Minutes of the East Hanney Parish Council – 2nd November 2016
- Attending: Cllr J Trifitt (Chairman), Cllr S Scott, Cllr J Long, Cllr S McKechnie, Cllr D Kirk, Cllr
P Aram
Apologies for absence were received from District Cllr M Barber and County Cllr M Tilley.
In attendance: J Stagg (Hanney News), Carleen Roseff, Jean Smith, Kathy Ethelstan (St James Primary School) part, Janice Peacock (St James Primary School) part, Jenny Rolfe, Paul Dyer, Gillian Dyer, Jane Clark, Vicki Brenchly (resident of West Hanney), Guy Brenchly (resident of West Hanney), Marinella Johnson, Kayleigh Fewtrell-Smith and Nick Fewtrell-
Smith.
- Members Declarations of Interest.
Cllr Scott brought the Council’s attention to a potential personal interest, he stated he was ‘quite friendly’ with the proposer for P16/V2358/O. Cllr Scott indicated that he would not take
part in discussions or any vote during item 9(b).
- To confirm: The minutes of the October 2016 meeting of the Parish Council
The Council approved the minutes as a true record, proposed by Cllr Scott, seconded by Cllr
Kirk.
- To receive: Update on matters arising from the minutes not otherwise on the agenda.
Lease of extra amenity field space. The Clerk reported that the Council’s solicitor was
undertaking the required work.
Speed-watch. Cllr Kirk provided an update, noting that the most recent figures showed approximately 10% of vehicles checked were in excess of the posted speed limit, a higher figure than previously. Cllr Kirk would feed these figures to the Neighbourhood Action Group and would press for the local policing team to arrange a speed-monitoring visit. Cllr Kirk reported that the scheme still required more volunteers, anyone interested could contact the
Clerk, Cllr Kirk or the scheme coordinator (Dickon Green) directly.
Annual parish survey. The Chairman reported that the work was being undertaken by D Stubbington, a local resident who was assessing the possibility of combining the survey with West Hanney. Cllr Triffitt advised the Council that a meeting would be arranged with WHPC
to discuss this further.
Parish Council Land titles. The Chairman reported that he and the Clerk met with the villagers in question, agreed a position and the Clerk would be finalising the application to the Land
Registry in due course.
Lagan homes affordable housing appeal. The Chairman reported that whilst Lagan homes had not achieved the outcome they desired at this appeal, the Inspector ruled that a reduction
in the number of affordable homes to 10% of the total for this development should occur.
- Public Participation Period.
Jenny Rolfe reported that she had written to the Council regarding the rules and regulations applied to the playing fields, calling upon the Council to address all points she raised in her letter outside this meeting as the reply was brief. She considered that the Council had held no consultation outside their discussions in scheduled meetings of the Council, the papers for which were not easily found on the Council’s website. Mrs Rolfe noted that the first time many villagers knew of the rules was when they had been posted to Facebook. Mrs Rolfe understood that that the idea behind keeping dogs on leads was to reduce dog fouling, an issue she acknowledged was a serious problem. She suggested a number of options that she considered would better tackle the issue, including the institution of fixed penalties for offenders, as currently undertaken by the District Council. Cllr Triffitt thanked Mrs Rolfe for her
comments noting that the PC would be dealing with the matter at item 10 of the meeting.
Vicki Brenchly brought the Council’s attention to a recently published report from the Kennel
Club on the matter of dog fouling.
Kathy Ethelstan and Janice Peacock (the Chair of Governors and Head Teacher of St James school respectively) noted that the Council had raised objections to a recent planning application, which had been amended in response to those and other points made and was for discussion at that meeting of the Council. The need for school expansion to incorporate the increase in children numbers in the village was outlined and its was explained that the school had has to turn children away due to lack of space. Cllr Triffitt thanked them for their contribution, noting that the Council would be considering its response to the application at
item 9(a).
Kayleigh Fewtrell-Smith requested clarification as to which body owned the playing fields, the Clerk confirmed that the Parish Council was the owner of the playing field extending east of the line of trees. Mrs Fewtrell-Smith asked why dogs could not be walked off the lead when no sports were being played. She also noted that the northern field was less suitable for dog walking, as it was not as accessible for wheelchairs or buggies and not a well maintained field. Cllr Triffitt thanked Mrs Fewtrrell-Smith for her comments and noted that the Council would be
considering these issues at item 11.
Nick Fewtrell-Smith raised concerns regarding the security of the field immediately to the north of the playing field to prevent possible incursions from travellers, and the possible
banning of dogs from that field too if the field is to be leased by the Council.
Marinella Johnson brought the Council’s attention to the arrangements a number of local residents had with a landowner to access his fields for dog-walking to the north of Halls Lane. She further noted that with more housing coming to East Hanney, issues with dog walking
could be exacerbated with an increased population.
Carleen Roseff noted that dogs must be under control on a footpath and that a dog not on a
lead could be considered as not under control
- To receive: Reports from District and County Councillors.
In her absence, County Cllr Tilley had submitted a written report, précised for the Council by the Chairman. The report included updates on the Unitary debate for Oxfordshire, the annual report for director of public health of the OCC, an update to daytime support systems, and indicated that this report would be put on the PC website. It was also noted that applications
for school places could now be made online.
Action Clerk to put a link on the Council’s website and include the submitted report in the
papers for the meeting.
- To receive: Invoices paid since last meeting and current statement of account.
The Council noted the cost of cleaning the fields after the last traveller visit was in excess of £1650, requiring sterilisation of the play equipment and land where human and dog feaces had been deposited, the Council noted this was why restricting access to the playing fields for vehicles had been put in place. The Clerk reported that the Council had received 50% of a 50% grant (£1812) had been deposited by the District Council to help with the costs to install the new basket swing in the play area, though this had been after the date the paper had been
circulated.
The payments and receipts as presented were approved by the Council, proposed by Cllr
Aram, seconded by Cllr McKechnie.
- To consider: The Parish Council’s response to the following planning activity:
- P16/V2038/FUL – erection of a single storey classroom building and associated
landscaping at St James School, East Hanney – Amended plans.
The Chairman noted that the Council had heard from the Head Teacher and Chair of governors earlier in the meeting, commenting that the Council had supported lobbying of OCC to expand the school and that the Council was not against the expansion of the school. Cllr Kirk noted that County Cllr Tilley had been working with the Parish Council and OCC to expand the school. The Head Teacher noted that the school required the places now, from 1st September 2016, though this had been delayed. Cllr Aram noted that the Council’s intention was not to block the expansion but to get the best result for the school. In response to Cllr Aram’s concern that the plans would not allow for enough play, exercise and outdoor space for the planned number of pupils following expansion of the school, Mrs Peacock reported that Sports England had confirmed that there would enough space for outdoor facilities for the school. Cllr Kirk queried whether access as indicated on the plans was acceptable. He also asked if this was intended to resolve the drop off issue, the Head Teacher assured the Council that the access would be emergency only, with drop off areas being the same as they were currently. Cllr Kirk consulted the tabled plans and noted that this access for drop off was still
listed but for disabled access only.
The Council noted no objections and resolved that the application would be supported. Action Clerk to submit the Council’s response.
The Chairman thanked the Head Teacher and Chair of Governors for their attendance and reminded them that attendance and a report to the annual parish meeting would be welcome.
Action Clerk to advise them of the dates.
- P16/V2358/O – erection of 4 dwellings north of Willow Barn, Ebbs Lane, East Hanney.
Cllr Long opened the discussion reporting that she had consulted with the local residents, noting their strong objections to the extension of the village envelope, the possible impact to flooding with no clear effective alleviation of flooding in Ebbs Lane, the flood reduction scheme of a pond would not be effective and could be considered as an amenity that other developers could cite as protecting against flooding on any proposed development in the vicinity. She commented on the increased number of vehicles that would be using the Lane on a regular basis, affecting the safety of current road users. She considered that the planned development did not meet a local housing need, as four large expensive homes would not address the needs of the village. Cllr Long also noted that the submitted transport statement stated that people would be walking or cycling to the amenities of the village, something that in her opinion did not happen with current residents of East Hanney. She commented that the current
rural feel of the Lane should be appreciated and maintained.
Cllr Kirk noted that the proposal included building in flood zones 2 and 3, he commented that planning rules did not allow for building in flood zone 3 and that local concerns about flooding should be considered as Ebbs Lane was the lowest lying part of the village. He considered that the character of the village and more immediately the Lane would be affected with the loss of
green verges and the provision of a turning point at the end of the lane.
Cllr Aram considered that the location for the proposed development was not suitable, he noted his objections to the removal of green verges and that the extension of the village
boundary was detrimental, opening the village edge to further development.
Having heard from the Council, the Chairman called a vote, which unanimously supported objecting to the proposal on the grounds of building in flood zone 3, detrimental affects on the Lane with the destruction of some green verges and the provision of a turning circle and the extension of the village boundary affecting the character of the village and that locality
specifically.
Action Clerk to submit the objections as outlined by the Council.
- To consider: Repair of the ‘tower slide’.
Clerk introduced the item for the Council, reporting that a small number of playground users had raised the issue with him. The Council considered the cost of retro-fitting a new support to be prohibitive, proposed by Cllr Aram seconded by Cllr Long. Action Clerk to explained the
Council’s position in the next edition of Hanney News.
- To consider: Control of dogs on playing fields.
The Chairman opened the item noting that the Council had heard form villagers earlier in the
meeting.
The Council heard background from the Clerk, clarifying the timescales involved. The rules had been considered and approved by the Parish Council in January 2014 at a scheduled meeting of the Council. In November 2015 the rules were presented in their final revised form to the Council and approved at the scheduled meeting that month. The first publication of these rules was on the Parish Council’s website in the papers for that meeting and on approval
in the documents section of the website dated the 1st December 2015.
The Council noted that there has been a long delay in the placing of the rules as physical signage, this was an outcome of the Council waiting for suitable mounting points to be installed
– the fences around the playing field.
It was noted that the Councillor that initially presented the rules for consideration did a great deal of research and referred to other local Parish and Town Council’s rules and regulations as templates for the rules adopted in East Hanney. The specific rule regarding animals on the fields was considered by the Vale of White Horse Environment Wardens to be suitable wording
and reflected the wording in use by other Council’s and similar bodies locally.
The Council heard that all land to which the public has access in the Vale of White Horse, the District Council enforces Dog Control Orders, specifically under the ‘Under the Dogs (Fouling
of Land) Act 1996’, and that the Parish Council indicates that this is the case on its website.
The Council noted that rule 8 had not been intended as a dog control order, as that was under the auspices of the DC but an attempt to control the dog waste on the field. Cllr Aram noted that there was an issue with commercial dog walkers that do not take care of the dogs walked and do not clean up after those dogs and that many dog walkers did walk their dogs on leads. The Council heard that walking dogs on leads was not enforceable under the dog control
orders in place.
Mrs J Rolfe requested a public consultation be instituted to review the rule regarding animals on the field and reiterated her request that the Council respond to her letter point by point. Cllr Kirk clarified that all members of the Council had received a copy of the letter and that the
council had taken the decision to include the item on this agenda for full discussion.
Cllr Long suggested that a group of villagers could get together to suggest other measures that
may overcome the noted problems related to dogs. Cllr Aram offered to help such a group.
Cllr Triffitt commented that confronting people and shaming those that do not pick up dog waste would be helpful and that the DC was willing to act against those seen leaving dog
waste if the activity was reported to them by phone or email.
- To consider: Quotation from Bin-It dog waste bin suppliers and emptier.
The Council received the quotation. Cllr Aram noted that the annual cost for the 7 bins suggested in a previous meeting would be approximately £200 per year per bin empty plus the installation cost. It was noted that this would be for the benefit of the village as a whole.
Action Cllr Aram to establish where the bins could be best placed.
- To consider: Scoping the potential installation of a MUGA.
The Council postponed discussion of the matter to its December meeting.
- To consider: Measures to secure the field to the North of the playing field.
Cllr Aram reported that the Council was looking to secure the field and was still waiting for a number of requested quotes to undertake the work. It was noted that there would be a public consultation on the use of this field in the near future. In response to a question from the public, Cllr Aram reported that a ditch would be put in place along the northern and western
edges of the field.
- To consider: Opening a deposit account for the Parish Council’s reserves.
The Clerk reported that the current rate of interest for the Council’s reserves was at 0% per annum. He suggested transferring the reserves to an interest bearing account with a higher return. Cllr Scott proposed that the Council open a 6-month account as outlined on the
circulated paper, this was seconded by Cllr McKechnie. Action Clerk.
- To consider: request to plant a tree by a resident of East Hanney.
The Council considered the request, noting no objections but the Villager was to be advised
to also check with West Hanney Parish Council as the site proposed was on their land. Action
Clerk.
The Meeting closed at 21.48.
Guy Langton, Clerk to East Hanney Parish Council ()1