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OXTON PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 9th FEBRUARY 2010 AT OXTON VILLAGE HALL Present: Cllr. Jill Jones (Chairman) Cllr. Ian Johnson Cllr. Lin Jacobs Cllr. Margaret Cooper Cllr. Ian Kilpatrick Cllr. Jan Sablitzky Cllr. Andy Stewart (part of meeting) Cllr. Bruce Laughton (part of meeting) Mrs. Karen Birks (Clerk) The Chairman welcomed Mrs Jan Sablitzky as a new member of the council. 1. APOLOGIES There were no apologies. 2. MINUTES The minutes of the meeting held on 12th January 2010 were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman.
3. MATTERS ARISING (a) Cllr Andy Stewart explained that costing for the mobile speed cameras had not been as successful as hoped and therefore the council were looking into the possibility of obtaining permanent signs at a reduced cost of approximately £5000. It was agreed that this would be too high a cost for Oxton Parish Council to consider purchasing. (b) The clerk reported that a letter had been sent to the landlord of the Green Dragon concerning the fouling of footpaths in the village by his dogs. A letter has also been sent by Jeremy Hutchinson (Housing and Environmental Services at N&SDC), as a follow up to a telephone conversation, with the warning that it is an offence to allow a dog to foul in a public place and fail to clean it up. (c) Cllr Lin Jacobs confirmed that Epperstone Parish Council had also contributed £100 as a donation towards the costs of the Dover Beck. 4. COMMUNICATIONS (a) Notification from Notts County Council of the temporary closure of a section of the B6386 Southwell Road, Oxton from 15th February to 19th February for surfacing works. (b) A draft version of the ‘Newark and Sherwood Sport and Recreation Facilities Improvement Plan 2010 – 2021’ has been sent to councils as part of the consultation process. It was agreed that this document will be circulated to all councillors and any comments are to be written on or attached to the document. The clerk will then consolidate these comments and respond to N&SDC. (c) The council have received a grant of £300 from Cllr Laughton towards the costs of the drainage study in Oxton. 5. HIGHWAYS Cllr. Stewart confirmed that funding for the Oxton flyer was secure for the next financial year. A conference on Community Transport was being planned for June 2010 to which councillors would be invited to discuss provision of and funding for such schemes. Cllr Stewart asked for confirmation of the location relating to the request made at the previous meeting to have the ‘Slow’ marking replaced on the road which has been covered up by the anti skid surface. He will now request that this is done. A large program is now in place to deal with the many potholes which have appeared over the whole area following the cold weather in January. It was noted that gullies are not being cleared out on a regular basis as was agreed following the last occurrence of serious flooding. It was agreed that this matter should be placed as a regular item on the agenda for November meetings and a request made at that time of the year for any gullies to be cleared which were causing a problem. 6. PLANNING i) Appeal decision Appeal Reference APP/B3030/D/09/2118197 The appeal made regarding the decision to refuse planning permission for the erection of a first floor extension over the garage at The New House, Blind Lane, Oxton has been dismissed. ii) Notice that N&SDC has no objection to the felling or coppicing of a Holly Tree on the boundary of Corner Cottage with Home Farmhouse, Oxton. Notification reference 10/00085/TWCA 7. FINANCE (a) Invoices and Payments The following payments were authorised: K.Birks Clerks Salary January £214.76 K.Birks Clerks expenses January £23.60 Our centre Mini bus hire January £39.90 Oxton Village Hall Room booking for Parish plan £15.00 Pauline Cleverley Chiropody treatment Feb £68.00 Oxton village Hall Room booking for Chiropody £30.00 Our centre Registration fee 2010/11 £20.00 ________ Total £411.26
(b) Financial Report for January 2010 The Clerk reported an account balance at the end of January of £5226.76 with outstanding cheques for payment of £129.00. Payments for January were £468.35 and receipts £326.64. The Sinking Fund balance was £10,353.69. The accounts were reconciled accordingly. 8. RECREATION i) Cllr. Lin Jacobs has inspected the play equipment and has no issues to report. ii) A meeting of the recreation sub committee is planned for 23rd February and progress is being made. iii) Cllr. Ian Johnson noted that the issue of the moles on the recreation ground has worsened and is now presenting a real problem. It was agreed that this subject will be added to the agenda for next month. 9. COMMUNITY LED ACTION PLAN A meeting took place on 27th January attended by 12 people and the steering group was successfully set up. Cllrs. Jill Jones, Robin Aldridge and Jan Sablitzky are involved as Parish Councillors and will report back to the Parish Council. Further meetings have been arranged for the third Thursday in each month. The aim is to have a plan completed by December 2010. 10. RISK AND RESILIENCE JBA are currently undertaking the drainage study. Cllr Robin Aldridge has provided information and photographs of recent flooding events at the request of JBA. 11. OXTON GRASS CUTTING Quotations have been requested for the grass cutting contract for 2010. There is a need to clarify the council’s position on the use of weed killer to ensure accurate and comparable quotes are received. The majority of the council were in favour of using weed killer only in specific areas, namely around the wooden structures in the play area and wooden fences and that the product used should be environmentally friendly. This is to avoid any damage by strimming. 12. CHIROPODY CLINIC There was a discussion on whether or not the Parish Council should continue to fund the chiropody clinic in its current form. This addressed the costs involved, numbers of people benefitting from the service and possible alternatives. Cllr. Margaret Cooper has a personal interest in this matter as she is involved in setting up and coordinating the monthly sessions. It was noted that the provision for this service has been included in next year’s budget. It was agreed that the service needs to be addressed as part of the village plan and that it will continue in its current form until details of the plan are available when the matter will be discussed further. 13. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Cllr. Laughton reported that N&SDC would be increasing the council tax by 1% and Notts County Council 0%. The county council are redirecting £31million into other areas particularly young people’s services and home care. Cllr. Laughton suggested that the Parish Council contact Ennis Thompson at the Environment agency following receipt of the Oxton drainage study. Notts County Council will ultimately take responsibility for flooding but the environment agency currently have the expertise and knowledge. It was noted that the inspection on the condition of the road in the village had been delayed due to the bad weather but it had now taken place and the road was in a very bad state.
The chairman closed the meeting at 9.15 p.m. Chairman Date
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