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BLEWBURY PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes

Of the Parish Council meeting of Blewbury Parish Council.

Held on Wednesday, 13^th January 2010 in the Vale Room

Councillors present: Mr C Whatmore (Vice-Chairman), Ms Jane Gibson, Mr R Farrell, Ms S Loy, Ms C Duckett, Ms A Barclay-Watt, Mr M Brassell

Also present: E Smit (clerk), PCSO Johnson, County Councillor Stewart Lilly

Matters resolved:

1. It was proposed that the clerk’s hours be increased to 60 hours per month, to be reviewed at the completion of the Recreation Ground Project. An additional one off ex gratia payment of £500 to the clerk was also approved.

2. It was resolved that the precept be set at £25000, the same as in 2005

3. All payments were approved

Actions arising from the meeting	Target date
1. Clerk to send Cllr Lilly a copy of the bus services email	As soon as possible
2. MB to respond “Your Vale –Your Future: Additional Consultations”	By 29 January
3. Clerk to email Recreation Ground plans to the solicitor and clarify Tennis boundary for lease purposes. Clerk & CW to respond to further questions raised by the solicitor	As soon as possible
4. Clerk to order dilapidation survey	Before 8 Feb 2010
5. RF & CD to speak to Tony Salter re a water bill	As soon as possible
6. CW to follow up on MUGA	As soon as possible
7. Clerk to clarify the status of the goalpost safety grant	As soon as possible
8. Clerk to request a copy of the report and seek clarification re which Playclose bridge was worked on, which trees were causing the problem	As soon as possible
9. CW to put notice in Bulletin re stop press email as part of the Emergency Plan	By next meeting
10. Clerk to circulate Barclays form to new signatories	As soon as possible
11. Clerk to contact the WWRA, Toddler Group and Cob Wall Fund re the 2010 budget	By next meeting
12. clerk to ask the PCC if they have an indication of cost of the repair to the fence. Clerk to find if the fence was included this in SGA’s drawings and to find out if they have an estimate on the work	By next meeting
13. CW to discuss play policy with the MUGA group. Clerk to respond to Oxfordshire Play Partnership.	By next meeting
14. Clerk to find out how more salt boxes could be obtained and to put it on the next agenda.	As soon as possible
15. Salt boxes to be added to the emergency plan	By next meeting
16. Councillors to suggest locations for salt boxes	By next meeting

Actions carried forward from previous meeting	Target date
1. Clerk, JG & CW to finalise emergency plan by next meeting.	By next meeting
2. RF to follow up on investment policy and land values	As soon as possible
3. ABW to investigate possible cycle route to Didcot	Ongoing
4. Response to cemetery plans to be drafted	ongoing

1. Apologies for absence: Mr A Cooper. Mr J Drew formally resigned the day before the meeting.

2. Declarations of interest. JG and RF both declared an interest as members of the Recreation Ground Management committee. RF & ABW both declared a personal interest in the Recreation ground as their spouses are members of the Tennis Club. MB also declared a personal interest in the Recreation ground on the grounds of family membership of the Tennis Club. CD declared a personal interest in the Recreation ground as family members use the Recreation Ground. In matters relating to the Tennis Club lease (item 8.2), RF, MB, ABW and CW declared prejudicial interests and were not in the room for the final discussion and decision making process.

3. Minutes of the meeting held on the 9^th December 2009 were accepted and signed as a true record.

4. Police liaison. PCSO Johnson reported on the criminal damage to the notice boards in Dibleys. There was an attempted theft as well as a successful theft of diesel from the Churn Estate, theft of a vehicle as well as an attempted theft of a farm vehicle on Woodway farm. The police were patrolling those areas very regularly overnight.

5. County Councillor’s report. Mr Lilly reported on the OCC economies which contained regrettable aspects. Following a government promise to have free adult social care to the most vulnerable it has become apparent that government contributions were capped and the OCC had to find and extra £1.5million to provide this care. Youth services will be cut but funding for services relating to vulnerable children were increased. The OCC will also increase the budget for building and improving schools. Frontline services will be maintained but “back room staff” will probably be affected. Following the recent extraordinary wintry weather Mr Lilly circulated the salting and gritting regime for the OCC but this has since been rationed by the government so stocks are very low but appeals have been made to Westminster. Mr Lilly added that no complaints have been received from Blewbury. Mr Lilly asked for a copy of the email to the bus company as he is willing to help resolve the problems with the current temporary timetable. Action: clerk to send Cllr Lilly a copy of the bus services email.

6. Matters arising.

6.1. 12/12/07 Future Didcot cycle links. ABW reported that she has spoken to the Drew family re the possible cycle link but they were opposed to it mainly based on a conversation they had with Mark Sumner from OCC. ABW has been trying to get hold of Mr Sumner to clarify this matter.

6.2. 13/01/10 Your Vale –Your Future: Additional Consultations. Additional material was circulated to the members. Action: MB to respond. Item closed.

6.3. 13/01/10 Local Transport Plan 2011 - 2030. Consultation 3: Long list of schemes. JG has responded to this consultation. Item closed.

7. Open Forum. No members of the public present.

8. Recreation Ground.

8.1. 28/11/06 Management Committee Structure. SL circulated proposals re the CIC prior to the meeting. It was reported that the solicitors has drafted the documents and that it should be with us shortly. It was also reported that directors of the CIC are members of the public who responded to the advertisement in the Bulletin. Informal meetings will take place with those volunteers to explain what their role would be, and as soon as they are happy with this, their names would be publicised. It was also reported that there would be a rotation of directors.

8.2. 09/12/09 Recreation ground leases. The solicitors asked for accurate plans of the area relating to the leases. As for the Tennis Club, the boundary would be the netting plus an allowance. This will have to be clarified. Action: clerk to email Recreation Ground plans to the solicitor and clarify Tennis boundary for lease purposes. Clerk & CW to respond to further questions raised by the solicitor. The issue of possible rent was discussed. As councillors with connections with the Tennis Club declared prejudicial interests in this matter, they were excluded from this discussion and decision. It was decided that a peppercorn rent (of between a penny and a pound) per annum should be charged for each of the leases on the understanding that a management or service charge is levied which will reflect the benefits to the users and the fees will be used for the upkeep of the area and the Recreation Ground as a whole. CD proposed, SL seconded, agreed. The notice of forfeiture of the lease with the Scouts has been sent by the solicitors and a copy has been posted on the door of the Hut. Although the solicitor recommended that the dilapidation survey was not included in this notice, it council felt it would be prudent to have the survey done as soon as possible after the 8^th of February deadline. Action: clerk to order dilapidation survey.

8.3. 09/07/08 Recreation Ground Enhancement Project progress report. The tender documents have not yet been sent out but reassurances were given that it was imminent. A reminder has been sent to let them know that the grant deadline was looming. RF reported that obtaining a copy of the Rec water bill was still an issue. Action: RF & CD to speak to Tony Salter.

8.4. 12/11/08 Memorial bench. Nothing to report.

8.5. 21/10/09 MUGA / Play area. CW reported that the consultation with the children at Blewbury School has gone well and that he will do a follow up if an application for a grant will be made. Action: CW to follow up on MUGA

8.6. 21/10/09 Goalpost safety grant. It was reported that the grant application has not been submitted. Clarification was needed. Action: clerk to clarify the status of the goalpost safety grant.

9. Risk Management.

9.1. 13/05/09 Playclose bridges. It was reported that some work has been carried out to one of the bridges. Clarification was needed about which bridge and trees they were referring to. Action: clerk to request a copy of the report and seek clarification re which Playclose bridge was worked on, which trees were causing the problem.

9.2. 08/07/09 Parish Council Emergency Plan. The plan has been worked on and some amendments were suggested. During the course of the severe weather it has become apparent that the Bulletin’s email service was a valuable tool in getting information out to residents. Reassurances should be given re privacy of email addresses and data protection. Action brought forward: Clerk, JG & CW to finalise emergency plan by next meeting. CW to put notice in Bulletin re stop press email.

9.3. 21/10/09 Inspection of KAP and skate park. The clerk reported that the inspection has been carried out and Tony Loy was thanked for organising it. It was recommended that future inspections be paid for to ensure the prompt inspection at the end of the year. The one potential issue arising from the inspection has been reported to the lengthman and action will be taken immediately. Mr Clark commented that “it was a well maintained area safe for use”. The lengthman has been thanked for a job well done. Item closed.

9.4. 09/12/09 BVS Risk Assessments for December & January. Received. Item closed.

9.5. 09/12/09 Review of member’s interests. Review and no amendments necessary. Item closed.

9.6. 13/01/10 Review of financial regulations. There has been no update to the financial regulations. Item closed.

10. Planning & Housing.

10.1. 02/02/06 Planning Committee Report: Refer to monthly planning report in the Blewbury Bulletin for details of applications (attached to minutes). An application has been received for a new café at Savages.

10.2. 02/02/06 Exception Site. The ORCC has sent a copy of the flyer to go into the Bulletin. Some changes were recommended but no reply has yet been received.

11. Ladycroft Park. Nothing to report.

12. Finance & Administration

12.1. Access to fire proof cupboard and scout hut. See item 8.2.

12.2. Small Grants. Nothing to report.

12.3. Money received from ITV (earmarked for cemetery). Not discussed.

12.4. New signatory for bank account. Following the resignation of Jon Drew, new signatories have to be added again. JG and CD will be added as signatories on the Barclays account. Alliance & Leicester signatories will be amended in due course. Action: clerk to circulate Barclays form to new signatories.

12.5. Budget and precept for 2010-2011

12.5.1. Resolution to approve precept for next financial year. This was resolved following the discussions below.

The budget report was read and in summary the figures for 2009/2010 are as follows:

Projected total receipts: £24 4776.26 (which is £976.26 more than anticipated)

Projected expenditure: £25279.22 (which is £4119.78 less than anticipated)

This means that instead of the anticipated deficit of £5599 there is likely to be a deficit of £502.96. These figures EXCLUDE the interest on proceeds of the London Rd Tennis Courts as this is classed as extraordinary income for budgeting purposes. For the same reason it also excludes payments made directly relating to the Recreation Ground Enhancement Project. These figures will however be included in the figures for the annual return.

12.5.2. Clerk’s hours and possible ex gratia payment. The Council recommended that the hours the clerk was paid for should be increased to 60 hours per month due to the added workload relating to the Recreation Ground Enhancement Project. This increase in working hours comes into effect in 1^st January 2010 but also relates to the next financial year. Once the project was completed the hours would be reviewed again. The Council also recommended a once off ex gratia payment of £500 to be paid together with the January salary. This ex gratia payment is to reflect the increase in working hours already experienced by the clerk but would be subject to the usual PAYE and NI deductions. JG proposed, SL seconded. All agreed. The clerk thanked the Council.

12.5.3. Reviewing of grants: WWRA grass cutting; Toddler group; Cob Wall fund. It was recommended that the grants continued but that the grant to the Toddler Group be reviewed regularly. The grant to the Cob wall Fund would be increased to £400 per annum. Action: Clerk to contact the WWRA, Toddler Group and Cob Wall Fund re the 2010 budget.

Following the discussion above, the projected figures for 2010/2011 were given. Anticipated receipts for 2010/2011 are £29195; the projected expenditure is £37575; which results in an expected deficit of £8389. These amounts do not include the income in the form of interest earned on the proceeds of the sale of the tennis courts.

In the light of the above, the finance committee recommended that the precept be set at £25000, which is that same as in 2005. The PC was reminded that the decision in previous years to reduce the precept was influenced by the large amount of general reserves held by the Council at the time, as well as the extraordinary amount of interest earned on the capital proceeds of the Tennis Court sale. Significant savings were also made in expenditure compared to previous years following the final repayment of the Public Works Loan Board loan. Due to the low interest rates as well as the increased amount spent on legal fees and in anticipation of the use of the general reserve, the precept had to be increased again to a level of 5 years earlier. It was proposed and resolved that the precept be set at £25000, the same as in 2005. MB proposed, RF seconded, all agreed.

12.6. Review of investment policy. Following the finance committee meeting, RF volunteered to look at the investment policy and land values. It was noted that at present the Parish Council does not fully comply with the investment policy but this was due to the current financial climate and lack of investment products available to the Council. Action brought forward: RF to follow up on investment policy and land values.

12.7. Payments for approval to be made under ancillary powers and within budgeted amounts. As the invoice was received after the agenda was finalised, payment to Woodeson Drury was added to the agenda but the cheque would be kept back until the tenders have gone out.

Description	Amount
E Smit	£494.21
K Pottle	£76.80
Post Office Ltd (PAYE & NI for clerk)	£518.93
Post Office Ltd (PAYE lengthman)	£156.80
Village hall (toddlers)	£150.00
Village hall (youth)	£169.00
The Independent Advice Centre	£50.00
Allianz Insurance plc	£94.46
Sutton Griffin Architects	£1645.27
CBG Consultants Ltd	£4275.70
Woodeson Drury Ltd	£4600.00
TOTAL	£12,231.17

All payments were approved. JG proposed, CD seconded, all agreed

13. Cemetery Development Plan

13.1. Quotes and project management. CD reported that she gave this project some thought and the main reason for the delay in this project was the handling of possible disabled access to the cemetery. One of the main issues was that the London Rd kissing gate, which was done by a volunteer group in the village, would be lost and be replaced by a ramp and gate to allow disabled access. The problem with that was that the gravel footpaths in the cemetery were not accessible to wheelchairs which meant that nothing was gained. CD suggested that an access audit was done to see if the PC was compliant with the disability act and for the PC to be advised what would be reasonable in terms of access in a cemetery, keeping in mind that the area between graves cannot be made accessible. It was suggested that the disabled access should be from the car park. The PC decided that CD should continue in a “common sense” way following this discussion.

The clerk & MB discussed arrangements re the cemetery while the clerk was on holiday.

14. Parish Plan

14.1. Litterbins at TFF car park entrance and Pilgrims Way. The Recreation Ground bin was reported a couple of times. Nothing further to report on the new bins.

14.2. Village shop & Savages. (Discussed during item 10.1.) ABW pointed out that it might be possible to use Sebastopol Barn as a village shop in future, should suitable proposals be presented which take due account of existing retail activities in the village. JG and CD both offered to help in investigating this further, following Policy S2 in the Parish Plan which supports the provision of local shops.

15. New Waste services

JG reported that she email the Waste Team with suggestions that they attend the Parish meeting and that she would walk with them through potential trouble spots in Blewbury. No reply has yet been received.

16. Allotments. Nothing to report.

17. Footways, Footpaths and rights of way.

17.1. 02/09/05 Village upkeep review. Nothing to report.

18. Roads, Road safety and public transport.

18.1. Berry Lane - Traffic calming & Survey findings. Nothing to report.

18.2. Bus stops. Nothing to report. Item closed.

18.3. Bus timetable. Discussed with item 5.

19. Village Hall management committee report.

19.1. Asbestos report. The clerk reported that a copy of the asbestos report was given to Mr Brock and that another copy was left in the kitchen of the Village Hall so that any future contractors could consult with it. Mr Brock was given a copy of the HSE guidance document on how to deal with asbestos in a building and therefore it was up to them to decide if regular formal inspections were needed and how they will manage the building in future.

20. Environment. Nothing to report

21. District Councillor’s report. RF reported that a recent independent report praised the Vale and SODC for their management structure and sharing of services. RF also reported on the impact the recent adverse weather has had on the operations of the District Council.

22. Correspondence.

22.1. Items requesting a reply

22.1.1. Old cemetery boundary fence. The PCC requested that the PC consider contributing towards the cost of the repair of the boundary fence, also in the light of the new building work planned for later in the year. It was pointed out that this might have been included in the landscape plans of Sutton Griffin. Action: clerk to ask the PCC if they have an indication of cost. Clerk to find if the fence was included this in SGA’s drawings and to find out if they have an estimate on the work.

22.1.2. Play policy. Action: CW to discuss play policy with the MUGA group. Clerk to respond to Oxfordshire Play Partnership.

22.1.3. Parish cleansing grant 2010. The PC was informed that due to budget constraints, it was likely that the VWHDC would not give out any parish cleansing grants in 2010. This grant was for £120.

22.2. Items for information

22.2.1. OCC - Salting roads and pavements. It was suggested that more salt bins were needed for Blewbury. Action: Clerk to find out how more salt boxes could be obtained and to put it on the next agenda. Salt boxes to be added to the emergency plan. Councillors to suggest locations for salt boxes.

22.2.2. 30 MPH Wheelie Bin Stickers. Noted.

23. Any Other Business. Following the resignation of JD, a notice was put on the notice boards. A notice will also be put in the Bulletin. If no election is required, the PC will be free to co-opt at the next meeting. ABW mentioned that she was the PC representative with the BVS-EG. It was suggested that they new PC member be asked to fulfil this role. RF suggested that he might also be available to fulfil this role. CD and JG gave their apologies for the next meeting.

24. Details of the next meeting. The next meeting was due to be on the 10^th of February 2010 at 7.30pm in the Vale Room.

The meeting closed at 21.40

Appendix

planning applications

Decisions by the District Council

BLE/21010: Erection of a single storey side extension. Pastoral, 4 Millbrook Close. Permitted with conditions re external materials.

BLE/6566/1: Erection of two-storey side and rear extensions. Summer Lea, Bessels Way. Permitted with conditions re external materials.

Work to trees: Fell 1 dying beech and crown lift and reduce 2 other beeches. The White House, London Road. No objection.

Comments by the Parish Council to the District Council

BLE/20976/1: Erection of a three bedroom house with carport and associated works (resubmission). Downside, Westbrook Street. BPC’s original objections stand, since in our view the changes are not sufficient to address the issues raised by us or by the substantial number of neighbours whose concerns as parishioners we represent.

BLE/2931/7: New single storey detached timber café building. Savages Nurseries, London Road. BPC is considering this application.

BLE/7949/7: Construction of a swimming pool. Little Triton, London Road. BPC is considering this application.