Sunningwell Parish Council

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF SUNNINGWELL PARISH COUNCIL HELD AT 7.30PM ON WEDNESDAY, 20^TH APRIL 2005 AT THE VILLAGE HALL

Present: Cllrs. B. Nichol (in the chair), G. Birch, H. Lynam-Smith, R. Macdonald and D. Belcher

In Attendance: District Cllr. T. Ward, Pat Romans (Clerk) and 8 members of the public

1. CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS

Cllr. Nichol acknowledged that the majority of residents attending were present in

order to discuss the planning applications listed on the agenda. He outlined how he

intended to organize the meeting in order to facilitate full participation on these items

and this was agreed by all members and attenders.

Cllr. Nichol said that a lot of effort is being made at the present time to get

Sunningwell Parish Council on line and the web page should be available to everyone

in the next week or so.

2. QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

The poor state of the roads in the Parish was mentioned and the fact that few, if any, repairs had been carried out before the end of the financial year. It was agreed that two particularly bad pot holes – one near the Flowing Well Public House and the other near the entrance to the Mobile Home Park at Bayworth – constitute a real danger and should be reported immediately. Members felt that a full review of the parish roads needs to be undertaken and a ‘repair list’ compiled. Cllr. Belcher agreed to co-ordinate this and a site meeting will be requested if necessary.

Action: (i) Clerk to request urgent repairs to the sites already identified – Cllr. Belcher to supply photographs as evidence of need (ii) correspondence to be copied to County Cllr. R. Johnston and Cllr. Birch to discuss the situation with him (iii) Cllr. Belcher to bring results of his review to the next meeting.

3. APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Cllr. M. Woodward and District Cllr. C. Wise.

4. DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL OR PERSONAL & PREJUDICIAL

INTERESTS

No declarations were made.

5. MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 16^TH MARCH 2005

It was proposed by Cllr. Lynam-Smith and seconded by Cllr. Birch that the Minutes

should be accepted as a true record of the meeting. This was agreed unanimously and

the Chairman signed accordingly.

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6. UPDATE ON ACTION POINTS/ANY OTHER MATTERS ARISING

Page 101 Parish Council Vacancy - it was noted that the necessary action had been

taken to eventually fill the vacancy that now exists on the Council.

Page 102 Land adjacent to The Stumps – Cllr. Ward reported that this work was

proceeding according to agreements reached with the Enforcement and Planning

Officers but the site should continue to be carefully monitored. It was agreed that

concerns remain amongst residents, particularly regarding the slab levels and ridge

height, and whether the work now agreed to matches the original permission given.

Action: Clerk to request written clarification on these points from the Enforcement & Planning Officers and to make this an agenda item for the next meeting.

Appletree House, Boars Hill - Cllr. Ward said that a site visit has taken place when it was established that the original garage is still a garage. However the Summer House is a cause for concern because it is close to being a self contained unit – albeit a small one. She agreed to speak to the appropriate planning officer to ascertain whether or not the Parish Council needs to take any action.

Page 104 N.E. Area Forum – Cllr. Ward confirmed that consideration is being given to holding an Area Forum Meeting on the 30^th June when the next Area Committee is due to meet. Further information on this will be available in due course.

Page 105 Traffic Safety - old A34 – it was noted that a request to Kennington Parish Council for their help in having safety measures installed on the old A34 had been sent.

Hedge Cutting – Bayworth to Boars Hill – Cllr. Ward had looked at this site as promised and it was generally agreed that the situation has improved. However there are still concerns over the likely state of the ditches as a result of the cutting and Cllr. Lynam-Smith will be investigating this shortly.

7. PLANNING

7.1 New Applications

SUN/17133/1 Dairy Cottage, 3, Church Farm, Sunningwell

Proposed rear extension, new porch and internal alterations.

The Chairman reminded those present that the Parish Council is not a planning

authority and any decision reached would be forwarded to the Vale D.C. for

consideration at that level. He then adjourned the meeting to give everybody the

opportunity to look at both the original and amended plans that have recently been

submitted. On re-convening the meeting, the applicants were invited to speak and

they gave details of the background to making this application and the amendments

they intend to make to the original proposal following discussions with the Vale D.C.

Planning Officer. They said that they had kept their immediate neighbour fully

informed about their application and did not feel she would be adversely affected once

the work is completed. They further maintained that the proposed extension, as

amended, will be much more in keeping with the original site and complies with local

planning rules. The owner of the adjacent property was then given the opportunity to

speak and expressed her grave concerns regarding the likely affect this proposal would

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have on both the view from her bedroom window and the amount of light she would

have if this considerable extension is allowed. A further concern was the danger of

subsidence which would greatly increase if the proposal to knock down an under-

pinned wall is allowed. Queries were raised by other residents regarding the

covenants created when the site was originally developed to prevent extensions such

as this, but, it was also acknowledged that at No. 5 Church Farm a number of

alterations have already been carried out which could set a precedent.

Members of the Council agreed that whilst it was not their responsibility to enforce

any agreements originally made regarding the site, the whole situation did need

investigating before a final planning decision could correctly be made. Such an

investigation would have to be conducted by the District Council Planning Officers

who are qualified to do so. In view of this situation it was proposed by Cllr. Birch and

seconded by Cllr. Macdonald that –

the Parish Council should object to the application on the following grounds –

1. we are uncertain about the volume rules in this case

2. we are concerned about the affect on the neighbouring property

3. the proposed work is not in keeping with the original development

This objection would mean that the application will go to the full Planning Committee

when all queries regarding the original covenants can be addressed.

This proposal was agreed on a vote – 4 in favour with one abstention.

SUN/12203/2 Cornfield, 4, Beaulieu Court, Sunningwell

Erection of two storey extension

The Chairman adjourned the meeting for the plans to be considered and for the

applicants to present their case and clarify details. The planning sub-committee had

established that the proposal would keep within the permitted volume rules and that

whilst the owners of No. 3 Beaulieu Court were not opposed to the application, the

owner of No. 5 would be lodging an objection on the grounds that he will be over-

looked if the building is approved. It was proposed that –

the Parish Council would not object to this application but should ask that the

following points be taken into consideration –

1. this is a very traditional Berkshire barn and its character should be preserved

2. there are concerns from the owner of No. 5 Beaulieu Court that he will be over-

looked if this proposal goes ahead.

This was agreed unanimously

SUN/10987/1 Red Copse End, Red Copse Lane Boars Hill

Demolition of existing conservatory. Erection of a conservatory. No objections.

7.2 Negotiating Sub-Committee

Cllr. Nichol reported that a further letter had been sent to the owner of No. 57 Sunningwell requesting arrangements be made to discuss the problems of access to this site. On this occasion a copy of all the previous correspondence had been sent to Hamptons International who are handling the sale. In the meantime Cllr. Nichol has

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established that legal advice, on this site and all other unresolved issues, can be obtained via the O.A.L.C. legal department.

Action: Cllr. Nichol to compile a detailed list of all the Council’s outstanding issues of land ownership and forward this to OALC for legal guidance on possible future action.

7.3 SEERA/SPADE

Copies of the responses submitted to SEERA by both SPADE and the Parish Council

had been circulated to members – copies on file.

An update from SPADE was tabled and minuted as follows –

‘SPADE would like to thank everyone who took part in the recent consultation on the

South East Regional Plan by completing either a SEERA ‘Your Shout’ questionnaire

delivered by us, or one of SPADE’s own ‘Our Shout’ comments forms. Last week,

we delivered 700 forms to the South East England Regional Assembly. They were

accompanied by a letter making clear our deep concerns about the flawed nature of

this consultation process, particularly SEERA’s failure to ensure delivery of ‘Your

Shout’ to a large proportion of the households in the central Oxfordshire area – and in

particular in our locality. You may have been as stunned as we were by SEERA’s

admission in the article on the front page of last week’s Oxford Times, that its distri-

bution has failed in large swathes of Oxfordshire and its attempts to absolve itself of

responsibility for the process by placing blame at the foot of the post office, only for

it to be revealed that the PO was only asked to deliver to parts of the county. Despite

this failure, Keith Mitchell on behalf of SEERA admitted it would not extend the

consultation period (which ended on Friday 15^th April) because “ministers would go

spare. They are keen to keep to the strict time table.” Our expectation is that although

700 may be a relatively small number of comments in the whole of the South East

(although SEERA also admits its £200,000 consultation has reaped less than a 1%

return) SEERA’s failure will ensure that our efforts will have created a blip on the

statistics which must be taken account of.

We think that SEERA’s failure constitutes a disenfranchisement of people in the

central Oxfordshire area. We have written to the Oxford Times this week

expressing these views. Meanwhile we encourage parishioners to write expressing

views to SEERA, Berkeley House, Cross Lanes. Guildford GU1 1UN. Alternatively

people might also like to write to our MP Evan Harris to express their views. Do not

forget that May 5^th is also the election date for the County Councillors who still have

a role in planning matters.

Whilst all of the above has been our main focus for the last few weeks we have also

been preparing for the Vale of White Horse District Council Local Plan Inquiry

which takes place in May. SPADE has been successful in gaining a place not only in

the formal sessions but also the round table session dealing with general development

issues.

If you would like more information, or would like to get involved in helping us,

please contact Annie Thomas, Secretary at annie@sunningwell.org or by phone on

Oxford 326773.’

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Cllr. Macdonald pointed out to members that SPADE will be represented at the Vale

D.C. Local Plan Inquiry and had offered to raise any issues of concern that the Parish

Council might have.

Cllr. Ward reminded members of the excellent media coverage achieved by SPADE in

the local press during the last week and of the importance of continuing to demand

that an adequate enquiry is carried out regarding SEERA’s public consultation

exercise.

It was generally agreed that the Parish is fortunate to have the members of SPADE

willing to put in so much effort on behalf of the whole community.

Action: Clerk to write formally to SPADE to convey the gratitude of the Parish Council for the work that they are doing for the Parish and wider community.

8. CORRESPONDENCE

The following correspondence has been received since the last meeting

8.1 OCC Consultation on Draft Local Transport Plan (Cllr. Birch)

8.2 “ Newsletter – April 2005

8.3 “ News Magazine – Spring 2005

8.4 Vale DC Minutes of Pre-Inquiry Meeting-Local Plan (Clerk/SPADE)

8.5 “ Housing Needs Survey (Cllr. Macdonald)

8.6 “ Standards Committee Agenda – for information

8.7 “ Review of Parish Arrangements

8.8 “ Notice of Retirement – Director of Environmental Services

8.9 “ Meetings of Council and Committees

8.10 OALC Training Event – getting to grips with finance (Clerk)

8.11 Society of Local Council Clerks – inaugural meeting

8.12 Sunningwell Festival – acknowledgement of grant

8.13 Drayton PC - Boundary Commission Decision

8.14 ORCC - Village of the Year Competition

8.15 Root & Branch – Wildlife Day – posters for display (Clerk)

8.16 Defra – Quality Parishes and Parish Planning

8.17 Patient & Public Involvement Forum – consulting with the public (Clerk)

8.18 Wicksteed – advertising

8.19 Kompan - “

8.20 Trfalgar Weekend – guide to taking part

8.21 Vale Housing Association – homes in Sunningwell (Cllr. Macdonald)

8.22 Vale DC - powers to remove unauthorized signs

8.23 OCC - CAG – Waste Management (Clerk)

8.24 Glasdon - advertising

9. FINANCE

It was proposed by Cllr. Belcher and seconded by Cllr. Lynam-Smith that the

following accounts be accepted for payment. This was agreed unanimously.

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Paid between meetings -

To be paid –

10. REPAIRS TO STILES

Members have still to collect details of stiles that are in need of repair and the Chairman expressed a wish that this task should be completed as quickly as possible.

Action: Members to send details that they wish included in a report to OCC to the Clerk by Friday 29^th April.

11. DATA ON HELICOPTER NOISE

One fairly substantial report and one brief mention had been received from residents for the 3 month period of monitoring suggested by the Council. It was agreed that the Clerk should send these details to the Commanding Officer at RAF Benson. Concern was expressed by a resident present at the meeting that a single complaint should not be presented as coming from the whole Sunningwell Parish. The Chairman said that the Council was merely passing this one view on and the single source would be made clear to the Commanding Officer. He also pointed out that at the start of the monitoring exercise, the Council had no idea of how widespread concern over this issue might be and the results of the data collecting had clarified the situation.

Action: (i) Clerk to extract the necessary detail and forward this to RAF Benson (ii) a copy of this correspondence to be sent to concerned resident (iii) details of the RAF Benson Complaints Telephone No. to be sent to Cllr. Woodward for inclusion in the next Sunningwell Scene.

12. SUB-COMMITTEE UPDATES

12.1 Flooding Sub-Committee

Cllr. Lynam-Smith will provide Cllr. Nichol with an electronic version of the report she has drafted for Mr. Alastair Lee, Vale D.C. She would like further letters to be sent to Riparian owners and will liaise with the Clerk about this.

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12.2 Parish Plan Steering Group

Cllr. Macdonald had circulated the minutes of the last Steering Group Committee meeting and said that progress is continuing to be made. The various working groups have raised a number of interesting questions and the next task is to decide on the eventual size of the questionnaire and work on the practicalities of the distribution to and collection from households in the parish. The group is still looking for a Treasurer but an offer to serve on the Steering Group later in the year has been received.

13. ARRANGEMENTS FOR ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

It was decided to follow the pattern of last year’s meeting as this had proved very successful and Cllrs.Lynam-Smith and Macdonald agreed to purchase refreshments on behalf of the Parish Council. Cllr. Ward said that she would have to offer her apologies and those of Cllr. C. Wise because they will be involved in work on the election which is due to take place on the following day.

14. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

14.1 Cllr. Lynam-Smith showed members the gift she had purchased for Mr. G. Rouse and said she would be pleased to deliver it on behalf of the Parish Council members.

14.2 Cllr. Ward outlined the reasons for the decision by the Liberal Democrats to opt for the larger number of houses (32,000) in their response to the SEERA options whilst continuing their policy of protecting the Green Belt.

14.3 Members agreed that the Clerk should arrange for the Glebe papers to be stored at the OCC Archive.

14.4 The Clerk informed members that the Tree Surgeon will undertake work on the willow tree at the pond at 9am on the 4^th May.

14.5 Cllr. Nichol said he was concerned about the neglected state of the red telephone box and the Clerk confirmed that a BT Field Officer had been asked to visit to assess the need for repairs.

14.6 Cllr. Nichol said he had received a complaint about the litter bin recently installed at the pond but members were in general agreement that this was a useful facility in keeping litter contained around the pond area.

There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at 10.20pm

Dates of next meetings - Annual Parish Meeting Wednesday 4^th May 2005

Annual General Meeting Wednesday 18^th May 2005

Signed…………………………………….Date……………………………….

Chairman