ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
GREAT & LITTLE BOURTON
OXFORDSHIRE
Held at The Village Hall Great Bourton
on
Tuesday April 5th 2016
Attendance: 4 members of the Parish Council – Cllr Sally Leszczynski [Chairman], Cllr Andrew Johnson, Cllr Clive Upton and Clerk Stephen Bowen
District Cllr Ken Atack
No residents of the Parish were in attendance
Minutes:
The meeting was opened at 7.00pm with the Parish Council Chairman chairing the meeting. Three reports have been received from a) The Parish Council; b) The Village Hall management committee c) Cropredy School Governors. The full reports have been circulated to all Councillors and residents can receive copies if they so wish by contacting any Councillor or the Clerk. The Chairman then presented her annual report. Principal points were
- The appointment of a new Parish Clerk.
- There are 3 major issues which have dominated Council business in the past year, but unfortunately only very slow progress has been made:
- The Garners Field new housing development where the original developer has pulled out and we await the announcement of a new developer to take the plan forward.
- The transfer of the Bourtons Allotments from the current Stonepits site to the new Claridges Piece site off Foxden Way. Here protracted legal matters have delayed the move.
- The new Parish website has stalled following the loss of the Neil Hardy’s support. The Council has now selected a new local partner to relaunch the site and further details are in the Council’s minutes.
- The removal of bus subsidies by Oxfordshire County Council is now a reality and your Council is investigating what alternatives might be available assuming that Stagecoach do indeed withdraw the 277 service as seems inevitable.
- The Chairman reflected that during the year the Villages had lost some notable residents, Maurice Tombs, Charlie Connors and most recently Richard White. They will all be sadly missed.
- Cllr Paul Wallace who has supported the Council through meetings and practically has warned that his increasing workload is making it impossible for him to continue as a Councillor so we will be looking for a new Council member.
Other matters discussed included
- The Council advised that it had studied the opportunity to develop a Neighbourhood Plan which is being promoted by the Department for Local Government, but has concluded that the workload may be beyond the level of support available within the community.
- There is a need to create an Emergency Plan and your Councillors will investigate further what is required.
Discussions concluded at 7.45.