Minutes December 2006

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5th December 2006

Present

Chairman: Charlie Haynes

Vice-Chairman: John Batey

Duncan Hatfield

Wally Cox

Gill Cox

John McCadd

Hughie Deam

Michael Cadd

Dr Graham Swift

Nils Bartleet

Peter Cox

Oxford City Councillor Carolyn van Zyl

Apologies: Angie Tiwari

City Councillor Mary Clarkson

Minutes of Previous Meeting

The minutes of 7th November 2006 was read out and accepted as an accurate record of the meeting with the following amendments:

Gill Cox declared that she had a preferential interest in Mortimer Hall Pre-school
Gill Cox stated that she wanted to see the path at Cavendish Drive extended
Nigel Cavel sent an e-mail which Gill Cox brought to the attention of the council, regarding the footpath at 71 Oxford Road
OxRad: John McGinn to serve on the committee

Matters Arising

The Vice-Chairman asked that the minutes of each meeting be displayed after the following meeting, when the council has passed them as an accurate record of the meeting and agreed any amendments.
Dr Swift asked that the gate to the recreational area by St Nicholas School be fixed instead of being removed as he was concerned that the area could be used by travellers or motorcyclists.
Dr Swift proposed: “The gate to the recreational ground by St Nicholas School be repaired and put back”. There was no seconder and the the proposal was not carried.
Gill Cox suggested that if there was a problem with the gate that it should be looked at again as a future date.
There has been no response from the other Oxford parish councils with regards to setting up a joint meeting with Oxford City Council
Wally Cox reminded the council that the proposed meeting was specifically to discuss planning issues that were of mutual interest and then to invite a representative from Oxford City Council to attend
Nils Bartleet suggested that the parish councils probably had other mutual interests which would benefit from them working together
The Clerk will write another letter to the parish council leaders

Minutes Secretary

The job description has now been adopted by the council
Kate Stratford of Fane Road has agreed to take on the position in a voluntary capacity, with expenses being met by the council and an honorarium being given at the end of the financial year. Wally Cox asked if the honorarium was taxable. The Clerk would look into this.
A meeting was held with Kate Stratford, the Vice-Chairman and Gill Cox.
The Vice Chairman proposed paying the minutes secretary an honorarium each financial year. This was seconded by Dr Graham Swift. Seven councillors voted in favour. The motion was carried.
The format of the minutes will also be reviewed and updated.

Correspondence

The Police Constable Special Officers (P.C.S.O.) no longer receive funding from central government and have requested funding from the parish council. The parish council have rejected this request on the grounds that they already receive funding from council tax.

North East Area Committee

The meeting of 21st November 2006 was attended by the Vice-Chairman. The main points were:

A fence will erected around Court Place Farm Allotments
Play provision for the school holidays
Section 106 funding for projects in Barton: £500,000 has been made available for six projects in Barton to promote social inclusion and well-being

The meeting of 28th November 2006 was attended by Wally Cox. The main points were:

Development on the land between 3 and 13 Cavendish Drive. Renewal of planning permission was rejected by five votes to one. The deeds of the land guarantee (rather than simply imply) that the land has been set apart as parking for the residents. There is a sewer pipe running under the land and permission would be needed from Thames Water before any building could be done on the land. This permission has not been sought or given. An injunction will be served on the builder to put right any work they have done on the land.
Millham Ford School: Brookes University have sold the land to a developer to build flats on it. It has been proposed that there will be eighty-three flats or properties and eighty-three parking places, with an increase in the amount of social housing originally proposed. University staff or students will not be permitted to park in the area.

Planning

2 Elsfield Road:There is a proposal to convert the garage into a living area and to raise the roof. No planning consent is needed and there are no objections.

14 Salford Road: There is a proposal to convert this into flats. This would mean a loss of a family home and one less car parking space. The current deeds prevent car parking at the front of the property.

4 Cavendish Drive: An authorised change of use from a family home to a six person joint tenancy

The Post Box: The post box outside the former post office in Oxford Road has been removed by the post office as it is damaged. The Post Office have stated that they intend to replace the postbox and repair the foundations. The Clerk will deal with the replacement.

Section 106 Monies: £50,000 was made available for local projects as a result of the development at the White Hart. £45,000 has been spent on the traffic lights in Marston Road. Enquiries would be made as to where the rest of the money was. As a result of the building of the Islamic Centre, funds were made available. The Clerk will would like to enquire as to what happened to the money.

Finance

In addition to drawing cheques for the grants approved at the last meeting, the following accounts were passed for payment:

BDO Stoy Hayward - Audit Fee: £293.75

Indiana Scouts - Distributing Bulletin: £50.00

L. M. Garner - Salary and Expenses: £1683.23

OXSRAD - Grant towards Equipment: £300.00

St. Nicholas Bellringers - Grant for New Muffels: £138.00

The National Auditors report on Old Marston Parish Council found that the accounts were in order
The council will discuss likely capital projects for the financial year ending March 2008 at the next meeting, when the precept (parish council tax) will be determined. Replacement of the two noticeboards (outside Mortimer Hall and the Jack Russell public house) will be included. If agreed then the council will make apply for a grant from Oxford City.
The Clerk presented the accounts for the previous month up to 30 October 2006, including table of recent payments.
The remote auditors B.D.O Stoy Hayward have approved the accounts for 2005 to 2006

Field Adjoining Marsh Lane for Marston Saints Football Club

The W.R.E.N. funding is being sought by Marston Saints Football Club.

Bulletin

Another scout group from the ones originally approached have agreed to deliver six-hundred leaflets for £50.00. This leaves six-hundred-and-eighty to be delivered. Several councillors have agreed to volunteer to deliver the leaflets. The council will produce an A6 size card which contains contact details of councillors and other important local contacts, services and useful information. The costs will be looked at the next meeting and the card will be sent out in March.

Recreational Ground

There are some bearings missing from the roundabout. These will be replace at the cost of about £30
An inspection of the play areas is carried out every July by RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents)
The Tree Officer has given consent for a number of trees to be felled or pollarded as listed in the Tree Surveyor’s inspection report. Since the report was produced two more trees have been identified as needing to be felled on health and safety grounds. No consent has been given for this yet.
Leisure and Cultural Services at Oxford City Council will help to maintain and supply play equipment after the drainage of the ground has been fixed.
Carolyn van Zyl pointed out that there needs to be a consultation with the children, the primary users of the equipment.
A sub-committee comprising of the Vice-Chairman, Nils Bartlett and Peter Cox has been formed to consider improvements to the play areas and equipment required. There are grants available from W.R.E.N.

Burial Ground

Mrs McFarlane would like a tree to be planted in memory of her daughter. A site has been agreed.
A deed of Grant without charge has been signed. The 'without charge' was previously agreed.

Allotments

The Allotment Association have recently had their Annual General Meeting.
The Allotment Association would like to thank the council for their recent grant of £100.

Any Other Business

The hedge and leyandi trees in Park Way need attention. The Clerk will contact the city council to arrange to have the work done.
Grange Court: The City Council chose that name, being the name given to the development for marketing purposes. Council members "Hales Court” (in memory of the family who owned the post office that used to occupy the sight) but the City Council's policy is to consult only on street names.
Rippington Court: this is the new name for the former 1 Rippington Drive. There was no objection to the name.
Harlow Centre: There is a bollard missing. This has been reported and will replaced.
Oxford Road Traffic Calming: It was suggested that the Clerk writes to the County Council to thank them for the work done. Nils Bartleet pointed out that there were some complaints about the work and it would be best to wait until the work had been done. Gill Cox reported that some residents felt that this scheme was a waste of money
The Vice-Chairman suggested putting an article in the Marston Times inviting local residents to offer suggestions about what play equipment and other provisions to provide in the next financial year.

Next Meeting
Time: 19:30

Date: Tuesday 2nd January 2007