Minutes of the Chadlington Parish Council Meeting held in Chadlington Memorial Hall on
Monday 13 July 2020 (Start 7.35pm, Finish 9.20pm).
Present: Cllrs Zoe Townsend, Chairman, Nicky Lloyd, Hilary Moore, Andrew Carpenter, Sam Peet and Gill Hill (Clerk). District Cllr Neil Owen and one member of the public.
Minutes
213. Apologies: Cllr Cllr Liz Leffman
214. Declarations of Interest: There were none.
215. Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 11 May were approved.
216. Matters arising from the Minutes: There were none.
217. District & County Councillors’ Reports:
District Cllr Neil Owen reported that WODC was committed to Covid-19. Officers and staff were still working from home. 300 applications for Community Business Grants had been handled very efficiently. Planning Meetings were being held remotely and proving to be a success. There is a move afoot that the Councils may go to a unitary situation.
Online county council meetings, including scrutiny committees, have now re-started. County Hall has now re-opened for registrations of births, and some staff will be moving back in shortly though most people will continue to work from home. Highways are carrying out normal services as far as I can tell at the moment.Recently the government has funded grants for their Active Travel programme which is to encourage more walking and cycling. Oxfordshire put in a bid for £600,000 but was only awarded 50% of tis. This was very disappointing and we have yet to see details as to why the bid was not successful, but we think it was because too much was included that should have been funded by the County out of its existing budget. This included repainting of some lines for cycle lanes and the management of vegetation. The county council has now allocated £300,000 to this work out of their own funds. West Oxfordshire has had very little other than a new bicycle rack in Witney, though the verges are being cut to accommodate cyclists. There is a further £2.4 million which will be open for the county to bid for next month which can be used to set up new schemes and councillors will review the bid with officers this time to ensure that it meets the criteria.As we go into the next phase, it is likely that we will have a lot of challenges around children returning to school. This will undoubtedly affect Chadlington Primary School, but at the moment no-one knows what the government is going to recommend regarding social distancing in schools, and until we get confirmation of that it is very difficult for schools to plan how they will reopen.I am pleased to report that I have been able to make a grant from my Councillor Priority Fund to the school to support three families in the Wychwoods who had no access to computers. This has benefitted five children, who would otherwise not have been able to participate in lessons from home. I have also been able to support the Give and Take food bank in Charlbury, and I have given a grant to the Community Centre to support their work looking after people who are self-isolating.
218. Public Participation: A resident enquired about the new car park to which the answer was that it had been completed. The gravel finish proved to be more economic than hard core.
219. Parish Council Vacancy
A notice advertising the vacancy for another Parish Councillor has been placed on the Noticeboard but there had been no applications to date.
A new workload and responsibilities list was being put together by the Chairman. Any Councillor who has a desire to change their current responsibilities was invited to advise the Chairman.
220. Coronavirus: Community issues
The Parish Council has been extremely grateful to all shop assistants, volunteers and the general community for all that has been and still is being done during the coronavirus
pandemic times. A group of parishioners have organised collection boxes at the local shops if anyone wishes to make a donation.
221. Gigaclear: Cllr Neil Owen has been in touch with Louise at Gigaclear to ensure that the village is tidied up after the disruption of installing the Gigaclear fibre optic cable.
222. Memorial Hall: The Memorial Hall has been closed for use until now and therefore there is nothing much to report. The lease of the Sports & Social Club is due to expire in three years time and the lease of the Sports Field runs out a few weeks later.
223. Methodist Church: The school has put in a bid to make use of the Methodist Chapel. Because of the social distancing requirements it will have difficulty in accommodating all pupils. The Parish Council has supported the request.
224. Benches, Tables & Bus Stop
Weather permitting; the bus shelter in Chipping Norton Road should receive its upgrade to a smarter look within the next week. The benches are about to be ordered and should be in place in the next three to four weeks.
225. Allotments:
Ron Arthur has made a proposal as to how a water supply could be installed at the Allotments. We are awaiting further details of the costs involved and will discuss further at that time. The problem of keeping loose dogs off the allotments can hopefully be sorted with the use of chicken wire.
226. Playground: This is now open and up and running. It is being very well used.
227. Dog Waste: Unfortunately this is becoming a major problem in Chadlington. WODC is in the process of providing new dog waste bins which will be combined with litter bins. If you are a dog owner please ensure you pick up after your dog and make sure you are aware of where your dog is at all times. It is most unpleasant for the people who cut and strim the grass to have dog mess thrown up by their equipment.
228. Highways: White Lines: All white lines and signs have been repainted.
229. Speedwatch: Further to the letter received from Mr Benson, we understand that OCC is proposing 20mph zones in all villages:
230. School Parking: Referred to next meeting.
231. Planning:
Applications received:
20/01100/FUL Westbridge Cottage, Green End
Refurbishment of three cottages to include erection of single storey extension to North elevation (to provide garaging for Westbridge and Centre Cottages), erection of two storey and single storey rear extensions (to enlarge all three properties) and construction of front entrance porch and detached double garage with store (to serve The Old Forge Cottage) together with associated works and change of use to extend domestic curtilage.
CPC had no objection to this provided the footpath proviso was adhered to.
20/01403/HHD 14 Stonelee Close.
Conversion of loft space to create third floor accommodation with the addition of new roof lights. CPC had no objection to this application.
20/01311/HHD Laburnum Cottage, Green End. Erection of a single storey rear extension. CPC had no objection to this application.
20/01279/HHD Normans, 3 Church Road Alterations and erection of two storey rear extension. Erection of detached double garage and works to existing outbuilding. CPC had no objection to this application.
232. Finance:
General Finance
The following Expenditure was approved:
Standing Order (monthly) Clerk’s Salary for Jul & Aug £264.16
C No 100239 Jason Gillett Groundworks Car Park £1596.80
C No 100240 Prysebros Ltd Weed control £318.00
C No 100241 Nicola Lloyd Zoom meetings May-Aug 2020 £40.00
C No 100242 Frances Maclean Internal Auditor 2020 £200.00
C No 100243 Gill Hill Clerk’s expenses – laminator & stationery £59.61
The monthly bank reconciliation for June 2020 was approved and signed.
Current Account Opening balance 01 Apr 2020 £30.228.09; income to 13 Jul 2020
£8,650.00 expenditure to 13 Jul 2020 £3,156.58 Closing Balance £41,010.09
233. Audit Approvals:
a. The Annual Governance Statement for 2019-20 was approved and signed.
b. Receipt of the Internal Audit Report for 2019-20 was confirmed.
c. The Accounting Statements for 2019-20 were approved and signed.
d. The Accounts for the year 2019-20 were approved and signed.
e. The Analysis of variances and bank reconciliation for y/e 31 March 2020 were approved and signed.
f. The date for the commencement for the exercise of public rights was agreed as 21 July 2020.
234. Asset Register
The updated Asset Register was approved.
235. Risk Assessment
The updated Risk Assessment was approved.
236. The Pensions Regulator
A re-declaration of compliance was completed online and sent to the Pensions Regulator as requested.
237. Correspondence: There was none.
238. Other issues: There were none.
239. Information Exchange: There was none
Date of next meeting: 7.30pm on Monday 14 September 2020
Signed:………………………………..Chairman