Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 10th September 2008
Present:
Cllr.
Cllr.
Cllr.
Mabel Wood
Cllr.
Cllr. David Wakeling
Cllr. Tim Robinson,
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
One
member of the public
01//09/08
Apologies
for Absence:
02/09/08
Declaration of any personal or
prejudicial interests of members
Cllr.
03/09/08
Approval of Minutes
The
Parish Council RESOLVED to approve
the minutes of Parish Council Meeting held on 9th July 2008 as a true record of
the meetings and the Chairman signed.
04/09/08
Matters Arising.
OCC
Highways
The
Clerk reported that the new drainage on the Haseley Road adjacent to Gold Street
appeared to have resolved the water problem on the road surface and although
there was a very small amount of water appearing from the bank at the Four Trees
the Council RESOLVED to request that
the yellow bin be removed by OCC Highways from its current location.
There
are a number of minor highway matters outstanding and these will be pursued by
the Clerk and reported upon at the next meeting.
Slip
Road at
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he had advised Mr Peter Ronald at OCC Highways
that the slip road at
Closure
of bridge on A329 at junction 7 of M40
UK
Highways have delayed the closure of the bridge until April 2009 following some
preliminary inspections that have indicated that the repairs have to be done in
a different way to that first envisaged.
Safety
Issues on
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he had made enquiries with OCC Highways as to
whether any assessments had been carried out. It would appear that no work has
yet been started.
SODC:
Free Tree Scheme
The
Clerk stated that the Council were too late making any request for Free Trees
this year. He also stated that in 2009 the Council need to put forward any
proposal and request technical support from SODC. The planting of any trees will
be the responsibility of the Council.
05/09/08
Youth Facilities
The
Chairman apologised for not setting up a meeting with Kevin Brophy of OCC, who
had offered his professional help in helping the Parish Council develop a Youth
programme. This was due to a misunderstanding.
06/09/08
Recreation Ground
The
Chairman reported that the recent inspection by ROSPA on 6th August
2008 was very positive and that only a few minor hazards required to be
addressed. The Council expressed their appreciation of the work done by Mr Mark
Willis and the Recreation Ground Committee. It was RESOLVED
that the report was given to Mr Mark Willis for any necessary corrective action.
Cllr. Alison Shelton informed the meeting that one picnic table had been
re-sited but had subsequently been removed and dismantled. The Council had
received a number of complaints that the tables had not been available. The
Council RESOLVED that Mr John Riddy be asked to assess the feasibility of
re-siting the existing table and refuse bin that would include using concrete to
make them a permanent fixture.
The
Clerk informed the meeting that the clatter bridge had now had the tension wires
replaced and the spinger was with Broadleaf Joinery awaiting repair.
The
Clerk reported that he had received an enquiry from someone outside the village
about the possibility of the recreation ground being made available for regular
league football. This raised the question as to whether the Pine Lodge would
want to commit to this sort of activity. The Council RESOLVED that the Clerk should to write to the Village Hall
Management Committee to establish their position on the hire of their facilities
for regular team sports.
A
member raised his concern that he had noticed that the barrier over the entrance
to the car park had been left open and that he was concerned that it left the
site vulnerable to occupation by the travelling community. The Council shared
his concern and it RESOLVED that the
Clerk should write a letter to the Village Hall Management Committee to remind
them of the need to ensure that the barrier is closed after every event.
07/09/08
Finance
The
Council RESOLVED to approve the
following expenditure:
Spadework UK Ltd -
£352.50
Colourplus -
£251.65
£250.73
£502.38
J A Riddy
£70.97
Enterprise
£170.19
£453.83
£624.02
E G Pheby
£28.62
Country Supplies
£904.75
Playsafety Ltd
£148.05
BDO Stoy Hayward LLP
£158.63
Peter Ilbury
£45.00
R.Fergusson
£139.71
Public Loans Board
£1,793.75
SLCC Enterprises
£35.25
Enterprise
£226.92
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:-
The
Chairman reported that the audit for the year ended 31st March 2008
had been completed by BDO Stoy Hayward and that no matters had come to their
attention giving cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulation
requirements had not been met. However the audit report commented upon the level
of Fidelity Guarantee Insurance that the Council held. The Council considered
that the additional cost of insurance to cover the current bank balances was
disproportionate to the risk involved. The Council believed that the current
internal controls were adequate and therefore RESOLVED to maintain the current level of Fidelity Insurance cover.
The
Clerk presented a forecast cash flow projection for the year ending 31st
March 2009. The projected reserves show a significantly better position to that
budgeted due to the delay in the extension to the village hall.
08/09/08
Planning
P08/W0666:
16 Old Field: Two Storey Side extension
The
Council noted that planning permission had been refused
by South Oxfordshire District Council.
P08/W0746
Cremar Cottages: Two storey rear and side extension and porch
The
Council noted that planning permission had been granted
by South Oxfordshire District Council.
P07/W1422/RET:
Abbots Close Haseley Road, Erection of gate and gate posts
The
Council noted that an appeal had been
lodged with the First Secretary of State following the refusal of SODC to grant
planning permission.
P08/W0076/LB
& W0077: Brookside Cottage Haseley Road, Construction of extension to
utility room with cloakroom and entrance hall.
The
Council noted that an appeal had been
lodged with the First Secretary of State following the refusal of SODC to grant
planning permission.
The Clerk distributed a schedule of Planning Applications for 2007-08
09/09/08
Correspondence
The
Chairman read out a letter from OCC in respect of their review of Dial-a-Ride
Service provision. He pointed out although SODC do not make any financial
contribution towards the service the Council was being asked to address a number
of questions affecting those residents that are disabled or mobility impaired.
The Clerk stated that he would respond on behalf of the Council.
10/09/08
Extension to Village
Hall
The Chairman updated the Council on a number of matters relating to the extension to the village hall. He stated that following the change of ownership of Finwood they were no longer able to complete the building of the extension as a result it had been necessary to pursue other builders to complete the work. The Chairman reported that he had made eighteen enquiries of which there had been ten refusals and that he was still waiting on two responses. He stated that it was likely that there would be an increase in cost of £20k but 50% would be offset by a grant from SODC.
The Chairman then went on to explain that there had been a dialogue with Jayne Bolton over the delay in the timing of the project and the consequences on the payment of the grant. The Chairman stated that he had a verbal agreement with SODC that a meeting would take place with the Grants Officer when all the information had been received from prospective contractors. The Council RESOLVED that Cllr Barry Coward would represent the Council at any meeting with SODC.
The Chairman informed the meeting that an application to form the IPS had been submitted under the name of Little Milton Shop Ltd.
The Clerk emphasised the need to review the overall financing of the project before any monies were paid into the IPS as it was very important to ensure that the Parish Council had sufficient cash to finance the building of the extension.
Cllr Barry Coward reported that he had done some work on the drafting of the lease between the Parish Council and the IPS and circulated a copy to members for their consideration. This is a preliminary step before any formal steps are taken to determine the lease between the two bodies.
11/09/08
Renewable Energy
The
Chairman asked Mr Richard Alliston to take the Council through the work that he
had done on the possible use of Renewable Energy to service the Pine Lodge, the
Orchard, the MUGA and the new extension.
Mr
Alliston stated that Renewable Energy had economic and ecological benefits and
explained that he had made some preliminary enquiries into a possible use of a
wind turbine that would be sited behind the MUGA courts. The capital investment
required would attract significant capital grants but there would be a need for
some capital investment from the bodies that would benefit from the project if
it proceeded.
Although
the views on the proposal were mixed the Council RESOLVED
that it would ask Mr Richard Alliston to proceed with a feasibility study
through TV Energy (TVE). TVE is a not for profit and totally independent
organisation and is leading energy agency promoting best practice. Mr Richard
Alliston stated that he would approach the Orchard, the IPS and the Village Hall
Management Committee to ascertain their views on the project. The Council
recognised that if the proposal was supported by The Orchard, The Pine Lodge and
the IPS the project could only move forward after full consultation with the
village.
12/09/08
Exchange of Information
There
were no matters raised.
13/09/08
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday 8th
October 2008 at 8.00 p.m. in The Pine
Lodge Little
The
meeting finished at 10.20p.m.
Parish Forum
There were no matters raised
Signed
by
Chairman
Date