Parish Council Minutes – July 2016

 Minutes of the meeting of Bourtons Parish Council

Held at the Village Hall, Great Bourton on Tuesday 5^th July 2016

The meeting opened at 7.30pm.

• Present: Cllrs Mrs S Leszczynski [Chairman], C Upton, Mrs S Upton, A Johnson.

In attendance: District Cllr K Atack and S Bowen [Parish Clerk]

Apologies: Cllr Paul Wallace [work commitments].

• Declarations of Interest: None.
• Attendance: No members of the public were present.
• Minutes: The minutes of the June 2016 meeting were received and APPROVED.
• Progress reports :

• Footpaths : 

• The Chairman has received a verbal report that some of the Little Bourton footpaths have become overgrown.  Councillors AGREED that local landowners should be reminded that it is their responsibility to keep all public paths clear of vegetation and obstructions.

• Road Defects :

• No further defects have been reported but Cllr Johnson was concerned that the current poor state of the roads were becoming acceptable or accepted with numerous unrepaired potholes.  It was AGREED that residents should be encouraged to report any potholes or road damage to Oxfordshire County Council via their website, which can be found at :

https://fixmystreet.oxfordshire.gov.uk, or make use of the FixMyStreet website.

c]Defibrillators:

i]The Great Bourton inspection log book was reviewed and found to be complete.

ii)The new logbook for the Little Bourton machine will be initiated this month.

d) Website Development:

i] Cllr Mrs S Upton reported that she had met the provider and that work on the new site was progressing well with many new pages created.  It is anticipated that a demo of the site will be viewable later this month.

ii] The process for uploading was reported to be very straightforward and this will enable and encourage contributors to keep the new site updated and current.

e) Garners Field Development:

i] The proposed meeting with Hayfield Homes, the newly appointed developer, has been arranged for Wednesday July 6^th.

ii] An agenda identifying the principle issues that are felt to require clarification at this early stage has been developed and will be discussed at the meeting, when it is expected that Hayfield Homes will provide full details of their proposals for the site.

f) Council Membership:

i) Following the placement of notices last month requesting applications from interested people to fill the Councillor vacancy created by the resignation of Mr Steve Hughes, no further applications have been received.

ii] It was DECIDED that the earlier application from Mr Tom Sowler be accepted and that he be co-opted onto the Council with immediate effect.  The Clerk will write to Mr Sowler and officially confirm his appointment.

• Playgrounds

Notification has been received that the Annual ROSPA Inspection will take place during July. Councillor’s regular monthly inspections have been carried out:

a] Little Bourton: Cllr safety inspection completed.  Cllr C Upton reported that the bench in the playground had been badly damaged and was now unusable.  He had removed the damaged wood and the bench will be marked as out of use.  Repairs will be undertaken as soon as possible.

b] Great Bourton: Cllr safety inspection completed and all reported OK.  Litter remains a problem.  Young people who use the playground shelter as a meeting point are requested to deposit their litter and drinks cans in the waste bin provided to keep the area tidy and safe for all other users.

c] Further investigation has been undertaken by District Cllr Atack regarding the transfer of the balance of monies from the s106 contribution by the Avoncroft developer for the Little Bourton playground development.  It has been agreed by CDC that £10k of the available  £29,158.80 will be transferred to your Council to be used for ongoing maintenance of the equipment.  A proposal for the remaining £19,158.80 is to be developed by the Council and will be shared with residents at the next Council meeting.  A formal application will be made to CDC, via District Councillor Atack, for transfer of this sum to be held securely by your Council pending its allocation to a future recreation project in the Parish.

• Allotments

a] Agreement has now been reached with Mr. Hall’s solicitors regarding any future legal costs and the Council is delighted to be able to confirm that exchange of contracts is expected within the next few days.

b] The proposed completion date for the new allotments site off Foxden Way is August 16^th.  It is anticipated that all preparatory work will be completed by Mr. Hall by this date.

c] Later this month the Clerk will issue formal Notices to Quit the existing Stonepits allotments site.  These Notices have a termination date of 31^st January 2018.  It should be noted that completion of the transfer of the current site to Mr Hall is 31^st January 2017, and that for the final year of possible occupation Mr. Hall will be the landlord.  However tenants who elect to remain on their plots have the same rights and responsibilities as currently.

• Finance

• Outgoing payments totalling £1812.68 to the following were APPROVED :

PayeeDescriptionValue £p

Mrs Doreen Coleman Refund of Fairport ticket money

– no longer required   £40.00

S W ServicesMowing services – June invoice  £340.00

Complete Weed ControlSpraying services £276.00

Mr S M Bowen [Clerk]Salary for 6 months Nov-April £816.00

HMRC PAYE re Clerk £204.00

Mr S M Bowen [Clerk]Expenses   £76.68

Diane Malley Payroll services (Annual)     £60.00

• Due to a difficulty in obtaining bank statements, the updated financial statement will be   issued shortly to Councillors.
• Following initial difficulties in arranging electronic banking arrangements with our Bankers,              Barclays, Cllr Mrs Upton was pleased to report that progress had been made and that the relevant documents and system should now be in place later this month.
• The Clerk is to investigate and make an application for a Government grant to support the costs of development of the new village website.
• The Clerk reported that the proceeds of Fairport ticket sales comprising £4400 has been banked.

• Planning Applications.

a] No new applications have been received.

b] Cllr Johnson, Cllr Leszczynski and the Clerk attended the presentation in Cropredy regarding the proposal to develop 60 new houses off Station Road and the situation will be monitored closely regarding any impacts on Great Bourton.

• Correspondence

a] An email has been received from a resident regarding overhanging vegetation in Spring Lane between Springfield Farm and Wits End and Fieldfare.  The Chairman has replied advising that this is the responsibility of the local landowner.  Local landowners are reminded that it is their responsibility to keep all paths and roads clear and unobstructed.

• New Business

a] Cllr Leszczynski attended the County Council Unitary Workshop for Parish and Town Councils at Banbury town hall on 15.6.16. OCC notes on the presentation have been received and will be circulated to cllrs. Consultation on- line by Grant Thornton is open until 8^th July 2016.

12.     District Councillor Report

a] Councillors thanked Cllr Atack for his support in clarifying the situation regarding the outstanding monies in connection with the Avoncroft development reported above.

b] Work continues on developing proposals for replacement bus services following withdrawal of subsidies by OCC and he was pleased to report that the Dial-a-ride opportunity looks promising.  Your Councillors noted that there is money contained within the s106 agreement for the new Garners Field development and that this should not be paid to OCC in view of their withdrawal of local bus service support, and as they do not fund support of the Warwickshire Stagecoach 66 service.  This will be investigated further.

Date of next meeting – Tuesday September 6^th 2016 at 7.30pm.

The meeting closed at 9.30 pm.

Signed   Cllr Sally Leszczynski: Date:

Chairman

Minutes drafted by Parish Clerk on July 6^th 2016