Little Milton Parish Council

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 13th May 2015

Present: Cllr. Barry Coward (Chairman) Cllr. Elizabeth Swabey-Collison Cllr. Alison Shelton Cllr. Kate Daunt Cllr. Bertie Bright Mr R Fergusson (Clerk)

Seven members of the public

01/05/15 Introduction by Chairman

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the Annual Parish meeting.

02/05/15 Report by Chairman of Parish Council

The Chairman thanked the members of the previous Parish Council for their work over the past four years and made a special mention of Mabel Wood who had stood down after serving on the Council for twenty eight years. He thanked Mabel on behalf of the village for her participation in the village over the past decades.

The Chairman outlined the progress that had been made on the Community Led Plan and stated that the Council had played an active role in various initiatives concerning traffic and HGV’s. He referred to the meeting with the OCC cabinet member for traffic and the meetings with John Howell M.P. and the Council’s response to the consultation on the draft County Council Local Transport Plan. He also highlighted the work being done by the volunteer groups on Speedwatch and Weight limit monitoring and as a result the local police have issued warning letters to speeding motorists and trading standards have taken action against over-weight vehicles on the Haseley Road. There has also been improved signing of the weight limit on the B480 between Chalgrove and Stadhampton. The other significant road safety measure has been the improved chevron signs on the A329 prior to the Church Road turning for Great Milton. The Chairman highlighted the likely impact of reduced funding for OCC Transport and an expectation of more self- help within communities.

The Chairman detailed the engagement that the Council had with Thames Water in respect of the sewerage issues outside Little Milton School and its impact at the pumping station on the Haseley Road as well as the recent work that has been done by Thames Water in the BBOWT reserve. He stated that the Council continue working with Thames Water to resolve our problems. The Chairman also referred to the engagement with the riparian landowners on the watercourse that runs from Blenheim Lane to the A329 at Frogmore. It is hoped that a modest programme of clearance can be agreed.

The Chairman referred to the delays that had been experienced in delivering superfast Broadband but he was hoped that the village would have super-fast Broadband by the end of September.

The Chairman commented that some projects within the village plan had not got off the ground due to a lack of volunteers. This included a Public Transport Group and a Youth Working Group. However a Cycle Paths Working Group had started up and were working with the County Councillor to try and establish feasible cycle routes connecting local villages.

The Chairman explained that the Strategic Housing Market Assessment for the county identified a need for even more housing in South Oxfordshire, over and above those included in the Core Strategy albeit over a longer timescale. He explained that there were a number of options being consulted upon that included the so called J7 settlement

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and building in the Green Belt. He stated that the Council had strongly opposed both of these options.

The Chairman stated that the Council continued to invest in the recreation ground and play-area and thanked Raymond for his sterling work as editor of the newsletter. He reported that the Orchard lease was up for renewal this year and that negotiations between the Parish Council and the Orchard were progressing well. He mentioned that the Council had done some background work on the possibility of installing a defibrillator or defibrillators in the village and that this would carried forward by the new Council.

03/05/15 Financial report

The Clerk outlined the factors that govern the Parish Council finances and emphasised that the Parish Council always had to determine whether it had the legal power to spend any money. The Clerk also outlined the budgetary control that the Council uses to manage the finances of the Parish

The Clerk reported that the total income for 2014-15 was £19,143 of which £10,500 was for the precept. The other major sources of income related to the newsletter advertising, £6,252 and the MUGA, £1010. The Clerk reported that the total expenditure for 2014-15 was £19,213. He outlined that the major categories of expenditure were newsletter, £4,615; Recreation Ground £4,863; Loan repayment £3,755; Council administration £2,887 and MUGA £947.

The Clerk concluded his report by commenting on the level of reserves. He stated that the Parish Council closing reserves for 2014-15 stood at £13,651in order to cushion the impact of uneven cash flows to avoid any temporary borrowing, a level of contingency to meet unexpected events or emergencies and the building up of funds for predicted events such as the car park.

04/05/15 District Councillor Report

In the absence of the Stephen Harrod the Chairman read out key elements of the South Oxfordshire District Council report.

The report covered the development of local housing and the impact of the Strategic Housing Market Assessment. It reported that there was strong support for new house building in our area with a strong support for more affordable homes.

The report outlined the increased investment in leisure centres across the District with money being spent on pool improvements, gym equipment and maintenance.

The District Council continued to look at being more efficient in the provision of Corporate Services and were working with other authorities to reducing costs over the next two years.

The report highlighted the extensive development in Didcot with its new Orchard Shopping Centre as well as redevelopment of the area in front of Didcot railway Station.

South Oxfordshire remains financially sound and has cut the Council Tax by 2% last year and a further 3% this year. However this prudent approach has still allowed an additional million pounds for extra street cleaning, community safety, better planning enforcement and more recycling. South Oxfordshire has had the 2nd best recycling rate in the country.

The major highlight, for the wrong reason, was the fire at of the District Council’s offices at Crowmarsh. The level of disruption was minimised by the Council’s recovery plan that kicked in almost immediately. It is unclear what the future of the Crowmarsh site will be but temporary offices have been leased near Dicot to house the Council.

05/05/15 County Councillor report

In the absence of the Stephen Harrod the Chairman read out key elements of the South Oxfordshire District Council report.

The report covered the budget for 2015-16 and the savings that had been made over the past 5 years and at the same time keeping the Council Tax rise to 1.99%. The savings reflected a 50% reduction in Directors, a 40% reduction in senior management alongside an overall staff reduction of 30%. Page 2 of 5

A report also highlighted the consultation on the Local Transport Plan and the adoption of a new Minerals and Waste Local Plan.

The County Council is exploring ways in which further powers can be devolved to local authorities and together with the leaders of Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire Councils have jointly signed a bold offer to the Government to unlock further economic growth and significantly build on the £45 billion value of goods and services that the area already generates.

The County Council has maintained its position as one of the best counties for recycling of waste in the country, coming top in 3 out of 7 categories.

The report stated that almost 91% of Oxfordshire children due to start secondary school this year have been allocated a place at their first-preference school.

06/05/15 Report from Village Hall Management Committee

The report on the Village hall was given by Teresa Quested Chair of the Village Hall Management Committee.

Teresa reported that the last year had been a very busy one for the Pine Lodge committee. She stated that the committee had taken on board the comments and suggestions raised by the village as part of the Community Led Plan questionnaire and had made some key improvements.

Teresa was delighted to report that the lighting, which had been a major concern for many users, had now been enhanced with LED lights. It proved to be very difficult to find the right solution but the response from the users has been very positive. She also reported that Dave Ponting had been working on improving the acoustics to improve the listening experience for the Cinema club and other music based events. She stated that changes had been made and the sound quality had been improved.

Teresa outlined the range of repairs that had been undertaken during the last year and it included the replacement of the dishwasher after 10 years of faithful service. The new dishwasher is a commercial machine that completes a load in 2 minutes. Teresa praised the sound financial management exercised by Dee Waldron and thanked her for all her work on behalf of the committee.

Teresa thanked the work done by Jim and Linda Lovegrove who both clean and look after the hall. They organise the bookings and carry out a stream of small repairs.

Teresa spend a little time highlighting the events that had been provide by the committee during the past year and they included the Clive Carroll concert, Around the World in 80 days as well as the regular quiz evenings, cinema club and craft club. She thanked all those who carry out the tasks that it make it all possible. Teresa was pleased to report that the Pine Lodge would celebrate its 10th anniversary by having a village party in September with a pig roast and live music.

Teresa highlighted the wider charitable work of the committee in their support of giving free rental to the Leukaemia Craft weekend as well as organising and funding the Senior Citizen’s Lunch (ably supported by Ian and Des).

Teresa concluded her report by thanking all of the Pine Lodge Committee for all their time, dedication and hard work but she had a special thank you to Stuart McGill who was moving on after more than a decade. Stuart had made a massive contribution to the Village Hall

07/05/15 Report from Little Milton Shop

Mr Stuart McGill the Chairman of the Village Shop gave a report on behalf of the Shop Management Committee.

Stuart was delighted to report that the shop had completed six years of trading and that sales in 2014-15 were up by 10% over the previous year. The Shop had endured some difficult times but he felt that its cash reserves were now able to cover its foreseeable needs. Stuart commented that the new Budgens store at Stadhampton did not appear to have had any impact on the sales of the shop although it was a threat to trading.

He thanked Alison, Annie and Clair for their dedication and hard work and also thanked the volunteers who have supported the shop and stated that they were vital to its current and future success. Page 3 of 5

The Chairman thanked Stuart for his dedication and hard work over the past year.

08/05/15 Report by Chair of Little Milton School Governors

Samina Lyden Chair of Governors gave a report on behalf of Little Milton School.

Samina reported that 2014-15 had been a busy year at Little Milton School and after a short term in numbers last year the pupil numbers had grown again to 77 pupils. She stated that the staff had been busy implementing the New National Curriculum which had a slimmed down content but required teaching in much more depth and they were working with others schools in the Wheatley partnership in developing new ways to assess pupils. Samina stated that the head teacher Eve Hunter had been released to spend some time at Marsh Baldon as it was currently without a head.

Samina reported on the various links with other European Schools through the Comenius project and the successful visit by the older children to Bordeaux in July 2014. She reported that the partnership link with Caesar Mlumbi was still flourishing with reciprocal visits planned in June and September this year.

She commented that the school meals initiative brought in by the Government had proved quite challenging but after some initial teething problems it had now settled down and was very popular with both the pupils and parents.

The chair of Governors highlighted the schools project for new buildings, and although it had been unsuccessful in obtaining funding over the past two years a recent meeting with Diocese had left the feeling more optimistic. Stuart McGill has joined the governing body to help steer the project forward.

Samina concluded her report by thanking the Friends of little Milton school for all their fundraising efforts that had enabled the school to purchase much needed resources. She also thanked the wider community for all their support and a very special thank you to the Revd. Victor Story who had been a great friend and support to the school.

09/05/15 Report from Orchard Pre-School

Nikki Hayman, Chair of the Management Committee, gave a report on behalf of the Orchard Pre School.

Nikki reported that The Orchard continues to be a successful provider of high quality early education, as it has been for many years, and its reputation is widely known. She stated that the focus in the last financial year was to ensure that The Orchard Pre School was self-supporting sustainable and that the fundraising was focussed to purchase equipment and other capital projects for the benefit of the children.

Nikki highlighted that The Orchard benefitted from a happy team of highly trained and professional staff, most of whom had worked together for many years. She stated that they were currently recruiting staff to meet the new statutory ratios going forward. The new requirements for workplace pensions would present a challenge for the committee but she was confident that they were well placed to deal with it. Nikki reported that 2014-15 had been a good year for fund-raising that included a number of successful smaller events as well as the Annual Christmas Fayre. The cutbacks at local Council level, and with other grant making organisations receiving less funding themselves, meant that the Orchard had received no grants in the year but were fortunate to have received a donation from two local companies.

Nikki stated that all areas of the amended Early Years Foundation Stage were covered in their planning, and determined by our observations of all children on an ongoing basis. She was delighted to report that the Orchard had received an excellent OFSTED report that graded them as “good” and with an “excellent” sub-rating for the care provided for the children.

Nikki concluded her report by thanking the parents for their support and involvement as it was an important part of the Orchard’s ethos. She also thanked the staff and the committee as well as all the volunteers and who work very hard to ensure that the Orchard runs smoothly as well as contribute to it financially.

10/05/15 Report on St James’ Church

Raymond Fergusson, Churchwarden, gave a report on behalf of St James’s Church.

He reported that an important part of the PCC responsibility was to maintain the Grade 2 listed building. He stated that during 2014 a new stone apex cross was fitted after the Page 4 of 5

original cross was removed in the 1950’s. He also was pleased to report that the WWW 1 memorial plaque inside the church had been refurbished. He also stated that there were a number of routine maintenance matters attended to during the year including gutter clearance, maintenance of the lightning conductor. The maintenance of the church building was identified as important to the village within the Village Plan.

He reported that the attendances at the Sunday services had remained steady during the year and that the Christmas Day morning service had been well attended.

Raymond stated that the retirement of the Revd. Victor Story after fifteen years’ service to the community had meant that the Benefice were now seeking a replacement. He stated that the process was well in hand and that it was hoped that interviews would take place on 10th June.

Raymond emphasised that the PCC was very appreciative of the number of volunteers who gave willing of their time to make it such a welcoming place. This included cleaners, flower arrangers, grass cutters, preparation of the linen, bell ringers and the large number of people who support the annual fete.

Raymond concluded by stating that the church would always be there to meet whatever needs villagers had and that it had an important role within the community.

11/05/15 Parish Forum

There were no matters raised.

The meeting closed at 7.57 pm

Signed by

Chairman………………………………………Date…………………………………………

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