Meeting in
Present:
Apologies for absence from Cllr Patrick Greene.
There were no members of the public present.
1. Minutes
of meeting on 8th March 2007
The Council passed the minutes as a true and
correct record.
2. Matters arising
There were no matters arising
3 Co-option
of additional members
The Council decided to
co-opt John Thornhill and Thomas Barker as members of the Council.
4 Council aims and objectives
The Council agreed the main
issues for action during 2007/08 (as attached to these minutes) as a working
document. These will be updated following
the Parish Meeting and during the year as necessary.
5 New Code of Conduct for members
The Council decided the
following:
(a) the mandatory provisions
in the Model Code of Conduct set out in Statutory Instrument 2007/1159 be
adopted as the West Hagbourne
(i) the inclusion of the "general
principles" as an Annex to the Code, with a footnote to explain that it is
not a part of the Code but is included as an Annex because of the requirement
in paragraph 1(2) of the Code for members to have regard to the principles; and
(ii) the addition of paragraph
12(2) of the Model Code, but excluding the words in brackets
each as recommended by the Standards Board for
(b) the Clerk be requested
to notify the Monitoring Officer of South Oxfordshire District Council of the
passing of the above resolution
6 Land opposite Horse and
The
Council considered alternative options offered by Greene King to either purchase the
land for a ‘nominal sum’ of say £1000, or to lease the land from Greene King for a
peppercorn rent of £1 per annum, for a period of 25 years
Greene King had advised that they may consider a lower
purchase price should the Council offer one.
Purchase for a nominal sum would need the approval of the Greene King
Board.
Neither option would involve the Parish
Council in paying for Greene King’s legal costs or include any restriction on
the Parish Council from using the space for a public meeting space/building,
but would prevent the Council from developing the land for profit.
Greene King have advised the Council that
they have instructed their legal department to adjust/change the tenancy
agreement with the landlord of the Horse & Harrow, removing the plot of
land in question from the public house tenancy.
This means the landlord will then have no future call or interest in the
plot.
The Council decided:
a) to offer a lower sum for the purchase
of the land, subject to public approval of this at the Annual Parish Meeting,
and to spend no more than £1,500 (including legal costs).
b) to appoint Paul A Gaskin solicitors to
carry out the legal work in connection with purchase so long as public approval
is given and a sum acceptable to the Council is agreed.
The Council also considered a request from
the North Berks Motorcycle Club to
put a temporary building on the site and it was decided that this would not be
appropriate at this time.
7 Agreements
with the County Council for grass cutting and removal of unauthorised signs on
the highway
The Council decided:
a) to proceed with the current
arrangements for grass cutting and to enter into a formal agreement with the
County Council
b) not to continue the responsibility for
the removal of unauthorised signs on the highway and therefore not to enter
into a formal agreement with the County Council.
8 Unauthorised
signs on the highway at
The Council decided it was not now appropriate to
consider any action on these signs. The
Clerk was asked to write to Rob and Marion Allin and advise them accordingly.
9 South-East
Plan – Additional housing for Didcot
Phil Taylor and Bernard Mead had attended the second of a
series of Didcot community involvement events arranged by SODC. Phil Taylor offered to be a member of any Communications
and Open Spaces groups that might be formed.
The Council recognised Bernard Mead’s experience after
many years as a parish councillor and decided to ask him to assist the Council
as a consultant where appropriate.
10 Clerk’s
Job Description, Contract of Employment and salary
a) Job Description and Contract of Employment
The Clerk’s Job Description and Contract of Employment
have now been revised by the Council.
The Clerk advised the Council that he will agree to the new documents.
b) Salary
The Council decided to increase the Clerk’s salary to £1,500 pa,
backdated to 1st April 2007 and to review the salary annually in
November, with any change in salary to take effect from the following April. The Council also decided to pay the Clerk an
additional payment of £100 in recognition of the time spent on revising and
updating the Council’s Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and other
documentation.
11 Traffic issues
a) Removal
of white lines, etc.
Oxfordshire Highways has reported
that traffic speeds are ‘similar’ since the removal of white lines and signs. The council favoured non-replacement of the
white lines and signs, but will consult the public at the Annual Parish
Meeting.
b) Other
traffic issues
There
were no other issues.
12 Planning applications
There have been no recent planning
applications. The Horse &
13 Village maintenance
a) Work to ditch in
A start has been made on clearing the ditch
and it is still not evident why water from gullies in
b) Other
issues
14 Kissing
gate project
The Oxfordshire County Council grant has been received for the new
kissing gate. The total cost of the work
was £812.13. VAT to be reclaimed is
£52.14. The grant received was £800.00.
The Council decided that the small surplus should be put towards the
cost of other village improvements.
15 Finance
a) Monthly report on
expenditure
The Council accepted and approved the attached monthly report.
b) Cheques
The
Council approved the cheques drawn during April as attached schedule.
16 Communication
The Clerk was requested to ascertain whether Criminal Records Bureau
checks need to be made on members and the Clerk.
Date of next meeting – 12th
July 2007 at
Chairman……………………………………… date…………………………………..