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MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE OXTON PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON TUESDAY 13^th NOVEMBER 2007

Meeting commenced at 7.30p.m

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Present: Mesdames Cooper, Jacobs and Jones. Messrs. Johnson, Wilkes, Aldridge and Kilpatrick. Clerk Mr. B Machin.  County Councillors Stewart (part), District Councillors Armstrong (part) and Laughton (part). One member of the public.

Apologies for absence: There were no apologies for absence.

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 9^TH OCTOBER 2007:

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Minute 07.10.4.7 should read “Mr. Wilkes said a large proportion of the residents of Elmcroft are against the proposal…..” in lieu of “Mr. Wilkes said the residents of Elmcroft are against the proposal…..”. Otherwise the minutes having been circulated prior to the meeting were confirmed and signed as a true record.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES OF 9^TH OCTOBER 2007:

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Water Lane – Ownership of adjoining field: The Clerk reported he had received a letter from Mr.Borrett Dumble Cottage Water Lane concerning a request from Council to clear the watercourse outside his property, the liability for maintenance of it and the ongoing discussions re. the ownership and sale of the field between Pilgrim Cottage and Redbrook. The Clerk said he had responded to say no instructions for the clearance of the watercourse had been given other than a request to Notts.CC and that Council is not party to any discussions re. the field.

Mr. Aldridge said that he had spoken to Mr. Borritt regarding clearance of the stream outside his property on the instructions of Council as agreed at the last meeting.

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Post Office Closures: Mr. Johnson reported that the sub Postmaster will be leaving in mid. January and that his replacement had not yet been appointed which may result in the closure of the Post Office for a time.

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Travel to School in Nottinghamshire: The Clerk quoted letters received from Councillors Laughton and Stewart indicating that “County Council would not introduce charging to these 9500 pupils affected”.

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Annual Parish Conference: Councillors Aldridge and Wilkes and the Clerk attended. Discussions covered Planning Issues with an update on the LDF and the introduction of a national planning application form. Safer Neighbourhood Group covering the structure of the various groups and tiers within the overall structure and a request for Parish Council support. Community Resilience Building updating on the progress to date and future initiatives which will require Parish Council support and will be circulated in the near future.

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Sherwood Safer Neighbourhood Group: Councillors Kilpatrick and Wilkes attended the inaugural meeting and are to attend the future meetings at eight weekly intervals as representatives of the Council. The meeting discussed problems in the area which is covered by a beat officer and five special constables.

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Indications were that Oxton has fewer problems than adjoining parishes such as Farnsfield and Bilsthorpe. The group does not link in with the Community Safety Partnership attended by Mrs. Jacobs.

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Oxton By-pass/Oakes Lane Junction: The Clerk reported that he and several Councillors had met Notts. CC on site to discuss the proposals; they had indicated that the majority of incidents were during the hours of darkness and involved vehicles travelling North & South; the scheme proposed has the minimum number of lights necessary for road safety in line with the Parish Council request. Council suggested that removal of the hedge to the North East of Forest Road to improve site lines should be considered. Notts. CC is to review the scheme.

COMMUNICATIONS:

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Challenge to Post Office Closures: Notts. CC wishes to gauge public feeling on the closure of Post Offices by way of q questionnaire. It was agreed the Clerk complete this on behalf of Council.

Councillor Stewart arrived at this point.

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Oxton Bonfire: The Clerk reported a request from Oxton VHMC to hold the bonfire on 3^rd November on the usual conditions. He reported he had contacted most Councillors and no objections had been raised, however Mr. Wilkes had highlighted the dangerous practice in previous years where spent fireworks had been disposed of on the bonfire; the Clerk had added a condition against this practice when approving the request.

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Building Better Communities: Notts. CC has acknowledged receipt of Councils bid for a Village Trail and Footpath Between Sandy Lane and Park Lane; all schemes will be considered towards the end of the financial year.

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Standards Committee – Appointment of Parish Representatives: Additional representatives are sought to deal with the local handling of complaints in April 2008. No-one was interested.

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Council Insurance: NALC has provided details of a new insurance scheme underwritten by Norwich Union which will match the current policy and give a discount of 15% over the 2007 premium with renewal based simply on the most up to date schedule. It was agreed the Clerk obtain a quote for consideration at the appropriate time.

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NALC Training: two courses are being offered “Budget & Finance Training” and “New Councillor Training” Mr. Aldridge is to attend the latter at a cost of £15.

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Community Transport Funding – Oxton Flyer: As the quarterly return for September was submitted late Notts. CC is to impose a fine of £0.98 a day until such time as the return is submitted. The Clerk explained he had been unable to get the monthly returns for various acceptable reasons and had therefore replied to Notts. CC and spoken to Councillor Stewart, with a view to having the threat

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removed, by objecting to fines being imposed on a voluntary scheme that should be encouraged. Councillor Stewart responded that he had agreed with the County Council that the proposed fines would be withdrawn.

HIGHWAYS:

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Motorcycles on Green Lanes: Councillor Stewart reported that the Police, in response to problems with motorcycles on green lanes, have trained six officers to ride and obtained motocross bikes for their use.

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Bus Timetable: The Chairman informed the meeting that the Minster bus is regularly up to half an hour later; Councillor Stewart is to pursue this and also the damaged timetable on the bus stop opposite the village hall entrance. He also said that a bus stop sign cannot be put on the lamp post opposite Holly Tree Cottage.

PLANNING:

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Dumble Cottage Water Lane – Tree Works: N&SDC has approved the felling of three trees and the pollarding of another.

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Newark – Potterdyke Redevelopment: The Clerk explained that N&SDC were requesting comments from local villages whose residents use the facilities in Newark. Council are concerned that the re-siting of the bus station was inappropriate as it would be further from the town centre for passengers arriving from Oxton by bus.

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1 The Brambles Forest Road – Extension: The Clerk reported that the application circulated for comments between meetings has been withdrawn and replaced by a revised application which is now for decision.

Councillor Laughton arrived at this point.

The Chairman was of the opinion that this was an important and attractive cottage and the proposed extension was not discrete. It was noted that the adjoining semi already had an extension built in an inappropriate brick. Mr. Wilkes said if done with sympathetic materials he would have no objection. Dr. Kilpatrick was concerned the garage would be nearer to the house. Mrs. Jacobs thought removal of the proposed porch would make the proposal more acceptable. Mr. Newell the owner was asked to comment and said the proposed roof pitch had been amended to match the existing and whilst the garage was nearer the house it still allowed access between the two and also ample parking space. On a vote the proposal was approved with 5 votes for 1 against and 1 abstention.

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Olde Bridge Inne – Smoking Pergola: Concern was expressed that the pergola was in a very prominent position on the gable end of an attractive building at the entrance to the village. The Chairman was concerned that refusal may mean the pergola could be re-sited nearer to residential properties. It was agreed object to the proposal on the grounds of prominent position.

At this point the Chairman with agreement changed the order of the meeting.

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FLOODING:

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Councillor Stewart corrected an earlier statement; the cost of clearing the culvert under the A6097 was £16000 not £60000; this work will be undertaken week commencing 19^th November and will take out approx. six inches of silt. The Internal Drainage Board will then clear the next section of watercourse to the West. He also reported that the County Council may not be in a position to sell the field on Water Lane due to a legal problem.

Councillor Armstrong said that to date N&SDC has spent £50000 on flood works in Oxton. Mr. Aldridge said the work to clear the watercourse from the weir to the Sandy lane culvert was unsatisfactory and there was still a tree growing in the watercourse he also asked about the timing for any works. Mrs. Armstrong responded N&SDC will be meeting with Oxton Estates to discuss works required from the weir at the head of Water Lane which requires an engineering assessment. Mr. Johnson said that the clearance of this section of ditch was all that could be done as the fall was in the opposite direction to the flow; the depth being determined by the culvert under Sandy Lane.

Dr. Kilpatrick asked if there were any plans to clear the road side ditches on Southwell Road. Mr. Johnson said these were probably the responsibility of Oxton Estates who carried out maintenance on a needs basis; he cautioned that clearing the ditches would mean water was likely to have a free flow which may have a negative impact channeling water faster to the village during heavy rains.

The Chairman pointed out that the massive quantities of water released by the recent water main burst had been dealt with adequately by the flood diversion channel.

RISK & RESILIENCE CONFERENCE

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Mr. Johnson reported that Council was requested to complete and return a feedback questionnaire showing its support or otherwise for the proposals made to the conference. The Chairman suggested that due to lack of time this should be deferred to the next meeting, this was agreed.

Dr. Kilpatrick suggested Council should concentrate on two or three issues and should consider a suitable location for a water level monitor.

Councillors Armstrong, Laughton and Stewart left at this point.

FINANCIAL MATTERS:

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Invoices and Payments: The following were approved for payment:

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The Clerk pointed out that the Clerks salary included back pay to April 2007.

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Audit 2006/07: The Clerk reported that the external auditor has approved the accounts. He suggested, as last year, a gift token to Mr. Perkins to show Councils appreciation of the work on the internal audit which he undertakes voluntarily, this was agreed in the sum of £25.

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Financial Report for October: The Clerk reported a current account balance at the end of October of £5116.15 with outstanding cheques for payment of £50.00; receipts of £3940.77 and payments of £853.76 and a balance of £ 8414.92 in the sinking fund.

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Budget 2008/09: The Clerk asked Councillors to identify variations to the current budget for inclusion for 2008/09.

Mr. Aldridge suggested Council could make the village more attractive by having an “Oxton in Bloom” initiative built up over several years using volunteers, for example the gardens group, to carry out the work. Council supported the idea and Mr. Aldridge agreed to put some suggestions together for consideration and inclusion in the budget.

The Chairman suggested including for an additional bench.

The Clerk mentioned that the hedge to the playing field and the grass margin below may need additional works; Mr. Johnson agreed to inspect the hedge and report back on any work required.

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At this point due to time constraints the Chairman changed the order of the meeting to ensure that any decisions required at this meeting could be made; the remaining items being held over to the next meeting this was agreed.

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS:

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The Clerk drew attention to a note he had circulated with the agenda explaining why Council needs to adopt Paragraph 12(2) in addition to adopting the Code without amendment; also for the need to amend Standing Orders to clarify that members of the public be allowed to speak.

Mr. Wilkes thought it was beneficial to involve the public early in the meeting and suggested interim meetings if agenda items could not be completed in the time allowed. Dr. Kilpatrick suggested the open session.

The Chairman suggested that Standing Orders be amended to include the public under the same clause that allows County and District Councillors to speak; she was against interim meetings and thought Councillors need to be more succinct in their deliberations; this was agreed; the Clerk to draft a revised Standing Order for approval. Mr. Aldridge suggested more use of briefing notes circulated before the meeting to assist discussion and decision taking, this was considered a good idea.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS?

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Beanford Lane – Dumping: Mr. Johnson reported that there was a large amount of litter on both sides of the road; the Clerk was asked to report.

Meeting closed at 21.45. Signed…………………Chairman.    Date……………