Bloxham Parish Council Annual Parish Meeting 27th April 2017
Chairman's Report 2016/17
During this last year your Parish Council has continued to build on the progress it had experienced under the leadership of Geoff Mollard.
Your Councillors with support from Paddy Hopkins, who is a non voting member of the Environment and Planning and Strategy Committees, and volunteers who are involved in litter picking, ditch clearing, gritting and snow clearing activities have,endeavoured to make Bloxham a pleasant and safe place to live.
The recent support byvolunteers and groups to clean the village road signs is very much appreciated and may be this can become an annual event??
I would like to remind all residents that we still have a vacancy for a Parish Councillor.
We would be unable to function effectively without the excellent and skilful support of our Parish Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer Theresa Goss.
Unfortunately we lost the services of our Administrator Katherine Mills, who moved from the village. Following thisTheresa agreed to increase her hours of work to support the Environment and Resources Committees.
The Planning and Strategy Committee Councillors and Chairman have taken on the tasks of minute taking and planning the Agendas in the interim; - for their forbearance in this matter I am truly grateful.
We welcomed two new District Councillors following the Boundary Review, Mike Bishop and Nigel Randall. Nigel has since left the Council, following a further election we welcome Andrew McHugh in his place.
Residents Issues
All residents are welcome to Parish Council andCommittee meetingsalso to the monthly "Drop in and chat" sessions held with at the Ex Serviceman's Hall, we thank that committee for their support.
A number of issues were raised by residents and we have tried toresolve or support them as best we can.
Some examples are:-
Butterfly Meadows
Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) was considering cutting all funding to Children Centres to enable them to meet their budget. The Butterfly Meadows Centre located at the Primary School was going to be affected by these cuts.
We were approached to support the retention of the centre.
Following many discussions and presentations by the Head Teacher, the then Butterfly Meadows coordinator and Councillor Kieron Mallon on possible uses, including potential usage by the Community, weconfirmed the recommendation by the Resource Committee to support the bid put forward by the Primary School Board of Governors and Councillor Mallon.
This bid was successful in securing funding from OCC for 3 years. We allocated funding for the next three years via New Homes Bonus.
The new service that will be provided at the centre will by necessity be a much reduced service.
The new centre will be called The Cherry Tree Centre and Jennie Tyrell has been appointed by the school's Governing Body on a fixed term contract until August 2018.
The PLAY & LEARN SESSIONS AT THE CHERRY TREE CENTRE will take place on Mondays & Wednesdays from 9.30-11.00am and are open to all families with children aged 5 and under. These begin on Wednesday 3rd May
The plan is to extend it to 3 sessions per week from the Autumn term and it is hoped to re-establish the baby group on a Friday.
Parking on Pavements
There have been many complaints regarding inappropriate parking on the pavements throughout the village. This type of parking results in Pedestrians, Push Chair and Wheel Chair users having to use the road rather than the footpath. We ask residents to take time to consider others and not obstruct the footpath.
One solution we are exploring is to engage a PCSO specifically to identify and fine the culprits. This of course will be a drain on the Parish Council budget.
Parking at the shops
If you park at the shops, please exercise care when manoeuvring your vehicleand to be aware of children walking on the pavements.
Pot Holes
These are often reported to the Parish Council but we have found that the speedier direct route to OCC via "Fix my Street" is very effective.
Dogs Fouling and dogs running loose
This seems to be a constant problem where the many responsible dog owners are let down by the few who do not appear to care. Dog fouling is a major concern not only on the footpaths but on the grassed amenity areas where children play.
Dogs running free in the fieldswith livestock are a danger.
Flooding
Courtington Lane
Residents approached the Parish Council for support in preventing a reoccurrence of flooding in this area. With the active support of BloxhamSchool remedial action has now been taken.
General
We are fortunate that a group of volunteers work hard to keep the ditches and Bloxham Brook free flowing to prevent flooding.
Looking through the notes from our Parish Council Meetings for this report, I'm reminded that in May 2016, the Council were dealing with drainage concerns at the Bovis Development Site on Barford Rd, regrettably, these are still of on going concern to the Parish Council.
We are also keeping a watching brief regarding the drainage matters for both Tadmarton Road and Milton Road. As some residents may be aware there will not be an attenuation tank beneath the car park for the Tadmarton Road development, apparently the cost put forward by Miller Homes was in excess of the sum allocated by OCC.
Street Lighting
We have received requests for increased Street Lighting following in the main the installation of new LED lights. We are reviewing this provision. Miller Homes Milton Road will be increasing the lighting on this road, a layout is available on the display boards.
Public Right of Way between GreenhillsPark and Queen Street.
A resident has put in a lot work canvassing for this area to be designated as a PROW, this is now on the OCC list, but this may take some time.
Acknowledging the Queens Birthday.
We were approached by a local business with a view to planting a tree to commemorate the Queens 90th Birthday, this is now located in GreenHillsPark.
Bloxham Neighbourhood Plan
I make special reference to the support John Groves has given to this plan, this has been appreciated by the Council and we thank him for his time and patience.
In December 2016your Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee marked the culmination of 3 years hard work as Bloxham's NDP was finally "made" by CDC following a successful Referendum (97.3%).
This is significant, as the NDP will now stand alongside CDC's Local Plan Part 1 when planning proposals are considered within the Parish.
This Plan would not have come into being without the support from residents both as part of the working parties involved with the Plan and providing their views through drop in events and questionnaires.
At present all this hard work is potentiallyin jeopardy due to the devolution and Unitary proposals being put forward by government and OCC.
Should either occur then it is envisaged that the subsequently appointed Mayor may wish to see a Strategic Plan put in place. It may be that this is an essential requirement of this process, as part of these devolution changes would result in funds being made available for infrastructure projects. However
The Parish Council has asked Government Ministers the question as to the ongoing relevance of an NDP in this setting, and many of you have written similar supportive letters, for which we thank you. If you wish to be added to the Council mailing list for updates on this, or any other local matter, please let Theresa have your details.
OCC Consultation on "Better Oxfordshire"
The Council's response to the proposal put forward by OCC for a "Better Oxfordshire" Unitary Authority was not to support the proposal as we could not envisage how it would improve matters for the majority of residents in Bloxham.
At present, as the viability of the BNDP is not clear in the circumstance of either devolution or a Unitary Authority, we do not see how we can support the proposed changes.
Play Equipment
In February of this year we finally achieved a correctly worded Deed of Variation in the use of (£50,000) "Developer funding, enabling us to put in place the contracts for the long awaited improvements to the two village play areas (at the JubileePark and the Recreation Ground).
I am pleased to inform you that the order has been placed for works at the Recreation Ground.
At this point I would like to acknowledge the support of Councillor Chris Heath throughout this lengthy process , both Kieron Mallon and Ian Davies (CDC Director) have also played an active role.
However,We are still endeavouring to ensure a correctly worded Deed of Variation regarding the S106 funds for play equipment from the Miller Homes Milton Road development.
Environment
The Environment Committee has been very active in recent months, and continues to monitor and undertake the recommended remedial action required for the trees and hedges under the ownership of the Council.
Many residents take similar care of their own trees, especially where they overhang pedestrian footpaths, and it would improve the village environment immeasurably if we could achieve 100% on this maintenance issue.
Parish Councillors have now "adopted" areas of the village to ensure that they are well maintained. We will undertake a programme of maintenance on the Benches owned by the Council. You will have noticed that the bench at the corner of Courtington Lane and the A361 is no longer there, unfortunately it had been severely damaged and we are waiting for the insurance report to action a replacement.
As part of OCC Transitional Working many of the duties OCC previously undertook are now the subject of potential devolution to Parish Councils.
Unfortunately the funding accompanying such duties is either non existent or minimal.
The Environment Committee is considering where it is in the best interests of residents of Bloxham to undertake further duties from OCC and how they can be funded.
Rural Grass cutting.
the Parish Council were offered the prospect of undertaking the responsibility for the cutting of the Rural Grass, this is the area between the 30mph signs and the parish boundary. OCC intend to offer only one cut in this area.
In the interests of safety the Parish Council have agreed to undertake this duty.
Grips and Grilles
The only way to ensure these areas are cleared on an annual basis is for the task to be undertaken by the Parish with support by volunteers or the appropriate funding to be found from the budget.
The Slade Nature Reserve
was adopted by the Environment Committee to enhance the support providedto Marie Jones, the Volunteer Warden.
The Council appreciate how fortunate we are in having Marie take on this role and together with her band of volunteers she has managed throughout the year to improve the walkways, steps, bridges and culverts in the Slade using the TOE2 grant.Few villages have such a valuable, Natural asset, within their boundaries.
Public Rights of Way and Circular Walk.
The Committee continue to monitor suitable access to Bloxham's Public Rights of Way including the Bloxham Circular Walk, in this we are supported by Des Jones.
At present any major works required are referred to OCC, but this may change.
Biodiversity
The Council also undertook to plant three trees on the Tadmarton Road, to not only improve the visual aspect of the area but also to replace the increasing number of trees that have been lost elsewhere in the village.
We will, where opportunities and resources exist, endeavour to make further environmentally friendly improvements within the village.
Some of you may be aware that Bloxham has one of the highest number of nesting Swifts in Cherwell, if you are lucky enough to have these amazing birds in, or near, your property through the summer months be sure to let us know.
Air Quality
The adverse impact of carbon emissionsremains a concern, the 2015 report showed the levels recorded in the village to be very close to the European limit.
2016 saw the continuation of Monitoring of the Air Quality along the High Street and Church Street, with an additional location being added.
Unfortunately it has been reported by CDC that some the equipment has been vandalised.
The results of the 2016 survey are currently awaited.
War Memorial
In October 2016 the Bloxham War Memorial was granted Grade 11 listed building status.
The Parish Council has applied to the War Memorial Trust for a grant to carry out much needed maintenance to this valuable memorial.
BloxhamSchool
We have established a good working relationship with the new Bursar of Bloxham School. and they provided support to the Parish Council during icy weather by gritting/salting the pavements especially around the shops.
Developer Funding
following numerous meetings with CDC officers and with the support of Chris Heath, Kieron Mallon and Ian Davies we have been successful in gaining approval for a variety of projects for the village, in the main The Ex-Serviceman's Hall and Ellen Hinde Hall refurbishments to increase capacity to support indoor sports activity.
The Recreation Ground to improve drainage and provided improved facilities.
Jubilee Hall the provision of improved changing rooms and increased car parking.
We supported the provision of a MUGA at the WarrinerSchool which will have a Community use.
There has been a delay in getting these projects started due to the production of the Deed of Agreement, but we are nearly there we have a draft format that is with our Solicitors for checking.
In the meantime approval for the works to start on the Ellen Hinde Memorial Hall has been given.
Highways funding
OCC were asked to carry out a feasibility study to establish if the footpath along the Barford Road could be extendedto the end of Maules Close .
This is now with OCC to check land ownership and the location of utilities. This cost will be met via S106 Developer funding.
We are also looking at other safety and traffic calming measures for the village.
Old Bridge Road
The repairs to the Bridge will be undertaken by OCC shortly, planning permission has been applied for.
It is proposed that the double yellow lines will be removed once this work has been completed and the use of the road will be monitored once it is open, before any further action is taken.
OCCG Consultation of the future of the HortonGeneralHospital
the Council's response to the recent consultation on the proposed changes to the provision at the HortonGeneralHospital indicated that we did not agree with the proposed closure of the consultant lead maternity unit nor the way the consultation was handled. We are now waiting the outcome.
Jenny Yates
Chairman Bloxham Parish Council
27th April 2017.
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