NORTH HINKSEY PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON WEDNESDAY 20th JULY 2016, AT 8.00PM, IN THE SEACOURT HALL, BOTLEY.
Present: The Chairman of the Parish Council Councillor D. Kay and Councillors Mrs. P. Allen,
L. Berrett, J. Bolder, Mrs. V. Carr, C. Church, Mrs. A. Dykes, Mrs. J. Hammett,
A. Hardiman, Ms. A MacKeith, R. Mayne and C. Potter.
Councillor A. Pritchard joined the meeting at 8.30pm at the commencement of agenda item
16/48 Council Matters. He had been at a Vale meeting representing the council on a
planning matter.
Others Present: County Councillor Mrs. J. Godden, 3 members of the public including 2 for item Council
Matters 16/48/7 Request for Use of the Upper Louie Memorial Playing Field and Car Park –
May/June 2017, and A. J. Stone (Parish Clerk).
The Chairman announced that the meeting would be audio recorded and asked anyone recording the meeting
to comply with the Parish Council’s guidelines.
16/37 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Councillor L. Kunzemann and District Councillors Mrs. E. Smith and Mrs. D. Hallett.
16/38 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
16/39 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
i). The minutes of the PARISH COUNCIL MEETING, held on THURSDAY 16th JUNE
2016,were AGREED as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman of the Parish Council.
ii). The minutes of the PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING, held on THURSDAY 2nd JUNE
2016, were AGREED as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman of the Parish
Council.
16/40 APPROVAL/CONSIDERATION OF OTHER COMMITTEE MINUTES
There were no minutes awaiting approval.
16/41 URGENT BUSINESS PROPOSED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PARISH COUNCIL
Councillor D. Kay proposed and Councillor Mrs. A. Dykes seconded the motion that the
following urgent business should be admitted for consideration at the meeting.
Councillors UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORTED the motion.
Maintenance Work to High Level Blocked Guttering and Cut Back Tree Branches
The Caretaker of Seacourt Hall had identified a further area of high level blocked guttering which
was likely to cause further water ingress into the hall with heavy rain fall. He subsequently asked
Graham Sillman to inspect the guttering and send his report to the Parish Clerk as the council are
responsible for the outside maintenance of the hall.
The Parish Clerk reported that whilst the life of the hall was coming to a close, water ingress should
be avoided wherever possible, as if this enters the electrics of the building it may render the hall
unusable at any time. G. Sillman’s quotation for the urgent works was £128.00. Copies of the
quotation were circulated at the meeting.
Councillor D. Kay proposed and Councillor Mrs. A. Dykes seconded the motion that ‘Council
accepts the quotation from Graham Sillman for £128.00 and asks that the Parish Clerk
contacts him to request that the work is undertaken as a matter of urgency’.
Councillors UNANIMOUSLY AGREED a supplementary estimate of £128.00 from General
Fund balances, to cover the maintenance costs of the high level guttering and cut back of tree
branches at Seacourt Hall.
16/42 MATTERS RAISED BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
There were no matters raised by members of the public.
16/43 QUESTIONS RAISED BY COUNCILLORS
There were no questions raised by councillors.
16/44 REPORTS FROM COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS
County Councillor
County Councillor Mrs. J. Godden
congratulated the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group for the
very informative exhibition they had recently put on in the Seacourt Hall. County Councillor Mrs.
Godden then informed the meeting that the Matthew Arnold School extension works had been
agreed and when they were being considered she had expressed NHPC’s concerns about an
adequate construction site management transport plan and parking arrangements and she would be
consulted on the proposals as the local County Councillor.
The County Council had agreed to a further consultation in relation to the future of Day Centres for
elderly people and young people with learning disabilities in the autumn, probably during October to
December. In relation to the Children’s Centres the County Council were going to provide £1m of
one-off funding, to be bid for to be used as match funding, and Children Centres would be able to bid
for. The County Council had now set up a special network group called YAMA, which steering
groups from various children’s centres can talk to each other.
The different unitary status bids from the County and District Councils had been put on hold for the
time being, but it was expected that they would start again sometime driven by the need to make
considerable future savings.
District Councillors
District Councillors’ Mrs. D. Hallett’s and Mrs. E. Smith’s report had been circulated to councillors
in early July 2016.
16/45 ACTION REVIEW FROM THE LAST PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
16/32 COUNCIL MATTERS
3). Changes to the VWHDC Planning Constitution – Planning Scheme of
Delegation
Councillors had let the Chairman of the Planning Committee know of any
comments they wished to make in relation to the proposed changes to the Vale’s
Planning Scheme of Delegation in relation to planning applications.
5). Loan of Pitch Roller to Botley Boys and Girls Football Club
The Parish Clerk amended the draft loan conditions of use and had forwarded
the document to the Chairman of the Parish Council for signature, who had then
forwarded 3 copies to the Chairman of the LMPMC, who would arrange for the
Chairman of the BB &GFC to sign and return 2 copies to the Parish Clerk.
6). B4044 Community Path
The Chairman of the Parish Council has written to the Bike Safety Charity
indicating support for their proposals and the Chairman of the Planning Committee
has written to the County Council.
16/46 CLERK’S REPORT
Councillors NOTED that: -
1). Playing Fields
Scheduled Playing Field Safety Checks – Update
Martin Dowie had reported that all the play equipment is in working order.
2). Courses/Meetings/Consultation Documents, Advice and Correspondence – Details
for Councillors Information
The Council had received the following details/sent the following correspondence or
arranged the following meetings: -
a). Loan of Pitch Roller to Botley Boys and Girls Football Club
A copy of the agreed loan conditions was signed by the Chairman of the Parish Council
and forwarded to Botley Boys and Girls FC for a counter signature.
b). B4044 Community Path
The Chairman of the Parish Council, Councillor D. Kay has written to Mike Chippendale
(Bike Safety Charity), and the Chairman of the Planning Committee, Councillor A.
Pritchard has written to the County Council, indicating the Council’s support for the
scheme along the B4044 from Eynsham to Botley.
c). The Pensions Regulator
The Pensions Regulator has written to the Parish Council to remind it that it’s staging date
for automatic enrolment of qualifying employees is 1st August 2016, and that it will be
seeking a declaration of compliance to confirm that the Parish Council has met its legal
obligations.
d). Meetings in August 2016
Councillors NOTED that the only scheduled PC meeting in August, was the Planning
Committee meeting on 18th.
e). New Telephone Numbers - VWHDC
The Parish Clerk reminded councillors that the VWHDC telephone numbers were: -
Main Switchboard 01235 422422
Emergency Helpline 01235 422420
Main Departments
Democratic Services 01235 422520
Planning 01235 422600
Building Control 01235 422700
Environmental Health 01235 422403
Food & Safety 01235 422403
Licensing 01235 422556
Waste & Recycling 03000 610610
Electoral Services 01235 422407
Car Parks 01235 422417
Community Safety 01235 422590
Street Naming & Numbering 01235 422344
16/47 COUNCIL MOTIONS
There were no council motions.
16/48 COUNCIL MATTERS
Councillors AGREED to take item the following item at this point in the meeting.
7). Request for Use of the Upper Louie Memorial Playing Field and Car Park – May/June
2017
Councillors NOTED that Councillor J. Bolder had been contacted concerning the possibility
of using the Upper Louie Memorial playing field in May or June 2017, as a venue to hold
a large fete/fun day with an associated 10km running race to raise funds for a group of 23
Explorer Scouts from Oxfordshire who are travelling to Kenya in August 2017. The date they
hoped to hold the event was 20th May 2017.
Councillors sought more detailed information from the organisers, including arrangements to
cover public liability and other insurance requirements. The organisers were asked to provide
more details in a report of their proposals to the next meeting of the Recreation and Amenities
Committee on Thursday 8th September 2016. The council AGREED to provisionally reserve
the date(s) subject to considering the report from the organisers and any recommendations
from the Recreation and Amenities Committee.
Action: The organisers to provide more details in a report of their proposals to the next
meeting of the Recreation and Amenities Committee on Thursday 8th September 2016, who
will then report to the council meeting on Thursday 15th September 2016.
1). Oxfordshire County Council – Town and Parish Council Workshop on influencing and
control in a unitary Oxfordshire – Didcot 28th June 2016
Councillors D. Kay and A. Pritchard gave a brief report of events at the workshop.
2). VWHDC - Town and Parish Forum Meeting – 7th July 2016
Councillors D. Kay and A. Pritchard reported on events at the forum, which included
the VWHDC’s proposals to change their system of Planning delegation. There followed some
discussion on the Vale’s proposed changes and some councillors had reservations about the
new proposals.
3). Changes to the VWHDC Planning Constitution – Planning Scheme of Delegation
This item was not taken as it had been discussed in the previous item (item 2).
4). Defibrillators
Councillor A. Hardiman explained that he had spoken with Cumnor PC who had put him in
contact with South Central Ambulance Service. He will arrange a meeting with them and
report back to the next meeting of the council in September 2016.
Action: Councillor A. Hardiman to contact the South Central Ambulance Service and
report his findings to Parish Council meeting in September 2016.
5). Councillors’ Surgeries
Councillor L. Berrett was still waiting for the feedback from the recent article in The Sprout
Magazine It was AGREED that this item should be deferred to the next Parish Council
meeting in September 2016, when Councillors should agree dates, venues and those
councillors who will attend Councillors’ Surgeries during the 2016/2017 municipal year.
Action: Councillor L. Berrett to report to the September meeting of the Parish Council.
6). Supplementary Estimate Request – R & A Committee
The Chairman of the Recreation and Amenities Committee, Councillor Caroline Potter
explained that to enable the Leisure Working Group to make arrangements to pursue a series
of consultations with parishioners, as part of its fact finding about potential youth leisure
provision, the Recreation and Amenities Committee needed to incur expenses between now
and September. These would allow for the conducting of larger-scale youth consultation (e.g.
surveys through local schools) during the summer months. The R & A Committee asked that
Council APPROVE a one-off supplementary estimate of £500.00 from General Fund balances
to cover any costs arising from the larger-scale youth consultation. Any unspent balance
would be returned to General Fund balances.
Councillor Mrs. J. Hammett was concerned that parishioners would be confused by a further
survey/consultation as the council had already spent a few £100’s on a leisure survey last year
and the responses to the survey had been low. She stated that what came out of that survey
what that people did not want further leisure facilities. To spend another £500 on doing
something that was only undertaken a year ago would in her mind be difficult to justify to
parishioners.
Councillor C. Potter explained at length the reasons why a further survey/consultation was
needed to help the Leisure Working Group to finish its review and arrive at its
conclusions/recommendations.
Following further discussion, Councillor C. Church proposed and Councillor L. Berrett
seconded the motion ‘to move to the vote’. The motion was supported by 9 votes to 4
votes.
Councillor C. Potter then proposed and Councillor D. Kay seconded the motion that
Council agrees to approve a one-off supplementary estimate of £500.00 from the General
Fund, to the Recreation and Amenities Committee to cover the cost from the larger-scale
youth consultation.
Councillors AGREED to SUPPORT the motion was carried by 8 votes to 5 votes
8). Remembrance Day Service - Speaker
The Chairman of the Remembrance Day Committee Councillor Mrs. V. Carr, reminded the
meeting of the date of the service and updated it on the current position with regard to
securing a Speaker for the 2016 service.
9). Flood Alleviation Scheme Meeting – Oxford Town Hall – 28th June 2016
Councillors Ms. A. MacKeith and R. Mayne reported on the recent meeting regarding the
proposed flood alleviation scheme and confirmed that the proposed route was along the
Seacourt Stream and not through the meadow owned by the Oxford Preservation Trust as the
middle of the field contained rare grasslands. They had also been assured the route would not
affect the North Hinksey Lane allotments, but would actually reduce flooding of the
allotments. There would be appropriate landscaping and the surplus earth would be taken out
along the proposed channel, not North Hinksey Lane. Both had about the number of trees that
were likely to be cut down alongside the stream to make way for the channel and the need to
ensure that there was an adequate replanting (given the important role the trees play in
providing a visual screen, strengthening the banks of streams, reducing flooding and absorbing
carbon dioxide and harbouring wildlife)
Councillor C. Church believed that the works would affect the Riding School as it used the 3
fields that the channel would use, which might mean that his business would have to close.
Councillor A. Pritchard had suggested to the Flood Alliance that the surplus soil could be used
to increase the height of the land between the A34 slip road and the Seacourt Stream/Seacourt
Park and Ride.
10). Replacement Proposals for Running Children’s Centres
Councillors D. Kay explained that he had recently visited groups who were preparing to
run down the existing Children’s’ Centres provision. A steering group has recently been set to
look at the possibility of setting up a charity, but this would need local involvement in running
the charity. Things were moving on slowly, but there was a great deal of work still to do.