Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 11th June 2008
Present:
Cllr.
Cllr. Mabel Wood
Cllr.
Cllr. Barry Coward (Vice Chairman)
Cllr. David Wakeling
Cllr. Tim Robinson
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
Mr
John Nowell Smith (District Council
Member)
One
member of the public
01//06/08
Apologies
for Absence:
02/06/08
Declaration of any personal or
prejudicial interests of members
Cllr.
03/06/08
Approval of Minutes
The
Parish Council RESOLVED to approve
the minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting and the Annual Parish Council Meeting
held on 14th May 2008 as a true record of the meetings and the Chairman signed
them.
04/06/08
Matters Arising.
OCC
Highways
The
Clerk reported that work had commenced on the installation of additional
drainage on the slip road between
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he had reported to
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he had reported to OCC Countryside a number of
overgrown footpaths that were proving difficult to access.
Landscaping
of Entrances to the village
The
Clerk stated that Mr Steve Relton had been asked to spray the nettles at the
entrances to the village.
Use
of Land adjacent to Village Hall
The
Chairman read out a letter that had been drafted by the Clerk in response to a
request from the Village Hall booking clerk as result of hirers wishing to use
the land adjacent to the hall. The letter detailed a number of uses that were
prohibited and delegated powers to the booking clerk to make any decisions
necessary. The Council RESOLVED to
approve the letter.
05/06/08
Youth Facilities
The
Chairman welcomed Mr Kevin Brophy from OCC Youth Services. The Chairman gave a
brief outline of the Councils initiatives with ActiveTEN20 in an effort to
address the needs of the young people of the village. He informed the meeting
that the uptake had been low although there was a benefit to the young people
who had attended. The Chairman invited Mr Brophy to explain what the current
support available from OCC Youth Services. Mr Brophy outlined the way that
matched funding could be used to gain funds from the Chill Out Fund. He also
explained how this approach could assist the funding of a qualified Youth Worker
on a limited number of hours per week. Mr Brophy suggested that an approach of
engaging the youth in one off events should be considered by the Council. The
Council RESOLVED to allocate up to £1,000
towards supporting one-off events with a longer term objective of supporting the
funding of a qualified Youth Worker on limited hours. The success of the long
term objective would be dependant upon the support of suitably qualified
volunteers.
06/06/08
Recreation Ground
Mr
Mark Willis reported that major work was required on the clatter bridge as a
result of usage over many years. The Council RESOLVED
to have the bridge repaired at a cost of £300 excluding VAT. He also
reported that a springer also required to be repaired but a low cost solution
was available.
Mr
Willis stated that the condition of the recreation ground was showing the
benefit of regular grass cutting and mole control. He reported that a floodlight
on the MUGA would be repaired in July. He also reported that the play-area
required additional bark and that he had already approached the
07/06/08
Finance
The
Council RESOLVED to approve the
following expenditure:
Colourplus May Newsletter
£293.60
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:-
NALC
Fee in respect of Quality Council Status
£29.38
The
Chairman informed the meeting that Mr
The
Council RESOLVED to approve the Annual Return for 2007-08 including the
Annual Governance statement.
08/06/08
Planning
P08/W0323
6 Cremar Cottages: Two storey rear and side extension and porch
The
Council noted that the application had been withdrawn by the applicant.
09/06/08
Correspondence
OCC:
Temporary Traffic Order re Haseley Road
The
Council noted the request by Four Seasons Tree Care for a temporary road closure
to apply to a section of
OCC:
Consultation on use of new forms 1APP for Planning Applications
The
new 1APP forms require to be used from 6 April 2008 and before OCC adopt the
local list of information they are required to carry out a consultation
exercise. The Council noted that the OCC published local list is available on
their website www.oxfordshire.gov.uk.
ORCC:
Invite to event to celebrate Rural Affordable Housing
The
Chairman informed the Council of an invitation to the Celebration of Rural
Affordable Housing in
AGM
Campaign to Protect Rural
The
Chairman informed the Council of the Annual General Meeting of the Campaign to
Protect Rural England on Saturday June 28th 2008.
OCC:
Minerals and Waste Plan
A
copy of the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Plan Newsletter was distributed to
Council members.
South
The
Council RESOLVED to circulate the
Consultation Document.
SEERA:
Sustainability Framework
The
Council RESOLVED to circulate the
Regional Sustainability Framework.
10/06/08
Extension to Village
Hall
The
Chairman gave a brief report on the Village Meeting organised by the Shop
Committee on 4th June 2008. He highlighted a concern that had been raised in
connection with issue of shares and the inability to transfer or sell them. He
stated that the Committee would review the situation.
The
Chairman stated that Jayne Bolton, SODC Grants Manager, had indicated that the
grant applied for on behalf of the Village Hall Committee could be paid in part
or full to the IPS or Parish Council.
At
this point in the meeting Cllr Alison Shelton and Cllr
Cllr
Barry Coward took the Chair.
The Chairman highlighted the key points from the Liaison Group meeting of 15th May 2008. He confirmed that the extension/annexe to the Village Hall would not qualify for the zero rate of VAT. He reported that the VHMC had now received various responses from the Charity Commission in respect of the peppercorn rent and most recently on a possible objection by the Charity Commission to the raising of funds by the Village Hall for the building of the annexe with a potential possibility that funds have to be returned to donors. Under the circumstances that now prevails the VHMC has a clear preference for Option 5. However a subsequent letter from the Charity Commission has made it clear that the Charity can extend its property but it would be required to charge an economic rent.
The Chairman invited the Clerk to explain the paper that he had circulated to the Council members in respect of Option 4. The Clerk stated that he considered that option was worthy of further consideration as it appeared to offer the shop a peppercorn rent and did not have the legal complexity of option 5. The Council RESOLVED to defer any decision until option 4 had been fully considered by the Shop Liaison Committee against options 2 & 5. The Council RESOLVED to hold an additional meeting to consider any recommendation made by the Shop Liaison Committee before the normal monthly meeting in July.
Councillors
11/06/08
Exchange of Information
Cllr
Mabel Wood reported an overhanging plum tree opposite Chiltern View and asked
the Clerk to investigate the possibility of having it cut back.
12/06/08
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday 9th
July 2008 at 8.00 p.m. in The Pine
Lodge Little
The
meeting finished at 9.45 p.m.
Parish Forum
There were no matters raised
Signed
by
Chairman
Date