Minutes of Nettlebed Parish Council Meeting
held on July 6th 2010 in Nettlebed Village Club 

 

Members Present – Councillors Lewis (chair), Simon, Butler, McIvor, Atkins, Reynolds and Gibson and clerk D. Elms

Also Present. PCSO J. Smith and District Councillor A. Paterson – part time
and M. Lewis Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator

Apologies from Councillor McDonnell

Declaration of interests – none.


Minutes of meeting on May 6th. previously circulated and now approved.

 

Housing Project. Latest details sent from  Builders Ede, who had hoped to attend. Building progressing well- working on soakaways and the access road is next item on agenda. The road will have a block finish, which should enhance the appearance. The hedge alongside the School House will be replaced with a beech hedge. During the school holidays, on 26th.July for some time, traffic lights will be installed whilst the houses are connected to the electric supply. To avoid confusion to motorists the pelican lights will be switched off for the same period. On 16th. and 17th. July,  one house  will be used as a show house, by invitation on 16th. and open to all the following day.

 

Police - PCSO J.Smith  Said that the letters which had been circulated to all parishioners will be analyzed shortly when their opinions and suggestions  will be noted. To avoid accidents, Parish Council to suggest to the manager of the garage and Spar shop that a notice is erected at the western exit stating that there is no admission for those seeking petrol – must use other entrance

 

Neighbourhood Watch    Mr. Lewis said a  coordinator is still needed to cover the Kiln area. We are asked to be extra vigilant as there is a spate of burglaries from sheds and garages

 

District Councillor A. Paterson.  In view of the new government’s ruling there will inevitably be numerous changes. Finances are being discussed, shared responsibilities being adopted by merging SODC with the VOWH in some cases. The core strategy is temporarily on hold as is the local development  review. Gardens which have always been designated as brown areas have now been designated as green areas, which will be of concern to those wishing to have houses built in their gardens. When asked about the refusal of our second application for a grant for the pavilion funding, she explained that decisions were arrived at by a scoring technique which is available on the website  Dates and venues for surgeries held by John Howell were announced.

 

Update on Sports Association Pavilion Replacement. In order to get the project on a more shared and formal footing, a meeting was held between Messrs Rocks and Ashby with Jeremy Simon representing the Commons Conservators and Barbara Lewis representing the Parish Council. A decision was made to get a solicitor to draw up an agreement between all parties involved so that they could all share in the responsibilities for the pavilion both now and in future years. Work is about to start on the ground work and base which has to be extremely accurate in readiness for the pre-constructed  pavilion shell to be positioned in September. To date £65,000 has been raised and there is £57,000 in the bank. £3000 has been promised from Green Shoots when the building is completed. Gift Aid will now be claimed and it is estimated that the gift aid contributions  together with VAT refunds  should be about £10,000. Fund raising continues with a tabletop sale taking place on Saturday July 17th., another visit from Watlington band is planned for September 17th and an auction for October 22nd.

 

Allotment Water Supply  In view of finding no leak when a gas test was conducted we wrote to Thames Water asking  for the meter to be checked. The letter has been ignored but no action being taken at present as constant meter checks by the allotment manager  appear to be satisfactory.

 

Village Shop and Post Office  Building work about to start (at the Old School - aka Church Hall) and it is hoped that it will be ready for business early in the new year. It is likely that the Post Office and shop  will be in the rear of the building.

 

New road signs  After a visit by a highways engineer responsible for road signs, we were sent details of his proposals for some new signs and other replacements. This was regarding the inability of vehicles finding their way to Magpies causing problems for some residents. Councillors agreed with all the suggestions and hope the signs will be positioned as soon as possible.

 

Grass cutting of Crocker End Common    Mr. Richard Hunt, a farmer from Stonor and now a resident of Nettlebed  agreed to take on the task of cutting the grass at Crocker End, probably twice yearly. He has already done the first cut and very kindly has made no charge in this case, for which we are extremely grateful

 

Restricted Carriage Ways  A farmer who owns land along Bushes Lane wishes to know if there is a width requirement for a restricted byway. She is querying the positioning of straddlestones at one point. A councillor has agreed to walk the lane and to report back.

Children’s Playground    The fire brigade had to attend a fire at the playground. Somebody set fire to the contents of the litter bin which not only melted the bin but burnt a number of the fence posts and cross bars and the overhanging tree. This will be a costly repair and various suggestions have been made as to the culprit. .Apart from our own investigations, PC SO Smith will investigate leads.  Our next litter bin will have to be metal and fixed firmly to the ground not to the fence.

 

O.R.C.C.  The Oxfordshire  Rural Community Council was the first Community Council to be set up in 1920. It’s aim is to help Councils carry out some tasks e.g. Housing surveys, which will be of benefit to others. Celebrating their 90 years they invited each member council to send an account of a project in which they were involved  for the benefit of the local people. Mrs. Lewis wrote an account of the work which went into the provision of the new school and it was included with others in a specially published book.

The chairman and clerk were invited to a party  celebrating their 90 years and had the opportunity of meeting other Council members and exchanging ideas

 

NSCC  Bookings for the Community Halls and the Sports Pitch are increasing all the time, with a recent booking for a football team from Sonning Common.  They were able to give a cheque to the Parish Council for £275 towards the insurance which is paid by the Parish Council

 

Additional grass cutting paid by the Parish Council  Three additional areas are being cut  several times a year. a. Area north of   junction of The Ridgeway and Watlington Street  b. Area north of junction of Priest Close and Watlington Street c, area outside the Church

 

Planning. Applications received from 21,HighStreet, Woodpack House Catslip, 2, Mill Road, 11,HighStreet, Brockendene, Crocker End – no objections

 

Roads and Footpaths   a. request for pavement along Port Hill to be cleared of vegetation next winter by gritters between jobs. b. Pothole in road near Village Club –to be reported.

 

Recreation and Amenities  Salt bin ordered in January should be delivered any day.

 

District Councils - Details received explaining the shared jobs between our two District Councils

 

Public Question Time - 7 parishioners attended. Following matters raised – a. On the south side of Lion Meadow, opposite no.1 the tarmac has been raised into a large lump- reported to Highways. b. brambles from Watlington Street hedge spreading over pavement. Will be reported to Oxford Citizens. c. Query whether a bin being placed in the lay by on the 4130 would eliminate the rubbish which is usually scattered there.

 

Meeting Closed at 9.50p.m.

Date of next meeting – September 7th.

 

Signed-

 

 

Will be signed, subject to approval of Councillors at next meeting