DORCHESTER ON THAMES
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Parish Council Minutes October 2008
Home > Parish Council > Minutes > Oct 2008
The Monthly Meeting of the Parish Council was held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 8th October 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, Mrs J Nudds and M Stevenson with G Russell in attendance.
1 Apologies for absence
Apologies were accepted from Cllr Mark Williams who was on holiday.
2 Declarations of Interest
None
3 Minutes of the Meetings held 10th and 16th September 2008
The Minutes as circulated were approved and signed as a true record.
4 Matters Arising from the Minutes
There has been no news from the County Council about when they are going to schedule the repairs to the Meadside Path and Drayton Rd nor has their been any response to the suggestion that there should be a cycle path through the village linking Burcot to the Dorchester by-pass junction with Henley Road.
The Clerk said that the District’s Planning Enforcement Officers has again been reminded about the Meadside fence with a copy of this note sent to Cllr John Cotton.
The meeting with the County Council where Dorchester residents will be able to comment about local bus services will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday 14th October. Cllr Mrs Metcalfe is unable to attend but asked that the need for the Dorchester by-pass stops to be signed from the village and included on the bus company’s time-tables should be raised.
Councillors commented about some village maintenance tasks, including Green Lane and the footpath between Bridge End and Wittenham Lane, with the most urgent being the area around the bottle bank on Oxford Road and the paths to the by-pass bus stops on both sides of the carriageway..
5 Finance:
Bank balances & payments
Balance on NatWest Current Account at 6th October £24,407.54
Balance on NatWest Reserve Account at 6th October £39,421.91
The following cheques were approved for payment:
Playsafety Ltd £91.65
Thames Water Utilities Allotments & Rec. £120.89
Town & Country Memorials Ltd (plaques) £221.50
Waste Recycling Group Ltd £550.00
GGD Russell – Clerk’s salary £425.43
GGD Russell (admin September & October) £79.65
Geoff Willis Handyman – 4 weeks - (Sept. £297.50) £250.00
Sports Club (donation towards mower) £100.00
6 Correspondence and Other Business:
i). Sports Club Pavilion & Playground;
The Council noted with approval the fact that WREN has awarded a grant of £5,000 towards the cost of the new equipment.
The RoSPA play area safety inspection report has been received and overall is very satisfactory. The new signage received a special mention. There has been some graffiti applied on the safety surfacing and Cllr Gibbons is organising a working party to remove it. Some adults are using the play equipment and informal attempts will be made to stop them doing so.
Paul Junks is to commence the schedule of tree work on both the Recreation Ground and the Cemetery later this month
ii). Footpaths;
County Cllr John Howell has been asked to find out about the status of the proposed kissing gate at Overy and the removal of the stile which is preventing parents from using the footpath via the Mill as a walk to school route, as requested by residents of Meadside. Is this stile shown on the definitive footpath map?
It had also been agreed that the chestnut palings fixed to the inside of the fence towards The Hurst should be removed and re-fastened (if this is the wish of the landowner) to the outside of the fence.
Cllr Stevenson said that he thought that the Ramblers Association might be able to assist the Parish Council should litigation be required but this would be a last resort, to be taken only if the County Council failed to take the action which it was believed to have promised.
The metal gate partially blocking the footpath alongside the burial ground has been unlocked and left open as agreed at the last meeting but it has been closed again by persons unknown. The Clerk was asked to arranged for the edges of this path to be cleared of weeds and nettles.
iii). Cemetery;
Cottrell Landscapes will do the work requested by the residents of Herringcote, for which two days have been allowed, around the end of this month.
The Council has been asked to provide a burial plot for Mrs Pamela Sledman, who as Pam Hill, was once head of the village school. Mrs Sledman, who is in hospital, and her husband live in Drayton St Leonard so they have rights of burial at Drayton St Leonard Parish Church. The Clerk was asked to obtain more information about Mrs Sledman’s connections with Dorchester.
iv). Allotments
It was agreed that two sheds, both of which conform to the maximum size set out in the rules – 6’ x 4’ – could be erected. The Rules will be studied to see if it is necessary for future requests of this nature to be approved by the Parish Council. The Rule governing the letting of Allotment gardens to non-residents will also be studied. An Allotment Garden is required for the school; has this been allocated?
Mark Townson says that he is sure that the Allotment Society and its members will have no objection to the ‘dig’ taking place again next year. The Council noted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded a grant towards this project.
v). Other letters to Chairman and Clerk
b. The Council has been asked to send a representative to the Parents & Children Together (PACT) at Berinsfield on 14th October. Cllr Williams will be asked if he is able to attend.
c. The Clerk has received a request from SODC to remind all councillors to review their entries in the Register of Interests and the need to declare any gifts or hospitality which they may have received in their capacity as councillors.
d. Sutton Courtenay incinerator; it was agreed that a special meeting would be held to consider the Council’s attitude towards the proposed energy from waste incinerator at Sutton Courtenay.
e. The Council has been asked to send a representative to the AGM of OPFA to be held on 23rd October at Stanton Harcourt. Unfortunately no-one is able to attend.
f. The Chairman has been invited to attend the Wallingford Forum but was unable to attend. It is understood that another forum for Town and Parish Councils will be held on 11th November.
g. The consultation period on planning for the accommodation of gypsies and other itinerant folk ends on 21st November. The matter will be discussed at the next Council meeting.
7 Planning:
a. Applications
PO8/W1000/LB & P08/W0982 Lychgate Cottage, 8 High Street.
Removal of existing timber shed/outbuilding and replacement with timber clad utility room, toilet and garden store.
Already approved by sub-committee and returned.
PO8/W1056 Spindle Trees, 1a Oxford Road
Removal of existing front conservatory and replacement with single storey porch. Rear single storey extension. New detached garage with storage over.
The Council recommended that this application be approved.
b. Other Planning matters
GOSE Consultation on the South East Plan; the reply sent by CPRE is noted.
The following planning decisions were noted
PO8/W0610/LB Cranmer Cottage, 90 High Street
Renovation of existing outbuilding. Demolition and replacement of modern link to house. Demolition of coal shed and construction of single storey extension.
Listed Building Consent refused 17th September
PO8/W0847 and PO8/W0915/LB 24 Bridge End
Erection of new walling and gates.
Listed Building Consent and Planning Permission granted 2nd October
PO8/W0855 3 The Limes, Conversion of loft space with single roof light.
Planning permission granted 16th September
PO8/W0879/LB Virginia Cottage, 21 High Street
Replace two rear modern style windows; install oak framed flat roof light.
Listed Building Consent granted 16th September
PO8/W0918/LB The Chequers, 20 Bridge End
Moving a door on first floor to bedroom
Listed Building Consent granted 19th September
PO8/W0950 91 Abingdon Road
Extension and garden shed to replace existing
Application withdrawn 30th September
8 Village Christmas Tree
Due to lack of a low voltage electricity supply – as a result of the delay to the renovation of the property above the Co-Op store in the High Street - it was decided that this year there would be no Parish Christmas Tree. An explanatory note will be placed in Dorchester News.
9 Repairs to Watling Lane
The Clerk reported that so far £3,250 has been received from residents but nothing from Allotment holders or the Allotment Society. Some residents have offered to pay a further contribution in order to raise the fund to the required amount of £4,500. It was agreed that a follow up letter should be sent by the Clerk to those residents who have not yet contributed, in the hope that the balance of the fund would be received and work could be given the go-ahead to commence in November.
10 Dorchester Carbon Project
The Parish Council agreed to ask the District Council whether it intends to sign up to the Sustainable Communities Act by the end of October. The Parish Council would be prepared to nominate a representative if SODC decided to form a Citizens’ Panel.
The Village Hall Committee will be asked to provide space for the group’s new notice board. A thermal imaging camera has been purchased so that residents can see where their homes may be suffering loss of heat due to poor insulation.
11 Car Parking
The Council agreed to follow up a suggestion that part of the field opposite Overy Lane, formerly owned by Mr Cook, could be used as an overflow car park.
12 Queen Street Drainage Proposal
The Clerk explained that the County Council wishes to pursue the scheme to divert surface water drainage from Queen Street into the River Thame near Dorchester Bridge by laying a series of new pipes under Queen Street and along the High Street.
This will mean the partial closure of both roads for several weeks and the Parish Council has been asked to talk to both the School and the Abbey to see when this work could be carried out with minimum disruption to their activities.
13 Any Other Business
i). Cllr Hill asked if the handyman could be tasked to kill the weeds around the area of the public lavatories in Bridge End.
ii). Cllr Hill said that there is a section in the Sustainable Communities Act which deals with the closure of public houses. The details need further research.
iii). The Council agreed that the subject of providing the village with additional street lights needs further discussion and this will be an agenda item in November.
Meeting closed at 9.50 p.m.
Special Meeting
A Special Meeting of the Parish Council was held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 22nd October 2008 commencing at 8.00 pm. The Chairman, Cllr K Bryan, presided; present were Cllrs. M Day, S Gibbons, Mrs J Nudds and M Stevenson with G Russell in attendance. Also present were ten residents.
1 Apologies for absence
Apologies were accepted from Cllrs Margot Metcalfe, Chris Hill and Mark Williams, all of whom are attending other meetings.
2 Public Participation
Several residents were concerned about the proposal to locate the Energy from Waste Incinerator at Sutton Courtenay. Objections included concerns about the impact that such a large structure would have upon the surrounding countryside, about the possibly increased risks of flooding, the generation of extra traffic and worries that the process is inherently damaging to the health of residents in the surrounding area.
On the other hand the meeting was also reminded that there is a need to move away from depositing waste in landfill sites and that the principle of incinerating waste for energy has been successfully adopted by many other countries in Europe.
Above all the meeting agreed that the consultation process regarding this project was seriously flawed. There are many parishes where the proposal will have an impact and yet only a few of them have been informed of what is proposed and directly invited to offer their opinions.
3 Planning Application SUT/APF/616/60-CM;
Sutton Courtenay Landfill site; Energy from Waste (EfW) Incinerator;
Infrastructure, plus that for combined heat and power (CHP), incinerator bottom ash (IBA) processing plant with outside storage area and air pollution control resolve (APCR) treatment and disposal facilities, visitor and office accommodation and landscaping.
Recognising that this is a planning application rather than an application for an Environmental permit to run the plant, the Council agreed that it would oppose the application using planning arguments rather than fears about environmental safety. After some detailed consideration ten points of objection were agreed. These would be forwarded to the County Council before the process ended on 28th October.
The Council declined to sign the petition being organised by the ‘Sutton Courtenay against Incinerator’ (SCAI) campaign and agreed not to make a cash contribution to the SCAI campaign.
It was felt that the Thirteen Parishes Group should meet to discuss this matter.
4 Any Other Business
The Clerk has received an application to reserve two grave spaces on behalf of Mr and Mrs Sledman who, as Mrs Pamela Hill, was head of Dorchester Village School for the period 1978-1981. Mr and Mrs Sledman now live in Drayton St Leonard and the Rector has confirmed that they have a right to burial in Drayton Parish Church.
The Council decided that their links with the Parish of Dorchester are not strong enough for the Council to make an exception to its strict policy concerning rights to burial. The Sledmans’ request is therefore declined.
The Clerk will write to the Sledmans and inform the Rector of the Council’s decision.
The Meeting finished at 9.10 p.m.
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