Body

Hook Norton Parish Council

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF HOOK NORTON PARISH COUNCIL
HELD AT THE MEMORIAL HALL ON THURSDAY 8^th MAY 2003 AT 7.30pm

Present: Councillors: Jelf [Vice-Chairman & County Councillor], Clay, Cooke, Fry, Hayward, Housby, Millar, Terry, Williams, Withey and Young, together with Mr Porter [Parish Clerk] and two members of the public.

The Parish Clerk opened the meeting by stating that the Vice-Chairman was still in office until a new Chairman was elected. Cllr Jelf then moved that item 4 on the Agenda be dealt with first. This was agreed unanimously.

4 Election of Chairman Cllr Jelf proposed Cllr Williams for the position of Chairman, this was seconded by Cllr Terry and, with no other candidates, Cllr Williams was elected unanimously and then took the chair for the remainder of the meeting.

1 Apologies for Absence District Councillor Gasson sent his apologies

2 Minutes of the meeting 10th April 2003 and Matters Arising therefrom The minutes were agreed as a true and accurate record of the meeting, proposed by Cllr Jelf, seconded by Cllr Clay, passed unanimously.
Cllr Fry commented that snippets from the April and May meetings are to be submitted to the Hook Norton Newsletter and proposed that these should include comments from the previous minutes on both the Football Club's appeal and Disposal of Council Assets. This was agreed.

3 Declarations of Interest Cllr Williams informed the meeting that he would absent himself during the discussion on Planning Matters that dealt with the Football Club's appeal.

5 Election of Vice-Chairman Cllr Jelf proposed Cllr Fry as Vice-Chairman. Cllr Terry seconded this and, with no other nominations, Cllr Fry was elected unanimously.

7 Appointment of Chairman of Finance As Cllr Clay had to leave the meeting early it was felt appropriate to move this item forward. Cllr Millar proposed that Cllr Clay be re-appointed, this was seconded by Cllr Jelf, and passed unanimously.

6 Appointment of Committees Each committee has a maximum number of five members and will appoint a Chairman from within at the first meeting. The Chairman of the Parish Council is a non-voting Ex-Officio member of all the committees.

Environment and Open Spaces Committee

Cllrs Hayward, Millar and Terry

Recreation Committee

Cllrs Cooke, Housby, Withey and Young

Memorial Hall Committee

Cllrs Clay, Fry, Jelf and Young

8 Appointment of Planning Co-ordinator Cllr Cooke proposed Cllr Millar, seconded by Cllr Withey. Cllr Terry proposed Cllr Jelf, seconded by Cllr Young. Cllr Millar was duly elected by 5 votes to 4.

9 Appointment of 4 representatives to the Management Committee of the Norman Matthews Community Hall Cllrs Clay, Cooke, Jelf and Withey were duly appointed.

10 Appointment of 4 Councillors to be empowered to sign cheques on behalf of the Parish Council and Memorial Hall Trust Cllrs Clay, Fry, Jelf and Williams were appointed to sign cheques. Cllr Clay felt the current requirement that three councillors should sign all cheques was onerous and recommended that this be reduced to two. He also recommended that the Parish Clerk be added to the list of those empowered to sign. These recommendations were agreed unanimously.

11 Schedule of Receipts and Payments for Authorisation by the Council Cllr Clay presented the attached sheets of receipts and payments to be made together with the two supplementary schedules of items to be paid. These were passed by the Council unanimously

12 Report on Planning Matters Mr Porter presented the attached schedule of applications currently outstanding. Cllr Millar then reported that it was necessary for the Council to submit its response to the Appeal to the Secretary of State by Hook Norton Football Club. Cllr Williams declared an interest and left the meeting, Cllr Fry taking over the Chair. Cllr Fry informed new councillors of the background to the appeal. Cllr Millar then reported that Christopher Barry, who had been Planning Co-ordinator in the previous Council, had drafted a detailed response. Cllr Millar had made some amendments and put his reply forward for discussion. Cllr Young felt that there was a counter-argument. Currently subscriptions are £80 per annum of which half goes to Sibford School to hire their hall for training, because of the lack of floodlighting. The first team is no longer playing at the ground so there is a likelihood that subs will have to increase further and it is the local children who are losing out. Cllr Jelf informed new members that the PC was not taking a hard line against the Football Club but merely reflecting the majority view of the 150 people who attended the Open Meeting. It was felt that comment emanating from the Football Club misrepresents the PC's views; a number of councillors were quite supportive of the application but felt it their duty to accept the wishes of the parishioners. Cllr Hayward informed the meeting that he had chaired the 2001 Project, which had been quite independent of the Football Club, and although there had been some opposition generally this had found favour in the village as it was to be a community facility. This pre-dated the success of the Football Club and their proposals had been somewhat subsumed by the present application. After further discussion Cllr Housby stated that the letter as drafted by Cllr Millar represented the views of parishioners and proposed that this be submitted. Cllr Fry felt that the final paragraph was somewhat emotive and should be deleted. The amended proposal was seconded by Cllr Cooke and the matter was put to the vote with 9 in favour of the letter being sent with Cllr Young voting against.

13 To invite members of the Public to Comment on Planning Matters

There were no comments from the members of the public present.

14 Ironstone Hollow Landscape Barrier The clerk reported that, as agreed at the previous meeting, he had approached Drew & Greenhill for a quotation for providing a valuation. Mr Greenhill's fee of £350 plus VAT was favourable but he is not a member of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and advice from OALC is that such a valuer must be properly qualified. Cllr Young felt that we should obtain two valuations as a matter of course and this was agreed. Cllr Millar then proposed that we use the District Valuer but, out of deference to the wishes of the residents, we also use Drew & Greenhill if their associate Mr Staff, who is an FRICS, can do the work. This proposal was seconded by Cllr Terry and passed unanimously. The clerk was asked to inform the residents of the decision.

15 Village Twinning Cllr Millar informed the meeting that he had recently come across a small village akin to Hook Norton in Germany, also with a brewery, and asked if there was support within the PC to discuss the matter further. Whilst some councillors had reservations there was a majority in favour of taking the matter further and it will be raised at the June meeting.

16 Use of Vehicles in the Village Cllr Hayward stated that it is generally agreed that the roads through the village are not designed for heavy traffic and he felt that members of the Parish Council should set an example to parishioners by walking to meetings as a matter of principle. Agreed unanimously.

17 Putting Minutes and other Business on the Web Cllr Hayward proposed that the minutes be made available in their entirety through the Web site. He volunteered to provide the technical assistance. The clerk stated that he was very much in favour of the minutes being generally available for all parishioners to access and this was passed unanimously.

18 Questions and Comments from Members of the Public Barbara Hicks commented that a pipe has been exposed where the footpath had been extended near Brookside. Cllr Jelf informed the PC that he had held a meeting with Colin Carritt, of OCC Highways, that morning, and he will be dealing with the extension to the handrail, minuted at the last meeting. Cllr Jelf will also report the problem with the pipe. Mrs Hicks also mentioned that the local history group is trying to record owners of all land in the parish and wondered if it would be possible to obtain a list of holdings from OCC? Cllr Jelf stated that he would contact County Hall.

19 Correspondence Letter from CDC regarding the RoSPA Inspection of the Play Area. The clerk apologised for the short notice but he had just received the letter and CDC seeks a reply by 16 May. After discussion it was agreed to commission the Annual Safety Inspection, Risk Assessment and Access Audit at a fee of £70.

CDC - North Oxfordshire What's On Guide Oct 2003 - March 2004. The clerk asked councillors to inform him of any events, which should be publicised in the new editions of the Guides.

Letter from Horsey Lightly Fynn [solicitors] about The Green. The clerk read out a letter received from this firm of solicitors seeking confirmation that there are no problems over access across the Green. The clerk was asked to seek further details.

The Rural Housing Trust - letter from Deborah King following up on the presentation she had given to the January meeting of the PC. The clerk informed the meeting that he had sent a holding reply and suggested that this topic be raised on the agenda at the June meeting. This was agreed.

20 Date and Time of Next Meeting Thursday 5th June 2003 at 7.30pm

The Chairman reminded councillors that all committees should meet within the next 10/14 days to appoint their chairmen. There being no further business he thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 9.20pm

4	Election of Chairman	Cllr Jelf proposed Cllr Williams for the position of Chairman, this was seconded by Cllr Terry and, with no other candidates, Cllr Williams was elected unanimously and then took the chair for the remainder of the meeting.
1	Apologies for Absence	District Councillor Gasson sent his apologies
2	Minutes of the meeting 10th April 2003 and Matters Arising therefrom	The minutes were agreed as a true and accurate record of the meeting, proposed by Cllr Jelf, seconded by Cllr Clay, passed unanimously. Cllr Fry commented that snippets from the April and May meetings are to be submitted to the Hook Norton Newsletter and proposed that these should include comments from the previous minutes on both the Football Club's appeal and Disposal of Council Assets. This was agreed.
3	Declarations of Interest	Cllr Williams informed the meeting that he would absent himself during the discussion on Planning Matters that dealt with the Football Club's appeal.
5	Election of Vice-Chairman	Cllr Jelf proposed Cllr Fry as Vice-Chairman. Cllr Terry seconded this and, with no other nominations, Cllr Fry was elected unanimously.
7	Appointment of Chairman of Finance	As Cllr Clay had to leave the meeting early it was felt appropriate to move this item forward. Cllr Millar proposed that Cllr Clay be re-appointed, this was seconded by Cllr Jelf, and passed unanimously.
6	Appointment of Committees	Each committee has a maximum number of five members and will appoint a Chairman from within at the first meeting. The Chairman of the Parish Council is a non-voting Ex-Officio member of all the committees.
		Environment and Open Spaces Committee
		Cllrs Hayward, Millar and Terry
		Recreation Committee
		Cllrs Cooke, Housby, Withey and Young
		Memorial Hall Committee
		Cllrs Clay, Fry, Jelf and Young
8	Appointment of Planning Co-ordinator	Cllr Cooke proposed Cllr Millar, seconded by Cllr Withey. Cllr Terry proposed Cllr Jelf, seconded by Cllr Young. Cllr Millar was duly elected by 5 votes to 4.
9	Appointment of 4 representatives to the Management Committee of the Norman Matthews Community Hall	Cllrs Clay, Cooke, Jelf and Withey were duly appointed.
10	Appointment of 4 Councillors to be empowered to sign cheques on behalf of the Parish Council and Memorial Hall Trust	Cllrs Clay, Fry, Jelf and Williams were appointed to sign cheques. Cllr Clay felt the current requirement that three councillors should sign all cheques was onerous and recommended that this be reduced to two. He also recommended that the Parish Clerk be added to the list of those empowered to sign. These recommendations were agreed unanimously.
11	Schedule of Receipts and Payments for Authorisation by the Council	Cllr Clay presented the attached sheets of receipts and payments to be made together with the two supplementary schedules of items to be paid. These were passed by the Council unanimously
12	Report on Planning Matters	Mr Porter presented the attached schedule of applications currently outstanding. Cllr Millar then reported that it was necessary for the Council to submit its response to the Appeal to the Secretary of State by Hook Norton Football Club. Cllr Williams declared an interest and left the meeting, Cllr Fry taking over the Chair. Cllr Fry informed new councillors of the background to the appeal. Cllr Millar then reported that Christopher Barry, who had been Planning Co-ordinator in the previous Council, had drafted a detailed response. Cllr Millar had made some amendments and put his reply forward for discussion. Cllr Young felt that there was a counter-argument. Currently subscriptions are £80 per annum of which half goes to Sibford School to hire their hall for training, because of the lack of floodlighting. The first team is no longer playing at the ground so there is a likelihood that subs will have to increase further and it is the local children who are losing out. Cllr Jelf informed new members that the PC was not taking a hard line against the Football Club but merely reflecting the majority view of the 150 people who attended the Open Meeting. It was felt that comment emanating from the Football Club misrepresents the PC's views; a number of councillors were quite supportive of the application but felt it their duty to accept the wishes of the parishioners. Cllr Hayward informed the meeting that he had chaired the 2001 Project, which had been quite independent of the Football Club, and although there had been some opposition generally this had found favour in the village as it was to be a community facility. This pre-dated the success of the Football Club and their proposals had been somewhat subsumed by the present application. After further discussion Cllr Housby stated that the letter as drafted by Cllr Millar represented the views of parishioners and proposed that this be submitted. Cllr Fry felt that the final paragraph was somewhat emotive and should be deleted. The amended proposal was seconded by Cllr Cooke and the matter was put to the vote with 9 in favour of the letter being sent with Cllr Young voting against.

13	To invite members of the Public to Comment on Planning Matters

		There were no comments from the members of the public present.
14	Ironstone Hollow Landscape Barrier	The clerk reported that, as agreed at the previous meeting, he had approached Drew & Greenhill for a quotation for providing a valuation. Mr Greenhill's fee of £350 plus VAT was favourable but he is not a member of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and advice from OALC is that such a valuer must be properly qualified. Cllr Young felt that we should obtain two valuations as a matter of course and this was agreed. Cllr Millar then proposed that we use the District Valuer but, out of deference to the wishes of the residents, we also use Drew & Greenhill if their associate Mr Staff, who is an FRICS, can do the work. This proposal was seconded by Cllr Terry and passed unanimously. The clerk was asked to inform the residents of the decision.
15	Village Twinning	Cllr Millar informed the meeting that he had recently come across a small village akin to Hook Norton in Germany, also with a brewery, and asked if there was support within the PC to discuss the matter further. Whilst some councillors had reservations there was a majority in favour of taking the matter further and it will be raised at the June meeting.
16	Use of Vehicles in the Village	Cllr Hayward stated that it is generally agreed that the roads through the village are not designed for heavy traffic and he felt that members of the Parish Council should set an example to parishioners by walking to meetings as a matter of principle. Agreed unanimously.
17	Putting Minutes and other Business on the Web	Cllr Hayward proposed that the minutes be made available in their entirety through the Web site. He volunteered to provide the technical assistance. The clerk stated that he was very much in favour of the minutes being generally available for all parishioners to access and this was passed unanimously.
18	Questions and Comments from Members of the Public	Barbara Hicks commented that a pipe has been exposed where the footpath had been extended near Brookside. Cllr Jelf informed the PC that he had held a meeting with Colin Carritt, of OCC Highways, that morning, and he will be dealing with the extension to the handrail, minuted at the last meeting. Cllr Jelf will also report the problem with the pipe. Mrs Hicks also mentioned that the local history group is trying to record owners of all land in the parish and wondered if it would be possible to obtain a list of holdings from OCC? Cllr Jelf stated that he would contact County Hall.
19	Correspondence	Letter from CDC regarding the RoSPA Inspection of the Play Area. The clerk apologised for the short notice but he had just received the letter and CDC seeks a reply by 16 May. After discussion it was agreed to commission the Annual Safety Inspection, Risk Assessment and Access Audit at a fee of £70.
		CDC - North Oxfordshire What's On Guide Oct 2003 - March 2004. The clerk asked councillors to inform him of any events, which should be publicised in the new editions of the Guides.
		Letter from Horsey Lightly Fynn [solicitors] about The Green. The clerk read out a letter received from this firm of solicitors seeking confirmation that there are no problems over access across the Green. The clerk was asked to seek further details.
		The Rural Housing Trust - letter from Deborah King following up on the presentation she had given to the January meeting of the PC. The clerk informed the meeting that he had sent a holding reply and suggested that this topic be raised on the agenda at the June meeting. This was agreed.
20	Date and Time of Next Meeting	Thursday 5th June 2003 at 7.30pm

		The Chairman reminded councillors that all committees should meet within the next 10/14 days to appoint their chairmen. There being no further business he thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 9.20pm