Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council held on Wednesday 13^th May 2009

Present: Cllrs E Bennett, T Foggin, D Graham, H Lynam-Smith, & J Russell. OCC Cllr B Johnston
In attendance: M W Rothery (Clerk)

49/09 Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from Cllr C Wise.

50/09 Election of Chairman
Cllr Elizabeth Bennett was unanimously elected Chairman for the forthcoming year.

51/09 Chairman’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office
Cllr Bennett thanked fellow councillors, and formally declared her acceptance of the office of Chairman of the council.

52/09 Committees
(i) It was agreed to continue with the existing Finance and Planning sub-committees, of which all councillors with the exception of Cllr Wise, would be members. Cllr Lynam-Smith will continue to handle planning applications and involve other councillors in site visits as appropriate.
(ii) It was agreed that the parish council appoint the following as Trustees of the Sunningwell Poors Land School Foundation: Cllr Hilary Lynam-Smith, Julia Kent, Ben Hopgood, and Roger Wiggins.

53/09 Treasurer’s Annual Report & Financial Statement
Mike Rothery presented the accounts for the year 2008/9, which had that day been passed by the internal auditor. There was a surplus for the year of £3,096. The principal reasons for the surplus were that provision was made in the budget for expenditure on flood prevention and emergency planning, and on refurbishing the children’s playground, but this was not spent. The council expects to incur costs on these projects during the current financial year. The general fund balance at 31 March 2009 stood at £18,448. This was a healthy level of reserves and is within the recommended guidelines. The council’s total reserves including earmarked provisions of £7,000, stood at £25,448, and are invested with NatWest bank. It was agreed that the report be adopted, and the Annual Return be submitted to the external auditor.

54/09 Declarations of Interests
Cllr Lynam-Smith declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the flood alleviation project. Cllr Graham declared a personal interest in the planning application for 28 Brumcombe Lane, Bayworth.

55/09 Minutes of the Meeting held on 29^th April 2009
The minutes were approved, and signed by the Chairman.

56/09 Matters Arising from the Minutes
40/09 Flood Alleviation Scheme Members expressed their appreciation to Cllr Wise for his helpful comments on the design of the proposed flood alleviation scheme and for his suggested design changes. Peter Dela of VWHDC was examining the proposed changes. Mr Bob Warne offered his advice to the council on this matter.

42/09 Village Hall Car Park The Clerk reported that Geoff Cross Contracting had confirmed that they would shortly be carrying out the agreed repairs to the surface of the car park. Mr Bob
Warne, Chairman of the Village Hall Management Committee, advised that there is a gas service pipe only about 4 inches below the surface; he would be available to advise Geoff Cross as to its location. Mr Warne thanked the council for their positive response to his recent letter and said he would advise the AGM of the Village Hall accordingly.

57/09 Finance
(a) The following accounts were approved for payment, and the cheques signed:

*Cheque no.*	*Payee*	*Details*	*Total*	*VAT*
1191	B Cross	Letter Warden (May – 4 weeks)	99.72
1192	RJS(IA) LTD	Internal Audit Fee	247.50

(b) The Clerk reported that RJS(IA)Ltd had completed the internal audit of the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2009; minor presentational changes had been agreed but the figures as previously reported had not changed materially. The Auditor had signed the Annual Return that would now be submitted to the External Auditor.

58/09 Planning
The following planning application was discussed:

SUN/ 20801/1/1 Demolition of existing house. Erection of a two storey, 4 bedroom dwelling with attic room. 28 Brumcombe Lane, Bayworth, Abingdon, OX13 6QT.
Cllrs Lynam-Smith and Bennett had visited the site. There were concerns over the size of the volume increase and the apparent absence of disabled washroom facilities on the ground floor that had been included in the design statement. The applicants Mr & Mrs Willis who were present commented that the disabled facilities had in fact been included. It was agreed that the council would not object subject to clarification by the planning officer of both these matters.

59/09 Correspondence
The full list of correspondence received had been circulated to councillors by e-mail.
Item 103 OALC The AGM is on Monday 8 June, 7.30, in Kidlington.

60/09 Other Business
(i) Cllr Lynam-Smith informed the council that the Poors Land Charities had appointed Mike Rothery as Clerk to the Trustees.
(ii) It was agreed that members be allowed 48 hours to advise the Clerk of any amendments to the draft minutes, after which time the draft minutes should be posted on the website and notice boards.

61/09 Next Meeting
The next meeting will be on Wednesday 24^th June 2009 at 7.30pm in Sunningwell Village Hall.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.50pm.