Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 8th December 2004
in Little Milton Main School
Present:
Mr Stuart McGill (Chairman)
Mr Simon Oddie
Mrs Alison Shelton
Mrs Mabel Wood
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
Mr John Nowell-Smith (District Councillor)
Apologies
Mrs Isabel Fox
Mr Barry Coward
Mr David Turner (County Councillor)
6 members of the public
1/12/04
Minutes
The
minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 10th November were accepted as a
true record and signed by the Chairman.
2/12/04
Declaration of any personal or prejudicial interests of members
Mr Stuart McGill declared a
prejudicial interest in respect of agenda item 6, Village Hall.
3/12/04
Matters Arising
Steps
adjacent to Coopers site Old Field
The
Clerk reported that he had spoken to Ms Sarah Jones of SOHA in respect of an
additional hand-rail for the new steps and that she had noted the comments for
their Clerk of works to investigate. A response is awaited.
Three
Villages Car Scheme
The
Chairman informed the meeting that he had a meeting with Miss Thelma Blake, Mr
John Buckingham and other members of the Three Parishes Car Scheme. He explained
that a decision had been made to increase the charges to clients for both the
journey to the hospital and the doctors and that the Council would subsidise the
service at a level of 50p for a trip to the doctors and £1 for a hospital
visit. However the resultant minutes did not reflect this position and it was
agreed that Mr Stuart McGill would pursue the matter with Miss Thelma Blake. (Action Mr Stuart McGill)
SODC
Strategic Property Review – Chiltern View
The
Clerk stated that SODC had been informed of the Council’s desire to have more
information in respect of the Amenity area in Chiltern View but as yet there had
been no direct communication with the Chair of the Council. It was agreed that
the Clerk would sent a reminder to SODC. (Action
Clerk)
Path
adjoining Chiltern View
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he had expressed to SOHA the Council’s concern
about the unevenness of the path between Chiltern View and the “new steps”.
A response is still awaited. However he then highlighted a further issue in
respect of the path. The new path does not follow in a straight line to the
pedestrian crossing and as such wheel-chair users cannot use the new path and
will be forced to use the road. It was agreed that the Clerk would discuss the
matter with the County Councillor in order to take this matter further. (Action
Clerk)
Thame
Town Council Market Town Health Check
Mr
Simon Oddie updated the meeting following his attendance. He expressed his
disappointment that he was the only representative outside Thame to attend and
therefore their attempt to have a wider input had failed. The meeting attempted
to embrace a large remit but it was difficult to achieve any prioritisation. It
is likely that an external consultant will be appointed to the project.
4/12/04
A329 Advisory Group
The
Chairman informed the meeting that he and Mrs Alison Shelton attended the Five
Parishes Action Group meeting on December 1st. Mrs Alison Shelton reported that
the recent meeting had been concerned with two main issues:-
1.
The proposed link between the A34 and the M40 scheduled for 2016 had been
discarded as a project by the County Council
2.
The weight limit on the A329 from the M40 junction and how the Group
could make progress.
5/12/04
Recreation Ground
The Chairman reported that the
floodlighting had been installed. However a problem had been experienced with
the glass panels that hopefully had now been fixed.
6/12/04 Village Hall
Mr Stuart McGill withdrew from the
meeting as he had declared a prejudicial interest in this item and the meeting
was chaired by Mr Simon Oddie.
Mr Richard Allison was invited to address the Council in respect of the
Village Hall and the following were the key points of his statement.
·
A meeting had taken place with
Pinelog, the preferred contractor, on 30th November to discuss the way forward.
The meeting covered various amendments to the specification and possible
commencement dates. It is hoped to have the ground-works started in late
February and Pinelog on site at the beginning of May, with a completion target
for the end of July. It was stressed that these are very provisional dates but
it is hoped to sign a contract within the next two/three weeks.
·
There has been written confirmation
from all three major grant bodies, SODC WREN and DEFRA, the availability of
funding subject to their terms and conditions. Approval is still awaited from
Oxfordshire County Council for the transfer of grant in respect of the wooden
option.
·
There is a funding shortfall of £39,000
on the overall project after including a contingency of £10,000. The Parish
Council would be asked to borrow the necessary funds from the Public Loans
Board.
·
There was a resume of the future
fund-raising activities.
·
The meeting was advised that the
recent appeal had raised nearly £5,000 and it was hoped that money would still
be donated.
·
Although the major sources of
funding had been explored there were some secondary sources of Grant funding
being explored. This is likely to be for the equipment and assets that
facilitate the use of the hall.
·
There was a brief outline of the
future marketing potential of the hall and this was being developed by the
trustees.
Mr
Simon Oddie thanked Mr Richard Allison for his presentation, copies of which
were given to Council members.
The
Clerk confirmed that he should allow for the Council borrowing £39,000 and
build in the relevant annual repayment costs. This prompted a discussion on the
timing of the loan application as the Trustees requested that the Council should
give them reassurance that the finance would be available before they sign any
contracts. The Clerk stated that if the Council receive loan clearance “now”
they would have to draw the money before the end of March 2005. The Chairman
felt that it was only fair to the Trustees that the Council should activate the
process for a loan. The Chairman made
a proposal that the Council should take immediate steps to apply for a £39,000
loan. This was supported by the other Council members. The Clerk stated that he
would take the necessary action with the Oxfordshire Association of Local
Councils. (Action Clerk)
7/12/04
Finance
Mr
Simon Oddie withdrew from the chair and passed the meeting over to Mr Stuart
McGill.
The
Council approved the following expenditure:
Oxfordshire Association of Playing Fields
£25.00
Mrs Annie Rogers
£30.00
Mr Alistair Morris
£15.00
Mr Stuart McGill
£101.16
The
Council also agreed to donate £25.00 to the Oxfordshire Association for the
Blind but declined to make a contribution to Oxfordshire Woodland Project.
The
Council expressed their thanks to Mr Alistair Morris for volunteering to treat
the Millennium benches.
The
Chairman informed the meeting that a letter had been received from South &
Vale Carers thanking them for their donation.
The
Chairman outlined a letter that had been received from SODC in respect of
Budgets and Precepts 2005/06. There were no issues for the Council as our
internal processes met the deadlines detailed in the letter.
The
Council discussed a note that had been circulated by the Clerk in respect of the
time that is taken in discharging his duties. The Council accepted the increased
hours submitted by the Clerk. There was a slight reduction in the hours required
to prepare the Newsletter. These changes will take effect in 2005-06 and are not
backdated.
8/12/04
Planning
P04/W1284
& P04/W1306/LB – Frogmore: Erection of Garden Wall
The
Council recommended approval of the planning applications.
Oxfordshire
County Council: Little Milton Sewage Works
Thames
Water are upgrading the sewage works and although it is permitted development
the Council have reserved their position to ask for more screening if the
changes on the site require it. The Clerk was asked to inform the County
Council. (Action Clerk)
Mr
John Nowell-Smith informed the meeting that the Planning Inspectorate would be
making a site visit to Revelmead on 15th December in connection with the current
appeal against the refusal of their planning application.
9/12/04
Correspondence
The
following correspondence was briefed by the Chairman:
The Standards Board: Lobby Groups; dual hatted members and the Code of
Conduct
The Chairman referred to the recent booklet that had been issued to all
Council members. Mr John Nowell-Smith stated he was attending a District Council
meeting that was going to review the current operation of the Standard’s
policy. The Clerk requested that it would be helpful if some
practical
guidance could be given in respect of dual hatted members as it was an issue
from time to time within the Council. He said that he would raise the matter.
The Standards Board- Local Investigations
The Chairman made Council members aware of a new guidance booklet on
local investigations which explains the regulations and provides procedural
information for monitoring officers on how to handle referred cases.
Oxfordshire Greenbelt Network (OBN)
The Chairman briefed the Council on the key elements of the OBN December
newsletter. An important aspect was the likely increase in house-building as a
result of the South East England Regional Assembly planning proposals that will
be published in January 2005. OBN highlight that this unelected body should be
opposed and decisions that affect the local area should be taken by local bodies
and not an anonymous body in Guilford. The Clerk was asked to write a letter to
our local MP, Mr Boris Johnson, supporting the view expressed by OBN. (Action
Clerk)
SODC – Town and Parish Council Forum:
The Chairman briefed the Council on the draft action plan and asked Mr
Simon Oddie to respond as he had attended the forum. (Action
Simon Oddie)
Oxfordshire County Council – 2nd Round of Small Capital Grants:
A letter has been received from the County Council in respect of Small
Capital Grants for schools. The letter was passed to Mrs Alison Shelton to
follow up in her capacity as Chair of the A329 Committee. (Action Mrs Alison Shelton)
10/12/04 Any Other Business
Mrs Mabel Wood highlighted the debris
on the pavement adjacent to the hedge that had been trimmed opposite Hill Top
House. The Clerk was asked to write to the landowner. (Action
Clerk)
The Council agreed to a request by Mr
Alistair Morris to trim the trees over-hanging the road at Four Trees.
The
meeting was closed at 10.05 p.m.
11/12/04 Date of Next Meeting
The Parish Council will meet on Wednesday
12th January 2004 at 8.00 p.m. in Little
Milton School Library unless there is a need to convene any planning or
other meetings.
Parish Forum
Mrs Anne Hawkins requested that the
stile on the Stadhampton footpath should allow dog-walkers access as the present arrangement does not allow the dog through
the stile due to sheep fencing. The Clerk was asked to pursue this matter.
(Action Clerk)