Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 13th February 2008
Present:
Cllr.
Cllr.
Barry Coward
Cllr. Mabel Wood
Cllr. Tim Robinson
Cllr. Alison Shelton
Cllr. David Wakeling
Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
There
was one member of the public present (part meeting)
01/02/08
Apologies for Absence:
Mr
John Nowell Smith (District Councillor),
Mr
02/02/08
Declaration of any personal or
prejudicial interests of members
Cllr.
03/02/08
Approval of Minutes
The
Parish Council RESOLVED that the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting, held on 9th
January 2008 as a true record of the meeting and the Chairman signed them.
04/02/08
Matters Arising.
The
Clerk reported that he had been assured by
Landscaping
of entrances to the village
The
Chairman invited Mr Steve Relton, a local resident; to address the Council on
his views as to what steps could be taken to improve the landscaping within the
village. He stated that there was a need to treat the nettles as that would have
an immediate effect. The Council RESOLVED
that the clerk would raise the matter with
Quality
Parish Council Status
The
Clerk informed the meeting that he had a meeting with Mr Brian Spragg of OALC
and that there were a few issues around communications that required to be
addressed before the final submission of the Councils application for Quality
Parish Council Status. The Clerk stated that a further meeting had been
provisionally arranged in June to review the Councils application.
Village
Green adjacent to Post Office
The
Council RESOLVED to accept a quotation of £865.80 from Mr John Riddy to
delineate the village green using a number of treated timber posts and
galvanised chain.
05/02/08
Youth Facilities
There
was no information reported under this item.
06/02/08
Recreation Ground
The
Chairman informed the meeting that Mr Peter Ilbury had started his work on the
recreation ground to restrict the level of mole activity and that he had managed
to trap a number of moles. Unfortunately a number of traps had been sprung
inadvertently by local residents.
The Council RESOLVED to accept the quotation of £48.28 per cut (excluding VAT) from Enterprise plc, formerly Isis Accord. The new charge reflected a 2.5½ increase on the previous year but still reflected excellent value for money.
07/02/08
Finance
The Council RESOLVED
that the following expenditure should be paid:
Spadework UK Ltd Playground repair
£55.81
Colourplus February Newsletter 2008
£207.73
Colourplus envelopes + binding of portfolio work for Quality Parish
Clerk
£23.50
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:-
The Chairman informed the meeting that Bentley Productions Ltd had made a
contribution of £150 to the Parish
Council as a gesture of goodwill as their production team will be working in the
village in the near future.
The Council noted that the next instalment of £1,818 84 in respect of
the Fixed Rate Loan repayment to the Public Loans Board was due on 1 March 2008.
The Chairman read out a letter from the Audit Commission that they
propose to appoint BDO Stoy Hayward LLP as external auditor to Little Milton
Parish for a five year period commencing with the
2007/08 accounts.
The Council noted a letter from SODC confirming the precept of £10,000
for 2008/09.
The Chairman read out a letter from Colourplus that due to increasing
costs they had found it necessary to increase their prices by 5% from February 2008.
08/02/08
Planning
P08/W0054:
5 Chiltern View: Convert part of garage to study
The Council RESOLVED that this
planning application should be approved by
P08/W0077 /76LB:
The Council RESOLVED that
these planning applications should be approved by
P07/W1427:
The Council RESOLVED that this
planning application should be approved by
P07/W1422/RET:
The Council note that planning permission had been refused by South
Oxfordshire District Council as the development failed in terms of its highway
safety within the wider transport net work and is not in
accordance with Policy T1 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan.
P07/W1429:
The
Council note that planning permission had been granted by South Oxfordshire
District Council
09/02/08
Correspondence
The Chairman informed the meeting of a Code of Conduct training session
organised by SODC on Thursday 10
April 2008 in
The
Chairman informed the meeting of a number of training courses for Councillors
and Clerks during the next six months. The Clerk stated that he would circulate
the details around Council members.
10/02/08
Village
Hall
The
Chairman informed the Council of a letter received from The Little Milton
Village Hall management committee in which it requested permission to extend the
village hall to accommodate a village shop and Post Office as well as to sub-let
the planned extension to an Independent Provident Society. The Council RESOLVED
to grant permission to Little Milton Village Hall Management Committee and
the Clerk will send the necessary letter.
The
Chairman explained that the survey conducted into the commitment to the extended
village hall and its use was widely supported by the village. However at the
appropriate time there was need to have that commitment endorsed. The meeting
planned by the IPS would provide a suitable platform for that to take place. As
the project gained momentum the Council RESOLVED
to maintain close links with all aspects of the project so that it was fully
aware of the risks and opportunities that the project had and were best placed
to assess it before any decision of financial support was made.
The
Chairman informed the meeting that the shop steering group had identified the
need to widen the entrance area to the car park to allow two cars to pass each
other. This would necessitate a change to the existing barrier arrangement. The
group had also identified the need to provide a pathway around the side of the
car park leading up to the hall for use by pedestrians. The Clerk requested that
a cost of the proposals should be obtained.
The
Chairman stated that he would circulate a copy of the latest cash flow
projections for the shop project to Council members.
11/02/08
Village Shop/Post Office
The
Chairman informed the meeting of the 22 branches that Post Office Ltd had
earmarked for closure. He was delighted to report that it did not include Little
Milton.
12/02/08
Exchange of Information
Cllr. David Wakeling reported that graffiti had appeared on the telephone
box and he agreed to report the matter to
the police.
13/02/08
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday
12th March 2008 at 8.00 p.m. in The Pine Lodge Little
The
meeting finished at 10.21p.m.
Parish Forum
There were no matters
raised
Signed
by
Chairman
Date