Pc Minutes May 2020

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES, 12th MAY 2020, 19:30

Present were:

• Nicky Brooks (Chair)
• Graham Soame (Parish Councillor)
• Eileen Mawle (Parish Councillor)
• Mar>n Wilson (Parish Councillor)
• Mar>n Wilson (Parish Councillor)
• LyseAe Nicholls (Parish Councillor)
• Mark Walker (Parish Councillor)
• Jackie Johnson (taking minutes)

This mee>ng was held by ZOOM – members of the Parish were invited but asked not to contribute unless on a previously no>fied maAer. Emails aOer the mee>ng would be welcomed.
Two members of the public joined.

1. Apologies: none.
2. Declara>ons of interest: none.
3. The minutes from the previous mee>ng held on 31st March were signed by Nicky Brooks as

   being a true record of proceedings.

4. MaAers of concern from Parishioners. It was recorded that this was not a full AGM due to

   the Covid-19 situa>on and that as part of that process the Parish Council would normally assess whether the Neighbourhood Plan needed reviewing along with ensuring that the Defibrillator at the village hall had been serviced and was in working order. Nicky Brooks had received an email reminding of us of this and asking that we do a review at this >me as it is uncertain when and a full AGM might be possible. Nicky Brooks agreed and said that the defibrillator had been checked two weeks ago and that the Neighbourhood Plan has been in frequent use and was s>ll good for purpose. She also pointed out that if we were to make changes to the Neighbourhood Plan, we would need to hold another referendum. Mark Walker said that a Parishioner had brought a concern to him that they were unable to access the footpath from High Cogges to the A40 behind the Paddock, (Russell and Anne Cherry to be informed and asked to take a look in their capacity as Footpath Wardens).

   A second concern was at Chorley Farm on the A40 where there appears to be some sort of

   excava>on and ‘>pping’. It was agreed we would contact the District Council.

5. MaAers of concern from County Council or District Council: none.
6. MaAers arising from minutes not covered by the Agenda: none.
7. Cons>tu>onal MaAers. Changes due to Covid 19 and ‘lockdown’ have led to a postponement

   of the AGM Public Mee>ng.

8. Financial Reports.
   1. The ‘Year End’ Reports, Budgets and Accounts for both the Parish Council and the sub- commiAees were presented for the Councillors’ informa>on. It was, however, agreed that these would be published at the full public AGM. The accounts have to be scru>nised by an independent assessor. David Taylor has agreed to do this. Nicky Brooks will fill in the official form and bring to the next mee>ng before submihng it.
   2. The Parish Council can reclaim VAT, on behalf of the Village Hall. Mar>n Wilson pointed out that in order for this to happen all receipts needed to be made in the name of the Parish Council. For transparency, Nicky Brooks suggested changing this process whereby all VAT reclaims would, in future, be immediately refunded to the Village Hall CommiAee

rather than contra-balancing at the end of each year against the dona>on that Village

Hall CommiAee usually gives to the Parish Council. All were agreed.
c. Attheendofyear2019/2020TheParishCouncilheldabalanceof£1705.34.Thishad

arisen mainly because the last clerk (KWB) didn’t charge for his services. LyseAe Nicholls was concerned that this would not be enough to pay a Clerk. Nicky Brooks confirmed that this amount plus the rise in the precept (already agreed) would ensure there would be enough funds should a clerk be appointed.

4. The Village Hall Council Tax has been cancelled for 2020 due to the Covid-19 situa>on.
5. The football pitch lease would be £150pm, but Eynsham Park Estate have to ask for the

   money and if they don’t ask it is not payable.

6. If the playground lease were to be signed a sum of £150pa would be payable.
7. Mar>n Wilson confirmed that the grass cuhng is £250 plus VAT, £300 in total.
8. The Parish Council took out a loan in from WODC for the village hall refurbishment. The

   Village Hall and the Parish Council each pay half. Nicky Brooks reported that there was now £19,000 leO on the loan and that if / when the dona>on from the Solar Farm project was received (£40,000) this could be paid off.

9. Mar>n Wilson stated that the playground had not received all the expected grants and therefore didn’t have enough funds to proceed with the hoped-for purchases.

9. Payments to approve. The Parish Council insurance is due in June 2020. Nicky Brooks explained that we had signed up for a three year term which was now ending. The renewal under the same terms (3 year period) had increased by £30. It was discussed whether, in the current circumstances, we could ask for a discount, but aOer some discussion, we would con>nue with full cover.
10. Nature Recovery Project. Graham Soame stated that there had been an amazing response to this project. There had been a lot of plan>ng of wildflower meadows and he suggested that South Leigh had an open mee>ng similar to the one set up by Eynsham. Nicky Brooks suggested that this could happen aOer the AGM. Eileen Mawle began a discussion regarding the water quality in the Lymbrook stream saying that she thought the stream started on the South Leigh side of the A40 and that caAle use the Lymbrook for drinking which may cause problems. It was suggested that the landowners could be involved in a discussion to try and mi>gate the problem. LyseAe Nicholls stated that she had emailed the Local Rivers Trust with a tenta>ve enquiry. Mar>n Wilson thought the Lymbrook started at the other side of the A40 under the dual carriageway and Mr. Summerfield owned that land. Eileen Mawle said that she was trying to think of ways to improve the water quality. Graham Soame reported that he was sure there were water voles in the Lymbrook and stated that the water had never been tested. LyseAe Nicholls had looked into the water tests and an authorita>ve test would be in the region of £384. Nicky Brooks confirmed that the Parish Council would support this issue in principle.

11. Facili>es:
    1. Village Green. The issue of the electric power cable through the tree on the corner of the

       village green had been assessed by Southern Electric and there had no safety concerns. The insula>on of the wire is intact. SSE do not cut branches, it is not in their remit. The Parish could do it themselves but it would be expensive. It was considered safe.

    2. Bus shelter. The bus shelter is due to be painted, Graham Soame was overseeing the project. Jackie Johnson was going to arrange some sort of pain>ng of the inside by children in the village. The issue of pain>ng of the bus shelter railings was discussed with Mar>n Wilson sta>ng that he thought the Parish Council should not be pain>ng the galvanised railings as it created a job that would need to be redone later. The paint and scrape volunteers will decide when they come to do the job, while no>ng that the ‘paint and scrape’ group is not a sub-commiAee of the Parish Council but a group of volunteers.
12. Planning:
    a. ShuAles CoAage applica>on has not been decided. Nicky Brooks submiAed a comment

    sta>ng that our first priority is to follow the terms of our Neighbourhood Plan.
    b. The A40 / Shores Green OCC presenta>on was noted. Landowners with adjoining land

    had been contacted by OCC for permission to conduct surveys on land.

13. Traffic: Nicky Brooks reported that OCC had completed their traffic monitoring – this was to

    monitor the numbers of cars not speeds. The reported figures seem to fit in with our knowledge although it is to be noted that one of the weeks of the survey was half term. LyseAe Nicholls reported that the traffic was picking up again following ‘lockdown’. She was hoping to resume speed monitoring but had been advised not to resume at the moment.

14. Churchyard: There was to be a churchyard working party due to the falling of a dead elm in the hedgerow.
15. Scarecrows / ’End of Lock down’ BBQ: The scarecrow compe>>on was very well supported and everybody agreed that the scarecrows around the village were wonderful. There was divided opinion as to whether to have a compe>>on every year, and it was decided to leave it to see if there was interest next year. The ‘End of Lockdown’ BBQ was on hold for now.
16. Interim NewsleAer: LyseAe Nicholls had constructed an interim ‘Lockdown’ newsleAer which had been circulated electronically.
17. AOB: Mark Walker reported that the road to High Cogges had completely failed. Nicky Brooks recommended that he report the issue to ‘Fix My Street’. Eileen Mawle brought up the subject of the pain>ng of the railings over streams / culverts; she was concerned about the colour from a safety point of view, they were now green but originally white, and asked if anybody had consulted any other authority. There was no further discussion.

The mee>ng was concluded at 20:30.
Dates for the next Parish Council Mee>ngs: 23rd June, 4th August, 15th September, 27th October and 8th December.
These are provisional and dependent on ‘lockdown’ arrangements. The Parish Council doesn’t normally meet in August due to the holiday and the date in October is half term and so may well need to be moved.