Minutes 25.02.09

MILTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting duly convened and held in the Community Centre, Milton Heights on 25^th February 2009

Present: Cllrs K.Sadler (Chair), S. Jennings, D. Adderley, R. Fyfe, R. Liquorish and S. Glazebrook.

In attendance: L.Dalby (Clerk) and PCSO Denise Clements.

Cllr Sadler reported the recent death of Mike Sleep the previous Parish Clerk.

09/14 Public Participation

PCSO Clements reported that the Police are still monitoring hare and deer coursing in the area and will be carrying out operations in the near future to stop these activities. There has been no reported crime in the past month in the parish.

Cllr Adderley asked if the Police would take action against any lorries parking up in Potash Lane overnight. PCSO Clements said now they were aware of the problem they would keep an eye on the situation, there is currently an operation in progress to encourage drivers to use authorised lorry parks overnight.

09/15 Reports from District and County Councillors

The report from District Councillor Waite is held on file.

09/16 Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received from District Cllrs R. Waite, M. Turner, T. Fraser and M. Murray.

09/17 Declarations of Personal and Prejudicial Interest

There were none.

09/18 Minutes of the Council’s meeting held on 28^th January 2009

The minutes were agreed and signed with two amendments by the Chairman.

09/10 iii - £15,985 and not £15.985.

09/12 a – Sutton Courtenay Incinerator – the Council agreed that in principle they don’t object to the proposed incinerator however they noted the misgivings of the residents of Sutton Courtenay.

09/19 Matters Arising

a) Playground Areas – The inspection reports for both playground areas found no problems this month.

b) Playbuilder Scheme – Cllr Jennings reported that if the Council is to pursue an application to the Playbuilder scheme they should be prepared to go ahead with any work whether or not they receive funding. He explained that the application process required a great deal of time and this would be wasted unless the Council would back the scheme regardless of the outcome of the funding application. It was agreed that Cllr Jennings would prepare a report for the next meeting. Action – Cllr Jennings.

c) Football Club -  The Clerk reported that the only news she had received from the Football Club was that the planning department wasn’t minded to ask them to knock down the clubhouse at the moment as long as a planning application is forthcoming soon. Cllr Glazebrook said he understood that the club were resigned to being demoted back to North Berks league as this would reduce the standard of facilities they were required to have by the Football Association. It was agreed that the council are unhappy that few residents seem to be involved with the club and that residents are excluded from playing other sports on the field. The Council did however recognise that the Club house provides a social club for the residents of Milton Heights and that younger children from the village play in the youth teams. The Council do not wish the football club to be closed down but they would like them to abide by the terms of the license. The Council agreed that Cllr Fyfes draft letter covered all the concerns of the council.

It was agreed that the Clerk should ask the Councils solicitor to write to the Football Club highlighting the points raised in Cllr Fyfe’s letter. Action – Clerk

d) Risk Assessment – Cllr Sadler will distribute forms amongst the Councillors to be completed.

e) Land at Milton Heights – the Clerk has spoken to the legal department at VWHDC and been assured that the matter is in hand. Action – Clerk to update Mr Lilly.

f) Bus Shelter – the Clerk has once again contacted the Highways department and had an acknowledgement of her letter. County Councillor I. Brown has now given the Clerk the name of someone to contact regarding the matter. If this doesn’t yield a response Cllr Brown will take up the matter on behalf of the council. Action - Clerk

g) Memorial Safety – Cllr Fyfe has inspected all the memorials in the cemetery and feels there is no cause for concern. He felt that the Clerk should maintain a record of his inspection and that the memorials should be checked on a 6 monthly basis. Cllr Fyfe also commented that some of the older memorials are becoming illegible and it would be good to have a record of their inscriptions.

h) Flood Action Group – Cllr Glazebrook has contacted those houses and land owners in the village affected by flooding. He has also contacted MEPC and the Highways department. The aim of the group is to reduce the risk of flooding , help residents when flooding does occur, engage with landowners to improve drainage and to inform and engage with local residents, Parish, District, County Councils and other local flood groups.

i) VWHDC Core Strategy – Preferred Options – Cllrs Fyfe and Liquorish are to attend the postponed meeting in Harwell and to review the SCOT report. They will then meet up to finalise the councils response before the 20^th March deadline. Action – Cllrs Fyfe and Liquorish.

j) Speed Cushions, High Street – the Clerk reported the matter and they have been repaired.

09/20 Planning and Development Matters

a) Applications received from the District Council for consultation and considered by the Planning Committee.

b) Decision(s) of Local Planning Authority

09/21 Financial and Administrative Matters

The following accounts for payment were approved.

Society of Local Council Clerks – training £ 95.00

L. Dalby – Clerks salary and expenses February £614.18

P. Browning – Litter Picking February £ 94.03

S. Devitt – Litter Picking February £ 86.28

HMRC – PAYE & NI February £ 79.32

Venturplay – safety inspection January £ 64.40

L.Dalby – equipment for litter pickers £ 29.96

P. Leaver – internal audit £100.00

St. Blaise School – hire of room £ 33.74

OALC – training for Clerk £ 46.00

09/22 Correspondence Received

Cllr Fyfe has read all the correspondence received and pointed out some items of interest. A list is held on file.

The Clerk has received a letter from Oxfordshire County Council asking for the views of the Council on their proposal to switch street lights off between the hours of 12.30am and 5 am. The Council agreed this would not be viable in residential areas nor safe at road junctions. However they would be happy for other lights to be switched off for a trial period as they were concerned about the potential for crimes to be committed. The Clerk will seek the views of residents through Milton Matters before responding. Action – Clerk

09/23 Matters raised by Councillors/Clerk for

a) Inclusion on the agenda by notice to the Clerk

- Parish Website – Cllr Glazebrook reported that this has not been updated for some time. It was agreed that the Clerk should contact Cllr von Wenden regarding this matter. Action – Clerk.

- Social facilities Milton Heights – Cllr Fyfe reported that he felt the Council should consider trying to provide better social facilities at Milton Heights. Cllr Fyfe felt that provisions such as a day centre would be very welcome. Concerns were raised about who would manage and finance such a building. It was also agreed that as the Football Clubs finances are propped up by residents using the club house as a pub it would not be desirable to be ‘in competition’ with them. It was agreed that if a further housing development goes ahead on Milton Heights the Council should investigate the possibility of such a facility.

b) Inclusion on the agenda for the next meeting

- Playbuilder Scheme

- SCOT report

c) Urgent action by approval of the meeting

- Cllr Liquorish reported that the 30 mph sign on the road as you exit Wantage Rd, Rowstock is no longer clearly visible. Action – Clerk to report the matter.

- Cllr Adderley reported that sports field fence has still not been repaired. Action – Clerk to contact Football Club.

09/24 Future Meeting

It was agreed that the next meeting of the Council would be held on 25^th March 2009 at the Community Centre, Milton Heights commencing at 7.45pm.

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9.25pm.