Minutes of the Dorney Parish Meeting of the Council
held at the Dorney School on Tuesday 11th May at 8 pm
Present:- Councillors J Dax (chaired the meeting), S Baker, E MacLennan, A Palmer, R Stopford, M Westcott.
In Attendance:- Cllr Paul Kelly, 13 MoP and Sue Moffat (Clerk).
1. Resolved to elect Cllr Jill Dax as Chairman for the ensuing year.
2. Cllr Dax signed the declaration of Acceptance of Office as the Chairman for the ensuing year.
At this point, Cllr Dax thanked the outgoing Chairman, Cllr Harris, for all his work he has done on behalf of the parish council since 1995. Also, on behalf of the new council and the community, Cllr Dax thanked all the retiring councillors (R Ormond, A Foxley, A Purdie, P Smith, C Stoughton) for all their hard work and wished them best for the future.
3. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
A Foxley asked for the independent advice received regards the proposed roundabout at Court lane/Lake End Rd/ Village Rd to be published. Cllr Dax responded that this will be addressed under the agenda item on this matter.
A Foxley also explained that the defibrillator fridge magnets have not yet been distributed by the parish council due to Covid and she is in possession of them.
Paul Humpleman, on behalf of PCC, would like to speak about parking in Court Lane when this agenda item is discussed.
4. Apologies were received from Cllr G Sandy.
5. Disclosure of interest in items on the agenda – None.
6. Co-option of councillors – At the proposition of Cllr Dax, seconded by Cllr Westcott-Wreford, it was agreed to co-opt on to Dorney Parish Council Robert Stopford, Anna Palmer and Stephen Baker who duly signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office. It was agreed for all new councillors to write a short paragraph about themselves to be published in the Dorney News.
7. Resolved to receive and approve the minutes of the previous meeting Council held on the 12th April 2021. Cllr Euan stated that the End of year Accounts will be on an Income and Expenditure basis and he has asked a local internal auditor, Kuldip Kainth, to examine the books, but is still waiting for confirmation. The Clerk added that the External Auditor’s stipulation was that the Internal Auditor must be independent to the Council.
8. Resolved to elect Vice-Chairman – At the proposition of Cllr Dax, seconded by Cllr MacLennan, it was agreed to elect Cllr Westcott-Wreford as Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year.
9. Resolved To fix the amount of the Chairman’s allowance in pursuance of section 15(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 at the budgeted amount of £150.
10. Finance Committee – Resolved that membership will be Cllrs Cllr MacLennan, Stopford and Baker
11. and that Cllr MacLennan will be Chairman of the Finance meeting for the ensuing year. Agreed to have the finance meeting at 7pm before the Council meeting in November 2021.
12. To appoint representatives on the undermentioned bodies:-
Beeches Community Board , BALC, Dorney Village Hall – This agenda item was deferred until the next council meeting in June.
13. Resolved to fix the dates and times of meetings of the Council for the ensuing year – to be at 8pm on 2nd Tuesday of every month – (at Dorney School) and no meeting in August. One amendment was made to have the June meeting on 15th June so the Locum Clerk can be present. Finance Meeting to set budget and precept and review internal audit plan and risk assessments will be held before the Council meeting on 12th November at 7.00pm, 2021 in Dorney School.
14. Clerk’s Report – To note: (i) All new councillors must sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, witnessed by the Parish Clerk, before attending the first meeting of Council; (ii) All new councillors must submit a Declaration of Interests within 28 days of taking up Office.
15. Chairman’s Report – None as newly appointed.
16. Appointment of new Parish Clerk – The present Clerk will be leaving at the end of May. The Clerk from Taplow Parish council has agreed to be the Locum Clerk until the new clerk is in position. Also, the Clerk at Taplow (who is also part time) is retiring so may be possible to combine both positions
when seeking a new clerk. The hourly rate for the Locum Clerk was agreed at £30/hr up to 10 hours a week if needed. The Locum Clerk will carry out all the necessary duties but will not be involved with the Internal and External Audit for 2020-21 whilst the Locum Clerk is in position. Cllr Dax agreed for her mobile phone number to be the point of contact via the phone until the new clerk is appointed. Further discussion took place regarding banking arrangements, this discussion has now been minuted under Finance.
17. Update on the parking situation in Court Lane – To be discussed later.
18. Update on M4Smartmotorway works. No further updates but will ensure road closures are published.
19. To ask Beeches Community board for a grant for another Mobile Vehicular Activated Sign for Marsh Lane. Agreed for the Clerk to submit a grant application.
20. Annual Policy Review & update – Deferred until the June Council meeting.
• Standing Order
• Code of Conduct
• Financial Regulations
• General Privacy Notice
• Information Data Protection Policy
21. Projects:
• Dents Corner Roundabout – James Palmer had sought some independent advice on the proposed roundabout. (A Foxley has asked this to be available on the web site). The Clerk has not received any further information about the proposed roundabout from Bucks Council. Cllr Dax has vocalised concerns about the proposed roundabout as Dorney Parish Council never received the design and road safety audit which was agreed at Bucks Council on 17th February 2021. After seeking a Freedom of Information Request this information has been received. It shows if the roundabout is installed there would be less space than a T-junction for boat trailers and HGV’s to manoeuvre. Cllr Dax suggested that Dorney Parish Council need a number of issues addressed before any works take place. It was agreed that Dorney Parish Council should request that Bucks Council stops any further works and it was also resolved to withdraw the £5k funding from Dorney PC towards this project until the issues have been resolved. Also, to seek help from Bucks Council, Cllr Sandy on this matter. Cllr Dax will prepare a statement of objections which she will circulate for agreement before sending to Bucks Council.
• Dorney Area Parking Review Consultation Process- Road Safety Audit Review and proposed actions – James Palmer stated he was very concerned about the Parking Review consultation drawn up by Bucks Council. A more holistic approach should be considered taking into account parking restrictions, traffic calming and would ask Bucks Council to press pause on this Parking Review. It was agreed for Cllr Dax to prepare a report to this effect and to circulate to councillors for agreement before sending it to Bucks Council.
• Paul Humpleman raised concerns about the public parking for members of the Church and it was essential that parking along Court Lane should continue.
• Roundmoor Ditch – Ongoing.
• Dorney Lake Update – Cllrs Dax and
• MacLennan attended a meeting (no police attended this time) and the community realises that the only option was to close the Lake. However, Eton college is n not happy closing the Lake to the public and hope in the future to change the situation. The Bursar at Eton College plans going forward for the Lake to remain closed to the public but there are number of events taking place over the summer after which considering opening the Lake from 27th September 2021 to 20th March 2022 as a trial period. Cllr Dax did suggest parking charges of £2.50 can cause people to park on Court Lane if if only using the Lake for a short time. The Bursar did agree to consider parking charges. One suggestion was the first hour is free but this will be reviewed. The next meeting is 3rd September. Paul Humpleman added for those people attending events parking on site should be included in the application to stop parking on Court Lane. James Palmer added that access control via a phone-based Apps is a low cost method and manageable for allowing local residents access.
• Orchard Herbs Site – (i) Cllr Stopford pointed out that in the Certificate of Lawfulness letter sent to Joy Morrissey MP, the expected termination date was 28th May; (ii) The Enforcement Notice was vague and needs the assistance of Cllr Sandy; (iii) The Hotel decision should have been 16th December 2020 but still outstanding and asked Joy Morrissey MP how long is an extension before a decision is made. Thames Water have also made an objection. Cllr Stopford to follow up.
• Liaison with Burnham Parish Council – Cllr Dax will discuss the outstanding issues of Orchard Farm with the Planning Committee at Burnham PC.
• Dorney Parish Council website- New website- Cllr Westcott put forward several proposals and to use a standard one would be the cost effective. He recommended parishcouncilwebsite.org.uk. First year £599 to set up and thereafter £300 annual fee. It has a compliant template which can be adapted for Dorney. This was agreed and Cllr Westcott-Wreford to organise. Cllr MacLennan observed that Alice Foxley had set up and managed the current website for a number of years, he and Cllr Dax expressed their thanks for the work she has done.
22. Planning
a. To note planning issues, decisions and appeals recently notified by South Bucks District Council – (as appended).
b. To consider and comment upon applications – (as appended).
23. Finance
a) To authorise payment of Accounts for May 2021 (as circulated). Agreed.
b) To receive list of income for May 2021 (to be circulated). No income.
c) To receive recent bank statements. No statement has been received before this meeting.
d) To receive the budget for 2021/22. Noted
e) The Clerk advised that she was awaiting forms from the Bank of Ireland in order to replace the former signatories with new Councillors. It was also agreed that Councillor MacLennan will arrange to transfer bank accounts from the Bank of Ireland to Barclays Bank in order to use UK online banking arrangements and set up new mandates accordingly
24. Member’s Reports – No reports.
25. Correspondence – None.
26. Highways work – All going well and Dorney Parish Council is very appreciative of his work. The groundsman has done an excellent job repairing the benches. He has done an excellent job repairing two of the benches. It was agreed to repair the bench by the tennis court. The Tractor still needs servicing.
27. Resolved that in view of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted it is advisable in the public interest, that the press and public be temporarily excluded, and they are instructed to withdraw (Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960 s1).
28. Appointment of Grounds Maintenance and Highways Groundsman
The contract of the Groundsman was reviewed. No comments were received.
Date of next meeting – 8pm on 15thJune, 2021 at the Dorney School.
