HOOK NORTON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF HOOK NORTON PARISH COUNCIL HELD IN THE MEMORIAL HALL ON THURSDAY 14 September 2017 at 7.30pm
Present: Councillors: Kane, Watkins Hicks, Duggan, Griggs, Brotherston, Henderson, Wilson, Porter and Mrs Watts (Parish Clerk) and five members of the public
Apologies for Absence – Cllrs McCall-McCowan, Matthews, County Cllr Reynolds and District Cllr Brown
Chairman’s Announcements: there were none.
Declarations of Interest: Cllr Wilson declared an interest in planning application 17/01740/F.
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 13 July 2017 and Matters Arising: Cllr Watkins proposed that the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 13 July 2017 be resolved as a true and accurate record of the meeting. This was seconded by Cllr Hicks and passed unanimously.
Report of the Planning Co-Ordinator on Planning Applications – (Annex 1) Nine planning/TCA applications had been received since the last meeting. Cllr Wilson, having declared an interest in 17/01740/F, left the meeting whilst this application was discussed. A resident attending the meeting objected to the application. Councillors felt that they did not have the necessary information required to make a decision. They would therefore ask Cherwell District Council to review any party-wall agreement, the shared pathway and shared services. Cllr Wilson re-joined the meeting after this discussion. There were no objections to any of the other applications.Cherwell District Council had granted fifteen applications.Cherwell District Council refused 17/00754/Q56. There was a split decision on 16/00417/DISC.
To Invite Members of the Public to Comment on Planning Applications: Apart from the discussion on 17/01740/F above, there were no comments made on any other application.
Reports of Working Groups:
Recreation
a) A joint on the rota-bounce in the play area has failed. The suppliers have agreed to replace the equipment free of charge.
b) Cllr Kane is obtaining a quotation for a see-saw & monkey-bars for the play area.
Cemetery and Allotments
a) Contractors are treating Japanese Knotweed in the cemetery again this month.
b) Cllr Griggs will obtain quotations for repairing walls in the cemetery.
c) The owner of land adjoining the cemetery had offered to supply a sapling-hedge. However, as the hedge would be planted on land belonging to the Parish Council his kind offer was refused because the Council would have to pay for future maintenance.
Environment
a) Cllr Griggs will ask Ben Acreman to give an updated quotation for dealing with a number of trees identified in tree survey as needing attention. Most of these trees are in the cemetery, play area and Ironstone Hollow. On 9 March 2017, Councillors agreed that a sum of £4,000 should be put aside to deal with this matter.
b) Cllr Kane thanked Cllr Griggs and Tom Wright for painting the white gates at the Chipping Norton end of the village.
c) Cllr Griggs has offered to purchase a number of spring bulbs which will be planted at the bus stop and by the white gates at the three entrances to the village.
d) The rubbish bin by the bus stop is damaged. Cllr Kane will arrange for it to be re-hung.
e) A new Parish Council noticeboard has been purchased for the High Street.
Hook Norton War Memorial Hall
a) Heating: the cost of heating the hall increases annually. Cllr Kane proposed that the hall be heated to 21 degrees centigrade. Hirers must use the overhead heaters for any additional heating requirements. This was seconded by Cllr Hicks and agreed unanimously.
b) Hire Rates: hire rates have not been reviewed for two or more years. After a detailed discussion about income and expenditure, Cllr Kane proposed that the hire rates be increased to £25 per hour for commercial hires and £12.50 per hour for village events. This was seconded by Cllr Brotherston and agreed unanimously.
c) A new cooker has been purchased for the hall and it is now in situ.
d) New crockery and cutlery is being purchased.
e) A number of minor repairs to the interior and exterior of the hall have been completed.
f) Cllrs Brotherston will attend to the rail-ends of the curtains and the roller-blind mechanisms.
g) Cllr Henderson had obtained three quotations for replacing the hall chairs. All three quotations were for fabric covers which easily become stained or damaged. Councillors asked for a quotation to be obtained for chairs which can be wiped clean. Cllr Brotherston suggested that Hooky Players and The Film Society be approached to see if they would consider contributing towards the cost of replacing the chairs.
h) Two dead trees have been felled.
i) The bed of nettles at the back of the hall has been removed.
j) The electricity meter has been updated to accept the new shape £1 coin.
k) A double glazed window in the lobby has been broken by persons unknown. A quotation for repair is being sought.
Finance/Schedule of Receipts and Payments for Authorisation by the Council: The Parish Clerk presented the schedules of receipts and payments for August 2017 totalling £5,247.37 for the Parish Council (Annex 2) and £1,330.27 for the Memorial Hall (Annex 3). Cllr Hicks moved acceptance of the payments detailed. This was seconded by Cllr Wilson and agreed unanimously. The Parish Clerk presented the schedules of receipts and payments for September 2017 totalling £4,441.20 for the Parish Council (Annex 4) and £2,603.21 for the Memorial Hall (Annex 5). Cllr Griggs moved acceptance of the payments detailed. This was seconded by Cllr Duggan and agreed unanimously.
External Audit 2016 / 2017: The Parish Clerk reported that external auditors BDO LLP certified the Parish Council accounts for 2016/2017 on 28 August 2017, with no matters arising. Cllr Kane thanked the Parish Clerk and proposed approval and acceptance of the conclusion of audit. This was seconded by Cllr XX and agreed unanimously. The Notice of Conclusion of Audit and Sections 1-3 of the Annual Return will be displayed on the Parish Council noticeboard and on the website from 14 September 2017 and until the end of the month.
Report on District Council Matters. District Cllr Hugo Brown reported:
Cherwell District Council’s new CEO, Yvonne Rees, is now in post. She will be reviewing the way that CDC works and responds to its council-tax payers. Ms Rees is very focused on the fact that Local Government is a service operation which has to be responsive to its customer base. At the same time, new income streams need to be found from selling in-house expertise on a commercial basis. To this end, District Cllr Brown has been appointed as the CDC non-Executive Director of a new company to be formed with South Northants District Council to pursue such opportunities.
Report on County Council Matters. County Cllr George Reynolds reported:
With effect 1 October 2017, Oxfordshire County Council will be charging for the disposal of non-household waste at all its recycling centres (e.g. soil, rubble, basins, baths, wall units, sheds, fences, plasterboard and tyres).
Correspondence: The Parish Clerk had forwarded all correspondence to Councillors during the month. The County Council has gone out to Formal Consultation over new disabled parking places (one of which is in High Street, Hook Norton). Cllr Kane had received two objections, one of which has been withdrawn. Councillors had discussed the matter via email and there were no objections.
To Invite Questions and Comments from Members of the Public: there were none.
AOB: there was none.
Confidential Item: Annex 6
The next Parish Council Meeting will be held on 12 October 2017 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..50pm.
