Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 9th November 2005
Present:
Mr Stuart McGill (Chairman)
Mr Simon Oddie
Mr Barry Coward
Mrs Mabel Wood
Mrs Alison Shelton
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
2
members of the public
01/11/05
Apologies for Absence: Mrs Isabel Fox, Mr John Nowell-Smith (District
Councillor) and Mr David Turner (County
Councillor)
02/11/05
Declaration of any personal or
prejudicial interests of members
Mr Stuart McGill declared a prejudicial interest in the Village Hall agenda item as well as the agenda item relating to the Orchard Pre School.
03/11/05
Approval of Minutes
The
Parish Council approved the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 11th
October 2005 as a true record of the meeting and the Chairman signed them.
04/11/05
Matters Arising
Triangle
of land adjacent to Wells Farmhouse
The Clerk
informed the meeting that he had now received the information from the Open
Spaces Society and had issued two evidence questionnaires as a pilot study
before requesting other residents to complete them. The Clerk hoped that by the
December meeting he would have re-submitted the request to register the
nominated area as a Village Green to Oxfordshire County Council.
Consideration
of Letter from Adrian Duffield
The Clerk
reported that he had spoken to the resident in question about the accuracy of
the letter that had been sent to them from South Oxfordshire District Council
Head of Planning. The letter was accurate although there was insufficient time
for the resident to make a suitable reply. The resident is currently
re-submitting a revised planning application.
Hedgerow
at the top of the Wheatley Road.
Mrs Mabel
Wood reported that the gap in the hedgerow had now been filled with earth and
was a good step forward. The Clerk reported that he had spoken to OCC Highways
but due to staff illness were not in a position to comment. The Clerk also
reported that he had stressed the need for adequate road markings on the
Wheatley Road from Little Milton to the junction of the Wheatley Road from Great
Milton. This matter will be kept under review. (Action Clerk)
Invite
to Punch Taverns re the Lamb
The clerk
informed the meeting that he had sent a suitable letter to Punch Taverns about
the current plight of the Lamb. Although there had been no written response the
Clerk had a conversation with the appropriate department and was hopeful that
the Council would receive a reply. (Action Clerk)
05/11/05
A329 Advisory Group
Mrs
Alison Shelton reported that the A329 had met since the last Parish Council
meeting in October. The key points arising from the meeting were as follows:-
·
The
committee agreed to follow up the letter from OCC by inviting representatives
from OCC to attend a meeting to update the committee on what options are
available re the centre of the village.
·
Following
a near miss of an accident in Gold Street the committee are investigating what
options are available in respect of suitable speed limits.
·
The
results of the traffic survey conducted by OCC in respect of the build-outs at
either end of the village are still awaited.
·
The
committee are pursuing an update on the work being done on weight limits on the
A329 by the Five Villages Action Group.
·
Mrs
Alison Shelton has resigned as Chairman of the A329 Advisory Group but will
maintain her role as Parish Council representative. Mr Mark Platt has agreed to
become the new Chairman.
06/11/05
The Orchard Pre-School
This
item was chaired by Me Simon Oddie as Mr Stuart McGill had declared a
prejudicial interest on the agenda item.
Two
representatives of the Orchard Pre School made a request to the Parish Council
to use an area of land behind the Pine Lodge and immediately adjacent to the
Orchard to create a hard standing surface as
a play area by the Orchard. The primary use would be for wheeled toys such as
tricycles. The Council requested that it should be presented with the necessary
drawings to allow it to consider it more fully and this request was agreed by
the representatives of the Orchard. On receipt of the drawings it will be
necessary to consider any possible planning issues as the land is in green belt
and may require some form of planning approval. The Council also agreed to write
formally to Little Milton Village Hall Charity as they felt it was important
that any development behind the Pine Lodge was fully considered by the Charity
as it may have a view on any impact. The Clerk requested that the site plan that
was part of the lease between the Parish Council and the Charity be reviewed to
ensure that any development was not part of the area designated to the Charity. (Action
Clerk)
07/11/05
Recreation Ground
Mr
Stuart McGill resumed his role of Chairman.
The
Chairman reported that the wiring diagram in respect of the MUGA lights had
still not been received. The Council requested that the matter be resolved as
soon as possible as it was aware of its commitment to find a suitable
alternative to the current operation.
The
Chairman highlighted a problem between Little Milton School and the LEA in
respect of the funding of £500 that is currently paid by the LEA to the Parish
Council. This payment is part of the Licence Agreement between the LEA and the
Parish Council. The Council agreed that it had no authority to become involved
as the matter was strictly between the LEA and the School.
08/11/05
Finance
The Council
approved the following expenditure:
Colourplus - November Newsletter + questionnaires
£273.47
Country Supplies – bark for play area £690.20
Southern Electric – quarter to 17th October 2005
£76.09
Retrospective
approval
SODC – 100 eco sacks
£30.00
Church Buying Group – Gopack tables
£592.98
Due to an error the Council approved a cheque for £4.01 as the original
cheque
To the Church Buying Group had been issued for £588.97.
The
Council make a payment of £25 to support the South & Vale Carers (Section
137)
The
Clerk informed the Council that he had advised Southern Electric that the
account holder should be Little Milton Village Hall (LMVH) as they were the
primary users of electricity on the site. The Parish Council will be charged by
LMVH in respect of electricity relating to the MUGA.
09/11/05
Planning
P05/W0984/LB
– Post Office Cottage, Haseley Road
The
Chairman informed the meeting that Listed Building Consent had been granted by
the District Council.
10/11/05
Correspondence
OCC
– Highway Management Arrangements.
The
Council agreed that it did not wish to enter into any formal Agency Agreement
with OCC in respect of any services that would be provided by the Parish
Council. The Clerk was asked to contact OCC to confirm this position and to
ensure that this position maintained the current position.
Oxfordshire
Community and Voluntary Action
The
Chairman extended an Invitation on behalf of the Oxfordshire Community and
Voluntary Action to a forum on 30th November in Benson Village Hall.
OCC
– Oxfordshire Structure Plan 2016: Notice of Adoption of Proposals
The
Chairman informed the meeting that OCC had adopted the Oxfordshire Structure
Plan 2016 with modifications. The adopted proposals can be viewed on www.oxfordshire.gov.uk.
Patient
and Public Involvement Forum, South East Oxfordshire
The
Council members agreed to ask the Clerk to put a suitable article in the
newsletter to try and establish the degree of interest in the consultation
process. They also agreed that the Clerk should contact the Patient Public
Involvement Forum to find out their experiences with small rural communities in
respect of public consultation. (Action Clerk)
11/11/05 Village
Hall
Mr Simon Oddie chaired this item on the agenda as Mr Stuart McGill had declared a prejudicial interest in the agenda item.
Mr Richard Alliston stated that the financial statement he was presenting was the final position subject to the budget costs for the induction loop and the blinds. The net repayment to the Parish Council is £4,856 and the Clerk reported that he already had received the cheque. The overall support given by the Parish Council amounted to £36,434 which is made up of the project shortfall of £29,689 plus the supplementary purchases of £6,745. This meant that the Council used £1,434 from reserves as the loan from the Public Loans Board was £35,000.
Mr Simon Oddie thanked Mr Richard Alliston on behalf of the Council for all the hard work that had gone into delivering the project.
12/11/05
Village Shop/Post Office
The
Chairman informed the meeting that he had held a separate meeting with Ms Jane
Barker of ORCC and Mr Graham Simmons of the Post Office in respect of the
possible relocation of the Post Office to a site adjacent to the Pine Lodge. The
meetings were constructive and there appeared to be no major security issues and
that some grants were available to help finance any relocation.
The
Chairman also reported that he had also visited a Post Office in Tackley along
with Mrs Annie Rogers. It was a very informative visit as the Post Office in
Tackley had many similarities to the possible set up for the new site in Little
Milton.
The
Chairman circulated some preliminary information in respect of the questionnaire
that was circulated to the village some months ago. A comprehensive set of
results will be circulated as soon as possible.
13/11/05
Any Other Business
The
Clerk informed the meeting that the December Council meeting would include an
agenda item in respect of the precept for 2006-07.
14/11/05
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday
14th December 2005 at 8.00 p.m. in The
Pine Lodge Little Milton unless
there is a need to convene any planning or other meetings.
The
meeting finished at 9.30 p.m.
Parish Forum
No matters
were raised