Parish Council Minutes

Little Milton Parish Council

Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 9th April  2008

in Pine Lodge, Little Milton 

 

Present:                                                   

                                                                Cllr. Stuart McGill (Chairman)

                                                                Cllr. Barry Coward

                                                                Cllr. Mabel Wood

                                                                Cllr. Alison Shelton

                                                                Cllr. David Wakeling

                                                                Cllr. Tim Robinson

                                                                Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)

 

                                                                Cllr. John Nowell-Smith (District Councillor)

 

                                                                There were no members of the public present.

 

01/04/08     Apologies for Absence:      Mr David Turner ( County Councillor )

 

02/04/08     Declaration of any personal or prejudicial interests of members

 

                    The following interests were declared by Council members

                    Cllr. Stuart McGill -              a personal interest in the Village Hall and shop related matters

                    Cllr. Alison Shelton-            a personal interest in shop related matters and agenda item re tree in recreation ground  

                    Cllr. Mabel Wood-               a personal interest in Village Hall related matters

                    Cllr. Barry Coward -             a personal interest in the Village Hall and shop related matters

 

 

03/04/08     Approval of Minutes

 

The Parish Council RESOLVED that the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting, held on 12th March 2008 as a true record of the meeting and the Chairman signed them subject to an amendment to record the attendance of District Councillor John Nowell-Smith

 

04/04/08     Matters Arising.

 

OCC Highways & related matters

The Clerk reported that he had spoken with OCC Highways on the outstanding matters in respect of the water on the Haseley Road and the various pot holes around the village and had been informed that the work was scheduled although it had not yet been started. The Clerk could not give the Council a starting date but stated that he would continue to liaise with OCC Highways .

 

Landscaping of entrances to the village

The Council RESOLVED that the Clerk should invite Mr Steve Relton to give an estimated cost to spray the nettles.

 

Delineation of Village Green

The Clerk informed the meeting that he had spoken to SODC in respect of the refuse vehicles that access the area around the village green. As a result SODC will carry out a site visit to establish the exact routing to avoid any problems after the green has been delineated.

 

Planting of memorial tree in recreation ground

The Council RESOLVED to grant permission to have a tree planted in the recreation ground in memory of Gareth Bonner. It was agreed that details of the species and its exact location would be given to the Council prior to any planting.

 

05/04/08     Youth Facilities

                   

The Clerk informed the meeting that he had been unable to confirm the funding arrangements for the provisional visit of Active TEN20 on May 30th. He also stated that he was trying to obtain an appropriate flyer for the Newsletter.

 

06/04/08     Recreation Ground

                   

The Clerk reported that the grass cutting programme for 2008-09 had started and that the work carried out by Peter Ilbury on the moles had been stopped to avoid any damage to the mole traps. The Council RESOLVED that the Clerk would liaise with Peter Ilbury to determine an appropriate course of action on any future mole activity.

 

The Clerk informed the meeting that there was a piece of equipment in the play-area that required to be repaired. The repair had failed to be completed by Spadework UK but Mark Willis was actively pursuing other possible solutions. The Clerk was asked to investigate the possibility of recovering the damage through the Council’s insurers.

 

There was a brief discussion on an alternative surface for the play-area but the Council RESOLVED to put this matter on hold until the extension to the Village Hall was completed.

 

07/04/08     Finance

 

                    The Council RESOLVED that the following expenditure should be paid:

                                   

                                    Colourplus – April newsletter                                                                                     £246.24

                                    Little Milton Village Hall – recharge of electricity re MUGA                                           £142.63

                                    Allianz – Council insurances June 2008- May 2009                                                       £723.59

                                    Lee & Pembertons – rent re Post Office qtr to June 30 2008                                             £75.00  

 

                    The Council RESOLVED to review the need to continue the ownership of the existing mower as it was covered an insurable item within the current policy.

                                   

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 – annual membership                                                                                                      £50.00

                                    Home-Start Southern Oxfordshire                                                                                      £25.00

                   

                    The Chairman informed the meeting that the Annual Return for 2007-08 had to be completed and returned to BDO Stoy Hayward by 4th July 2008. The Clerk stated that that there were a number of requirements in respect of local electors that required to be complied with.

                   

                    The Council RESOLVED to adopt the Risk Assessment for 2007-08 that was presented by the Clerk and a copy was given to each Council member.

 

08/04/08     Planning

 

                    P08/W0076LB & P08/W0077: Brookside Cottage Haseley Road : Demolition of existing conservatory & replacement cloakroom with sun room.

          The Council noted that planning permission had been refused by South Oxfordshire District Council.

 

                    P08/W0323: 6 Cremar Cottages: Thame Road : Proposed two story rear extension with side extension incorporating integral garage.

          The Council RESOLVED that this planning application should be approved by South Oxfordshire District Council

 

                    Land adjacent to the Plough

                    The Clerk informed the meeting that he had spoken with SODC in respect of the planning conditions   imposed by the inspector on the approval of the agricultural entrance on land adjacent to the Plough. This was in response from an enquiry by a local resident who was concerned at the lack of landscaping on the newly created bank. This matter will be reviewed by SODC as to whether the planning condition in respect of landscaping has been complied with.

09/04/08     Correspondence

 

ORCC: Calor Oxfordshire Village of the Year

The Council RESOLVED not to enter the competition this year due to the major activity in respect of the extension to the Village Hall and the re-location of the Post Office & Shop.

 

OCC: Letter from Leader of Oxfordshire County Council

The Chairman read out extracts of the letter received from the Chairman of Oxfordshire County Council. This was the first letter of a new means of communication between the County Council and the first tier of Local Government. The topics included in the letter were Post Office Closures; Changes in Planning Laws; Primary School Review and School attainment.

 

DVLA: Confirmation of SORN

The Chairman informed that the Council had a SORN (Statutory off Road Notification) in respect of the Wheelhorse lawnmower.

 

SODC: Tree Warden’s meeting

The Council RESOLVED to express an interest in the Tree Warden meeting being organised by SODC and to seek, through the Newsletter, a volunteer who would be the village tree warden.

 

SODC: Concessionary Fares Update

The Chairman read out a letter from SODC informing the Council that although 12,500 residents in South Oxfordshire had received their new national bus pass there were unfortunately 1,000 requested bus passes that would not be issued by April 1st. Those residents who are affected have been informed

 

10/04/08     Extension to Village Hall

 

                    The Chairman updated the meeting on the status of the funding in respect of the extension to the hall and shop project. He confirmed the refusal of funding for £32,000 from WREN. He informed the meeting that a donation of £30,000 had been made by Mr & Mrs J Mogford towards the project. He also stated that ESME Fairbairn had agreed to a grant of £20,000 with a minimum loan of £20,000 available. Further grants of £15,000 and £7,500 had been applied for to Lankelly Chase and OCC respectively. A further grant of £7,500 was in the process of being prepared for submission to Awards for All.

 

                    The Chairman stated that there was a possibility that the extension to the Village Hall would not attract VAT as it was a self contained annexe and that the latest funding statement assumed this position.  However he expressed the view that the Parish Council should investigate the possibility of recovering                       the VAT if they funded the extension. This was a possible alternative way to eliminate the impact of VAT on the building within the project. The Council RESOLVED that the clerk should investigate the proposal so that the Council could understand the implications on the Council’s finances and whether the proposal was within its legal powers and review its position at a future meeting.

 

                    The Chairman circulated a draft questionnaire that would be distributed to each household for completion. There was a slight concern that it did not appear to allow each member of the household to express an individual view.

 

                    Cllr Barry Coward updated the meeting on the progress being made within the Shop Liaison Group. He highlighted the concerns from the Chairman of the Village Hall that a peppercorn rent may not be applicable to the shop and this was supported by legal advice that the Charity had received. The matter was being pursued with the Charity Commission. He also informed the meeting that the Liaison Group had discussed the car park requirements and that the Shop Steering Group needed to produce a specification for the Council to consider. Cllr Tim Robinson suggested that the future car park                              expenditure should be factored in to the Council’s Three Year Cash Projections.

 

11/04/08     Exchange of Information

 

There were no matters raised under this agenda item.

12/04/08    Date of Next Meeting

 

The Parish Council will meet on Wednesday 14th May 2008 at 8.15 p.m. in The Pine Lodge Little Milton unless there is a need to convene any planning or other meetings. This will be the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council and it will be preceded by the Annual Parish Meeting at 7.00 p.m.

 

The meeting finished at 9.55 p.m.

 

Parish Forum

 

                There were no matters raised under this agenda item

Signed by Chairman…………………………………………………Date