BALDONS PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Ordinary Parish Meeting
held on Monday 11th July, 2016
Clerk: Paul Isaacs, 11 Thame Road, Great Milton, Oxon., OX44 7HY (01844 278040)
Attendees
Apologies / Dorothy Tonge (Chair) (DT), Elizabeth Gillespie (EG), Laurence Attewill (LA),John Maskell (JM), Paul Isaacs (Clerk) and 4 members of the public.
Charles Barclay (Vice-Chair) (CB), Stephen Dance (SD), Cllr. Sue Lawson (SODC),
Cllr. Lorraine Lindsay-Gale (LLG / OCC), Ralph Slaney.
Ref / Item / Notes / Action
061/16 / Introduction / The Chair, Dorothy Tonge, welcomed all present. / DT
062/16 / Declarations / No Declarations of Interest were made. / For info.
063/16 / Minutes of Previous Meeting / The minutes of the Baldons Parish Council AGM and Ordinary meeting held on May 9th, 2016 were approved by the meeting and signed by the Chair. / For info.
Approved
064/16 / Matters Arising / St. Peters Church - it was noted that formal requests have not yet been received from the PCC regarding their refurbishment plans or for a contribution towards the costs of mowing the churchyard. DT commented that formal requests are required if the PC is to consider a contribution.
Speedsurvey - DT has contacted OCC Highways requesting a repeat survey at more reliable location. The initial speed survey was carried out far too close to the Croft.
Queen’s 90th Birthday event - the event organised by BEC including a community lunch on the green was excellent!
Defibrillator project - the telephonebox is being refurbished and the defibrillator will be installed in September. / For info.
DT
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065/16 / Village Matters / Village Green verges: the school - Robin Timms has agreed to organise repairs outside the school during the holidays. The PC to put aside a £500 reserve budget - agreed unanimously.
JM and LA to liaise with Robin regarding he works.
Village Green verges: Seven Stars - LA presented an options paper for discussion (appended). It was agreed in principle to accept Option 2 - agreed unanimously. LA to talk to BNCS in the first instance prior to contacting Queens as the proposal will have more chance of success if presented as a joint venture.
Travellers - a meeting with Charlie Campion (Savills) has been arranged for Friday 9/9/16 at 3pm. Cllr. SD has volunteered to host. Thanks were expressed to Ron Wells, LA and DT for their work clearing debris left by the travellers.
Tinny Lane - BPC agreed to fund 'Not suitable for vehicles ' road signs to be located at either end (to be provided by OCC Highways) at a cost of £337. In addition it was reported that the householders at Fair Oaks have been compounding the situation by emptying the water from their swimming pool into the Lane and the ditch. This probably contains chlorine and would therefore be an environmental / pollution concern too. The Clerk to write a strong letter to Mrs. Fisher. / For info.
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Decision
Clerk
066/16 / Open Forum / Barbara Wright attended and made the following points:-
· in her view the provision of a defibrillator is a waste of money that could be best spent on other community needs;
· the signage for Tinny Lane should be a highways responsibility. It was pointed out that the Lane has been adopted by OCC Countryside, not by OCC Highways;
· that the consideration of options to tackle the verges at the Seven Stars options should be open to the public. It was pointed out that the options were only at a discussion phase;
· that grass should be cut under trees on the village green. JM replied that BPC had decided that there is no need to do this;
· that the general state of roadside verges in the whole county was disgraceful and dangerous. LLG has reported that financial pressures have forced OCC to reduce its overall verge mowing to just one general cut for the year and that the cutting rota started on 20 June. Visibility splays (to a distance 1m back from the kerb at junctions) are being dealt with more regularly if reported or observed by inspectors.
· That the ditches by properties on the northern side of the green are gradually being filled in and that this can only lead to future flooding issues for the Baldons.
Ron Wells attended the meeting regarding the planning application that has been submitted for Durham Leys Farm. DT noted that BPC has not yet reached a decision as to how it will respond and that a site visit will be required. / For info.
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067/16 / OCC Report
(County Council) / Cllr. Lorraine Lindsay Gale forwarded a report as follows:-
Unitary Status - OCC held 10 workshops throughout June prior to the release of a report by Grant Thornton later in July. The priorities of OCC remain to support economic growth, to protect the most vulnerable and to drive efficiency in public services.
New Park & Rides - an Oxford Transport Strategy study (part of LTP4) recommends that 5 new park and ride sites be built to reduce congestion on the approaches to, and within, the city. Also proposed are a network of “Rapid Transit” public transport routes to provide an uplift to transport connectivity. This would link the proposed new sites and the city’s “Eastern Arc” (broadly speaking the Headington/Cowley area). The proposed sites would be at Eynsham, Cumnor, Lodge Hill, Sandford and Oxford Airport and phased in over a 15 year period.
Adult and child social - the costs of these services continue to increase as a proportion of OCC's expenditure and now account for nearly half the council's budget. Added pressure has been added by OCC's compulsory obligation to assist with unaccompanied young asylum seekers.
Better Broadband - the 1st phase of Better Broadband for Oxfordshire was completed on time and under budget exceeding many of its targets. As a result, OCC is expecting up to £6.75 million of funds to be made available to extend the fibre network to even more remote communities as part of phase 2.
Personal - LLG has taken over cabinet responsibility for the OCC property portfolio in addition to Cultural Services. The role is an exciting challenge as OCC is to undertake a significant programme of asset rationalisation, relocation and asset disposal. For eg, the relocation of Children’s Centres to local libraries developing them as community hubs - public spaces where individuals can access appropriate central and local government services online. This works very successfully elsewhere in the country. / LLG
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068/16 / Report from South Oxford District Council (SODC) / Cllr. Sue Lawson forwarded a report as follows:-
Unitary Status - notification that the District Councils have now been advised by Central Government that new Unitary Councils cannot cross county boundaries. This means that the alternatives to the OCC proposal forwarded by the Districts will now being re-assessed.
SODC Design Guide - notification of public consultation to 29/7/16 to consider a revised ‘Design Guide’ document. The new guidelines will ensure that all developments coming along in the next 16 years are well-designed, of a high quality and will develop close-knit communities that people will enjoy living in. The new guide seeks to break the mould of traditional design guides and is significantly more concise, more visual and it’s easier to follow and understand. There is also strong guidance on the importance and effectiveness of developers providing clear plans and visuals at the start of their applications to make it easier for residents to understand what’s being proposed.
Capital grants - SODC awarded £766,787 to 23 projects in 2015/16 (£219,000 more than in 2014/15). Projects ranged from defibrillators to large capital works such as revamping the Wallingford Sports Trust changing rooms.
Corporate policy on consultation and engagement - SODC are reviewing their corporate policy on consultation and engagement, two aspects that assist a better understanding of local needs and expectations.
Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebrations - 71 out of 86 parish and town councils in South Oxfordshire took SODC up on the offer to hold a community event to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday. SODC issued grants to the approx. value of £50,000.
Home Choice service - SODC have launched a brand new service to help people looking for a suitable home providing users with a personalised action plan that explains exactly what options are available to them, and what they should try first. By entering a few personal details, it gives residents a tailored action plan with specific steps for them to follow to make sure they get the best possible housing and employment options suited to their personal circumstances. / SL
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069/16 / Neighbourhood Plan / LA reported that a meeting took place with Gail Wooton, the new Neighbourhood Planning officer for SODC, on 28/6/16. A follow up meeting has been arranged for 13/7/16. In addition there will be a ‘Neighbourhood Plan’ stall at Baldons Feast on 20/8/16.
Good progress is being made regarding the Scoping and Housing Needs Assessment reports which will both contribute to the initial draft document expected at the end of September. The publication of the draft will trigger a 6 week consultation period culminating with a public meeting in December 2016.
EG congratulated LA on his excellent work to date. / LA
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EG
070/16 / Treasurers Report / JM presented the following report:-
For the period 1/4/16 to 1/7/16 it was reported that receipts were £10,371.65 against payments of £3,656.88 and that BPC carried forward a balance of £19,983.91.
Of this figure, ring-fenced funds are being held for Baldons Feast, for the Defibrillator Project, for the Neighbourhood Plan. An additional £800 has been committed for signage and verge repairs. / JM
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071/16 / Planning
Matters / P16/S0910/FUL - Amended details - Land to rear of Penstemon House, Marsh Baldon, OX44 9LS.
Proposed stable and associated store with wash down hard surface. Use of land for keeping of horses. (Amended by drawings 6377/BL1 Rev A and 6377/FPE reducing the width of the building by 3 metres and altering the floor layout and external openings accompanying e.mail from agent).
BPC recommended REFUSAL to the original application.
SODC GRANTED planning permission on 31/5/16.
P16/S1012/HH - Penstemon Hse Rd, Marsh Baldon, OX44 9LS.
Single storey Orangery to rear of existing property. Alteration to existing garden wall. BPC recommended APPROVAL.
SODC GRANTED Planning Permission on 17/5/16.
P16/S0652/HH - Justyn, Marsh Baldon, OX44 9LL.
Provide a level parking bay for a caravan alongside the existing driveway. Change the existing access steps to the property to include an access ramp. BPC recommended Approval.
SODC GRANTED planning permission on 11/6/16.
P16/S1865/DIS - Court House Farm, Toot Baldon, OX44 9LS.
Discharge of condition 6 of P13/S1542/FUL previously approved. Refurbishment and conversion of barn to residential use.
No decision from SODC at 11/7/16.
P16/S2040/FUL - Durham Leys Farm, Marsh Baldon, OX44 9LP.
Demolition of buildings. Erection of new dwelling with outbuilding and associated works and landscaping.
BPC to respond by 14/7/16.
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072/16 / Consultation / It was noted that BPC will make a formal response to the following extremely important consultation:-
SODC Revised Core Strategy - an 8-week consultation from 27/6/16 to consider the SODC Preferred Options document (the third stage in the preparation of the SODC Local Plan 2032 following on from the ‘Issues and Options’ and ‘Refined Options’ stages). The document sets out SODC preferred strategy for the period 2011-2032 and is more detailed than the previous consultations. There is an expectation that smaller villages will have a 5% increase intarget housing numbers and that the policy of ‘infill only’ will be sidelined. Parishes with Neighbourhood Plans can put forward plans for housing development greater than the targetproviding they can be accommodated within Green Belt Policy on opennessand flexibility and providing that proposals reflect local needs. SODC will be consulting on site options for long term Strategic development which will include Grenoble Road (with a possible capacity for up to 7,000 houses). There are still concerns about SHMA target housing numbers but SODC will have to provide 19,500 units - 15,750 for local need and 3,750 for Oxford unmet need. The smaller villages overall target is 785 towards this figure. It was agreed that EG and DT will prepare the response objecting to development on the fringe of the city in the Green Belt but supporting the SODC overall strategy, supporting the SODC housing proposals in smaller villages and supporting SODC’s preferred option for housing at Chalgrove Airfield. / For info.
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EG / DT
073/16 / Correspondence / Mobile Library Service Closure - confirmation that the final day of the OCC mobile library service will be 16/9/16.
Subsidies to Bus Services - confirmation that all OCC are going ahead with their proposal to cut all subsidies to County bus services. The subsidies will cease on 20/7/16. / For info.
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074/16 / Any Other Business / The Clerk requested permission to recycle hard copy old planning applications 2003 to 2011. As all details are stored on the SODC website, permission was granted. / For info.
075/16 / Forthcoming 2016/17 Meetings / Monday September 12th, 2016
Monday November 14th, 2016
Monday January 9th, 2017
Monday March 13th, 2017
Monday April 10th, 2017 (Joint Parishes meeting)
Monday May 8th, 2017 (Annual General meeting)
Monday July 10th, 2017
Monday September 11th, 2017
To be held at 7.30pm in the Baldons Village Hall. / For info.