STANDLAKE PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of Standlake Parish Council, held in the Village Hall, Standlake, on 11^th December 2007 at 7.30 pm

Present:

Mr. E. F. Tolputt Chairman

Mr. C Naylor Vice Chairman

Mrs. J. Bayliss

Mrs. S. Berrill

Mr. J. Rippin

Mrs. J. Perry

Mr. R. Reddy

Mrs. B. Smith, Mr. C. Mathew

1. APOLOGIES were received from: Ms L. Bickley

2. PUBLIC ITEMS no members of the public were present.

3. MINUTES

Minutes of the meeting held on 13^th November 2007, copies of which had been previously circulated to all members, were agreed as a true record and signed by the chairman. The chairman reminded members that this meeting would deal with only essential matters.

4. MATTERS ARISING

Flooding July 07 – another meeting has been held with the Environment Agency in Mr. Adrian List’s palacious temporary home (a small caravan) outside 21 Rack End. The surveys have been completed and, as expected, the plan is to raise a bund along the Rack End side of the river bank. Mr. Tolputt persuaded the EA representative that this must extend to all the properties including those at the east end of the road which were not flooded. Co 0peration of residents will be vital and Mr. List will continue to chase this up. Mr. Tolputt offered to arrange a public meeting to bring the plans to the notice of residents and Mr. List welcomed this and a date will be arranged in the New Year. The work will hopefully begin in March/April2008.

The clerk has followed up the promised work at the entrance to Woodlands and it is clear that OCC have forgotten about this. However, the clerk was assured by the Drainage Engineer, Mr. Hunt, that a working party would be on site in the next week.

There is still no further information from Thames Water.

A415, Newbridge – nothing further to report at this meeting .

Traffic/Speeding – nothing further to report at this meeting.

Highway Maintenance – Mr. Mathew has taken up with OCC the matter of the damaged village entrance sign; promises have been made to rectify the damage this week.

Footpaths – nothing further to report at this meeting.

Playground/Recreation Ground & Maintenance – nothing further to report at this meeting.

Graveyard Extension – nothing further to report at this meeting.

Neighbourhood Policing – nothing further to report at this meeting.

Willows on riverbank – the work is now completed apart from trimming the lower branches of the weeping willow opposite the church entrance..

5. CORRESPONDENCE - See attached correspondence record.

6. PLANNING - See attached planning record.

The Malthouse Farm application was discussed at length (members having seen the application beforehand). The clerk was instructed to make objections on the following grounds: the proposal did not constitute infilling or rounding off and was clearly back building; the proposed density of units was out of keeping with the area; a precedent would be set for other similar development in the Brighthampton area thus closing off an open area of the village; traffic generated by 22 units plus offices would have a severe impact on the road structure in the area.

7. BUDGET/PRECEPT 2008/9

Further to the budget discussions in October and November, Mr. Tolputt reported that he had sought the advice of a ditcher who was of the opinion that the ditch along the Recreation Ground/Straight Mile boundary did not require clearing but that the hedge needed hard cutting back. It was decided not to budget for ditch clearance but, after examining two estimates, it was decided to budget £1150 for cutting back the hedge on both sides. It was also decided to budget £300 for cutting and trimming the hedge adjacent to the tennis courts and to remove low overhang from the trees. The grant to the Village Hall was reduced to £1620 to reflect the lower level of third party funding now required.

Taking into consideration the estimated bank surplus of £5000 and the requirement to restore the reserves to a figure of £7000 for the coming financial year, the final budget figure was £22,596. Members considered this higher than normal figure but accepted that the reasons were fully justified i.e. provision for the final purchase and expected loan for the graveyard extension; a grant to the Village Hall for improvements; increased costs in maintenance of hedges/trees; restoration of reserves following higher that expected expenditure in FY 2007/8 on tree and recreation ground maintenance. It was unanimously agreed that the Precept be set at £23,000. A copy of the budget is attached to these minutes. click here for budget sheet

8. ACCOUNTS click here for balances

The clerk explained the payments to Waste Recycling Group and Terma Kitchens. In order to allow the Village Hall improvements to proceed without delay, he and the chairman had informally agreed with the hall committee chairman that the grant for third party funding (included in the 2008/9 budget) should be drawn from current reserves. Once received by Waste Recycling Group this would trigger a grant of £4241.28 paid directly to Standlake Parish Council and, on clearance at the bank, this amount would then be paid to Terma Kitchens in respect of the work in progress and VAT would be reclaimed at a later date; the cheque would not be released until the funds have cleared. This arrangement was agreed unanimously.

The following accounts were approved for payment:

D C Bevan - clerk salary 928.86

HMRC - clerk PAYE 233.64

Volunteer link Up - donation 25.00

West Oxon CAB 50.00

M&G Pascoe - willow pollarding 1,480.00

BDO Stoy Hayward - audit fees 158.63

Playsafe Playgrounds - replacement swings 611.00

Waste Recycling Group - V Hall 2008/9 grant 1,620.00

Terma Kitchens Ltd – V. Hall improvements 4241.28

9. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Mr. Tolputt thanked everyone for their support and work during the year and wished them a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8:50 pm.

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

CORRESPONDENCE RECORD 12/07
DATE	SER		TO/FROM		TOPIC		ACTION		FILE
	A		ORCC		‘Review’ magazine
	B		OALC		County circular
	C		Carer’s Centre		Newsletter
	D		WODC		Notice of vacancy for Standlake Parish Councillor
	E		Friends of Wychwood		Newslatter
	F		RoSPA		Autumn playground inspection
	G		WODC		Music diary
	H		WODC		Support for the Arts – application for support
	I		WODC		Christmas card
	J		Public Catalogue Foundation		Request for ifo on artwork held by councils
	K		OCC		Review of external transport posts - result
	L		Oxon Carer’s Forum		Request for grant
	M
	D
	O
	P
	Q
	R
	S
	T
PLANNING APPLICATIONS/CORRESPONDENCE RECORD No: 12/07
DATE		PLANNING Number		DETAILS		COMMENTS		REPLY BY
		07/2101/P/OP		Erection of 20 residential units, 3 office units, associated parking and landscaping
		07/2127/P/FP		Change of use to dwelling – Methodist Chapel The green
		07/1998/P/FP		Erection of replacement dwelling – Amberside, Abingdon Road
		07/1847/P/FP		Grant of permission – Erection of front porch and rear extension -25 High St
		07/1858/P/FP		Grant of permission – Single storey extension – Old Well Cottage, 2 High St
		07/1912/P/FP		Grant of permission – Erection of chimney to side elevation – 93 Abingdon Rd
		07/0732/P/OP		Notification of appeal – land at Amberley House, 69 High Street
		07/1853/P/S73		Grant of permission – noncompliance of condition – Standlake Arena
		07/1529?p/CM		Amended approval certificate for waste transfer - Plot J Lakeside Indust. Park