HOOK NORTON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF HOOK NORTON PARISH COUNCIL HELD IN THE MEMORIAL HALL ON THURSDAY 13 JULY 2017 at 7.30pm
Present: Councillors: Kane, Watkins Hicks, Duggan, Griggs, McCall-McCowan, Henderson, Matthews, Wilson and Mrs Watts (Parish Clerk)
Apologies for Absence – Cllr Brotherston, County Cllr Reynolds and District Cllr Brown
Chairman’s Announcements: there were none.
Declarations of Interest: Cllr McCall-McCowan declared that as she was friends with the candidate applying for the vacancy on the Parish Council, she would abstain from voting.
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 7 June 2017 and Matters Arising: Cllr Matthews proposed that the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 7 June 2017 be resolved as a true and accurate record of the meeting. This was seconded by Cllr Hicks and passed unanimously.
Co-option: The Parish Clerk had placed an advertisement on the village noticeboards notifying villagers that there was a vacancy on the Parish Council following the resignation of Thomas Wright. She had received one application. Following a short presentation from the candidate, Cllr Kane proposed that Diana Porter be co-opted as Councillor to the Parish Council. This was seconded by Cllr Matthews and passed unanimously. Mrs Porter was warmly welcomed to the Council table and asked to complete a Declarations of Acceptance of Office. She was also asked to complete a Register of Members’ Interests form and return it to the Parish Clerk. The Parish Council’s Code of Conduct will be sent to her.
Appointment of Recently Co-opted Councillors to Working Groups: Cllr Wilson was appointed to the Recreation Group and Cllr Porter to the Environment Group.
Report of the Planning Co-Ordinator on Planning Applications – (Annex 1) Ten planning/TCA applications had been received since the last meeting. There were no objections. Cherwell District Council had granted one application. Cherwell DC had refused two applications:- 17/00806/F, Scotland Mount Cottage, Round Close Rd, new inclined roof over dining room and alterations to garage; 17/00872/Q56, Fant Hill Farm, Hayway Lane, conversion of agricultural building to dwelling.
To Invite Members of the Public to Comment on Planning Applications: there were no members of the public in attendance.
Reports of Working Groups
Recreation
a) There were no matters arising.
Cemetery and Allotments
a) Tom Wright has kindly agreed to strim the footpath in the allotments.
Environment
a) Cllr Kane thanked Cllr Griggs for repairing the white gates at the entrance to the village in Station Road. Councillors also thanked Geoff East for assisting him.
b) Cllr Griggs will speak to Tom Wright about progress with the survey of Parish Council owned trees. He will make a site visit to the property of a resident who has complained about trees overhanging her property.
c) A replacement dog bin has been purchased for Tite Lane and a new dog bin purchased for Cow Lane.
d) Mark David Estate Agent continues to place ‘For Sale’ boards on the highway and not within the curtilage of the property for sale. Estate agents have been advised that any boards appearing on the highway will be removed immediately and disposed of.
Hook Norton War Memorial Hall
a) Cllr Watkins had obtained three quotations in the region of £900 for a new cooker/range for the hall. She proposed that the Council approve the expenditure. This was seconded by Cllr Kane and approved unanimously.
b) Cllr Watkins will carry out an inventory of items in the kitchen cupboards and get quotations for replacement crockery and cutlery. She will speak to the Film Society and ask them to remove items they have stored in the kitchen cupboards.
c) Cllr Watkins had received a quotation of £250 from Mike Hemmings for addressing a number of minor repairs to the interior and exterior of the hall. Cllr Kane proposed that the quotation should be accepted. This was seconded by Cllr Hicks and approved unanimously.
d) Cllr Henderson had obtained a price for replacing the hall chairs. He will circulate details to Councillors for discussion.
e) Two Acacia trees in danger of falling had been removed from the garden. There are a further two dead trees and Cllr Watkins will ask Ben Acreman to fell them.
f) There is a bed of nettles at the back of the hall. The Parish Clerk will ask the grass maintenance contractor to deal with them.
g) The electricity meter needs to be replaced as it will not accept the new shape £1 coin.
h) A discussion on winter hire rates was deferred to the September meeting.
Finance/Schedule of Receipts and Payments for Authorisation by the Council: The Parish Clerk presented the schedules of receipts and payments for July 2017 totalling £4,043.80, for the Parish Council (Annex 2) and £327.86 for the Memorial Hall (Annex 3). Cllr Hicks moved acceptance of the payments detailed. This was seconded by Cllr Griggs and agreed unanimously.
Report on District Council Matters. District Cllr Hugo Brown reported:On the 17 July District Councillors will consider naming road and streets in any new developments in towns and villages after the fallen from within the Parish during WW1.Cherwell DC (along with West Oxon DC and Oxford City Council) has submitted its counter-proposals for a Combined Authority to the Department for Communities and Local Government. Details can be found on the CDC website.Cherwell DC has published the Draft Un-audited Statement of Accounts for 2016/2017. Details can be found on the CDC website.
Report on County Council Matters. County Cllr George Reynolds reported: Work is being carried out on high-rise flats in the County.Alkerton Tip will remain open for at least another seven years.The Minerals and Waste Plan has been accepted by the inspector. Once it has gone through Council, OCC will have a valid plan.At a full OCC Council meeting it was agreed to investigate doing away with the Cabinet and reverting back to committees.OCC’s proposal for there to be a Unitary Authority – this matter lies in Westminster.
Correspondence: The Parish Clerk had forwarded all correspondence to Councillors during the month.
To Invite Questions and Comments from Members of the Public: There were none.
AOB: There is no street nameplate on Station Road. The Parish Clerk will bring this to the attention of Cherwell District Council.Cllr Kane will update the names of Parish Councillors on the website.
The next Parish Council Meeting will be held on 14 September 2017 at 7.30pm in the Memorial Hall. Please note that there is no meeting in August.
There being no further business Councillor Kane thanked everyone for attending and closed the public meeting at 8.15pm.
