Minutes of a Meeting of Standlake Parish Council, held in the Youth Club, Church End, on 12th October 2021 at 7.30pm

Present:

          Mr. B. Parnham   Chairman

          Mr. J. Rippin                   Vice Chairman

          Mrs. L. Burton

          Mrs. J Macdonald

          Mrs. A. Knipe

          Mr. T. Ward

          Mr. D. Jeffcoat

          Mr. D. Bevan       Clerk

OCC Cllr. Mr. D. Levy, WODC Cllr. Ms. L. Nicholls and one member of the public.

1.      APOLOGIES –Mr. S. Good, Cllr (WODC).

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

3.      PUBLIC ITEMS – member of the public was observing only.

4.      COUNTY & DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS

OCC – Cllr. Levy has forwarded, by email, a wide-ranging report to the council and it is attached to these minutes. Mr. Parnham asked about the number of traffic counting sites on roads in the vicinity especially in the High St. Mr. Levy said he thought this related to an investigation of HGVs route patterns but will enquire further.

WODC – Cllr. Nicholls reported on the recent Section 106 seminar held by WODC and described the new improved procedures for claiming any S106 money allocated to a parish; in Standlake’s case, this amounts to £54,000 in respect of the development at 139-141 Abingdon Road. The clerk pointed out that the condition applied to this money states: ‘"Affordable housing contribution" towards the provision of affordable housing within the Council's administrative area’ and may prevent its use for any other purpose. Cllr. Nichols agreed but understood that this could be widened to include supporting the environment; Mrs. Burton and Mrs. Macdonald agreed to liaise with Cllr. Nicholls on this matter.

Cllr. Nicholls also reported that the traffic restrictions on High St./Market Square Witney remain, but changes are under consideration. She also reported that a new meeting with Thames Water was being arranged and, in addition, Mr. P. Shaw (WODC Area Development Manager) was putting pressure on TW regards their blanket approval response to planning objections.   

5.      PLANNING  

21/03127/FUL: Erection of detached dwelling and associated works: 27 Aston Road Brighthampton Witney: Mr Mark Drewett. No objection, subject to satisfactory archaeological survey.

6.      MINUTES - Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday, 14th Sept 2021, copies of which had been previously circulated to all members, were agreed as a true record and were signed by the chairman.

7.      MATTERS ARISING

Sewage/Flooding. Mr. Parnham has distributed the latest update from Thames Water which confirms that the current work involving tankers at several points in the village will be completed by the end of this week. He paid tribute to TW’s continuing communications with him regarding the work being carried out and commented that the same could not be said of OCC Highways (from whom there is still no engagement regarding the problems in Woodlands and High Street). Mr. Jeffcoat also commented favourably on the work being carried out at the High Street pumping station and TW’s consideration for the residents directly affected.

Roads/Traffic/Speedwatch – Mrs Knipe gave the following report:   Following the 'call for action' 15 volunteers have come forward; Robert Maxwell (Brighthampton resident and ex Thames Valley Police) has agreed to act as co-ordinator following meeting on the 16th of September; First group of 8 met on Wednesday 29th September to become familiar with the equipment; One of the volunteers is also ex TVP; Second session being arranged for Saturday 23rd of October following another 'call for action'; Peter Saxel (Standlake Garage) has agreed his forecourt can be used; TVP introducing new Community Speedwatch (CSW) Scheme from 26th November which will allow us to upload offender details directly; Online training (co-ordinator) plus details of location sites will need to be provided, but once approved will mean TVP will provide £50M liability insurance.

Playground/Recreation Ground & Maintenance – Mr. Parnham has inspected both playgrounds and noted that the boundary wire fence at Windrush Way was being further damage. He did not propose any action in line with a previous council decision on the matter. A large branch is down behind the multi play area at Rack End; the clerk will arrange for it to be removed by Absolute Solutions.

Environment – Mrs. Burton said that the bank at the recreation ground was now ready for planting. Both she and Mrs. Macdonald paid tribute to the Rector and St. Giles church for the recent ‘Green Weekend’. It is expected that a grant towards environmental work will be available from TOE (Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment) but no date has been mentioned. Mrs. Macdonald suggested the placing of bat and bird boxes around the village and queried whom to approach to place some at the Village Hall; Mr. Jeffcoat (the council’s hall representative) will contact the hall committee.

Village Gates - Mr. Parnham now has an estimate of approximately £2000 for the Aston Road gates and signs. OCC Highways will erect the gates at no cost but will not contribute further. The clerk said that this could be funded from the Community Fund, and this was agreed. Cllr. Levy kindly agreed to contribute half of the cost from his Councillor Priority Fund and the clerk will complete the necessary paperwork.

Bus Shelters – Absolute Solutions have the Perspex on order, and it will be fitted as soon as possible.

War Memorial cleaning – The clerk has tried to obtain quotes from several companies, but most have not replied or are too busy to take on the work. The clerk will try again in 2022.

Willows by church – Absolute Solutions have quoted £670 to pollard and remove the waste. It was agreed to accept this quote and the clerk said the work will be carried out once the trees are bare.

YC path hedge – Nothing further to report at this meeting.

S106 Seminar – Mrs. Macdonald said she found this a very interesting and informative seminar. See also WODC councillor’s report above.

Bus to Eynsham – As reported by Cllr. Levy, the service is expected to start in January 2022 and its place in providing transport to/from Bartholomew School is being discussed at OCC.

8.      CORRESPONDENCE – no significant correspondence.

9.      ACCOUNTS – The clerk reported that the second half yearly Precept of £12500 has been received. As reported last month, the mowing budget is likely to be overspent by the end of FY21/22 but by how much will depend entirely on the weather over the winter.

For approval/payment:

Wileman & Sons – bus shelter cleaning            £30.00

Moore - audit fees                                           £240.00

B Barber - VH defib pads                                   £88.19

AGM - Speedwatch hi viz                                   £57.60

C Cleland – churchyard mowing                     £352.50

HMRC - clerk PAYE                                          £361.60

These payments were approved.

10.   HM JUBILEE JUNE 2022 – Mr. Parnham has received a query regarding what plans, if any, have been made for the celebration of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022. The clerk said that the plans for the Golden Jubilee ten years ago were made by a committee of residents chaired by a parish councillor – thus allowing for the use of parish council facilities (such as insurance cover and funds) to support the event - and suggested a similar arrangement for 2022. Mr. Rippin volunteered to be the chairman of the committee and Mr. Parnham will compose a notice for distribution to gauge interest in the community. The clerk stressed that this interest and engagement from the community was essential and Mr. Parnham agreed, saying it was not for the council to direct what events should take place.

11.   SCOUTS FIREWORKS – The Standlake and Cokethorpe Scouts group have asked permission to hold their annual fireworks and bonfire on the 6th of November at the recreation ground, Rack End. This was agreed unanimously, subject to the usual conditions.

12.   DATE OF NEXT MEETING - The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 9th November at 7.30pm. Unless government guidelines change, or Mr. Parnham considers it would not be safe to do so, the meeting will be held in the Youth Club, Church End.

13.   There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.55pm.

 

Chairman   ....................................................................  Date …………………………………………………

 

 

OCC news 12th October 2021- Cllr. Dan Levy 

County Council meetings are now taking place at County Hall, as things start to head back we hope to normality.

The new scrutiny committees at the County Council have now each had their first meetings.  The scrutiny function has been reorganized so that it can be more effective and hold the administration to account on behalf of residents. There are three scrutiny committees replacing one previously.   As part of this transparency all the Chairs of scrutiny committees will be from the opposition party, although you can be sure that those of us from the parties of the Oxfordshire Fair Deal Alliance will also want to ensure proper and rigorous scrutiny.  I sit on the Place committee (looking at transport, libraries, etc) and on the Audit and Governance committee.

The County Council is operating under the budget inherited from the previous administration but is still making a difference by focusing on key areas like promoting active travel and restoring public transport links.

A trial is underway in 5 villages of a new simplified way of introducing 20mph zones.  The objective is that all villages that want 20 limits will be able to have them with less bureaucracy and expense.   I hope that Standlake PC will want to have a 20 zone for parts of the village, and if that is the case, I will do my best to ensure that you are high in the priority list as the new zones are rolled out.

The 40th prosecution this year for driving an overweight lorry over Newbridge happened last month.  It is a shame that lorry drivers don’t take notice of the restriction, or the warnings that there is an ANPR camera at the site.

The “First and Last” bus service to Eynsham and Hanborough from Brighthampton should be up and running by the end of this year, supported financially by the County Council, and I hope it will be of use to residents wanting to get to Oxford or Witney, and help people who don’t have access to cars, or who want to reduce their car usage.  No village should be entirely reliant on cars.   There is an expectation on the part of the County Council that this service will be used by pupils at Bartholomew who do not qualify for free transport – I have asked the officers to produce contingency plans if this proves not to be the case.    The whole issue of who qualifies for transport is under review, as the issues in Standlake and some other villages in Oxfordshire have been highlighted as unfair to pupils and parents and expensive both to them and to the County Council.

You may have seen that a Solar Farm is likely to be proposed off Tar Road, in South Leigh parish.   The proposal is that construction traffic will reach the side via the A415, B4449 from Hardwick and then north along Tar Road.  I will insist on this being the only acceptable route, if planning permission is granted. 

And finally, I await the results of the work being done by Thames Water and the County Council to prevent flooding.   I am optimistic.   Pressure has been put on TW by me, by the district councillors and by our MP, and I hope that the company will follow through on its statements that it is newly committed to supporting the village.

Please contact me by phone 07852 748362 or email dan.levy@oxfordshire.gov.uk