Little
Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 8th October 2008
Present:
Cllr.
Cllr.
Cllr.
Mabel Wood
Cllr.
Cllr. David Wakeling
Cllr. Tim Robinson,
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
John Nowell-Smith (District
Councillor)
One
member of the public
01//10/08
Apologies
for Absence:
02/10/08
Declaration of any personal or
prejudicial interests of members
Cllr.
03/10/08
Approval of Minutes
The
Parish Council RESOLVED to approve
the minutes of Parish Council Meeting held on 10th September 2008 as a true
record of the meetings and the Chairman signed.
04/10/08
Matters Arising.
OCC
Highways
The
Clerk informed the meeting that OCC Highways had decided to retain the yellow
bin on the bank at Fourtrees until the winter was over as a precautionary
measure. The Clerk stated that he had reported to OCC Highways the small water
leak adjacent to one of the newly created drains opposite Fourtrees.
The
Clerk reported that a team from OCC Highways had cleared the drains in the
village and had acknowledged the broken drain close to Willowbrook Cottage.
Slip
Road at
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he had asked Mrs Linda Longshaw to ensure that
the school asked OCC to include an allocation of capital in 2009-10 to cover the
cost of any work on the slip road for conversion to cyclist and pedestrian use
only.
Closure
of bridge on A329 at junction 7 of M40
The
Clerk reported that there had been no further information in respect of the
proposed closure of the bridge on the A329 at junction 7 of M40. The latest
information is that the work will commence in April 2009.
Safety
Issues on
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he spoken with Malcolm Bowler at OCC Highways
about the ongoing concerns of the safety issue on the
Village
Hall related matters
The
Chairman read out a letter from Mr David Ponting on behalf of the Village Hall
Management Committee (VHMC) in response to a letter sent on behalf on the Parish
Council. The VHMC were very happy to co-operate fully in ensuring that the
barrier was kept closed but had requested additional keys for committee members
who are responsible for closing the hall after events. The locking of the five
bar gate into the recreation ground was not an issue for the VHMC as they had
little use for the recreation ground as an overflow car park. Finally the VHMC
did not wish to make the changing rooms available to external football teams as
the facilities were inadequate for this purpose.
05/10/08
Quality Council Powers of Well
Being
The
Clerk informed the meeting that a training session for exercising the Power of
Well Being had been arranged for Wednesday 14th January 2009. The
training would be delivered by Neil Evans from the National Association of Local
Councils. The Clerk stated the training was essential for the Council to
exercise the Power of Well Being and that 80% of Council members needed to be in
attendance. It was likely that the Council would have the Power of Well Being by
February 2009 and this was important to the IPS in respect of the plans to
extend the hall to incorporate a shop and Post Office.
06/10/08
Youth Facilities
The
Chairman reported that he had spoken to Kevin Brophy at OCC and that a meeting
would take place on November 11th 2008 to consider the options for a
one-off event for 25th November 2008. The communication would be
through the Newsletter although the Clerk suggested that a suitable leaflet
should be delivered to each household with young people eligible to attend the
event. Councillor Alison Shelton will attend the meeting as Councillor Stuart
McGill will be in attendance at a meeting at SODC Crowmarsh.
07/10/08
Recreation Ground
The
Clerk reported that John Riddy would repair and re-install the picnic bench as
well as re-installing the waste bin. He also reported that Broadleaf Joinery had
made some new parts for the springer and that these parts were currently being
painted by Mark Willis after which Broadleaf will reassemble the equipment.
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he had spoken with Peter Ilbury in respect of
the mole activity on the recreation ground. The Clerk stated that he had asked
Peter to keep a watchful eye on the activity and to take the necessary action.
08/10/08
Finance
The
Council RESOLVED to approve the
following expenditure:
Colourplus October newsletter
£246.13
Mark Willis reimbursement of paint for springer
£29.08
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:-
Mr James DAlbiac
Quarterly Rent for Post Office to 31st December 2008
£75.00
08/10/08
Planning
P08/W1045/W1046LB:
Pear Tree Cottage Haseley Road; single rear storey extension, single side
extension and new garage
The Council RESOLVED
that this planning application should be approved by
P08/W1095
30 Chiltern View: Two storey rear extension
The
main concern of the Council was the impact that the proposed extension would
have on the adjacent occupants in 28 Chiltern View. They considered that the
development would be an un-neighbourly form of development that would be
overbearing, intrusive and result in a loss of light to the adjoining property.
The Council were conscious that an application was refused in 1998 and felt that
in principle the site did not lend itself to this type of development. The
Council RESOLVED that this planning application should be refused by South
Oxfordshire District Council
Permitted
Development Rights
The
Chairman informed the Council of the changes to the planning system in respect
of the rules that govern permitted householder developments. It means that in
certain circumstances, residents can carry out minor extensions and alterations
to properties without the need to apply to the District Council for formal
permission. The Council RESOLVED that
the Clerk should seek clarification on how the process works so that a suitable
insert could be included in the Newsletter for the benefit of residents.
09/10/08
Correspondence
The
Chairman informed the Council that the Annual Town & Parish Council Forum
would take place on Tuesday 11 November 2008 between 6.00 p.m. and 9.00 p.m. at
Crowmarsh. The Council RESOLVED that the Chairman and Clerk would attend.
OALC
Briefing note September 2008: Freedom of Information Act; New Model Publication
Scheme
The
Chairman informed the meeting that the lifespan of the current model publication
scheme will end on 31 December 2008 and that the Parish Council needs to adopt
the new model scheme (or a bespoke scheme) by that date. The Council RESOLVED
that it would take the necessary action on a presentation by the Clerk of the
details of the new model publication scheme.
SEERA:
Partial Review of South East Plan: Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs
The
Chairman informed the Council that a consultation on this matter runs until 21st
November 2008 and that local authorities in Oxfordshire are hosting a public
exhibition over two days to be held at Oxford Town Hall, St Aldates on Wednesday
15th October 11.00a.m 8.00 p.m. and Thursday 16th
October 11.00 a.m. 3.00 p.m. The Council RESOLVED
that the Clerk would submit a response form on behalf of the Council.
Oxfordshire
Playing Fields Association
The
Chairman informed the meeting that the Annual General Meeting would take place
on Thursday 23 October at Stanton Harcourt Village Hall at 7.30 p.m.
SODC:
Development of Plans to mitigate flooding in
The
Chairman informed the Council of District Councils plans to capture
information that would help to manage the potential flood risk. In general the
Village is not a high risk area but the Council identified the Frogmore and the
lower
M40
Chiltern Environmental Group
The
Council noted the work being done by the M40 Chilterns Environmental Group but RESOLVED
not to include a specific amount in the 2009/10 Precept as a donation.
Berinsfield
Community Business
The
Chairman informed the Council of the services provided by Berinsfield Community
Business and the Council RESOLVED to pass the letter to the Recreation Ground
Committee as a possible source for grass cutting of the Recreation Ground in
2009-10.
10/10/08
Extension to Village
Hall
At
this point in the meeting Cllr Alison Shelton and Cllr
Cllr
Barry Coward took the Chair.
The
Chairman invited Councillor Stuart McGill to report back on the meeting held
with Jayne Bolton and Pat Connell of SODC on Monday 13th October 2008. The key
points of the meeting were:-
The
Chairman briefed the Council on the meeting that took place between
representatives of the Parish Council and the IPS on Monday 13th
October 2008. The salient points of the meeting were:-
·
The IPS was registered
with the FSA on 15th September 2008 with its founding members being
Mrs Alison Shelton, Chair, Mr Stuart McGill, Secretary, and Mr Richard Alliston,
Treasurer.
·
The model lease
between the IPS and the Parish Council should be based on the Village lease and
not the Orchard lease. The reasoning was that the Parish Council would lease the
Premises i.e. land and any buildings existing or new to the IPS and the premises
would revert back to Parish Council in the event that the lease was terminated.
·
The need of the IPS to
seek formal approval to use the disabled toilets within the Village Hall
·
The need to establish
good practice with regard to managing the closure of the barrier to the car park
as it was recognised that this was essential to maintain the integrity of the
recreation ground
·
There was a
recognition that although the Parish Council had sent a letter to Mr Emmett
advising him of the intention to extend the hall to incorporate a shop and post
office there was a possibility that this could raise an issue in the future due
to a restrictive covenant in the purchase of the land.
·
There were a few other
minor matters that needed to be addressed by the IPS.
The
Council RESOLVED that it should appoint solicitors to draw up the lease
after SODC had confirmed that it would transfer any grant money to the IPS and
that the IPS had accepted the Heads of Agreement prepared by Councillor Barry
Coward on behalf of the Parish Council. A Council member proposed that the lease
should include a suitable clause to reflect a varying level of rent if the IPS
became financially successful. The Council RESOLVED to consider this proposal.
The
Council re-affirmed its position that no work should commence on the site until
the lease between the IPS and the Parish Council has been signed.
Councillor
Alison Shelton and Councillor Stuart McGill re-joined the meeting
11/10//08
Renewable Energy
The Chairman informed the meeting that there was no further to report as Richard Alliston had not received any further information from TV Energy. The Clerk asked the Council for clarification on the reporting of the item in the Newsletter and the Council RESOLVED that only information agreed at the Parish Council meeting would be communicated.
12/10/08
Exchange of Information
There
were no matters raised.
13/10/08
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday
12th November 2008 at 8.00 p.m. in The
Pine Lodge Little
The
meeting finished at 9.45 p.m.
Parish Forum
Mr John Nowell-Smith informed the meeting of the
progress that has been made on the new refuse collection scheme for 2009 as well
as the work that is being done with the Vale of White Horse to share services.
Signed
by
Chairman
Date