DORCHESTER ON THAMES
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Parish Council Minutes December 2007
Home > Parish Council > Minutes > December 2007
The Monthly Meeting of the Parish Council was held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 12th December 2007 commencing at 7.30 p.m.
The Chairman, Cllr K Bryan, presided; present were Cllrs Mrs M Metcalfe (Vice-Chairman), M.Day, S Gibbons, C. Hill, Mrs J Nudds, M Stevenson and M Williams with G Russell in attendance. Also present for part of the meeting was County Cllr John Howell.
1 Chairman's opening remarks and apologies for absence.
The Chairman welcomed Cllr Day who had missed the previous meeting due to being in hospital after an operation. Apologies for absence from Cllr John Cotton were accepted.
2 Declarations of Interest
None
3 Minutes of the Meeting held 14th November 2007
The Minutes of the meeting were approved and signed as a true record.
4 Matters Arising from the Minutes
a). Map licence agreement with SODC: OALC’s advice is that as long as the Parish Council only seeks to use the maps for administrative and not commercial purposes there should be no problem.. Pear Technology has supplied the Clerk with the names of other councils using the software and these references will be taken up.
b). Bridge End/High Street junction safety: County Cllr John Howell reported that Peter Ronald is hopeful that he may be able to find some funds to pay for building out the pavement and moving the white lines at the junction by approximately ½ metre forward to give drivers leaving Bridge End a better view of approaching traffic. The use of mirrors to improve visibility in this type of situation is no longer regarded as an approved solution.
c) Natalie Hill from SODC Conservation Office agrees that the Willoughby thatched cob wall could do with attention and has offered to give advice to the owners if required. The masonry bees are apparently not a protected species. The Clerk was asked to contact the Corrans (the householders) to enquire whether they have any plans to carry out repairs to the wall.
d). Liz McGugan, Director of IJP Building Conservation Ltd, has told the Clerk that she will take a look at the Abbey boundary wall later this week.
e). Richard Holmes, manager of the Co-op property section has told Clerk that the conversion work to the premises adjacent to and above the Co-Op will have started by February. The Co-op has resisted attempts to get the window repaired because they are worried it will keep getting broken so long as property remains unoccupied.
f). The Chairman thanked those who had helped to put up the Parish Christmas tree.
5 County Councillor's Report
County Cllr Howell said that both the County and District Councils have been awarded grants from central government which have increased by less that the rate of inflation (2.0% and 1.8%, respectively).70% of the County’s funding comes from the Government. The County has been given government approval to borrow additional funds of more than £6 million but will not do so because of the implications for rates of council tax in future years. There were additional demands upon the County’s finances caused by the aging population, new ways of processing household waste and the backlog of repairs to the county’s highways caused by past under-spending.
Cllr Howell said that the gravel extraction quotas for the County are likely to be increased, subject to public consultation beginning in May 2008.
Cllr Howell has been calling upon local residents recently and has been told that there is a problem with dog mess in the Drayton Road area and poor lighting near the bus stop. Gordon Hunt, from County Highways, is exploring the possibility that surface water from Queen Street could be directed to the River Thame under the High Street.
Cllr Howell said that he would research the precedents of new developments being granted consent only where Section 106 contributions to infrastructure improvements could be imposed as a condition. He would find out if there is a minimum project size for such conditional consent.
County Cllr Howell has visited Mrs Butcher to discuss the controversy over the footpath, stiles etc. He will follow up this visit by another meeting with both Mrs Butcher and Mark Sumner from the County footpaths section. Mrs Butcher has told Cllr Howell that the footpath across the front of her property towards the Hurst is listed on the definitive map. The listing includes the stile. The location of the kissing gate proposed by the Hurst Trustees has to be determined by reference to the exact boundary between the adjoining properties. Cllr Mrs Metcalfe said that she hoped that the marking of where the footpath actually is could be improved at the Overy end. The existing waymark could be seen as pointing towards Mrs Butcher’s driveway.
6 Finance:
Bank balances
Reserve Account at 30th November £23,705.86
Current Account at 30th November £22,724.74
£46,430.60
The following accounts were approved for payment.
BDO Stoy Hayward (audit fee) £517.00
Open Spaces Society (sub.) £30.00
Jenks Oxford £734.37
Berinsfield Community Business (footpaths) £176.25
Scion Estates Limited (Grass-cutting) £5.50
Enterprise Accord (bike racks) £411.25
Total Pest Control £176.25
SODC (uncontested parish council election) £77.50
Cathy Pepper (War memorial)) £15.00
Royal British Legion (donation) £50.00*
GGD Russell – Clerk’s salary £425.43
GGD Russell- Clerk’s admin (Nov/Dec.) £78.40
Geoff Willis Handyman – 4weeks - (November £285) £270.00
*Cllr Hill, as Treasurer of the Royal British Legion branch, declared a personal interest.
The report of Half Year receipts & expenditure was circulated after the last Council meeting and the Three quarter review will circulated before the January meeting, taking into account tonight’s decisions and approvals. Cllr Williams has some suggestions for how this review should be laid out and will contact the Clerk.
The Council noted that the report from the Auditor concerning the 2006/7 Accounts and Annual Return had not raised any queries or corrections. The finalised Annual Return has now been displayed on the notice board as required by law.
The Council will set the 2008/9 Precept at the January meeting. Suggestions for next year’s budget were street lights, more dog waste bins, removal of surplus soil from the Cemetery, a flood prevention barrier at the Bridge End car park and an allowance of £6,000 towards a new playground adventure climbing frame
7 Correspondence and Other Business
i). Sports Club Pavilion & Playground;
Permission has been given to enter the land owned by the fishing club so that rat poison can be placed there as well as along the Recreation Ground hedge. Total Pest Control will use a poison that kills over a 2/3 day period and the rats usually go back to their holes to die. Nevertheless there is always a risk that a poisoned rat will be eaten by a cat or dog. Poison is unlikely to be eaten by an unintended victim e.g. a duck or swan, but it is possible, and a poisoned rat is unlikely to contaminate the lake water, but it is possible
The Council’s insurers have suggested taking OALC’s advice before proceeding and it was suggested that the District Council’s environmental health team might also be helpful.
Roller Shutter Doors on Pavilion; the two quotes now received are very similar £4,384 v. £4,625 but the cheaper quote (Mercian Industrial Doors of Oldbury) excludes some things (including labour travelling time) that the Behind Closed Doors (from Didcot) includes. It was agreed to instruct Behind Closed Doors to do the work.
Reading Fire Extinguishers have supplied two new Extinguishers for the Pavilion.
The design for the new Play Area sign has been approved by OPFA, SODC and TOE and WREN approval is expected within the next week.
Two replacement signs for car parking are required at a cost of £300 the pair. This was approved.
ii). Footpaths;
The solar powered light near the by-pass bus stop path is being repaired.
In the matter of the Overy footpath the Council will await Cllr Howell’s next report. There have been complaints about litter on the paths leading to and from the by-pass bus stops and also on the path leading under the by-pass to Priests Moor Lane.
iii). Cemetery;
The Clerk is to ascertain whether responsibility for the safety of headstones reverts to Parish Council 75 years after the date of purchase of the right to burial. Cllr Day is working through the list of graves where safety precautions have been taken to try and identify the persons responsible for rectification. The Chairman said that it is important to check that the stones, crosses etc have all been laid flat to the ground.
There are some scrub elms in the corner opposite the gate and Paul Jenks will be asked to look at these.
iv). Allotments;
The Council gave its approval for the expenditure of approximately £150 for the hire of a skip so that the Allotments could be given their annual tidying.
v). Hidden Britain;
Nothing to report
i). Other letters to Chairman and Clerk
a. Grass cutting; the Council has been approached by Countrywide Grounds Maintenance who wish to quote for grass-cutting in 2008. The company’s brochure will be circulated and their prices for the 2008 season compared with those from the Council’s other contractors.
b. Review of polling stations: SODC has completed its review of polling stations and has no plans to change the arrangements in Dorchester. The report will be circulated.
c. Road marking at Malthouse Lane/High Street junction; the County has confirmed that it will take no further action to mark this junction with a ‘Keep Clear’ sign.
d. The Council is being consulted about changes to the referral of planning applications to the SODC Planning Committee. At present there is an automatic referral whenever the Parish Council’s view in contrary to the recommendation of the planning officer. This is to change so that if the Parish Council supports an application but the officers recommend refusal the application will no longer be referred to the Planning Committee unless the District Councillor calls for this to happen.
The Council’s response to this consultation is required by 3rd February.
8 Planning
There were no planning applications. The Council noted the following planning decisions:
PO7/W1172/LB Roman Catholic Church
Approval given for repairs and upgrading of wall
PO7/W0707 Garage at entrance to Samian Way
Application withdrawn
P07/W0034 17 Bridge End; Erection of single storey conservatory breakfast room, 2 x bedroom pavilions with bathrooms to the rear. The applicant’s appeal against refusal has been turned down.
Cllr Stevenson and the Clerk visited the property on 1st December at the invitation of Mrs Judy Tudor Hughes and had been shown around the inside of the property. Cllr Stephenson said that he thought that there is still plenty of evidence of the original cob structure and that the Council should proceed with an application to English Heritage that the property should be listed.
9 Village Carbon Project
Cllr Mark Stevenson reported that around 20 people had viewed the recent showing of ‘An inconvenient Truth’ in the Village Hall and afterwards there had been a lively discussion. The DVD is available for others to borrow.
The County Council has awarded the group a £300 grant and is providing insurance cover free of charge. The Village Hall Management Committee has now approved the regular use of the Village Hall to provide an ‘eco-friendly’ weekly refill/recycling point and the placing of an additional notice board on the outside of the building so that the Group’s activities can be publicised. This board will be enclosed.
10 Watling Lane repairs
OALC says that there is no reason why the Parish Council should not undertake this surface repair work as long as the County Council is in agreement and Allianz, the Parish Council’s insurers, confirm that it is acceptable for other parties to fund or part fund projects which, if they are then carried out by the Parish Council, will be covered by the Council’s Policy subject to the standard policy terms, conditions, exclusions and limits.
It was agreed that the Clerk should contact Mike Rimmer and Chris Vernon to see how the project could be progressed in the New Year.
11 Area Bus review and Local Transport Needs survey
The report which analyses the returns from the Transport Needs study has been received from ORCC. A public meeting was held on 10th December by the Chairman and Cllr Stevenson at which bus users were invited to give their opinions about the present and future provision of services.
County Cllr John Howell offered to meet with a small group of councillors to finalise the Council’s views for submission to the County’s Review panel in time for the deadline of 7th January. The Chairman and Cllrs Mrs Nudds and M Stevenson agreed to meet on either 3rd or 4th January.
12 Parish Plan Review
Cllr M Williams confirmed that ORCC has money available to Parish Councils who wish to conduct a review provided they are willing to submit a formal proposal. There is a shortage of applicants for this funding.
13 SODC Issues & Options paper
The information about the paper and the background documents had been sent to councillors on 4th December. There is also one 'hard copy' for circulation. It was agreed that it would helpful if Cllr Cotton could lead a special discussion on this matter to help the Council respond before the deadline of 1st February.
The Clerk will also send details of the consultation documents to The Hurst Trust and Dorchester Society. The local press will also carry information about the process, which has already received publicity in ‘Outlook’ the SODC newspaper which is distributed to every household in the District.
14 Any Other Business
a. Cllr Day said that he wanted to thank members of the Parish Council for all the good will messages he had received during his recent spell in hospital and subsequent period of convalescence.
b. Cllr Stevenson said that there has recently been a considerable increase in the number of cars parked at the High Street end of Queen Street. Councillors wondered whether there would be any merit in making the section of Queen Street that runs from the High Street up to the junction with Manor Farm Road one way, with access from the High Street and no exit to the High Street. This will be mentioned to the County area traffic engineer.
The Meeting closed at 9.42 pm
Revised Dec/2007 © 2007 DOTWeb