Meeting Minutes Tuesday 5th September 2017 at 19:30PM

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Minutes of the meeting of Nuneham Courtenay Parish Council on Tuesday 5th September 2017 at 19:30PM in Nuneham Courtenay Village Hall

Agenda

Present:  Parish Councillors – Madhvi Saini, John Peters, Jenny Ballam.

Also Present: 10 members of the public.

 

Parishioners’ issues

Trees on the Main Road – Although the trees have preservation orders they overshadow the footpath & are a potential risk to property as they now nearly touch the houses in some cases. There are too many leaves making it slippery under foot & difficult to walk. It was agreed Highways Department was responsible for corrective action & PC was urged to chase them urgently.

Traffic Lights & a Crossing for Nuneham Courtenay continues to be a vexing subject. Luckily Jasminder Love was available to update the meeting on the action previously taken, & funding allocated, to introduce a 30mph zone; traffic calming; traffic lights & an essential zebra crossing. Highways Department have visited the village but declared all schemes impractical for various logistical reasons. PC agreed to invite Highways Representatives back to reconsider the options. Public session ended.

 

  1. 2. Declaration of Interest – None
  2. Apologies – Sue Lawson & Elizabeth Gillespie
  3. Minutes of the 18 July meeting were accepted & signed.
  4. Matters arising – None
  5. District councilor

The District Councillor’s report for August was previously distributed, with no questions raised.

  1. Nuneham Courtenay Sports & Playing Fields Association [SPFA] – has been a charity since 1948; is a member of Oxfordshire Playing Fields Association [OPFA] & has been ROSPA approved. Ron Benson has undertaken the grass cutting for 40 years & has a current rough cut in hand. Unfortunately, the uneven surface has meant that the playing fields can be dangerous & should remain closed to ensure that no children are injured. Jasminder Love related how the committee had taken on the task of raising funds to replace the rusted playing fields equipment & interviewed nearly 40 children to understand what their ideal equipment & site layout would be. The Lease to the Playing Fields is now with a local solicitor & it is hoped that this will be available to present to the PC at the next meeting. The Council needs to agree to take over the lease, & legal responsibility, at an annual peppercorn rent &, after adoption, fund raising can begin in earnest. The boundary fences & gates have been fully funded, but £80- £90K is still required to complete the project & SPFA continues to seek further financial donations, in the name of the charity & with the support of the whole community. The Parish Council thanked Jasminder Love for this comprehensive update & looked forward to receiving the lease to help move the project forward.

 

  1. A Village Plan helps to establish a community by answering the question “what kind of village do you want to live in?” Money had been received from Oxford Community First to support a community lead plan but unfortunately this project has stalled & now is the time to restart it. Jasminder Love quoted from the Village Plan Committee minutes that there were 63 houses outside Main Road & the views of all villagers in the community are important.

The Village plan concept is different to a Neighbourhood plan, which is important from a Local Government planning perspective, but both concepts can co-exist & supplement each other. The Council thanked Jasminder Love for her valuable work on this project & would appreciate a further update, at the right time, once the process has been restarted.

 

  1. Finance. The Audit report had now been received & action was required to appoint an Internal Auditor as soon as possible to independently review the ongoing financial processes.

Nuneham Courtenay Bank Account is now active with 3 new signatories authorised & Councillor Ballam has also agreed to become a signatory to provide extra cover in the event of absence.

The following financial commitments were paid by the end of August: –

  • Zurich Insurance £253.00 – reimbursed to Councillor Peters who had paid the invoice in May.
  • Harvard & Macaulay Ltd £102.00 – old Administration invoices
  • Baldons CC £213.44 – Newsletter costs
  • Nuneham Courtenay Village Hall – £115.00 – rental to Feb 2017
  • Parish Clerk – £80.73 – expenses for June & July
  • Parish Clerk – £641.25 – salary for June & July.

These payments were Proposed by Councillor Saini & seconded by Councillor Peters

The Financial Accounts for 5 months ended 31st August, based on the above payments, were presented by the Finance Officer & noted by the Parish Council

 

  1. New Councillors. Councillor Gillespie resigned from the Council, with prior notice, & Mandy Rigault was co-opted to fill the vacancy. Nominated Madhvi Saini & seconded by Jenny Ballam. Carried unanimously.

 

  1. Planning Applications – The following applications were considered with no objections raised

P17/S2612/HH & P17/S2613/LB for garage alterations at the Old Post Office to form ancillary accommodation. No objections, since alterations are cosmetic & overall footprint not changed.

P17/S2887/LDE – retrospective, satisfactory, annex conversion at 31 Nuneham Courtenay.

Proposed Madhvi Saini & seconded by John Peters

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Any Other Business – Defibrillator – PC to consider options, particularly for outside Village Hall

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Date of next meeting: Tuesday 7 November 2017 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.

 

 

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