BRADFORD ABBAS PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 1st July 2025 at 7.00pm on Bradford Abbas Village Hall
Attendance: Cllrs. R Legg, P Clark, D Furby, S Jenkins, D Coffin, J Barber, and the Parish Clerk. There were no members of the public present
- Welcome and Apologies for Absence: The Chairman welcomed members to the meeting Cllrs J Thomas, apologies were agreed and accepted.
- Declarations of Interest: None were declared.
- Minutes of the Meeting of the 6th May 2025 – These had been circulated, their acceptance was proposed by Cllr Clark, seconded by Cllr Coffin – Agreed unanimously. Minutes of the 4th March had been agreed at the previous meeting.
Matters arising from the Minutes a) Blackberry Solar Farm, nothing to report.
b) T474 Saxon Maybank footpath – still not opened. Dorset Council pursuing the matter and hope to create a temporary access. This will come to the next meeting.
c) Diary Dates – The Annual Meeting in 2026 is scheduled for 5th May 2026, day after the Bank Holiday it was proposed to try and move this back a week to 12th May 2026 – agreed. The July meeting was scheduled for 7th July but the AGAR has to be published by 1st July it was proposed to try to move this forward to 23rd June 2026 – agreed The dates would be sent out to members when confirmed.
5. Election of a Vice-Chairman – It was agreed to leave the position unfilled, should the Chairman be absent a Cllr can be nominated from the floor for that meeting.
6. Public Forum – There were no members of the public present.
7. Financial Matters: a) Payments made and due - A list of payments made and due had been circulated, the balance in the Current Account had been updated to read £7554.77 as of 30th June 2025. The Internal Audit fee of £150 had been added to the list of payments due. The unpresented checks were noted and it was agreed to wait until the next meeting Proposed Cllr Jenkins, Seconded Cllr Legg – Agreed unanimously.
Current Account
£4,647.34 Reported Balance as at 29th April 2025
Payments made since that date Direct Debit
£176.77 Ch 991 K Dike Inv 2216 AWS EMEA 0.32
£8.25 PAY Bank Charges AWS EMEA 0.31
£229.80 Ch 997 Salary Month 1 ICO £52.00 agreed 06/05/25
£260.00 Ch 994 Web site changes LCN.com £76.79
£54.00 Ch 995 Village Hall (NP)
£5.75 PAY Bank charge
£4500.00 Transfer from Deposit Account
£229.80 Salary Month 2
£451.35 Ch 1000 DAPTC Annual Membership (as agreed 06/05/25)
£47.75 Ch 1001 DAPTC Mail Box
£7554.77 Balance in Current Account as at 30th June 2025
Future Payments Uncleared payments
£172.20 Ch 1002 HMRC PAYE £3882.06 Ch 992 Groundwork UK
£181.45 Ch 999` K M Dike Inv 2260 £181.45 Ch 996 KM Dike Inv 2235
£229.80 Ch 1003 Salary Month 3
£102.08 Ch 1005 SSL certificate web site
£408.00 Ch 1004 Defibrillator check
£150.00 Internal Audit fee
£1243.53 Total Future Payments including uncleared payments - £5,477.94
Deposit Account
£34,333.69 balance in Deposit account at 29th April 2025
£20.98 Interest May
£22.87 Interest June
£4500.00 Transferred to Current Account
£29,877.54 balance in Deposit Account 30th June 2025
b) Internal Audit - The auditor had made a number of recommendations. These had been acknowledged and were being addressed. It was suggested that the Allotment Lease be reviewed – Cllr Clark offered to assist with this and the matter will come forward in September The Internal Auditor had given an unqualified statement. The recommendations and actions will be forwarded to the External Auditor. Acceptance of the report was proposed by Cllr Legg, seconded by Cllr Furby – Agreed unanimously.
c) AGAR (Annual Governance & Accountability Return) Reports - There were no conflicts of interest with BDO LLP the external auditor and the paper was signed by the Chairman. Contact details for the Chairman were completed.
c.i) Section 1 Governance Statement– The Chairman went through each assertion, Councillors agreed the assertions and the Chairman signed the Governance Statement.
c.ii) Assertion 10 – Next year the AGAR would include a 10th assertion regarding GDPR compliance this involves having a dedicated ‘.gov.uk’ Parish Council website, dedicated Parish Council e-mail addresses for Councillors, IT policy, up to date data protection policy, ICO registration. The IT policy is being developed, we have ICO registration, the web site is being developed with Hugo Fox. Councillors agreed to use Linux Computing to provide dedicated e-mail addresses for Councillors. Proposed Cllr Barber, seconded Cllr Furby – Agreed unanimously.
c.iii) Section 2 – Accounting Statements – Brought forward total from 2023/24 was £28,777. Carried forward balance for 2024/25 is £31,184 as of 31st March 2025. The statement was accepted and signed by the Chairman.
c.iv) Publication dates - The publication dates for the papers was agreed as 3rd July 2025, closing on 14th August and the Notice of Public Rights would be posted on the |Noticeboard and on-line.
d) Life Education request for a Grant for the School. In principle agreed with the request to fund up to £145 subject to the school, confirming their support for the project. Proposed Cllr Legg, seconded Cllr Furby – Agreed unanimously.
8. Planning Applications: The current list had been published with the Agenda, there had been no new applications. P/FUL/2025/07616 Loscombe House Old Compton Lane, DT9 4FF Continued use of land for commercial car storage – Officers are still collecting data relevant to the A30 junction on near missed following the Coroner’s report on a death at this junction.
P/FUL/2024/06236 3 Holiday Lodges and treatment plant at Saxon Maybank, East Farm DT9 6JN – There is a new case officer dealing with the matter,
Other undecided items will carry forward.
9. Representative Reports: a) Tree Officer. The dry weather has affected the trees and their stakes on the Recreation Ground. The stakes were loose in the ground and the trees had begun to lean, they have been re-staked and news ties applied.
b) Footpaths Officer – All clear, low vegetation has been removed.
c) Pennant – Nothing to report.
d) Village Hall – The fence to the front is still ongoing. The fence to the rear is being discussed and plans have been requested.
e) DATPS – Concern was expressed over the changes that have been made following the Devolution programme.
10. Reports from Working Groups: a) Telephone Box group – no report
b) Recreation Field – Cllr Coffin had submitted an inspection report. A new rota and report form would be circulated to Councillors.
c) Neighbourhood Plan – There Neighbourhood Plans was a discussion on the Government’s decision to withdraw funding for Neighbourhood Plans. A resolution from DAPTC backed by NALC (National Association of Local Councils) was discussed.
Resolution Calling on the Government to Provide Dedicated Funding:
Bradford Abbas Parish Council acknowledges that:
- Neighbourhood planning empowers local communities to shape the development and growth of their areas through the creation of Neighbourhood Plans.
- The preparation of Neighbourhood Plans requires significant time, expertise, and financial resources, often placing a burden on parish and town councils.
- Neighbourhood Plans contribute to more democratic, locally-informed planning decisions and support the delivery of sustainable development aligned with community needs and aspirations.
Therefore it is Resolved to -
- Call upon His Majesty’s Government to provide increased and sustained funding to support the development, review, and implementation of Neighbourhood Plans.
- Request that the Government ensures funding is accessible to all communities, to promote inclusivity and fairness in the planning process.
- Write to Edward Morello M.P and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government to communicate this resolution and advocate for enhanced support for neighbourhood planning
It was proposed that Council back the resolution and also write to the M.P. Edward Morello. Proposed Cllr Legg, seconded Cllr Barber – Agreed unanimously
11. Communications: a) The ‘Give Way’ sign at the junction of Bradford Road and Underdown Hollow had been replaced.
b) Flood Wessex are holding a session on zoom concerning ‘Flash Flooding’ , they hold monthly meetings if a Councillor is interested the Clerk can provided contact details.
c) The Defibrillators have been checked and certificates issued. Cllr Furby has received training.
d) Two road closure notices for July were noted.
e) The monthly police report noted that a sheep had been killed by a dog Other incidents involved thefts from shops at Babylon Hill.
12. Date of Next meeting: Tuesday 2nd September 2025 at 7.00pm Bradford Abbas Village Hall
The Meeting was declared closed at 9.25pm.