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Parish Council Minutes October 2020

Monthly Minutes Uploaded on October 30, 2020

Minutes of the Dorney Parish VIRTUAL Meeting of the Council
on Tuesday 13th October 2020 at 8 pm
Present:- Councillors K Harris (Chairman), A Purdie, P Smith, A Foxley, J Dax, R Ormond and
C Stoughton.
In Attendance:- Buckinghamshire Council Cllrs Dev Dhillon, D Pepler and G Sandy,
Matt Orchard (Balfour Beatty), Jim Stacey (Highways England), Mr Bowman (Dorney Village Pump), 7
Members of the Public and Sue Moffat ( Clerk).
The Chairman, Cllr Harris, announced this meeting is being filmed.
73 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Cllr Dev Dhillon reported:- (i) The infection rate of Covid-19 virus is rising although the rate is still low for
Buckinghamshire compared with other parts of the Country but we still need to take care; (ii) A public
announcement from Bucks Council is that it is considering to withdraw from SBDC and CDC’s Local Plan and
make one Local Plan to cover the whole of Buckinghamshire. There is no need to worry if a Local Plan is not
yet in place as planning rules are covered by NPPF and GB so will still be protected; (iii) The Government has
issued a White Paper on proposed new planning regulations and he would encourage people to respond; (iv)
Beeches Community Board is asking for Highways projects to fund and he has suggested speedreduction signs
by the school. He has also asked for £2,500 for sanitiser stations and masks by the Play Group Committee
which has been agreed by the Community Board; (iv) Regards the proposal for Lake End Rd roundabout,
Bucks Officers are in the process of designing a safe but simple design which Cllr Dhillon will share with
Dorney when it is ready; (v) A query was raised about a local newspaper article that Lake End
Rd/Huntercombe Lane South is being closed from 7pm to 6 am for 18 months? Cllr Dhillon will investigate
this matter; (vi) Clearway will along Court Lane will be lifted on 22nd November.
M4 Smartmotorway – Jim Stacey reported that they have applied for a Lake End Rd road closure on 23rd
October to 2
nd November whilst carrying out demolition works. Cllr Harris responded that in this application
for road closure it will divert traffic through Eton not Marsh Lane? Jim Stacey said Bucks County never
deemed Marsh Lane as a suitable diversion route. HE Communication Team will notify residents of the road
closure by a letter drop. Regards the proposed Lake End Rd roundabout, HE has funding to install it in this
current year. The entrance to Dorney Village Hall should be back to normal by the end of this month. Matt
Orchard will investigate and report back regards the query of the slip road on the new bridge which is
understood not to be part of the plans.
Cllr George Sandy reported:- Nothing further to report in addition to Cllr Dhillon’s report except he worried
that the delay in not having a Local Plan in place may provide a window of opportunity for unwanted
development.
Cllr David Pepler reported:- Nothing further to report in addition to Cllr Dhillon’s report except we are lucky
in Buckinghamshire that Covid-19 has increased less than other parts of the country.
Questions from Members of the Public:- (i) Bins by Dorney Village Hall have not been emptied. The Clerk has
made enquiries and entrance is often blocked by Smartmotorway work and refuse lorry unable to gain access.
(ii) Playground maintenance – Cllr Dhillon has asked Beeches Community Board for £2,500 towards
maintenance; (iii) Rewilding of the Water Field – Dorney School and the wider community may be interested
in helping with this. Cllr Dax responded that there have been no minutes since the last meeting of 17th
September with Thames Water and James Palmer but will circulate these when she receives them. She believes
they will be keen to involve the local community in this work and envisages no parking on site, just a
community area. Next meeting TBD.
Cllr Sandy left the meeting.
74 Apologies- None.
75 Disclosure of interest in items on the agenda – None.
76 Resolved to receive and approve the minutes of the previous Council meeting held on the 8
th September
2020.
77 Clerk’s Report – None.
78 Chairman’s Report – Cllr Harris reported that:-(i) Eton College will be re-opening the Ramblers car park;
(ii) Jubilee River is closed to flood water while repairs are done at the railway bridge due to erosion
of the bridge foundations; (iii) The cattle grid that was damaged will be repaired within the next 2 weeks.
79 To consider highways projects to put forward for funding to Beeches Community Board:- (i) 20 mph
signs around the school – two metal road signs and one electronic flashing sign manged by the School.
Locations suggested were Harcourt Lane and Old Stubbs Lane but will first consult with residents and the
School. Also it was suggested to tentatively ask Highways England to relinquish the house by the entrance
to Trumpers Field to provide a double entrance to ease congestion at School drop off and pick up time but
this will need adequate security i.e. height barriers. This matter will need to be discussed by DVH Committee.
Cllr Dhillon suggested asking Beeches Community Board for funding for the height barrier.
80 Updates on the M4 Smartmotorway – As discussed during Public Participation.
81 Updates on the proposal to install a roundabout at the junction of Village Rd/Court Lane/ Lake End Rd.-
As discussed during Public Participation i.e. waiting for a design plan and costs.
82 To respond to the Emergency Plan – To consider the proposal circulated by Cllr Smith – Dorney ‘People
Network’ Emergency Plan. Cllr Smith proposed that we should invite comments from the community regards
the proposed Emergency Plan and seek possible co-ordinators and volunteers. Advertise this on Nextdoor,
Dorney Parish Pump and the web site.
83 Website Accessibility – Cllr Foxley reported that Cllr Stoughton has completed the work on the Androids
and she has corrected the links that were not working correctly. Cllr Smith thanked Cllr Foxley for all her
hard work on updating the website. Cllr Foxley will discuss at the Budget meeting any further help she
may require.
84 To adopt a Social Media and Electronic Communication Policy -A Model Policy from SLCC has been
circulated. Cllr Foxley will adapt this to fit the needs of Dorney PC. Still disappointing that Nextdoor will
not allow the Parish Council to have an account but she will ask one more time. It was agreed for all
councillors to have a Council email address which Cllr Foxley offered to set up. Cllr Harris asked for all
emails sent from councillors’ email addresses to be copied to the Clerk.
85 To consider filming Council meetings which are open to the public and the press and make these
recordings available on the web site (A Guide on Open and Accountable Local Government has been
circulated.).It was agreed that filming of the meetings will change the depth of discussions as no personal
experience will be divulged. It is not always appreciated that parish councillors are unpaid volunteers who
invest a lot of time into parish council work. Also, there is the worry of personal security if sensitive
subjects are discussed, such as travellers. In any such instances these matters could be discussed in Part 2.
It must be made clear to those attending any council meeting that the meeting is being filmed.
It was agreed that Dorney Parish Council should officially record the meetings and then it will be available
on the web site for a period of time yet to be agreed (Clerk to check if there is a set period).
Further consideration on this matter will be discussed at the next meeting.
86 Planning
(a) Planning issues, decisions and appeals recently notified by South Bucks District Council were noted.
(b) Planning applications – Agreed.
87 Finance
a) Resolved to authorise payment of Accounts for October 2020 – Agreed. It was also agreed for the claims for
damage in recent car accidents to be pursued through the Council’s Insurance. It was agreed to go ahead and
order the new VAS sign that was knocked down by the cattle grid. Cllr Foxley reported it will cost £150- £250
for the fridge magnets for Dorney Reach and parts of Taplow. Then organise the distribution to people’s houses.
Cllr Harris offered to help with this.
b) Resolved to receive list of income for October 2020 – Noted.
c) Resolved to receive the budget for 2020/21. Noted. Cllr Ormond reported that all income has been received
for this financial year.
88 Member’s Reports – None.
89 Correspondence – (i) Working with you – Virtual TfB conference – 15th September; (ii) Planning White
Paper Summaries, Links & Response; (iii) New legislation on Permitted Development and change of use –
Town and Parish update; (iv) Beeches Community Board 17th September; (v) Event Notification 19th Sept
2020 at Eton Dorney Lake; (vi) BALC Change of Uses Classes; (vii) Full closure of the M4 this weekend
between Junctions 7 and 8/9; (viii) Thames Path No Cycling Route; (ix) Call in Process Update for Towns
and Parishes from Cllr Warren Whyte.
90 Resolve any complaints/comments received from residents:- (i) Local resident objecting to lack of
consultation regards the proposed new roundabout; (ii) Complaint from the Editor of Dorney Parish News
regards the use of the word ‘derogatory’ in the Minutes of Dorney Parish Council September meeting. In
response to this the Parish Council pointed out that the word ‘derogatory’ means ‘low opinion’ and some articles
in the Parish News did suggest this even if the personal opinion of the Editor did not believe this; (iii)
Overgrowing vegetation by the corner of the Rowing Lake. Cllr Harris will ask for this to be cut back; (iv) Cllr
Foxley and Cllr Dax will organise for the Village Road telephone box to be cleared out to allow accessibility
to the defibrillator. Cllr Dax has arranged for the books to be shredded and for the shreddings to be used by the
Swan Sanctuary
91 Grounds maintenance- Nothing to report.