.05 Updates from Officers
Planning
Home Farm application – the Council made no comment.
Roads, drains and potholes
Nicolsons Cottages road improvements have been completed.
RB said slabs were lifting on the pavement outside of the White Horse
RB said flooding had occurred at the Coal Yard, Cutts Mill.
Village Liaison/Garden
No report
Speed Indicator Device
The Chairman reported that the SID is working well.
Defibrillator CW said she will order the replacement pads before their expiry date which is June 25th
Telephone Box
The Chairman and Councillors agreed the book exchange was working well with books rotated and a good selection to choose from.
2024.06
Finance
A cheque for the clerk’s salary and insurance was signed by the Chairman and will be delivered to JC for countersigning.
2024.07 County Councillors report
An email from Cllr Jones – “ no cuts to services and looking for a devolution deal for Dorset on a Tier 2 basis – no elected Major which would bring more money into the area to allow us to do things such as run our own bus services etc.”
2024.08 Questions from members of the public
None
2024.09
Correspondence
No outstanding correspondence
2024.10
Any Other Business
MS reported the footpath at Nicolsons Cottages is overgrown and the bank has slipped. MS and the Chairman will report the issue to the Council.
Food waste bins are not being collected on a regular basis and this has been reported on several occasions.
CW reminded Councillors their enrolment forms should be completed, signed and witnessed. She will take the forms to Blandford at a pre-arranged appointment on 21st March at 11.30.
2024.11
Date of next meeting Tuesday 14th May 2024 at the later time of 8pm
This will be the AGM and Councillors will stand down as this is an election year. This meeting will be followed by the Parish Council meeting.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.30pm