Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 14th Feb 2007
Present:
Mr Stuart McGill (Chairman)
Mr Simon Oddie (Vice Chair)
Mrs Mabel Wood
Mrs Alison Shelton
Mr Barry Coward
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
Mr
David Turner (County Councillor)
Mr
John Nowell-Smith (District Council
Member)
Four members of the public
01/02/07
Apologies for Absence: Mr Tim Robinson
02/02/07
Declaration of any personal or
prejudicial interests of members
Mr
Stuart McGill declared a personal interest in the Recreation Ground, Village
Hall and Village Shop/Post Office agenda items. Mrs Alison Shelton declared
prejudicial interest in the Planning application P07/W0060
03/02/07
Approval of Minutes
The
Parish Council approved the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 10th
January 2007 as a true record of the meeting and the Chairman signed them.
04/02/07
Matters Arising.
Triangle
of land adjacent to Wells Farm Cottage
The
Clerk informed the meeting that the application to register the triangle of land
as a Village Green was progressing well although the County Council had posted
the public notice close to Four Trees and not on the land in question. This
matter had been drawn to the attention of OCC
OCC Highways
The
Clerk reported that the drain opposite the Lamb had been marked for repair as
the road surrounding it was showing signs of collapse.
The Clerk informed the meeting that the slip road from Haseley Road into
Gold Street had been swept by
SODC although it still had significant levels of surface water. He also
reported that he had sent a request to
OCC to consider re-designating the road for pedestrian and cyclists only as its
current use by motor vehicles
was potentially dangerous. Mr David Turner, County Councillor has been informed.
Street Lighting adjacent to crossing at Cremar Cottages
The
Clerk stated that he had received a telephone call from Mr Alan Cockbill of OCC
Street Lighting indicating that the Parish Council’s proposal to reduce the
number of lights had been recommended to OCC Traffic Department on the grounds
that the crossing is controlled and any reduction in light emission was
beneficial.
Telephone
Box adjacent to Post Office
The
Clerk was delighted to report that the village telephone box has been listed as
a Grade II building by the Secretary of State after consulting with English
Heritage.
Oxfordshire
County Council Reception
The
clerk reminded the Council members about the forthcoming reception by the
Chairman of Oxfordshire County Council on 28th February 2007 as
responses were required by 15th February. As no member could attend
the clerk inform OCC.
Oxford
Green Belt Network (OGBN)
The
Clerk informed the meeting of a letter received from OGBN enclosing a copy of
the written submission to the inspectors conducting the Examination in Public
into the South East Plan at which the Green Belt is under discussion. The
details will be circulated to members.
05/02/07
Foul drainage system at Cremar
Cottages
The
Chairman gave a brief background to the problems that had been experienced by
some of the residents of Cremar Cottages. The Clerk had already circulated an
action plan for Council members to consider in advance of the meeting. The Clerk
informed the meeting that he had communicated with Monson Engineering Ltd at
SODC and had outlined the scope of the work that should be covered by the
investigation. Monson Engineering Ltd had briefed OPC who would carry out the
survey. OPC’s charge is £60 per hour. The estimated time for the survey was
between three and four hours.
Although
the drains in question are not the responsibility of the Parish Council it was
felt that given the recent developments of the new Village Hall and the
additional housing in Old Field/Thame Road it was important to establish the
state and effectiveness of the current drains in order to provide a basis to
resolve the problem. The Council decided to incur the expenditure under Section
137 of LGA 1972.
The
Clerk stated that he would send a letter to the appropriate residents in advance
of the work on February 22 explaining the limits of the Parish Council’s
financial commitment. The Council undertook to share the outcome of the survey
with the relevant interested parties.
06/02/07
A329 Advisory Group
Mrs
Alison Shelton reported that she met with the Head of Little Milton School to
discuss the school’s travel plans to school. The major issue appeared to be
the parking of vehicles in Gold Street by parents and the potential dangers to
children as a result. The school are considering the use of a mini bus to
collect children from outlying villages to reduce the traffic flow and are also
investigating with OCC the feasibility of a limited pedestrian walkway. The
school would support any proposal to re-designate the slip road into Gold Street
from the Haseley Road for pedestrians and cyclists.
07/02/07
Youth Shelter
Mr Stuart McGill stated that he had not managed to progress this item
since the last meeting.
(Action
Mr Stuart McGill)
08/02/07
Recreation Ground
Mr
Mark Willis reported that the current contractor that cuts the recreation Ground
has agreed to hold his prices for 2007-08. The Recreation Ground Committee will
seek other quotes and report back to the Council. Mr Willis will also get a
quote for cutting the village green adjacent to the Post Office as this may be a
requirement if it is registered as a Village Green.
09/02/07
Finance
The Council approved the following
expenditure:
Colourplus
February 2007
£185.03
Mark Willis
Repairs to play area
£11.12
Westwood Meters
& Timers Tokens
£30.55
The Chairman informed the meeting that a further instalment of £1,869.00
in respect of the loan from the Public Loans Board would be charged to the
Council on March 1st 2007. He also stated that SODC had confirmed that the
precept was £10,000 for 2007-08.
The
Parish Council agreed to make a donation to The Junior Citizens Trust of £50.00
under section 137. The Council decided not to support Farming & Wildlife
Advisory Group.
The
application for a donation from Home-Start Southern Oxfordshire was deferred
until the April meeting as the Council had already make a contribution in
2006-07. The application from Oxfordshire Carers’ Forum was deferred until the
March meeting to allow the Clerk to make enquiries into its relationship with
South & Vale Carers as this body is supported by the Council.
The
Chairman informed the meeting that the Audit Commission had appointed BDO Stoy
Hayward for 2006/07 pending a further competition in which tenders will be
invited for appointment as auditors, on a county wide basis.
The
Parish Council re-appointed Mr R F Summers and Mr George Inge as trustees of the
Grayson and Griffiths Trust for a further four year term
10/02/07
Planning
P07/W0074: Revelmead; Erection of 3 bay oak framed garages
The Council recommended approval of this planning application.
P07/W0073: Revelmead; Creation of family room within existing barn and
conservatory
The Council recommended approval of this planning application.
P07/W0060: Brooklands; Dormers to first floor and replace kitchen
window with bi-fold doors
The Council recommended approval of this
planning application.
P06/W1165:
Change of use from agricultural land to create an extension of residential
curtilage
This
application has been granted planning permission by SODC but subject to the
withdrawal of General Permitted Development unless planning permission has first
been granted.
11/02/07
Correspondence
SODC – Change of House name
The
Council noted the house name change of Brookside, Haseley Road to Brookside
Cottage.
SANE
The
Chairman invited any member of the Council to attend the Annual General Meeting
on Saturday 21 April 2007.
NALC
– Review of Quality Town and Parish Council Scheme
The
Council agreed to defer this item until the March meeting so that a full
discussion can take place on the relevance of the Quality Town and Parish
Council Scheme for Little Milton Parish Council. (Action
Clerk)
SODC
– Additions to garden waste scheme
The
Chairman outlined the details that had been received from SODC and requested
that the relevant information was included in the Newsletter. (Action Clerk)
Communities
and Local Government – Revised Model Code of Conduct
It
was agreed to circulate the consultation paper on The Revised Model Code of
Conduct and members were asked to append any comments to allow the Clerk to make
any response. (Action All)
OCC
– Minerals and Waste Core Strategy
It
was agreed to circulate the consultation paper on Minerals and Waste Core
Strategy and members were asked to append any comments to allow the Clerk to
make any response. (Action All)
SODC
– Distribution of Travel Tokens
The
Council noted the proposed way of distributing travel tokens through the
National Transport Tokens Ltd rather than by a Mrs Mabel Wood. This item
prompted a discussion on the top-up tokens of £5 that the Parish Council has
given to those persons in receipt of travel tokens issued by SODC. As tokens are
only available to persons over 70 years old, the disabled, including children
aged 15 years and below; and the necessary travel companions and there was a
very low uptake if any since April 2006; the Council agreed to withdraw the £5
top-up tokens for 2007-08. The Clerk was asked to include a suitable note in the
Newsletter. (Action Clerk)
12/02/07 Village
Hall
The Chairman reported that the screen for the Cinema Club was now installed and that the cloakrooms had been re-decorated as the initial paintwork was not adequate. He also reported that a table trolley had been ordered.
13/02/07
Village Shop/Post Office
Mr
Stuart McGill reported that a further quote had been received for the proposed
extension to the Village Hall that was £30,000 than the quote from Pinelog
although this quote did not include certain costs that were included in the
Pinelog quote. This matter is ongoing.
14/02/07
Any Other Business
Mr
Barry Coward asked the Clerk to clarify when the Councillor’s term of office
ended in respect of the forthcoming election in May 2007. (Action
Clerk)
15/02/07
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday
14th March 2007 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 9.40 p.m.
Parish Forum
Mr David
Turner in formed the meeting that OCC was proposing to implement a 50 mph Speed limit on the A329 between Milton Common and Thame.