Minutes of the extraordinary meeting of Nuneham Courtenay Parish Council held on 26th March 2018 at the Nuneham Courtenay Village Hall
The Chair opened the meeting at 7.11pm
Agenda
- Present
Parish Councillors: John Peters (Vice-Chair), Madhvi Saini (Chair) and Sue Lawson.
Also: June Harris.
Apologies: Mandy Rigault.
- Declarations of interest
The Chair said she is a member of the Village Hall Committee so passed the chair to the Vice-Chair and said she would take no part in the discussion of the Village Hall Committee’s application for a grant.
- Finance
The Chair and Vice-Chair signed the following cheques which had been approved at the Council’s meetings on 9th January and 6th March when the Council’s cheque book was still in Somerset:
- Oxfordshire Association of Local Councils, 2018-19 subscription, £135.06 (under section 143 of the Local Government Act 1972)
- Simon Gray, expenses relating to new website, £41 (under section 142 of the Local Government Act 1972)
- Nuneham Courtenay Village Hall Committee, hire of Village Hall for January and March 2018 Council Meetings, 2 x £30 = £60 (under section 133 of the Local Government Act 1972).
- Grants Policy
The Clerk recommended that the Council amend the fifth paragraph of the current policy which had been amended in July 2015 to say the Council may not fund more than 50% of the total cost of any project.
The Clerk said that discretion is at the heart of good decision-making in local government so that a Council can respond to exceptional situations by varying its usual rules.
He advised the Council that the fifth paragraph of the Grants policy when approved in 2011 had stated “The council can award up to 100% of the sum requested, but will usually award a lesser amount. A typical award will be 50% of the total cost.”
The Clerk said he believed this was a far more appropriate wording which allowed the Council to tailor its awards to circumstances.
The Council agreed the amendment recommended by the Clerk.
- Application for grant from Village Hall Committee towards the cost of provision of a disabled toilet
June Harris presented the grant application from the Village Hall Committee. She said it would cost £575 to provide a proper disabled toilet, based on the cheaper of two quotes obtained.
The Village Hall Committee requested a grant to cover the whole cost as it expected to contribute shortly to the cost of providing a proper disabled access ramp and needed to keep a reasonable reserve for contingencies.
The Clerk advised the Council that it had the power to make the grant under section 19 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
After discussion, in which the Chair took no part, the Council agreed to make a grant of £575 to the Village Hall Committee, the exception to the typical policy of paying no more than half the cost of a project being justified by the urgent need for the Village Hall to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act.
The Chair and Vice-Chair signed a cheque for £575, being now the only two signatories remaining on the Council’s bank account.
The meeting closed at 7.47pm.
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PDF of Meeting Agenda (Opens in a new tab)
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