Parish Councillors:
- Rob Morgan (Chairman)
- Bridgette Crundwell (Vice)
- Laurence Mellor
- Pauline Marshall
Parish Clerk:
- Angela Barnes
1. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN:
Cllr Marshall proposed Cllr Morgan be elected as Chairman, this was seconded by Cllr Crundwell. Cllr Morgan proposed Cllr Crundwell be elected as Vice Chairman, this was seconded by Cllr Mellor.
2. APOLOGIES:
Apologies were received from Cllr Carter.
3. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 16 April 2012 were agreed and duly signed, dated and filed.
4. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:
None
5. FINANCIAL REPORT:
Payments:
- Cancelled – Cheque 100816
- P Carter (Water Butt) £57.00 Cheque 100817
- Hickman Bros Skip £108.00 Cheque 100818
- The Wychwood Day Centre Ltd £150.00 Cheque 100819
- Cancelled – Cheque 100820
- R Morgan (Picnic Benches) £615.96 Cheque 100821
- Banbury Memorials £150.00 Cheque 100822
Income:
- HMRC VAT refund £1,626.29
- CLPG £500.00
- First Great Western £500.00
Bank Balance:
- £18,898.39
6. COUNTY COUNCILLORS REPORT:
No Report
7. DISTRICT COUNCILLORS REPORT:
No Report
8. PUBLIC TIME:
No public time was recorded.
9. THE SWAN PUBLIC HOUSE:
A Discussion took place on the note provided by some of the villagers with regard to the Swan Public House. The Councillors agreed that some of the content was inappropriate and therefore they would not circulate it to the villagers under the banner of the Parish Council. The Parish Council could see no reason why the authors could not circulate the note themselves. The Parish Council would continue to support the reopening of The Swan Pubic House.
After discussion and the advice given to the Council from Oxfordshire Association of Local Councils (OALC), Cllr Morgan proposed that the Parish Council rescind all plans to set up a sub-committee. This proposal was seconded by Cllr Crundwell and agreed unanimously.
10. PLANNING APPLICATIONS:
The Clerk recorded that there were two new applications to be considered, noted below. The Parish Council did not object to either application and the Clerk was asked to write to WODC accordingly.
New
- 12/0674/P/FP Erection of single storey rear extension at Pyrton House Station Road, Shipton-under-Wychwood
- 12/0694/P/FP Erection of single and two storey side extensions to form additional accommodation at 20 London Lane, Ascott-under-Wychwood
Ongoing
- 12/0119/B/FP/O Building Regulations Application at 5A Shipton Road
Granted
- 12/0546/P/FP Alterations to existing vehicular access at Pyrton Poultry Farm, Station Road, Shipton-under-Wychwood.
- 12/0456/P/FP Erection of Summerhouse at 1 Station Place.
11. QUEENS DIAMOND JUBILEE:
Cllr Morgan reported that the giving out of the Jubilee Mugs on the Village Green on Saturday 19 May had been very successful. He reported that the picnic tables, recently purchased for the recreation field, were in his garage ready to be assembled. He reported that the Jubilee Committee had asked if the picnic tables could be available for the Jubilee Lunch. Cllr Morgan and Cllr Mellor agreed to look at assembling the tables the week commencing Monday 28 May.
12. VILLAGE PLAN:
The clerk was asked to carry this forward.
13. ASCOTT-UNDER-WYCHWOOD RECREATION GROUND:
Cllr Morgan reported that the Plaque had now been cleaned and all were very happy with the result. He reported that the Helpers were meeting at the weekend to tidy up around the swings and cut back the ivy ahead of the Jubilee Lunch on Sunday 3 June.
14. ASCOTT-UNDER-WYCHWOOD SPORTS CLUB:
Cllr Mellor reported on behalf of Cllr Carter – continuing with our research about changes to the Recreation Ground I approached Pauline Plant from Ascott Pre-school and Mr Wood, headmaster of Windrush Valley School. Pauline met me on site and gave me her views; she has also carried out an e-poll of her parents and will send me the responses. Mr Wood has agreed to a meeting on 24 May at 4pm. I am hoping to arrange a display of different pieces of equipment at the Jubilee Luncheon so that we can engage directly with the children and parents attending
Cllr Mellor reported that the senior football team had now confirmed that they will be holding a tournament on Sunday 17 June, which will consist of 7-a-side teams. They have the support of Oxford FA who will be providing a referee and linesmen. St Johns Ambulance will be in attendance and refreshments will be served. Cllr Mellor reported that final arrangements are still to be confirmed and the only issue would be parking, which he will discuss with the team.
15. COMMUNITY EMERGENCY PLAN:
Cllr Mellor reported on behalf of Cllr Carter – because of the extreme rainfall and high river levels we were asked to open the sand bin at Tiddy Hall twice this month. The bin, sand and equipment are under the control of WODC and can be used by members of other communities in the local area. Ron Spurs of WODC was running the scheme and declared the two exercises very helpful to fine-tune the system, although we did not need to fill any sandbags.
Members of Ascott Parish Council questioned the wisdom of allowing other communities to use the sand and bags from Ascott ahead of a major flood. This is because Ascott has been cut off in the past and would make it impossible for the sand bin to be replenished by WODC, potentially leaving the Ascott residents short of sand or bags. I explained our concerns to Ron Spurs in a phone call and he has taken the matter seriously.
Despite record levels of rainfall, river levels at Ascott kept well away from property; the Chipping Norton Road did not become impassable and the Shipton Road at Ascott Earl did not flood at all. Gypsy Lane had minimal flooding where there is a natural dip between the Walker and Macaulay paddocks. The only complaints I received were two regarding the extreme amount of water flowing down London Lane, much of which emanated from Mrs Beveridge’s property (pond).
15. COMMUNITY EMERGENCY PLAN Cont’d:
Residents have found new website data from the Environment Agency extremely helpful and reassuring. There are now 3 river gauges measuring levels upstream of Ascott, the last one being at Shipton. It is possible to track the rise and fall of river levels and to be able to judge the timings of high water reasonably accurately.
Cllr Mellor reported that due to the issues surrounding the potential use of the Sandbin by other communities this should be carried forward to the June meeting for further discussion.
16. STANDING ORDERS:
The Clerk advised the Council that they would need to adopt the new Model Standing Orders for Local Councils, supplied by OALC. This document has been emailed to all councilors for consideration and it was suggested that the Chairman, Vice Chairman, the Clerk and Stuart Fox the Responsible Financial Officer meet at 7pm before the June meeting to go through the document and then a final draft be presented to the full council for approval. The Clerk agreed to speak to Stuart to confirm this date and time would be suitable.
17. MATTERS ARISING:
County Councillor Highways & Transport Fund (formerly the Area Steward Fund) Cllr Morgan reported that he had applied to OCC for a quotation and timescales to:
- Remove vegetation on the west side of London Lane between Number 12 and Number 18
- To clear covered gullies beneath the Chipping Norton bridge and for the bridge to be sided up and generally tidied.
Natural History Project:
- Carry forward
18. CORRESPONDENCE:
- OCC Letter advising of Temporary closure and introduction of self service at Wychwoods Library
- Air Ambulance Berks/Oxon/Bucks requesting donation
- Clerks & Councils Direct
- OPFA – The Playing Field Spring 2012
- Cotswold & Malvern Line New
- Audit Commission – letter noting the the re-appointment of the current auditor BDO LLP
The letter from the Air Ambulance was discussed and it was unanimously agreed that a donation of £50 should be given. Cllr Morgan agreed to contact them and confirm who the cheque needs paying to.
19. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
- A request had been received from CLPG to arrange a meeting with the three Wychwood parishes to discuss the frequency of trains stopping at Shipton and Ascott. Cllr Morgan agreed to reply to CLPG.
- Notice Boards – Cllr Morgan reported on the large amount of fly posters being displayed. It was discussed and agreed that discretion should be used by all councilors to remove posters that were not relevant.
- Village Meeting – Cllr Morgan reported his disappointment at the number of reports sent to the Village Meeting to be read out as no representative could attend. The Clerk was asked to check with OALC to verify that sent reports could be included in the recorded minutes, but would not be read out.
- The Clerk asked if the date for the July meeting could be changed to Monday 2 July. This was agreed and duly noted.
There being no further business Cllr Morgan declared the meeting closed at 9.15pm and confirmed the next meeting would be held on Monday 11 June at 7.30pm in the Tiddy Hall.