Minutes of the Meeting of Standlake Parish Council, held in the Youth Club, Church End, on 13th February 2024 at 7.30pm

Present:

          Mr. B. Parnham               Chairman

          Mrs. A. Knipe

          Mrs. J. Macdonald

          Mr. D. Jeffcoat

          Mr. B. Smith

          Mr. D. Bevan                   Clerk

 

WODC Cllrs. Mr. C. Maynard & Ms. L. Nicholls. Mrs. P. Gaffney, Mr. M. Lee and 6 members of the public.

1.         APOLOGIES – Cllr. D. Levy, Mr. J. Rippin, Mr. J. Clements.

2.         DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – There were no declarations of interest.

3.         PUBLIC ITEMS – Mr. Parnham closed the meeting at 7.35pm.

Mrs. Gaffney, on behalf of residents of Chapel Lane, gave a comprehensive objection to the amended plans (23/02849/FUL). In her opinion nothing had changed their previous objections. The results of further hydrology surveys, on behalf of residents, had reinforced their opinion regarding the underlying objection and contradicted the recent results by the applicant’s consultants which formed the basis of the amended plans. Mrs. Gaffney answered councillors’ questions.

Mr. Lee asked which authority, OCC or Thames Water, was responsible for drainage on the High Street. Mr. Parnham explained that OCC were responsible for road drainage and TW for sewage.

Mr. Parnham thanked those who had spoken and reopened the meeting at 7.49pm.

4.         COUNTY & DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS – see Cllr. Levy (by email) and Cllr. Maynard’s reports attached to these minutes. Cllr. Maynard asked Mr. Parnham if there had been any response from Robert Courts MP’s office regarding sewage. Mr. Parnham said there had not nor from TW regarding the flow and water levels in the village sewage monitoring sites. A discussion took place concerning using a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to obtain this information. While TW is not a public body and therefore not subject to the FoI regulations, Cllr. Maynard thought there were certain circumstances in which the Act did apply; Mr. Jeffcoat will investigate.

Cllr. Nicholls reported that there would be more consultation on the Local Plan, and she confirmed that planning guidance was still within the current 5-year plan. She announced that small grants were available to those properties that were affected by the flooding between 2nd and 12th of January. The Old Bell development was now subject to the restriction that no further changes would be allowed under permitted development rights. Mr. Smith asked for how long this would remain in place and Cllr. Nicholls said that it would end with the sale of the properties to new owners.

5.            PLANNING – 23/02849/FUL: Erection of a dwelling with double garage, adapted vehicular entrance point and related landscaping: Land South West of Chapel Lane Standlake: NPES Developments Ltd. Amended Plans. Object – recent submissions by applicant’s hydrology consultants do not change the council’s previous objections.

Planning application by FCC Environment, for planning permission: Section 73 application to continue development approved under 13/1062/P/CM (MW.0097/13) (Proposed development and operation of a Waste Transfer Station including ancillary development) without complying with conditions 1 and 5, to extend the end date of the existing Waste Transfer Facility from 31st March 2029 to 31st March 2050 and restoration from 31st December 2030 to 31st December 2051 at Dix Pit Waste Transfer Station, Dix Pit Quarry and Landfill Site/ Former Con Bloc Works, Lynch Hill, Stanton Harcourt, OX29 5BB. No Objection.

24/00153/HHD: Erection of single storey rear extension: 92 High Street Standlake Witney: Mr and Mrs Dalton. No objection.

24/00234/FUL: Conversion of three agricultural buildings to two dwellings and associated external works: The Stone Barn High Street Standlake: James Jennings. After a majority vote it was agreed no objection.

24/00158/HHD: Erection of garden building: Myrtle Cottage 60 Rack End Standlake Mr Mark Wallbutton. No objection.

 

6.             MINUTES - Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday, 9th January 2024, copies of which had been previously circulated to all members, were agreed as a true record, and were signed by the chairman.

7.        MATTERS ARISING

Sewage/Flooding - Mr. Parnham said the only update available from Thames Water is that due to adverse weather conditions tankers need to continue to operate. To the best of his knowledge neither Cllr. Maynard nor he have received any further update from Thames Water to the outstanding questions.  It remains however that we have a ludicrous situation where Thames Water approve any new development but, operationally, they admit the system cannot cope. There is continuous discharge into the river and customers unable to use domestic facilities and have raw sewage in their gardens and driveways.   This is a matter he has previously raised with our MP Robert Courts, yet the situation continues. As a Parish Council trying to look after the interest of residents it is so frustrating that our voice is not heard.

Roads/Speedwatch/20mph – Please see the report attached to these minutes.

Playground/Recreation Ground – Rack End - Mr. Rippin reported (by email) that the following items need attention: Remove graffiti from the boulder and the teenage shelter; Paint over the graffiti in the castle turrets; Remove fallen branches from the small child’s play area; Repair the car or remove; Remove the bramble from the small child’s play area; Update the sign posts with relevant contact details.

I ordered the roundabout footplate the day after our last meeting - it is on 4-to-6-week delivery – Mr. Pascoe is aware regards fitting etc.

Generally, I’m sure you’ve all seen that the equipment is looking a little tired so there will be a need to spend some money on it this year.

Windrush Way - Mr. Clements reported (by email) that there was nothing to report except that the litter bin needs emptying.

Environment/Nature Recovery Network - Mrs. Macdonald reported the following. Coronation Planters - the planters have now been treated with wood preservative and will be sited and filled with soil – and plants – shortly; Spring Litter Pick -A date for this will be decided soon; All other plans are on hold until the weather improves!

Car Park Potholes – the potholes at the entrance have been filled. However, it will not be clear whether this will be sufficient until the floods recede.

8.         CORRESPONDENCE. Community First: delivering housing needs in rural communities. Members considered that this was not relevant to Standlake as we have no land available.

9.         ACCOUNTS – The clerk reported that the accounts remained in a satisfactory state and were within budget.

The following accounts received were approved: (paid*)

 HMRC - clerk PAYE                                        £393.80*

Guideposts – planters                                    £245.00*

Absolute Solutions -willows trimming           £390.00*

AGM - Hi Viz jackets                                         £30.00*

10.       DEFIBRILLATOR PADS AT VILLAGE HALL – Mrs. Macdonald has received a quote from Welmedical Ltd. of £59.95 for 2 defibrillator pads. It was agreed that this should be accepted, and the clerk will order.

11.       DATE OF NEXT MEETING - Mr. Parnham said that the next meeting will be held in the Youth Club on Tuesday 12th March 2024 at 7.30 pm.

12.       There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.45pm.

 

Chairman   ....................................................................  Date …………………………………………………

 

Speedwatch/Traffic Calming – Mrs. A. Knipe

Speedwatch Congratulations to our two new volunteers who have passed their training and are now Operators! A big thank you! If you would like to become part of the team helping make our roads safer please drop an email to speedwatch@standlakepc.org.uk - even if you can only give up an hour a month that would be great!

During January 16 sessions were held.  105 offenders reported to TVP including 1 with no MOT and 3 no TAX; this information is then passed to DVLA.  We are still seeing an average of 1% offenders in the 30mph zones and 19% in the 20mph zones which is down from 25% in December - hopefully this decrease will continue as awareness continues.

SID Devices [Speed Indicator Devices]: Confirmation has been received from OCC that the units on Aston Road which are currently set to 30mph will be re-visited as part of the VAS/ SID replacement project.  If a unit cannot be re-calibrated there will be an option for it to be re-deployed to a 30mph zone.  Updates to follow. There has been a request for additional SID Devices on the Abingdon Road, similar to those in Kingston Bagpuize/Southmoor.  A solar device is circa £3k plus siting/ongoing maintenance.  Locations have to be approved by OCC.  Whereas the benefit is understood, funding is a major issue. Further discussion to be held on this subject.

'Golden Balls' Junction: it is very disappointing to see the signage has not been replaced.  Apparently, there has been a problem in getting the new signage but this should be resolved shortly. The Parish Council continues to monitor.

Aston Road Weight Restriction: An inquiry has been made about the possibility of having a Weight/Width Restriction for HGV's on Aston Road, Brighthampton.

 This has been pursued with OCC and the [edited] summary is as follows:

Introduction of environmental weight limits need careful consideration. Ideally survey information regarding vehicle numbers and proposed destinations for HGVs. Should a restriction be deemed to be necessary to protect the environment, suitable alternative routes must be available so vehicles can avoid the restriction without causing disruption in surrounding areas, nor unfairly disadvantaging the road haulage industry. The process to introduce a restriction involves drafting of a Traffic Regulation Order which is the legal document that will describe the restriction in detail. This will go out for a widespread consultation with responses being summarised and presented before the appropriate Council Committee for consideration. The County have no funding for this process but if an external source is made available then it may be possible to proceed.  This cost is currently £3652. In addition to this cost would be the cost of signing to highlight the presence of the restriction. I would however dare to say that this figure could well run into 10's of thousands. We would likely have to involve national Highways in developing a signing scheme too. 

Traffic Calming: A number of draft proposals have been prepared however the fundamental issue is no funding is available from OCC for the implementation of such measures even after a local consultation and ultimately formal consultation.  Further discussion needs to be held on this as well as SID Devices.  Initial thought is a Parish Sub-Committee led by residents needs to be formed to work with the Parish Council to move this forward including funding.

 

County Council report, Dan Levy 13 February 2024

 

Key activity at County Hall has been handling the floods, preparing the budget and continuing the transformation of the service provided to children with special educational needs. In my role as Cabinet Member for finance, I have been coping with the failure of central government to provide the levels of funding it claimed it was providing, which meant that we had an even larger set of challenges than we had expected. We followed this by identifying savings and efficiencies we could make. The government then, last week, announced more money would be available, which is nice, but it would be better to have a system of funding that enabled sensible planning. The current methodology is shambolic, and councils of all political persuasions have been pointing this out. The budget meeting at County Hall is on 20 February.

Flooding

Although the Eynsham Division was mostly unscathed by the recent floods, with the exception of a few areas, other parts of the county were less fortunate. It is a wake up call about building in places that can’t be kept dry. The response in West Oxfordshire was better than in some other places, in part because WODC takes a more active role working with Oxfordshire than other districts. There will be a cross-agency process to improve on our flood preparedness and responses.

As you will be very aware, one of the key places that did get flooded was the High St in Standlake.

Clearly something is wrong with the drainage system here. I have asked the flood team at the County Council to investigate. Our budget proposals include additional money for flood alleviation activity.

A40 update.

Homes England, who are the source or the bulk of the funding for the A40 scheme, are still in discussions with the County Council about the level and timing of that funding, and hence the project appearing to be making no progress. I share the frustration, not least because the Park and Ride is making such rapid progress. The whole scheme was over-ambitious, and it is a regret that when the current administration came into office it took over those plans rather than starting again from scratch.

Botley Road.

We are in continual discussion with Network Rail. We are told that the works are still on schedule to permit the reopening of Botley Road to motor vehicles in October.

Fix my Street.

It is very likely that the recent wet weather and the current cold spell will lead to an increase in the number and size of holes. Please use Fix my Street to report these. As mentioned frequently, we estimate that it would take around £45m per annum to keep the roads in a decent state. The government provides £20m. The Fix my Street website has been improved to make it easier to use.

Botley West Solar Farm

As you know, the current phase of consultation is reaching its conclusion. The County Council will be providing comments to the developer, as required. This will focus on those areas for which the County Council has primary responsibility, including highways and flooding. I think it safe to say that, among other things, it was noticeable that the consultation evidence provided by PVDP was inadequate. I was particularly unimpressed by the vagueness of cable routing options.

The District Council will be the main local authority delivering evidence, although as we all know it is the planning inspectorate and central government which will decide the application.

District Councillor update – Charlie Maynard 12 February 2024

Thames Water – as I write this, your local sewage treatment works at Standlake has been dumping sewage non-stop for 182 hours. Steve Barclay, the Environment Minister was going to attend a private meeting at Standlake village hall last Saturday 10th but cancelled. Residents have had their bills hiked, but shareholders and their bankers have not had to pay their share. Nor are the government’s regulators ensuring that the water companies, Thames Water included, are doing what they need to do. I have still not received answers from Thames Water as to what monitors they have previously installed where and what data those monitors generated, nor have I received information on any plans to install monitors in the Standlake / Northmoor sewage network. Monitors matter as the catchment is large (Northmoor to Brighthampton), the network is old and the area is low lying. This leads to massive infiltration of groundwater into the network which quickly overpowers the treatment works. Monitors will tell us where are the worst leaks and therefore what to address first. Despite Standlake STW’s woeful sewage dumping record, Thames Water has no public information as to any upgrade plans for this works, which means that there currently are no plans to upgrade this works before 2030. Terrible.

Local Plan consultation – the results of last year’s Local Plan consultations are now public and available at this link - https://meetings.westoxon.gov.uk/documents/g2258/Public%20reports%20pack%2014th-Feb-2024%2014.00%20Executive.pdf?T=10. More than 2,000 responses were made. Residents gave their views see on the various Scenarios proposed. Aggregating online, email and letter responses, Scenario 8 focussing on locating development around public transport, particularly a new rail line, received approximately double the positive responses of the next nearest scenario. Importantly, many of the eight scenarios are complementary to each other and overlap. Focussing development around villages or village clusters garnered by far the most negative votes, perhaps predictably. Also of note are the list of ideas (p97 of the pdf link) for improving the district and the 126 site submissions by landowners and/or developers of where parties would like to develop. This is just a list of submissions received. In the next few weeks an online map will be made available of all the sites so that we can all see graphically where all these sites are.

A balanced budget – the district council has produced a budget with a very small surplus. Given the cuts to local government spending that’s a pretty impressive result.