UPPER HEYFORD PARISH COUNCIL
Jack Goodman Jr, Clerk to the Council,
Hillside Cottage, High Street, Upper Heyford, Bicester, OX25 5LE
Telephone: 07791-399823, Email:
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting
13 November 2014
Present:Councillors Jo Allen, Chris Scarrott, Carole Gother, Catherine Mullineux, Derek Burrowsand Parish Clerk Jack Goodman.
1)Apologies for Absence: Cllr Victoria Maidment-Vint
2)Public Forum: Two parishioners attended
3)Code of Conduct: The Chairman reminded Councillors of the code of conduct requirements under the Localism Act of 2011.
4)Consideration of Dispensations:No requests for dispensations were tabled.
5)Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the 16 October 2014Parish Council Meetingwas approved by the Council and signed by the Chairman and Clerk
6)Defibrillator Briefing: Postponed with apologies, this will be rescheduled for next PC meeting.
7)Standing Agenda Items:
a)Public Liability Review: The Council reviewed the Hazard Log. The issue of restricted line of sight at the bottom of Camp Road was discussed. It was confirmed that the intersection does not meet regulatory standards, however, full compliance would be very difficult and disruptive to the properties concerned, Cllr Allen and Scarrott will look at the situation and report back with recommendations. The cherry tree in the cemetery is diseased, this will be added to hazard log and Clerk will notify the Cherwell Tree Officer requesting examination.
b)Amenities Management Committee (AMC): The PC reviewed and ratified the 23 October 2014 AMC Minutes. The Council agreed to the proposed Reading Room cleaning schedule and costs.
c)Registration of Village Green: Final documents submitted for approval
d)Registration of Heritage Assets: Cllr Burrows apologised for not being able to progress this as yet due to family emergency. It is noted that applications need to be submitted by the end of December. It was suggested that the Village wall network be included, and that the possibility of registering the Common be investigated. The Clerk will approach Ian Lough-Scott for information on the status of the Common and work with Cllr Burrows to map appropriate wall areas for inclusion.
8)Matters Arising from 16 October 2014 Minutes
a)Shadow Councillors: Draft notice to be posted on Upper Heyford Website and on Heyford Park website was reviewed and approved with revisions. The Clerk will action.
b)Revised Local and Neighbourhood Plan: Cllrs Allen and Mullineux reported on the latest developments including the information from the Parish Liaison Meeting with Cherwell they attended. The Consultation process is going forward. A meeting at Cherwell is scheduled for 18 January to discuss Heyford Park and surrounding Villages. Also, a meeting at Cherwell will be scheduled to review and discuss transport issues. A Mid-Cherwell Neighbourhood Plan website is being created. Cllr Allen expressed concern about the role of the lead parish in the Mid-Cherwell Neighbourhood Plan Group and gave examples with regard to the lack of communication, consultation and minutes together with no updated T & Cs. Cllr Mullineux was surprised the T & Cs had still not been produced and that minutes were not always produced. After some discussion all Councillors agreed for Cllr Allen to put forward an agenda item at the next Forum meeting to discuss the role of the Lead Parish and T & Cs. The need for public consultation within our community was raised. It was agreed tentatively to hold a public consultation in the Village Hall on 29 January to brief Parishioners on the current situation with house building at Heyford Park and the attendant actions being taken. It was agreed that the Heyford Village Residents Group would prepare this briefing. The possibility of Warding Upper Heyford Parish at the time of the General Election was suggested. CDC will be approached to explore the option.
c)Speedwatch Campaign: Names of volunteers need to be collated, Councillors agreed to forward names of all volunteers to the Clerk to compile the list. The Council also agreed that consideration of traffic calming measures is needed as a separate measure
d)Bus Schedule at Canal: As of meeting these were still to be mounted at canal. NB, schedule is now posted at Canal
e)Community Garden at Heyford Park: The Parish Council considered the degree of risk associated with agreeing to act as landlord for the land designated for subject garden. The Council agreed that the risk was acceptable and will act as the landlord/leaseholder with a view to transferring responsibility to the Heyford Park PC when it is established.
f)Playground Repair Quote: On-going, a second quote has been requested.
g)New Playground Project: Cllr Mullineux briefed that Trevor Stewart, the designer preferred by the community previously, has been asked to re-quote for the same scheme. Work is on-going to find grant funding. Cllr Mullineux pointed out that seed money will be needed to be put in along with any grants. The Clerk pointed out that there are several sources of funds within the community that may be able to help.
h)Bollards on Green: Cllr Scarrott confirmed that at least one of the bollards at the bottom of the path from the Green to the Church is rotten and will need replacing. Plastic bollards should be sourced for replacement. The rotten bollard will be taken away now. Cllr Scarrott will remove bollard. Cllr Allen and the Clerk will source replacement bollards.
i)Recognition of Service: The Council agreed form of words drafted by the Clerk for commendation document. The Clerk will work with Cllr Burrows to finalise format.
j)OCC Maintenance of Verges: The Clerk briefed that the situation has been clarified. For next year, due to budget constraints, the grass cutting grant from OCC has been halved. We will receive in the region of £600 for next year as compared to the current £1,200. The Council felt this was still a better alternative than relying on Cherwell, as OCC’s agents doing a total of two cuts per year.
9)Finance:
a)Receipts and Expenditure: The Council reviewed expenditure and receipts and account balances for the period and ratified the accounts..
b)Precept for 2014/15: The Clerk briefed that in the coming year there will be no central government grant to compensate for the way changes in housing benefit reduced the tax base. It is also unknown if a new homes bonus will be forthcoming this next year. Finally, as mentioned above, the grass-cutting grant has been halved. In addition there is the need to build up reserves in advance of the splitting of the Parishes in 2016. The Council decided to set a precept equivalent to £43.50 per band D rated property. This will fully cover the shortfall between expected receipts and expenditure based on this year’s outturn. This amount represents percentage uplift in the precept of 10.9%. This figure may be adjusted as funding becomes clear.
10)Correspondence
a)SSE Community Advisor letter: A letter from the newly appointed SSE Community Advisor was reviewed. The appointee has offered to attend the Council to explain her position. The Council agreed to invite her. The Clerk will action.
b)K Hatwell Letter, Funfair for Village: K Hatwell, a funfair operator has offered to put Upper Heyford on the schedule for next year. The Council agreed to refer this to the AMC for consideration. First however, Cllr Scarrott will liaise with the Jim Hatwell to see if K Hatwell is part of his organisation.
c)M Briatta, Fish and Chip Van: A letter from Mr Briatta offering a fish and chip van service for the village was reviewed. The Council agreed to pursue the idea on the basis of a Friday night visit. The Clerk will action
11)Planning:The planning applications for the period were reviewed and responses approved. The Council agreed to lodge an objection to a new application for erection of an electricity sub-station at 714 Portal Drive, Heyford due to the close proximity to occupied housing and the resultant noise pollution.
12) Any Other Business:
a)Layby at Three Horseshoes, Somerton Road: It was suggested that car parking here may be creating a hazard; situation will be monitored and considered at next Parish Council meeting.
b)Clean Slate Charity: Having supported this charity for several years, it was suggested that next year examination of their audited accounts would be prudent.
c)Good Neighbour Policy: The question was asked if there is a scheme for formalising a policy where neighbours help the old, infirm or sick residents of the community. It was agreed that Cherwell and neighbouring communities will be canvased to see if there are such programmes in place.
13)Date of Meetings:
a)The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 15 January.
b) Subsequent meetings for 2015 are confirmed as: 12 Feb, 12 Mar, 9 Apr, 14 May (APM and AGM) 21 May, 11 Jun, 9 Jul, 17 Sep, 8 Oct, 12 Nov
JLGJ
28 Nov 14