Minutes of the meeting of Nuneham Courtenay Parish Council held on 6th March 2018 at 19:30 in Nuneham Courtenay Village Hall
Agenda
The Chair opened the meeting at 7.34pm
- Present
Parish Councillors: John Peters, Madhvi Saini (Chair), Mandy Rigault and Sue Lawson
Also: Geoffrey Ferres (Clerk), Keith Stenning (Oxfordshire County Council) and five parishioners
Apologies: Jenny Ballam, County Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale.
- Declarations of interest
None
- Keith Stenning, Oxfordshire County Council
Lorraine Lindsay-Gale had arranged for Keith Stenning, Group Manager,
Area Operations (South) to attend the meeting. He introduced himself.
One parishioner expressed concern at the lack of a safe crossing. She said she was a mother and was especially concerned about the risks to children.
She said she understood that when the development took place at the north end of the village, the developer had given Oxfordshire County Council £20,000 towards the cost of a pedestrian crossing and she understood this money had since disappeared.
Keith Stenning said no money had ever been paid by the developer to the County Council, whatever might have been said to the village. Keith said that a crossing would require lighting. This did not require the whole street to be lit, just the crossing. It may be that the north end of the village would be the most obvious location for that very reason.
The parishioner said she understood a crossing might have cost about £55,000 at the time the developer promised £20,000. Keith said the cost now might be £80,000 or even £100,000 and this was money the County Council did not have available in the current financial climate.
If the money were to come from a developer as part of the approval of a new development in the parish, it would have to be quite a large development to warrant such a large sum.
Sue Lawson pointed out that, unlike Section 106 money, Community Infrastructure Levy money does not have to be spent exclusively in the parish where the development takes place and she said Lorraine Lindsay-Gale has been working hard to achieve recognition that developments often have impacts well beyond the parish in which they take place.
Parishioners were concerned about various obstructions in the village and Keith said he could arrange for these to be removed but suggested that first the Council should write to those responsible giving them a deadline for their removal, before referring the problem to the County Council.
Mandy Rigault said the village’s wooden gateways needed attention: one was overgrown with ivy and several needed repainting. Keith said he could arrange for them to receive attention.
Parishioners commented about the unevenness of the footways due to the tree roots. A parishioner asked about low-level lighting as an alternative to conventional street lighting. Keith said he believed such lighting has not been installed anywhere in Oxfordshire. He said he could arrange for a survey of the footways.
Another parishioner asked about an additional speed camera or a change to the existing speed camera to deal with traffic travelling northwards. Keith said speed cameras are now a matter for Thames Valley Police, not the County Council.
Keith said there are other measures that can be considered which do reduce speeding, such as vehicle-activated signs. He suggested one of these might cost around £8,000.
A parishioner said a give way sign on one of the side roads had been struck by a vehicle and was lying in a garden. Keith said he could arrange for it to be put back where it belonged.
The Chair thanked Keith for the recent work on the trees in the village which had been widely welcomed.
- Parishioners’ issues
No other issues were raised by parishioners.
- Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes of the meeting held on 9th January 2018 meeting were approved, then signed by the Chair.
- Mattes arising and brought forward
None.
- District Councillor’s report
Sue Lawson presented her report, which will be uploaded to the website along with the other papers for this meeting.
Mandy Rigault asked Sue about the reference in her report to grass cutting, which she had thought was a County Council responsibility. Sue said it was not SODC’s intention to take over this responsibility but it would be prepared in certain circumstances to “top up” what the County Council was doing.
The Chair thanked Sue for the grant she had approved to assist in establishing the legal title to the Village Hall.
- County Councillor’s report
Lorraine Lindsay-Gale had sent the Council her February and March monthly reports, which will be uploaded to the website.
- Planning applications
The Vice-Chair as Planning Champion took the Council through recent planning applications in the parish.
- Old Post Office: discharge of conditions 3 (Joinery Details) and 4 (Samples) in application P14/S2948/HH – external and internal alterations to detached garage building to form ancillary residential accommodation [P17/S3512/DIS]
The Vice-Chair reported that SODC has discharged these conditions. The Council had not submitted any comment.
- Lower Farm, Lower Farm Lane: removal of condition 4 (Highways) in application P17/S3381/FUL; outbuilding/garage, change of use to annexe ancillary to dwelling [P17/S4298/FUL]
The Vice-Chair reported that SODC has granted this application, on which the Council had not submitted any comment.
- Woodside Farmhouse, New Barn Farm, Nuneham Park: part single-storey, part two-storey rear extension to house [P18/S0162/HH]
The Council agreed to support this application.
- 37 Nuneham Courtenay: change the roof type from a hipped roof to a gable roof [P17/S1363/HH]
The Vice-Chair said he had already responded on the Council’s behalf asking that this application be refused, citing:
- amenity considerations
- overdevelopment
- scale & bulk leading to loss of light at no 36.
Sue Lawson said she has already called in the application for decision by Planning Committee, rather than by officers. She emphasized the need for a representative of the Council to attend the Planning Committee when the application is considered and to outline the Council’s objections.
- Barclay Farms Nineveh Farm: Proposed forage barn [P18/S0574/AG]
The Council agreed to support this application.
- Harcourt Arboretum: discharge of conditions 3 (sample materials), 4 (external ducts and flues) and 5 (joinery details) in application P13/S0326/FUL – construction of Woodland Barn and Composting Toilets [P18/S0639/DIS]
The Vice-Chair said he has not yet received details of this application.
- Finance
The Council examined and approved the figures for the year to date submitted by the Responsible Financial Officer, Stewart Deakin. The Clerk advised that an auditor would be likely to question why the Council’s reserves were so high relative to its precept and annual expenditure.
The Council agreed to pay for three hours’ hire of the Village Hall and instructed the Chair and Vice-Chair to sign a cheque for £30 to the Village Hall Committee.
Mandy Rigault said she is a member of the Village Hall Committee and asked if the meeting could consider a grant to the Village Hall to cover the cost of a ramp for an accessible toilet.
The Clerk advised that such a proposal should not be raised at a meeting without notice, and that if the Council were to receive a request for help from the Village Hall Committee councillors who were members of the Village Hall Committee might be expected to declare an interest and not vote on the application.
It was understood the Village Hall Committee was also seeking funds for a hard surface for the car park.
Sue Lawson recommended that the Village Hall Committee consider an application to SODC’s Capital Communities Grants scheme once legal title to the Village Hall has been established.
It was suggested that the Village Hall Committee consider making an application to the next meeting of the Council.
- Correspondence
The Clerk said he had nothing to bring to the Council’s attention.
- Preparation for the year end
The Council instructed the Clerk to compile a Register of Assets which should include a litter bin, a laptop, a printer, and a set of tables in the Village Hall.
The Council voted to establish a Finance Sub-Committee of three members (the minimum required under its Standing Orders) and to delegate the following matters to it:
- Appointment of an Internal Auditor for 2017-18
- Consideration of the draft risk assessment
- Drafting of a budget for 2017-18
- Finalising and signing a contract with the new Clerk.
The Council agreed that the members of the sub-committee would be the Chair, the Vice-Chair and Mandy Rigault.
- Playing Fields
Mandy Rigault had obtained quotations from four solicitors to provide legal advice to the Council in relation to the proposed lease. The Council agreed to instruct Royds Withy King to undertake up to four hours’ work at £215 per hour.
- Conservation Plan
Sue Lawson had met with Sharon Crawford on 16th February who is working on a conservation report for Nuneham Courtenay which will go to everyone when it is finished. Sue informed the meeting that the community was invited to contribute views via the Chair.
Sue said she was advised that if one thing is subject to enforcement, then everything similar must be. Enforcement cannot be selective or be targeted against particular individuals.
- Communication
Since the last meeting Simon Gray, a parishioner, had agreed to design and maintain a new website as a volunteer. The new website was already available and could be viewed here:
The Council agreed to pay the cost of the domain name and instructed the Chair and Vice-Chair to make a payment for this and any other expenses reasonably incurred by Simon Gray in connection with the new website.
The Clerk reported that since the last meeting he had applied for a Government grant of £80 to purchase a scanner and the Council agreed he should arrange to purchase one as soon as the grant is received.
The Council agreed to adopt the Model Publication Scheme published by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
- The Baldons Neighbourhood Plan
The Council agreed it was not ready to comment on this plan.
Sue Lawson encouraged the Council to do its own Neighbourhood Plan and said help was available from SODC. She acknowledged a Neighbourhood Plan would require a lot of work.
The Council voted unanimously to suspend Standing Order 3u “A meeting shall not exceed 2 hours” so the Council could complete all the business before it.
- Oxford to Cambridge Expressway Action Group
The Council agreed to join the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway Action Group and instructed the Chair and Vice-Chair to make a payment for the one-off fee of £50.
The Council accepted Mandy Rigault’s offer to attend a meeting as the Council’s representative in the event that a meeting were called – Sue Lawson said only one meeting had so far been held.
- Information Commissioner’s Office
The Council agreed to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office and instructed the Chair and Vice-Chair to make a payment for the registration fee of £35.
- Oxfordshire Association of Local Councils
The Council agreed to re-join the Oxfordshire Association of Local Councils and instructed the Chair and Vice-Chair to make a payment for the 2018-19 subscription of £135.06.
- Automated external defibrillator
The Clerk said he needed guidance from the Council as to the type of cabinet for which to obtain quotations and the type of cabinet to be purchased in which to keep it.
The Clerk explained that if the defibrillator were to be able to be used by an untrained person, it might be best if it were one of those that talked the user through what to do and showed the user what to do on a screen. He said that if the defibrillator were kept in a cabinet outside a building, it would probably need to be heated.
He said the other council for which he is clerk had budgeted £3,000 for the cost of a defibrillator, cabinet, sign and training; it had then raised about £2,500 from various sources, putting in only £500 from its own funds.
The Council instructed the Clerk to obtain quotations for a defibrillator with on screen as well as spoken instructions and for a heated cabinet on the basis the defibrillator might be housed in the porch of the Village Hall.
- Dates of future council meetings
The annual meeting of the Parish Council is to be held on Tuesday 8th May 2018 in the Village Hall at 7.30pm.
It was agreed to hold the annual parish meeting on Friday 20th April 2018 in the Village Hall starting at 7.30pm and finishing by 9pm. It was agreed that up to £100 might be spent on refreshments.
- Any other business
The Chair said Jenny Ballam has submitted her resignation because she is moving out of the parish so she had invited James Fallon to attend the meeting.
James introduced himself to the Council. He said he is aged 27 and is employed as a carpenter with a housing association. He said he had lived in the village for about two years.
The Council agreed that if the vacancy caused by Jenny’s resignation were to be filled by co-option, it would be very happy to co-opt James.
The meeting closed at 10pm.
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