Minutes of the Meeting of Standlake Parish Council, held in Standlake Village Hall, Rack End. on 21st October 2025 at 7.30pm

Present:

          Mr. B. Mr. Parnham        Chairman        

          Mr. D. Jeffcoat               Vice Chairman

          Mrs. A. Knipe

          Mrs. J. Macdonald

          Mr J. Clements

          Mr. J. Rippin

          Mr. D. Bevan                   Clerk

 

          WODC Cllrs. Mr. & Mrs. S Cosier, Mr. A. Couper, Mr. R. Maxwell, 2 members of the public.

1.         APOLOGIES – OCC Cllr. Mr. T. Fenton.

2.         DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – None.

3.         PUBLIC ITEMS – Mr. Parnham closed the meeting at 7.35pm and said that he was in receipt of an email from Mr. A. Couper regarding traffic calming in Aston Road and the wider village and said that in view of some of the proposals raised he was going to defer this until the November meeting as a separate agenda item. It was unfortunate that this email had not been copied to all councillors, but the clerk will ensure that this is done. Mr. Jeffcoat pointed out that he had ben misquoted in the email. At the meeting on 9th September he had in fact said that it should not be implied that the council would provide financial support for the traffic calming survey. Mr.  Couper said he understood and wished to take this opportunity to express his thanks to Cllr. T. Fenton for the grant of £500 towards the projected costs and to the parish council for their help in facilitating this.

No other member of the public wish to speak and Mr. Parnham reopened the meeting at 8.00pm.

4.         COUNTY and DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS – See Cllr. Cosier’s report on the village website at www.standlakepc.org.uk ..

PLANNING – 25/02202/FUL: Replacement of existing boat shed: West Oxfordshire Sailing Club Stanton Harcourt Witney: Mr John Paul Williams. No objection.

25/01794/HHD: Loft conversion with front and rear dormers, erection of a single-storey rear
extension and a detached garden office: 38 Heyford Close Standlake Witney: Ather Siddiqi. No objection.

25/02442/HHD: Erection of detached double car port with log store: 54 Abingdon Road Standlake Witney: Mr Jon Austin. No objection.

5.         MINUTES - Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday, 9th September 2025, copies of which had been previously circulated to all members, were agreed as a true record, and were signed by the chairman.

6.         MATTERS ARISING

Sewage/Flooding – Mr. Parnham said he had heard nothing further from Thames Water but would continue to press for updates.

Roads/Speedwatch/Aston Road – See Public Items.

Playgrounds/Recreation Ground – Mr. Parnham said that work was now underway on the extensive maintenance and replacement works and updates to the quotes for new goalposts and basketball backplates were being obtained before ordering. In addition, the rail and post fence between the car park and the recreation ground needs repair and will be included in the work. The council has received £5744.90 from WODC S106 funds toward the works.

Environment/Nature Recovery Network - Mrs. Macdonald reported the following:  Bird Box Building workshop - we held a very successful session at the Village Market and made 16 boxes with members of the public. LWVP – Martyn Lane provided material to show the work of LWVP and details where bird
hide keys could be obtained. The bird hides at Standlake Common are now open again to the public, having been repaired. Wildflower Bank - Martyn Lane and LWVP volunteers came and very successfully scythed
the grass and plants on the wildflower bank, at the Village Hall, ready for the winter. Swift /House Martin boxes – we now have information from LWVP that we will share with the Village Hall committee, with a view to finding a suitable site at the Village Hall. New Burial Ground – we have been actively involved as part of the project team, in the commissioning of a Landscape Architect to design suitable access and a sympathetic integration of the new burial ground with the older established burial grounds at St Giles
Church Standlake. Autumn Litter Pick - Saturday 15th November 10 – 12. With the support of the Parish
Council and the WI this will take place, and volunteers should meet at Standlake Village Hall.

New Website –. Mr. Clements reported that he was still evaluating the content and will put this to two website developers for estimates.

Bus Shelter – Mr. Jeffcoat said that despite contractor’s assurances, this had still not been carried out to date. Mr. Jeffcoat has hastened them, and they now say the repairs to the broken panel will be carried out by the end of October.

7.         CORRESPONDENCE. – Standlake School – break-in at carpark. See minute item 9 below.

8.         ACCOUNTS – The clerk reported that the accounts were in a very satisfactory state.

Received: Precept £16,500; S106 playground maintenance £5744.90; OCC grant £500.00

For payment/approved: (* already paid)

J G Le Huray - Xmas tree                     £175.00*

Village Hall grant -                                750.00*

St Giles Church - grant                     £2,100.00*

Absolute Solutions - part payment     £500.00*

Jakes Gardens - churchyard mowing £372.00*

Absolute Solutions - mowing              £380.00*

HMRC - clerk PAYE                             £872.00*

J. Macdonald – batteries                          £9.90*

 

The above payments were approved unanimously.

 

 Budget Draft. The clerk asked councillors to examine the budget draft previously sent to them. He stressed that, as in previous years, the estimated figures therein were the best that can be made this far ahead of the end of the financial year. By the November meeting it was hoped that this could be refined further before setting a final budget and Precept for FY26/27 in December.

9.          CAR PARK – Another break-in has been reported at school drop off/pick up time. Mr. Parnham said he had once again asked the police to have a presence at these times but has had no response to date. It has been suggested that a camera system and a notice warning users to be cautious and not leave valuables in plain sight when parking would be a deterrent. The type of camera was discussed and the most viable would seem to be a motion activated ‘trail’ camera recording onto a memory card. While not giving real time coverage it was thought that this would provide a deterrence effect. Mr. Clements will evaluate the type of camera and cost and report back.

10.       CHRISTMAS TREE FESTIVAL – the council has been approached by St Giles church to join their proposed Christmas Tree Festival; the cost will be £40.00. It was agreed to join this festival, and the cost was approved unanimously.

11.       NEW NOTICE BOARD – The clerk said that the current notice board was coming to the end of its effective life, and he suggested that a budget figure of £1500 should be included for 2026/27..

12.       SCOUTS FIREWORKS. The council has been asked to approve the annual Fireworks at the Recreation Ground, Rack End. This was approved unanimously subject to the usual conditions of leaving the ground in the condition it was before the event.

13.       DATE OF NEXT MEETING – It was agreed that the next meeting will be held in the Village Hall on Tuesday 18th November 2025 at 7.30pm.

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

 

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