Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 14th May 2008
Present:
Cllr.
Cllr. Mabel Wood
Cllr.
Cllr. Barry Coward
Cllr. David Wakeling
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
Mr
Two
members of the public
ANNUAL
MEETING
Mr Stuart McGill chaired the meeting until a new chairperson was elected by the Council.
01/05/08
Election of Chairman
Cllr. Mabel Wood proposed Mr
02/05/08
Acceptance of Office
Cllr.
03/05/08
Election of Vice Chairman
Cllr.
04//05/08
Apologies
for Absence: Cllr. Tim Robinson and John Nowell Smith (District Councillor)
05/05/08
Declaration of any personal or
prejudicial interests of members
Mr
06/05/08
Approval of Minutes
The
Parish Council RESOLVED to approve
the minutes of the Parish Council Meetings held on 9th April and 23rd April 2008
as a true record of the meetings and the Chairman signed them.
07/05/08
Matters Arising.
OCC
Highways
The
Clerk informed the meeting that
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he had corresponded with a school governor in
respect of the re-classification of the slip road between the
The
Clerk reported that he had spoken to Mr Steve Phillips at OCC who had confirmed
that the closure of the bridge on the A329 at Junction would take place at the
end of September although this date may slip as contractors are still finalising
their work schedules.
Delineation
of Village Green
The
Clerk stated that the posts had now been put in around the green but reported
that there had been a problem with the staples holding the chain link. Mr John
Riddy was aware of the problem and was seeking a solution.
Landscaping
of Entrances to the village
The
Council RESOLVED to ask Mr Steve
Relton to spray the nettles at the entrances to the village. The Clerk indicated
that there would a small charge.
Use
of Land adjacent to Village Hall
The
Council RESOLVED that the Village
Hall booking clerk should be advised of the activities that are not permitted
within the recreation ground and ask her to advise anyone booking the hall. The
use of the recreation for limited activities still requires a formal request by
the user who would need to be advised that they do so at their own risk. This
would apply to
08/05/08
Youth Facilities
The
Clerk stated that he would distribute an A5 leaflet, supplied by ActiveTEN20 to
targeted households within the Village. The Council will attempt to seek the
guidance of ActiveTEN20 to ascertain the effectiveness of their service in
meeting the needs of the youth of the village. Mr
09/05/08
Recreation Ground
The
Clerk reported that Isis Accord was now cutting the recreation ground grass each
week and that Mr Peter Ilbury had completed his mole control programme. The
Council RESOLVED that Mr Ilbury
should be consulted on the necessary work to maintain the good work that had
been done.
The
Clerk also reported that the wire on the wobbly bridge had stretched and now
required new clips. This work had been put in hand by Mark Willis. Spadework
10/05/08
Finance
The
Council RESOLVED to approve the
following expenditure:
Colourplus May Newsletter
£293.60
OALC annual subscription
£125.85
J A Riddy Village Green
£1017.31
Peter Ilbury mole trapping
£510.00
SODC Dog Hygiene 1 Jan- 31 March 2008
£22.66
The
Council RESOLVED that in accordance
with its powers under Section 137 of the LGA 1972
to incur the following expenditure which in the opinion of Little Milton
Parish Council is in the interests of the area or the inhabitants and will
benefit them in a manner commensurate with the expenditure:-
ORCC Donation
£20.00
Mr
James DAlbiac rent re Post Office
£75.00
The
Chairman read out a letter of thanks from Home-Start
11/05/08
Planning
Land
adjacent to the Plough
The
Chairman read out a letter from SODC Planning enforcement team that the
landscaping scheme in respect of the land adjacent to Plough House was to the
satisfaction of the planning officer. The Council requested that the Clerk
obtain a copy of the scheme as the members did not understand the scope of the
scheme and the information would further their understanding.
Planning
decisions made by the SODC Planning Committee
The
Chairman informed the meeting that the Planning Committee had unanimously agreed
not to alter the current system of automatic referral of major and minor
planning applications where the recommendation of the officers was different to
that of the Parish Council. The Council welcomed this decision.
12/05/08
Correspondence
South
The
correspondence was circulated to Council members
OCC:
Consultation on Bus Strategy
The
correspondence was circulated to Council members
OCC:
Consultation on Primary School Capital Programme
The
Clerk stated that he had alerted the School to the Consultation document and
that he had asked what support the Parish Council could give if required. There
has been no response to the request.
Thames
& Chiltern in Bloom Association
The
Council noted the contents of the letter.
Neighbourhood
Policing
A
leaflet detailing the Neighbourhood Officers of the Chalgrove Neighbourhood was
given to each member. The Chairman requested that a copy should be included in
the newsletter.
13/05/08
Extension to Village
Hall
The
Chairman updated the Council on the preliminary results of the Village
Questionnaire. The results showed that over 98% of the residents that had
submitted a form were in favour of the shop/post office relocation and about 65%
of households had responded. The financial support from residents as either
shares in the IPS, donations or interest free loans was just under £12,000. The
Chairman also stated that 34 residents had indicated that they would assist in
the shop and this information was being further analysed. Overall the results of
the questionnaire were very encouraging.
The
Clerk reported that he had spoken to Miss Jane Randall at SODC Planning who
indicated that the planning permission granted for the extension to the hall and
the incorporation of a shop and Post Office was valid for option 2, the Village
Hall extend the hall and the IPS fit out the extension or for Option 5, the IPS
leases the land from the Parish Council and both builds the extension and equips
it. The key points are that under both options the extension is as per the
application in both materials and design and that any planning conditions are
also met.
The
Chairman reported that he had sent a letter to Jayne Bolton, the Grants Manager,
at SODC requesting that the grant applied for on behalf of the Village Hall be
transferred to the Shop Committee. He also informed the meeting that he had
received a letter from Pat Connell, Legal and Democratic Services, at SODC
requesting a copy of the draft lease to the Shop Charity (IPS) with a copy of
the IPS constitution. The Council RESOLVED
that a request should be made to Mr David Ponting, Chair of Little Milton
Village Hall, to arrange a meeting with the Grants Officer and a member of the
Legal and Democratic Services to resolve the transfer of the grant to the IPS
and that the Parish Council should be represented at any meeting.
At
this point in the meeting Cllr Alison Shelton and Cllr
Cllr
Barry Coward took the Chair.
The
Council RESOLVED that its initial offer of grant funding of £15k stands in
respect of Option 2 but it would be subject to the power of well-being if it was
to be paid to the IPS under Option 5. The PC is also offering the land upon
which to site the shop at a minimal cost and, within reason, is providing the
car park improvements. The PC will also, particularly under Option 5, incur
legal costs. However these together constitute the limit of the PCs current
financial commitment to this project.
The
Council RESOLVED that any lease between the PC and the IPS should contain
clauses which achieve the following:
1.
Restriction as to use
of the land e.g. for a general village shop run for the benefit of the
community as an Industrial & Provident Society
2.
Construction and
materials to conform to planning consent and conditions
3.
The building may not
be offered as a security for any loans and no legal charges may be placed on the
building
4.
In the event of
dissolution of the IPS, the premises are to be transferred to the VHMC at no
cost to either the VHMC or the PC
5.
The terms under which
a sub-post office is allowed to occupy space within the premises must be by form
of licence only, rent must not be accepted and no sub-tenancy is to be created.
In the event of the dissolution of the IPS, the post office will have no
automatic right to continue operating from the premises
6.
The lease for the land
cannot be assigned or otherwise disposed of to a third party
The
Council RESOLVED that under Option 5, it would advise the SP that no
contract for construction of the building could be placed until and unless the
SP has successfully converted to an IPS and has completed registration with the
FSA and in addition, under Option 5, before the land can be occupied and
construction begin, the terms of the lease must be agreed and the lease signed
by the PC and the IPS.
The
Council also RESOLVED to seek a legal opinion on any lease that it would need to
draw up between themselves and the IPS before instigating the preparation of a
formal document. However this work would not be commissioned before the outcome
of the meeting between the Village Hall and SODC referred to earlier in this
minute. The IPS would need to provide the Parish Council with a copy of their
constitution for their solicitors.
The Council RESOLVED to maintain its position to explore at the same time the option that would allow the village hall to build the extension and have a sub-lease with the IPS and the option that would set up a lease on the land designated for the extension with the IPS and the IPS building and equipping the extension.
Councillors
14/05/08
Exchange of Information
Cllr
Barry Coward, who had attended a training session on the Code of Conduct,
distributed a flow diagram in respect of declaring members interests. He felt
that fellow Council members might find it useful.
15/05/08
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday
11th June 2008 at 8.00 p.m. in The
Pine Lodge Little
The
meeting finished at 10.17 p.m.
Parish Forum
There were no matters raised
Signed
by
Chairman
Date