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South Leigh and High Cogges Parish Council > Documents > Minutes > PC Minutes April 2021

PC Minutes April 2021

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PARISH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES 13th APRIL 2021, 19:30

Present were:

Nicky Brooks (Chair)
Mark Walker (Deputy Chair)
Lyse=e Nicholls (Parish Councillor)
Mar>n Wilson (Parish Councillor)
Graham Soame (Parish Councillor)
Dan Levy (District Councillor)
Charles Mathew (County Councillor)
Mar>n Spurrier (to update on South Leigh Forest Restora>on) Dick Pears (to update on Mobile Phone Signal)
Gary Nicholls (to update on the Conserva>on Area)
Tammy Heavens (Clerk)

The mee>ng was held via ZOOM – hree addi>onal members of the public joined.

South Leigh Parish Council and its Parishioners wish to express their hearRelt sympathy to Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family following the death of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh

  1. Apologies: None
  2. Declara>ons of interest: Lyse=e Nicholls regarding Chapel Co=age, Graham Soame regarding The Mason Arms, Eileen Mawle regarding Shores Green and A40 and Mark Walker regarding Shores green and A40.
  3. The minutes from the previous mee>ng were approved.
  4. Ma=ers of concern from Parishioners: None
  5. Ma=ers of concern from County Council or District Council: Dan Levy happy to chat through update on A40 (to be covered under item 16) Charles Mathew advised he will be a=ending a mee>ng on the 4th May regarding the Anaerobic Digestor; ahead of the mee>ng Charles will have an updated report which he will share with us.
  6. Ma=ers arising from previous minutes not covered elsewhere: None
  7. Cons>tu>onal ma=ers:
    1. a)  Nicky Brooks expressed her thanks to Charles Mathew as this will be the last South LeighParish Council Mee>ng that Charles will be a=ending as County Councillor as he steps down from his role in May; best wishes to Charles for the future. Nicky Brooks also thanked Eileen Mawle for all her work over the past 27 years as a Parish Councillor as she will not be standing in the Parish Council elec>ons in May.
    2. b)  There will be Parish Council Elec>ons on 6th May; there are three new nominees: Dick Pears, Rita Sawrey-Woodwards and David Auger. Nicky Brooks suggested that each nominee and current councillors that are standing again put together a 200 word paragraph telling everyone about themselves and what they would like to get involved with in the village. Door-to-door canvassing is permi=ed. Lyse=e Nicholls reminded everyone that declara>ons of ANY expenses need to be completed even if you don’t intend to claim.

• • • • • • • • • • •

  1. Payments to approve: Clerk’s salary and associated costs for income tax, all within budget. We have employed a new contractor for grass cubng of the village green and village hall; there is a slight increase in the costs, but this is s>ll covered in the budget.
  2. Conserva>on Area: Gary Nicholls advised that the consultant had visited the village today. The Consultant, Gary, Dick Pears, Mar>n Spurrier and Graham Soame walked around the village and High Cogges.. Te consultant will now prepare a report and instruc>ons and come back to the team who will update the Parish Council once the informa>on is received. Gary Nicholls advised that it was a very encouraging mee>ng.
  3. Mobile Phone Signal: Dick Pears advised that ader advice from Robert Courts, he contacted the Bladon Parish Council as they were hoping to progress with a phone mast a=ached to their village church. Unfortunately, progress for them is as slow as it is for us. Nicky Brooks also commented to Dick Pears that she would be more than happy to accommodate a mast on her house in Church End.
  4. The Lymbrook:
    a) Flooding: Lyse=e Nicholls, with assistance from Charles Mathew, are chasing OCC.
    b) Pollu>on and Nature: Graham Soame reported that since the beginning of the first lockdown in 2020, there seems to be an increasing feeling by more and more people in our Parish, that we need to do more to restore nature, not just to conserve it, but to bring back as much nature as we can. When the next PC mee>ng occurs with the possible changes in members, he hopes we can be more proac>ve in this regard, and show the way rather than just commen>ng on what others do. Recent works carried out include clearing in the churchyard by Heather Horner and others allowing the wildflowers to flourish, good for insects and bees, and with Rita Sawrey-Woodward’s efforts, we are focusing on what can be done to reduce pollu>on in the brook (a first step to bringing back life to the brook.) At the next Parish Council mee>ng, Graham Soame wishes to propose that we have a discussion to arrange an open mee>ng later in the summer that brings together all the talent of our two villages to create, as Eynsham is doing, a Nature Recovery Network.
  5. South Leigh Forest Restora>on: Mar>n Spurrier advised that this year they have planted over 100 trees. They had hoped to plant more, but the lack of available space to plant has hindered this. If anyone knows of any space where tree plan>ng might be possible, please contact Mar>n to discuss.
  6. Facili>es updates:
    a) Villagehall-thevillagehallwillbeopenfortheupcomingelec>onsandforfutureParishCouncil Mee>ngs, with an official re-opening planned for mid-July (more details to come)

    and events star>ng following that >me.

    1. b)  Village green.
    2. c)  Playground.
    3. d)  Football pitch.
    4. e)  Busshelter.
    5. f)  Postboxes.
  7. Responses to Planning Applica>ons:
    a) ChurchEndFarm-Temporaryplanningpermi=edfor4years.

    1. b)  Mason Arms – it was agreed that a le=er would be wri=en to the council no>ng the theamount of retrospec>ve applica>ons they are submibng, and expressing the hope that

      these would not be so prevalent in the future.

    2. c)  Chapel Co=age – the Parish Councillors visited Chapel Co=age and the neighbour and awri=en response to planning has been submi=ed.
  1. Speed Watch – Lyse=e Nicholls reported that Speed Watch would be able to recommence in the in the near future, and that they will be introducing an enhanced scheme which will improve the system of how we record speeders and will result in the police following up more. We will con>nue to use the current system un>l the new scheme is rolled out to us.
  2. Shores Green and A40 – Dan Levy has been heavily involved in the mee>ngs and he expressed his thoughts that there is s>ll a long way to go before the plans are approved, but that we should not wait to be given a voice, we should act quickly to get our thoughts in for considera>on as soon as possible. Nicky Brooks presented the OCC proposal and a detailed discussion took place. It was agreed to hold a village mee>ng on Tuesday 20th April at 19:30 via Zoom to show the presenta>on and to collate all the villagers’ thoughts and comments. The presenta>on will also be made available for all via the village website.
  3. Any other Business:
    Charles Mathew reported that he has a mee>ng on the 4th May which will include the proposed Anaerobic digestor in South Leigh. Once he has the agenda he will share this with us and update us following the mee>ng.Dates for the next mee>ng: 18th May The mee>ng closed at 21:12