STANDLAKE PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of Standlake Parish Council, held in the Village Hall, Standlake, on 8^th April 2008 at 7.45 pm

Present:

Mr. E. F. Tolputt Chairman

Mr. C Naylor Vice Chairman

Mrs. J. Bayliss

Mr. J. Rippin

Mr. R. Reddy

Mr. A. Lowe

Mr. D. C. Bevan Clerk

Mrs. B. Smith, Ms. L. Bickley, Mr. C. Mathew; Mr. & Mrs. Walbutton (Myrtle Cottage, Rack End), Mrs. S. Berrill (Messuage, Rack End)

1. PUBLIC ITEMS

Mr. & Mrs. Wallbutton expressed their concern that the ash trees in the playground had now grown to such a height and density that they were restricting the light into Myrtle Cottage garden and asked for action to be taken to lop or pollard the trees. It was generally agreed that the trees were now too large and a discussion followed in which Mrs. Perry argued for some of the trees to be removed as they were too close together. Mr. Tolputt suggested that a site meeting be held with a tree surgeon to discuss the best course of action. This was agreed and he will make the arrangements.

Mrs. Berrill said that the Stagecoach Bus Stop sign at the junction of Rack End and The Green has been missing for some time and it would appear that where to stop was at the whim of individual drivers; some would stop as requested while others insisted on stopping only at the Post Office. Mrs. Smith said she will contact the responsible OCC officer (Mr. Alan Field) and obtain clarification; Mr. Mathew will also contact Mr. Field.

Mrs. Berrill also asked if any action was to be taken to stop The Butts to Hornsway footpath from becoming overgrown. The clerk said he had been in contact with Mr. Pascoe and discussed the use of commercial weedkiller to control the nettles. The only concern was the possible danger to pets for the short period after spraying and whether the footpath could be closed during that period. It was agreed in principle that this weed control should be done and Mrs. Bayliss will seek advice from the OCC Rights of Way officer as to the legality of closing the path if this is necessary.

2. MINUTES

Minutes of the meeting held on 18^th March 2008, copies of which had been previously circulated to all members, were agreed as a true record and signed by the chairman.

3. MATTERS ARISING

Flooding July 07 – Mr. Lowe confirmed that the work on the bund from Nos. 19 to 37 Rack End will commence on or about 14^th April. The clerk has been asked by Mr. N. Clack to report that Mr. Clack has now received a written acknowledgement of his letter to the Environment Agency in which he expressed his concerns about terminating the bund at No. 37 Rack End.

Maps have been received from WODC for the marking of ditches so that necessary clearing can be enforced by WODC. Mr. Tolputt will research the ditch layout in the village and report. Mrs. Smith asked if ditches for which the Parish Council has responsibility (south and west boundaries of the recreation ground) needed work. Mr. Tolputt reminded the meeting that this had been investigated ahead of the budget being set in November 07 and a ditch maintenance expert had assured him that no work was required.

The clerk reported that, thanks to Mr. Mathew’s intervention, representatives of both Thames Water (Ms. Jenny Elliott) and OCC (Mr. Gordon Hunt) will attend the May 13^th meeting to discuss the flooding in the High Street and lower Abingdon Road.

A415, Newbridge – Mr. Naylor suggested a flyer be sent to all residents regarding the preservation of Newbridge and what they can do to help enforcement of the weight limit. It was agreed that this be done and Mr. Naylor and the clerk will liaise and arrange for the production of the flyer.

The clerk reported that minutes of the OCC Newbridge Project team were now being received. It appears that OCC are taking action to repair and possibly strengthen the bridge. They are also looking at all the river crossings with a report due in the next two months; the clerk will ask for a copy of this report.

Traffic/Speeding – Mr. Reddy reported that a laser speed and traffic volume monitor has been installed on the Abingdon Road. Mr. Rippin said that this equipment was used to gather data on traffic flow and to provide evidence for speed limit enforcement action. Mr. Naylor said that other roads should not be ignored in speed enforcement. Mr. Rippin replied that the A415 has been identified as a priority but he will bring the matter up at the next Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) meeting.

Ms. Bickley said that the speeding in Rack End at the Village hall bend could be alleviated by larger playground and nursing home signs. Mr. Tolputt will raise this at the meeting with Mr. Wilson (see next paragraph)

Highway Maintenance – Mr. Tolputt announced that he will be meeting Mr. Wilson (OCC Highways) at The Chapel on Friday 11^th April at 8.30am to look at maintenance work outstanding and the matter of the pathway extension at the Village Hall will also be discussed. Any interested councillors are welcome to attend.

Footpaths – see Public Items.

Playground/Recreation Ground & Maintenance – The clerk noted that the hedge trimming has been completed and the recreation and playground have received the first cut of the season. Mrs. Perry said that the new swings were now in and an invoice from Johnson Engineering should be expected soon..

Graveyard Extension – The final payment is now due and it was unanimously agreed that the sum of £9846.25 should be paid. Mr. Tolputt said he had not yet received all three estimates for the ground work but, when received, would circulate them to members in advance of the next meeting.

Neighbourhood Policing – Mr. Rippin reported that only one person attended the last PCSO surgery; it was suggested that this might have been due to a lack of publicity. Mrs. Perry suggested a visit by the mobile police station that was once seen outside the Post Office; Mr. Rippin will look into this.

4. PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE – WODC consultation on housing

The consultation questionnaire has been available online to members for two weeks. Mr. Reddy has examined it and pointed out that it falls into two areas. Firstly, there are three areas that have been put forward by landowners or agents as future development sites: Malthouse Farm, Brighthampton; the land on Downs Road between St Giles Church and The Glebe; land behind Abingdon Road to the south east of the High Street; it is important to understand that these are not planning applications. Secondly, the questionnaire asks for opinion on the location of future housing development in West Oxfordshire i.e. should it be spread around villages or concentrated on such areas as Witney/Carterton.

The meeting was unanimous in rejecting the suggested sites; Malthouse Farm has already been the subject of a planning application to which the council formally objected and that application has now been withdrawn; development on the land on Downs Road would mean the loss of visual amenity as well as building on a land identified by EA as likely to flooding; the land behind Abingdon Road suffers from lack of access and would be back building. These objections will be made in the response.

The meeting also agreed that any future development should be in the Witney/Carterton area and that the village should remain a ‘Class B’ village, with only infilling and rounding off permitted. The character of the area must be taken into consideration; the infrastructure is insufficient to support large scale building and the problems of flooding and drainage must be taken into consideration. It was stressed that priority should be given to the provision of affordable housing in the village. Mr. Reddy will complete the full questionnaire and circulate it to members before dispatch.

5. CORRESPONDENCE - See attached correspondence record.

6. PLANNING - See attached planning record.

7. ACCOUNTS click here for balances

The following accounts were approved for payment:

M & G Pascoe Landscaping Ltd – rec ground hedge, mowing of rec and playground                £1236.00

John Welch & Stammers – graveyard extension purchase £9846.25

8. MEMBER’S REPORTS

Mr. Lowe said he proposed to produce cards printed with emergency information for the flood plan. The clerk will arrange for them to be laminated.

A resident has approached the clerk with concerns about the bonfires he has observed on the ground to the left of the entrance to Woodlands. Mr. Reddy responded that this was the result of the Woodlands Association carrying out hedge and tree cutting that should have been done by OCC. Mr. Reddy welcomed any enquiries by concerned residents.

Mr. R. Webb (Amberly House, High Street) has approached the clerk with an enquiry regarding land for affordable housing. Mr. Webb has some land that he may offer for this purpose. This was discussed and the clerk will write to Mr. Webb and ask him to contact the Rural Housing Enabler at ORCC.

9. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

The next meeting will be on 13^th May, which will be the Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council, at which officers will be elected for the coming year. There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.40pm.

....................................................................................... Chairman ............................................................................ Date

CORRESPONDENCE RECORD 04/08
DATE	SER		TO/FROM		TOPIC		ACTION		FILE
	A		Audit Commission		Appointment of BDO Stoy Hayward as external auditor to 2012
	B		OCC		Changes to Stagecoach Services in Oxfordshire (not affecting Standlake)
	C		OCC – Leader		Closure of Post Offices
	D		WODC		Planning for the Future – Consultation on Issues and Options
	E		OFPA		Notification of seminar on management of play & sports facilities (to J Perry 8/04)
	F		WODC		Statement of Persons Nominated – May 1 Election
	G		SERA		Regional Housing Strategy
	H		WODC		Code of conduct - training for clerks and councillors
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PLANNING APPLICATIONS/CORRESPONDENCE RECORD No: 04/08
DATE		PLANNING Number		DETAILS		COMMENTS		REPLY BY
		08/0325/P/FP		Grant of permission – conversion of garage and single storey extension – Tormere, The Downs, Standlake