title="Baldons Parish Council in Oxfordshire">

Nuneham Courtenay Parish Council News

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http://www.nunehampc.webs.com/

 

Nuneham Courtenay Parish Council News

 

Feb 2016

NUNEHAM COURTENAY PARISH COUNCIL NEWS Parish Council Meeting • The Parish Council meeting was held at 2pm on Monday 18th January 2016 at the Village Hall. New Clerk • We welcomed our new Clerk, Karen Dodd, to our first Parish Council meeting of 2016. District Councillor’s Report • Cllr Sue Lawrence attended our meeting and delivered her report, including in summary the following matters: A) Development • Didcot has been awarded Garden City status and a second Enterprise Zone area. This will release funds to provide supporting infrastructure in the surrounding area. It was commented that two key points for Nuneham Courtenay would be the suggestion of a second river crossing at Clifton Hampden. Many residents use the facilities at Clifton Hampden. • A discussion took place about the impact of this on Nuneham Courtenay. Cllr Lawson said she would look into this. • In response to a suggested park and ride on the outskirts of the village it was commented that this would generate more traffic, and was an area for concern. Cllr Lawson noted this. • In response to a comment about the need for new housing Cllr Love confirmed that following John Cotton’s visit to the PC where he discussed a 10% increase per village/town, thereby sharing the load across the county, Nuneham Courtenay had almost met its quota of 9 houses at Brewer’s Garage development. B) Neighbourhood Plans • Cllr Lawson reported that many parishes were looking to set up Neighbourhood Plans and that help was available from officers at South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC). C) Constitution • It was reported by Cllr Lawson that the SODC were working closely with Vale of White Horse District Council (VWHDC) on a review of the constitution. D) Waste • It was reported that SODC and VWHDC were both doing well in recycling rubbish with SODC achieving 67.3% and VWHDC 65.6%. • In response to a question it was explained that information about the collection of bulky waste was available on the SODC website. It was added that up to three items could be collected at a time but that they all had to be collected from one address. It was commented that multiple pick-ups would be more useful. E) Flooding • In response to questions about flooding in the village Cllr Lawson advised that the government had made money available for flood prevention measures. It was commented that a following the floods in 2006/7 a report had been written on how to prevent it happening again and the Clerk was asked to try to obtain 11 a copy from SODC. Since the meeting the Parish Council has obtained a copy of this report. F) Pavements • Cllr Love reported that the pavements in the village were in a dangerous condition due to damage from tree roots and that the advice from officers at Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) was to remove the trees and replace them with smaller varieties. The Council was reluctant to do this as the village is a conservation area and the trees form part of the village’s character. It was added that some clarity was required on the situation. G) Cyclists • It was reported that groups of cyclists frequently used the footpaths across private land and through the woods, there was a lack of clarity about the bylaws and laws pertaining to this, and Cllr Lawson was asked to find out if anything could be done to prevent this. Cllr Love thanked Cllr Lawson for attending the meeting. Financial Matters Our RFO presented a financial report; • Barclays Mandate changed to allow RFO access. • After much discussion a decision was agreed upon that the precept requirement on the Rating Authority, SODC, of £5,530.00 be approved. • Audit training for the RFO has been sought. • After extensive research it was decided that the current broadband provider was cheaper than any other provider so the contract was renewed. Estate Items • It was reported that more complaints about dog waste on the Nuneham Courtenay Park Estate had been verbally received. • New signs advising that the estate is private and dogs must be on a lead, are completed and will be erected very soon. Our next meeting is to be held Monday 21st March 2016 2pm at the village hall. This will also be the Annual Parish Meeting and will include a high-tea, as we did last year. All welcome! For any further information, all our minutes are available on our website: http://www.ncpc.uk/minutes.html I look forward to updating you with more news in the next article. Cllr Love (Chair) For items and photos to be sent, please contact the Clerk: Karen Dodd| nunehamcourtenay.clerk@gmail.com 

 

Aug 2015

Following our Parish Council meeting on Monday 20th July 2015, the main points were as follows:

Water for All Saints Church

  • This is all now functioning, and a letter of thanks has been sent to the church.

County Councillors Report

  • Cllr Lindsey-Gale’s report was circulated, and discussed at the meeting. It was agreed that a letter to local land owners, asking them to clear the ditches, will be actioned.

Community Defibrillator

  • Having agreed the locations of the two defibrillators, we now need to raise the funds.

Good Neighbourhood Scheme

  • The council is looking into redirection services from the phone in the hall, rather than the use of a mobile phone, as reception is challenging.

Super-fast Broadband for the village

  • Oxfordshire County Council is awaiting a new set of modelling figures, which were due in July. We await confirmation as to whether the two remaining cabinets (Nuneham 3 and Cowley 15) will be included in the additional funding for the programme.

Internal Audit Report

  • It was reported that this has been completed, and no problems had been raised.

Parish Council Website

  • The Clerk reported that no further information had been forthcoming from the developers, and they had not responded to emails and telephone requests for an update. We will therefore be pursuing another developer.

Planning Items

  • P15/S1682/FUL – Notcutts Garden Centre – Removal of Planning Condition 2 from a previously approved application (P65/M0263). The Parish Council had considered this application and voted via email. The response was agreed as No Strong Views.
  • P15/S2135/PDO – Change of use from office to residential use at Notcutts Garden Centre.  This application is for a discharge of conditions and is for information only. No action required.

Neighbourhood Plan

  • Two of our councillors will be attending a conference on how to conduct a neighbourhood plan for our parish.

Estate Items:

-  Signage

  • Cllr Love reported that Hannah Seton from Savills had prompted the signage company for a response on when the signs will be ready.

-  Peace in the Park

  • This annual event that took place on 24th to 26th July was a great success, enjoyed by many locals and surrounding villagers. Despite the rain a total of 8,000 plus were recorded as attending. The traffic management was excellent.

Village Plan Steering Group Update

  • The group has now a draft questionnaire. This will now go to South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) for a final review, before being circulated to all parishioners.  This is an important questionnaire for everyone to fill out, as it becomes a plan for the next five years, and we would like everyone to have the opportunity to have their say.

Working Groups Updates

  • Village Hall Committee – is seeking new members. Please contact Pete Brookes through the Parish Council Clerk if you are interested in joining.
  • Nuneham Courtenay Sports & Playing Fields Association (NCSPFA) – Due to holidays and illness, the NCSPFA’s meeting has been reorganised to meet in August. At the time of going to print, all parishioners will have been informed of two consultation meetings to see the proposed children’s playing fields design. This will be reported back in the next magazine.

Winter Preparedness

  • The Parish Council agreed to obtain one of the salt bags offered by SODC and to review at the next meeting, the purchase of salt bins.

Grass Cuttings on Verges

  • It was reported that when grass verges were cut this year, they were not swept and the cuttings have blown into the drains on the main road. There were concerns at potential blocking or flooding. The council has written to the appropriate bodies regarding this.

 

We hope you all had a lovely summer break. We welcome you to our next meeting on Wednesday 16th September 2015 1pm at the Nuneham Courtenay Village Hall.

 

Cllr Love (Chair)

 

For items and photos to be sent, please contact the Clerk:

Julia Evans | 01235 833 466 | nunehamcourtenay.clerk@gmail.com