Little
Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 12th November 2008
Present:
Cllr.
Cllr.
Cllr. Mabel Wood
Cllr. David Wakeling
Cllr. Tim Robinson,
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
John Nowell-Smith (District
Councillor)
David
Turner (
Three
members of the public
01//11/08
Apologies
for Absence: Cllr. Alison Shelton
02/11/08
Declaration of any personal or
prejudicial interests of members
Cllr.
03/11/08
Approval of Minutes
The
Parish Council RESOLVED to approve
the minutes of Parish Council Meeting held on 20th October 2008 as a true record
of the meeting and the Chairman signed the minutes. The Parish Council also
approved the amended minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on October 8th
as a true record of the meeting and the Chairman signed the minutes
04/11/08
Matters Arising.
OCC
Highways
The
Clerk had nothing to report. Cllr David Wakeling highlighted the poor state of
the restricted byway off the High Street at Crofters Close. The Clerk stated
that he would contact Mr Mark Sumner at OCC Countryside to remind him about the
poor condition of the byway.
05/11/08
Youth Facilities
The
Chairman informed the meeting about the forthcoming event on Tuesday 25th
November 2008. Due to the absence of Cllr Alison Shelton he was unable to give
any further information.
06/11/08
Recreation Ground
The
Chairman reported that Mr John Riddy had repaired and re-fixed the picnic table
as well re-fixing the waste bin. A Council member raised the question as to who
should pay the cost of the repair. The Council RESOLVED
that given the circumstances the IPS should make a contribution of 50%.
The
Clerk reported that the springer had been fully refurbished by Broadleaf Joinery
and refitted by Alan Stone. The Council also thanked Mr Mark Willis for
repainting it.
The
Clerk informed the meeting that the damaged meter box for the MUGA floodlights,
reported to the Council on October 20th, had now been replaced
although it had not been re-wired for use.
The
Clerk reported that Mr Peter Ilbury was ill and had not visited the recreation
ground for any mole treatment in the past few weeks. However it is hoped that he
will be able to attend to the mole activity in the near future.
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he had asked Berinsfield Community Business to
quote for the cutting of the grass in the recreation ground as well as the
village green adjacent to the Post Office.
07/11/08
Finance
The
Council RESOLVED to approve the
following expenditure:
Colourplus – November
Newsletter
£259.79
J A Riddy – repair & re-fixing of picnic table
£122.20
07/11/08
Finance (cont)
SODC: Dog bin emptying April – Oct 2008
£45.34
Society
of Local Council Clerks: Practitioners Guide 2008
£20.00
Westwood
Meter & Timers Ltd – replacement box
£121.03
This has already been paid prior
to approval as a requirement for delivery
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:-
South & Vale Carers – Donation
£50.00
The
Council declined to support Oxfordshire Carers’ Forum
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he was making the bank reconciliations available
for inspection by Council members as part of the internal controls. The Council RESOLVED
that the reconciliation and supporting bank statements should be made available
on a regular basis.
08/11/08
Planning
P08/W1117:
Penn House; Single glazed extension conservatory with First floor extension over
existing facility
The Council RESOLVED
that this planning application should be approved by
P08/W1151:
16 Old Field; Two storey rear extension and porch
Although
the Council recognised that the applicant had addressed the grounds that
application P08/W0666 had been refused it still RESOLVED
that this application should be refused by South Oxfordshire District Council.
The Council considered that the extension would be harmful to the adjoining
neighbour’s privacy both to the side and the rear of the property. It also
believed that current use of the dwelling had an adverse impact on the character
of the area.
09/11/08
Correspondence
Department
for Communities and local Government: Communities in Control: Codes of Conduct
for local authority members and employees: Consultation document
The
Chairman outlined some of the changes proposed in the consultation document
relating to the Code of Conduct that affected both members and employees. The
Council RESOLVED to circulate the consultation document to allow members to
read it and make any comments. The Clerk will respond on behalf of the Council.
SODC:
BT Adopt a Kiosk Scheme
The
Chairman read out a letter from SODC in respect of BT’s scheme for non-listed
kiosks. However as the Council had already listed the existing kiosk it will
remain operational by BT.
Oxfordshire
Community and Voluntary Action: Good Neighbour Scheme
The
Council noted the support available to set up a Good Neighbourhood Scheme from
the Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action.
Potential
loss of Dispensary at Morland House
The
Chairman highlighted the potential closure of the dispensary at Morland House as
a result of the Pharmacy White Paper in which the Government is proposing to
force dispensaries to close in areas where a chemist is located nearby. The
considered view of the Council was that such a closure would have a detrimental
effect upon the residents of Little Milton and surrounding villages and RESOLVED
to ask the Clerk to write a letter expressing the Council’s concerns.
Oxford
District Climate Change Community Networking
The
Chairman informed the meeting of the forthcoming event at SODC Crowmarsh on
Thursday 20th November 2008. The event will showcase the community
groups in our area taking action on climate change.
11/11/08
Extension to Village
Hall
At
this point in the meeting Cllr
Cllr
Barry Coward took the Chair.
The
Chairman outlined the following three matters as issues that still required to
be determined.
§
The transfer of the
SODC Grant to the IPS
§
The power of the
Parish Council to dispose of the land at less than Best Value
§
The instruction of
solicitors to draw up the lease with the IPS
The
Chairman asked Cllr Stuart McGill for the latest information on the grant. Cllr
McGill informed the meeting that he had spoken to Rodney Mann at SODC who had
informed him that the expiry date of the grant had been extended although Jayne
Bolton, the Grants Officer, had requested updated quotes on all the costs for
the project. It appeared that the release of the grant was dependant upon SODC
receiving the updated costs. The Council RESOLVED
that it would instruct Morgan Cole as, although there was no written
confirmation of the release of the grant, it felt that there was only a very
small risk that it would not be transferred to the IPS.
The
Clerk explained that he had sought advice from OALC in respect of the powers of
the Parish Council to grant a 92 year lease to the IPS. Initially it appeared
that LGA 1972 s127(2) would limit the lease to 7 years as the land was being
disposed of at less than Best Value unless it had the express consent of the
Secretary of State. However the Council received further advice that indicated
that LGA 1972 s128 allows the Secretary of State to make a general consent in
respect of certain land transactions by local authorities, which are not bound
by the seven year lease limit. The LGA 1972 General Disposal Consent 2003
disposal of land for less than Best Value means that specific consent is not
required for the disposal of any interest in land which the authority considers
will help to secure the promotion or improvement of the economic, social or
environmental well-being of its area and that the undervalue does not exceed £2m.
The
Council RESOLVED that they considered that the purpose for which the land is
being disposed of to the IPS achieves one of the well-being objectives set out
above and that the undervalue does not exceed £2m. The Clerk informed the
Council that he had written to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) seeking
professional advice to satisfy the condition within the Act.
The
Clerk also highlighted a further issue that concerned the power used by a
previous council to purchase the four acre site on which the village hall is
sited. He stated that the minutes did not specify any particular section of the
1972 LGA but it would be reasonable to assume that LGA 1972 s124 which refers
to’ purposes for the benefit, improvement, of their area’. The Council RESOLVED
to accept that this was the purpose for which the land was purchased in 1998.
The
Chairman informed the Council of an e-mail that had been received from the
Secretary of the IPS in which the IPS proposed that the bilateral meetings
should stop and should be replaced by representation at the Parish Council
Meeting by independent members of the shop committee who would argue their case
to the Parish Council for an immediate result. The IPS felt strongly that the
bilateral meetings had reached a stage where Heads of Agreement were in place
and that any other developments were best managed directly with the Council.
There was a lengthy discussion on this proposal at the end of which the Parish
Council RESOLVED to maintain the current bilateral meeting with
representatives of the IPS. The major reasons for maintaining the current
bilateral meeting were as follows:
·
The structure of the
Parish Council meeting would not lend itself to having a meeting within a
meeting as members of the public would also have the right to participate if the
Council invited comments from the public. It would also take up a
disproportionate about of time at the Council meeting.
·
The current structure
allowed the working party to deal with a level of detail that was not
appropriate to a Parish Council meeting but also allowed any major issues to be
referred to the Council for resolution if the working party could not agree or
where an urgent decision was required. This was open to both parties and had
proved to be an effective method of operation.
The
Council regretted that any perception of the Council not being fully supportive
was unfortunate and restated that it was fully supportive of the IPS in its
desire to deliver a shop and post office that would be of ongoing benefit to the
village.
In
response to the Chairman Cllr. McGill informed the meeting that the Village Hall
Management Committee had accepted that the IPS could use the disabled toilets
and that he was waiting for a written response from Mr
Councillor
Stuart McGill re-joined the meeting
12/11//08
Renewable Energy
The Chairman invited Mr Richard Alliston to update the meeting with any developments. Mr Alliston informed the meeting that he hoped to be able to give the Council an updated presentation at the December meeting.
13/11/08
Exchange of Information
Cllr
Mabel Wood highlighted the poor state of the car park, particularly at the
entrance, and suggested that a temporary repair should be carried out. The Clerk
was asked to contact local contractors.
The
Chairman gave a brief report on the Town and Parish Forum held at SODC on
Tuesday 10 November. He outlined the developments on the proposed changes to the
refuse collection scheduled in June 2009.
14/11/08
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday
10th December 2008 at 8.00 p.m. in The
Pine Lodge Little
The
meeting finished at 10.17 p.m.
Parish Forum
Mr
Signed
by
Chairman…………………………………………………Date…………………………………………