Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 12th January 2005
Present:
Mr Stuart McGill (Chairman)
Mr Simon Oddie
Mrs
Isabel Fox
Mr Barry Coward
Mrs
Alison Shelton
Mrs Mabel Wood
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
Mr David Turner (County
Councillor)
3 members of the public
1/01/05
Minutes
The
minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 8th December 2004 were accepted as
a true record and signed by the Chairman.
2/01/05
Declaration of any personal or prejudicial interests of members
Mr
Stuart McGill declared a personal and prejudicial interest in respect of agenda
item 6, Village Hall and the precept discussion under agenda item 7, Finance.
3/01/05
Matters Arising
Steps
adjacent to Coopers site Old Field
The
Clerk reported that he had received a note from SOHA informing him that they
were currently receiving quotes for the additional rail and SOHA will discuss
the matter further in due course. (Action
Clerk)
Three
Villages Car Scheme
The
Chairman reported that he had raised the concerns of the Council with Miss
Thelma Blake following the December meeting. The matter has not yet been
satisfactorily resolved. It was agreed that the Chairman would have a further
dialogue with Miss Thelma Blake emphasising the Council’s support for the
scheme and reiterating the need to have a scheme based on actual usage of the
service at agreed subsidy levels of 50p for a trip to the surgery in Wheatley
and £1 for a trip to the hospital. (Action
S.McGill)
SODC
Strategic Property Review – Chiltern View
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he had received a response from the District
Council and that consideration of the Amenity Land in Chiltern View would not
take place until the first quarter of 2006. At that point a fuller discussion
would take place.
Path
adjoining Chiltern View
The
Clerk reported that he had taken the matter up with Mr David Turner, our County
Councillor. The matter is being considered by the Highways Department and the
Clerk will report back at the next meeting. (Action
Clerk)
Footpath
to Stadhampton
The
Clerk updated the meeting on the correspondence that he had with representatives
of the Ramblers Association. The question was raised at the December meeting as
to whether the landowner had a responsibility to allow the passage of dogs
through stiles as a stile within the village did not. The advice received was
that the landowner has no responsibility to provide access for dogs although
some stiles do allow a dog through. The Clerk informed the meeting that he had
spoken to the landowner and that steps would be taken to remedy the situation.
4/01/05
A329 Advisory Group
Mrs
Alison Shelton had nothing to report but Mr David Turner informed the meeting
that he was attending a meeting with other local Councillors to devise a scheme
for weight restrictions on the A329. The meeting will take place in early
February.
The
Clerk requested that the Action Group review the lighting of the crossing at
Cremar Cottages/Thame Road. This matter had been raised before when the crossing
on Church Hill was installed as that crossing has only one light whereas the
other crossing has two. (Action Mrs Alison Shelton)
5/01/05
Recreation Ground
The Chairman informed the meeting that
the problem associated with the floodlights had now been resolved. The problem
had been the specification of the glass. However he then reported to the Council
that the floodlights had remained on all night due to the token meter being
misused. This problem has
unnecessary aggravation to the local residents. The suppliers of the equipment
are currently involved in reviewing the meters but the installation of a timing
meter will also be considered. (Action Mr
Stuart McGill)
6/01/05 Village Hall
Mr Stuart McGill withdrew from this
agenda item and Mr Simon Oddie chaired the meeting.
The
Clerk reported that he had taken advice from the Oxford Association of Local
Clerks in respect of the possible Loan from the Public Loans Board. The advice
given was that the Council should approve a resolution at its March meeting with
a view to making a loan application for the agreed shortfall in April. The
Council would then have six months to draw down the loan after is approved by
the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The Loan can be drawn down on a
required basis. The Clerk confirmed that he had sent a letter to the Trustees
giving them the necessary assurance that the Council would borrow any shortfall
up to an agreed amount.
The Clerk advised the Council that it would need a detailed Capital
proposal from the Village Hall Trustees to support the loan application. A form
was circulated to the Council and a copy was given to the Chairman of the
Village Hall. The Clerk also stated that the Council would need a monthly cash
flow to enable it to monitor the project against the Capital proposal.
Mr Simon Oddie invited Mr Richard Alliston to update the Council on the
progress on the Village Hall. He briefed the meeting on the processes that were
being employed to split the financial activities of the Management Committee
between Restricted and Unrestricted funds. It was important that Committee had
sufficient “revenue” reserves to finance the future marketing and running of
the hall. He declared that at the beginning of 2005 the Trustees had £42,212 in
Cash of which £40,000 was restricted (Capital) and £2,212 Unrestricted
(Revenue). He also informed the meeting that the trustees were exploring sources
of grants for activities that might be incorporated into the new hall. The
Chairman thanked Mr Richard Allison for his input.
7/01/05
Finance
Mr Stuart McGill took over the
Chair of the meeting.
The Council approved the following expenditure:
Colourplus – December 2004
£237.82
SODC – Emptying of dog hygiene bins
£38.03
Society of Local Council Clerks – renewal of subscription
£45.00
Mrs Hue Williams – Post Office Rent ¼ to 31st March 2005
£75.00
SODC – Purchase of 100 refuse bags
£65.00
Mrs
Alison Shelton enquired whether a date had been set for a review of the Post
office financial performance as well as its wider business plan. The Chairman
agreed to discuss the matter with the Post Mistress. (Action
Mr Stuart McGill)
The
Council discussed an application for a financial contribution towards a project
being run by Oxfordshire County Council in respect of children with Special
Educational Needs. Mrs Isabel Fox proposed a £25 donation as she felt it was
important project. It was agreed that the Clerk should establish the likely
benefit to local children before a final decision is made. (Action
Clerk)
Mr
Stuart McGill withdrew from the discussion on the Precept for 2005-06 and Mr
Simon Oddie chaired the meeting.
The
Clerk explained the key elements that made up the proposed precept for 2005-06.
The proposed precept for 2005-06 is £10,000 compared with £7,000 in 2004-05.
This represents an increase of £13 per band D equivalent property per year, £33
per band D in2004-05 to £46 in 2005-06. The major factor behind the increase is
the additional costs included in the precept for 2005-06 in respect of the
Village Hall and reflects the servicing of any loan up to a maximum value of £50,000.
The Council discussed this point at length and felt that it was right to have
the costs in the precept but any borrowing will have to be fully justified to
the Council and would not be an automatic process. The Chairman proposed that
the precept of £10,000 be accepted and this was unanimously agreed by the
Council.
8/01/05
Planning
P03/W0781/O
– Revelmead
The
Chairman informed the meeting that the appeal made against the decision to
refuse an outline planning application by the District Council was dismissed by
the Planning Inspectorate.
P04/W1306/LB-
Frogmore
Listed
Building consent has been given for the erection of a garden wall.
P04/W1063
– Abbotts Close
Planning
consent has been granted for alteration to the pitched roof and garage
9/01/05
Correspondence
The
following correspondence was briefed by the Chairman:
SODC – Offer of Free Trees
The
Chairman informed the meeting of an extension to the free trees offer from the
District Council. It was agreed that the Chairman would inform SODC of the
number and species required. The Council also agreed that the residents should
be given the opportunity of sponsoring a tree for planting in the Recreation
Ground. This may be to remember a loved one or for some other reason. Residents
are asked to contact Mr Stuart McGill.
SODC Draft Community Safety Strategy 2005-08
The Chairman invited the Council members for any comments on the recent
Community Safety Audit and Draft Strategy 2005-08 issued by the District
Council. There was general agreement with
the report.
SODC Corporate Support – Car Park and Public Toilet Survey
The Chairman reported that the Clerk had completed a questionnaire in
respect of the SODC survey on Car Parks and Public Toilets.
Thame Partnership – Working Group Meetings
The Chairman informed the meeting that the Thame Partnership Working
Group meetings had been postponed until further notice as result of personnel
changes within the Thame Partnership.
SODC Partnership and Funding:
The Chairman reported that a Partnership and Funding Conference involving
voluntary and community sectors would be held on 8th February 2005 and
requested to attend.
Letter from Mr Peter Vogt
The Chairman read out a letter received from Mr Peter Vogt in which he
asked for the support of the Parish Council to establish from the District
Council what action they were going to take to preserve the Listed Barn Adjacent
to the North Lodge. The Council instructed the Clerk to write to the Chief
Planning Officer, attaching a copy of the letter, requesting a statement from
the District Council as to their responsibility to enforce the legislation under
the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. (Action
Clerk)
10/01/05 Any Other Business
Mrs Isabel Fox reported that there was
still a vacancy for a Parish Council nominated governor for Little Milton
School. .Mrs Alison Shelton stated that she would apply to fill the vacancy by
writing to the Chair of Governors. This was approved by the Council. (Action Mrs Alison Shelton)
The Clerk informed the Council that he would file a copy of the Council
minutes on the Web-Site after they had been approved by the Council. This would
make one of the core classes of information under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 more readily available to the village.
The meeting was closed at 10.05 p.m.
11/01/05 Date of Next Meeting
The Parish Council will meet on Wednesday
9th February 2005 at 8.00 p.m. in Little
Milton School Library unless there is a need to convene any planning or
other meetings.
Parish
Forum
There were no matters raised.