Minutes of the Meeting of Wardington Parish Council held on Tuesday 23rd June 2015 at 7.30pm in Wardington Memorial Hall

In Attendance:  Mr G Page (Chair), Mr K Atack (District Councillor), Mr G Martin, Mr M Patterson, Mr M Hickman (Clerk), Mrs Jan Funnell (Parishioner)

Apologies: Mr N Bankes (Vice-Chair), Mrs A Pascoe

Minutes of the Previous Meetings (May 26th): Agreed and signed

1. Matters arising from previous meetings

1.1 HS2

  • The council met with MP Victoria Prentis on June 12th at Wardington Manor. Thank you to Bridget and Forbes Elworthy for hosting the occasion.
  • Victoria Prentis agreed with concerns about HGV traffic and is keen to work to find a solution. She has since undertaken to arrange for representatives from HS2 and OCC Highways to visit the road. Villagers will be notified of the date of this meeting once known (likely within the next few weeks).
  • A committee was formed to coordinate HS2 related activities as they arise. In the first instance this would comprise Nigel Bankes (Chair), George Page, Malcolm Patterson and Charles Holbech. Further members will be co-opted once the nature of the work becomes clear.
  • For futher information click here

1.2. Co-option

  • Mr Ian Franklin has registered interest in being co-opted as a parish councillor. He will be invited to the next parish council meeting to discuss the position.
  • Please still contact any of the councillors, or the clerk at wardingtonparishcouncil@hotmail.co.uk if you are interested in being involved.

1.3. Parish Insurance

  • Zurich Insurance has advised the parish council that it would not be liable for, nor would they cover, personal liability insurance for the privately-owned footpath in Williamscot. Property owner to be made aware of this.

1.4 Grass

  • Clerk forwarded another complaint regarding grass cutting and the untidy use of herbicides.
  • Mr Page to speak with the manager at E-scapes Landscaping Ltd who has assured the council in the past that future complaints will be dealt with expeditiously.

1.6 Playground Inspection

  • Clerk reported that the RoSPA playground inspection had been booked for July.
  • A quote of £4753 from Parkland Fencing was received for the replacement of the palisade fencing surrounding the playground. The playground does not have this amount of money to spend.
  • A playground committee needs to be reinstated to promote funding and to manage finances. If you would like to help protect your playground please get in touch at wardingtonparishcouncil@hotmail.co.uk

 

2. New Business

2.1 Warbler Editor

  • Clerk presented an email from Mr Robert Harwood offering his services as the new editor of the Warbler.
  • It is understood that the communication working group of the CLP would like to see responsibility shared collectively for the Warbler in the future so as to ensure the long-term security of its production.
  • The council agree that if possible this would be advantageous and would support Mr Harwood’s central role.

2.2 Dog Fouling

  • Clerk presented a second email from Mr Robert Harwood with specific information regarding dog fouling on the sports field.
  • The council authorised the clerk to report the information to the dog warden at Cherwell District Council.

 

3. Planning

15/00168/TCA. Mr Mark Wilson. Trent Farm. Undertake work to leylandii tree. No objections.

15/00193/TCA. Mrs Virginia Price. Pettifers Street. Undertake work to ash tree. No objections.

15/00924/F. Mr & Mrs Wadland. Poplars Farm. General purpose agricultural building and internal access track. No objections.

15/01049/F. Mr & Mrs B Hart. Willow Haven. Alterations and erection of single storey front extension, two storey side extension and single storey rear extension and erection of detached car port. No objections.

15/01053/F. Mr & Mrs Norris. Home Farmhouse. Singe storey rear extension. Councillors voiced concerns about the potential impact on parking. No objections subject to not affecting residential parking and taking the neighbours’ views into account.

 

4. Finance

4.1 External Audit

  • Extra evidence had been requested to support the audit of the 2014-15 parish accounts. This was sent and presumed sufficient. Extra charges will be incurred.

4.2 Invoices

Cheques authorised:

100780 E-scapes Landscaping Ltd. 5 x grass cutting. £1570.50.

100781 Mitchell Hickman (clerk). Expenses. £40.60.

100782 Mitchell Hickman (clerk). Pay to June 22nd. £320.

100783 Roger Gooding. Warbler printing. £104.50.

100784 Zurich Municipal. Parish insurance 2015-16. £942.14

4.3 Playground 200 Club

May

  1. Mrs Elsie Smith. £10 (rewritten cheque).

June

  1. Robert Fenemore. £20.
  2. Natalie Reynolds. £10.

 

5. AOB

  • Williamscot Noticeboard

Mr Martin reported that the noticeboard was now dry enough to undertake maintenance work and that he would do so in the forthcoming weeks.

  • Parish Clerk Vacancy

The current parish clerk will be leaving in September. The role includes preparing and circulating agendas and minutes for parish council meetings, maintaining financial accounts, and liaising with the public and authorities on behalf of the council. These duties require approximately ten hours per week. Salary is based on Local Authority Scales. If you would like to assist the village in the role of parish clerk please contact:

George Page (Chair)

Sabins House, Wardington

george.ros.page@hotmail.com

01295 758122

 

The meeting closed at 9:00pm.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday 28th July at 7:30pm in the village hall.