North Moreton Parish Council Chmn
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North Moreton Parish Council Chmn. Minutes of North Moreton Parish Council Meeting held at North Moreton Village Hall on 11th March 2014 at 9:00pm. Present: Mrs R. P. Templeman (Chair), Mr. R. F. Haycock, Mr C.I. Shipton, Mr.D. Tebworth, Mrs. S.C. Harrison, and Mr. A. Wise (Clerk) RPT opened the meeting at 21:00 hrs. 14/582 Apologies Cllrs. Greene and L. Docherty 14/583 Report on OCC OCC Report – See appendix 7 and SODC activities SODC Report – See appendix 8 Note both reports were read out by the clerk during the APM that preceded this meeting 14/584 Hear None representations from members of the public 14/585 Approve the It was proposed by DT, seconded CIS, that the minutes be signed as a true minutes of the meeting of record. Carried nem con. 13th January 2014 14/586 Consider matters, All action items had been completed except for actions now transferred to not taken elsewhere, 14/591 arising from the minutes of the meeting of 13th January 2014 14/587 Receive reports External Affairs Report from Parish Councillors and the Clerk The following was delivered during the preceding APM : Housing:- OCC still regard housing as a priority as the provision of which appears to be tied to Gov’t funding for Science & Technology business & growth in the area. Didcot:- Roger & I attended a recent mtg for the N of Ladygrove development where plans are well advanced. We raised concern over potential flooding & traffic bottlenecks; but made little headway. The developers are confident that with the use of ponds, swales & ditches the development will be “H20 Neutral” & have no adverse affect on flooding elsewhere. They were equally complacent about traffic, taking the view that a natural slowing of flow is acceptable. 2030 north of A4130 & Ladygrove 640 East of Ladygrove 3342 in GWP 2150 West of GWP towards A34 North Moreton Parish Council Chmn. Wallingford:- SODC has reversed its decision & will build 555 houses at Slade End & not Winterbrook, Although recent danger of flooding from the rear of Fir Tree Ave may rekindle local opposition & force a re-think in favour of the Winterbrook site. CAGE:- Communities Against Gravel Extraction The CC has rethought the strategy with Cholsey no longer replacing Sutton Courtenay & for a wider search area to be explored between Oxford & the Goring gap. Further, any new digging in S Oxon will only be “in place of an existing quarry”. Fulscot Bridge: The bridge has been raised & work started, although recent visits show there is much to be done, particularly on the southern approaches. Whilst not a surprise considering the recent weather & flooding issues, delays are to be expected. Latest news is a 6 month delay, early Sept, with plans for the southern approach yet to be approved. 14/588 Financial matters Approval of payments. It was proposed SH, seconded CIS and carried that the following invoices be paid: Parish Clerk’s wages, PAYE, expenses, SODC Dog Waste Collection Service, Azalea Landscapes for erecting new fencing on the Rec, MC Electrical Services for installing village Defibrillator on side of village Hall, 2014/15 Memberships for OALC & ORCC. Also a replacement cheque (830) was written and given to the new chair of the SM Pre-School as her predecessor had failed to cash the previous cheque in time. Current financial situation. AW presented the current financial situation – attachments 2 & 3. It was proposed SH, seconded CIS and carried that the Clerk arrange to AW transfer the sum of £1000 from the Business Reserve Account to the current account to cover agreed payments before the precept for 2014/15 is received in early April. 14/589 Planning AW presented the current planning application situation – attachment 4. No outstanding planning applications. The meeting was also addressed by Stewart Lilley on the proposed planning application for land south of Kinton. The Cllrs. agreed to respond to the most recent planning application received for the property known as Goodwood with NSV and no comments. 14/590 Highways and Chairman attended a bus meeting which was held in a bus in Didcot Transport last week She also attended the latest PTR Meeting in Oxford where the impact of the latest proposed OCC budget cuts for 2014/15 was discussed in terms of subsidies for rural bus services. Chairman to email Mike Smith @ OCC Highways Drainage Team to RPT arrange for the culvert opposite Barn House to be cleared out. 14/591 Recreation and Email received from a parishioner noting that the gate in Bear Lane CIS Playground matters leading onto the Rec is broken. CIS to obtain quote for new gate and gate post. It was proposed SH, seconded DT and carried that CIS order the new gate and gate post and arrange installation. CIS reported that the new Village Playground Committee had been meeting regularly under the chairmanship of Dave Powell and that he had attended their most recent meeting where a proposed shopping list North Moreton Parish Council Chmn. totalling £50k was agreed with plenty of fund-raising activities planned for 2014 and 2015. Dave Powell had addressed the APM earlier in the evening with the PAG committee’s plans for 2014 and beyond. 14/592 Risk assessment RPT signed off appropriate parts on the current Risk Assessment Checklist. - attachment 5 14/593 Respond to None Communications as the Chairman may direct 14/594 Attend to any other None business at the Chairman’s discretion 14/595 Date of next Monday 2nd June 2014 meeting Closure RPT declared the meeting closed at 23:20 hrs. Signed: Date: Attachments: 1. Agenda 2. Financial Statements 3. Expenditure against Budget 2013-2014 4. Planning Application 5. Risk assessment checklist 6. OCC Report REPORT TO PARISH COUNCILS FROM YOUR COUNTY COUNCILLOR MARCH 2014 THE BUDGET The budget was decided at the Full Council meeting on 18 February. A council tax increase of 1.99% was agreed and whilst any increase should be avoided, this small increase of 46p per week for a band D property means that some valued services can be retained. There were some difficult decisions to take, however money was reinvested into the priority areas as opposed to reducing spending and the Council’s overall new savings figure remains at £64m, with £31m of savings having already been planned. The Council is on track to have made £170m of savings from 2010 to 2014. Between 2010 and 2018, savings totalling £265 million will Cabinet Member for Finance Cllr Arash Fatemian & have been achieved by sharing services with other councils Council Leader Cllr Ian Hudspeth finalising the Budget and reducing costs, including cutting the number of Directors by 50%. North Moreton Parish Council Chmn. Despite all the savings and reductions there were some positive announcements: An additional investment of £800,000 to end 15 minute personal care visits by extending the time of visits; An extra £350,000 will be available for the setting up of a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub in Oxfordshire; There will be £1m extra for general highway maintenance to be spent across the county – with priorities for this spend to be determined during coming months; A total of £400,000 will be set aside as a contingency to deal with issues stemming from flooding and other winter weather issues – the exact nature of how this money will be spent will be determined once full assessments have been made when waters have subsided; A total of £315,000 will be invested in community budgets. The budget proposals were fully supported by the Conservative-led Alliance whilst opposition members voted against the proposals, including those listed above. The three largest parties all proposed a 1.99% increase in council tax (with the Green Party planning a 4.5% increase triggering a costly referendum). It has been a challenging budget and now we have to make sure we deliver the savings. FLOODING The rain still continued to fall during February, adding to the existing high river levels and water table. The County Council’s Fire & Rescue service worked 24/7 alongside the Highways team to deal with incidents as they occurred; to try to keep residents safe and Oxfordshire moving during the month. There was some innovative work on the Botley Road that meant it remained open during the bad weather as opposed to having to be closed the previous month. Chief Fire Officer Dave Etheridge explaining the The Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, Cllr Rodney issues to Secretary of State Eric Pickles and the Leader of the Council Rose, holds the portfolio regarding flooding. He has invited Councillors to forward information from their divisions and held a flood forum to assess our response. BBC Oxford News reported the event here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-26398358 This precedes the major Flood Summit in March which will bring all the various agencies and partners together to find a solution to the flooding that appears to be becoming a regular occurrence. If you have any ideas, then please do not hesitate to contact me so that I can feed them into the debate. More information on the Flood Summit can be found here: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/news/2014/jan/oxfordshire- county-council-announces-multi-agency-flooding-summit HOUSING The County Council is not responsible for the planning of houses and developments that is down to the City and District Councils. However, we do have a major part to play as we are responsible for key infrastructure such as education and roads. Currently there is a Strategic Housing Market Assessment taking place across North Moreton Parish Council Chmn.