Minutes of the meeting of Bourtons Parish Council
Held at the Village Hall, Great Bourton on Tuesday 1st March 2016.
The meeting opened at 7.30pm.
- Present: Cllrs Mrs S Leszczynski [Chairman], C Upton, A Johnson and Mrs. S Upton.
In attendance: District Cllr K Atack, S Bowen [Parish Clerk]
Apologies: were received from: Cllrs P Wallace (birthday event), S Hughes (ill)
- Declarations of Interest: None.
- Attendance : 1 member of the public was present :
Mrs P Wypior of School Lane read a pre-prepared statement concerning the problems experienced with very wide agricultural equipment causing damage to the verge outside her property and to her house. The matter had already been referred to District Councillor Atack and he has discussed the matter with OCC highways. The matter was discussed in public session with Standing Orders suspended and it was AGREED that the Clerk would draft a letter to the local farmer confirming the Council’s support for local agriculture but asking if an alternate route avoiding School Lane could be used with very wide equipment in future to avoid further damage and complaints.
- Minutes: the minutes of the last meeting [February 2016] were APPROVED and signed by the Chairman.
- Progress reports :
- Footpaths: No new reports have been received.
- Road Defects :
i] No further response from CDC Highway Signs department has been received regarding the damaged finger post at Crow Lane, but Cllr Mrs S Upton advised that she believed a visit by OCC Highways to “adjust” the sign might be imminent.
ii] Following recent heavy rains and flooding in Spring Lane, emergency action was taken to mitigate potential house flooding. Further action is required as blocked drains not resolved and it was AGREED that the Clerk would write to OCC Highways requesting urgent action.
c]Defibrillators:
i]Following the closure of the Little Bourton public house, it will be necessary to appoint a new inspector.
ii]A professional inspection log for each machine is required and it was AGREED that the Clerk would create and issue to Cllr C Upton [Gt Bourton inspector] and the to be appointed inspector for the Lt Bourton machine.
d) Traffic Calming:
i] The article written for the Broadsheet has been published requesting volunteers for the proposed Community Speedwatch but there has been NO response to date.
ii] To further promote this opportunity the article will be placed on village noticeboards and be circulated to interested residents who originally raised the matter, to encourage volunteers.
e) Website Development:
i] Further work is required to confirm if the village website is hosted on a shared or solus basis and following this a detailed matrix will be created and circulated to the potential suppliers to enable them to finalise their quotations.
f) Policies/Documents review:
i] It is recognised that a full review of the Council’s policies and official documents is overdue and this will be progressed over the next quarter by the Clerk.
g) Garners Field Development:
i] Following the withdrawal of the original developer the Landowner’s agent has been working to locate a new developer and the Clerk is advised that detailed conversations are proceeding with several interested parties.
h) Village Hall maintenance: 3 quotes have now been received for the external painting and a decision re the successful contractor will be made at the next meeting. This matter is not urgent as the work will be completed once better Spring weather arrives.
i) Burial Ground hedge cutting: this has now been successfully completed, both inside and out. A letter of thanks will be sent to Mike Jefferies, who cuts the outside on a voluntary basis.
6. Playgrounds
Inspections have been carried out:
i] Great Bourton: Cllr safety inspection completed, all satisfactory. New litter bin now installed.
ii] Little Bourton: Cllr safety inspection completed, all satisfactory. Cllr C Upton has noted that the grass here is very long and an early 1st cut will be investigated with the contractor.
- Allotments
- Interaction between Solicitors continues.
- Councillors discussed the ongoing delays to completion and it was felt that there was insufficient advice and support being provided by the legal advisors. It was AGREED that the Clerk would arrange an appointment for himself and the Chairman to visit and discuss how this outstanding matter can be bought to an urgent and satisfactory conclusion.
- Finance
- Payments to Mr John Hicks the Internal Auditor; Mr George Ennis, Burial Ground Warden; Mr David Upton for Church graveyard maintenance, and renewal of our subscription to Oxford Community First and Oxfordshire Association of Local Councils were APPROVED.
b) The matter of VAT recovery in respect of the Little Bourton playground equipment was discussed and it was AGREED that this would be dealt with urgently to enable inclusion in this years’ accounts.
- Planning Applications – there were no new planning applications.
- Correspondence
- Following an inspection of the Church wall by Councillors, a specialist local contractor has visited and a quotation is awaited. Clerk to expedite.
- A potential safety issue has been identified by the Insurance Assessor for the Parochial Church Council, whereby young children could accidently fall over the Church wall opposite the main entrance. This was discussed by Councillors, and it was AGREED that the Clerk would write to the PCC secretary requesting a full copy of the relevant part of the survey for consideration.
- New Business
a)None discussed
- District Councillor Report
- District Cllr Atack mentioned the recent CDC Planning Consultation meeting at Bodicote which was attended by the Chairman and Clerk. We felt that it was an interesting discussion but that one of the big benefits was meeting representatives of all Cllr Atack’s other parishes and asked that he consider organising such an informal meeting on a bi-annual basis. This was AGREED.
Date of next meeting – Tuesday April 5th 2016, following after the Annual Parish Meeting which will start at 7.00pm.
The meeting closed at 9:40 pm.
Signed Sally Leszczynski: Date:
Chairman
Minutes drafted by Parish Clerk on March 2nd 2016
