in Pine Lodge, Little Milton   

Present:                                                      Cllr. Stuart McGill (Chairman)

                                                                    Cllr Tim Robinson

                                                                Cllr. Mabel Wood

                Cllr Alison Shelton              

                                                    Cllr. David Wakeling

                                                                Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)

                                                                David Turner ( County Councillor )

                                                                John Nowell-Smith (District Councillor)

                                                                One member of the public                                                

ANNUAL MEETING

Cllr. Stuart McGill chaired the meeting until a new chairperson was elected by the Council.

01/05/10     Election of Chairman

Cllr. Tim Robinson proposed Cllr. Stuart McGill as Chairman and this was seconded by Cllr. Mabel Wood. There were no other nominations for chairperson. Cllr. Stuart McGill was elected as chairman until the 2011 Annual Meeting.

02/05/10     Acceptance of Chairman’s Office

Cllr. Stuart McGill signed a Declaration of Acceptance of Office as Chairman.

03/05/10     Election of Vice Chairman

Cllr. David Wakeling proposed Cllr. Barry Coward as vice-chairman and this was seconded by Cllr. Alison Shelton. Cllr. Barry Coward was elected as vice chairman until the 2011 Annual Meeting.

04//05/10    Apologies for Absence:

                Cllr Barry Coward

05/05/10     Declaration of any personal or prejudicial interests of members

Cllr. Stuart McGill declared a personal interest in the Village Hall and Little Milton Shop. Cllr Alison Shelton declared a personal interest in the Little Milton Shop and Cllr. Mabel Wood declared a personal interest in the Village Hall.

06/05/10     Approval of Minutes

The Parish Council RESOLVED to approve the minutes of Parish Council Meeting held on 14th April 2010 as a true record of the meeting and the Chairman signed the minutes.  

07/05/10     Matters Arising.

Sponsored Governor Little Milton School

The Council RESOLVED that Cllr. David Wakeling should be appointed as a sponsored governor to Little Milton School after he had made himself available for the position.

08/05/10     Recreation Ground

The Clerk reported that the grass cutting was now being carried out by Berinsfield Community Business and that they had been asked to apply a weed and feed application.

The Clerk reported that the Council had received a request from the Recreation Ground Committee to top up the bark in the play-area. He informed the meeting that our current supplier would only deliver the bark in 75 litre bags but could offer a play chip in bulk bags. The Clerk stated that he was waiting on a quote from Country Supplies. The Clerk reported that he had contacted Melcourt who produce the bark and they would deliver a minimum quantity of 25cubic meters @ £58.45 per cubic meter. The minimum quantity of 25 cubic meters is significantly greater than our normal requirement. The Council RESOLVED that the Clerk would liaise with the recreation ground committee to purchase an appropriate quantity of material for the play-area within the cost budget.

The Clerk reported that he had made enquiries with Digley Associates in respect of the Annual inspection of the play-area and the MUGA to ensure that the Annual Inspectors had been certificated by the RPII (Register of Play Inspectors International) and that he had received confirmation that any inspector would be suitably accredited. The Council RESOLVED to accept the fixed price of £45 per site from Digley Associates. This would result in an annual saving of around £35 in the first year and £55 by the end of the third year. The clerk was asked to inform ROSPA of the Council’s decision.

The Clerk reported that the second springer in the play-area had been removed for repair by Broadleaf.

09/05/10     Car Park and other related matters

The Chairman referred to Cllr. Barry Coward’s report that had been circulated prior to the meeting that included a report on the site drainage, a schedule of the works to be completed and the necessary approval from SODC to meet the planning conditions attached to the original approval for the village hall.

The Council RESOLVED to accept the cost of £20,500 from SpadeOak for the surface and drains and deferred a final decision on any work for the skip enclosure, 5 bar gate & fence and the re-marking of the disabled bays as there was uncertainty over a number of factors and the work was not necessarily dependant upon SpadeOak. The Council also RESOLVED to obtain a further quote for the re-building of the meter box.

The Council RESOLVED that the Clerk should deal with SODC to obtain the necessary approval to discharge the planning condition attached to the original approval for the village hall.

The Council reviewed the possible dates when the work could be completed and subject to planning consent it was likely to be when the Orchard is closed in the summer and the availability of SpadeOak to complete the work.

The Clerk reminded the Council that it had a borrowing approval up to £15,000. The Council RESOLVED that the Clerk should confirm with the Public Loans Board the implications of an early repayment of any money borrowed and also what flexibility there was around drawing down the loan. The Council RESOLVED that the level of reserves after the project has been completed should be at least one times precept.  

10/05/10     Finance

                    The Council RESOLVED to approve the following expenditure:

                Colourplus – May Newsletter                                                                                    £254.66

HMRC – VAT payment qtr to 30 April 2010                                                                                 £681.68

SpadeOak Construction Ltd – soil infiltration test                                                                       £763.75

Little Milton Village Hall – MUGA electricity to 6 April 2010                                                        £19.68

South Oxfordshire District Council – application re planning condition release                               £42.50

Came & Co – payment re Insurance authorised in April 2010                                                      £602.70

The Chairman read out a letter from Jackie Hutchinson in response to the Council’s letter of 16^th April in respect of a financial contribution to the governor’s term newsletter. The Council fully appreciated the importance of the school to Little Milton and have a strong desire to encourage and support the Head and governors but it did not believe that giving a financial contribution to this project made a significant difference to the school. The Council had a major concern over the long term viability of the newsletter and were keen to explore the use of the village newsletter and the school’s weekly newsletter to meet the objectives of the governors.

The Chairman stated that the latest bank reconciliations were available to the Council to inspect.

The Clerk gave a brief report on the current financial position and indicated that the overall net position of income and expenditure for 2010-11 was likely to be achieved he highlighted that the income from advertising revenue would be less than budgeted as a number of existing advertisers had cancelled their adverts.                                                    

11/05/10     Planning

P10/W0448: 21 Chiltern View: Two storey side extension

The Council RESOLVED that this application should be recommended for approval by South Oxfordshire District Council.

12/05/10     Lease with IPS

    Cllr. Stuart McGill and Cllr. Alison Shelton declared a prejudicial interest and withdrew from the discussion.

    Cllr David Wakeling chaired this item on the agenda.

    The Chairman reminded the Council that the issue that required resolution related to the exchange of letters between the IPS and Mrs Annie Rogers in respect of the tenancy arrangements between them. The Council had asked Morgan Cole to comment on the arrangements as to whether it met the terms of the lease between the IPS and the Parish Council. An email from Mr Paul Brame raised a number of issues and recommended that the Council prepare a more complete document to safeguard their interests. The IPS solicitors Stocker & Co were satisfied that the exchange of letters complied with clause 3.6 of the lease. The general feeling of the Council was that there was an acceptable level of risk if the Council did not have a more formal document as the current arrangement would be replaced at some stage in the future and would not involve a sub-tenancy. The Council RESOLVED that the IPS should ask their solicitor to comment upon the points raised by Morgan Cole

13/05/10     Correspondence

                Home Workers Support Event

The Chairman briefed the Council on the forthcoming Home Workers Support Event that is aimed at people who are running their own business from home in the Miltons, Chalgrove and Stadhampton. The Council RESOLVED to offer support in the way of publicising the event by way of local posters and in the newsletter.

                Community Investment Fund

The Council noted that the SODC Community Fund was open for grant applications although the window of opportunity was very short as the closing date for applications was 14 May 2010.

                ORCC 90^th Birthday

The Chairman informed the meeting that ORCC had invited two representatives of the Council to attend the 90^th Birthday celebrations on 3 July at the Four Pillars Hotel Abingdon.

14/05/10     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.

15/05/10     Exchange of Information

The Chairman informed the meeting that a resident had offered a number of healthy Hawthorne bush saplings. The Council RESOLVED to inform the shop and village hall committees.

16/05/10    Date of Next Meeting

The Parish Council will meet at 8.00 p.m. on Wednesday 9th June 2010 in the Pine Lodge Little Milton unless there is a need to convene any planning or other meetings.

The meeting finished at 9.53 p.m.

Parish Forum

                There were no matters raised.

Signed by Chairman…………………………………………………Date…………………………………………