Minutes of a meeting of Standlake Parish Council, held in the Standlake Youth Club, on 4th February 2020 at 7.30 pm.

Present:

          Mr. B. Parnham   Chairman

          Mr. J. Rippin       Vice Chairman

          Mrs. S. Adams

          Mrs. S Garrett

          Mrs. A. Knipe

          Mr. D. Bevan       Clerk

Mr. G. J. LeHuray, Mrs. L. Watson and 4 members of the public.

1.      APOLOGIES – Mr. C. Mathew, Mrs. H. Fenton, Mr. S. Jones.

2.      DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – There were no declarations of interest.

3.      PUBLIC ITEMS – A member of the public asked what action the parish council was taking to address the climate change emergency. Asked what she suggested, no reply was forthcoming. Councillors agreed the council would support any initiative presented and it was suggested from the floor that the planting of trees would be a good start. The clerk explained that, apart from the recreation ground, the council owned no land on which to do this and the councillors agreed to support any plans to plant trees elsewhere. Another member of the public raised a complaint regarding the state of the path outside Locke’s Cottage – see item 8, Correspondence.

4.      COUNTY & DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS – none present.

5.      PLANNING

20/00214/FULL: Erection of three detached dwellings and associated operations: Land North West Of High Street Standlake: Mr Maximilian and Alexander Stephenson.  Object – drainage, sewage, access, need.

20/00087/HHD: Replacement outbuilding: Lakeside Standlake Witney: Mr Robert Keith Stagner.  No objection.

6.      MINUTES - Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday, 14th January 2020, copies of which had been previously circulated to all members, were agreed as a true record and signed by the chairman.

7.      MATTERS ARISING

Sewage/Flooding – latest update from TW as follows: From our investigations we have identified a number of manholes along Rack End and Woodlands which are suffering from infiltration and will require sealing. In terms of where the infiltration is getting into the sewer itself, this would require lining work. Please note, as discussed when we met, we’re currently getting quotes for this work and this will need to go through a governance process for approval before we can commit to these works. As soon as we have an update regarding this, I’ll of course let you know. It’s important to mention, that while the levels do remain high, we are unable to carry out any work. Mr. Parnham will continue to press TW for updates on progress.

The clerk has been in contact with Mr. Mathew regarding Woodlands and he expresses his frustration that he is not getting any further information from OCC Highways regarding work done in the past and current plans; he will continue to press this matter.

Windrush contamination – Mrs. Adams attended the WASP (Windrush Against Sewage Pollution) meeting at Northmoor village hall on 28th January. It was well attended with over 100 present. The meeting supported the recent WODC motion demanding that action be taken by the EA (Environment Agency) to compel TW to stop discharge into rivers. It was disclosed at the meeting, with photographs, that the Standlake sewage plant is not working properly; parts need replacing and is leaking raw sewage. Parish councils were asked to write to WASP, the EA and local MP, with support. Mrs. Adams will draft a letter for the council.

 Roads/Traffic/Speeding /Traffic Calming –in the absence of Mr. Jones there is nothing further to report.

Playground/Recreation Ground & Maintenance – the footpath from the hall to the tennis courts has been cut back and Mr. Parnham has emailed Mr. Pascoe expressing the council’s thanks for an excellent job.

Village Shop – Mrs. Watson reported the project to buy the current shop is, unfortunately, over as agreement could not be reached and the current owner has taken it off the market.  The committee is looking at other options, but ones that will not impact on the current shop.

Agency Contacts – a list of agencies (OCC, WODC etc.), their responsibilities and contact details has been circulated. The clerk said that residents were to be encouraged to report problems, such as potholes, litter, fly tipping etc., direct to the relevant agency as this will get quicker action than reporting the problem to the PC – who only have to pass it on.

Co-option of new councillor – Mr. Parnham reported that, to date, he had only received one firm application; the vacancy will be re advertised later in February ahead of the 29th February  deadline.

Shifford Lane – Mr. Parnham will engage with LWVP as well as OCC to try and stop the illegal use of this lane by vehicles with no right of access.

Letter to Noble Foods re litter bins. Still under consideration

8.      CORRESPONDENCE –

Request for dog bin in Brighthampton – the clerk is investigating the costs involved in this request.

Removal of telephone boxes – BT have reviewed public telephone boxes in this area and neither of the 2 boxes in Standlake, at the primary school and village hall, have been used for calls in the 12 months up to October 2019. Notices have apparently been placed in the boxes but are not easily seen and the council have been informed by WODC that the consultation period ends on 6th February. After discussions among members and the public present there is a consensus that there is no case for retaining the boxes. The clerk will reply stating this, but requiring assurances that the boxes be remove entirely and the ground made good.

New bridlepath Smockfarthing Lane/Croft Lane – new bridle paths have been designated along Smockfarthing Lane and Croft Lane. The legal notices have been displayed on the notice board and media.

Meeting with MP re sewage – Mr. Mathew has arranged a meeting with Robert Courts MP on 20th March; Mr. Parnham and the clerk will attend.

Request for use of rec ground event with donkeys – a request has been made to allow donkey rides to be given to children on the recreation ground in support of a charity event in the village hall. No objections were raised and the clerk will inform the applicant with the usual conditions requiring insurance and clearing up after the event.

Parish surveys – two requests have been received (from Community First and WODC) to complete parish surveys of amenities etc. Mrs. Garrett volunteered to do this and the clerk will help as required.

Mud/blocked drain path by Notice board. – a resident complains that the path in front of Lockes Cottage is being used by vehicles and there is mud on the path. OCC ‘Fix My Street’ refuse to carry out any work and claim it’s a WODC problem. After some discussion it was decided to approach Mr. Pascoe and get this done from council resources. It is not considered feasible to stop vehicles using this route.

9.      ACCOUNTS – the following accounts were approved for payment.

Absolute Sols – clear rec ground path  £230.00

10.   VE Day 75th ANNIVERSARY – ORGANISATION & FUNDING – Mr. LeHuray said that an open meeting was held at the Black Horse to gauge support for the event over the Bank Holiday weekend 8th – 10th May. The consensus from that meeting was that events would be held on all 3 days commencing with an afternoon event on 8th at the Black Horse in line with national celebrations; a ‘street party’ with barrel rolling on the afternoon of 9th and, finally, a church service on Sunday 10th. A suggestion was also made to commission commemorative mugs, as was done on the 50th anniversary and give one to each child at the primary school. A committee was set up to take forward the ideas suggested and there will be another meeting at the Black Horse on Tuesday, 25th February at 7.30; this will again be an open meeting. The clerk suggested that a parish councillor should represent the council on the committee and that the council should consider financially supporting the event. Mrs. Knipe volunteered to serve and Mr. Parnham proposed a budget of up to £1000, from the community fund budget, which was agreed unanimously.

11.   ANY OTHER BUSINESS – The next meeting will be on Tuesday 10th March at 7:30 pm in the Youth Club. There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.10 pm.

....................................................................................... Chairman   .................................................................... Date