Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 12th April 2006
Present:
Mr Stuart McGill (Chairman)
Mr
Simon Oddie
Mr
Barry Coward
Mrs Mabel Wood
Mrs Alison Shelton
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
Mr
John Nowell-Smith (District Council
Member)
5
members of the public
01/04/06
Apologies for Absence: Mr David Turner (County
Council Member)
02/04/06
Declaration of any personal or
prejudicial interests of members
Mr Stuart
McGill declared a personal interest in the Village Hall and Orchard Pre School
agenda items.
03/04/06
Approval of Minutes
The
Parish Council approved the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 8th
March 2006 as a true record of the meeting and the Chairman signed them.
04/04/06
Parish Council Vacancy
The
Clerk informed the meeting that the vacancy had been advertised in the
Newsletter and that the Council would review any applications at the May meeting
with a view to co-opting a new councillor.
05/04/06
Matters Arising
Triangle
of land adjacent to Wells Farmhouse
The
Clerk reported that he had received a full report from OCC on the Council’s
application to register the land as a village green. OCC had taken independent
legal advice and it would appear that our application as submitted would be
refused. The Council expressed their concern that OCC had incurred material
costs and asked the clerk to communicate their concern to OCC. The Council
decided to consider their position before withdrawing the application. (Action Clerk)
Thames Valley Police – Police station opening hours
The
Clerk informed the Council that he had received a reply from Mr David McWhirter,
Oxfordshire BCU. The projected improvement in the Front Desk manning of the
Thame Station will be achieved by an increase of staff dedicated to the station.
This was welcomed by the Council. The Clerk also briefed the Council on
Neighbourhood Policing Proposals following a meeting that he had attended.
New garden waste service
The
Chairman read out a letter from SODC in respect of the New Garden Waste Scheme.
He informed the meeting that no eco sacks would be collected after Friday 2 June
and that the last green community waste vehicle collection would be Saturday 3
June.
Adoption
of financial regulations
The
Council agreed to set a lower limit of £5,000 in respect of any contracts that
would require three tenders. Where the supply of goods or services is between £2,000
and £5,000 the Council should strive to obtain three quotations and where the
value is below £2,000 and £500 the Council should strive to obtain three
estimates. An amended set of regulations will be submitted to the Council for
approval at the May meeting. (Action
Clerk)
Site plans for lease documents
The
Chairman indicated that he believed that the site plan supporting the planning
application for the extension to the village hall could be used to replace the
existing site plans in the lease document with the Orchard and the Village Hall
Management Committee. The Chairman will clarify this at the next meeting. (Action
Clerk)
The
Council noted the list of matters that were still active but had no progress to
be reported.
06/04/06
The Orchard Pre School
The
Chairman informed the meeting that the Orchard Pre School were still awaiting a
further quote for the proposed changes before the project could be implemented.
07/04/06
A329 Advisory Group
There
was nothing to report under this item.
08/04/06
Recreation Ground
Mr
Mark Willis gave a brief report on the expenditure on the recreation ground
during 2005-06. He then outlined the proposed programme of work for 2006-07 and
that showed a significant investment by the Council to improve the facilities.
There was also a concern that the recreation ground was on occasions being used
by motor cycles. It was agreed that a suitable notice should be erected to
discourage any use. The Clerk was asked to investigate if any such notices were
used by other local councils. (Action
Clerk)
09/04/06
Finance
The Council
approved the following expenditure:
Colourplus
– April newsletter 2006
£249.71
M K Watts
– grass cutting
£164.50
E G Pheby & Son – MUGA control box
£292.96
Allianz
Cornhill – council insurances
£648.97
Mrs
Hue Williams –Post Office rent to 30 June 2006
£75.00
ORCC
– annual subscription (Section 137)
£20.00
CPRE
– annual subscription (Section 137)
£26.00
The
Council agreed not to renew the Commercial Motor Vehicle policy for the
lawnmower as it will be stored at Warren Barn after it has been repaired. The
Clerk will advise Allianz Cornhill. (Action
Clerk)
The
Council agreed to make a financial contribution of £25.00 to Home-Start
Southern Oxfordshire and a financial contribution of £38.00 to Childline
Midlands & East Anglia.
The
Clerk reported that the financial outcome for 2005-06 was slightly better than
that forecasted when the precept for 2006-07 was set. He also informed the
meeting that he had received the annual audit papers from BDO Stoy Hayward. The
completion date for the submission of the annual return is 3rd July 2006.
10/04/06
Planning
P06/W0196 – 63 High Street; erection of electrically operated gates
The Council recommended approval of the application.
P06/W0226
– Land adjacent to Plough House; to create an agricultural vehicular access
The
Council agreed by a majority of three votes to two to recommend approval of the
application. There was a concern that there would still be a significant impact
on the conservation area as well as concerns for safety and vehicle speeds if
the bend was opened up.
P06/W0260
– Manor Rise Church Hill; erection of garden shed
The Council recommended approval of the application.
P06/W0297
– Little Milton Village Hall; extension to Village hall re Post Office and
other ancillary purposes
The Council
recommended approval of the application.
P05/W0869
– Orchard House; amendment to approved scheme
The
Council had no objections to the proposed changes to the approved scheme.
P05/W0128-
Woodbine Cottage; amendment to approved scheme
The
Council had no objections to the proposed changes to the approved scheme
P05/W0736
– Wells Farm Cottage; notification of appeal to Secretary of State
The
Council noted that this application was now subject to an appeal to the
Secretary of State.
11/04/06
Correspondence
DEFRA
– Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005
The
Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act of 2005 allow Parish Councils to issue
fixed penalty notices for littering, graffiti and flyposting offences from 6th
April 2006. The Act has also brought into play a new system for controlling
dogs. The Council asked the Clerk to obtain a copy of the published guide
‘Getting to grips with the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act of 2006’
to allow it to more fully understand the implications of the Act. (Action
Clerk)
Thame
& District Citizens Advice Bureau
The
Chairman read out a letter from the Citizens Advice Bureau in Thame thanking the
Council for its donation of £50.
SODC
– Consultation on Draft Youth Policy
As
part of SODC’s development of their Youth Strategy the Council have been asked
to complete a feedback form in respect of the draft plans. The Chairman agreed
to complete the form. (Action Chairman)
OCC
– Review of Mobile Library Service
The
Chairman informed the meeting that as a result of a comprehensive review of the
Mobile Library Service and the reduction of the fleet by one vehicle, OCC have
taken the opportunity to plan and implement more efficient routes for their
mobile libraries. As a result the Mobile Library will visit Old Field only on a
Thursday every fortnight. The new service will begin from week beginning 12th
June. The Council were concerned about the loss of the Mobile Library Service at
Milton Manor Drive and asked the Clerk to make further enquiries as to use of
the service within the Village. (Action
Clerk)
OALC
– Training Course on ‘Getting to Grips with Finance’
The
Chairman informed the Council of a forthcoming training course organised by OALC.
SODC
– Site Allocations Development Plan Document
The
Chairman reported that SODC is preparing its Housing Site Allocations
Development Plan Document. The plan will allocate land for additional housing in
the district to meet the requirements of the Oxfordshire Structure Plan 2016 and
broad locations for a further period to 2026. The Council have been invited to a
meeting where SODC will explain how they propose to undertake the work. The
Chairman and Mr Barry Coward agreed to represent the Council. (Action
Chairman/Mr Barry Coward)
CPRE
– Details of Annual meeting & Early Day Motion
The
Chairman informed the Council that the CPRE Annual General Meting would be held
on 25 April 2006. The Council agreed to write to Mr Boris Johnson MP in respect
of an Early Day Motion on the need to reuse previously developed
‘Brownfield’ sites before developing on Greenfield land. (Action
Clerk)
12/04/06 Village
Hall
The Chairman gave a brief report on the current activities of the Pine Lodge.
13/04/06
Village Shop/Post Office
The
Chairman reported that he had a meeting with Jane Barker of ORCC in respect of
the Post Office project covering various topics including full time shop
manager, the number of volunteers required, overhead structure and product mix.
The Chairman indicated that he expected to have a business plan available for
consideration in October 2006. (Action
Chairman)
14/04/06
Any Other Business
Footpath in front of Cremar Cottages
Mrs
Mabel Wood drew the Council’s attention to the poor state of the footpath in
front of Cremar Cottages. It was agreed that the Clerk would speak to OCC
Highways as well as the residents of Cremar Cottages in an attempt to resolve
the problem. (Action Clerk)
NHS – Primary Trust Communication
The
Clerk informed the Council that the South East and South West Oxfordshire
Primary Care Trusts recognised the important role of community newsletters as a
way of involving the public about local health services. The Clerk stated that
he had already spoken with a representative of the Trust and had given them
details of our publishing deadlines.
Format of
Village Newsletter
The
Clerk circulated an alternative A5 format for the Village newsletter. The
Council agreed to launch the new format from May 2006.
Contract of Employment for Clerk
The
Clerk reported that he had attended a recent meeting organised by the Society of
Local Council Clerks (SLCC) where the importance of a contract of employment for
the clerk was raised. Mr Barry Coward agreed to review the standard contract
document issued by SLCC and report back at the next Council meeting. (Action Mr Barry Coward)
Parish
Meeting
The
Clerk reminded the Council that the Annual Parish Meeting would be held on
Wednesday 10th May 2006. Although organised by the Parish Council it
is not a Parish Council meeting. It was agreed that the Clerk would contact
local organisations to make a brief presentation on the night. It was also
agreed that refreshments should be available. (Action
Clerk)
15/04/06
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday
10th May 2006 at 8.00 p.m. in The
Pine Lodge Little Milton unless there is a need to convene any planning or
other meetings. The Annual Parish Council meeting will be held prior to the
normal meeting at which the Council will elect the Chairman and Vice Chairman
for the forthcoming year.
The
meeting finished at 9.50 p.m.
Parish Forum
No matters
were raised