DRAFT Minutes of the extraordinary Meeting of Dittisham Parish Council held in
Dittisham Village Hall on Wednesday 29 January 2025 at 7:15 p.m.
Public Forum
a) Grant requested from the Parish Council in 2025/26 by St George’s Church
A representative of St George’s Church outlined the contribution of the church as a resource for all parishioners and its central place in the village, and the churches preference to meet annual expenses from annual income and to use the Dittisham Church Lands Trust for extraordinary maintenance. They restated the request for the Parish Council to meet the full cost of the Church’s grounds maintenance.
The meeting started at 19:28.
Present: Parish Cllrs Nightingale (Chair), Bond (Vice-Chair), Golding, Green, Hawkes, Neale, and Unitt were present, as were A Thom, Clerk, and one member of the public during a public forum discussion before the meeting commenced.
Absent: Cllr Pope.
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Apologies:
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Pope.
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Declaration of Interests
None declared.
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Closure of the Meeting
It was resolved, in accordance with the 1960 Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act, to exclude the public and press during consideration of the following item because of the commercial-in-confidence nature of the business.
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Ground Maintenance Contract
It was resolved to confirm the updated specifications document, to accept the quote of £4,000 from a new contractor to carry out the scheduled works in the contract in 2025 with an optional two year extension (i.e. to the end of the contract period advertised in 2023), and to trial the addition of maintenance of the steps to the private accesses on the north side of The Ham in 2025 at a cost of £300.
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Re-open the meeting
The meeting was re-opened to the public and press.
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Grants requested from the Parish Council in 2025/26 from the Village Hall Management Committee
and from St George’s Church
The VHMC has requested a grant of £5,000. St George’s Church has requested a grant of £2,500. These were on the Agenda as separate items and considered by the meeting as one item.
Regarding the grant to St George’s Church, it was resolved to budget a potential grant of £1,250 and to request further information: the return of the 24/25 grant evaluation form, further details about the operation of Dittisham Church Lands Trust, in particular what purpose the funds can be used for. It was noted that the DPC Grant policy specifies that financial assistance will be given on the basis of need and that DPC will not fund political or religious beliefs.
It was resolved to make a grant of £4,000 to the Village Hall Management Committee in 2025/26 and to offer DPC’s support to the VHMC to obtain grants from other sources.
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2025/26 Budget and Precept Demand
It was resolved that the 2025/26 Budget will include a grant of £4,000 to the Village Hall Management Committee for maintenance, allow for a grant of £1,250 to St George’s Church for grounds maintenance, make a total transfer of £4,374 to the Parish Health and Safety Reserve to increase funds available to install a handrail on Jubilee Steps, and a Precept tax demand of £19,556, and that other elements of the budget are approved as per the draft Budget circulated.