Meeting in
Present: Phil
Taylor, Bernard Mead, Sue Totterdell, Keith Little
Apologies: Marion Judd
Public: John Baile, Sheila Taylor (apologies from
Eleanor Bowey and Margaret Hedger)
Cllr Patrick
Greene arrived late and attended for part of the meeting
Open Forum
Sheila Taylor told
the Council that the History Group would like to formally present the new
parish map to the parish council and suggested that refreshments could be
provided after. There would also be a
press release. Provisional dates of 1st
or 2nd August at 7.30(ish).
In case of photographs the bus timetable should be moved beforehand.
Sheila Taylor also
told the Council that the History Group wanted more ‘grass roots’ action to
help prevent the village from being swamped by the new housing at Didcot. Reference was made to the questionnaire
produced in Harwell with alternative routes for a Harwell bypass. Phil Taylor suggested a possible new route
from
Concern was also
expressed that there is little public awareness that many of the new homes
built at Didcot west are in
Cllr Patrick
Greene later demonstrated the new SODC green waste collection bag and described
the procedures for obtaining a bag and requesting its collection. Parish councils could obtain a supply at no
cost and sell them on behalf of SODC.
The Council
meeting opened at
1. Minutes
of meeting on
The minutes were passed as a true
and correct record.
2 Matters
arising
None
3 Planning
applications
Erection
of four bedroom house on land adjacent to Ash Farm – Phil Taylor withdrew from
the discussion as he had a declared interest in the planning application. The Council had no objection to the planning
application and considered it “a reasonable infill development with a balanced
consideration of standards required and appearance”.
Phil
Taylor had nothing to report on Thatch Cottage or Ivy Farm. The Council still had the same concerns about
Thatch Cottage as originally expressed, namely traffic, noise, conservation
area and location, and generally the public opinion shown at the Annual Parish
Meeting was, that the principles of the previous planning decision had been
flouted.
4 Village maintenance
a) Bus
shelter garden
£160
was approved for expenditure on self watering system. Council grateful to Mary-Anne Butler for her
input over last year.
b) Land
adjacent to Horse & Harrow
Three
quotations had been requested for clearance with no feedback, additional quotes
to be sought, and the work to be done in the autumn if agreed. Phil and Dee Smith were unable to take it on,
but offered help. (Leave on agenda)
c) The
milestone on A417
Sue
Totterdell thought renovation could be short term project to be identified in the
Parish Plan. Bernard Mead reported that
another milestone was shown on an old map but had disappeared from the road leading
from the Horse and
d) Footpath
The
footpath from the footbridge in
e) Church
Path
Sustrans
will consider help with the cost of maintenance and suggested a site meeting.
5 Green waste collection in village
SODC
have quoted an hourly rate for a supervised skip if provided by Grundon. Phil Taylor will ask Chilton Waste if they
can provide a similar service and compare cost.
The aim will be to start this service in September. Approval to spend £200 (out of reserves) on
one trial skip, was agreed.
6 Parish Plan
a) Update
Sue
Totterdell reported a good response (about 85%). Committee will hold their first meeting since
return of questionnaires next Tuesday and will identify any deliverable
projects. A grant of up to £2,000 is available from ORCC, which in part could pay for reporting back to
all households. A social event could also
be organised to find display the results and might also include views on
bypass.
7 Traffic update
See
Open Forum
Agree
to consider similar consultation over bypass route from the Parish.
8 Finance
a) Cheques
raised:
P
Taylor Admin £5; Marion Judd Garden £919.96; Donations to £25 to each of the
following Didcot Hospital, CB Didcot,DVC, and British Legion, P Taylor Internet
Hosting £22.42; Ruth Webb Stationery £17.79; Trevor Packer Internal Audit
£15;Isis Accord April grass cut £155.56; ORCC annual sub £20; Village
association Hire of Marquee £25; Marion
Judd Plants for village £20; Isis Accord
May cut £155.56 P Taylor renewal of ISP £31.69
9 Communication
How
best to remind
described as
Also
think about improving signage to identify footpath routes to
10 Appointment of new Clerk and handover
period
Ruth Webb
has said she will keep archive files until end of 2006. She wants to hand over to Roger Sweet during
August and to formally finish on 30th September. Phil Taylor will help Ruth identify any
paperwork that can be discarded from the day to day files. Roger will liaise with Ruth during August and
formally commence on 1st September.
During September the two clerks will work together. It was agreed to incur two salaries for one
month.
The
need to get advice on what has to be kept and for how long was recognised. It will also be necessary to identify
appropriate long-term storage solutions (e.g. scanning and digital storage)
11 Meetings
21st
July – Harwell liaison meeting. Phil
Taylor will attend and possibly Bernard Mead too.
12 Other business
Bernard
Mead raised spoil dumping outside Tyrrell Trust land. Phil Taylor will query it with Matt Napper.
Who
does the Parish Council contact at Sustrans regarding complaints?
Date
of next meeting
Chairman……………………………………… date…………………………………..