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Parish Council Minutes June 2006

Home > Parish Council > Minutes > Jun 2006

The Monthly Meeting of the Parish Council took place in the Village Hall on Wednesday 14th June 2006 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, Mrs J Nudds, M Stevenson and M Williams with G Russell in attendance. Also present for part of the meeting were County Cllr John Howell, District Cllr John Cotton and seven members of the public.

1 A pologies for absence

None; all councillors were present

2 Public Participation

The Chairman welcomed Mr Wickes and Mr Butler who had come to tell the Council about their revised plans for development on land between 32 & 36 High Street. They explained that the new plans had taken into account all the objections that had been raised against the original development, especially as regards the number of units, which had been reduced, and the number of car parking spaces, which had been increased. They invited questions from the Council. Several matters were raised and referred to again when the Application was considered later in the meeting.

3 Declarations of Interest

Cllr Mark Williams, as Treasurer of the Village Fete Committee, said that he would take no part in the discussion about whether or not the Parish Council would agree to pay for all or part of the Fete's insurance costs.

4 Minutes of the Meeting held 10th May

The Minutes as circulated were approved and signed as a true record.

5 Matters Arising from the Minutes

a. New Street Lights; the Clerk has contacted Ruth White of OCC. Hilary Green of SODC was to have been consulted by Ruth White but she has been away. Further work is required to see what can be obtained by way of financial assistance since new lights would be an improvement to Community Safety.

b. New bus shelter at Bridge End/High Street junction; catalogues have been obtained for circulation and comment.

c. Don Morrison's pavement repair has been started.

d. Slow sign in Manor Farm Road; the Clerk will discuss with Richard Devereux.

e. The Clerk has received copies of correspondence which confirm that Hallidays planning condition 11, dealing with drainage, is not yet finally satisfied.

f. County Cllr Howell's Workshop on the South East Plan had been attended by the Chairman, Cllr Williams and the Clerk and the Council's comments will be submitted by the deadline of 23 rd June.

g. Berinsfield roundabout; action has been taken by police but against the bikers' dangerous riding rather than the noise that they make and which disturbs residents of Dorchester most Monday evenings. It was thought that the District Council's Environmental Health Department may have powers in this area and the Clerk will find out if SODC can help.

h. There have been several more examples of anti-social behaviour, including two instances of arson and at least two of air guns being fired. The Clerk has had frequent contact with the Didcot based crime reduction officer and, most recently, a direct contact with the new local area beat officer, Jessica Rowling, who has been invited to attend a meeting of the Parish Council when her other duties allow.

i. Proposed disabled parking space in High Street: Despite the misgivings of the Parish Council, this is expected to go out for formal consultation in the near future.

j The Hospital petition organised by the Mayor of Wallingford has been returned with about 90 signatures collected in Dorchester Post Office.

k. Bridge End Car Park; the Clerk reported that there had been no progress on written and detailed costing because the plans had not been sent by Monsons to Brian Purcell-Smith when requested. There is now some outline information available about what the District Council has in mind to give Parish and Town Councils as an incentive to take over responsibility for the public lavatories within their boundaries. Firm, written proposals are, however, not yet available.

l. Garage development site; Tim Bailey, the owner, has agreed to tidy the area although he has not so far done so.

6 District Councillor's Report

Cllr Cotton said that the Council should apply to the District Council's Community Fund for a grant towards the Bridge End Car Park improvement scheme and should stress that environmental improvement in that part of the village would only be possible with SODC support. The closing date for the next round of grants is the end of July.

Also by the end of July the Council should lodge its application for funding of the new equipment for the children's play area. Cllr Cotton said that it would be important for the Council to be able to demonstrate that it had done its best to drive down the supplier's costs; he said that Goring Parish Council has recent experience of doing this which might be applicable.

SODC has allocated the full quota of wheeled garden waste recycling bins but a new supply is expected soon and orders are still being accepted.

7 County Councillor's Report

Cllr Howell confirmed that the money is firmly in place to pay the County Council's share of the car park improvements.

He said that he would liaise with the Clerk about the response to the consultation regarding future policy on waste and minerals.

8 Correspondence and Other Business

i). Sports Club Pavilion & Playground;

The Clerk reported that he been advised that, due to the size of the sports pavilion, full planning permission will be required for the replacement of the doors with roller shutters.

Following a site visit by their representative, Wicksteed have supplied a firm quotation for the swing repairs amounting to £895. It was agreed that this work should proceed. Wicksteed have also re-quoted for the new play area equipment and safety surfaces at £35,000.

Cllr Gibbons's fund-raising working party has met again – the Chairman attended the most recent gathering – and considered the results of the new survey. More than one-third of the questionnaires distributed to village children had been returned and much the same kind of equipment had been suggested as had been popular in past surveys.

Cllr Gibbons has been in contact with District Cllr Cotton about funding, both from SODC and other bodies. Quotations will be obtained from alternative suppliers.

It was agreed to order two anti-dog fouling signs.

ii). Footpaths;

The Clerk reported that the County Footpaths Officer, Mark Summer, had arranged a meeting with Mrs Butcher that afternoon to discuss improvements to the path at Overy Mill. His report is awaited.

Mr Sumner has said that a County Council letter is to be sent to all residents thought to have made a ‘land grab' along the path from the Hurst to Drayton Road asking them to supply evidence to the County that their enclosures were lawful.

It was agreed that three new dog bins should be ordered, after checking that the installation tool already purchased is still the correct implement for the job.

Although the Council is aware of some footpaths that need a new covering of gravel, it was decided not to order any more for the time being.

iii). Cemetery;

The newly installed marker posts have been reduced in height by Messrs Smith and Joseph.

A further meeting about the new Cemetery prices and regulations has been held by Cllrs Bryan and Day with the Clerk in attendance. Cllr Day is producing a fair copy incorporating the amendments and the additions that had been agreed.

Cllr Bryan is going to draw up a layout for the positioning of the memorial plaques on the walls of the old gate house.

iv). Allotments;

Mark Townsend will proceed with the installation of new pipes and taps.

v). Hidden Britain;

The Millennium Album has now been digitally copied and Brian Oliver is producing the fully searchable version for publication later in the year. In the meantime councillors will be circulated with a CD containing all the images from the Album in page order.

Two of the new walking guides are ready for printing. The Clerk said that stocks of the Village brochure are running low. It was agreed that when the time comes to reprint the brochure, local businesses will be asked to contribute towards the production costs, as before.

vi). Other letters to Chairman and Clerk

a. Caroline Pratt has complained about drivers parking vehicles so as to obstruct access to Malt House Lane. The Clerk will put a note about this in the next ‘Dorchester News'.

b. Chris Kenway-Jackson has complained about the narrow width of the path along The Manor wall, saying that it should be 6' wide, and also about the hedge on the edge of The Manor's copse by the roadside. In previous meetings councillors had pointed out that allowing this hedge to hang into the road did have the effect of slowing down the speed of passing cars, but the width of the footpath is a different matter. The Clerk is asked to find out from the County if that path has a set width.

c Kate Norman has written to complain about all the potholes in Watling Lane. She appreciates that the Parish Council is not responsible for the road's upkeep but asks for some advice about what action can be taken. The County will be asked if they are willing to fill in some of the holes when next in the area. If adjoining landlords are asked to pay for the upkeep of the road along their frontages, it was pointed out that, as the owner of the allotment land, the Parish Council might face the largest bill of all.

d. The Council noted invitations to send a representative to the OALC AGM on the evening of 27 th June and to the SOHA Conference on the morning of 30 th June. Cllr Williams is one of the speakers at the latter.

f Cllrs Ken Bryan, Margot Metcalfe and Mark Stevenson said that they would be interested in attending the County Council liaison meeting with towns and parishes to be held in the Guildhall, Abingdon on the evening of 27 th July and the Clerk will notify the County in due course.

9 Planning

a) Applications:

P03/W0406 Badgers Wood, 101 Abingdon Road, Proposed amendment to single storey extensions and alterations, erection of detached garage.

The Council had no observations on the proposed amendment.

P06/W0461 17 Tenpenny; Erection of front entrance porch.

The Council had no strong views on this application.

P06/W0475 The Manor House;

Demolition of single garage and construction of double garage

The Council had concerns that road safety would be compromised if the proposed garage is sited so close to the road, which might be alleviated if the building could be re-aligned.

P06/W0487 6 Jemmetts Close

Erection of porch and dormer window to front elevation

The Council had no strong views on this application.

P06/W0508 59 Abingdon Road

Demolition of existing outbuildings and erection of single storey rear extension.

The Council had no strong views on this application.

P04/W1173/LB Hallidays Antiques - Amendments

Proposed gym floor, the well head and a new wall construction.

The Council had no observations on the proposed amendments.

P06/W0535 Land between 32 & 36 High Street

Demolition of existing timber workshops. Erection of two pairs of two-storey semi-detached houses with a single garage, seven parking spaces and associated new access.

The Council has received letters from several residents, all of whom are against this application being approved. Cllr Stevenson raised concerns about whether the proposed developments had taken sufficient account of policies contained in SODC's Local Plan (adopted in January 2006) particularly those dealing with Environmental Protection (especially Policy EP1), and Encouraging Sustainable and High-Quality Development (especially Policy D8 – Energy, water and materials efficient design - and Policy D11 – Infrastructure and service requirements).

The Council agreed that the most important factors to be considered were the change of use from business to residential, whether there were opportunities to include an affordable housing element and whether the design was acceptable for such a prominent site within the Conservation Area.

After taking all these matters into account the Council agreed to recommend that the proposal be approved. The scheme is a more acceptable use of the site than the previous proposal but the Council remains concerned that the design of the buildings should be in keeping with the Conservation Area and that all residents should park their cars within the site and not on the surrounding roads which are already heavily congested.

b) The Council noted the following decision:

PO6/W0342/LB The Manor House; New window to SE elevation

Listed Building consent granted 17 th May

10 Finance

a). Bank balances

NatWest Current Account at 30 th May £14,801.03

NatWest Reserve Account at 30 th April £32,847.96

b). The following accounts were approved for payment:

Pipeline Direct (Pavilion repair) £58.75

Berinsfield Community Business (grass cutting) £237.94

Scion Estates (grass cutting) £901.15

Oxfordshire Association of Local Councils (sub) £172.20

Oxford Green Belt Network (sub) £15.00

Scriptura (Millennium Album copying) £1737.50

Total Pest Control (mole control) £176.25

GGD Russell – Clerk's salary £361.86

Geoff Willis Handyman – 5 weeks - (May £195.00) £262.75

Cathy Pepper (compost at war memorial garden) £10.00

Dorchester Abbey PCC (Hidden Britain Project) £1570.01

Southern Electric (Pavilion) £69.02

The Council noted that an account has been opened with Lister Wilder in Wallingford for machinery repairs/servicing etc.

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

The Village Fete Committee has requested that the Parish Council pays towards the cost of this year's event insurance which is estimated to be £250. It was agreed that this year the Council would contribute the full amount but that this should not be taken as a commitment for subsequent years.

11 Community rights of way improvement fund and other grants

Details of the County's support for small-scale projects that will improve access to the countryside have been received. Grants at up to 100% can be awarded for projects between £200 and £1,000 such as replacing catches on gates, stoning of short sections of paths, replacing stiles with gates and producing a local map or notice board with places to walk or ride. The Countryside Service requires an initial expression of interest report to be submitted by the end of July.

Cllr Howell said the County Council has a budget for ‘chill-out' matching funding grants which amounted to £200,000 and was awarding these every month on a first come first served basis. It was agreed that Cllr Williams will talk to Cllr Ken Hall of Berinsfield Parish Council to see if there may be any possible joint ventures which could be undertaken for the benefit of the younger people in each Parish.

12 Parish Council/Police liaison

The Chairman drew the meeting's attention to recent press coverage which suggested that local councils could be at risk of losing funding if they did not cooperate fully with the new arrangements for local policing. The Council had received a letter from Sergeant Martin Jubb about Neighbourhood Policing and the Clerk had been advised of a training meeting that is being held at Henley Police station on 19 th June. Cllrs Bryan and Mrs Nudds agreed that they would try to attend this if required.

Cllr Williams is also involved in these matters in his capacity as chairman of the Berinsfield Community Safety Group.

13. Speed Limit on A415 through Burcot

Cllr Howell explained that there have been many complaints about the 30 mph speed limit through Burcot and that since the Police had opposed its imposition in the first place they are somewhat unenthusiastic about enforcing it. Most Burcot residents, however, are in favour of it because road accident injuries have reduced from 4 to 1. On the other hand, some residents feel that the driver frustration caused by the limit may one day cause risks to be taken which would lead to a very serious accident indeed.

The Clifton Hampden Parish Council wants no change; the Berinsfield Parish Council wants the limit to be increased. Cllr Howell invited Dorchester Parish Council to write to him if it wished to express its opinion one way or the other.

14. Any Other Business

a. Recent damage to By pass bus shelter; the Clerk confirmed that he has a letter from the County Council in which it was agreed that the County would be responsible for repairs after vandalism.

b. The Clerk will issue councillors with everyone's latest contact details.

The Meeting closed at 10.35 pm

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