WEST HAGBOURNE PARISH COUNCIL                                                          MINUTES

 

 

Meeting in Hagbourne Primary School                                                      11th January 2007

East Hagbourne

 

 

Present:  Phil Taylor, Marion Judd, Bernard Mead, Sue Totterdell and Keith Little

 

Public (attended for general forum only):  Marion Allen, Dave Carter, Betty Kendrick, Edward Kendrick

 

Cllr. Patrick Greene (attended for general forum only)

 

Some concerns were raised about the flooding in Brook Lane, which is becoming more frequent but has changed, the removal of the white lines and road signs, the problem with the sewers and the advertising next to the A417 on the approach to the village.

 

The suggestions of a southern ring road for Didcot were discussed.  The Council also advised Patrick Greene that, in respect of the Harwell/West Hagbourne bypass, they wanted a solution that worked for all of Didcot – both old and new, but that any solution had to remove the need for traffic to come through the village.

 

The Council repeated its opposition to any further southerly growth of Didcot toward the Hagbournes.

 

 

The meeting opened at 8.20 pm.

 

1.         Minutes of meeting on 9th November 2007

 

            The minutes were passed as a true and correct record.

 

2.         Matters arising

 

            Storage of archives:

 

            Ruth Webb has said that she will advise when she is ready to hand over the archives.

 

            The Clerk advised that his insurance company has said there will be no increase in the cost of his home insurance for using it for Council purposes.

 

            The skip will be provided on 24/02/07 in Greengate Lane

 

3          South-East Plan – Additional housing for Didcot

 

a)         Recent SODC/Vale of White Horse decisions

 

The only decision taken so far was that 1,500 houses should be built within the SODC area, with the balance in the Vale of White Horse area.  The Council decided to defer further discussion until the next meeting.

 

b)         Submission of the Western Villages Alliance to the Examination on Public

 

The Council approved the draft submission.  The Council considered that the submission should also be circulated to the remaining villages around Didcot that are not members of the Alliance.

 

The Council expressed its thanks to Sue Totterdell for her work in assisting with preparation of the submission and for agreeing to speak at the EiP.

 

4          Didcot boundary review

 

            The Council discussed whether there is really a need for a change in the boundaries of the parish.  The Council decided to participate in the review and the views it expresses will take into account the best interests of residents of West Hagbourne.  The Council was concerned over the erosion of its boundaries.

 

5          SODC draft sustainable development strategy consultation

 

The Council considered it had adequately commented this in its response to Great Western Park and other consultations, and would make no further comment.

 

6          OCC consultation on the future of primary school provision

 

            Richard Jones, head of Hagbourne Primary School, advised that the school governors will not be responding as the school will not be affected by the review.  Consequently the Council decided there was  no need for the Council to respond.

 

7          Parish Plan

 

The Council endorsed the Parish Plan and expressed its thanks to Sue Totterdell and all the others who had prepared it for their work on the Plan.

 

8          Standing Orders, etc.

 

            The Council unanimously approved the revised Standing Orders and Operational Procedures and the Financial Regulations and decided to adopt them.

 

9          The Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006

 

The Council noted its duty to conserve biodiversity under the Act and decided to take its duty into account in future decision making, especially when considering planning applications.

 

10        Contribution to PCC for lopping trees at cemetery

 

The Council decided to defer a decision on this until after the next meeting of the Cemetery Committee, as further information was required..

 

11        Grass cutting 2007

 

            The Council decided to request Scion Estates for a quotation for the coming season based on the areas in last year’s contract and to ensure its Third Party insurance met the County Council’s requirements.  The Clerk was authorised to accept the quotation if the cost was within the budget provision for grass cutting.

 

            The Village Appearance Group would be asked to monitor the grass cutting and householders will be requested to maintain grassed areas outside their property so costs and the precept can be kept as low as possible.

 

12        Land opposite the Horse and Harrow

 

            Both the Land Registry and Greene King have confirmed that the site is registered.  The boundaries are shown on a plan provided by the Land Registry.

 

            The Council decided to write to Graham Robins, who provided the previous quotation, to advise him that a local land owner has offered time and equipment to clear the land.

                       

13        Traffic issues

 

a)         Removal of white lines, etc.

 

            The Council decided to request Oxfordshire Highways to analyse and compare the recent results of the traffic speed monitoring with the speeds measured before the experiment started and report on whether the experiment has been successful.

 

b)         Other traffic issues

 

            There were no other issues.

 

14        Village maintenance

           

The stile on the parish boundary on the path to Upton has been removed and the kissing gate has been delivered.

 

15        Dates for Council meetings 2007/08

 

The Council agreed the following dates for meetings during 2007/08:

 

Ordinary meetings: 10/05/07, 12/07/07, 13/09/07, 08/11/07, 10/01/08, 13/03/08

 

Annual meeting of Parish Council: 10/05/07

 

Annual Parish Meeting: 19/05/07

 

16        Village website action group

 

The Council is in favour of a village website action group.  No Council representative was appointed.

 

17        Finance

 

a)         Monthly report on expenditure

 

The Council accepted and approved the monthly report.

 

b)         Cheques

 

            Ruth Webb (storage) £25.00

 

18        Communication

 

The Council decided to advise SODC that it is interested in taking part in the management of facilities at Great Western Park that are within the parish and comment on specifications.

 

The Council decided also to advise SODC that representatives would attend an event held to discuss community involvement in the development of Didcot.

 

 

 

Date of next meeting – 8th March 2007 at 7.30pm

 

 

 

 

 

Chairman………………………………………   date…………………………………..