Parish Councillors
Parish Councillors
- Philippa Carter
- Sandy Timms
- Peter Rance
- Brian Leach
County Councillor
- CCllr Liz Leffman
District Councillor
- DCllr Jake Acock
Parish Clerk
- Angela Barnes
Members of the Public
- No members of the public
1. Apologies
Received from Cllr Ranson. Cllr Carter reported that, sadly, Cllr Ranson had made the decision to resign due to his growing work commitments. Please refer to Matters Arising (i) Co-option.
2. Minutes of the Last Meeting
The Minutes recorded from the meeting held on Monday 12 November 2018 were approved as a true record, duly signed, dated and filed.
3. Declarations of interest
There were no declarations of interest to record.
4. Financial Report
This was circulated prior to the meeting to all councillors.
Income
Village Charity £1000
Tiddy Hall £500
(Both towards the cost of a new defibrillator)
Costs:
Vanda Lights PV30 101147 £489.00 Pavilion
Corbetts (P Carter) PV31 101148 £429.00 Cooker Pavilion
Corbetts (P Carter) PV31 200001 £50.00 Cooker Pavilion
P Carter PV32 200002 £124.54 Mulled Wine
Tonnes Away PV33 200003 £125.00 Allotment Shed Waste
Lexis Nexis PV34 200004 £110.99 Admin Book
Bruern Farm PV35 200005 £204.00 Christmas tree
KopyRite PV36 200006 £30.00 Christmas leaflets
Financial Regulations
It was agreed that the councillors would meet in February to agree and finalise the Financial Regulation.
Precept
The Clerk had circulated a forecast to 31 March 2019. This was reviewed and it was agreed unanimously. Cllr Carter proposed that the Precept be set at £22,500.00, which remained unchanged from last year. This was seconded by Cllr Rance and unanimously agreed. The Clerk was asked to submit the Precept request to WODC.
5. Reports from County and District Councillors
County Cllr Liz Leffman and Cllr Carter would meet on Thursday 20 December to discuss the dropped curbs in Dawls Close, together with Mike Wasley from OCC. CCllr Leffman reported that the sign post on London Lane had been reported, but had not yet been fixed.
District Cllr Jake Acock
DCllr Acock reported on the chaos surrounding the installation of broadband by GigaClear and the confusion over which authority had approved this. He reported that there had been no consultation with the Parish Council via WODC / OCC. DCllr Acock reported that he had attended the Cow Shed Development consultation held in the Village and that infill, traffic, drainage and community parking were the main issues discussed by local residents.
6. Public Time
There were no members of public and so no public time recorded.
7. Planning
18/03395/FUL PROPOSAL: Erection of an agricultural building for livestock and storage. LOCATION: Fernhill Farmhouse Shipton Road Ascott Under Wychwood APPLICANT: Mr Charlie Barrett (referred from Shipton under Wychwood PC) –Under consideration
18/02921/FUL PROPOSAL: Change of use of land from agricultural to domestic garden. (Retrospective).LOCATION: 1 The Green Ascott Under Wychwood Chipping Norton APPLICANT: Mr And Mrs John And Debra Cull REGISTERED: 16th October 2018 – Awaiting Decision
Appeal Ref: APP/D3125/W/17/3179654 12-18 London Lane, Development of 5 dwellings – Allowed 15 December 2017: (Original Application Ref 17/01067/FUL, dated 30 March 2017 -Refused by notice dated 10 July 2017) Keep listed for reference.
Cow Shed development
Bloombridge Development Partners held a village consultation on Thursday 15 November at the Tiddy Hall. This was very well attended. Boards explained the argument for a development on that site and illustrated in some detail what the final planning application would look like. Visitors were asked to comment which many did. Richard Cutler, Bloombridge has emailed to say that they expect to submit a formal application in January 2019. Bloombridge are representing Cornbury Estate.
8. Matters Arising
(a) OCC Grasscutting contract – Ongoing
(b) Footpaths
Kingstanding Farm incorrect signage on fences and public footpaths. Ongoing
Cllr Carter reported that she had discussed footpath deregulation with parishioner Sue Richards, who is willing to form a group of residents to check the latest Definitive Footpath Map. Cllr Carter had emailed 60 residents known to be keen walkers, but so far only 5 have replied showing interest in the project. More work will be done in the New Year.
(c) Defibrillator – Cllr Timms reported that the existing Defibrillator had now been installed and working at the Village Shop. The new one is scheduled to be installed at Tiddy Hall on 2nd January. Training will be organised and will take 1.5 hours, a date to be confirmed late January. Ongoing
(d) GDPR – Cllr Leach agreed to send an updated list to Cllr Carter.
(e) Heritage Lane new Dog Poo Bin – Ongoing
(f) Allotments – Cllr Leach suggested a trial of 2 small Water Butts / large containers to capture water for use by the allotment tenants. Cllr Rance proposed this suggestion and Cllr Timms seconded it. Cllr Leach would let the PC have costings/figures.
(g) Martyrs Seats – regular cleaning / contract – Ongoing
(h) England’s National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Cllr Tony Merry Charlbury TC email Ongoing
(i) Co-option of a fifth councillor – Cllr Carter reported that the post will need to be advertised. It was agreed that this would be done after the Christmas break. Ongoing
9. Risk Assessment & Ground Maintenance
Cllr Carter reported on actions that needed addressing within 3 months, as follows:
(a) Village Notice Boards – to be discussed in January
(b) Trim ivy and fir from gate pillars of playing field
(c) Contact Zip Wire contractor to carry out RoSPA instructions
(d) Replace Toddler Swing shackles
(e) Renovate or replace slide and Witch’s Hat
(f) Replace vandalised picnic bench
(g) Protect pavilion boiler exterior pipe from freezing
(h) Purchase and install meter box covers – a quote had been received for £153.60 including VAT and delivery. Cllr Timms proposed this quote be accepted, Cllr Rance seconded.
(i) Replace posts at 5 Shilling Corner – a quote had been received for £350 (£200 labour and £150 + VAT for the posts). Cllr Carter proposed this quote be accepted, Cllr Leach seconded.
Cllr Carter gave an update on the following:
- Shane Barnes had carried out other RoSPA recommendations and the basketball edges will be installed in the spring.
- Nicholsons have undertaken the tree survey and the PC is waiting for their quotation.
- The Pavilion exterior lights and the blown panes of double glazing have been replaced this month.
- The electricity supply on the Village Green now has a “tamper proof” connection.
10. Community Emergency Plan
The Winter Team – have re-planned equipment storage and they hope to undertake the work within the month. In doing so they will be able to decide on salt stocks and order fresh salt if necessary. All new storage will come within the current budget.
Flood Signs – a site has been agreed to store the signs at the top of Chippy Hill. Cllr Carter proposed purchasing a strong plastic storage box from Wayfair.co.uk at a cost of £298 in total. This was seconded by Cllr Rance. Robin Walker will usually deploy the signs (after instruction from OCC) but the box will be accessible to others who might deputise (again under the instruction of OCC).
11. Transport
Trains
Cllr Rance explained a very unsatisfactory publication by Network Rail on the Train Times website of the pre-Christmas extra stopping trains to allow Ascott residents to travel on Saturdays to and from Oxford. Despite clear requests by CLPG to the GWR franchise who had passed this on to Network Rail, the website details gave an unusable service! Cllr Rance had complained to CLPG and GWR and awaited urgent corrections to avoid residents simply avoiding the trains completely which would be the very worst outcome.
Buses
Nothing to report.
12. Roads
Chipping Norton River Bridge – OCC consultation ongoing.
Email photographic evidence had been received from a parishioner showing an extremely large vehicle driving over the Chipping Norton Bridge. He was concerned about the proposed closure of Burford bridge to large vehicles and the effect on Ascott under Wychwood roads. The resident enquired about SpeedWatch and Cllr Carter explained that there had only been 1 volunteer to participate in a SpeedWatch programme following the PC’s leaflet drop in the summer. The parishioner has offered to contact this volunteer to discuss the possibility of increasing the number of volunteers.
Cllr Carter reported visiting a resident of Dawls Close to discuss the problem of dropped kerbs and off-street parking. The resident introduced others who were all Cottsway tenants and they reported that Cottsway continue to insist that vehicles are removed from their forecourts either because there were too many or because there was no dropped kerb. Cottsway contractors have recently laid a concrete drive on one forecourt and yet the residents are not allowed access to it because there is no dropped kerb. The cost of £2,000 quoted by Cottsway for each dropped kerb is prohibitive for some. Cllr Carter contacted CCllr Liz Leffman for help to resolve this matter. Information about the process had been provided and a meeting arranged with the relevant OCC officer. The Parish Council is most concerned that Dawls Close is kept as clear as possible to allow safe access to Emergency and wide vehicles.
Cllr Carter reported on the drainage problem in Church View and that there would be a meeting with an OCC drainage engineer to discuss solutions.
13. Reports from Organisations
(a) Ascott-under-Wychwood Sports Club
Cllr Carter reported that the Manager of Ascott FC had requested that the Pavilion had its own Defibrillator (to be sited inside due to vandalism). The Manager stated that the FA might offer a grant if there are contributions from the FC and the Parish Council. The Club plans to organise fundraising events. Cllr Timms and Cllr Rance proposed that the PC consider a grant of £500.
(b) Wychwood Library – nothing to report
(c) Helpers of Ascott-under-Wychwood – nothing to report
14. Correspondence
From Parishioner John Cull – photographic evidence of large speeding traffic over C Norton river bridge – please refer to Item No. 12 Roads.
Clerk at Shipton under Wychwood PC re planning, please refer to Planning, Item No. 7
WODC Water Day Thursday 4 October – notes recorded from the day
Wychwood Day Centre Limited – a letter of thanks from Chris George for the PC’s donation
Cllr Drv Tony Merry – National Park for the Cotswolds – please refer to matters arising.
Cotwolds Conservation Board – Management Plan
Post
No post
15. Carols round the Christmas tree
The checklist was circulated to all councillors and responsibilities confirmed. It was agreed, unanimously that the beneficiary from the donations would be The North Oxfordshire Community Food Bank.
16. Any Other Business
Annual Litter Pick – Saturday 16 February has been pencilled in.
There being no further business, Cllr Carter declared the meeting closed at 10.05pm.
Cllr Philippa Carter (Chairman)
Date: Monday 14 January 2019