ASHMORE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
held at
Ashmore Village Hall on
Wednesday September 7th 2022 at 7pm
Present:-
Chairman -Philip Hamilton (PH)
Councillors – Philippa Kelway-Bamber (PKB), Annette Ruff (AR) Sara Milton (SM) Gilly Forge (GF)
Dorset Councillor Jane Somper
There were 17 members of the public
1. Apologies Andrew Featherstone who had tendered his resignation from the Council due to a house move.
2. Minutes of the meeting of Monday May 9th 2022 were agreed as a true record and duly signed.
3. Declarations of interest. The Chairman reminded Councillors they should declare an interest whether personal, via a trust or a company in any item on the agenda and take no part in any discussion or decision regarding that interest.
4. Matters arising.
The Chairman had asked Councillors for nominations for Andrew Featherstone’s responsibilities within the Council.
Vice Chairman PKB was nominated for this role by GF and seconded by AR
Planning – PH
Airfield – GF
DAPTC – PKB
Defibrillator – SM
SM asked for a handover for the defibrillator duties and the Clerk will contact AF in this regard.
The Clerk had forwarded Andrew Featherstone’s resignation letter to Dorset Council who have supplied the statuatory notice advising of the vacancy. This will be advertised for 14 days and unless 10 members of the public request an election the council will be free to co-opt a replacement councillor. The Clerk has the necessary application forms for this procedure which gives structure and fairness to approve and elect the new councillor.
A co-option policy and procedure has been adopted.
Planning application meetings
The Chairman suggested calling separate emergency public meetings for some planning applications where input from the public would be advisable.
This would not take place for simple or straight forward applications.
Cameras – a discussion on the merits of installing APNR cameras in Ashmore.
Andrew Gale – in favour
Andrew explained the camera which had been offered by the police at no initial charge would be placed within the vicinity of the 30mph signs, high on a post and fairly unobtrusive. As automatic number plate recognition they would record vehicles passing through the village. They are not capable of facial recognition and would not capture individuals walking by or in the vehicle. He felt many residents did not feel comfortable within the village as there had been burglaries to sheds and outhouses. He said that only the police would be able to download the information should a burglary have taken place in order to see what vehicle movement there was at any given time. Andrew felt the cameras could also prevent speeding as drivers might mistake an ANPR camera for a speed camera.
Richard Coplan – against the introduction of APNR cameras
Richard agreed regarding the stress any burglary can cause an individual but there had only been a handful of outbuilding robberies and he said the police were in favour of alarms, painting equipment in a colour making resale impossible, using CCTV . These different layers are a deterrent to a potential thief. ANPR cameras were only able to recognise number plates and their presence could indicate there were valuables worth searching for thus encouraging thieves. These cameras were not sited in any village in North Dorset and the police are under resourced and unable to follow up many petty crimes such as lawnmower thefts.
Members of the public said:-
– Police under resourced to follow up ANPR evidence and unlikely to result in a prosecution.
– Cameras might reduce house values if potential purchasers thought the cameras indicated a high crime rate.
– Similarly, insurance premiums might be increased.
– Costs. Andrew said the cameras were free but he would seek to raise funds for installation and maintenance.
– Andrew said that by harnessing technology thieves might be deterred.
The Chairman concluded the discussion by asking for a show of hands in favour or against.
In favour – three residents
Against – nine residents
Abstained – five residents
The Chairman thanked both Andrew and Richard
5. Updates from officers
Planning Nothing to report
DAPTC Nothing to report
Trees GF thanked Colin Elford for continuing efforts in planting trees on the outskirts of the village. He does this with the landowners permission, and at his own expense £25 for each young tree guard) and looks after them so that they will be enjoyed in years to come. In the context of Ash dieback which will probably claim all our mature Ash trees eventually, I think his actions should be appreciated by the Parish Council.
She also thanked Caroline Rucker for planting trees in memory of her late husband James on the approach to the village on Washer’s Pit. GF mentioned the late John Milbourne who planted and staked several young trees on the approach to the village on North Road. She concluded by thanking the landowners, Ian Millard and Philippa’s family estate, who allowed these young trees to be planted on their land.
Pond Constantine Lynsey said the Aquaplancton will be shortly going into the pond. The grass around the trees has been strimmed.
He was thanked for all his work regarding the pond.
Playground In his absence Paul Whetham had nothing to report. All the volunteer recreation ground group were thanked for their hard work.
Airfield Nothing to report
Defibrillator SM will take over this responsibility which means liaising with the Community Heartbeat Trust and filling in an online site inspection report. AF will be contacted to advise SM in this regard. He had planned awareness meetings for members of the public but had been cancelled because of covid restrictions and would need to be rearranged with CHT.
6. Finance Nothing to report. The clerk had circulated a bank reconciliation
7. Dorset Councillor’s report
Cllr Jane Somper reported that Dorset had been awarded a gold award for their support for the military community and this was the first public sector organisation to receive this award
Highway maintenance during the summer had been extensive, patching, surface dressing, in-situ recycling and road resurfacing. Over 14 weeks 457,000 square metres of road was surfaced dressed.
Dorset is one of nine areas in England to receive funding from a new government scheme to improve electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The Dorset local plan defining local planning strategy has been extended with concerns raised challenging government imposed housing numbers.
Leaflets and posters have been displayed to help people with the cost of living squeeze with household support.
Wessex Internet has been awarded a seven million pound contract to provide additional superfast broadband to areas in Dorset.
There are workshops taking place during September and October regarding Adult Social Care and Children’s services which will be most interesting and informative to attend and details of dates and times for workshops in Sturminster and Shaftesbury are available.
8. Any Other Business
The Chairman expressed gratitude to Andrew Featherstone for his hard work on the Parish Council and wished him well for the future.
He thanked the volunteers who cleaned the war memorial and it was agreed that the names on memorial are clearer.
9. Items for next agenda – none
10. Date of next meeting – Wednesday 25th January 2023