Parish Council Minutes
Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 11th May 2005
in Little Milton School Library
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
4
members of the public
Mr Stuart
McGill was duly elected as Chairman of the Council and Mr Simon Oddie as Vice
Chairman for the coming year. The Chairman signed a Declaration of Acceptance of
Office.
01/05/05
Minutes
The
minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 13th April 2005 were accepted as a
true record and signed by the Chairman.
02/05/05
Apologies for Absence
All members
present
03/05/05
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 (The Barn) but did not consider it to be prejudicial.
04/05/05
Matters Arising
Outstanding matters OCC Highways
The Clerk reported that he still had not received
any response from OCC Highways in respect of the outstanding matters. David
Turner stated that he would try to speed up the matter by contacting OCC
Highways. In the meantime the Clerk would continue to pursue the matter. (Action
Clerk)
The Lamb Inn
The Clerk
reported that he had written to Punch Taverns expressing the Parish Council’s
support of the pub to the life of the community. Although there had been no
response to the letter the Parish Council had been notified of the transfer of
the Licence to an interim manager.
Triangle of land
adjacent to Wells Farmhouse
The Clerk informed the meeting that his
investigations had determined that OCC Highways did not own the land in
question, nor was it registered with the Land Registry. He reported that he had
the necessary forms to apply to have the land registered as a Village Green
under the Common Registration Act 1965 and would submit the necessary
application. (Action Clerk)
05/05/05
A329 Advisory Group
Mrs
Alison Shelton stated that she had nothing to report.
06/05/05
Post Office
The Chairman reported that 103 questionnaires had been returned and the
analysis of the results would be published in the Newsletter. He also explained
that it was the intention to use the results when developing the business plan
for the Post Office. The Clerk highlighted the need to identify clear ownership
of any future business plan.
07/05/05
Recreation Ground
The Chairman reported that some turf had been laid around the entrance to
the MUGA. He also reported that the recent treatment to eradicate the mole
activity appeared to have been successful.
08/05/05
Finance
The Council
approved the following expenditure:
Retrospective
Approval:
Mrs
Hue Williams – Post Office Rent ¼ to 30th June 2005
£75.00
SODC – purchase of 100 refuse bags
£65.00
Current
expenditure
Mr Mark
Willis (White Horse Turf Ltd)
£100.46
Southern
Electricity – awaiting revised account. The Council authorised
immediate payment.
Alan Stone – service/repair of lawnmower
£215.92
Allianz
Cornhill – insurance re lawnmower
£234.10
SODC –
purchase of 200 refuse bags
£130.00
Oxford
Green Belt Network – renewal of subscription
£15.00
The
Parish Council approved a donation of £25.00 to Home Start Southern Oxfordshire
The
Parish Council adopted the Risk Assessment presented by the Clerk at the Council
meeting of 13th April 2005.
The
Clerk presented the Annual Return for the year ended 31st March 2005
and highlighted to members of the Council the key sections. The Parish Council
approved the accounts and the Statement of Assurance (section 2) of the Annual
Return.
09/05/05
Planning
P05/W0490
– Watergate Haseley Road: Erection of two storey extension
The Chairman read out a letter from a resident expressing some concerns
about the extension. After full consideration of the application the Parish
Council voted by a majority of 5 to 1 to recommend refusal of the application
for the following reasons:
·
The scale of the extension was disproportionate to the size of the
dwelling
·
Concerns that there would be an adverse effect on the amenities of nearby
properties
·
The design of the proposal was not in keeping with the character of the
surrounding properties
·
The introduction of a velux window into the existing roof structure as
well as velux windows in the proposed new roof structure
Land adjacent to the Plough Inn
The Chairman informed the meeting that the appeal made by the applicants
for a new agricultural vehicular access had been dismissed by the Planning
Inspectorate. The main reason for refusal was the proposal would not preserve
the character and appearance of the Little Milton Conservation Area.
The Barn: Listed Building Consent Application (P05/W0246/LB)
The Chairman reported that the application had
been referred to the SODC Planning Committee and would be considered at its
meeting on May 18th. The Parish Council asked the Clerk to request a site visit
by members of the Planning Committee, as they believed it was important for the
Planning Committee to fully appreciate the uniqueness of the site before they
made any decision. Mr John Nowell –Smith offered to host a meeting on Monday
16rh May to agree the representations that would be made by himself, the Parish
Council and immediate neighbours as each group have a five minute slot at the
Planning Committee meeting.
The Parish Council noted the recent offer for sale
of land adjacent to the Recreation Ground and would monitor its progress.
10/05/05
Correspondence
OCC
Structure Plan 2016 – Proposed modifications to the Deposit Draft Plan
It
was agreed to circulate the proposed modifications to Council members. The Clerk
pointed out the proposed modification to the sections on Housing and Minerals.
Wells Farmyard – use by refuse vehicles
The
Clerk reported that he had received permission from BBOWT to use Wells Farmyard
for refuse vehicles collecting green waste. However SODC have now decided not to
provide any additional services and BBOWT have been advised.
SODC Review of Constitution
The Chairman reported that SODC had decided not to change their procedures for the automatic referral of planning applications (major/minor categories).
Thame
CAB
The Chairman informed the meeting of the merger of the Henley and Thame
CAB. The advice service given to the citizens in our District will not change.
The Army Presentation
The
Chairman informed the meeting of an invitation from the Army to attend a
presentation on 29th June 2005 about recent changes in the Army. If
any Council member wishes to attend they should notify the Clerk
11/05/05
Village
Hall
Mr Richard Alliston updated the Council on the current status of the new
Village Hall. The information was a resume of that circulated to each household
within the Village. An updated Capital Budget was circulated to the Council. Mr
Alliston reported that he had spoken with the insurers in respect of the
security of the new hall and there was no requirement to install a burglar
alarm. However the Trustees are keeping the matter under review.
12/05/05
Any Other Business
Mrs
Isabel Fox informed the meeting that she had been invited to join the SODC
Standards Committee.
Mrs
Alison Shelton reported that she had received a comment about the size of the
existing gate into the Play Area, as it could not accommodate a double buggie.
The matter has been referred to the Recreation Ground Committee. (Action Stuart McGill)
The
Chairman stated that he had received a complaint about the damage to the grass
verge in Old Field as a result of the recent building works. The Clerk reported
that he had already spoken with SOHA and the matter was being investigated.
13/05/05
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday 8th
June 2005 at 8.00 p.m. in Little
Milton School Library unless there is a need to convene any planning or
other meetings.
The
meeting finished at 10.10 p.m.
Parish Forum
No items
were raised.