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Parish Council Minutes January 2006
Home > Parish Council > Minutes > Jan 2006
The Monthly Meeting of the Parish Council took place in the Village Hall on Wednesday 11th January 2006 commencing at 7.30 pm. The Vice- Chairman, Cllr Mrs M Metcalfe, presided; present were Cllrs. M Day, S Gibbons, C Hill, Mrs J Nudds, C Sleigh 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
Cllr Mrs Metcalfe wished all councillors a Happy New Year. Several residents had appreciated the Village Christmas Tree and she thanked all those concerned.
Apologies were accepted from Cllr K Bryan who was on holiday and District Cllr John Cotton who was detained by other business.
2 Declarations of Interest
None
3 Minutes of the Meeting held 14th December 2005
The Minutes as circulated were approved and signed as a correct record
4 Matters Arising from the Minutes
a. The new Road Repair Spreadsheet, requested by County Cllr Howell, had been circulated just before the Christmas holiday. It was agreed that if any councillor wished to make an entry this should be done as soon as possible so that the Clerk could circulate the document at the February meeting.
b. Bridge End car park; the Clerk reported that the Conservation Oficer’s comments have now been received and that there has been an exchange of e-mails between Parish, County and District Councils and Monson, the consultants, regarding the size of the disabled bay at the entrance to Bridge End and also about provision of an adequate drainage scheme. This correspondence is on-going and it is hoped that the situation will be clarified by the February meeting.
5 County Councillor's Report
County Cllr John Howell said that the County Council had decided that it no longer wished to participate in the routine ‘Forum’ meetings, having found them on the whole to be an inefficient and ineffective method of consultation with the local electors as well as being very expensive in terms of officers’ time costs. This did not mean, however, that the County had ruled out the possibility of holding local meetings and these would occur in the future as and when required, probably for the purpose of discussing a specific topic.
Cllr Howell said that residents of Clifton Hampden and Burcot would like to see the present 30 mph speed limit increased and that there is likely to be consultation on this matter later in the year.
6 Correspondence and Other Business
i). Sports Club Pavilion & Playground; The Clerk confirmed that the anti slip mat is now installed and that Peter Keable will cut the perimeter hedge in the next few days. Mr Keable may be able to help dealing with the rabbits since he has a contact with John Smith, a former resident of Overy, who has ferrets.
The Council noted that the new supply of free trees will arrive on 17th January.
There is an OALC Course at Didcot on 22nd February which is conducted by OPFA and all about play and sports facilities. It was agreed that Cllr Gibbons will attend.
ii). Footpaths;
Mark Sumner, the County footpaths officer, has said that he will be visiting Overy next week. The Clerk will invite him to meet with representatives from the Council.
The area to the side of the footpath between Queen Street and Drayton Road is now cleared.
The Clerk had been asked to clarify the exact location of the Parish boundary near the by-pass and this was done by reference to the Countryside Agency’s map of 2005.
iii). Cemetery;
IJP’s work is now complete but hessian and tarpaulin coverings will remain until the danger of frost has past. The proposed service of dedication will be discussed with the Rector when the Chairman is back from holiday as will finalising the new Cemetery regulations which will include plaques.
IJP has recommended some form of barrier to prevent vandalism/graffiti etc. and this will be considered again in due course. The Council noted that the Oxford Preservation Trust meeting, which will consider the award of a grant, will be held early in March.
The perimeter ditch has been tidied up and trees cut back by BCB and Jenks Ltd respectively. There will be discussion about more landscape works in due course.
iv). Allotments;
A skip was provided for a week before Christmas and this enabled Mark Townson to organise for the area to be tidied up.
v). Parish Plan;
The Hidden Britain application for funding has been lodged with DEFRA. It has been confirmed that planning permission for orientation boards is not required but the landowner’s permission is. It was confirmed that Miss Bowditch owns the land near Days Lock and Cllr Mrs Metcalfe thought that a personal approach would be best.
vi). Other letters to Chairman and Clerk
a. Pat Smith has written to record her own and her family’s appreciation of the seat in memory of Mike, which has also attracted a lot of favourable comment from other residents. The Clerk confirmed that the insurers have provided cover for the new seat, adding it to the insurance schedule at no extra charge.
b. Thames Valley Police; the new arrangements for the handling of non-emergency calls was noted and will be advertised in the Dorchester News and on notice boards.
c. The Council noted that the District Council has decided that the kerbside collection service of garden waste will continue until 28th April
d. Cathy Pepper has written to report on the poor condition of the sweet chestnut tree on the green at Tenpenny The Clerk has asked Paul Jenks to visit.
f. The Thirteen Parishes Group has requested the Clerk to write to GOSE about future government housing allocations. Advice has now been received from Cllr Howell, who suggested that a letter should be sent concentrating on the lack of sufficient expansion of infrastructure. This was agreed. Cllr Howell commented that he fully expects the Government to demand greater provision of new housing in Oxfordshire.
7 Planning
a) Applications
PO5/W1224/LB 26 Watling Lane
Replacement rear porch. The Council had no strong views about this application.
PO5/W1258/LB 59 High Street
Installation of solar water heating collectors to garden shed roof and false soil pipe to house wall, to provide a sustainable, non polluting energy source.
The Council had no strong views about this application.
PO5/W1266/CA and /W1267 20 Watling Lane
Demolition of lean to UPVC conservatory and lean to porch/wc. Erection of a single storey garden room, dining room, entrance, wc and bathroom to the south and east elevations with a section to the east elevation being two storey
The information about this application had only just arrived and the Clerk was asked to see if an extension to the period of consultation could be obtained.
b) Report on planning decisions, amendments etc
PO5/W0981/LB 45 High Street; Refurbishment and conversion into 2(no) two bedroom dwellings. Listed building consent granted 15th December 2005
PO5/W1081 Pippins, 22 Abingdon Road: Demolition of existing kitchen and garage. Erection of replacement two storey extension and front porch.
Planning permission granted 12th December 2005
PO5/W1138 Sunnyridges 81, Abingdon Road; Single storey pitched roof extension, new windows and front entrance canopy.
Planning permission refused 3rd January 2006 – the property has already been extended and the proposed extension ‘would result in a disproportionate addition to the original dwelling house which lies within the Green Belt. Represents inappropriate development in the Green Belt….’
8. Finance
a). Bank balances: The following were reported
Current A/c on 30th December 2005 £13,043.54
Reserve A/c on 30th December 2005 £37,675.44
b). Accounts approved for payment:
M & M Skip Hire (Allotments) £158.63
IJP Building Conservation (final payment) £4,309.67
SODC (dog hygiene bin service) £228.21
Jenks Oxford Ltd (Cemetery) £399.50
St John’s College (Christmas trees) £176.25
Thames Water (Allotments £29.91 Sportsground £54.71 £84.62
Easily Limited (domain name extension) £9.99
GGD Russell – clerk’s salary £361.86
Admin expenses December/January £119.55
Geoff Willis Handyman – 4 weeks - (December £240.57) £245.50
BCB (Waterloo, Cemetery hedge, ditch, path and ivy) £969.38
David Joseph (anti-slip mat) £30.94
OALC (training course fee) £41.12
It was agreed that the Clerk could purchase a ‘seal’ for use on official documents at a cost estimated to be approximately £35.
c). Annual Precept 2006/7
The Clerk circulated his forecast financial out-turn for the year ended 31st March but before making a decision on the 2006/7 councillors asked for more details to show what items of expenditure are regular year by year items and what are special projects. The setting of the Precept will be agreed when this information is available but in the meantime the Council debated some of the proposed ‘capital’ projects in general.
There was discussion about the proposals for refurbishment of the play area. It was agreed that sources of grant aid should be investigated but it was also regarded as important that those residents whose children use the play area should become involved in helping to raise part of the required funding.
Cllr Day said that he was against moves to make the Recreation Ground into a more than occasional venue for event car parking and suggested that a maximum number of days should be set, say 28, when it could be used for this purpose. He felt that the primary function of this space should continue to be for recreational use and that to allow its more frequent use for car parking would be a disincentive to people finding a more permanent and better solution to the need for parking within the Village.
9. Appointment of representative on School Governing body
Cllr Mrs Nudds said that her period of service as a governor representing the County has come to an end. The County vacancy is for a term of four years. Cllr Gibbons is willing to serve as the Parish Council’s representative for the remainder of this Council’s term of office, which comes to an end in May 2007, and this was agreed.
10 By-pass bus stop improvements
Details of the new bus services have been received and will be publicised in Dorchester News with special mention being made to the extra late night services on Fridays and Saturdays.
Work is in progress on the bus shelter bases and new lights on the path to the northbound carriageway have been installed
11 Queen Street flooding
A meeting had been held on 4th January with Mr and Mrs Broadbent; County Cllr John Howell and Gordon Hunt from Oxfordshire County Council; Cllr Ken Bryan and the Clerk, following which further work is being progressed with the County Archaeologist and the Environment Agency, which is based upon solving the problem by creating a large new ‘soak-away’ pit in one of three possible locations. In its 2006/7 budget the County has set aside a sum of money to be spent in achieving a solution to this problem.
12. Village Maintenance
Both BCB and Scion Estates are interested in taking on work currently done by the County in maintaining grass verges and other vegetation along roadsides. There will be more discussion about this matter at the Council’s February meeting.
SODC has promised that the public lavatories at Bridge End will be painted before the end March. The graffiti on the side of these buildings has been reported.
The area known as ‘Waterloo’ has now been cleared of long grass and undergrowth. It was agreed that some bulbs should be planted there but that there is no need for an extra seat.
The village entry sign near the bridge has been removed and the stile into the nearby field has been damaged. Both matters will be reported to the County.
13. Any Other Business
a. Cllr Hill asked if anything can be done about the ‘ParcelForce’ van that parks near the Co-Op. The driver is a resident of Malthouse Lane.
b. A banner advertising a session for blood donors had been fixed to fencing on the boundary of the High Street development site. The Clerk confirmed that the permission of the Parish Council had not been asked.
c. The Clerk said that Leslie Radford had asked him to make it known that he had taken the photograph which appears on the front cover of the Village brochure and has also been used on the website and so on. Mr Radford has supplied a copy of the original photograph with two others taken from the top of the Abbey tower on the same occasion and suggested that they might be used to produce a village postcard or similar which could be sold to raise funds.
The meeting closed at 9.30 pm
Revised 20/02/2005 © 2005 DOTWeb