HOOK NORTON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF HOOK NORTON PARISH COUNCIL HELD IN THE MEMORIAL HALL ON THURSDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2016 at 7.00pm
Present: Councillors: Kane, Watkins, Hicks, Wright, Griggs, McCall-McCowan, Duggan, Henderson, Casson and Mrs Watts (Parish Clerk)
Apologies for Absence – Cllrs Brotherston and Matthews, County Cllr Reynolds, District Cllr Brown
Chairman’s Announcements: a defibrillator has been ordered.
Declarations of Interest: There were none.
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 13 October 2016 and Matters Arising
Cllr Hicks proposed that the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 13 October 2016 be resolved as a true and accurate record of the meeting. This was seconded by Cllr Griggs and passed unanimously.
Report of the Planning Co-Ordinator on Planning Applications – Annex 1
Six planning/TCA applications had been received since the last meeting. There was an objection to 16/01977/OUT, The Stables, Swerford Road.
Cherwell District Council had granted seven applications.
To Invite Members of the Public to Comment on Planning Applications: there were no matters arising.
Reports of Working Groups
Recreation
a) New play equipment – the Parish Clerk was asked to put this on next month’s agenda.
Cemetery and Allotments
a) A quotation of £2.5k – £3k has been received from a specialist firm for ridding the cemetery of Japanese Knotweed. A second quotation is being sought.
Environment
a) A survey of Parish Council owned trees will be carried out by Sacha Barnes Ltd during November.
b) British Telecom has given notice that the little used telephone boxes outside the War Memorial Hall and Pear Tree public house will be removed.
c) A quotation for replacing the Parish Council Noticeboard outside the Village Shop is being sought.
d) A quotation from Tim Burchell for removing the growth on top of the bus shelter by The Green is being sought.
e) Despite reminders to the OCC footpaths warden, the path to the side of Hook Norton Manor is still overgrown.
f) The village sign on the road coming from The Firs direction needs replacing. The Parish Clerk will speak to OCC Highways.
g) A brown re-cycling bin has been abandoned near the entrance to the Sports and Social field and is full of general rubbish. CDC will not empty it with the garden waste run and therefore the Parish Clerk will speak to CDC to arrange for it to be removed.
h) There is a broken stile behind Gildens Farm. Cllr Wright will speak to the landowner.
i) Accessibility to some footpaths in the village is compromised because of stiles. Cllr Wright will speak to OCC to see if kissing-gates can be installed.
Hook Norton War Memorial Hall
a) Lights in the hall have been replaced with LED strip lights.
b) The timer on the outside light needs adjusting. Cllr Watkins will ask Kenny Smith to deal with this when he installs power for the defibrillator.
c) Cllr Griggs is waiting for a quotation for cutting back trees to the right of the hall.
Hook Norton Neighbourhood Plan: Cllr Hicks had nothing to report.
Grass Cutting Contract: the 3-year grass cutting contract with Aston Woodland Care expires on 31 March 2017. There is an option for extending the contract for a further 2 years and this will attract a 2% increase in charges. Cllr Kane proposed that the grass cutting contract should be extended for 2 years and that the 2% increase should be accepted. This was seconded by Cllr Wright and agreed unanimously. The Parish Clerk will notify the Contractor.
Budget and Precept 2017-2018: – the Parish Clerk, having discussed the matter with the Chairman, had emailed a proposed budget for 2017-2018 to Councillors before the meeting (Annex 2). Following a short discussion, Cllr Kane proposed that the precept should be increased to £80K to allow for an increase in the cost of grass cutting, repairs to walls, removal of Japanese Knotweed from the cemetery, maintenance of play areas on new housing estates and other services which OCC is seeking to transfer to parishes. Any spend over and above that will be taken from reserves. This was seconded by Cllr Hicks and agreed unanimously.
Appointment of Internal Auditor for 2016-2017 Accounts
Mr David Ralls AAT; ACCA, Springfield Avenue, Banbury carried out last year’s internal audits. Cllr Kane proposed that Mr Ralls be appointed again to inspect both the Parish Council and War Memorial Hall Trust accounts for 2016/2017. This was seconded by Cllr Duggan and agreed unanimously.
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 November totalling £8,820.81 for the Parish Council (Annex 3) and £164.88 for the Memorial Hall (Annex 4). Cllr Hicks moved acceptance of the payments detailed. This was seconded by Cllr McCall-McGowan and agreed unanimously.
Report on District Council Matters. District Cllr Hugo Brown reported:
Partial Review of the Local Plan Part 1 – there is a requirement for District Councils to accommodate housing which Oxford City cannot find space for. CDC has been asked to accommodate a further 4,400 houses, most of which will be located near Oxford.
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – the current proposal is that new residential buildings in Area 2 (including Hook Norton) would attract a CIL of £230 per square metre where the development is 500 units or less, and £70 per square metre where the development is over 500 units.
Report on County Council Matters. County Cllr George Reynolds had nothing to report.
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: there was none.
The next Parish Council Meeting will be held on 8 December 2016 at 7.30pm in the Memorial Hall.
There being no further business Councillor Kane thanked everyone for attending and closed the public meeting at 8.15pm.
