STANDLAKE PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of Standlake Parish Council, held in the Village Hall, Standlake, on 18^th March 2008 at 7.45 pm

Present:

Mr. E. F. Tolputt Chairman

Mr. C Naylor Vice Chairman

Mr. J. Rippin

Mrs. J. Perry

Mr. R. Reddy

Mr. A. Lowe

Mr. D. C. Bevan Clerk

Mrs. B. Smith, Ms. L. Bickley, Mr. C. Mathew, Mr. N. Clack (57 Rack End), Mr. A. Kingston (Swift Cottage, The Green)

1. APOLOGIES – apologies were received from Mrs. Bayliss

2. PUBLIC ITEMS

Mr. Clack brought to the notice of the council that he had contacted the Environment Agency (EA) regarding their decision to only extend the bund to 37 Rack End as it was considered that from No. 39 onwards the bank was sufficiently high. Mr. Clack considered that this was taking the risk of overflow beyond No. 39 as excess water, which will be prevented from overflowing into the lower numbered properties by the new bund, would then spill over downstream.

Mr. Tolputt confirmed that he had raised this with EA at a previous meeting with EA at Mr. List’s caravan and had pointed out that full protection would involve a bund as far as Broad Bridges; he will raise this directly with EA again. However, it was agreed that no action be taken that would put in jeopardy the current plans. The clerk read an e mail from Mr. List which confirmed that work had commenced on clearing vegetation on the far bank and construction of the bund was expected to commence towards the end of April.

Mr. Kingston raised his concerns about the draining of water from the roadways on The Green and the High Street. The clerk pointed out that there were essentially two agencies involved – OCC Highways, being responsible for the road drainage, and Thames Water (TW), whose overflowing sewers were almost certainly part of the problem in the first place. The challenge was to get the agencies together as it was likely that the two problems were interconnected; requests to meet with TW, both directly and through WODC (Mr. Paige), had met with no response. Mr. Mathew volunteered to arrange a meeting with both TW and Highways and this could possibly be arranged for the 8^th April meeting. Mr. Tolputt thanked Mr. Mathew for offering to arrange this and opened the meeting at 8.10pm

3. MINUTES

Minutes of the meeting held on 12^th February 2008, copies of which had been previously circulated to all members, were agreed as a true record and signed by the chairman.

4. MATTERS ARISING

Flooding July 07 – see Public Items. The clerk noted that, apart from an automated reply, he had received no response from Mr. Paige to the council’s invitation to address the meeting on the progress of the WODC report into the July 07 flooding. It was agreed that more relevant information would be obtained from the meeting between TW and Highways proposed by Mr. Mathew. Mrs. Perry asked about ditch clearance and the clerk confirmed that maps of drainage ditches were still awaited from WODC.

Mr. Reddy noted that in the recent heavy rain the entrance to Woodlands remained free of standing water; the enhanced kerb drainage introduced by OCC Highways would appear to be effective.

Mr. Lowe is continuing to work on preparing the Parish Flood Plan. He also raised the matter of the sand on the Green; Mrs. Smith confirmed that WODC considered the removal of the sand a Parish responsibility. It was decided that residents would be encouraged to help themselves to the sand and Mr. Lowe will place a notice to this effect on the sand pile

A415, Newbridge – OCC have finally agreed to send the minutes of the Newbridge Project meeting as they promised to do last October. Two months’ worth have been received so far and are being studied.

Mrs. Smith reported that there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that some HGV drivers are deliberately violating the weight limit and taking the risk of a fixed penalty £30 fine. It was accepted that OCC Trading Standards (TS) could not carry out as much monitoring as was clearly required and the risk to drivers of a prosecution attracting the higher fine was low. It was agreed that a group of volunteers be formed to monitor the bridge on random days at irregular hours using the violation report forms produced by TS at the last meeting; Mr. Tolputt and Mr. Naylor will coordinate the setting up of the monitoring group.

Traffic/Speeding – Mr. Rippin reported that enforcement action on the Abingdon Road is ongoing.

Highway Maintenance – Mr. Tolputt has arranged a meeting in the village with OCC Highways (Mr. Wilson) for 10^th or 11^th April. Those interested should confirm the date with Mr. Tolputt and have a list of areas requiring attention.

Footpaths – The proposed footpath extension to the Village Hall will be discussed at the meeting with Mr. Wilson.

Playground/Recreation Ground & Maintenance – The work on hedge cutting along the Recreation Ground boundary with the Long Mile is not yet finished and the waste cutting is yet to be removed; Mr. Tolputt will speak with Pasco Bros. Mrs. Perry reported that new springs will be fitted before the school holidays.

Graveyard Extension – To general applause, Mr. Tolputt announced that the transfer papers for the purchase of the graveyard extension and the lease of the car park strip were, finally, ready for signing. It was agreed unanimously that Mr. Tolputt and Mr. Naylor should sign on behalf of Standlake Parish Council and the clerk witnessed their signatures. It was also agreed that the completion date be 10^th April 2008.

Neighbourhood Policing – Mr. Rippin announced that the next PCSO surgery in Standlake would be held in the Methodist Chapel at the Green on Thursday 20^th March between 3 and 5 pm..

5. CORRESPONDENCE - See attached correspondence record.

6. PLANNING - See attached planning record.

7. DONATION TO FIRE SERVICE

It was agreed that a donation of £75 be made to the Fire Benevolent Fund.

8. ACCOUNTS click here for balances

The clerk informed the meeting that the village hall improvement scheme again required the issue of cheques. As before, when grants and reclaimed VAT are taken into account, the effect on the council balances by payment of these accounts is neutral.

The following accounts were approved for payment:

D C Bevan – clerk salary and expenses (Jan – Mar 08) 928.64

HMRC – clerk PAYE 233.86

Terma Kitchens, final payment – V Hall improvements 2406.54

Sun Ray blinds – V Hall improvements 1035.00

Pascoe & Wait – V Hall improvements 693.25

Fire Benevolent Fund – donation 75.00

9. MEMBER’S REPORTS

Mr. Rippin wished to thank everyone who had sent cards and letters of sympathy following the recent death of his father.

Ms. Bickley has further information on flood plans which she will pass onto Mr. Lowe. She is organising an exchange recycle event T Aston on 12^th April between 10 and 12 pm.

Mrs. Perry asked if a printed version of the Village Information Sheet could be placed on the notice board; the clerk will arrange for this. She also asked if there was any progress in the provision of affordable housing and Mr. Tolputt replied that information was still awaited from the Rural Housing Officer, Ms. Nicola Ball, at ORCC.

Mr. Tolputt has received a letter from the Sea Scouts thanking the council for allowing the use of the Recreation Ground for their annual 2007 fireworks and asking to book the same event for 1^st November 2008. This was agreed unanimously.

10. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

The next meeting will be on 8^th April. There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.40pm.

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

CORRESPONDENCE RECORD 03/08
DATE	SER		TO/FROM		TOPIC		ACTION		FILE
	A		ORCC		OCC review of primary school provision – update
	B		WODC		RoSPA Playground Inspection 2008
	C		OFPA		Play and Sports Seminar – 14 May
	D		WODC		Notice of Council Tax 2008/9
	E		Volunteer Link Up		25^th Anniversary celebrations
	F		Oxfordshire Partnership		Sustainable community strategy -briefings
	G		OCC (Steve Howell)		Reply to letter requesting Newbridge project minutes
	H		Mr. N Clack		Copy of letter to EA regarding protection for high numbered properties in Rack End
	I		OCC		Draft report of Childcare Market Assessment
	J		WODC		Notification of Election
	K				Foxbury Farm open day
	L				CAG Oxfordshire - newsletter
	M				Clerks and Councils Direct Magazine
	D				OCC Oxon News magazine
	O				The Theatre Chipping Norton – summer brochure
	P				Standards Board for England – newsletter
	Q				Enjoy England – St George’s day celebrations
	R
	S
	T
PLANNING APPLICATIONS/CORRESPONDENCE RECORD No: 03/08
DATE		PLANNING Number		DETAILS		COMMENTS		REPLY BY
		08/0066/P/FP		Grant of permission - Erection of extension – Kingston, The Downs
		08/0072/P/FP		Grant of permission – shed and scoreboard, ODCC Abingdon Road
		08/0325/P/FP		Conversion of garage/single storey front extension – Tormere, The Downs
		08/0333/P/FP		Erection of replacement dwelling – Amberside, Abingdon Road