Parish Council Minutes

Little Milton Parish Council

Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 11th Apr 2007

in Pine Lodge, Little Milton

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)

Three members of the public

01/04/07 Apologies for Absence: Mr Tim Robinson

02/04/07 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 Post Office agenda item.

03/04/07 Approval of Minutes

The Parish Council approved the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 14th March 2007 as a true record of the meeting and the Chairman signed them.

04/04/07 Matters Arising.

OCC Highways

Mr David Turner reported that he had received an update from Mr Peter Ronald of OCC Highways on the highway matters currently in progress for Little Milton. A summary of the outstanding items is as follows:-

To carry a speed survey/traffic count outside Willowbrook Cottage – the survey has been commissioned

To mark the road with a Slow marking as well as a red circled 30 marking – the work has been ordered

Subject to ownership cut back any overhanging vegetation that restricts the visibility of the 30 mph signs as you approach the road from Rofford – although there was no specific comment made at the meeting it is believed that this item is being progressed

Speed survey adjacent to Doctor’s House on the High Street – this should take place later this month

Repairs to areas surrounding drains on the High Street, opposite the Lamb and the Haseley Road – the drain opposite the Lamb has been marked out for repair but as yet there has been no progress made on the drain on the Haseley Road

Slip road from Haseley Road into Gold Street – the preliminary cost of installing the appropriate posts is £4,000. A fuller report is awaited from Mr Peter Ronald.

Mr David Turner also informed the meeting that a survey of HGV traffic movements along the A329 and related roads will take place during the first week of June.

Quality Town & Parish Council Scheme

The Clerk reported that he had made enquiries with OALC and that there would be a cost of £70 for registration for the Certificate in Local Council Administration. Part of this cost could be recovered through a grant scheme that is applicable to smaller Councils. The Council agreed to fund the registration fee of £70.

05/04/07 Foul drainage system at Cremar Cottages

The Clerk reported that he had received a favourable response from the majority of the interested parties in respect of the foul drainage system behind Cremar Cottages and its link across into Old Field. This included SOHA Housing who had agreed to contribute 50% of the quoted cost supplied by OPC. Mr Anthony Hooper offered himself as the lead person for Cremar Cottages and would recover the share of the cost for all the interested parties other than SOHA. This made it easier to move forward and the Parish Council thanked him for this offer. It was agreed that the Clerk would send a letter to the interested parties and inform OPC of the payment arrangements. (Action Clerk)

06/04/07 A329 Advisory Group

The Committee has not met since the last Council meeting.

07/04/07 Youth Shelter

The Chairman reported that a questionnaire had been distributed round the Village. The Clerk informed the meeting that he had produced some preliminary results from those forms that had been completed. A summary of the results is as follows:-

Forms returned to date 47 (24%)

Individual residents included on forms 98

Females 55

Males 43

Approval of the principle of a youth shelter 48%

Disapproval of the principle of a youth shelter 45%

Unsure 7%

Should Parish Council investigate CCTV camera around Village Hall

        Agree 71%

   Disagree 20%

       Unsure 9%

Use of shelter by teenagers

Yes 2

No 9

No Response 2

The Clerk commented upon the quality of the written comments made by residents in support of their responses. It was agreed that an attempt should be made to categorise the responses before any further work is undertaken on this project. (Action Clerk)

08/04/07 Recreation Ground

The Chairman reported that the recreation ground committee had not yet managed to obtain a further quote for the installation of an additional gate for the MUGA. (Action Mr Stuart McGill)

The Clerk informed the meeting that he had instructed ROSPA to include the MUGA in the annual inspection of the recreation ground facilities. This was important as part of the Council’s risk assessment

The Chairman informed the meeting that the Council had accepted the quotation from Isis Accord in respect of the grass cutting for the Recreation Ground at a cost of £753.65 for 16 cuts.

09/04/07 Finance

The Council approved the following expenditure:

Colourplus April Newsletter 2007 £211.21

Annual subscription to OALC £122.79

Allianz Cornhill – renewal of insurance premium £694.26

Little Milton Village Hall – recharge of electricity re MUGA £162.71

The Council resolved that in accordance with its powers under Section 137 of the LGA 1972 to incur the following expenditure which in the opinion of Little Milton Parish Council is in the interests of the area or the inhabitants and will benefit them in a manner commensurate with the expenditure:-

CPRE membership renewal £27.00

Home-Start Southern Oxfordshire – donation £25.00

The Council discussed a proposal from Smith of Derby that offered a discount on the future cost of services for up to a maximum period of five years if the payment was made in advance. There was a degree of confusion as to the specific terms of the offer and it was agreed that the Clerk would seek clarification and report back at the next Council meeting. (Action Clerk)

10/04/07 Planning

P07/W0060: Brooklands; Dormers to first floor and replace kitchen window with bi-fold doors

This planning application has been approved by South Oxfordshire District Council

P07/W0074 :Revelmead erection of oak framed 3 bay garage

This planning application has been approved by South Oxfordshire District Council

P06/W0226: Vehicular access to land adjacent to Plough House

The Chairman informed the meeting that The Planning Inspectorate had upheld the appeal made by Mr Cook against the decision of South Oxfordshire District Council who refused permission to create a new vehicular access.

P07/W0054 & P07/W0065/LB: The Lamb Inn, High Street

The Council noted the additional plans that had been submitted for The Lamb Inn. The Chairman invited the manager of the Lamb Inn to address the Council with his concerns about the Council’s decision to recommend refusal of the applications at its March Council meeting. The Chairman referred to the supporting letter that was sent to the District Council in which it clearly stated the Council’s support for the proposals and that the recommended refusal was a tactic to address the Council’s concerns about some of the materials that were proposed for the extension. The Council also highlighted the fact that there had been no representation from the applicants at the meeting and therefore the Council could not seek any clarification at the meeting. The Clerk stated that he had sent an additional letter to the District Council emphasising the Council’s support and requesting that this position was taken into consideration before any decision was made by the planners. The latest information from the District Council on the applications would suggest that the plans will be withdrawn by Punch Taverns and that a meeting will take place between the District Council planning officers and the agents of Punch Taverns to establish a satisfactory scheme that will meet the needs of all parties.

P07/W0274: Lark Rise Blenheim Lane; single storey extension and conversion of garage into dining room and construction of new garage

The Council recommended that this application should be approved by South Oxfordshire District Council.

11/04/07 Correspondence

The Chairman informed the meeting of the CPRE Annual meeting on April 19 2007 at Holton.

12/04/07 Village Hall

The Chairman gave a brief resume of recent activities and in particular the programme of the Cinema Club where attendances had been disappointing.

13/04/07 Village Shop/Post Office

The Chairman reported that a grant application had been made to South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) for £88,000 in respect of the project. This represented about 50% of the total cost. The committee were also investigating the availability of a revenue grant from SODC. The Chairman also reported that progress had also been made on the grant application with the Lotteries Board. The Clerk emphasised the need to have transparency on the composition of the capital plans as the Parish Council could only give financial support for the extension to the village hall.

The Clerk requested that a formal letter should be sent by the Village Hall Committee to the Parish Council requesting permission to extend the hall. (Action Mr Stuart McGill)

14/04/07 Any Other Business

The Clerk informed the meeting that he had received some revisions to the recommended Contract of Employment issued by the National Association of Councils. This matter will be considered after the election of the new Council.

The Clerk reported that Mr Mark Willis had made preliminary enquiries with the Crime Prevention Team with a view to resurrecting the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme within the Village.

15/04/07 Date of Next Meeting

The Parish Council will meet on Wednesday 9th May 2007 at 8.15 p.m. in The Pine Lodge Little Milton unless there is a need to convene any planning or other meetings. The ordinary meeting of the Parish Council will follow the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council at which the Chairman is elected.

The meeting finished at 9.50 p.m.

Parish Forum

There were no matters raised