Minutes of the meeting of Nuneham Courtenay Parish Council on Tuesday 18th July 2017 at 19:30PM in Nuneham Courtenay Village Hall

Agenda

Present:  Parish Councillors – Madhvi Saini, John Peters, Sue Lawson, Elizabeth Gillespie

Also Present:  Jasminder Love, Jenny Taylor, Sheila Barratt & 6 other members of the public

Present:  Parish Councillors – Madhvi Saini, John Peters, Jenny Ballam, Sue Lawson, Elizabeth Gillespie

Also Present: 10 members of the public

 

1.Parishioners’ issues:                                                                                                                         Planning application for no 37 Nuneham Courtenay.

Much discussion on the height of the proposed single storey building, which at 5m high was considered excessive. Orientation changed in the plans, so right next to the boundary, affecting the privacy of the neighbours on both sides. Impact on the driveway and access: narrow drive in, very difficult getting more than two cars out safely. Possibly represents an over development of the garden. Conservation and Green Belt rules still apply & PC could mention that in any objections, if considered appropriate.  Roseanne Lillywhite is the contact for planning advice.

Playing fields: Appear overgrown, with the grass much too high & village children have nowhere to congregate. There is a general frustration that plans have been discussed over many years with no visible progress. A statement from Jasminder Love was read out. In response, it was asked if there is a timescale in place for the development of the playing fields.

Action: Jasminder Love and Mr. Benson be invited to the next PC meeting to discuss their plans & update about the registration of the land. Is there any help that the playing field committee needs?

Trees on the streets – They are a potential risk to property as they now touch the houses in some cases. Southern Electric have explained about cutting the trees & dangers to the electricity supply. Please phone SE if you need any high viz jackets, torches, advice etc.

Action: to be added to the agenda in the next meeting

Crossing for Nuneham Courtenay was discussed – Action: see what has been suggested historically, talk to the Highways Department, and bring the information to the village at the next meeting.

Public session ended.

 

2. 2. Declaration of Interest – None
3. Apologies – Stewart Deakin
4. Minutes of the 02 June meeting were accepted & signed.
5. Matters arising – None
6. District councilor

Unitary council bid has not been fully supported but the proposal has gone to the government anyway, but this is now considered a low priority.

5-year housing land supply proposals required for planning purposes, however this can cause problems where CC cannot meet targets & local Neighbourhood Plans are not clear on the issues. Action: DC to email documents/Guide to Neighbourhood planning & how to get funding.

                           

7. Playing fields – the matter had previously been addressed in the public session
8. Village plan. Money had been received from Oxford First to support a community lead plan. An email about the funding was read out and a written response from Jasminda noted.           Action: Jasminda Love to be invited to a future meeting to update the PC on its status.

However, the Village plan concept is now outdated while a Neighbourhood plan carries more material weight. Other local Neighbourhood Plans are well established eg Baldons, & Nuneham Courtenay Parish can learn from these. To start the formal Neighbourhood Plan process an SODC officer will be invited to a future meeting to explain the concept & what help is available.

 

9. Finance. Accounts were reviewed for audit purposes, approved & signed. Annual Audit statements were presented & signed off as no concerns expressed. It was explained that there is no access to the Bank Account currently but 3 new signatories are in the process of being authorised & any outstanding financial commitments are expected to be cleared by the end of August. The Clerk is dealing closely with the Bank on this issue.
10. New Councillors. It is anticipated that 2 new prospective Councillors will be available for consideration at the next meeting.
11. Planning – PC agreed to raise an objection to the development at 37 Nuneham Courtenay based on issues raised earlier in the meeting
12. Any Other Business

Website – Action in hand to update the website. Not fully sure of the protocol so will consult with Sandford and see how they manage their site/best practice.

Maintenance of the footpaths. Clerk to get in touch with Savills about the footpaths & invite the new landowners, or their representative, to come and talk to the village about their aims for the estate. Noted: Global Retreat happy to host.

Oxfordshire LEADER (funding from the EU) Has funds available to help rural community projects & could be a potential source to help with playing fields development; funds for a crossing or even a Village/talking shop like Sandford.

Crossing Status. CC/ Highways will be contacted to get clarification about the crossing status since there is a belief that £50K had already been made available for such a project.

 

Date of next meeting: Tuesday 5 September 2017 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.

 

 

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