Minutes of the Nettlebed
Parish Council Meeting held on July 5th.2011
in the Village Club
Members Present. Councillors B. Lewis (chair), N. Gibson, M. Atkins, R. Collier, J. Sedwell, J. Simon, D. Butler and clerk D. Elms
Also Present M. Lewis – Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator, A. Paterson District Councillor and R. Belson County Councillor and 8 parishioners
At this stage the Chairman said how sad we are to have lost yet another of our Councillors – Mr. J. McDonnell
Minutes of the meeting held on May 10th were approved and signed.
Declaration of interests none declared.
Co-option for vacancy on council. Prior to co-opting a new councillor, a notice advertising the vacancy was placed on the notice board as directed by the legal department at SODC. Unless 10 people wish to hold an election, after the allotted time, co-option can take place.
Election of Vice Chairman. Councillor Gibson was nominated, seconded and unanimously approved for this post.
Police. A letter from Mark Harling the new police inspector at Henley was read and Councillors noted his mobile phone number
Neighbourhood Watch. Councillor R. Collier agreed to act as joint co-ordinator for the Crocker End area. Mr. Peter Leigh will cover the High Street. We were very sad to learn that Julia Wheeler will be leaving her post at Henley Police but she has agreed to accept redundancy
District Councillor – Mrs A. Paterson. 154 new houses need to be built within the larger Parishes. Since Nettlebed is now a large Parish we will inevitably have to provide some areas in which additional housing could take place. With the school already full to capacity and limited transport facilities this will inevitably mean homes being built on green land.
County Councillor – R. Belson – explained that the government has granted an additional £3.5 million pounds for road repairs. This is for major road construction and not for filling potholes. The speed with which the different areas are being dealt with is because the Council has to state what has been achieved by September.
Libraries. Of the 43 libraries in Oxfordshire, 82% of the visitors use 23 of them so they will be kept open.
Concessionary bus fares. It was brought to our notice that the new arrangement for Concessionary fares would result in more than a slight change in the times available. Certain categories of people e.g. the blind, partially blind and disabled were able to use the bus tokens on certain taxi journeys since buses were out of the question. Now it would appear that the most vulnerable were being penalized. A letter highlighting this anomaly was sent to Mr. Belson and a copy to Mr. J. Howell MP. It was pointed out by Mrs Paterson that there is a mobility allowance made to certain people and advice was available from the CAB
Triathlon. Many roads in our area will be closed for varying times on Sunday September 18th to allow cyclists taking part in the triathlon to pass through. Full details of route and times on the Parish Council notice board
New bus service to Reading. Full timetable of M1 and M2 bus service to Reading is an improvement on the former service. With buses running on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays ,apart from the one trip on Saturdays , we now have 3 buses daily to Reading , and have a longer time in Reading. The 9.50 bus reaches Reading at 10.20 and the latest returning bus leaves Reading at 13.45 The one bus on Saturdays also allows 3 hours in Reading. One of the 3 buses goes via Nuffield and Stoke Row which is also a welcome move. All details on notice board.
Car Park (NSCC). Shortly after our May PC meeting the School put up signs
imposing a complete ban on community use of the car park between the hours of
8.00am and 5.00pm.
A letter was sent from the Parish Council to the Chairman of Governors of the
School pointing out that, whilst we appreciate that the School has priority use
of the car park during these hours (according to the Joint Use Agreement between
Oxfordshire County Council, the Governing Body of Nettlebed Community School and
Nettlebed Parish Council) it is unacceptable to the Parish Council for a
decision to be made and action taken without consultation via the Joint Use
Committee.
Since the opening of the NSCC we have consulted with OCC’s legal department for
advice re effective management of the car park and, at the time the signs were
put up were awaiting a decision once the new access road was fully operational.
The PC is sympathetic to the School and the need for car parking space,
particularly at drop-off and pick-up times, but during the hours in-between the
Post Office, Village Shop, the ‘Field Kitchen’ and the ‘Life’ shop all rely for
business on the car park.
The matter was further discussed at the JUC meeting on 25 May 2011, by which time the signs
had been
removed.
Ten further spaces at the bottom of the driveway to the NSCC have now been
provided for school use during the school day and community use outside school
hours.
Temporary Road Closure. For 5 days from July 11th. the B481 north of the Ridgeway turning closed for road repairs. Details on notice board plus map showing alternative route.
Training for councillors. The two newly recruited Councillors invited to attend a training meeting to be held at Didcot 10am to 3.30pm on October 12th. More details later.
Children’s Playground. Notice erected stating gate to be kept shut at all times. A bolt to be fitted.
Post Office and Field Kitchen. Concerns regarding noise and odours resulting from kitchen being raised by neighbour. Owner of Field Kitchen willing to spend several thousand pounds to overcome these problems providing that the planners will then be able to accept the situation
Commons.
A report on all the common land in Nettlebed Parish was prepared by Cllr. Simon
for the benefit of current and future parish councillors and clerks and was
circulated prior to the meeting. There are three separate registered commons in
the parish, CL38 - Nettlebed Common, CL18 - Crocker End Common and CL76 Bottom
Wood Common. There is considerable confusion for many over the rights,
responsibility and ownership of the commons and it is hoped that reference to
the report might help whenever queries arise. The report also addressed the
shortcomings of Crocker End Common, a part of which is under the protection of
NPC and currently regulated by SODC. A proposal to delegate this regulation and
enforcement of the bye-laws to NPC is being considered by the council under an
agreement currently in draft. It is hoped that a decision will be reached at the
September meeting. In
the meantime Cllr. Collier has agreed to set up an informal meeting with
interested residents/owners of Crocker End and PC members to consider the
practicality of
the Parish Council's taking over the responsibility of all the registered common
from SODC.
Cllr. Simon explained that although parts
of the common without title currently fall under the protection of NPC this does
not give full management responsibility which is currently not effectively
carried out by SODC. Cllr. Simon also agreed to contact Green Gym to seek
assistance with scrub encroachment which now urgently needs attention.
Open space fronting Old School Green houses As was originally planned, on completion of the buildings the open space would be the responsibility of the Parish Council. A contract has now been drawn up by Builders Ede and is awaiting signatures from this Parish Council who are awaiting information from solicitor prior to signing.
Fete and opening of new pavilion. The fete was a great success and the new pavilion delighted everybody. The success of the fete was largely due to the enormous amount of planning by Mrs Heather Goodall and her helpers. All the money taken will be kept this year as there are still some expenses outstanding. Without a great deal of the work on the pavilion which was done by volunteers we would not have reached this point - it has been a wonderful team effort.
Planning. a) Cross Keys –
conversion into two dwellings- ideally suited to people with no car or garden. –
no objection from PC.
b) The Myrtles – change to bedroom layout – no objection – P.C.
c) 15,The Ridgeway – request to build house in garden with access to Wanbourne
Lane - strong objection from PC.
Roads and Footpaths – Urgent need of clearance of footpath at Port Hill from garage to ‘The Brambles’.
Recreation and Amenities –1)
It was brought to our notice that the roof of the small bus shelter on the north
of the 4130, is in need of repair. To a lesser degree the roof of the shelter on
the south of the 4130 needs some repair and some tiles need replacing on the
large shelter. The wooden seating in the large shelter is in need of some
repair. We need to get estimates for this work.
2). One leg of the notice board fronting the Village Club was broken leaving the
board very unsteady. This has now been dealt with at a cost of £50.
Refuse bins - Although requested in January a refuse bin has now been ordered to be placed in the lay-by opposite Half Ridge It should be emptied by Verdant on their regular visits.
Children's Play Bus - A reminder that the Children’s Play bus is stationed in front of the Kiln on alternate Thursdays.
Public Question Time - no matters raised
Date of next meeting – September 6th.2011
Meeting Closed at 10.05p.m.
Signed by Chairman -
To be signed at next meeting after approval by the Councillors
.