HOOK NORTON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF HOOK NORTON PARISH COUNCIL HELD IN THE MEMORIAL HALL ON THURSDAY, 14 MARCH 2013 at 7.30pm
Present: Councillors: Shepley- Cuthbert (Chairman), Hicks, Watkins, Usher, Hayward, Brotherston (7.35pm), Leader (7.35pm), Casson (7.40pm) Kane (8.15pm), Mrs Watts (Parish Clerk) and three members of the public
13/38 | Apologies for Absence – Councillor Cooke, Councillor Millar, County Councillor Jelf, District Councillor Irvine |
13/39 | Chairman’s Announcements – Councillors welcomed the reduction in emails. |
13/40 | Minutes of Previous Meeting held on 13 February 2013 and Matters Arising It was proposed by Cllr Usher and seconded by Cllr Hicks that the minutes of the previous meeting on 13 February 2013 be accepted as a true and accurate record and this was passed unanimously. |
13/41 | Declarations of Interest – Councillor Usher declared an interest in the Bourne Lane Development. Councillor Hayward declared an interest in Library Funding. The Chairman asked latecomers to declare any interests as they arrived and there were none. |
13/42 13/42/1 13/42/2 | Report of the Planning Co-Ordinator on Planning Applications Received No new planning applications or TCA applications had been received. Cherwell District Council had granted three applications, including:
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13/43 | To Invite Members of the Public to Comment on Planning Applications – There were no comments from the members of the public attending. |
13/44 | Reports or Working Groups |
13/44/01 | Recreation – Cllr Leader reported:
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13/44/2 | Cemetery and Allotments – CllrUsher reported:
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13/44/3 | Environment – Cllr Hayward reported:
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13/44/4 | Hook Norton War Memorial Hall – Cllr Brotherston reported:
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13/44/5 | Neighbourhood Plan Sub-Committee – Cllr Hicks reported:
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13/45 | Report on District Council Matters – District Cllr Irvine had not submitted a report. |
13/46 | Report on County Council Matters – County Cllr Jelf had not submitted a report. |
13/47 13/47/1 13/47/2 | Finance/Schedule of Receipts and Payments for Authorisation by the Council The Clerk presented the schedules of receipts and payments and sought approval to pay the cheques itemised on the schedules totalling £6,414.65 for the Parish Council and £244.11 for the Memorial Hall. Cllr Brotherston moved acceptance of the payments detailed, this was seconded by Cllr Usher and approved unanimously. The Clerk had prepared end of year figures showing spend/budget. Councillors were pleased to note that spending was within budget, with a small surplus being rolled over to 2013/2014. |
13/48 | Appointment of Internal Auditor A new internal auditor is needed to audit the PC and Memorial Hall accounts. The Clerk put forward the name of Mr David Ralls AAT; part ACCA, Springfield Avenue, Banbury. The fee will be £200. The Chairman proposed that Mr Ralls be appointed as internal auditor, seconded by Cllr Casson and unanimously agreed. |
13/49 13/49/1 13/49/2 | Heath Allotment Trust – Appointment of Trustees 2013 – 2014 Councillors unanimously agreed that a member of the Parish Council should be nominated as a Trustee of the Heath Allotment Trust to ensure better liaison between the PC and the Trustees. Having offered to stand, Cllr Shepley- Cuthbert proposed that Cllr Brotherston be elected as a Trustee for 2013 – 2014. This was seconded by Cllr Hayward and unanimously agreed. Councillor Shepley- Cuthbert reported that Pauline Walters, Ray Jelf, Ray Gasson, Nigel Shields and Clive Timms had agreed to stand again as Trustees for 2013 – 2014. Cllr Usher proposed that the PC gratefully accept their offers to stand again and appoint them as Trustees for 2013 – 2014. This was seconded by Cllr Hicks and unanimously agreed. |
13/50 | Hook Norton Library Staffing Budget – Request for Subsidy– Prior to the meeting, Pauline Walters from FOHNCL had submitted an action plan showing a summary of the shortfall of £9K for staffing the library from April 2015, together with a business plan. Councillors discussed FOHNCL’s request for funds from the PC at length, noting that any financial assistance would have to be made through the Parish Precept. Councillors were supportive of the initiative and Cllr Brotherston proposed that the PC agreed to fund the library by up to £4K per annum, wef 1 April 2015. This was seconded by Cllr Kane and unanimously agreed. The Clerk will start making provision for this in the budget/precept for 2014-2015. |
13/51 13/51/1 13/51/2 | Grass Cutting Contract 2013 and 2014 The Clerk reported that the grass cutting contract with Aston Woodland Care comes to an end on 15 March 2013. There is an option for the PC to extend it for a further two years if they so wish. The Clerk had obtained a quotation from the Contractor for 2013 and 2014. Year 2013 would remain the same at £1,328 per month during the 8 month cutting season. This would rise by 2% in 2014 to £1,354.55 per month. Cllr Hayward proposed that the PC accept the quotations. This was seconded by Cllr Hicks and unanimously agreed. The Grass Cutting Contract will go out to Tender for the 2015 season. Mr Bickley has supplied the Clerk with evidence of Employers’ Liability and Public and Products Liability Insurance with NFU for the period 17 July 2012 – 17 July 2013. |
13/52 | Affordable Housing – Cllr Shepley- Cuthbert reported that the traffic survey is complete and a report is awaited. |
13/53 13/53/1 13/53/2 | The Bell Inn Cllr Shepley- Cuthbert reported that Cllr Cooke had received correspondence from Planning Officer Simon Dean at CDC stating that a meeting will take place shortly between the Development Manager, Conservation Department, Legal Services and the Enforcement Team to consider issues on the site. A copy of a letter from the Development Manager was also enclosed and the Clerk was asked to rebut paragraph 5 of that letter. The Clerk was asked to write to CDC requesting that The Bell be dealt with under an Article 4 Direction. Councillors unanimously agreed that the Clerk register The Bell with CDC under the Community Right to Buy Scheme. |
13/54 | Appeal on the Proposed Bourne Lane Development – The Clerk had received a letter from the Planning Inspectorate which stated that following the closure of the inquiry, the Inspector is now preparing his report and recommendation for submission to the Secretary of State for his consideration. The Secretary of State will issue his decision on or before 4 July 2013. |
13/55 | Correspondence – The Parish Clerk had passed emailed correspondence to Councillors during the month.
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13/56 | To Invite Questions and Comments from Members of the Public – There were none. |
13/57 | Date and Time of Next MeetingThe Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Thursday 11 April 2013 in the Memorial Hall at 7.00pm. The Parish Council meeting will follow at 7.30pm |
There being no further business the Chairman thanked everyone for attending and closed the public meeting at 8.40 pm.