PRESENT : Councillor Ken Hall, Chairman

MINUTES of the ANNUAL MEETING OF BERINSFIELD PARISH COUNCIL held in the School Hall, Abbey Woods Academy, Wimblestraw Road, Berinsfield on Monday 18th April, 2016

PRESENT : Councillor Ken Hall, Chairman

11 members of the public

PCSO Clare Beale, Wallingford Team.

County Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale

District Councillor John Cotton

Annette Loveland, Clerk to the Parish Council

1. To welcome Representatives from Thames Valley Police. The Chairman, Councillor Hall, welcomed PCSO Clare Beale from the Wallingford Team.

Clare informed the meeting that the front counter at Wallingford Police Station had closed and the nearest front counter to Berinsfield was at Abingdon Police Station. Members of the public are now encouraged to ring 101 rather than visit Police Stations. Clare emphasized that if a matter was urgent members of the public should be asked to be put through to the Wallingford Neighbourhood area team as they would know the area concerned and be in a better position to deal with the matter. She said that there was always somebody available in the local team who would be contacted via mobile telephone. There have been incidents in the area of sheds being broken into and Clare encouraged residents to fit a sturdy lock and to fit an alarm if possible.

Clare stated that she did not have much to report with regard to Berinsfield. There had been some calls about anti-social behaviour, but nothing to worry about. There had been reports about the large number of transit type vans parked in the lay-bys in the village. Unfortunately when the Police investigated the vans were all legal and parked on the highway so there was little action that could be taken. The vans belong to a business that has moved to the Tower Industrial Estate and there is insufficient parking on their site, hence the overspill into the lay-bys in the village. Clare informed the meeting that she and her colleagues would be happy to speak to the owners of the business again if the matter becomes a problem for residents.

Clare reported on new legislation regarding fines for vehicles being parked on pavements which cause obstructions to pedestrians. Offenders can be fined £70.00 for causing the obstruction. This legislation may change from area to area as some Councils may allow vehicles to half park on a pavement where there is still room for pedestrians to pass. In order to impose the fine, the Police have to actually see somebody struggling to pass a vehicle parked on a pavement, either walking on their own, with a pushchair or wheelchair or mobility scooter. Residents can report obstructions via the 101 number.

Councillor Mrs. Stockford referred to an obstruction that had occurred in Colwell Road recently where a vehicle had been parked in a way that it completely blocked the one way system road. Drivers who were also caught in the jam knocked on the doors of the houses in the area in an attempt to locate the driver. Eventually other residents moved their vehicles to enable vehicles to move, but the driver of the vehicle causing the obstruction was not found. Claire stated that this was the type of incident that should be reported to the Wallingford Neighbourhood Team via the 101 number and a patrol would have been sent out quickly.

County Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale mentioned that the bikers had started meeting at the H Cafe again. It was appreciated that many of the people who congregated at the H Cafe did so to meet colleagues, display their motorcycles and had no intention of causing problems. Many residents also liked to visit to see the motorcycles. However, Clare assured the meeting that the Police will visit the H Cafe site on a regular basis to monitor the situation. County Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale said the biggest issue was the noise, which affected many of the surrounding villages, not only Berinsfield.

Councillor Hall thanked Clare for attending the meeting and for her continued support for Berinsfield.

2. To receive the Minutes of the Annual Meeting held on 27th April, 2015. The contents of the Minutes of the Annual Meeting held on 27th April, 2015 were noted.

3. Report from Councillor Ken Hall, Chairman of Berinsfield Parish Council Councillor Hall thanked everyone for attending the Annual Parish Meeting and said he hoped that people would take the opportunity to express their views and concerns about their village.

The elections for the Government, District Council and Parish Councils were held on Thursday 7th May 2015. There were only eight nominations for the 12 Berinsfield Parish Council seats and therefore the eight people who submitted nominations automatically became members of Berinsfield Parish Council. During the year, the Parish Council has been fortunate in co-opting two new Members and there are currently two vacancies for Parish Councillors. The vacancies are being advertised and applications will be considered at the Parish Council meeting to be held on 9th May 2016.

Councillor Hall said he was pleased to be re-elected as Chairman at the annual meeting in May last year and that Councillor Stuart Scott-Ely was elected Vice-Chairman. He also said that he and other members of the Parish Council also represent the Parish Council on the committees of outside bodies.

Councillor Hall reported that the Parish Council has purchased a defibrillator for public use and this has been installed in the porch of the Dental Surgery in Fane Drive. The storage cabinet has to be connected to an electrical supply in order to keep the unit warm, therefore there are limited places in the village where the unit could be installed. The Parish Council is grateful to the Dental Surgery for offering to have the unit attached to its building.

During the year there was some vandalism on the recreation ground which resulted in the aerial cableway and four litter bins being damaged. The aerial cableway was repaired and the bins replaced.

A new basket ball and goal unit is on order and will be installed on the playing field shortly. Contractors will also be carrying out maintenance to the football pitches and the Parish Council would like to apologise in advance to the residents for any disruption caused due to large vehicles having to gain access to the recreation ground.

War Memorial. The Commander at RAF Benson has arranged for his staff to carry out maintenance to the propeller on the War Memorial and this will be removed from the plinth and taken to RAF Benson in the near future. The Parish Council is grateful to the Commander and his staff for undertaking this work.

Car parking.

Car parking still continues to be a problem in the village. The Parish Council receives complaints that owners of vehicles are parking them inconsiderately on pavements, across driveways and on grass verges causing severe damage when the ground is wet. The Parish Council passes the reports to the Thames Valley Police who take action where appropriate. The Parish Council is also looking at the possibility of getting bollards installed to prevent parking on some of the grass verges, particularly where these are at the junction of a road and cause visibility problems to other drivers.

Dogs fouling on public open spaces and pavements. There have not been too many complaints about dogs fouling on pavements and open spaces in the village this year. The Parish Council is grateful to all the responsible dog owners who clear up after their dogs and use the many dog litter bins located all around the village. It is an offence to allow a dog to foul in a public open space and not to clear it up.

Pavilion. The pavilion is now twelve years old and is still well used by the football clubs based in the village. The Pavilion is available for hire during the day time and some evenings and further information can be provided by the Clerk, upon request.

Website The Parish Council’s website, www.Berinsfield-pc.gov.uk is available for use by any organisation in the village free of charge. Information can be passed to the Clerk either in writing or by e.mail and she will be pleased to include it under the Community Activities section of the website. Information from the Parish Council and other organisations is also placed on the two notice boards in the village, one outside the Information Centre in Fane Drive and the other just inside the gates of the Burial Ground.

Neighbourhood Development Plan. Councillor Hall informed the meeting that Members of the Parish Council have been involved with the preparation of the Berinsfield Neighbourhood Development Plan, and that the Chairman of the Neighbourhood Development Plan Steering Group, Councillor Stuart Scott-Ely would report on this.

4. Financial Report

Copies of the Income and Expenditure Account and Balance Sheet for the year ended 31st March 2015 were made available for inspection. The accounts for the year 1st April, 2015 to 31st March, 2016 are currently being prepared ready for audit and this will be carried out in June, 2016.

Council Tax 2016-17. Unfortunately the South Oxfordshire District Council decided not to distribute grants to Parish and Town Councils from the Council Tax Reduction Scheme for the year 2016-17. For the previous three years the Parish Council has received a grant from this scheme which has enabled it to ask South Oxfordshire District Council for a lower precept. The Parish Council requires the sum of £114,000.00 to provide its services in the village for the year 2016-17. This amount has not increased for the last nine years, but for the last three years a grant has been received from the District Council which has reduced the amount that each household has to pay. The full amount of £114,000.00 has had to be raised by way of Council Tax for the year 2016-17 which has resulted in an increase in council tax for most residents this year.

The Parish Council has just awarded grants to voluntary groups in the village. As with previous years, a small balance is still available for any organisations that may wish to apply during the year.

5. Report from Chairman of the Neigbourhood Development Plan Steering Group Councillor Stuart Scott-Ely informed the meeting that the Independent Examination in Public of the Neighbourhood Development Plan was carried out on Tuesday 12th April, 2016 at the Berinsfield Community Association. The report by the Examiner, Mr. John Parmiter, FRICS, FRSA, MRTPI, will be prepared by the end of April. The Examiner will decide whether the Neighbourhood Development Plan is sound to go for referendum or whether some changes may be required before going to referendum.

Councillor Scott-Ely informed the meeting that South Oxfordshire District Council has agreed to spend £1.5 million to engage consultants to look at a regeneration scheme for Berinsfield. The Examiner had been made aware of this proposal prior to carrying out the Examination.

6. Parishes Against Gravel Extraction (PAGE). Mr. John Taylor kindly attended the meeting to give an update about the work of the PAGE group. Mr. Taylor informed the meeting that the original strategy of the Group, which was sent up in 2010, was to reduce the amount of sand and gravel extracted in Oxfordshire, basically to keep it as low as possible. The South East plan specified that 2.1 million tons of sand and gravel would be required per annum. The current strategy reduced this by half but this was based on a flawed analysis by another set of Consultants. A consultation was held in 2014 and the strategy was placed before Oxfordshire County Council in March 2016. Unfortunately a proposal to throw the strategy out was lost by 3 votes. The PAGE group consider that the County Council is not listening to what is required. The Government has appointed an Inspector, Brian Cook. He has written to Oxfordshire County Council pointing out their errors. The County Council has to reply by 29th April. There is likely to be further consultation and comments until 10th June. On 4th July Oxfordshire County Council will publish its response and the Inspector will look at this. There may be a hearing during the week commencing 9th September 2016.

Mr. Taylor stated that the PAGE group was grateful for all the funding from the Parishes . Without a strategy in place the Operators can chose where they want to extract gravel. Hills have put in a planning application for a site in Clifton Hampden and circulated a brochure to residents. Grundons are looking at a site in Cholsey. A site for a Marina south of Wallingford could produce half a million tons of gravel. While the requirement for sand and gravel is high, the operators can just identify a site.

7. Oxfordshire Community Foundation. Mr. John Taylor informed the meeting that he is Chairman of the Oxfordshire Community Foundation. He informed the meeting that there are 48 Community Foundations in the U.K. The Community Foundations are charities funded by local people and set up to help local people and local causes. The Oxfordshire Community Foundation has been involved with meetings regarding the Childrens’ Centres and Mr. Taylor indicated that the Foundation would like to participate in the scheme to try and keep the Centres open rather than just give grants.

The Chairman thanked Mr. Taylor for attending the meeting and for his reports on the PAGE group and the Oxfordshire Community Foundation.

8. Report from District Councillor John Cotton, Chairman of South Oxfordshire District Council. The Chairman, Councillor Hall, welcomed District Councillor Cotton to the meeting.

District Councillor Cotton reported on the regeneration plan for Berinsfield. The District Council has allocated £1.5 million to create a master plan for Berinsfield. The District Council would like the community of Berinsfield to create the plan and not the District Council. In May 2016 a series of meetings will be announced to consult about possible improvements in Berinsfield. The District Council could invest in such schemes as sewers, new school building new shops, Berinsfield Community Association, Leisure Centre, Library, Health Centre etc. and they would spend approximately a year to 18 months to create the list. The District Council’s expectation is that between £40 - £50 million would be spent and the plan is to create sites for additional housing over the 109 allocated at the present time, to help pay for the improvements. The District council would acquire the land at relatively low prices and use the market uplift to fund the improvements. He could not specify the number of additional houses, but indicated that it would need to be 500 or more. The Green Belt study has identified the land to the east of the village as the most likely site for housing development. It is possible that some of the SOHA properties in the village would be demolished to created new open spaces in the village.