HOOK NORTON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE HOOK NORTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD IN THE MEMORIAL HALL ON THURSDAY, 14 JANUARY 2016 at 7.30pm
Present: Councillors Watkins, Hicks, Griggs, Henderson, Wright, McCall-McCowan, Duggan, Brotherston (arrived 7.33pm), Matthews (arrived 7.33pm), County Cllr Reynolds, Mrs R Watts (Parish Clerk) and one member of the public.
In the absence of Councillor Kane, the Vice-Chairman Councillor Watkins took the Chair.
Apologies for Absence – Cllrs Kane and Casson
Chairman’s Announcements: there were no announcements.
Declarations of Interest: There were none. Councillor Brotherston, arriving after 7.30pm, was asked by the Vice-Chairman to declare any interests. He had no interests to declare. Councillor Matthews, arriving after 7.30pm, was asked by the Vice-Chairman to declare any interests. He declared an interest in planning application OCC MW.0132/15 (Banbury Plant Hire).
Minutes of Previous Meeting held on 14 January 2016 and Matters Arising
Cllr Hicks proposed that the minutes of the meeting on 14 January 2016 be resolved as a true and accurate record of the meeting. This was seconded by Cllr Wright and passed unanimously.
At the December meeting District Cllr Jelf agreed to ask officers at Cherwell District Council when Section 106 monies from the Developers of The Grange will be passed to organisations in the village. The Parish Clerk contacted Cllr Jelf last month to see if CDC has responded but she has not heard back from him as yet.
Report of the Planning Co-Ordinator on Planning Applications – Annex 1
Six planning / TCA applications have been received since the last meeting. There were no objections.
Cherwell District Council granted seven planning / TCA applications.
Residents should be aware that the Parish Council can object to a planning application on planning grounds, or support it. It does not have the authority to approve any planning applications or Tree Works. This is the responsibility of the District Council or County Council. Residents can personally object to any planning application via Cherwell District Council’s Planning Portal.
To Invite Members of the Public to Comment on Planning Applications: there were no matters arising.
Reports of Working Groups
Recreation
a) There was nothing to report.
Cemetery and Allotments
a) An allotment holder is overdue with her rental payment and reminders have been sent (each reminder attracts a £5 surcharge). It was agreed unanimously that if the rent is not paid by the end of February, Councillors will discuss the matter again at the March meeting with a view to her tenancies being terminated.
b) The dry stone wall between the upper and lower cemetery needs attention. Cllr Griggs has obtained two estimates for repairs in the sums of £1,200 and £750. He proposed that the lower quotation be accepted. This was seconded by Cllr Hicks and approved unanimously. Work will commence in the spring.
c) Cllr Griggs applied to the Tesco Local Community Grants scheme in 2015 indicating interest in obtaining a grant towards paying for the repairs to the cemetery wall. He has received confirmation from Tesco that the application had unfortunately not been successful. However, further funds will be made available in due course and the Parish Council can re-apply.
Environment
a) The grass verge opposite The Sidings has been damaged by contractors’ traffic. The Parish Clerk had contacted A C Lloyd and they are now in the process of reinstating it.
b) One of the white gates at the entrance to the village in Station Road has been knocked down. Cllr Griggs will contact the manufacturers, H J Webb and Son to get costings for two new end posts.
c) The stream is blocked with vegetation and debris and flooding is being experienced at certain pinch points. The Parish Clerk contacted the Environment Agency to ask if they will clear it. They had replied stating that there were no plans to carry out any work in the village and that riparian land-owners are responsible for water courses abutting their property.
Hook Norton War Memorial Hall
a) Work to replace windows and doors with double glazed units is near completion. Minor painting work has to be done (Cllrs Griggs and Henderson have volunteered to do this) and the curtains will then be re-hung. The hall will re-open on Monday, 15 February.
b) The path around the hall is covered in moss. The Parish Clerk will speak to Kim Cooke to see if he can deal with it.
Hook Norton Neighbourhood Plan (HNNP) sub-Committee
a) Cllr Hicks had nothing to report.
Standing Orders: the Parish Council’s Standing Orders dated 2002 are slightly out of date and there is no electronic copy. The Parish Clerk distributed an updated electronic version to Councillors before the meeting and Cllr Watkins proposed that the Revised Standing Orders be adopted. This was seconded by Cllr Hicks and approved unanimously – Annex 2.
Finance/Schedule of Receipts and Payments for Authorisation by the Council
The Parish Clerk presented the schedules of receipts and payments and sought approval to pay the cheques itemised on the schedules for February totalling £16,534.96 for the Parish Council (Annex 3) and £858.27 for the Memorial Hall (Annex 4). Cllr Watkins moved acceptance of the payments detailed. This was seconded by Cllr Wright and agreed unanimously.
District Council Report: District Cllr Jelf had not submitted a report.
County Council Report: County Cllr Reynolds reported as follows:
a) Phase 1 of work to the primary school has started.
b) OCC will consider planning application OCC MW.0132/15 (Banbury Plant Hire) in the next few days. A decision should be made by the end of the month.
c) Although the Government will make a £4.5M contribution to OCC in April, there is no indication of how or where this money will be spent.
d) Cherwell District Council is carrying out a public consultation on the Cherwell Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) www.cherwell.gov.uk/policypublicconsulation CIL is a planning charge introduced as a mechanism for local authorities to deliver infrastructure to support development in their area. Since April 2015 the District Council’s ability to use the existing mechanism of pooling development contributions (Section 106 agreements) has been limited to securing site specific infrastructure and affordable housing. If adopted, CIL will enable the District Council to continue pooling contributions from new developments across the district to help funding of local and strategic infrastructure. The Parish Clerk has not yet received details from CDC regarding this consultation.
e) CDC is issuing Phases 1 & 2 of the Local Plan.
f) In May the whole of Cherwell goes out for election for sixteen 3-member wards. Bryn Williams introduced himself as hopefully being one of the three Councillors covering the Deddington Ward, which will include Hook Norton.
Correspondence: The Parish Clerk had forwarded all correspondence to Councillors during the month. There were no matters outstanding.
To Invite Questions and Comments from Members of the Public: there were no matters arising.
AOB:
a) The village shop will close from 22 February until 3 March to allow for internal alterations to be made to accommodate a post office counter.
b) “British Village Goes Back to the Future” – this was originally scheduled to be held by FOHNS on 14 May but will now be held on 17 September.
The next Parish Council meeting will be held on 10 March 2016 at 7.30pm in the Memorial Hall.
There being no further business Councillor Watkins thanked everyone for attending and closed the public meeting at 8.13pm.
