DORCHESTER ON THAMES
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Parish Council Minutes November 2005
Home > Parish Council > Minutes > November 2005
The Monthly Meeting of the Parish Council took place in the Village Hall on Wednesday 9th November 2005 commencing at 7.30 pm.
The Chairman, Cllr K Bryan presided; present were Cllrs. M Day, S Gibbons, C Hill, Mrs M Metcalfe, Mrs J Nudds and M Williams 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 Chris Sleigh who is on holiday
2 Declaration of Interest
Cllr Mark Williams declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Planning Application PO5/W1081 22 Abingdon Road. He lives next door.
3 Minutes of the Meeting held on 19th October 2005
The Minutes were approved and signed as a true record.
4 Matters Arising from the Minutes
a. The commencement of the Thames Water works and associated road closure has been postponed until 21st November. SODC and Thames Water are in contact about pumping excess water away from the trenches.
b. Work on the cemetery building has commenced but the contractor is seeking to agree an upwards revision in price totalling nearly £1,900. The Chairman and Clerk will meet the contractor’s representative on site to discuss this. Councillors agreed that the Council had very little option other than to accept the increase.
c. By-pass junction safety; comments about improving the location of the bollards have been passed by Peter Ronald to the street lighting section.
5 District Councillor's Report
District Cllr John Cotton said that following environmental improvements being agreed at Berinsfield Leisure Centre, there may be an enhancement of the services provided at the Centre.
The covert surveillance cameras to monitor potential fly-tipping sites are available and he suggested that if there are any sites where this camera might be helpful the Clerk should contact the Council.
The Council is going ahead with the introduction of free bus travel for qualifying persons with effect from next April but the future of the concessionary fare tokens will be decided in January.
Cllr Cotton, asked about the pre-submission consultation process for the SODC Local Development Framework, said that Dorchester Parish is not directly affected by it.
6 County Councillor's Report
County Cllr John Howell said that, with the Clerk, he will progress the new procedure for monitoring the status of road repair and works required within the Parish.
There had been approximately 3,000 replies to the County’s recent Housing consultation process. The result was confusing and unsatisfactory.
The County has been unable to stop the centralising of the Fire Service to Fareham. The new centre is reported to be costing £2 billion against a budget of £750 million.
The County is now consulting with the public on its Local Transport Plan 2006-2011. The period for comment ends on 6th January 2006. In addition to the booklet that will be circulated, the details of the plans and the opportunity to comment on-line is available at www.transaction.org.uk.
Cllr Howell also took part in the Council’s discussions about the Bridge End car park, improvements to the bus stop on the by-pass, the County’s invitation to the Parish to take on some minor highways maintenance tasks and the current Minerals & Waste Development consultation (see below)
7 Correspondence and Other Business
i). Sports Club Pavilion & Playground;
An estimate for new seats/shackles/chains to repair the swings has been received from Wicksteed Leisure in the sum of £300. It was agreed that this was acceptable.
Following complaints about how slippery the entrance decking is in damp weather a non-slip mat is being purchased and fitted for around £25.
The handyman is painting over the new graffiti on both tractor shed wall and pavilion backdoor.
It was agreed that BCB should be asked to repair the Pavilion gutters and downpipes.
Peter Keable has been asked to cut the perimeter hedge.
At the year end the Sports Club and the Parish Council will exchange bills for grass cutting and electricity/water consumption.
ii). Footpaths;
Mark Sumner, the newly returned County field officer, has been contacted about the state of the path at Overy Mill.
Quotes will be obtained for clearing more of the riverbank at Waterloo and the footpath linking Martins Lane and Drayton Road up to the boundary where a fence marks the start of the land belonging to Miss Bowditch..
iii). Cemetery;
Paul Jenks has sent his quote. Nothing is urgently required and £450 will cover what needs doing now. Paul will also look at the tree by the Josephs’ house and advise if it needs any trimming. Cllr Day will contact Paul Jenks direct.
iv). Allotments;
Mark Townson has asked for a skip and says that clearing some extra areas would be much appreciated since there is no space left in the main areas fed by the water pipes. He will advise the Council which area should be cleared next.
v). Parish Plan;
The final proof of the plan has been checked and copies of the finished document will be distributed to every household free with Dorchester News. Cllr Williams has approached Jonathan Gifford o see if Jonathan would be interested in organising the Youth Parish Council.
vi). Other letters to Chairman and Clerk
a. Flooding in Queen Street; The Clerk has been made aware of some correspondence between a resident, Gill Hypher of Malthouse Lane, and Gordon Hunt, drainage engineer for the County Council. Mr Hunt is proposing a new drain to be laid through the garden of the Manor and has said that he can include this work in his budget for 2006/7 provided that the new owners of the Manor give their permission – they have not yet moved in. County Cllr Howell said that he would be very supportive of such a scheme and the Parish Council agreed to make an approach to the new owners as soon as possible.
b. Garden Refuse disposal; Mrs Felicity Jarman has asked what the arrangements will be after the present scheme finishes on 23rd December and, at the moment, nobody knows. The Clerk will advise residents to keep a look out for announcements on the village notice boards as soon as the information is available.
c. Lake off Drayton Road; following an accident on a wooden bridge, the Oxford Angling and Preservation Society has advised the Parish Council that it intends replace the bridge with a causeway created by landfill, which will cross the centre of the lake. This requires planning permission and an application will follow soon.
d. The Council noted that Berinsfield Health Centre has been successful in its application to open a pharmacy. The new Berinsfield Pharmacy must be developed over the next two years and the Health Centre may be upgraded and improved as well.
e. Chris Hill supplied a copy of the letter which he sent, as a resident of Bridge End, thanking Brian Short for the work recently undertaken by ISIS Accord filling potholes around The Green in Bridge End. He had gone on to say, however, that in general the road in Bridge End is still in a very poor state.
8 Planning
a) Application:
Cllr Williams left the room while the following item was discussed
PO5/W1081 Pippins, 22 Abingdon Road
Demolition of existing kitchen and garage. Erection of replacement two storey extension and front porch.
The Council agreed that the application should be approved as an appropriate development for the site
Cllr Mrs Nudds commented that in future the members of the Council’s planning sub-committee should always see planning applications before they are viewed by the Dorchester on Thames Society and this was agreed.
b) Report on planning decisions, amendments etc
None received
9 Finance
a). Bank balances
NatWest Current Account balance at 28th October £11,659.12
NatWest Reserve Account balance £42,466.43
b). The following accounts were approved for payment:
Open Spaces Society (subscription) £30.00
Southern Electric (Pavilion) £32.05
GGD Russell – clerk’s salary £361.86
Admin expenses October/November £104.95
Geoff Willis Handyman – 4 weeks - (October £264) £188.00*
Berinsfield Community Business (grass cutting) £141.00
ORCC (donation) £20.00
Royal British Legion (donation) £25.00
* includes £52 attributable to car parking duties
c). Policy on charitable giving
A schedule showing the Council’s recent charitable donations was reviewed and it was agreed to continue to consider applications for support on an ad hoc basis with priority being given towards local groups. It was agreed to set a budget of £400.
Following this discussion donations of £25 to the Royal British Legion and £20 towards the fund to mark John Hardwicke’s retirement from ORCC were agreed.
d). Review of Cemetery Fees
A schedule of the proposed increases – the first for three years – was copied to all and will be discussed at the next meeting when the cemetery rules will also be reviewed.
e). Adjustments to Annual Return 2004
The revised treatment of VAT was noted, as instructed by the Auditor, with the restatement of the balances shown.
f) Accounts for Annual Return 2005
Adoption of the accounts was proposed by Cllr Williams, seconded by Cllr Hill and passed unanimously. These accounts will now be used to prepare the Annual Return for 2005 for approval at the December meeting.
10 Bridge End Car Park
The Monson drawing has been received. It provides for a total of 21 parking spaces including two reserved for disabled drivers. Some of the existing hard standing is to be replaced by grass and there is provision for tree planting. The scheme has been informally discussed with Clare Lawrence at SODC Conservation. In general the scheme was approved. A copy of the drawing will be sent to Brian Short. The Council has funded this exercise and wishes the District and County Councils to recognise this as part of the Parish Council’s contribution towards the cost of the scheme.
11 By-pass bus stop improvements
The Council noted the proposals which are contained in two letters from Steve Hayes, Transport Planner in the County’s Public Transport Development section.
The Council agreed with the Proposed Bus Stop Clearways which will create marked boxes on both sides of the road which may only be used by a bus or coach.
The other letter suggested several improvements, most of which will be paid for by the County Council but included the request that the purchase of bus shelters with solar powered lighting should go through the Parish Council, with the whole cost being refunded to the Parish. The Council agreed that it would approve this purchase provided Mr Hayes gives a written undertaking that the County will not only fully meet the cost of the shelters, including accessories, seats etc. but also project manage as well as pay for all the other proposed improvements.
The Clerk said that he has sent details of the proposals to Hilary Green, Community Safety officer at SODC, as she may also be able to make a contribution to the scheme.
12 Village Maintenance
Revised work schedules for the Handyman were copied to all and agreed with the addition of an extra task, namely reporting to the Clerk if the public lavatory building in Bridge End has not been properly cleansed, a daily responsibility of a working party from SODC.
It was also suggested that both Cllr Gibbons and, possibly, the Handyman should attend a training course in playground safety inspection skills and the Clerk will advise when a suitable course is being held in the area.
The Handyman’s time sheets for October/November will be studied by Cllr Williams.
The County Council is offering Parish Councils the opportunity of taking on Highways Management Contracts. Minor highway maintenance tasks such as grass cutting, vegetation management and weed control would be paid at the same rate that the County pays its maintenance contractor. More information will be obtained. Although it was thought unlikely that there would be any financial benefit, taking on the work might result in it being done more frequently.
13 Minerals Consultation
County Cllr John Howell has drafted two responses. These were approved by the Council and will be submitted by the Clerk.
14 Future insurance of Village Fete
The advice from both OALC and Allianz Cornhill is that the present arrangement, whereby the Fete is ‘covered’ by the Council’s policy, cannot continue. The Fete Committee will have to makes its own arrangements at a cost of between £150 - £300 depending upon cover required. Cllr Day pointed out that the Fete activities need to be organised within the bye-laws covering use of the Recreation Ground.
15 Date of Next Meeting
This was agreed as Wednesday 14th December
16 Any Other Business
a. Thirteen Parishes: Cllr Williams had attended the recent meeting of the Thirteen Parishes Group. There had been a lively discussion centred upon the topic of the future development and expansion of Didcot. The Parish representatives had agreed to disagree on their attitudes towards this matter but all had felt that the Group should continue as it has a valid reason for being.
b. High Street Development Site: Cllr Hill complained about the lack of any progress on this site. It has not been kept tidy and weeds have grown to such a height that they are blocking the view of traffic approaching from the High Street from drivers exiting Bridge End.
c. An old refrigerator has been left outside Hallidays and needs to be removed.
The meeting closed at 10.10 pm
Revised 12/06/2005 © 2005 DOTWeb