Minutes of Bradford Abbas Annual Parish Meeting
Held on Tuesday 2nd April 2024 in the Village Hall at 7.00pm
Present: Cllr Stephen Hillier (Chairman), Cllr Lynne Bailey, Cllr Diane Coffin, Cllr Peter Clark, Cllr Stephen Longdon. Also present four (4) members of the public.
- Welcome and Introductions: The Chairman welcomed Councillors to the meeting and in particular welcomed the members of the public.
- Apologies for absence: Cllr Jenny Thomas.
- Declarations of interest: There were none declared.
- Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held 4th April 2023: These were available on the web site and had previously been agreed at the Council meeting held in July 2023.
- Chairman’s Report: The Council had met 6 times during the year. The Annual Meeting in April had to be aborted as there was no valid nomination for Chairman. At the July meeting Stephen Hillier was co-opted onto the Council and elected as Chairman. As Chairman he would not seek re-election in 2024, he would act more as a facilitator and would not participate in votes unless specifically required to do so. Three main issues had been discussed during the year:
- Fanny Brook Lane: this work is ongoing following the attempted access to the lane by a motor vehicle. Land owners and users were being contacted.
- The closure of the Post Box in Church Road. Following the closure of the post box in the wall of the Old Post Office the Parish Council campaigned for a new box to be positioned as close to the centre of the village and in a safe position as possible. There was a major publicity campaign involving local and national press, radio and television stations. A new box has now been installed in Church Road, but the Parish Council is still campaigning for this box to be labelled C111R.
- The third major matter has been that of safety on the A30 between Sherborne and Yeovil and in particular at the Over Compton Bradford Abbas crossing. A working group has been set up with two representatives from Bradford Abbas and two from Queensthorne Parish Councils to collate information, accident data and concerns to present to Dorset Council and other interested bodies to see what can be done to improve road safety on this stretch of road. The Chairman had spoken to the Cabinet Member for Highways at Dorset who had indicated that in addition to the speed limit being reduced to 60mph other courses of action were also being investigated.
- The Parish Council received an update on the developing Neighbourhood Plan and agreed progress to date and asked that the project continue, providing a budget allocation towards the work.
Finally the question of funding was addressed. Owing to increased costs to the Council from suppliers it was felt prudent to raise the precept collected by Dorset Council on the Parish Council’s behalf by 4%. This decision had not been taken lightly but was felt necessary.
- Reports from Other Councillors:
- Neighbourhood Plan Working Group : Monthly meetings continued and Government funding had been applied for and granted to cover the fees of a consultant and hall hire. Data from the survey had been analysed and using this information the first draft of a policy, statements and objectives is nearing completion. A design code has been produced by specialist advisors for Bradford Abbas and Clifton Maybank which will become part of the final Plan. Meetings had been held with Dorset Council and Bradford Abbas Community Land Trust. The work to date has been presented to the Parish Council which has endorsed the Plan so far. Moving forward there will be more meetings with the Consultant, there will be another public consultation which will address te Plan which will then go back to the Parish Council and then on to external Government advisors. Cllr Thomas, Chair of the Neighbourhood Plan working group thanked all members of the group for their hard work and dedication.
- Telephone Box Group: A large number of books, games and jig-saws in good condition continued to be provided, exchanged and borrowed by adults and children alike. Planting in the area continues providing a bright focal point in the village. A highlight of the year was the Coronation Coach. It was visited by people from all over the County, it was taken to the Bath and West Show and was featured in Local, National and even International Press. Remembrance Day was recognised with a large display of poppies, camouflage netting, cross, helmet and boots. Christmas saw a thatched cottage crib and figures along with a splendid Christmas Tree. Thanks again to the volunteers and especially Cllr Longdon and Squish Harris for their assistance.
- Art Exhibition: Organised by a very enthusiastic group and kindly hosted by Valda Baker in her studio. Over 20 artists from the Village exhibited their work. A catering team provided refreshments. The event raised over £1400 towards the Churchyard Renewal Scheme. Special thanks to Velda Baker, Squish Harris, Simon Cain O’Grady, John and Jo Barber.
- Tree Group – the hedge in Westbury has been cut and tidied up and the trees in the Recreation ground inspected. Some of the conifers in the churchyard although not a Parish responsibility were going to be felled as they had suffered in the storms and also there was some damage being caused by them to the wall of the tower.
- Footpath Officer reported that the footpaths were in reasonable order considering recent weather. The bridge behind the school is due for remedial works later in April. The weather had also washed away the gravel along Fanny Brooks Lane. Cllr Longdon was thanked for his work in this area.
- Village Hall Group: Hiring fees had to be increased this year due to increased costs and a water metre had been installed.
- Clerk’s Report: One major disappointment this year had been the vandalism and destruction of two of the picnic benches on the Playing Field. These were mindless acts and not what was expected in a village such as Bradford Abbas. The funding for these benches came from the precept raised and as such were the property of all the residents. Elections take place in May we do not know as yet who is going to be standing for election although Councillors Iain Houston, Lynne Bennett, Stephen Longdon and Stephen Hillier were standing down. They were all thanked for their hard work over the years.
- Questions and Comments from the Public: Councillors were thanked for their hard work throughout the year.
The meeting closed at 7.45pm