DORCHESTER ON THAMES
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Parish Council Minutes July 2008
Home > Parish Council > Minutes > July 2008
The Monthly Meeting of the Parish Council was held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 9th July 2008 commencing at 7.30 pm.
The Chairman, Cllr K Bryan, presided; present were Cllrs. Mrs M Metcalfe (Vice-Chairman), M Day, S Gibbons, C Hill and M Stevenson with G Russell in attendance.
1 Apologies for absence
Apologies were accepted from Cllrs. Jenny Nudds and Mark Williams, County Cllr John Howell MP and District Cllr John Cotton, all of whom had other engagements
2 Declarations of Interest
None
3 Minutes of the Meeting held 11th June 2008
The Minutes as circulated were approved and signed as a true record.
4 Matters Arising from the Minutes
a. The Chairman and Cllr Day had attended the recent Neighbourhood Watch and Community Safety meetings. They had not been impressed by either the content or the attendance. The Police had issued some neighbourhood crime statistics and these will be placed in the monthly circulation folder
b The Clerk said that he had not yet been contacted by the County’s bus information officer. He would contact him before the next meeting. Nor was anything yet known about the resurfacing of Drayton Road, the repairs to the footpath between the bridge and Meadside and the drop kerb opposite The Limes.
c. The folder about the South East Sustainable Futures Group is now available for Cllr Mark Stevenson and his group of volunteers.
d. Cllrs Chris Hill and Mark Stevenson have commented on the circular about the Thames Water Consultation and will pass on their ideas so that they can be included in Cllr Mrs Metcalfe’s review piece.
e. The Clerk said that he understood that the work done to the chimney at 18 High Street has now been seen by the conservation officer and referred to the enforcement section since no application for consent was made, contrary to the officer’s advice.
f. The Council approved the purchase of four aluminium no parking signs to be mounted on the wooden posts at the Bridge End/High Street junction for about £70.
g. County Cllr John Howell has been asked for help in drafting the Council’s response to consultation about sand and gravel quotas.
h. There are still problems with noise from motor cycles on Monday nights.
5 Finance
Bank balances & payments
Balance on NatWest Current Account at 30th June £18,597.71
Balance on NatWest Reserve Account at 30th June £24,421.91
The following accounts were approved for payment:
Total Pest Control (rodents April – June, 6 visits) £352.50
Berinsfield Community Business grass cutting May £425.70
Chris Drewett Signs £484.10
Information Commissioner (renewal fee) £35.00
GGD Russell – Clerk’s salary £425.43
Geoff Willis Handyman – 4 weeks - (June £322.50) £240.00
Dorchester pre-school £165.00
The Council declined to authorise the £10,000 retention for work not yet completed at Bridge End. Only one disabled space has been provided instead of two and the marking out that has been done is not to standard. No attempt has been made to indicate the remaining parking bays. ‘T’ markers should be used.
The Council approved the Annual Return for signature by the Chairman and Clerk. The accounts will now be passed to Douglas Jupp, who has again agreed to act as internal auditor. The Audit is to be sent to BDO Stoy Hayward by 25th July.
The final Hidden Britain grant has been approved and a plaque has been sent to the Council which should now be put up to indicate the support that has been received. The wording was not much liked, however, and the Clerk will contact James Turner, Hidden Britain co-ordinator, to ask if alternative wording would be acceptable.
6 Correspondence and Other Business:
i). Sports Club Pavilion & Playground;
The order for the new windows and doors has been placed with Peter Smith. Cllr Hill asked the Council to note that he is no longer the Sports Club secretary but he will continue to be the Council’s representative on the Sports Club committee, along with Cllr Gibbons.
ii). Footpaths;
An email has been received from Mark Sumner, the County Footpaths officer, concerning responsibilities for maintaining rights of way. This stated that OCC is responsible for maintaining the surface of a right of way so it does not cause obstruction or injury to the public. The County relies heavily on members of the public reporting issues so that officers can inspect and carry out any works required.
Landowners are responsible for ensuring rights of way are not obstructed by hedges or any structure; they are responsible for the repair and maintenance of stiles and gates on rights of way that cross their land and for reinstating rights of way disturbed by ploughing or during growing crops. They are not, however, allowed to plough or disturb field edge paths. The County provides grants to landowners who assist with countryside access.
Cllr Gibbons had confirmed that the Council’s old strimmer is beyond repair. The new brushcutter will be collected from Lister Wilder tomorrow.
iii). Cemetery;
A yew tree has been reported as obstructing relatives attending a grave at one end of the E Block. A tree surgeon will be asked to advise on the best course of action.
Two more commemorative plaques have been ordered.
iv). Allotments
The Council has been asked if it will agree to an allotment garden being allocated to the Village School. This was approved. It was also agreed that the rental element of the annual charge would be waived although some fee may have to be paid to the Allotments Society to insure that the school children and teachers are covered by the Society’s insurance.
v). Other letters to Chairman and Clerk
a. The Council noted the temporary road closure notice issued for Queen Street for three weeks commencing 4th August.
b. Cllr Stevenson will review the documents that have been issued by the Oxford Partnership concerning a Sustainable Strategy for the county following initial consultation at meetings held last year, which had been attended by the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Clerk.
The Oxfordshire 2030 Consultation ends on 22nd September so the Council will need to include discussion of the documents in the agenda of its September meeting.
c. The Council had been invited to attend a meeting at The Oxford Belfry at 6 pm on 21st July by the Thames Valley Police Authority but no-one was able to attend.
d. The Council has received information from ORCC concerning grants for improving access to the countryside. Improving access to and from the by-pass bus stops is something that the Council would like to initiate if it qualifies under this scheme.
7 Planning:
a. Applications
PO8/W0677, 20 Abingdon Road; Two storey rear extension and pitched roof to existing bay front window
Councillors were all well acquainted with the applicants and decided that the best course of action was to record that the Council had no strong views about the matter.
PO8/W0736/LB 43, High Street; Erection of two externally illuminated fascia panels and one non illuminated projecting sign.
The Council noted objections from neighbours and agreed that this application should be refused as being completely inappropriate on a building of this age and character and detrimental to the surrounding area as well.
PO8/W0623/A 43, High Street; Erection of two externally illuminated fascia panels and one non illuminated projecting sign
The Council noted objections from neighbours and agreed that this application should be refused as being completely inappropriate on a building of this age and character and detrimental to the surrounding area as well.
b. Other Planning matters
The Council noted the following decisions:
PO8/W0412, Pippins 5 Orchard Haven; An extension of the existing garage and conversion of part of the garage to shower/dressing room with a single storey extension to rear.
Planning permission granted 20th June
P08/W0525 77 High Street Dorchester on Thames
Erection of a two storey extension.
Planning permission granted 7th July
8 Repairs to Watling Lane
Mike Rimmer has asked if the Parish Council accepts the County’s insistence on £10 million public liability cover and the answer is yes it does. The Clerk will now work with Mr Rimmer and his committee of residents to agree the text of a letter to be sent to all the residents of Watling Lane in order to see if sufficient funds will be forthcoming to fund the scheme along with the Parish Council’s contribution.
9 Parish Tree Survey
Cllr Maurice Day, the Council’s Tree Officer, said that the District Council has proposed a survey of ‘significant’ trees. The scheme is not compulsory and a pilot survey is being carried out in Warborough which will be useful as a guide to the techniques which should be followed in other surveys.
10 Archaeology on the Allotments
The digging is still in progress but enough significant material has been discovered to encourage the project to be carried on next year. The present excavations will be back-filled in such a way that next year’s digging will be facilitated.
11 Any Other Urgent Business
a. Cllrs Chris Hill and Mark Stevenson have comments on last month’s circular about the Sustainable Communities Act, which is a cross-party initiative. The first step is to see that SODC has signed up for the Act. If it has then it should be possible for the Parish Council to have a greater influence in decisions affecting the community.
b. The present division of Councillor’s special responsibilities will be circulated for further discussion at next month’s meeting..
c. Metal bin liners: the Clerk confirmed that one is on order for the bin near Manor Farm Road/Queen Street junction and that SODC will pay for this. Bins on Parish Council owned land, however, have to be paid for by the Parish Council.
d. Cllr Stuart Gibbons asked what action, if any, is being taken over the tall fence at 1, Meadside, which was refused retrospective planning permission.
e. Cllr Chris Hill reported two incidents of vandalism. One is at the end of Wittenham Lane where the dog bin has been damaged and the other is at the Thame stream bridge where a party had evidently taken place and a fire had been lit using timber cut from the fence nearby.
f. The Chairman reported that there had been a serious accident in the play area. No blame was being attached to anyone or to any piece of equipment but the incident is a reminder that it is important that the equipment is inspected on a weekly basis.
Meeting closed at 9.35 pm
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