Parish Councillors
- Philippa Carter
- Sandy Timms
- Peter Rance
- Brian Leach
County Councillor
- CCllr Liz Leffman
Parish Clerk
- Angela Barnes
Members of the Public:
- Louise Appleton, Community Engagement Officer Gigaclear
- Pauline Plant – parishioner
1. Apologies
DCllr Jake Acock, report submitted, please refer to Item No. 5.
2. Minutes of the Last Meeting
The Minutes recorded from the meeting held on Monday 14 January 2019 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
No Income
Expenditure
200017 P Carter £153.60 – Meter Boxes Pavilion
200019 Ascott Grapevine £450
200020 Patrick Edwards £122.40 – Tractor Repairs
200021 R A Newman £81.60 – Hedge Cutting
Financial Regulations
To be discussed and finalised at a meeting in February.
5. Reports from County and District Councillors
CCllr Liz Leffman reported that there was to be a Budget meeting tomorrow and hopefully £30m would be allocated to roads. She reported on the Council Tax increase. CCllr Leffman reported that there was an amount of £1m from the Conservative Administration which had been allocated to the youth service. Cllr Leffman reported that she would be proposing that £750k should be allocated to buses and travel cards.
DCllr Jake Acock’s report was presented to the meeting – I will be attending the next full council meeting where the budget will be discussed. I will be voting for less tax and will be voting against any raise in council tax, unless a justified account is published.
It is also coming to light that the new Ubico bin collection has over spent this year by £500,000. This company was meant to be saving money- not over spending in their budget. We need to investigate why and how this happened? This Is something the Lib Dem’s will be taking on.
I have had some different case work come into my inbox over the last week, which I am now following up- one including a lady being made homeless and she lives in our ward, which I have already contacted WODC on this.
6. Public Time
Louise Appleton from Gigaclear –please refer to Item No 8 Matters Arising (b)
Parishioner Pauline Plant confirmed that she would like to join the PC and to be co-opted- please refer to Item No. 8 Matters Arising (j).
7. Planning
19/00033/HHD- Erection of replacement timber framed garage building with external staircase to store above. LOCATION: The Priory House 22 High Street Ascott under Wychwood – New
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 – Ongoing
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 – No formal planning application as yet.
8. Matters Arising
(a) OCC Grasscutting contract – Ongoing
(b) Gigaclear – Cllr Carter has been in touch with Gigaclear on several occasions and has received the following summary of a conference call with Louise Appleton, Community Liason Officer and Karl Whittaker, Build Manager:
Contractors on the High Street:
- Thank you for the positive feedback you shared from Peter Greening, it is always good to hear that work is being carried out to a good standard. We also took on board your comments about the lack of information and notification of work in the village. We will strive to improve this, and with our Build Supervisor, Dave Spittle, on the ground we hope this will improve. Karl Whittaker will also share his build plan with you so you have a clearer picture of where we are working at each stage.
Reinstatement/Build Issues:
- You informed us that the bottom of Church View had been excavated 5/6 times – Karl will be looking into this as a priority
- You explained about the fragility of the village drainage system – we have passed this detail onto Dave Spittle so that he is aware
- Karl confirmed that we will be sending in a Remedial Team to reinstate the verges and put right any damages caused by the contractor. He confirmed that the remedial work will be completed by the end of February 2019.
- Karl will look into the private land query (50/50A Shipton Road)
- Karl confirmed that a wayleave had been received for Maple Way
- You expressed concern regarding uncomplete works on Shipton Road. Karl will be providing you with a Build Plan so you can see where we are building next.
BT Outage:
- We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and upset that our BT cable strike caused. We have taken away your suggestion that we need to be communicating to the residents or at the very least the Parish Council if there is a utilities strike – we will discuss this internally as part of our processes
Network Build Care Team:
- As I mentioned, we have a fantastic Network Build Care Team in place to deal with any enquiries or issues from residents, parishes, councillors etc. Their details are networkbuildcare@gigaclear.com Tel: 01865 591137 please feel free to pass these details along to anyone that has any questions regarding our network construction or rollout.’
Cllr Carter will meet the Build Supervisor to walk the village and inspect the various problems and omissions which will have to be put right before Gigaclear move on. A note of the contact details of the Network Build Care Team has been put on the notice boards and in the shop.
(c) Footpaths –CCllr Leffman suggested that the PC contact Sarah Aldous at WODC in order to obtain an update.
(d) Defibrillator –Training –Cllr Timms reported that she had organised training to be held on 23 March at 10.30am in the Tiddy Hall, which would last approximately 1 and a half hours. The Clerk reported that Chipping Norton Lions were hosting a Defibrillator Awareness Course on Friday 29 March in the Lower Town Hall at 7pm for 7.30pm.
(e) Heritage Lane; Dog Poo Bin (additional) – Ongoing
(f) Allotments – Cllr Leach reported on the preferred water containers and suggested that these be purchased. All councillors agreed to a financial limit of up to £300. Cllr Rance proposed the purchase, this was seconded by Cllr Timms.
(g) Ascott Martyrs Educational Trust (AMET) – The Clerk confirmed that AMET will be attending the March PC meeting go give their presentation and confirmation of their Charitable Status.
(h) Litter Pick – Saturday 16 February. Notices have been put up and e-mail notices sent. Equipment has been ordered from WODC. The rubbish will be picked up by WODC on the following Monday in Tiddy Hall car park.
(i) Dropped kerbs /parking in Dawls Close – Cllr Carter met 2 housing officers from Cottsway to understand various parking issues. They met residents to discuss a misunderstanding about visitor parking on the new Maple Way site. They gave their support to dropped kerbs being installed to 4 houses but the residents must first make individual formal requests in writing to Cottsway and we await the response from those.
(j) Co-option – the Clerk would contact WODC to ascertain the official “Notice of Vacancy”.
(k) Annual Parish Meeting – all PCllrs agreed on 29 April 2019. The ordinary PC meeting will be held on Monday 8 April. The Clerk was asked to book the Tiddy Hall.
(l) Salt Bin Maple Way – councillors to check that there is already a Salt Bin in Maple Way.
(m) Wychwoods Working Together – Milton under Wychwood PC proposed meeting up 3rd or 10th April – date to be confirmed
9. RISK ASSESSMENT & GROUND MAINTENANCE
Cllr Carter has;
- trimmed the ivy and fir growing over the gateposts and wall by the playing field gates.
- delivered the pavilion meter box covers to Mike Ody, Football Manager, who has offered to install them.
- discussed with the plumber the problem of the pavilion exterior pipe from the condenser boiler. He has made a good suggestion which will eliminate the problems of freezing, potential vandalism and unsightliness. A quote will follow.
- obtained details of the vandal-resistant picnic benches in Milton-u-W playground. She will contact the company for a quote.
10. COMMUNITY EMERGENCY PLAN
Several members of the Winter Team were unfortunately all on holiday during the 24 hours of snow and so the pavements were not cleared. This highlighted the need for more volunteers to come forward. Jacob Davies reported that OCC Highways had gritted the main roads twice.
11. TRANSPORT:
Nothing to report.
12. ROADS
Cllr Carter has submitted a report to OCC on repairs needed to London Lane, as requested from C Cllr Liz Leffman and the Highways team. Reports on Shipton Rd and the Chipping Norton Rd to follow.
Consultation on potential priority system to Chippy River Bridge:
OCC posted notices of this Consultation since the January PC meeting and it closes on 15 February. Surprisingly in this web centric age, the responses can only been sent in writing.
Cllr Rance placed the detailed proposal in the village shop, and on the village website, whilst OCC placed notices on to the affected existing road signs either side of the bridge and on the village noticeboards.
River Bridge road sign:
The upgraded outbound road sign had been relocated, but unfortunately in the wrong place. The PC are now waiting for this to be relocated correctly by OCC.
13. Reports from Organisations
(a) Ascott-under-Wychwood Sports Club
Cllr Carter reported that the plumber was called to service the boiler (necessary for the guarantee) and to attend to the many radiators which were not working. The worst problems were caused by air locks in the loft pipework. Another visit from the ferreting team has been organised and permissions obtained to enter Cornbury land bordering on the playing field.
(b) Wychwood Library – nothing to report
(c) Helpers of Ascott-under-
14. Correspondence
OCC:
A review of Oxfordshire County Council’s Town and Parish Liaison Events
AMET confirming their Charitable Status
Milton under Wychwood PC – meeting up
Acknowledgement email from Betsy Glasgow Parliament Researcher in response to letter to MP Robert Courts
Post
R A Newman Invoice
Patrick Edwards Invoice
North Oxfordshire Community Foodbank – letter thanking the PC for their donation
16. Any Other Business
Cllr Carter visited Lianne Ranson to discuss her idea of a village notice board on Facebook. She explained the PC’s concern that she should not be open to abuse. Mrs Ranson has started the page which is open to anyone to add information about the village. Mrs Ranson will, however, control the content. She has already photographed material on the notice boards.
There being no further business, Cllr Carter declared the meeting closed at 10pm.