Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 14th Mar 2007
Present:
Mr Stuart McGill (Chairman)
Mr Simon Oddie (Vice Chair)
Mrs Mabel Wood
Mrs Alison Shelton
Mr Barry Coward
Mr Tim Robinson
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
Mr
David Turner (County Councillor)
Mr
John Nowell-Smith (District Council
Member)
Four members of the public
01/03/07
Apologies for Absence: None
02/03/07
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
personal interest in the Planning application P07/W0060
03/03/07
Approval of Minutes
The
Parish Council approved the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 14th
February 2007 as a true record of the meeting and the Chairman signed them.
04/03/07
Matters Arising.
OCC Highways
The
Clerk reported that he had attended a meeting with Mr David Turner and Mr Peter
Ronald of OCC Highways in respect of the slip road between the Haseley Road and
Gold Street on Tuesday 13 March 2007. The initial response was that any change
to its current status could not be justified in financial terms although there
was a recognition that there was a potential danger to pedestrians. Mr Ronald
also reported that consideration had been given to such a change by the Travel
Plan to School initiative and a decision had been taken not to pursue it.
However Mr Ronald agreed to take the matter forward as the Parish Council was
keen to address the potential danger. The Council agreed that it would make a
financial contribution to the project if it was progressed. The Clerk stated
that it was unlikely that the project would be progressed in 2007 – 08 as the
programme had already been agreed.
The attendees of the meeting were joined by Mr Mark Willis. As a result
of a concern raised by a resident on the
Haseley Road the meeting discussed the options available to help reduce the
speed into the village from Rofford. The
action points agreed were:
§
To carry
a speed survey/traffic count outside Willowbrook Cottage
§
To mark
the road with a Slow marking as well as a red circled 30 marking
§
Subject
to ownership cut back any overhanging vegetation that restricts the visibility
of the 30 mph signs as you approach the road from Rofford
The Council agreed that the speed survey in the High Street should be
conducted outside the Doctors House. This had been agreed at an earlier meeting
and Mr David Turner stated that he would inform Mr
Peter Ronald of OCC.
Street Lighting adjacent to crossing at Cremar Cottages
The Clerk informed the meeting that OCC Highways had agreed to remove the
mounted light adjacent to the crossing
after consultation with their Road Safety office. There will be a review of the
decision after a year to ensure that the
decision is fully acceptable and assuming that it is the control box on the pole
will be removed.
Quality Town & Parish Council Scheme
The Council discussed the merits of applying for accreditation for
Quality status and it was agreed that with the impending election it was a
decision that the current Council felt should be deferred until the new Council
was elected in May. A key element in any application is that the Clerk must hold
a recognised qualification in Local
Council administration. The Clerk agreed that he would proceed with obtaining
the necessary qualification and that would not prejudice any decision by a
future Council in deciding to apply for Quality status. (Action Clerk)
Forthcoming
Election on May 3 2007
The Clerk issued a set of nomination papers to each member of the Council
for their use if they decided to seek
nomination. The Clerk informed the meeting that information had been included in
the March Newsletter inviting electors to seek further information on the
forthcoming election from the Clerk.There will be a more detailed timetable in
the April Newsletter.
05/03/07
Foul drainage system at Cremar
Cottages
The
Chairman invited the Clerk to update the Council since the February meeting. The
Clerk referred to the report that had been received from OPC following their
survey on Thursday 22 February 2007. The work that had been done indicated that
the drains at Cremar Cottages and in Old Field had significant amounts of debris
and this prevented OPC from carrying out a meaningful survey of the drains with
their CCTV camera. The report included a recommendation for further work to be
done. The Council agreed that the interested parties should receive a copy of
the report with a letter from the Council in which it would offer to call a
meeting in order to take the report forward. As the Council were not responsible
for the drains it considered that it should offer itself as a facilitator if the
interested parties felt it would be helpful. The Clerk indicated that the cost
of the initial survey was £210. (Action
Clerk)
06/03/07
A329 Advisory Group
Mrs
Alison Shelton had nothing to report from the A329 Committee. The Clerk
suggested that at the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council the new Council
should re-consider the terms of reference for the Committee as it had achieved
many of its original objectives and probably requires to re-focus its
activities.
07/03/07
Youth Shelter
The
Chairman referred to questionnaire that had been circulated to Council members
and invited any comments. The Clerk suggested that the format used in the recent
Local Transport Survey should be copied. The Council suggested one or two
changes and the Clerk stated that he would provide an amended questionnaire in
the new format. It was agreed that the Council members would distribute the
forms. (Action Clerk, All Councillors)
08/03/07
Recreation Ground
Mr
Mark Willis informed the meeting of the quotes in respect of the grass cutting
for the year 2007-08 that had been received from Spadework UK and Isis Accord.
The Council decided to accept the Isis Accord quotation as it was significantly
lower than Spadework UK.
The
Council considered a quotation of £1,180 for an additional gate into the rear
of the MUGA. Although there was an earlier problem with users damaging the
fencing to retrieve their ball this appeared to be no longer a problem. The
Council asked that a further quotation is received to see if the work could be
done for a lower cost as they felt that the current proposal could not be
justified. (Action Recreation Ground Committee)
Mr
Mark Willis presented a summary of the revenues and costs for 2006-07 in respect
of the recreation ground. The additional revenue in respect of the MUGA is
making a significant contribution to the cost of maintaining the recreation
ground to a higher standard than it has been in recent years.
The
Chairman read out a letter from The Orchard Pre School in which they highlighted
some concerns in respect of the car park, lack of a litter bin adjacent to the
MUGA and a hazard within the MUGA itself. The Council agreed to action the
repair of the car park and the installation of an additional litter bin. However
in respect of the MUGA the Council considered it to be unsuitable for use by the
Pre-School as the nature of the sporting activities could present more risks for
younger children due to the damage to the fencing at lower levels. The Clerk was
asked to inform The Orchard. (Action
Clerk)
09/03/07
Finance
The Council approved the following
expenditure:
Colourplus
March 2007
£232.51
Parish Clerk
(Editor)
Salary plus expenses
£2,473.55
The
Council decided not to support a financial appeal from the Oxford Carers’
Forum as it already made a donation to South & Vale Carers.
The
Council accepted the Risk Assessment and Management Schedule presented by the
Clerk but Mr Barry Coward requested that an additional copy of any material
legal documents were held by a member of the Council. The Council agreed to this
proposal. (Action Clerk)
The
Clerk informed the meeting that Mr Ian Dennis had agreed to act as Internal
Auditor for a further year.
10/03/07
Planning
P07/W0060: Brooklands; Dormers to first floor and replace kitchen
window with bi-fold doors
The
Council noted the change of description that now included the words “and
replace the first floor window with French doors and a Juliet style balcony”
P07/W0054 & P07/W0065/LB: The Lamb Inn, High Street
The
Council expressed their support for the re-submitted application and considered
that they were in broad terms acceptable. However the Council members had some
concerns about the compatibility of the materials used for the extension. The
use of slate on the roof and the rendered exterior on the extension gave rise to
most concerns.
After
careful consideration the Council decided to recommend that the applications
should be refused to enable a more considered view to be taken on the materials
that were proposed for the extension. The Council would be very happy to meet
with representatives of the Planning Department and Punch Taverns to share their
concerns. The Council believed that it is important that the materials are the
most appropriate as The Lamb will be an important feature within Little Milton
for many years to come.
11/03/07
Correspondence
OCC -
Community Safety Advisor
A
letter has been received acknowledging the Council’s donation of £50
OCC - Waste Site proposal & policies
The
Council agreed that the relevant documents should be circulated to members.
South East England Regional Authority: Regional Housing Strategy
The
Council agreed that the relevant documents should be circulated to members but
expressed their concern that it was increasingly difficult to distil the key
points of relevance for our Parish
Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment (T.O.E.)
The
Council noted the date of Annual Meeting of the Trust and recognised the support
that the Parish had received over recent years.
12/03/07 Village
Hall
The Chairman gave a brief resume of recent activities and in particular the launch of the Cinema Club.
13/03/07
Village Shop/Post Office
The
Chairman reported on the work that was being done by the Steering Group and
commented on the invaluable information that had been shared with group by the
owners of the village shop/post office at Clifton Hampden.
The
Chairman also informed the meeting that he had started the process of applying
for grants. The Clerk stated that it was important to separate the two elements
of the project as the Council could only support an extension to the Village
Hall.
14/03/07
Any Other Business
The Clerk
informed the meeting that he had received a note from Mr Tony Clark. It seems
that the person at Holton now responsible for the paths in Little Milton, Mark
Sumner, has met the landowner to discuss the problems. The landowner has agreed
to reinstate the footpath across the field south of the school and also to allow
OCC’s team to install new stiles at the present bridge location on footpath 6
and also to install another bridge on footpath 7 on the Little Milton/Stadhampton
boundary.
15/03/07
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday
11th April 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 10.20 p.m.
Parish Forum
There were
no matters raised