Minutes of the Wardington Parish Council Meeting

Location:  Wardington Memorial Hall

Date: Tuesday, 11th October, 2016 (7:30pm)

In Attendance: Mr G Page (Chair), Mr N Bankes,  Mr M Patterson, Mrs A Pasco, Mr G Martin. Mr I Franklin, Mr A Crossley. Mr K Atack (District Councillor), Mr B Jarrett (Clerk)

Parishioners: Mr C Morgan

Apologies: Mr K Atack (for early departure)

1.    Minutes of previous meeting. (11th October, 2016) Approved and signed.

2.    Matters arising from previous minutes.

2.1 HS2 Update

Mr Bankes reported that the Action Group will have a meeting with HS2 on 24/11/2016 following their meeting with OCC Highways on the 22/11/2016. The purpose of the meeting was not made clear but was expected to be more of a ‘box ticking’ exercise. OCC  informed us of their ‘risk  register’ in response to HS2’s mitigating measures, which resulted in not very much, except for widening the road at three points. Mr Atack asked about any financial commitment outstanding on the HS2 petitioning. Filing the petition with the House of Lords was still outstanding but should only be around £400. The situation would be taken into consideration in respect of next year’s precept.

2.2 The Pond

Mr Patterson raised the point that at the last meeting there were several councillors missing from the meeting and that he would like to re-assess any WPC support for taking on responsibility for the Pond. Council’s decision was that it still did not want to accept responsibility for the Pond. It was grateful for the team of volunteers who have undertaken to maintain the Pond and would consider some financial support if required. Council requested that they wanted to check the situation that any public liability, in respect to the Pond, was covered by the WPC policy, even when maintained by a third party.

2.3 Cluster meeting hosted by Great Bourton PC.

Mr Atack reported that there had been a meeting with the five local parishes. The main topic was the withdrawal of bus services from Cropredy, The Bourtons, Mollington and Claydon. Cropredy were placing a survey in their December newsletter to determine the needs of local residents, to ascertain whether alternatives, be it Comet, County Connect or other services should be considered. It was pointed out that any private service would not be able to use the bus station in Banbury as a point for ‘drop off’ or ‘pick up’. A proposal for a joint Neighbourhood Plan for the five parishes was not supported. A follow-up meeting would be arranged for February 2017.

3.    Planning

New:

1.    16/02041/TCA – Cooper 1948 Trust, Back Cottage, Wardington House.                             Emergency repairs to Back Cottage. WPC NO OBJECTIONS

2.    Tree Preservation Order – Mr Paul Hornby, Keechbrook, Upper Wardington                                  1 Ash Tree (re:16/01457/LB) – WPC NO OBJECTIONS

3.    16/02130/F – A.J Breakspear & Son, Baizeleys Farm, Thorpe Road, Wardington                                  Erecting new livestock silo. WPC NO OBJECTIONS

CDC Decisions:

1.    16/00248/TCA Mr Paul Hornby, Keechbrook, Upper Wardington.                                                                                   To Fell 2 * Ash Trees, and Fell 1 Norway Spruce. APPROVED.

2.    16/01457/LB – Mr Julian Bernard, Dyndors Cottage, Wardington.                                                                        Demolition of outbuilding to rear of the property – GRANTED

3.    16/01682/F – Mr Graham Osbourne, Lower Lodge, Williamscot.                                                                      Demolition of Flat roof extension- APPLICATION WITHDRAWN

4.    16/01700/F – Mr & Mrs N Douglas, Post Box Cottage, Wardington                                                                    Demolition of conservatory and outbuilding and erection of new kitchen extension.     APPLICATION WITHDRAWN

4 Finance.

4.1 Invoices – Cheques for authorization.

100851            Clerk’s Pay – Oct 2016                      £346.69

100852            PAYE – Oct 2016                                 £86.80

100853            CDC – Empty Dog Bins                     £288.29

100854            Parish Magazine Printing                    £212.00

100855            Clerk’s Pay – Nov 2016                      £346.69

100856            Void

100857            PAYE – Nov 2016                              £86.60

100858            Royal British Legion (donation)           £50.00

 

4.2 War Memorial Quotation.

Earlier this year the Parish Council were advised that grants were available to conserve their local war memorials. A quotation has been received from Humphris Funerals for cleaning and restoring the War Memorial for £2,430 plus VAT. As the maximum grant is 75% Mr Jarrett requested permission to pursuit the grant. This was agreed.

4.3 Playground 200 Club draw.

100636            £20      Mrs S Cunniffe

100637            £10      Mr M Reynolds

 

5.    New Business

5.1 The footpath from Wiliamscot to Cropredy.

Mr Page raised the issue regarding the responsibility to maintain the footpath from Williamscot to Cropredy. Although the footpath is on private land the parish has been assisting with the maintenance to keep the path open. Clarification was needed in respect of public liability in the event of an accident, occurring as a result of parish maintenance work. The WPC Insurance company to be consulted.

5..2 Powers in relation to commercial bus services.

Parish Councils have been advised of their powers regarding commercial bus services. Mr Patterson said these were very useful particularly to know that: Parish and town councils do not have the powers to a contribution, or subsidy, to be paid to a commercial bus operator.

6      A.O.B.

6.1 Mr Morgan addressed council, on behalf of the Wardington Sports Field Committee. He complained that dog owners were still allowing their dogs to foul the recreation ground and then not removing the mess. He asked how could Wardington Parish Council help to resolve the problem. By law, dog owners must pick up any mess made by their dogs. If owners do not clear up behind their dog and evidence is available they will be prosecuted. It was proposed to investigate the costs to install another dog bin near the entrance to the field in Thorpe Road. If the known culprits did not improve their behavior then named reporting to the Dog Warden would be necessary.

 

6.2 Mr Crossley informed the meeting that the CDC had issued a Notice of Intention to dispose of the Asset of Community Value (ACV)  the Plough Inn, Upper Wardington. A community interest group has been formed to make a bid for the asset before the interim moratorium period ends on 28/11/2016. If the potential bid is considered viable, a full moratorium period of 6 months ending on 17/04/2017 will come into force. Council agreed that they did not want any direct involvement with the community group but offered support if required.

6.3 Mr Page reported that the person approached to replace the notice board, near the Plough Inn, was still not in a position to do the work for several months. Council decided to get a quotation from an alternative supplier.

6.4 Mr Franklin reported that since the new direction sign for ‘Omlet’ had been erected there had been positive results.

6.5 Correspondence:-

i). Scottish and Southern Electricity have requested names of vulnerable people who may need assistance should there be a power outage in the forthcoming winter months.

ii). CDC have advised that the public telephone boxes in Wardington and Williamscot were to be removed and any objections are required by 05/12/2016.

iii). CDC have issued the Notification of Planning Policy Consultations. A copy is with the parish clerk.

 

The meeting closed 9:00pm

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, 10th January, 2017 at 7:30pm in the village hall.