Parish Councillors:
- Philippa Carter
- Sandy Timms
- Peter Rance
Responsible Financial Officer:
- Stuart Fox
District Councillor:
- Tom Simcox
Parish Clerk:
- Angela Barnes
Cottsway:
- William Munro (Project Manager (Development)
Members of the Public:
- Bertie Trinder
- Nigel Braithwaite
- Kester Harvey
1. APOLOGIES:
Apologies were received from CCllr Rodney Rose and Cllr Mark Tribe.
2. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
The recorded Minutes from the Meeting held on 14 November 2016 were agreed, duly signed, dated and filed.
3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
4. CO-OPTION
Ongoing.
5. FINANCIAL REPORT:
Precept
Cllr Carter welcomed Stuart Fox, the Responsible Financial Officer, who then went through his budget forecast to enable the Parish Council to set their Precept for 2017/18.
Cllr Rance raised the issue of the Pavilion costs and had taken advice from Laurence Mellor (retired P Councillor and current Sports Club Chairman). Issues of main concern were – the ongoing maintenance of the Gas boiler, hot water tank, fire regulations and in-house equipment and the tractor used for grass cutting.
Cllr Carter explained in detail the set up of the Pavilion, re-built in 1999, and the Ascott-under-Wychwood Sports Club. She explained that the Pavilion, its income and running costs should be the responsibility of the Sports Committee, while the Playing Field and Playground are the responsibility of the Parish Council. The Sports Committee works separately from the Parish Council and has its own bank accounts. Income comes from the sports teams, WVS school and any lettings of the Pavilion. When there are no volunteers for the Sports Committee the responsibility defaults to the PC. This happened in October 2010 when the then P Cllrs Mellor and Carter took responsibility. Mr Mellor is no longer a P Cllr but remains Sports Club Chairman.
For the purposes of precept planning the Sports Committee continues to pay for the maintenance of the Pavilion but the Parish Council is responsible for such costs as the grass cutting tractor, as this is basic maintenance of the Playing Field.
After Councillors had considered and discussed in detail the day to day running costs of the Parish Council, together with their obligatory costs, it was proposed by Cllr Timms and seconded by Cllr Rance that the Precept be set at £25,000. This was agreed unanimously and the Clerk was asked to prepare the paperwork and advise WODC accordingly.
Receipts
£10.00 Sports Pavilion Rent (2 years)
Payments
£600.00 Village Bus subsidy Chq 101038
£89.99 Computer Anti-Virus Chq 101039
£204.00 Bruern Estate (Christmas Tree) Chq 101040
£27.96 L. Mellor (sacks for salt) Chq 101041
£157.76 P Carter (mulled wine + printing) Chq 101042
6. COUNTY COUNCILLORS REPORT:
No report, apologies received.
7. DISTRICT COUNCILLORS REPORT:
DCllr Simcox reported on the waste collection dates over the Christmas period. He reported on a private consultation on parking permits – this mainly affected Chipping Norton and Witney.
8. PUBLIC TIME:
Cllr Carter welcomed Mr William Munro from Cottsway and the public members, who were in attendance to discuss the planning application 16/02793/FUL (erection of six dwellings and associated works at 18 Maple Way) referred to below in Item 9 Planning.
Cllr Carter reported that the WODC Uplands Committee had rejected the application as it stands and had asked Cottsway to re-draw a plan that was acceptable and provide a much wider consultation to the Parish Council and parishioners next time. There followed a Q & A session, as follows:
Q: William Munro invited members of the Parish Council and parishioners of Maple Way to a Project and Design meeting on Friday 16 December
A: Kester Harvey and Nigel Braithwaite both confirmed they would be able to attend. Cllr Carter also confirmed that she would be able to attend also.
Q: Kester Harvey questioned the water test that had been carried out by Thames Water and asked to see the results.
A: William Munro reported that the utility companies had carried out the compulsory tests, but after discussion, agreed that these would be carried out again at a more suitable and relevant time.
Cllr Carter agreed to email/contact the residents affected to ask if there was anything further to add.
William Munro was confident that there would be a set of fresh plans for all parties to consider at the January meeting
9. PLANNING:
Draft Local Plan 2031
A paper copy of the Local Plan had been given to Cllr Carter and she reported that the consultation period closes on 23 December 2016. Cllr Carter asked DCllr Simcox to explain why Ascott-under-Wychwood’s status had been changed, without consultation. DCllr Simcox agreed to look into this and report back and Cllr Carter advised the councillors that they would need to give the listing of Ascott’s status careful consideration.
West Oxfordshire Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment 2016
Cllr Carter reported that no sites had been identified in the Draft Local Plan for Ascott-under-Wychwood and asked the Clerk to now remove this.
APPLICATIONS ONGOING:
16/03648/HHD Conversion of garage to living accommodation and erection of carport with room above at 15 London Lane.
APPLICATIONS REFUSED:
16/02793/FUL Erection of six dwellings and associated works at 18 Maple Way (please refer to Item No. 8 Public Time).
16/03240/FUL Change of use of land from agricultural to domestic (Retrospective) at 26 High Street.
10. MATTERS ARISING:
(a) County, District and Parish Council Surgery – it was agreed that the next surgery would be held at the Swan Public House on Saturday 7 January 11.30am to 12.30pm.
(b) Wychwood Church of England Primary School request for donation to MUGA Ongoing
11. RISK ASSESSMENT & GROUND MAINTENANCE:
(a) Notice Boards – to remove staples and repaint in dry weather – ongoing
(b) Waste Bins – WODC have replaced 3 bins and the Clerk was asked to contact WODC and enquire when the 4th bin would be replaced.
12. MEMORIAL PLAYING FIELD
(Recreation and Playground)
(a) Replacement Sign – Ongoing
(b) Trellis – Ongoing
(c) Handrail – Ongoing
(d) RoSPA Inspection – Ongoing
13. SPORT ENGLAND DRAINAGE:
Cllr Carter reported that the Practical Completion Meeting took place on 1 December 2016. The main works have been completed and the maintenance part of the project will be completed by April/May. Users should be allowed on from May/June as long as the surface is level.
Cllr Carter reported that they now need to draw down the pledge of £5,500 which the PC made. They will also be able to claim the pledges of £5,000 from Windrush Valley School and £2,040 from the Playing Field Legacy Fund (for which we needed the Practical Completion certificate).
Stuart Fox has been advised of future invoices which will be presented up until the end of ‘snagging’ in October 2017. There will also be an amount of retention money which will be released by Sport England at that time. Cllr Carter will present an update on all finances at the January meeting.’
14. ROADS:
Pavement outside Ascott Earl House – Ongoing.
15. ASCOTT-UNDER-WYCHWOOD SPORTS CLUB:
See Item 5. – Financial Report
16. COMMUNITY EMERGENCY PLAN:
Cllr Carter reported that the equipment was still located at the Playing Field, the sale of Crown Farm was taking longer than expected. She reported that OCC had delivered the Winter salt reserves and that the Helpers had been decanting salt into manageable bags.
17. HELPERS OF ASCOTT-UNDER-WYCHWOOD:
A date for the annual Litter Pick was decided – Saturday 21 January. Cllr Carter confirmed that she had the posters and would print and display them accordingly.
18. TRANSPORT:
Buses:
July to November 2016 was the first period of services reliant upon the volunteer operated Villager Buses after withdrawal of all OCC subsidies. Both the services offered and the AuW PC grant were consequently the best estimates, and both have proved appropriate. In fact as the only providers, Villager bus usage has increased for AuW and most nearby villages. Having consulted our regular users, they are very happy with the services and the alteration occurring from 1st January. Villager have sought the same amount of AuW PC grant for 2017, even though usage has increased.
Trains:
The 2016 Cotswold Line train usage figures have just been published, and show another increase for AuW, this time of 12% (2015 increased by 41%) which though upon a modest base figure, even surpassed the Hanborough increase!
The pre Christmas, Saturday trains have also been popular, both the one to Worcester Christmas Fayre and those to Oxford. That to Oxford on 3rd December took no less than 17 parishioners!
19. WYCHWOOD LIBRARY:
Nothing to report.
20. VILLAGE CHARITY:
Nothing to report.
21. CAROLS ROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE:
The checklist was updated and circulated to all councillors prior to the meeting.
22. CORRESPONDENCE:
Clerk & Councils Direct
Local Plan (hard copy) dropped off at Philippa
Letter from Daphne Abe confirming The Ascott Songsters can sing at Carols round the Christmas Tree
Email
Cottsway – re planning at Maple Way – please refer to Item No.10 Planning
WODC – BT Payphone
23. ANY OTHER BUSINESS:
There being no further business, Cllr Carter declared the meeting closed at 10.15pm and confirmed the next meeting would be the held on Monday 9 January 2017.
Cllr Philippa Carter (Chairman)