Photo Credit: John Goode - Packhorse Bridge at the ford, Tarrant Monkton
DAPTC E-News 15th January 2021
Christmas probably feels a distant memory by now! Judging by the volume and flow of emails parishes and towns have been very busy so far. Some important news this week has landed, elections in May (for those few in Dorset) are still on, we await further news on the Census and from Monday the Local Plan Consultation in the Dorset Council area goes live.
Furthermore, the Local Government Association has published the latest version of its Code of Conduct. We will be working with the Monitoring Officers from both Dorset Council and BCP to deliver some refresher training and what this code (if adopted locally) means in reality. The revised code may have come up short in terms of firmer sanctions for breaches, however it is an improvement and more importantly will be reviewed annually. More news on this to follow with training being scheduled for March/April.
Please forward this update to elected members so they can also keep up-to-date and have an appreciation of whapening in the sector.
INFORMATION | GUIDANCE | ADVICE
1. Requests for help from Dorset Parish Councils
Sometimes we get queries into our mailbox that we can't help with, however we know that there will be someone within our membership that will be able to provide information and guidance because at least one of you will have come across the issue yourselves.
If you are able to help with any of the issues below please get in touch with the appropriate contact. Thank you.
a. Three Councils in the Purbeck area have expressed concerns over the removal, loss or theft of BT phone boxes that had been claimed by the Councils from BT. If this has happened in your town or parish please can you get in touch with thePurbeck Area Committee Secretary.
b. Do you have defibrillators within your parish or town council area that are attached to private properties? If this is the case, do you have any experience of what happens when the property is sold? If you have any information that you wish to share, please get in touch with thePurbeck Area Committee Secretary.
c. Electronic Banking through HSBC bank. Does your parish or town council successfully use electronic banking with the HSBC Bank? If you do and could offer some help and advice on setting this up, please can you get in touch with Tim Watton who is Clerk at Lytchett Matravers Parish Councilor call him on 07824 829491
2. Request for information on North Dorset Footpaths
Keith Harwood, the local representative for the Open Spaces Society in North Dorset has sent through the following request:
I have been appointed by The Open Spaces Society as their local correspondent for north Dorset. If you are aware of any issues with rights of way or access to open space in your area (or anywhere in north Dorset) I would be very happy to assist.
Founded in 1865, the OSS campaigns for the protection and increase of public enjoyment of commons, town and village greens and other open spaces and public rights of way, and is a statutory consultee for any proposals to change public access.
3. Update Government advice on accessing green spaces.
The Government has updated the advice on accessing green spaces safely which will be of interest to those parishes and towns that provide them. The information can be accessedhere.
4. West Moors Town Council shares it's Dog Fouling Leaflet
West Moors Town Council, in conjunction with Dorset Council, have produced aDog Fouling Leafletthat they are happy to share with other town and parish councils in Dorset. Please feel free to download the Microsoft Publisher document and amend the details of the leaflet to suit your own needs.
5. Please give us your views on the DAPTC Area Committees
All of our member councils have received an email from Chief Executive of DAPTC Neil Wedge, asking for your opinions on the current DAPTC Area Committee structure. We would like to know how you, your councillor's and whole council feel about the meetings, how they are run and whether they are working for the organisation as a whole.
The Executive Committee has given its Strategy Working Group the remit to investigate possible future options on how DAPTC will structure committees after a full consultation with our members over the coming few months.
As a starting point we would like to hear as many views as possible, from the widest possible audience, and to facilitate this we have set up six questionnaires. There is a survey relating to each DAPTC Area Committee and one that relates solely to the Towns and Larger Councils Committee.
The links to the surveys are shown below, we encourage you all to complete the appropriate one for your council area committee.
The Executive Committee will review members feedback on how the existing structure is working early in 2021. The closing date for comments is 5pm on 22nd January 2021.
6. Website offer for smaller parishes
DAPTC have teamed up with the technology company Aubergine to enable smaller parish councils in our membership to obtain a very reasonably priced WCAG (Web Content Accessibilty Guidelines) compliant parish council website.
Further information on the offer can be found here.
If your council is interested in signing up to this offer, or hearing more please contact the DAPTC office.
7. The 2021 Census - 21st March 2021
DAPTC will be working with Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council to give some practical tips on how your council can help to engage your communities in the lead up to the Census going live next year.
The person who is taking the lead on the 2021 Census in the Dorset is Philip Eades. Philip can be reached viaphilip.eades98@field.census.gov.uk
Philip has provided us with a number of resources and links to further information that your council will find useful. These are all shown below:
As well as providing you with this regular E-News, we intend to introduce a quarterly publication which showcases the work being done around the county by our members. Please send into us your news with a view to it being included in the publication.
We would be very happy to receive any photographs (along with your permission to reproduce them) and news articles as soon as you have them. Please send them in to the DAPTC office
If you are making a single electronic payment in settlement of more than one DAPTC invoice, please drop us a short email stating the payment date, amount and DAPTC invoice numbers to ensure we are applying the payments to the correct invoices against your council.
TRAINING FOR OFFICERS AND COUNCILLORS IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY
19 January 10-11am DAPTC – what we do
Join the DAPTC team for this FREE OF CHARGE session to help new and existing Clerks, elected members and prospective councillors understand how we support members in Dorset. Neil, Debbie and Lisa will be on hand to talk you through the resources available and an overview of the Dorset Association of Parish and Town Councils (DAPTC) and how we link up with National Association of Local Councils (NALC), Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP). We finish each hour with a Q&A. We are also happy to run these sessions for individual councils. More information on What we do – Meet the Team, including booking
Neighbourhood Planning training:
21 January 10am-12noon Neighbourhood Planning - Practical Tips - BOOK HERE
No further Neighbourhood Planning sessions in 2021 so don’t miss your opportunity to attend
......BOOK NOW…..BOOK NOW……BOOK NOW......
Trio of Planning training:
28 January 10am-12noon Introduction to Planning - BOOK HERE 11 February 10am-12noon Role of Local Councils in Planning - BOOK HERE 25 February 10 – 12noon Important Planning Concepts - BOOK HERE
Finance training:
Training available on a selection of financial subjects:
- Internal Controls
- Role of Internal Audit
- Year End Accounts & Audit
- Finance for Councillors
e-learning: understand key topics at a time and date to suit you
DAPTC is providing an opportunity for member councils to ensure their officers and elected officials understand key topics, through the following 12 e-learning training options:
Modern Slavery I Display Screen Equipment Assessment I Customer Service Essentials I Leadership Essentials I Managing & Reducing Stress I Personal Safety Essentials I Freedom of Information Essentials I Fire Safety Essentials I Health & Safety Essentials I Data Protection Essentials I Equality & Diversity
Regrettably and understandably, a decision has been taken to cancel the Queen's Garden Parties in London and Edinburgh in 2021. Garden parties remain very much a part of future planning for the palace, and once the situation regarding the pandemic is clearer, we expect to receive further guidance from the palace about how they will incorporate nominations from the cancelled events in 2020.
Make a Change - Become a Councillor campaign
NALC continues to update it's #MakeAChange campaign guidance for the May 2021 elections. To find out more, NALC have further information on their Make a Change webpage here.
On the webpage you will be able to find all new resources such as:
Dorset Council's Local Plan consultation will begin on 18th January 2021 and will last for eight weeks. For information on where you can view the plan and details of how the consultation will take place, please see the attached document.
The deadline is looming - ensure that you complete the Climate Survey
Dorset Council is reminding residents what to do with their rubbish and recycling if they or someone in their household is displaying symptoms of COVID-19. Please view the detailshere.
Get the latest news from Dorset Council, including leisure centre offers, waste and recycling, libraries and more. Sign up to their various newsletters though thislink.
Multi-million pound Transforming Travel programme is due to start construction
Construction of the Leigh Road sustainable travel corridor is due to start on 18 January 2021. This project aims to help residents to enjoy the area more on foot or other means such as bike, scooters, mobility scooters and wheelchairs. To achieve these aims this project includes:
reducing the vehicle speed limit from 40mph to 30mph
new dedicated cycle lanes
two new crossings for pedestrians and cyclists
better pavements for walkers
improved bus access
Further details on the scheme and contact details can be foundhere.
Community Engagement - Website Content & Navigation
We are looking for more volunteers to join our group to help us review the structure of our content and website navigation to ensure it is user-friendly, accessible and easy to understand. Do you think you could help? To get involved and join the group, please complete our quick survey here.
Latest news from the Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)
The NHS have now started the COVID-19 Vaccine programme. To find out more about the COVID-19 Vaccine please visit theNHS Vaccine Page.
Through our partnership with Dorset CCG, the communications team have asked that we share the attached social media assets which can be used on your website and social media profiles.
The simple messaging is: The NHS will get in touch when it’s your turn to be vaccinated.
Please use asap for the remainder of December and into January – these are formatted as a poster to print and in other sizes for social media profile images or cover images. They can also be used as standalone images. Help support your community by sharing the message.
