DRAFT Minutes of Chadlington Parish Council Meeting in Chadlington Memorial Hall on Monday 9 January 2017 (Start 7.34pm, Finish 8.57pm).
Present
Councillors Howard Rowley (Chair), Tony Allan (Vice-Chair), Zoe Townsend, Brian Hamblin, Monty Phillips, Gill Hill (Clerk). Two members of the public were also in attendance.
Apologies
1 Cllr Liz Woolcock. Apologies from Cllr Rodney Rose and Cllr Neil Owen were received the following day due to a communications misunderstanding.
Declaration of Interests
2 No interests in items on the agenda were declared
Previous Minutes
3 The minutes of the previous meeting on 14 November 2016 were approved and signed.
Approved and signed
Matters Arising
4 Speeding data boxes – OCC Highways provided three speeding data boxes and data was
collected over a period of one week. The results proved difficult to understand. M Phillips has
contacted Nigel Clarke at OCC Highways for a summary. H Rowley commented that traffic
entered the village at speed. He questioned how results compared to other villages. B Hamblin
said main speeding occurred early around 2 am. The question was raised as to how accurate
were the data boxes. Action: M Phillips to follow up. Agenda item next meeting
5 Overgrown hedge at 8 The Stocks – Martin Woolcock very kindly offered to cut back the hedge
provided he was authorised by the Parish Council. Action: Clerk to send authorisation
6 Eversley Close and hedge boundary ownership Agenda item next meeting
Public Participation
7 Nicky Lloyd reported that the problem with SSE and power cuts had been solved. It was caused
by corroded cables which burst into flames when an engineer checked it. B Hamblin had met
with SSE and had been informed that when they find faults it took 2 to 3 weeks to fix it. A report
from SSE has been requested. . Agenda item for next meeting
District & County Councillor Reports
8 These were not available
Communication
9 Correspondence – see Annex 1 for full details
Website – Nicky Lloyd made a recommendation that residents should be encouraged to register
on the website ‘Get Village News & Updates’ to receive information by email. All documents for
the website can be added by Nicky except for the Parish Council section. The website needed
updating with new Clerk’s contact details. Action: Clerk to handle
Land Issues
10 Planning applications – Applications made: 16/04004/FUL The Gables, West End. Conversion
of outbuilding to one dwelling and one dwelling with associated works. To include provision for
parking for shop customers. 16/04146/FUL Galleypot Farm Bungalow, Old London Rd.,
demolition of existing dwelling and the erection of one replacement dwelling and car port.
H Rowley requested that hard copies of planning applications be marked OK or not.
Applications approved: 16/03514/HHD 8 Orchard Cottages, Chipping Norton Rd., widening of
vehicle access.
11 Allotments – Eversley Close hedge maintenance and padlocked gate. Leave for time being as
responsibility is in dispute between OCC and Housing Association.
Request to erect a shed on an allotment. According to the Minutes of 10 November 2014 ‘one
shed and one greenhouse (each to be a maximum of 12’x 6’) should be the maximum structures
on any plot’.
Finance
12 Income – none
13 Expenditure approvals requested:
Standing order (monthly) Clerk’s salary £250.82 for January & February 2017
C No. 100151 M Smith, contribution to website running costs, £120.00,
C No. 100152 Zurich Insurance £597.44,
C No. 100153 CPRE, £36.00 subscription,
C No. 100154 G Hill Clerk’s Expenses Norton Antivirus £29.99 All approved & chqs signed
14 Bank reconciliation as at 30 November 2016: Opening balance 1 April 2016, £16,280.00; income
to 30 November 2016, £10,227.00; expenditure to 30 November 2016, £5,980.00. Closing
balance £20,527.00. Approved & signed
15 Bank statement verified by H Rowley
16 Clerk’s hours approved – December – 28 hours Approved & signed
17 Risk Review & Asset Register annual review report for 2016 – H Rowley to be done in next 6
weeks.
18 Playground – S Silman new playbark quotation – not available. Clerk to action
19 Consideration of requests for donations or membership – Citizens Advice Bureau West
Oxfordshire donation of £50; Volunteer Link-Up donation of £50; CPRE subscription £36.00
Approved for payment
Other Issues
20 Memorial Hall update – In the absence of Liz Woolcock, Howard Rowley was able to provide the
following report:
Firstly, update on work in progress:
- Activity of volunteers: this is a committed team of exceptional people giving up valuable time as they balance families, proper jobs and this demanding project
- Communications: an important communications event is planned for Sunday March 5th, a critical piece of work to get community responses and buy in to the potential future shape of the Memorial Hall
- Grant Aid: an initial piece of grant aid has been applied for to cover start-up costs; an outcome is expected in late January
- Best Practice: team members have been conducting background research to build up a fund of ideas around best practices in running community halls/etc
- Recruiting extra volunteers: a Treasurer is needed urgently; lots of potential candidates have been approached with limited positive response; an advert is in preparation.
- Getting core user commitments: much valuable work has been done to move future key users of the Hall to produce firm commitments that can be used in the Business Plan.
Secondly points arising:
- Bank Account: H Rowley will contact HSBC Bank to set up a separate bank account to handle Development funds quite separately from CPC funds. The CPC unanimously approved it should be called ‘Chadlington Parish Council (Memorial Hall Development Project) Account’
- Website: although work has been done to publish the Comms event in the Parish Magazine, there was nothing to report vis a vis the website. Monty agreed to follow up on this separately.
Thirdly key points of feedback from the full CPC:
- Focus: in future we need tighter, less ambitious agendas for the Steering Group, to get better results. For example the next agenda needs to focus on the Comms event to ensure we get the very best outcomes
- Communications event: this should include something which is more visual, viz ‘this is what it might look like’. Brian agreed to produce a separate email to cover this.
21 Freedom of Information review – Tony Allan
The Parish Council must provide a copy of the Freedom of Information Act on the website
Action Clerk to handle
22 Pensions Regulator- Clerk’s decision to opt out of the pension scheme had been confirmed by
letter.
Information Exchange
23 M Phillips commented on the lack of response from Thames Water when he needed them.
24 T Allan suggested that with the development going on at Curdle Hill a careful eye should be
kept on the footpath that runs through the property. Action Clerk to write to OCC to make sure
that the footpath would not be compromised.
Date of next meeting to be held on Monday 13 March 2017 at 7:30 pm
…………………………………………………………………………..Gill Hill, Clerk to Chadlington Parish Council,
2 January 2017
All agendas, papers & draft minutes of Chadlington Parish Council meetings can be found at www.chadlington.com. You can also sign up for email updates on this village website.
VILLAGE DIARY
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Annex 1
Correspondence details
Oxfordshire County Council
- Wychwood Project email advising Clerk that CPC will now receive regular updates on the project.
- A Tremlett email regarding article in the Parish Magazine about hedges and responsibilities of OCC and home owners.
- OCC-Highways Speed Camera results which were difficult to understand and needed to know where to send the invoice.
West Oxfordshire District Council
- Planning Dept emails: C Hargraves email re draft Local Plan consultation
- M Downton email thanking Clerk for copy of updated CPC Emergency Plan
- Press Dept emails re: Local Plan consultation from 11 Nov- 23 December
- Local Charities Day – West Oxfordshire charities being invited to boost their profile and bank balances by signing up to a government initiative. Charities are encouraged to register for fundraising opportunities in a bid to gain more public backing. This was forwarded on to Diane Bunney who the local Good Neighbours scheme.
Miscellaneous
- G Hill emails re: querying CPC meeting schedule as posted on website; OALC minute taking training for Clerks and it clashing with a previous appointment; preferred phone numbers for public use when new Clerk to CPC
- Treetech Ben Southall email of quote for removal of playground tree. Clerk has advised quote is for the wrong tree
- CPRE email re national update; Autumn newsletter; request for subscription renewal from 21 Jan 2017
- K Mitchell email monthly playground inspection reports
- Playsafety T Cheshire email advising of new office address after Clerk had posted off cheque
- J Turner email expressing interest in applying for the position of Clerk
- SSE H Vass emails offering to drop off leaflets on support when there are power cuts for vulnerable residents to be distributed to D Bunney and through Good Neighbours scheme
- Treetech B Southall email re misunderstanding about tree species felling to quote for and suggesting a site drawing may help eliminate potential confusion in any future tree maintenance requirements
- Complete Weed Control W Pryse email to acknowledge Clerk moving on and new Clerk starting in December, and to thank her for her work with him over the last few years, saying it’s always a pleasure to work in such a beautiful village as Chadlington.
- N Lloyd email asking for some information about Gill Hilll as new CPC Clerk to go on the village website
- Zurich Insurance with new quote for PC renewal for 2017-18 £597.44
- HSBC Bank Statement for November 2016 approval
- Letter from HSBC advising that change of address for statements cannot be made unless it is signed in accordance with signing instructions
- Memorial Hall filing cabinet lock combination
- OALC Year End Accounts – courses available
- Memorial Hall development situation and financial situation
- BT Payphone= Further consultation running until 5pm on 9 January 2017
- Chadlington Parish Council article for the next issue of the Parish Magazine.
- Thank you from the Chairman to Keith Mitchell for his excellent work with the playground which was invaluable and very much appreciated.