Little
Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on 13th May 2009
Present:
Cllr.
Cllr
Barry Coward
Cllr Tim Robinson (Part meeting)
Cllr.
Mabel Wood
Cllr. David Wakeling
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
Four
members of the public
ANNUAL
MEETING
Cllr. Stuart McGill chaired the meeting until a new chairperson was elected by the Council.
01/05/09
Election of Chairman
Cllr. Tim Robinson proposed Cllr.
Stuart McGill as Chairman and this was seconded by Cllr.
02/05/09
Acceptance of Chairman’s Office
Cllr.
03/05/09
Election of Vice Chairman
Cllr.
04//05/09
Apologies
for Absence:
Mr John Nowell-Smith
05/05/09
Declaration of any personal or
prejudicial interests of members
Cllr.
06/05/09
Approval of Minutes
The
Parish Council RESOLVED to approve
the minutes of Parish Council Meeting held on 8th April 2009 as a true record of
the meeting and the Chairman signed the minutes.
07/05/09
Matters Arising.
Old
Field security
The
Clerk reported that he had an onsite meeting with Malcolm Wills, the Crime
Prevention and Reduction Advisor of Thames Valley Police for Didcot/Thame, and
that he had produced a report that recommended an improvement to the existing
fencing in order to improve the security. The report is being considered by SOHA
who are investigating the implied costs. The Council will be advised of their
proposed actions in due course.
Flooding
on A329 at Little
The
Clerk informed the meeting that Thames Water had carried out a CCTV survey on
part of the sewers adjacent to the school. Although there was a 45% blockage in
one section that has now been cleared. Thames Water considered that the flooding
in February was due to a combination of rainfall, groundwater and snowmelt at
the time.
SODC:
Core Strategy Consultation
The
Clerk stated that he had responded on behalf of the Council to the Core Strategy
Consultation highlighting the inconsistent approach by SODC to the Green Belt
Policy as a result of the proposal to develop existing parts of the Green Belt
in Wheatley and Berinsfield.
08/05/09
Youth Facilities
The
Chairman reported that he had approached the Village Hall Committee with the
concept of establishing a Teenager Cinema Club. At this stage no decision has
been made. Cllr. David Wakeling raised a query on a recent locality map issued
by OCC that indicated a Youth Club facility at Milton Common. The Clerk was
asked to clarify the situation as it is believed that no such facility exists
there.
09/05/09
Recreation Ground
The
Clerk reported that the grass was now being cut on a regular basis and that the
mole activity appeared to have subsided. He also reported that he was waiting
for Sweepfast to clean the surface of the MUGA court.
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he had obtained a further quote in respect of
the insurance of the tractor mower from Came & Co for £131.25. The Council RESOLVED
that Cllr David Wakeling would investigate the possibility of modifying the
existing gate/fencing that is used to access the footpath leading from Cock’s
Lane to the Church in order to allow the mower access.
The
Council reviewed the paper issued by the Clerk on the impact of VAT on the
charges levied for the hire charges of the Multi-Use Games facility. It
RESOLVED to increase the charges to reflect the VAT. However the regular
users should be able to maintain their charges if they sign the necessary
agreement to allow their hire to be exempt from VAT. The hourly hire rates will
now be:
10/05/09
Finance
The
Council RESOLVED to approve the
following expenditure:
Colourplus – May Newsletter
£280.80
James
D’Albiac - Rent to 30th June 2009
£75.00
HMRC
– VAT payment re April 2009
£732.33
ORCC-
renewal of membership
£20.00
SLCC-
Publication
£53.60
The
Council RESOLVED to transfer its insurance cover from Allianz to Norwich
Union with effect from 1st June 2009. The benefit to the Council is a reduced
premium £165. 17 and improved cover in the areas of Fidelity Guarantee, Libel
and Slander as well as Public Liability. The Council RESOLVED to approve the expenditure of £615.05 to Broker Network
Ltd, an Insurance agent, in respect of the insurance premiums for the period 1st
June 2009 to 31st May 2010.
The
Council RESOLVED to transfer £10,000 from its Reserve Account to a Charity
Bond for a fixed term of one year. The Clerk explained that this would improve
the return on the Council’s cash reserves without exposing the funds to any
risk.
11/05/09
Planning
P09/W0313:
16 Old Field: Demolition of existing garage and construction of new lean to
garage
The
Council RESOLVED that this
application should be recommended for approval by South Oxfordshire District
Council.
P09/W0375:
The
Council RESOLVED that this
application should be recommended for approval by South Oxfordshire District
Council.
P09/W0378:
The
Council RESOLVED that this
application should be recommended for approval by South Oxfordshire District
Council.
SODC
Householder Planning Applications
The
Council noted the change in legislation for householder planning applications in
respect of the inability to comment further at the appeal stage.
12/05/09
Lease with IPS
As a consequence of a query by the Land Registry on the registration of
the Lease between the IPS and the Parish Council the Council RESOLVED
that Cllr. David Wakeling and the Parish Clerk had the delegated authority
to sign the lease between the Parish Council and the IPS. The lease was executed
on March 19 2009.
The Clerk reported that he had spoken to the owner of the current Post
Office in respect of his plans to reinstate the building after the transfer to
the new location. The Clerk has also spoken with Morgan Associates who are the
agents for the adjacent property Wall Street Cottage and they will liaise with
the current occupants of Wall Street Cottage and the owner of the Post Office.
13/05/09
Correspondence
SODC:
Notification of European and County Council elections on 4th June 2009
The
Chairman informed the Council of the forthcoming elections on 4th June 2009.
The
Council RESOLVED that it would be more appropriate to enter the competition in
2010 after the establishment of the Community Shop.
CPRE:
Annual General Meeting on June 2nd 2009
The
Chairman informed the meeting of the Annual general Meeting of the CPRE on June
2nd 2009.
Equality
and Human Rights Commission: Public Sector Duties:
The
Chairman informed the meeting of a forthcoming Equality Bill that will harmonise
the existing three public sector duties into one equality duty. The changes are
likely to come into effect in the latter part of 2011.
OCC:
Bus Shelter Grants Scheme (Post Agenda)
The
Council noted the principles approved by OCC in respect of the Bus Shelter
Grants Scheme.
14/05/09
Power of Well-Being
Certificates
from the NALC were issued to five Council members and the Clerk following their
attendance of a training seminar on the use of the Wellbeing Power. As part of
the criteria for a Council to achieve the Power of Wellbeing it requires 80% of
Council members being trained in the use of the Wellbeing power.
The
Council RESOLVED to adopt the Statement of Intent on Community Engagement
prepared by the Clerk.
15/05/09
Annual Report
The Council RESOLVED to adopt the Annual Report prepared by the Clerk and the report will be issued to all householders and put on the website.
16/05/09
Exchange of Information
The
Clerk informed the Council that Jenny Stoker who co-ordinates the work of the
Maple Tree Children’s Centre Services has offered to attend a future Council
meeting to allow Councillors a better understanding on the work of the Centre
and how it wishes to support the Community.
17/05/09
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet at 8.00 p.m.
on Wednesday 10th June 2009 in The
Pine Lodge Little Milton unless there is a need to convene any planning or
other meetings.
The
meeting finished at 9.45 p.m.
Parish Forum
There were no matters raised.
Signed
by
Chairman…………………………………………………Date…………………………………………