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Parish Council Minutes May 2007
Home > Parish Council > Minutes > May 2007
The Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council was held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 9th May 2007 commencing at 8.30 pm after the conclusion of the Annual Parish Meeting
The Chairman, Cllr K Bryan, presided; present were Cllrs Mrs M Metcalfe (Vice-Chairman), M Day, S Gibbons, C Hill, Mrs J Nudds and M Stevenson with G Russell in attendance. Also present for part of the meeting were County Cllr John Howell and District Cllr John Cotton.
1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies were accepted from Cllr Mark Williams who was absent on business.
2 Declarations of Acceptance of Office
This being the first meeting of the Parish Council since the Parish Council Election on Thursday 3rd May each Councillor signed a Declaration of Acceptance of Office which was witnessed and counter-signed by the Clerk. Cllr Mark Williams will sign his Declaration at the June meeting
3. Declarations of Interest
None
4. Minutes of the Meeting of 11th April
The Minutes as circulated were approved and signed as a true record.
5. Matters Arising from the Minutes
Cllr Stevenson said that he had tried to insert some wooden barrier posts by the edge of the car park in Bridge End but the ground had been too hard. It was agreed to try to expedite the installation of the cycle rack because this would be equally effective as a barrier to prevent cars being parked on the turf.
6. Election of Parish Council Chairman 2007/8
(During the following item the meeting was chaired by the Vice-Chairman)
Cllr Ken Bryan was proposed by Cllr Jenny Nudds and seconded by Cllr Stuart Gibbons. There were no other nominations and Cllr Bryan was declared elected unopposed. He signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, which was witnessed and countersigned by the Clerk, and resumed the chair.
7. Election of Parish Council Vice-Chairman 2007/8
Cllr Margot Metcalfe was proposed by Cllr Chris Hill and seconded by Cllr Mark Stevenson. There were no other nominations and Cllr Metcalfe was declared elected unopposed. She signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office which was witnessed and countersigned by the Clerk.
It was agreed that the appointment of councillors to represent the Council on outside bodies would be discussed at the next meeting.
8. Planning
a). Applications
PO7/W0030/LB amended The Chequers Public House, 20 Bridge End
Demolition of 20th century extensions. Pub use retained car park layout revised & demolition of sectional garage building.
A further amendment to the application was noted. Cllr Hill said that the Planning Officer dealing with this application had told him that the approval process for this application is currently on hold.
PO7/W0252 Ditch South of Henley Road
Clean out existing fishery and enlarge proposed enlargement of existing fishery.
The Council noted that a BBOWT survey of the ‘Meadside Wetland’ is scheduled in next couple of months and was concerned that not many residents of Meadside seem aware of this application even though they are close neighbours.
The Council decided to recommend that this application be rejected as an unwanted development which might attract additional cars requiring parking facilities.
b) Report on planning decisions, amendments etc
The Clerk reported that Richard. Holmes from the Mid Counties Co-Op has said that a start date for the work above the Co-Op store in the High Street is due to be confirmed within the next three weeks.
9. Finance
Bank balances:
Reserve Account at 30th March £23,538.67
Current Account at 30th April £21,468.35
It was agreed that the Council should consider moving some of its funds into an account offering a higher rate of interest.
The following accounts were approved for payment.
Village Hall Committee (Welcome Party) £18.00
Dorchester Abbey Preservation Trust (Welcome Party) £72.25
Susan Jupp (Welcome Party) £10.45
Allianz Cornhill (annual insurance) £1,909.30
Thames Water (Cemetery water rates) £37.85
ORCC (annual membership) £20.00
Waste Recycling Group Ltd (Play area project) £660.00
Berinsfield Community Business (grass cutting) £264.86
GGD Russell – Clerk’s salary £401.82
Geoff Willis Handyman – 4 weeks - (April £201.50) £188.50
10 New Code of Conduct
The Council noted that a new Model Code came into force on 3rd May will need discussing at the next Parish Council meeting prior to a decision about its adoption
11. Any Other Urgent Business
a. Gill Haworth, who is responsible for maintenance of the gravestones in the Abbey Closed Churchyard, has written to the Council asking who is responsible for maintaining the memorials in a safe condition. Cllr Day said that the Diocesan Yearbook seems to indicate that even when a churchyard has been ‘closed’ the stones remain the responsibility of the incumbent and Parochial Church Council but it was agreed that the Clerk would seek the advice of OALC.
b. Susan Bowditch of Watery Lane, Clifton Hampden has told the Council that she is keen that the two old bus stop signs in Dorchester are refurbished and is willing to make a contribution to the cost. It was agreed to ask Fred Cherrill for an estimate.
c. OALC has given early warning of a training day for clerks and councillors about the Planning System entitled, “Effective responses to planning applications’ – Wednesday 10th October at Didcot Civic Hall 9.30 am to 1 pm.
d. Cllr Mrs Nudds said that the sign and the gate on the Thames Path at ‘Blue Bridge’ have still not been repaired.
e. The Council agreed that a new sign for the refurbished Play Area can be ordered and that a similar sign should be obtained for the Cemetery.
Meeting closed at 9.30 pm
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