Minutes of a meeting of Standlake Parish Council, held in the Standlake Youth Club, on 6th September 2016 at 7.00pm.
Present:
Mr. P. Willis Vice Chairman
Mrs. B. Smith
Mrs. J. Clements
Mr. J. Rippin
1. APOLOGIES – were received from Mr. C. Mathew, Mr. J. Hunt and Mr. Owens.
2. PUBLIC ITEMS – Mrs. Perry said she was attending to ask about the current state of the children’s playground at Rack End; Mr. Naylor said this was on the agenda under matters arising and would give Mrs. Perry the opportunity to speak then.
‘Smart Meter’ - presentation by SSE (Mr. Robert Pritchard). Mr. Pritchard said that the installation of the meters was voluntary, with no upfront cost, but all suppliers will be offering them to customers in the near future. All suppliers’ meters were to the same standard allowing accurate real time billing and easy switching between suppliers. They transmit data at approximately ½ hour intervals over a dedicated secure link using roaming mobile phone technology to a central data point; only usage and an ID number is transmitted - not the location of the meter.
In addition, the meters will enable customers to see how much energy they are using, in money terms, and also allow suppliers to manage power demands in real time – becoming ever more important as more renewable energy sources come on line. The installation replaces the existing meter in the same location and will take approximately ¾ to 1 hour. Any questions regarding availability and installation should be directed to the individual customer’s supplier.
Mr. Naylor on behalf of the council thanked Mr. Pritchard for his clear presentation and answering questions.
3. COUNTY and DISTRICT COUNCILLORS REPORTS –.
Mrs. Fenton said WODC was aware of the problems with the current waste collection contractors and urged residents to continue to contact WODC and complain about any problems they were experiencing: a new contact with a different contractor will be started in 2017, but there are sanctions that can be taken against the existing contractor.
Mr. Good reported that WODC is investing £50,000 in MarketInvoice to support local businesses. This is an invoice financing initiative to enable small businesses to sell invoices without the restrictions usually found in traditional invoice factoring arrangements; it is also expected that WODC will make a 5% return on the investment. Full details can be found at www.marketinvoice.com/financing/west-oxfordshire-council.
4. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – there were no declarations of interest..
5. PLANNING
16/02459/FUL; erect one dwelling and garage; land east of 137 Abingdon
Rd. Objections: building line, loss of open space, precedent.
16/02870/FUL;
erection of detached dwelling and creation of separate vehicle accesses; Land
East Of 6 The Green. No objections
16/02923/HHD; single storey rear extension; 57 High
Street. No objections.
6. MINUTES
Minutes of the Meeting held on 12th July 2016, copies of which had been previously circulated to all members, were agreed as a true record and signed by the chairman.
7. MATTERS ARISING
Busses, Bus Stops – The
‘Comet’ bus to Eynsham has not been a success and OCC wish to end the service,
however Mr. Mathew is pressing for it to continue. Mrs. Smith said that in her
opinion, and far as Standlake was concerned, it was a non-starter and a
financial contribution to its continuation could not be justified; the rest of
the councillors agreed. Mr. Naylor has received an e mail from Mr. Mathew
asking for a meeting and said he would reply along these lines.
Playground/Recreation Ground & Maintenance – following earlier reports regarding maintenance issues at the Rack End playground, the RoSPA annual report identified a number of problems – some of them critical. Following this report the ‘Monkey Square’ and the wooden tunnel were taken out of use and marked accordingly. Mr. Naylor and the clerk met on site with Mr. Pascoe and repairs to 8 items were identified. An estimate for £1266.44 has been received for this work and it was agreed unanimously that this should go ahead. In the light of this it was also agreed that the budget for new playground equipment of £750 should be combined with the current playground maintenance balance of £1172.06 to allow for the work and still have funds in reserve for any further unplanned maintenance. Mrs. Perry said this answered her questions she was happy with the action proposed.
Traffic/Speeding – Mr. Naylor apologised for not having followed up on the ‘speed gun’ monitoring initiative but would do so; he will also speak to the school head teacher regarding parking.
Village Hall Car Park – The car park has now been re gravelled and an invoice is awaited for the council’s contribution (£1800 + VAT).
Footpaths – there has been no further indication as to where responsibility lies for the maintenance of the verge areas of Hornsway. OCC Highways are now insisting it has never been their responsibility but that of Countryside Services; the clerk will continue to investigate.
Roads, Newbridge – nothing further to report.
Flooding/Sewers/Winter – nothing further to report.
Highway Maintenance - nothing further to report.
8. CORRESPONDENCE – no significant written correspondence.
9. ACCOUNTS
J. Rippin – goal nets 47.94
Absolute Solutions – mowing/litter picking/weeding/cut Butts 10/08 400.00
Absolute Solutions – repair to roundabout/litter pick 135.00
Playsafety Ltd – playground inspections 210.00
D C Bevan – clerk salary and expenses 1213.05
HMRC – clerk PAYE 290.20
Absolute solutions – removal of tunnel/litter 125.00
10. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
A resident of the Glebe has contacted Mrs. Smith with
concerns about the Glebe fishing lake: it appears to be falling into misuse and
trees are overgrowing the Glebe. Very little is known about the ownership but
Mr. Clements volunteered to contact a resident who fishes the lake and make
enquiries.
The clerk reminded the meeting that work should begin in October on outlining the budget for 2017/18. There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.30pm.
...................................................................................... Chairman .................................................................... Date