There Will Be a Meeting of Full Council

Minutes of the Full Council Meeting

Held in theCommunity Office

at 8pm on Tuesday 14th September2010

Present:

Councillors:Ian Hill- Chairman

Angie Paterson – Vice-Chairman

David Tindale

Di Tolan

Ted Backhouse

Barry Adby

Nick Greaves

Neil Boddington

Tony Williamson

Charles Rowton-Lee

Officer:Kristina Tynan

District Councillors:Rodney Mann/Angie Paterson

Members of the Public:13

111/10Apologies for absence

Rhian Woods, Roger Beattie, RogerBelson-County Councillor.

112/10 To receive Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations on interest from Councillors relating to items to be considered at the meeting, in accordance with the provisions of the Councils Local Code of Conduct.

There were none.

113/10Minutes of the Full Council Meeting on the 13th July2010 to be signed as a correct record

Resolved: That these minute are a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

114/10Matters arising from the Minutes

Wycombe Local Development Plan – Park and Ride (Minute 97/10 Refers) – It was noted that we are awaiting information on this from Angie Paterson.

115/10Public Questions

P Davies/Andrew White – Watlington Gas Works – Contaminated Land at Church Street.

Mr White gave the following presentation on behalf of Mrs P Davies:

In October 1996 SODC Environmental Services announced an investigation into possible land contamination on the old Watlington Gas Works site(Nos 14-22 Church St). Soil from the gardens was removed and analysed by ECUS Consultancy. SODC led residents to believe that there would have to be remediation. This means stripping out the top metre of soil in all the gardens and replacing it with new soil, destroying gardens completely. SODC have said that they will pay the cost of soil removal and replacement which will cost in the region of £250,000 but the residents will face: potential damage to all properties and huge inconvenience; four years anxiety to date and continuing blight – the properties cannot be sold; the cost of new gardens.

After four years SODC say they have narrowed the contaminant to BaP or Benzo-a-pyrene. This is one of a group of hydrocarbons formed by burning eg in motor vehicle engines, coal and wood fires (Examples from a DEFRA report). SODC believe their findings are conclusive when they are nothing of the sort. There are problems with the sampling results. There is a standard measurement which ECUS state should be met conclusively that the amounts found in Church Street are dangerous. This standard by ECUS admission has not been met. They can demonstrate this only by using a much lower standard. Even this only works if all the garden samples are lumped together and averaged, when there were widely different readings from one garden to another. They should have taken enough samples from each garden to be considered separately. There may be no need to dig up all the gardens.

But is BaP a real danger to humans? DEFRA cites work that concludes that BaP is no more than ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’ and proof it its actual role amongst workforces exposed to it long term is not judged to be ‘adequate’. In fact the evidence comes only from laboratory mice. This proves nothing with respect to humans. There is no proof of it as a dangerous threat, except perhaps for those exposed to heavy concentrations thoughout their working lives, for example in a constantly smoke filled atmosphere. No such conditions exist in Church Street.

SODC say there is no immediate risk, but that concentrations of BaP are potentially harmful in the long-term. The gas works closed 80 years ago. Children have grown up there eating fruit, veg and chicken’s eggs from the gardens. No-one in Church Street has suffered any adverse consequences. SODC have not defined what they mean by a long-term risk, isn’t 80 years long enough?

We have voiced these concerns to SODC a number of times. They have replied courteously in a way that suggests they do not understand scientific proof or that we do not.

All this is not good enough, it is a disgrace that it has taken four years so far. It is even worse that SODC are pressing ahead when the scientific evidence is so poor. It is scandalous that the quarter of a million pounds of taxpayers money is being wasted now on an unproven threat in some vague distant future. The massive cuts to public spending right now just makes it even worse. This money should be spent where it is really needed.

We appeal to Watlington Council members to help us resolve this as a matter of urgency. If you are actually looking for cuts in public expenditure to recommend, this should certainly be one. By doing so you would earn the gratitude of the residents of Church Street and help some more deserving causes. Thank You.

SODC has sent the following information:

Briefing Note: Contaminated Land at 14-22 Church Street - Watlington Gas Works

Background

A resident on Church Street contacted South Oxfordshire District Council with concerns about her property being on a former gas works because holes kept reappearing in the garden.

The council has a statutory duty to investigate under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Environmental Consultants were appointed to look at the former Watlington gas works land. 7 assessments of the site took place between 1 September 2006 and 13 October 2009.

The environmental consultants have recommended that the rear gardens of 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22 Church Street need to be decontaminated due to long term health risks resulting from contamination of the land by the gas works. The Health Protection Agency has agreed that this work is required.

The council has a legal duty to ensure clean up of contaminated land.

On 3 July 2008 the council’s cabinet members decided that the council should take responsibility for funding the remediation of the contaminated land due to the hardship it would cause to the affected residents.

Progress with the work has been hindered due to changes in contaminated land guidance. Legal advice was obtained in October 2009 that we should start working towards clearing the land of contamination.

The council have applied for grant funding from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). This funding will be used to pay our environmental consultants to produce a strategy for clearing the land of contamination.

Patricia Davies

Since October 2009, Patricia Davies and Andrew White have requested information about the SODC investigation and have challenged the necessity of the work. .

Mrs Davies raised concern about the evidence which confirms that the contamination is a health risk. She states ‘there is no evidence whatsoever that the substances found have been proven to be detrimental to human health, either in Church Street itself or anywhere else on the planet’.

A copy of a toxicological report produced by the Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) relating to the contaminants identified at her land has already been provided to Mrs Davies. The report concludes that PAH contaminants (PAH’s are toxic combustion products) can cause adverse health effects including ‘chronic dermatitis, breathing problems, chest pains, chest and throat irritation, cancer of the skin and lung and affect the immune system’.

One of the more toxic of the PAH compounds found at the site, Benzo(a)pyrene, is a known carcinogen and expert UK guidance is that exposure needs to be kept as low as possible.

Defra and the EA produce guidance for establishing safe limits for chemical contaminants. In the case of Benzo(a)pyrene the safe limit at this site is 1mg/kg.

The samples taken in all of the gardens have an average of 28mg/kg with a maximum concentration of 170mg/kg. These levels are very high and exceed the safe limit.

The council has looked at other sites with similar contamination in other authorities. All of the sites have either completed or are considering decontamination works on land with lower concentrations of Benzo(a)pyrene than is present in this site in Watlington.

The council acknowledge the anxiety and worry this situation may be causing to local residents and we want to clear up the site as soon as possible.

Other Useful Information

1. Former gas works sites are well known contamination sites.
2. The former presence of the Watlington Gas Works would have been identified in solicitors’ environmental searches and could potentially have affect property value before the council commenced any of its investigations.
3. Planning authorities were not aware of the risks from land contamination in 1966 when properties in Church Street were constructed on the former gas works.
4. Mrs Davies concerns have previously related to the EA and Defra guidance where animal instead of human laboratory studies are used to decide on safe concentrations of contamination. This is frequently the only option as human studies are non existent.
5. Whilst the council appreciates that there are limitations and assumptions in toxicological guidance, we must follow the current scientific expert advice.

Resolved: That the Parish Council is not qualified to take decisions such as these. Rodney Mann agreed to arrange a meeting with Mrs Davies and Mr White to go though the issues again. It was noted that this is a ghastly situation for those affected on Church Street and WPC hope that the situation can be resolved.

A Coveney – Watch Manager, Watlington Fire Station – Changes to Shirburn Road Parking He gave the Fire Service’s comments on this:

The Watlington Fire Station had been given to understand that all parking on Shirburn Road was to be moved to the other side of the road. Whereas in fact only some parking has moved. He asked if this is to be a permanent change?

He stated that the response time to the Motorway is 11 minutes. In rush hours, with the new changes, they are concerned that they could be prevented from progressing the call by lorries, coaches etc.. The Fire Station is logging response times and are looking at any delay times. The situation could potentially have an affect on all Emergency Services.

Ian Hill stated that he is grateful that the Fire Station is collecting statistics, this is very helpful. It was noted that the Fire Service have not experienced any delays to date, but all calls have been outside of the rush hour times.

David Tindale stated that the original idea was to move all the parking but this was not possible due to sight lines. DT has met with the Traffic Engineer twice and the situation on Shirburn Street is being monitored very carefully (The Traffic Engineer has visited the area 12 times to date). It has been agreed that we have a formal review at half term (late October). There are minor changes that could be made, if they are deemed necessary. However we do want to leave the current situation as it is for a bit longer and collect statistics. Everyone is watching this area very carefully.

Andy Coveney said that things could improve but that he wanted to make you aware locally of the Fire Services thoughts.

Don Campbell –Gave the following statement on the 20mph issue.

Sixty four years ago in 1946 I saw a boy, who was about 8 years old, run into the road, trip, fall and be run into by a car and killed. Everyone agreed that the driver was not to blame, he was not driving quickly, few cars at that time could reach more than 30 mph, it was an accident and the boy was just unfortunate. Remember this was only 28 years after the end of the First World War when families thought themselves lucky if only one of their young men had been killed, and only one year after the Second World War when violent death had visited civilians as well as young men. I knew the boy’s parents slightly, he was their only child, and they and their wider family were devastated to an extent that I had never seen before. Twenty years later we met by chance, their grief was till affecting their lives.

When I see children and young people walking and running along the pavements, I am reminded of that small boy 64 years ago who tripped, fell and died. At that time we were all more or less inured to sudden death, but the useless waste of that life and the pity of the loneliness of a mother and father is still with me, and I have every intention to continue working to make Watlington a safer place in which to live.

The Parish Council’s duty is to achieve what is the clearly expressed desire of the people who live in this Town, which is to be able to walk in safety. You have obtained through the Highways Department what is the policy of the County Council regarding 20 mph speed limits. It is surprising that Council policy was not disclosed until you asked; it is even more surprising that their policy appears to be in conflict with the Ministry of Transport’s policy in this matter.

A three year trial in the residential areas of Oxford is unlikely to yield any information that will be relevant to the problems of Watlington, or any other town with narrow streets, few pavements and houses that project into the carriageway. My suggestion is that the Parish Council proposes to County that Watlington is included in the Oxford trial. Talking to the Highways Department is unlikely to achieve what is wanted, it is only by discussions with the County Council that you can now achieve anything. They could do what we want at a nominal cost to that which has already been spent in Oxford. Information would then be obtained that would be relevant to the whole County, and not be restricted in its application to those towns which have large suburban housing estates.

Two recent statements, firstly the Ministry of Transport has stated “Road safety remains a priority for Councils despite speed camera cuts”, secondly Mr Edmund Kind (President of the AA) said “People are more concerned about the battle to save lives on local roads that could become race tracks”.

Which brings me neatly to one last comment; the Shirburn Road chicane has created a weekday rush hour problem in Love Lane and Chapel Street. These roads now form an inner relief road which commuters are dramatically abusing. They do not seem to be aware, or will not accept, that these roads have a 30 mph speed limit.

Neil Boddington said that it would be helpful to have some information of how many cars are taking the rat-run. It would be useful also to check actual speeds in Chapel Street.

David Tindale stated that our hands to some extent are ‘tied’. The Highways division of OCC will not implement any changes at the moment. We can talk to OCC but they will not do anything unless there is a real problem with speed.

Ian Hill thanked everyone for their public questions and attending the meeting.

116/10District Councillors Report – Rodney Mann/Angie Paterson

Waste –Verdant have a single contract with SODC and the Vale of the White Horse. There will be an adjustment in a few days (29th September) which will mean 2 black bin weeks consecutively. The regime will then go back to a Green week, Black week situation. Some areas have had their days changed but this does not affect Watlington.

Local Development Framework – This will be a very critical document and it is occupying a lot of time, effort and debate in SODC at the moment.

Budget – There is a huge amount of unknowns at the moment and a lot of work is being done on this. On the 20th October the spending cuts will be known. There is to be a revision of pensions and pension liabilities. There will no information on the budget from SODC until December.

Concessionary Fares – These have been transferred to the County Council.

Referendum –The issue is that District Council’s could move to have a referendum if they put up the community charge by more that a specific percentage. SODC have put in a response to this.

Hunters Moon, Christmas Common – SODC have refused this application. David Tindale asked if Enforcement are ready to move on this. Angie Paterson will follow up this issue and report back to the Parish Council.

117/10CountyCouncillors Report

Roger Belson had been intending to attend this meeting but his father has just died. WPC agreed to send him a note on condolence on his sad loss.

118/10To receive the Balance of Accounts and approve the list of Payments

Tony Williamson read out the Balance of Account and proposed that the list of payments be settled.

Resolved: That the Balance of Accounts be agreed and signed and that the List of Payments be signed by the Chairman and that all payment be settled.

119/10Committees:

A: FINANCE-There has been no meeting.