Minutes of a meeting of Standlake Parish Council, held by telephone/online conference call on 14th July 2020 at 7.30 pm.

Present:

          Mr. B. Parnham   Chairman

          Mr. J. Rippin       Vice Chairman

          Mrs. S. Adams

          Mrs. S Garrett

          Mrs. A. Knipe

          Mrs. L. Burton

          Mr. S. Jones

          Mr. D. Bevan       Clerk

Dr. G. Dooley

1.      APOLOGIES – no apologies were received

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

3.      PUBLIC ITEMS – Dr. Dooley was attending only to listen to the discussion on planning application 20/01508/FUL.

4.      COUNTY & DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS – No councillors were present.

5.      PLANNING - 20/01508/FUL: Demolish existing bungalow and erection of four dwellings with associated garaging and works: Manor Bungalow 41B High Street Standlake: Mr Nicholas Blakemore.

It was noted that this application followed two others for this site. The last application (19/00684/FULL) was refused by WODC and a subsequent appeal was dismissed. On examination of the current application it is clear that there are only minor changes to the previous application. It was decided unanimously to object on the same grounds as before: Local Plan policy H2; curtilage of a listed building; access, precedent etc.

It was also decided unanimously that, should the services of the planning consultant, who handled the objection and appeal at the previous application, be engaged by a group of residents then the council will consider a request for financial support at that time and decide on the level of that support.

6.      MINUTES - Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday, 9th June 2020, copies of which had been previously circulated to all members, were agreed as a true record and will be signed by the chairman at a later date.

7.      MATTERS ARISING

Sewage/Flooding – TW have produced a comprehensive list of work involving pipe and manhole sealing which will commence in August; this has been distributed to councillors and via social media and Standlake News. Following Mr. Parnham’s continued attempts, OCC have finally responded to his efforts to get them to engage regarding Woodlands. Mr. Parnham, the clerk and Mr. Mathew will have a conference call with the OCC Principal Officer (Highways & Drainage) on Friday 17th July.

Roads/Traffic/Speeding /Traffic Calming – Mr. Jones noted that new and refurbished signage had been carried out but he was unsure as to where to go from here. The clerk suggested that, as a start, the hand held speed camera option previously discussed should be re-examined. Mr. Parnham will take this up with Stanton Harcourt who have successfully used this system in the past. The clerk said it was noticeable that the number of speeding vehicles had increased; he had recently received a call from an Aston Road resident complaining about the very excessive speed of vehicles on that road, but this applied in other areas as well.

Playground/Recreation Ground & Maintenance –

Trees and hedges behind the tennis courts: these are overgrown and some are hanging over the courts themselves. The LWTC has offered to pay half of the cost of having the growth cut back hard to the edge of the ditch, which is the recreation ground boundary. Following a site meeting, Mr. Pascoe has quoted £660 for this work. It was agreed unanimously that this be put to the LWTC and, if agreed, the work should go ahead.

Playground opening: after lengthy discussion, with views both for and against re-opening being expressed, no decision was made. The clerk will contact adjacent parishes to ascertain their decisions before reporting back. In any case much work needs to be done at the Rack End playground before any reopening could happen.

Rack End playground refurbishment: following a site visit by Mr. Parnham, Mrs. Knipe, the clerk and Mr. Pascoe a number of areas were identified including: painting swing frames, replacing swing seats, weed spraying and re-barking, repair to climbing tower, removing low hanging branches. Mr. Pascoe has quoted £575 for this work plus the cost of the new swing seats (which the clerk will obtain to reclaim the VAT; estimated cost £240). It was agreed unanimously that this work should go ahead.

Path by Notice board. – still awaiting estimate from OCC.

Hornsway Trees – Mrs. Burton, along with Mr. Parnham, Mrs. Knipe and Mrs Adams met with an OCC representative on Hornsway. It was apparent that the original site identified by Mrs. Burton was not suitable, but a nearby site was. It is expected that a crab apple and a maple be planted and the cost is expected to be around £60 - £90 each plus planting; a formal estimate is awaited.

8.      CORRESPONDENCESt Giles church -thanks for grass cutting contribution;

LWVP request for litter bin at Fast Waters; Having already refused two requests for further bins in the village, and considering this bin would in all likelihood not be used for a large part of the year, it was decided not to support the request.

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

Absolute Solutions – mowing                                                                                              £375.00

D C Bevan – web site hosting/domain renewal                                                                   £100.77

Wileman & Sons – bus shelter cleaning                                                                                 £30.00

Absolute Solutions – mowing                                                                                              £375.00

10.   AUGUST MEETING – it was decided to hold a meeting in August. It will be held via telephone conference call on Tuesday 11th August 2020 at 7.30pm.

11.   ANY OTHER BUSINESS – Mrs. Adams has just seen a large bag of rubbish on New Road; the clerk will report it to Fix My Street. There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.45 pm.

 

 

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