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Parish Council Minutes December 2005

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The Monthly Meeting of the Parish Council took place in the Village Hall on Wednesday 14th December 2005 commencing at 7.30 pm.

The Chairman, Cllr K Bryan presided; present were Cllrs. M Day, S Gibbons, C Hill, Mrs M Metcalfe, Mrs J Nudds, C Sleigh and M Williams with G Russell in attendance. Also present for part of the meeting were two residents.

1 Apologies for absence

Apologies were received from County Cllr John Howell and District Cllr John Cotton who were detained by other business.

2 Declarations of Interest

Cllr Williams declared a personal and prejudicial interest in planning application PO5/W1081 22 Abingdon Road. He lives next door. He would also withdraw in the event of any discussion regarding the Council’s contractual arrangements with Berinsfield Community Business, where he is the business director.

3 Minutes of the Meeting held 9th November 2005

The Minutes as circulated were approved and signed as a true record of the meeting

4 Matters Arising from the Minutes

a. By-pass junction; Plain face bollard 8B is to be removed in order to improve visibility of oncoming traffic, to be replaced by a small, low keep right sign plate.

b. Covert fly tipping surveillance camera; The Clerk has asked if this camera could be installed at the end of Drayton Road, a site frequently used by fly-tippers, most recently for several tyres. These had been removed by a working party from SODC.

Another area where fly-tipping frequently occurs is on the short area of blocked road near the by-pass junction

c. Spreadsheet of road repair requirements; the nature of this reporting document has now been explained by County Cllr Howell. The idea is that if a Council working party is in the Village it is more efficient for them to tackle several jobs together even though individually the jobs may be quite small, replacing kerbstones, for example. The Clerk will prepare a spreadsheet and asked that councillors help by providing him with as much detail as possible.

d. Queen Street flooding; The Broadbents, the new owners at The Manor; have moved in and have been asked to make contact with the Clerk as soon as possible.

e. Village Maintenance: Brian Short has supplied a map showing areas in the Village maintained by the County. BCB has expressed an interest in quoting for this work and Scion Estates will be asked if they would also be interested.

f. High Street Development site. The Clerk has spoken with the owner, Tim Bailey who has agreed to get the site tidied up as soon as possible. There has been a meeting between Mr Bailey and the Environment Agency about dealing with the on-site contamination. This agreed a way forward subject to approval from SODC Environmental Health. The plan involves a borehole on the opposite side of the road so that contamination levels, which will be altered once work starts, can be monitored and corrected. Mr Bailey hopes to have SODC’s approval for the scheme in place by the end of January with building work starting in April and the houses completed by the end of 2006.

5 County Councillor's Report

Through the Clerk County Cllr Howell highlighted the successful campaign to retain the 105 bus service which will continue as before except that the route is now direct from Shillingford to Wallingford and will not enter Benson.

Cllr Howell said that early indications for financial settlements and budget in 2006/7 showed that the rate of increase in Council Tax could be reduced as pledged. There will be more money for education and services to help disabled people but less for highways, although some grants are still not known.

The County Council has acted to spread the sites for new house building in several places around the county and endorsed retention of the green belt south of Oxford but Cllr Howell pointed out that Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has the power to make the final decision and commented that the debate is likely to continue for many years.

6 Correspondence and Other Business

i). Sports Club Pavilion & Playground;

The Clerk reported that repairs to the swing and installation of the anti-slip mat at the play area entrance are in hand. The graffiti on the tractor shed has now been painted over for the third time

More free hedge plants will be obtained from SODC in January/February to fill in the gaps in the perimeter hedge.

The water supply to the Pavilion will be switched off as soon as the contractors working on the Cemetery buildings no longer require the pavilion facilities.

ii). Footpaths;

The Clerk confirmed that he had contacted Mark Sumner, the Footpaths officer, who has promised to start action to improve the path and stiles at Overy Mill early in 2006.

The Clark has also spoken to Gail Thomas to request advice from the walkers group about making improvements to footpaths in the area especially for disabled persons.

(Cllr Williams left the room while the following matter was discussed)

Quotes had been received from BCB for the cost of clearing along one side of the footpath adjacent to the Cemetery and also for enlarging the mown area of grass along the riverbank at Waterloo. These amounted to £800 in total and, recognising the need to get the work done quickly, it was agreed to accept these quotes without seeking the opinion of another contractor.

It was agreed, however, that the Council should formalise its procedures concerning the need for competitive quotes by agreeing a standing order which named a figure above which the Council would be obliged to seek at least two quotations.

iii). Cemetery;

The Chairman reported on the meeting that he and the Clerk had had with the contractors following the November Council meeting. The increased cost of works had been accepted but it had been made clear to the contractors that no further additions would be accepted.

It had also been agreed that the walls would be capped with slate. The buildings will carry a plaque which explains their new purpose. There are several sizes of memorial tablets available but it was agreed that a choice of only two would be offered.

The existing rules and regulations regarding burials and monuments will have to be revised to cover these new opportunities and must include a statement concerning who is responsible for meeting the cost of repairs should the need arise.

Cllr Bryan has spoken to the Rector and it had been agreed that it would be appropriate to hold a non-denominational service of dedication to unveil the plaque.

Tree maintenance work adjacent to the buildings and the path is in hand.

iv). Allotments;

A skip has been obtained and will be on site during the current week. Chris Amott from Molly Mops Cottage in Samian Way had written to complain about dog mess in the footpath alongside the allotments. Mark Townson had said that in his view this is not a major problem on the allotment paths in general but it was agreed that in the Dorchester News Parish Notices the Clerk should refer to the need to prevent this and stress the health hazards to young children.

v). Parish Plan;

The Plan has now been published and circulated with Dorchester News to all households in the Village.. The Council recorded its thanks to all concerned but especially to Brian Oliver who had been responsible for the high quality presentation of the finished document.

Cllr Mrs Metcalfe commented that the information contained in the Plan relating to the Co-Op being willing to deliver shopping may need review.

The Clerk has received letters concerning the County Youth Service Budget and a request for comment during the Children & Young People’s Plan Consultation. It was agreed that these should be copied and supplied to Cllr Williams who may be able to obtain some views from the Plan’s advisory youth group.

vi). Other letters to Chairman and Clerk

a. New arrangements for the garden refuse service will be notified soon and advertised on the Village notice boards as soon as possible.

b. John Cotton’s letter about the future of Didcot and a letter about the Dial-a-Ride service ceasing after 27th January will be circulated

c. Pavements are for People stickers; a new supply has been received.

d. Details of the Oxfordshire County Council Transport Consultation will be circulated in a separate folder because any comments are required by 6th January.

7 Planning

a) Application:

PO5/W1081 Pippins, 22 Abingdon Road amendment

Demolition of existing kitchen and garage. Erection of replacement two storey extension and front porch.

Council noted that this has already been returned after planning sub-committee agreed ‘no strong views’, to comply within the consultation period ending 30th November.

PO5/W1138 Sunnyridges, 81 Abingdon Road amendment

Single storey pitched roof extension, new dormer windows and pitched roof front entrance canopy.

The Council agreed that it had no strong views on this application.

PO5/W1156/LB/W1159, Fleur de Lys, High Street

Installation of extractor fan grille on front elevation

The Council agreed that it had no strong views on this application.

P05/W1197 & W1200/LB White Hart Hotel

Addition of single storey oak frame outbuilding to rear to extend existing dining room

The Council agreed that it had no strong views on this application.

b) Report on planning decisions, amendments etc

None received this month

8 Finance

a). Bank balances were as follows:

NatWest Current Account 30th November £10,283.62

NatWest Reserve Account 30th September £42,466.43

A £5,000 transfer from Reserve to Current Account was approved.

b). The following accounts were approved for payment:

Dorchester Village Hall (room hire) £108.00

IJP Building Conservation (stage payment) £8,860.91

Print-Mart (printing of Parish Plan) £1,208.94

Total Pest Control (Mole control) £176.25

Scion Estates Limited (final grass cutting) £696.53

BDO Stoy Hayward LLP (2004 Audit fee) £448.85

GGD Russell – clerk’s salary £361.86

Geoff Willis Handyman – 5 weeks - (November £188) £240.50

c). Audit Report 2004

The Council noted the comments received from the auditor. In future the auditor wants confirmation that the Council has completed a financial risk assessment and appointed an internal auditor (both of these matters have been corrected for 2005); and the 2006 annual return is to be submitted by 30th September 2006. The notice of the conclusion of audit plus a copy of the report will be displayed for 14 days.

d) Annual Return 2005

The Council approved the Statement of Accounts and Statement of Assurance for the 2005 return and the Council’s books and other records will now be passed to Douglas Jupp as the Council’s internal auditor.

e) Budgets & Precept for 2006/7

The Council noted that these must be agreed at the January meeting. The Clerk confirmed that the grass cutting contractors have been asked to supply quotes.

9 Bridge End Car Park

The Council noted that the comments from the SODC Conservation Officer have not yet been received but the Clerk said that these had been promised for the end of the current week.

10 By-pass bus stop improvements

Work on installing the columns for the new lights along the path towards the shelter on the north bound carriageway has already started and the project is on course for completion by the end of January 2006, when the improved service begins.

The Council continues to be concerned that there is to be no lighting along the path towards the shelter on the southbound carriageway and Cllr Day spoke of his profound reservations about the whole scheme since, in his view, it is bound to result in more people crossing the by-pass on foot, thus putting themselves in great danger from the speeding traffic.

It was agreed that the County should be asked to place a finger post by the bus stop on the southbound carriageway which indicated the direction of the footpaths to both Dorchester and Berinsfield.

11. Hidden Britain Project

Cllr Mrs Metcalfe confirmed that the scheme is fast approaching the time for submission of an application for funding to DEFRA.

The contact with Hidden Britain arose from the Parish Plan and the key elements of the project are: Improved web site, with clearly defined access and content for residents and visitors; Better signage with orientation maps and fingerposts in key locations; Digitisation of the Millennium Book as a resource for village and museum, with CDs available for sale at low cost; Improved computer facilities in the Museum, which will also hold the digitised book; A Touch Screen kiosk in the Abbey which will hold information about the Museum, the Abbey and the village, for residents and visitors, including those who are unable to enter the Museum; Production of walking guides, which will be on sale at low cost

Altogether the project is expected to last 12-18 months and the cost is around £30,000 which, if the application is successful, DEFRA will release in stages to the Parish Council as fund holder.

It was agreed that the Parish Council should write a letter supporting this application.

12. Car Parking

The Chairman confirmed that he had agreed with the Rector that all those involved with organising car parking arrangements should discuss the matter early in the New Year.

A quotation for strengthening the surface at the entrance to the Recreation Ground has been received together with figures for the supply and laying of turf reinforcement materials across wide areas of the field.

It was agreed that a competitive quote should be obtained for the entrance area and that the Council should progress this part of the project as soon as possible.

Other quotations for laying the larger areas would be obtained and the questions of whether grants might be available should also be investigated since the project as a whole is likely to cost more than £15,000.

The Clerk said that it was his opinion that the Recreation Ground Byelaws give the Parish Council the right to permit the parking of cars on specific occasions.

13. Any Other Business

a. The Clerk confirmed that it was intended to install the bench in memory of Mike Smith in time for Christmas.

b. Cllr Williams said that he had studied the proposals for a formal specification of the Village Handyman’s litter picking route and it was his view that 4-5 hours work per week should be sufficient to complete the tasks.

c. Cllr Hill asked for and received more information about arrangements for the forthcoming visit to Dorchester Abbey of HRH The Princess Royal on 20^th December.

d. Cllr Mrs Nudds said that she had received some complaints about the positioning of traffic cones designed to restrict access to the road around The Green at Bridge End. It was agreed that more space between the cones would be desirable.

14 Date of next Meeting

This was confirmed as Wednesday 9^th January 2006. Cllr Mrs Metcalfe will take the chair in Cllr Bryan’s absence on holiday.

The meeting closed at 9.20 pm

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