Minutes of the Meeting of Standlake Parish Council, held in the Youth Club, Church End, on 11th June 2024 at 7.30pm

Present:

          Mr. B. Parnham               Chairman

          Mrs. A. Knipe

          Mrs. J. Macdonald

          Mr. D. Jeffcoat

          Mr. J. Clements

          Mr. B. Smith

          Mr. D. Bevan                   Clerk

 

          OCC Cllr. Mr. D. Levy.

1.         APOLOGIES –Mr. J. Rippin, WODC Cllrs. S. Cosier, C. Maynard.

2.         DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – None.

3.         PUBLIC ITEMS – no members of the public were present.

4.         COUNTY and DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS See Cllr. Levy and Cllr. Cosier’s reports attached. Cllr. Levy asked how the recent top dressing of the A415 was perceived and this produced different reactions. Mr. Parnham said the announcement of the closures was chaotic and should be improved while Mr. Jeffcoat’s opinion was that, given the weather conditions, in general OCC had completed the work in a satisfactory fashion. Mr. Smith observed that there was an area of the road adjacent to the Rose Revived that appears to be missing the top dressing all together. Cllr. Levy said he will pass on these comments, and reminded councillors that the work was carried out by contractors not OCC directly.

5.        PLANNING –

24/01039/FUL: Replacement of existing cottage (self-build). Gaunt Mill Cottage Standlake Oxfordshire: Mr and Mrs Glynn. No objection.

24/01143/LBC: Internal and external alterations to include the replacement of all existing solid wood windows and the two French doors on North East elevation, along with replacement of the three Velux windows on rear roof slope. Pear Tree House 23 High Street Standlake: Mrs Mary Anne Florey. No objection.

24/00946/FUL: Creation of new track and access to farm buildings: The Old Farmhouse 33 Abingdon Road Standlake: Mr Ed Gillard. No objection.

6.             MINUTES - Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday, 14th May 2024, 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 – Nothing further to report.

Roads/Speedwatch/20mph – Mrs. Knipe reported the following: Despite a number of operators being on holiday, 10 sessions were held during May resulting in 135 offenders being reported.  Of these, 4 had no Tax, 2 no MOT and 1 on SORN; this information is passed by TVP to DVLA.

We are still seeing an average of 1% offenders in the 30mph zones but 30% in the 20mph zones.  Hopefully the 'Dragon Teeth' white lining will help increase awareness that drivers are coming into a 20mph zone.  We are still waiting for a date from OCC as to when this will be completed - unfortunately there is a backlog of white-lining jobs no doubt not helped by all the road dressing taking place.

Many thanks to all the Speedwatch Operators who continue to give up their time including those who also work as well!  A recruitment campaign will be held during June to hopefully bring on more operators. Mrs. Knipe added that, while people were quick to post adverse comments on Facebook, they were not coming forward to join the Speedwatch team which was still operating with the core group of individuals who had formed Standlake Speedwatch 3 years ago.

Playground/Recreation Ground – The clerk reported that the Rack End recreation ground climbing boulder new safety surface has now been laid; he has also ordered the spare part for the roundabout in the Rack End playground. The vehicle gate into the recreation ground is beyond repair and needs replacing as does the young children’s step walker in the Rack End playground: the clerk has a quote for this work from Absolute Solutions for the sum of £543.37 including parts and labour. This was accepted and the clerk will make a claim on the S106 monies held by WODC.

Environment/Nature Recovery Network - Mrs. Macdonald reported the following - No Mow May - No mow May has been embraced by many of the residents in the village, which has been very beneficial for the insects and pollinators, however a number of verges have now been mown to the relief of road users.  Burial Ground The new burial ground is now in use and the mowing regime is being implemented in order to promote the growth of wild flowers. The SNRN team have been mowing around the new grave and the path used by the children in order to maintain a mutually beneficial environment. Village hall – The flower beds at the Village Hall are flourishing, although the flower bed now enclosed by the building work screens will need to be restored when the work is finished.  Dog litter bins – The well used bin at Martin’s Lane is being closely monitored and is now regularly emptied every Tuesday.  Coronation Planters – The planters have now had the daffodils replaced with geraniums, and the plants are growing well.  LWVP –No information as yet as to the appointment of a new officer to fill the role ably filled by Lucy Kennery. We hope that this will happen soon, as there are many projects that need to be continued, and ongoing work that has been neglected. Litter picking – with the cutting of the verges, a lot of litter has been exposed and I have litter picking tools and High Viz “Village Volunteer” jackets if anyone would like to pick this litter.

Village Hall S106 - Mr. Jeffcoat, as the council’s Village Hall representative has been in touch with WODC, both by telephone and email, regarding the use of S106 money for hall improvements. Unfortunately, it would seem that the only likelihood of support would be for the resurfacing of the hall floor (approx. £1100) as it is considered that this is used for sport activities. This was discussed at length, and it was reluctantly agreed that this was an unfortunate result but, under present rules governing the use of contributions by developers, it was legally very difficult for WODC to deviate from the strict conditions agreed with developers when those conditions were signed.

8.         CORRESPONDENCE. – no correspondence.

9.         ACCOUNTS – The clerk reported that, generally, the accounts were in a satisfactory condition and within budget with the exception of the mowing budget. This was due to an exceptionally fast growing season which, hopefully, would decrease shortly. The clerk proposed that the recreation/playgrounds continue to be cut as necessary but the cuts around the village be done on a monthly basis. It was agreed that this be done on a trial basis.

The following accounts received were approved: (paid*)

Absolute Solutions - Butts cut, rec repairs     £191.49*

Gallagher insurance                                      £1170.25*

D Wileman - bus shelter cleaning                     £30.00*

Absolute Solutions - mowing                          £370.00*

C Cleland - c'yard mowing                              £372.50*

Absolute Solutions – mowing                         £370.00*

D C Bevan - clerk salary and expenses         £1752.70*

HMRC - clerk PAYE                                          £419.80

10.       DATE OF NEXT MEETING - Mr. Parnham said that the next meeting will be held in the Youth Club on Tuesday 9th July 2024 at 7.30 pm.

11.       There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.30pm.

 

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

 

County Councillor’s Report – Dan Levy.

Roads and Railways.

Work continues through the drier weather to try to get as much done as possible. There is of course far too little money available to enable the County Council to fix all the potholes and resurface every road as frequently as required. As I may have mentioned before, we estimate that £45m per annum would be required to reach a “steady state” with the roads, and the government block grant is approximately £20m.There will be a series of road closures to facilitate repairs. The road closures are usually advertised over a longer period than will usually be needed, to allow for overruns at other works. I am sorry that there will be congestion and inconvenience at times. Discussions are ongoing with government agency Homes England about the A40. You will recall that the HIF2 scheme to link the park and ride at Eynsham to Oxford was launched by the previous administration – we are still awaiting the money to finish the job.The County Council continues to support the restoration of a railway between Carterton, Witney, Eynsham and Oxford, and has committed to additional funding for further feasibility studies. It also supports a new station at Wantage and the reopening of the Cowley branch line, all of which are under consideration by Network Rail.

Water

Thames Water have launched a consultation on the massive reservoir planned between Abingdon and Wantage. New reservoir in Abingdon | Water resources | Thames WaterThe proposed facility is many times larger than Farmoor reservoir. You may be interested to know that Farmoor has been kept underfilled because TW can’t often pump water in from the Thames because Thames Water have been putting sewage into the Thames upstream.

Performance

The annual report of the County Council for the year past will be published shortly and will demonstrate a significant improvement in service delivery, in areas such as SEND provision, as well as improved financial metrics. The administration at County Hall is determined to ensure that residents get the best services they can, within the constraints that all local authorities face.

And finally:

Regardless of your political persuasions, please do vote in the upcoming general election. Electors need to be registered to vote by Tuesday, 18 June. This can be done on line. Details on the WODC website. Postal vote applications need to be submitted by 5.00pm on Wednesday, 19 June, while proxy vote applications should be submitted by 5.00pm on Wednesday, 26 June. Photo ID is mandatory to vote at a polling station. If you do not have photo ID, you must apply for a free voter ID by 5.00pm on Wednesday, 26 June.

 

District Councillor’s Report – Steve Cosier

Firstly, can I thank residents for voting for me in the recent District Elections. As a local resident, I am humbled and extremely proud to be representing the ward of Standlake, Aston and Stanton Harcourt.

Roads:

Though not part of my responsibility as a District Councillor, the condition of the roads, and the way the County Council completes roadworks in the ward has taken up some of my time recently. I have had numerous emails from residents upset at the lack of clarity about the way the County Council deals with the potholes and resurfacing. I have been in contact with County Officers, and I am still pursuing answers to why certain parts of the ward are fixed and other are left to fall into disorder. At the time of writing this report, I am still waiting for a meeting with Chris Grain from Oxford County Council to arrange a tour of the roads around our ward.

Overview and Scrutiny:

As part of the monitor and review process the Overview and Scrutiny Committee recently voted to support the Council’s recommendation to upgrade CCTV provision in WODC owned public spaces. West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) owns and operates a public open space Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) system in the district, consisting of 63 cameras. The upgrading covers the economic well-being of public spaces and the prevention of disorder or crime, but most importantly to reduce violence against women and girls.

Planning

As the local ward member, I have asked that the Planning Department to review Green Infrastructure and maintenance/stewardship of community assets. At the present time there are many amenities and open spaces which are not being well maintained by developers. I have asked officers to look at how the council can adopt and maintain community, and green spaces in the future, including taking over the legal cost of liabilities and amemding106s agreements. Officers are now looking at mechanisms and remedies to see how they might consider adoption of community assets. A report is to follow.

Damage to footpath

Dan Levy and I are still endeavouring to chase up the Highways Agreement Team. I have sent images of the damaged highway to County Officers and have today spoken to Abby Fettes (WODC Planning) to ask her to furnish a telephone number of the officer at the County who might be able to help me with this problem. Please see below a recent email sent to me from WODC and then forwarded to the Chair:

'Manor Bungalow The extensions were approved under certificates of lawfulness and prior notification applications so limited conditions and controls could be attached to them. There was no S278 required as they were not proposing off site works to the highway. The footpath is outside of the site area and therefore we have no recourse as a Local Authority on damage to the Highway so it will need to be taken up with OCC as Highway Authority.' Now, understandably this is not the answer you or I wanted. So, Dan Levy is aware of the response and is seeking a response and action from the relevant CC officer. I did try once again this morning to speak to the planning officer but I'm still waiting a call back. I'm going to keep pushing for WODC to take some responsibility. Sorry not the answer you wanted but we'll keep pressing on this issue until we get the correct outcome.