Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 13th April 2005
Present:
Mr
Stuart McGill (Chairman)
Mr
Barry Coward
Mr
Simon Oddie
Mrs Mabel Wood
Mrs Isabel Fox
Mrs Alison Shelton
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
Mr David Turner (County Councillor)
Mr John
Nowell-Smith (District Councillor)
Apologies
None
2
members of the public
01/04/05
Minutes
The
minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 23rd March 2005 were accepted as a
true record and signed by the Chairman after an amendment was made correcting
the date of the minutes approved to 9th March from 9th February.
02/04/05
Apologies for Absence
All members
present
03/04/05
Declaration of any personal or
prejudicial interests of members
Mr Stuart McGill declared a personal interest in the Village Hall agenda item but did not consider it to be prejudicial
Mr. Simon Oddie declared a personal interest in the Planning Application P05/W0246/LB but did not consider it to be prejudicial.
04/04/05
Matters Arising
Outstanding matters OCC Highways
The Clerk reported that due to the illness of Mr
Kevin Batchelor at OCC Drayton there was nothing further to report. However the
matters have been forwarded on to someone else within the department. (Action
Clerk)
Member’s
response to Standards Board Code of Conduct
The Clerk reminded members that the deadline for responses to the
consultation was 17th June 2005
The Lamb Inn
The
Clerk informed the meeting that although he had made initial contact with the
temporary landlord/manager he had been unable to obtain the appropriate contact
at Punch Taverns. It was agreed that this matter was of some urgency and that a
letter should be sent to Punch Taverns as soon as possible. (Action Clerk)
Millennium
Feature at the Cross-
The
members agreed to make a contribution up to £50 towards the cost of maintaining
the floral arrangement at the Cross. The Council appreciate the work being done.
The Clerk was asked to inform Dee Waldron. (Action Clerk)
Marking of footpaths through crops
The Clerk informed the meeting of a recent circular on this matter issued by OCC to 650 farmers within the County.
Triangle of
land adjacent to Wells Farmhouse
The Clerk stated that a recent enquiry with OCC
had determined that the triangle of land was not part of the maintainable
highway. It was agreed that further enquiries should be made to establish
ownership before registering the land as a village green. (Action Clerk)
05/04/05
A329 Advisory Group
Mrs
Alison Shelton updated the meeting on recent activities by the A329 Advisory
Group. She reported that a meeting had taken place with Mr Mike Wasley of OCC
with particular regard to the speed of traffic turning into the Haseley Road
from the A329. Further funding for any agreed measures will not be available
until 2006-07. She also reported on the work to create the build-outs at both
entrances to the village.
06/04/05
Post Office
The
Chairman reported that all households in the village had received a
questionnaire with their newsletter and it was hoped that the questionnaires
would be collected within the next few days and that the results would be
published in the newsletter. The Chairman also informed the meeting that he had
a meeting arranged with Jane Barker of ORCC, a Village Shops Development
Officer.
07/04/05
Recreation Ground
The Chairman informed the meeting that the recreation ground had been treated to eliminate the mole activity and the early signs appeared to be very successful.
08/04/05
Village Hall
The Chairman read out a report from Richard Alliston that stated that Putnams had completed the first phase of the ground-works and that Pinelog should commence start work on erecting the new hall at the beginning of May. He also informed the meeting that the Trustees had agreed to SODC paying the 3rd Party contribution of £4,895 to WREN and not the Parish Council, as there was a potential advantage in doing so. The capital budget remained unchanged from last month. A full copy of the report and unrestricted cash flow statement is attached to the minutes.
09/04/05
Finance
The Council
approved the following expenditure:
Colourplus –
April 2005 Newsletter
£227.01
Post Office questionnaires
£66.00
£293.01
OALC – Annual
subscription
£119.85
SODC – Dog
hygiene
£38.03
Allianz Cornhill
– Insurance premiums
£620.80
The
Chairman informed the meeting that the application for borrowing from the Public
Loans Board had been sent to the Office for the Deputy Prime Minister after
scrutiny by OALC.
The
Council agreed a donation of £25 to Thames Citizens Advice Bureau and £25 to
Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).
The
Council agreed to the Clerk attending an OALC training course on Finance at a
cost of £41.13 (incl. VAT)
The
Clerk stated that the he had received the notice of the Annual Audit and he
explained that the necessary notices would be posted in due course. The
submission date is 1st July 2005. The Clerk circulated an updated
Risk Assessment schedule and requested that the members approve it at the next
Parish Council meeting. (Action Clerk)
The
Clerk informed the Council that the cheque for £4,895 approved at the meeting
on 9th March did not require to be issued as South Oxfordshire
District Council had paid the 3rd Party Funding. As a result the closing
reserves at the end of March were approximately £8,000.
10/04/05
Planning
The
Chairman read out the letter received from SODC Planning Services in response to
the Parish Council response to Listed Building Consent application P05/W0246/LB.
After a lengthy discussion the Parish Council still believed that the planning
process had been circumvented, as the application under consideration did not
have a Planning Application. The Clerk was asked to write a further letter to
the Planning Services confirming the Council’s opposition the Listed Building
Consent application and seeking further clarification of the Permitted Planning
given on the Barn. Mr John Nowell –Smith stated that he would seek a meeting
with the Planning Officer and the Head of Legal Services in order to allow a fuller exchange of views. (Action Clerk)
The Chairman informed the meeting that the following applications had
been given planning approval
P05/W00128
Extension to Woodbine Cottage
P05/W0166/LB
Variations to existing LB approval; Fletchers Farmhouse
P05/W0165
Extension to 17 Chiltern View
11/04/05
Correspondence
The
Chairman briefed the members on The National Association of Local Council’s
plans to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Victory at Trafalgar.
Mrs Alison Shelton accepted responsibility on behalf of the Parish Council in
respect of any plans for the village.
OCC draft Local Transport Plan was circulated to members.
12/04/05
Any Other Business
Mr
Barry Coward proposed that the Council should consider a more formal process
when considering input from the public on matters that have generated a high
level of interest.
The
Clerk explained the differences between the Annual Parish Meeting, the Annual
Parish Council meeting and the Parish Council that will take place in May.
13/04/05
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday
11th May 2005 at 8.00 p.m. in Little
Milton School Library unless there is a need to convene any planning or
other meetings. The Annual Parish Meeting and Annual Meeting of the Parish
Council will precede the Parish Council meeting.
Parish Forum
No items
were raised.