BROADMAYNE PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
HELD IN St MARTINS CHURCH HALL
ON 6th OCTOBER 2025

 

Present

Cllrs T Byrne, B Eason, K Ellis, A Evans, T Larkin, and R Macer-Wright.

Also in attendance

Mr T Watton (Clerk), Dorset Cllr Roland Tarr and three members of the public.

The Council Chair, Cllr R Macer-Wright, opened the meeting and welcomed those present.

Apologies for absence

25/88

Cllrs A Evans and D Lewis had offered their apologies for absence.

Public participation

25/89

Members of the public commented as follows:

A resident wondered if there had been any further news from the appointed DC Planning Officer concerning the haul road for the development on the land adjacent to Broadmead. The Clerk reported that having spoken to the Planning Officer he could confirm that there had been no indication from the developers that the haul road would not go ahead as planned.

Another resident referred to the suggestion made at the previous Council meeting that a simple questionnaire would be prepared for public use to focus on the core issues in response to the Dorset Local Plan (DLP) Options consultation and the land identified as possible sites for future housing development adjacent to the settlements of Broadmayne and West Knighton. The Chairman responded by explaining that on reflection this proved to be less practical than anticipated and that promoting individual public responses to the consultation, by email if necessary, and supported by a specially arranged drop-in event in the village with the DC Cabinet Member for Planning, Shane Bartlett, was a much more effective and appropriate way forward. The special drop-in event, held in St Martins Hall, was scheduled for 7:30pm on Wednesday 8th October.

The same resident wondered whether any liaison had taken place with the West Knighton community on the responses to the DLP Options consultation, given that the DC consultation document giving details of the suggested potential development sites seemed to treat  Broadmayne and West Knighton as a single entity. The Clerk confirmed that he had been in close contact with the Clerk of Knightsford Parish Council and was aware of their preparation for a detailed response to the consultation which covered all of the identified sites. Broadmayne Parish Council’s draft consultation response has been prepared and was intended to be consistent with that. In addition Cllr Eason reported on the recent public information event on this matter organised by Knightsford Parish Council and held in the New Inn, W Knighton. This had been open to all residents of both communities – which he had attended. At that event, the question of why the possible future sites adjacent to Broadmayne and W Knighton had been grouped together had been raised. The DC representatives present had explained that for practical reasons the DC Planning Department deals with ‘settlements’ rather than individual Parish Councils, and pointed out that the housing development in Broadmayne is contiguous with W Knighton where the two adjoin along Knighton Lane.

To receive any declarations of Interest and requests for dispensations

25/89

As the applicant, Cllr Byrne declared a personal and pecuniary interest in planning application P/HOU/2025/05332 23 Watergates Lane Broadmayne DT2 8HA (see minute 25/91(b) below). He left the meeting room and took no part in discussion of that item.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 1st September 2025  

25/90

It was proposed that the minutes of the meeting held on 1st September are approved as a correct record and signed at the meeting. RESOLVED

Planning and Tree Matters

25/91(a)

(i) Decisions and correspondence/updates on previous applications

(i) P/RES/2025/02270 Land Adjacent Broadmead Broadmayne. Erection of 80 dwellings together with open space, and enhanced drainage features (reserved matters application to determine layout, scale, appearance and landscaping matters following the grant of outline planning permission P/OUT/2021/05309). The DC Planning Portal shows that DC Planning have still not yet determined this application.
(ii) For information only P/NMA/2025/04288 Land Adjacent Broadmead Broadmayne. Non-material amendment to outline permission reference P/OUT/2021/05309 – amend condition 9 to allow development to proceed in accordance with amended Landscape and Ecological Management Plan. The DC Planning Portal indicates that this was approved on 28th August 2025.
(iii) P/HOU/2025/03102 47 Chalky Road Broadmayne DT2 8PJ. Retain and extend existing annex building. The DC Planning Portal shows that DC Planning have not yet determined this application.

25/91(b)

Consultations Received:

(i) P/HOU/2025/05332 23 Watergates Lane Broadmayne DT2 8HA. Installation of air source heat pump to rear (north) elevation.
NO OBJECTION.

25/91(c)

Any planning matters received after publication of the agenda.

There were none.

To further consider the Dorset Local plan Options Consulation (open until 13th October); and to consider the Council’s corporate response. 

25/92

A draft of a proposed Parish Council response to this consultation had been distributed to all Council members ahead of this meeting. The Clerk read out the concluding section of the proposed response, as follows:

“Broadmayne Parish Council acknowledges the complexity of the task facing Dorset Council, but we firmly believe that the current proposals are flawed and would cause irreversible harm to our landscape, infrastructure, and community identity.

Key areas requiring further detailed work by Dorset Council before submission include:

      • Infrastructure planning (utilities, transport, education, healthcare, green spaces).
      • A realistic housing delivery trajectory.
      • Clear policies on the delivery of affordable housing – a priority for local people.

Given the scale of these unresolved issues, a further full round of Regulation 18 consultation is both necessary and justified before the plan progresses to the next stage.”

Members indicated their general support for the content of the draft response, and it was agreed that this would be further reviewed and adjusted, if necessary, by the end of the week, prior to submission by 13th October. Residents were encouraged to attend the public drop-in event on the Dorset Local plan Options Consultation – with Shane Bartlett, Dorset Council Cabinet Member for Planning – to take place on Wednesday 8th October 7:30pm at St Martins Hall. The importance of residents submitting their own individual responses to the consultation was also stressed.

Reports

25/93

Dorset Council Ward Member: Dorset Cllr Roland Tarr commented on the matter of the unauthorised occupation and development taking place on the land adjacent to Knighton Lane, Broadmayne. A dossier of correspondence on this matter between the Parish Council and various DC Departments dating back to March 2024 had been passed to Cllr Tarr on 4th March 2025 after it had proved difficult to obtain positive action from those DC departments. The dossier has subsequently been added to at various points since. After some discussion in which Council members emphasised their expectations that the DC departments involved – who have the knowledge, authority and legal expertise – will take decisive action, Cllr Tarr indicated that he would appraise Catherine Howe the new Chief Executive of Dorset Council of the matter to seek a way forward.

In response to a question from the Parish Clerk, Dorset Cllr Tarr commented that he had no update on the progress of the Parish Council’s application for a 20mph limit in Broadmayne.

Playing fields: Cllr Ellis reported that the football season is in full swing with both youth and adult teams playing here. The BPFA in collaboration with the adult team, has replaced the obsolete floodlights with new low energy LCD lights. Their use will generally be for early evening training and be time limited with a rule of lights-off no later than 8.30pm. Wider use for outdoor recreation and/or events could also be of benefit to the village. The next BPFA Committee Meeting will be on 27 November 2025.

In addition, Cllr Larkin reported on work which he, Cllr Ellis and Cllr Eason had done to liaise with WWCS (grounds maintenance contractor) to ensure much better alignment between grass cutting and football pitch preparation and scheduled football matches. A WhatsApp group has been set up with the contractor, a new grass cutting standard (25mm) agreed, and an improved monitoring & reporting system established.

Village hall: Cllr Eason reported that the solar panels and the inverter are now fully installed and scheduled to be commissioned on 10th October 2025. The next meeting is to be held on 15th October at which he will raise the matter of the use of the hall as part of the community response / Broadmayne Emergency Plan.

DAPTC: Central area committee: It was noted that no meeting of the DAPTC Central Area Committee had taken place since the report presented at the July Parish Council meeting.

Broadmayne Community Speedwatch: Cllr Byrne reported on the five Community Speedwatch sessions which had been held during September. The five sessions had resulted in a total of 1803 vehicle journeys being observed, of which 49 were seen to be speeding. The top speed noted was a vehicle doing 44mph; and there were 10 vehicles recorded travelling at over 40mph.

PCSO: The PCSO’s report had been circulated to all members ahead of this meeting. This had included one matter related to Broadmayne; the report of a 4×4 vehicle turning into a farm where poaching and hare coursing has been known to take place.

Financial Matters

25/94(a)

The Clerk had prepared the September financial statements which he had circulated to all members ahead of the meeting. This included the bank reconciliation to 30th September, a listing of all receipts and payments for the month of September, and a detailed budget report showing all receipts & payments vs budgets for all budget subheads for the year to date. These were received and noted.
It was RESOLVED to ACCEPT and APPROVE these – Proposed: B Eason; Seconded: T Byrne. There were no questions or comments. A copy of these statements is associated at Appendix 1 to these minutes.

25/94(b)

It was RESOLVED to APPROVE the following payments:

Payments already made

Geoff Stone Property Maintenance Ltd (installation of bench at Washponds)
£520.00

Unity Trust Bank (bank fees)
£6.00

Payments to be made

Society of Local Council Clerks (one third share of membership fee For Parish Clerk for 2025-26)
£79.20
Hugh Harris Ltd t/a FreshAir Fitness (annual maintenance of Exercise equipment)
£848.40
Viking Office UK Ltd (5 x rm printer paper)
£25.08
T Watton (Salary Oct 2025
£668.76
HMRC Cumbernauld (PAYE & Employer’s NI, Oct 2025
£230.27
WWCS Environmental Services Ltd (Grounds maintenance monthly fee)
£414.40
PCC Broadmayne (Hire of St Martins Church Hall for meeting on two occasions: 6th & 8th Oct 2025)
£36.00
T Watton (reimbursement of expenditure on behalf of Council – postage to Santander Bank Plc)
£7.20
Broadmayne Playing Fields Assoc (Grant – reimbursement of property & liability ins fee 24-25 and fee for annual RoSPA Safety inspection)
£925.84

Proposed, B Eason; Seconded, T Byrne.

25/94(c)

To consider a grant application from Broadmayne Methodist Church and St Martin’s from the Patient support group Legacy for £125 to support Christmas celebrations for senior members of the local community.

Proposed : B Eason, seconded: K Ellis. RESOLVED to APPROVE

Governance Matters

25/95(a)

To provide the Council with an update on the work to review of the Council’s Standing Orders.

The Parish Clerk reminded members that in advance of the meeting he had circulated a localised version of the latest NALC issued “Model Standing Orders, 2025” – which are offered for consideration for adoption. He explained that he and Cllr Eason had worked together during September to review the Standing Orders to produce the version offered for adoption. These are based on the previously agreed principle that the Council would revert to the standardised “Model Standing Orders” numbering and sequence. The review had involved comparing the currently adopted version to the latest (2025) NALC “model” version to ensure that the necessary local details are all incorporated. These details cover optional matters such as:

      • the maximum length of time for public participation at meetings,
      • the length of time an individual member of the public is permitted to speak,
      • the maximum length of a parish council meeting,
      • the process and notice period for calling an extraordinary meeting of the council by its members,
      • the notice period to be given to the clerk for a motion to be included on the agenda,

The latest version offered for adoption also includes two “Local” Standing Orders –

      • The local protocol for notifying Broadmayne residents of planning applications which may affect their immediate neighbourhood
      • An “emergency” order to reinstate remote meetings in the event of a future pandemic or other emergency requiring a lockdown.

Proposed B Eason, Seconded K Ellis:

It was RESOLVED to ADOPT the proposed latest updated Model version of the Standing Orders.

25/95(b)

To note the work undertaken so far in preparing the budget and precept request for 2026-27.

The Parish Clerk commented that using the same excel budget planning form as last year, as recommended and supplied by Scribe accounts, he had begun to compile the monthly expenditure data for the 2025-26 year to date for all budget sub heads. He will continue to do this for the October and November expenditure and will then prepare a rest-of-year forecast for each sub head as the basis for discussion in December about budget allocations for each sub head for 2026-27.  This will then provide a base for consideration of the precept requirement for 2026-27.  In the meantime, please will all Council members consider any projects you would like to pursue in 2026-27 which would need to be funded. These will also need to be taken into account when the budget is being set.

The above approach was NOTED and APPROVED by the Council members.

To receive and note an update on proposed remedial work to the War Memorial; and to consider quotes received.

25/96

The Parish Clerk reported that efforts have been made to obtain at least two further quotes from memorial masonry companies for the refurbishment of the name panels on the war memorial – as a comparison with the quote obtained from Grassby & Sons; i.e. £753.84 (excl VAT). Unfortunately, the two other prominent suppliers in Dorset both declined to quote on the grounds that they are both too busy with standard “domestic” gravestones etc, and that they do not usually take on larger memorials such as this. The Clerk concluded that whilst going further afield for quotes is possible, the travelling distance for the companies involved will inevitably be reflected in the prices quoted. In the circumstances, and on the basis that “attempts have been made to obtain three competitive quotes” The Clerk recommended that the quote from Grassby & Sons is accepted, and an order placed for the work to be done ASAP.

It was RESOLVED to ACCEPT this recommendation and for the Clerk to place the order accordingly.

To note actions in preparation for Remembrance Sunday 2025

25/97

The Parish Clerk reported that he had received confirmation from DC Highways that the request for the usual road closure has now been approved by them. The date over-stickers for the road signs have been ordered, and Janet Davis and Kevin Denham have agreed to take charge of putting the road signs out as in previous years. The Parish Council’s poppy wreath has been ordered from the RBL online shop.

25/98(a)

The Clerk reported on the following matters:

(i) Allotments: over the past month have been no new additions to the waiting list – so we still have 4 people actively waiting for a plot. One existing allotment holder has confirmed that he will be giving up this plot at the end of the current year’s tenancy. Cllrs Eason and Larkin have visited the allotments and identified aspects of the grounds maintenance which Cllr Larkin has agreed to take up with the appointed contractors.

(ii) Condition of footpaths / bridleways. Nothing further to report this month.

(iii) Highways issues: The three missing road name signs (Watergates Lane, Beech Close and Main Street) have still not yet been replaced.

(iv) Road works. Communication has been received from DC Highways about the following road works:

      • A summary notice covering the temporary closure and mandatory ‘no parking’ restriction day times (08:00-18:00) on the following local residential roads on various dates between 0-16th October – which were first notified to us in August i.e. Bakers Paddock, Broadmead, High Trees, Osmington Drove, Woodlands, Rectory Rd.
      • Temporary closure of B3390 at Moreton level crossing on 22 – 24th Oct. Impact on Broadmayne is as part of the signed diversion route.

25/98(b)

Cllr Ellis advised that she had reported to the Dorset Council Rights of Way Team that a large dead beech tree had snapped in the wind and fell across Osmington Drove shortly after a car had passed by. Local residents cleared it away, but they are very worried about remaining trees coming down. Cllr Ellis had reported the matter to DC as potentially a threat to life. The 3 dead beech trees are very large (diameter around 3 feet) and are close together opposite the entrance to the tracks to the last two houses in Osmington Drove.

The Parish Clerk indicated that he would also report this public safety risk to DC Highways.

Cllr Ellis also reported that further complaints had been received about the occasional parking of a coach overnight on Chalky Rd.

The Clerk indicated that he would take this up again with the operator.

Cllr Eason commented on communication with a resident who is concerned about hedgehogs and the possibility of them being hit by vehicles on local roads. Some enquiries had been made about DC Highways’ views on installation of warning signs, and the cost of such signs.

To note any matters received after the publication of the agenda

25/99

There were none

Next meeting

25/100

The next meeting will take place on Monday 3rd November 2025 in the Methodist Church Hall, unless otherwise advised.

 

There being no other business, the Chair closed the meeting at 21:05, thanking everyone for their attendance.

 

Appendix 1 – Bank reconciliation and accounts update to 30th September 2025.
Available from the Parish Clerk