SOUTH PERROTT PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 7th January 2025 in the Village Hall
Present: Cllr Richard Footitt (Chairman), Cllr Robin Ketteridge, Cllr Martyn Gillingham and Cllr Sue Coutanche
In Attendance: Angela Gillingham (Acting Clerk), and nine members of the public.
| Item No. | Action | |
| 2025/001 | APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies were received from Cllr Tom Scott-Malden, Cllr Craig Monks, PCSO Alex Bishop and Mark Payne (new Clerk). | |
| 2025/002 | NOTIFICATION OF ANY OTHER BUSINESS NOT ON THE AGENDA Cllr Footitt added an item regarding the appraisal of the Payroll Officer, to be discussed under item 12. | |
| 2025/003 | MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 5TH NOVEMBER 2024 It was proposed by Cllr Gillingham and seconded by Cllr Coutanche that the minutes of the meeting of 5th November 2024 be approved. These were subsequently signed by the Chair. | |
| 2025/004 | MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES AND RAISED BY MEMBERS a) Appointment of Clerk – Cllr Footitt was pleased to report the appointment of Mark Payne as the new Clerk to the Parish Council. b) Update on appointment of Lengthsman – Cllr Footitt advised that Mike Buchan was willing to keep the verges tidy in Pipplepen Lane, from the Village Hall up to the Old School House. Mike Buchan will invoice the PC for his work on an hourly basis. Cllr Footitt is still looking for someone to keep the grass and trees in Manor Close tidy, and to repaint the white posts at each end of the village. Two names were suggested which Cllr Footitt will follow up. c) Update on appointment of Environment Warden and Junior Wardens – Cllr Footitt reported that Yvonne Sullivan was willing to chair a steering group focusing on the reduction of plastic waste. d) Painting of phone box in the Pound – Cllr Footitt advised that the phone box is not listed so we are allowed to paint it. The paint colour must be “Currant Red Gloss”. Michael Stevenette offered to supply the paint and undertake the painting. He will cut back the branches immediately behind the box but asked if the lengthsman could cut the remainder of the greenery overhanging the road near the phone box. Councillors agreed that the Parish Council would pay for the materials required. e) Update on trees for the village – Cllr Footitt advised that Cllr Monks said they had run out of trees in Beaminster so more trees have been ordered for Mosterton and South Perrott. They should arrive at the beginning of Spring. f) Appointment of Digital Champion for the village – Cllr Gillingham reported that Jonathan Baker was willing to take on this role. Cllr Scott-Malden was in the process of developing the Parish Council website and will include a list of all the ‘Champions’. Cllr Gillingham referred to Digital Voice and said that Jonathan may be able to help with setting up new broadband routers. g) Update on appointment of Tree Warden – Cllr Footitt advised that he was still looking for a volunteer. Cllr Coutanche suggested that it may not be necessary for the village to have a Tree Warden since all the planning applications relating to trees are seen by all the councillors. h) Update on numbers for First Aid Course, 1st February 2025 – Cllr Ketteridge advised that 22 people had expressed an interest initially, but he was still waiting for any of them to sign up for the course. He will put another advertisement on Facebook. Cllr Coutanche will put an advert in Pump & Pound. The first course can accommodate a maximum of 12 people. | RF RK/SC |
| 2025/005 | STANDING ORDERS AND FINANCIAL REGULATIONS Standing Orders – Members confirmed that no amendments were required and that the Standing Orders should be accepted for a further year. Proposed by Cllr Footitt, seconded by Cllr Coutanche. Financial Regulations – Cllr Footitt advised that he had compared our Financial Regulations with those of three Parish Councils of comparable small villages in Dorset. Two signatories can sign off an expenditure up to £500, otherwise, approval must be sought at the next Parish Council meeting. This was agreed. Proposed by Cllr Footitt and seconded by Cllr Ketteridge. | |
| 2025/006 | PLANNING Applications handled since last meeting – P/FUL/2024/06664 – Picket Lane Nursery. In order to meet the deadline for comments, the Parish Council has agreed to support this application to install two shepherds huts. Decisions notified by DC since last meeting – P/FUL/2024/05297 –proposal for alterations to the Parrett Hotel. This application has been granted. c) New applications to be considered – None d) Tree applications – None e) Other Planning Matters – WD/ENF/20/00041 – Parrett Hotel Enforcement Notice.This is to restore the Parrett Hotel to a nine-bedroom hotel. The Land Registry has now converted the ownership back to one property. The owners of the property have mostly complied with the requirements in the enforcement notice. In response to a question, Cllr Footitt clarified that, as a hotel, it is classified as one property comprising nine hotel bedrooms, including one which is self-catering, and manager’s accommodation. | |
| 2025/007 | REPORTS FROM DORSET COUNCILLOR, POLICE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICER, RIVER WARDEN AND FOOTPATHS OFFICER DORSET COUNCILLOR Cllr Craig Monks had sent a message apologising for not being able to attend the meeting and had only one new item to report which is that Cllr Nick Ireland (Leader of Dorset Council) is holding a forum in the Beaminster Ward on Tuesday 21st January at 6pm. He hoped that members of the SPPC would be able to attend. POLICE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICER Alex Bishop sent a message saying there was nothing to report RIVER WARDEN Please see Appendix 1.In response to a question, Cllr Gillingham advised that checking the quality of the water in the River Parrett was the responsibility of the Environment Agency and they do occasional testing. FOOTPATHS OFFICER Please see Appendix 2.Cllr Footitt will ask the Clerk to draft a letter of thanks to Highways for their prompt response to repairing potholes and sweeping the footway through the village. | RF/MP |
| 2025/008 | MILLENNIUM GREEN Cllr Gillingham advised that there had been no progress since the last meeting. Final approval was still awaited from the Charity Commission. Once this has been obtained, the final paperwork and change of signatories can been completed. A decision will then need to be taken on how frequently to cut the grass. This was being done by the Environment Agency until the end of November last year. Cllr Coutanche suggested that, as a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience over the past few years, that the Environment Agency might agree to continue cutting the grass. | MG |
| 2025/009 | DIGITAL VOICE/WESSEX INTERNET Cllr Gillingham suggested that residents should turn down any offer for their landline to be transferred to Digital Voice until BT have provided full-fibre to all premises. Currently people with Digital Voice cannot use their telephones in a power cut. In discussion, the following points were made –- You can buy a power pack with a USB port to provide electricity for at least an hour, in the event of a power cut.BT have said they could provide a battery back-up which would last about an hour. Cllr Ketteridge advised that Wessex Internet were planning to run full fibre on poles across farmland and through ducting into the village. He suggested people should register with Wessex Internet who will then come and give a presentation to the village. Cllr Ketteridge will put a note on Facebook. | MG RK |
| 2025/010 | EV CHARGING POINT Cllr Ketteridge reported that he and Cllr Gillingham had met with a representative from Dorset Council to consider the positioning of an EV charging point in the village. It will be suitable for charging two cars, and it was hoped that it could be installed in the Village Hall car park. There would be no cost to the Village Hall. Cllr Gillingham said that this would be discussed at the Village Hall Management meeting the following week. | MG |
| 2025/011 | ENVIRONMENT ISSUES Cllr Footitt advised that Yvonne Sullivan was willing to lead a steering group focussing on the village becoming a plastic-free community. Cllr Ketteridge agreed to join this group on behalf of the Parish Council. | |
| 2025/012 | FINANCE The current financial status is £8,664.01, with expenditure of £1,062.37, mainly on insurance, audit, bin emptying, purchase of a Christmas tree. In addition, a goodwill sum of £80 has been received from Lloyds Bank because of the time it took the bank to change the signatories. To ratify the precept for 2025-2026. Cllr Footitt explained that the proposed precept of £6,000 is the same as last year. This sum was agreed, proposed by Cllr Coutanche and seconded by Cllr Gillingham. Cllr Footitt then signed the Precept Request form. | |
| 2025/013 | MATTERS OF REPORT AND ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING Chairman Mud on road in Lecher Lane – Cllr Footitt advised that he has spoken to Dorset Council and to the National Farmers Union. The NFU says that they recommend it is reasonable that farmers clear the roads of any mud at the end of each day. He asked that people report mud on the road to Cllr Coutanche who will contact the farmer in the first instance. Annual Village Meeting and Dorset Council forum – Cllr Footitt reported that only one person had attended the forum organised by Cllr Craig Monks in mid-December. He suggested that Cllr Monks should be invited to link his next forum with the Village Meeting so that he can listen to any village concerns. The date of Tuesday 29th April was agreed for the Village Meeting. Wall in Manor Close – Cllr Footitt reported that the wall has been made safe by Mike Buchan. Some of the nearby trees have been cut back and the area is much improved. Defibrillator – Cllr Footitt advised that the Parish Council has now taken over responsibility for the defibrillator and has signed up to a ‘Managed Solutions Agreement’ with The Community Heartbeat Trust, who are responsible for maintaining the equipment. Appraisal of Payroll Officer – Cllr Footitt explained that Vicky Reed was appointed in April 2023 and should have had an appraisal in April 2024. He suggested that her salary is increased by one increment and backdated to April 2024. He will organise an appraisal for the period April 2024 to March 2025. This was agreed, proposed by Cllr Ketteridge and seconded by Cllr Coutanche. Members Power cuts – Cllr Gillingham suggested that the Parish Council ought to seek an explanation from the National Grid for the recent power cuts. Stephen Legg explained that some of the cuts were to do with works to the overhead cabling. Peter Hinton advised that people registered as vulnerable get a warning telephone call in advance of a planned power cut, and are updated at intervals (via mobile phone) during any power cut as to when the power will be restored. 5G mobile signal – Cllr Ketteridge reported that he is looking at the companies which can provide a 5G mobile mast in the village. Theoretically the whole village (outside) is covered by 5G but residents’ phones need to be capable of receiving 5G. Parish Council website – Cllr Gillingham explained that the website now has more information on it and he is keen for people to access it. | RF RF RK |
| 2025/014 | DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 5th March 2025 at 7pm in the village hall. |
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.23pm.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION TO RAISE ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDAS – None
Signed …………………………………………………………………….. Date ………………………………..
Appendix 1
SOUTH PERROTT PARISH COUNCIL – 7th January 2025
RIVER WARDEN’S REPORT
This Autumn has produced four winter storms so far; two of which have been quite eventful for the south-west.
Storm Bert, over the weekend of 23rd/24th November, delivered over a month’s rainfall and high winds of 82mph in Wales. These winds, which were from the unusual direction of West North West, caused some damage to shed roofs locally.
Storm Darragh arrived soon after, on the weekend of 7th/8th December, and resulted in the first Red Weather Warning (extreme weather) being sent to mobile phones in the area by HM Government. A wind speed of 96mph was recorded at Berry Head in Devon.
A fallen tree blocked the road to North Perrott, some damage was sustained to several garden outbuildings in the village and a personal injury accident was caused by a falling fence panel. However, rainfall was not excessive during this storm, as the wind speed caused the greatest problems.
Apart from the usual A356 road flooding in the dip on the way to Crewkerne, no other flooding problems were experienced in the village.
Martyn Gillingham
River/Flood Warden
Tel: 01935 891931
Email: mcvgillingham@btinternet.com
Appendix 2
SOUTH PERROTT PARISH COUNCIL – 7th January 2025
FOOTPATHS OFFICER’S REPORT
Many of the official footpaths are very muddy again and quite a few ‘locals’ are walking the agricultural tracks that have been recently laid by the Legg family. Please remember these are used at the discretion of the Legg family and respect their land that they cross. They are not public rights of way apart from where they follow existing footpaths and bridleways.
The current Government have recently announced that they plan to reverse the decision made by the previous Government that historic “Rights of Way” had to be registered by 2031 or they would be lost forever. It is estimated that there are over 40,000 miles of these paths in England and Wales and local authorities are struggling to record them. Please let me, Sue, know if you are aware of any historic “Rights of Way” in our parish that need to be registered.
The Environment Agency has at last reopened access across the Flood Relief Scheme and the Millennium Green can now be reached from the Engineer’s Road as well as via Bailey’s Lane and the permissive path through Orchard Farm.
We live in a parish which is designated as a National Landscape (formerly ANOB) so if you have the opportunity, please enjoy the beautiful scenery that is available on our doorsteps!
Cllr. Sue Coutanche
Footpaths Officer
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