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February 2005

Sunningwell Parish Council

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE SUNNINGWELL PARISH MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY, 4TH MAY 2005 IN SUNNINGWELL VILLAGE HALL

PRESENT: Cllrs. Nichol (in the chair)
Lynam-Smith
Macdonald
Pat Romans (Clerk) and 10 members of the public
Cllr. Nichol opened the meeting and welcomed those present. He acknowledged that some people had not been able to attend because of the General and County Council elections taking place tomorrow. Further difficulties had arisen for the Sunningwell Festival Committee members who had a meeting this evening and for Cricket Club members who were currently involved in playing a match. Cllr. Nichol said that the success of last year’s Annual Parish Meeting had led to the decision to continue holding this meeting separately from the Parish Council AGM.

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:
Apologies were received from Cllrs. Birch and Belcher, District Cllrs T. Ward and . C. Wise, and Mr. Bob Warne (SPADE & VHMC).

2. MINUTES:
It was proposed by Mrs M. Hall and seconded by Cllr. Lynam-Smith that the Minutes be accepted as a true record of the meeting. This was agreed unanimously and the Chairman signed accordingly.

3. PRESENTATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
The Chairman introduced Mr. Iain Corbyn – a resident of the Parish – previously employed as a Conservation Manager for BBOWT and now an Ecological Consultant. Cllr. Nichol said that the Parish had benefited significantly from Mr. Corbyn’s attendance at various meetings, including the recently formed Parish Plan Steering Committee, and from the Walking Groups that he has organised for residents to observe and learn about different aspects of their environment. Cllr. Nichol reminded those present of the fact that ‘the environment’ is an issue of the greatest importance – locally, nationally and internationally.
Iain Corbyn began his presentation by saying that whilst current residents had lived in the Parish for a varying number of years, they shared their environment with thousands of animals and plants – some species of which have lived in this area for thousands of years. Some species have been in residence permanently whilst others come for the summer and then leave. Because we actually know very little in detail about the various plants and creatures which help to form our environment, we need a survey and to this end he is co-ordinating a Sunningwell & Bayworth Wildlife Survey to collect the necessary data.
Iain then showed a number of really interesting slides indicating some information that is already known –


1. Landscape Types - woodland - some very ancient
scrub – important for wildlife
farmland – set aside an important habitat
ditches, brooks and ponds
2. OWLS - Oxfordshire Wildlife & Landscape Study – showed different landscape
types in the Vale of White Horse District Council area
3. Sunningwell Parish includes - Rolling Farmland
Wooded Estatelands
Wooded Farmland
4. Biodiversity Value – this slide related the previous information to the value of the land
for wildlife. Six Biobands were identified from ‘Very High’ to ‘Low’. Most of the
land in the Parish being classified as ‘Very High’, ‘High’ and ‘Medium/High’.
Iain then went on to consider why a Sunningwell Survey is necessary at this time –
  1. We need to be able to describe and quantify what we have. We know it is good but we need to be able to say why it is good.
  2. We want people to enjoy what they have.
The local group have so far achieved the following towards these aims –
  • a small but effective group of volunteers has been formed
  • survey sheets have been produced – some of these already completed and returned
  • contributions are being made to the Parish Plan
  • four wildlife walks have so far taken place and two further walks have been organised for the 25th June and the 30th July
Specific aims from the local survey are –
  1. To produce a description of the Parish and its wildlife as recorded in 2005
  2. To produce distribution maps of key species – which parts of the Parish are important to which species
Iain then explained how residents should complete the survey sheets using the codes provided and pointed out how straightforward the task is so that anybody sufficiently interested can make a contribution to the overall results. He then dealt with a number of questions and encouraged people to get involved in whatever way they felt able. He finished by acknowledging the supportive network provided by –
Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trusts
The Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre
ONCF
The Chairman thanked him for what had been a very interesting presentation and
including information of so much relevance to the Parish and its well being.

4. REPORTS FROM PARISH ORGANISATIONS:
The Chairman began this item by giving an outline of Parish Council activities during the past year under the following headings –

  • Finance Sub-Committee – monitoring of expenditure – Precept calculations
  • Planning Applications – the Parish Council’s consultative role
  • Housing – the Penbridge proposals – acknowledgement and endorsement of SPADE
  • EIP representation
  • SEERA Questionnaire
  • Fostering of Links with other Parishes
  • Transport – Halcrow & AbITS consultation
  • Launch of the Parish Plan (Cllr. Macdonald’s work acknowledged)
  • Launch of Parish Council Website
  • Flood Prevention Measures (Cllr. Lynam-Smith’s work acknowledged
  • Miscellaneous Items – some ongoing and others in various stages of completion. These included – pond maintenance, willow tree surgery, refurbishment of the Children’s Play Area, Firework Guidelines, upkeep of Bayworth Triangle, repairs to footpath stiles, collection of data on helicopter noise, refurbishment of the telephone box, support for Sunningwell Festival.
In answer to questions raised the Chairman said that –
  1. the registering of Parish Council ownership of the path behind the pond is currently being investigated
  2. a website link to SPADE from the Parish Council’s site has already been organised
Reports from the following organisations were received and are filed in the Minute Book
  1. SPADE (presented on behalf of Mr. Bob Warne, Chairman)
  2. Sunningwell School of Art
  3. Sunningwell Cricket Club (Mr. George Honey – Secretary)
  4. Day Trippers Club (Mrs Rosemary Honey)
  5. The W.I. (Mrs C. McMichael – Secretary)
  6. Toddlers Club
  7. Transport Representative (Mrs M. Hall)
The following verbal reports were received –

8. Sunningwell Gardening Club – another successful year was reported – although numbers are slightly down – 26 people attended the last meeting and the total membership is 34. Eight meetings were held during the year in the Village Hall
and acknowledgement was given to the refurbishment work recently undertaken which makes the Hall a pleasant venue in which to meet. Thanks were given to the Parish Council for their financial support and the main fund raising event continues to be the Plant Sale which takes place every year in May. The Gardening Club is a chance to hear speakers and to exchange information but in addition, is very much a social gathering for members.

9. Village Hall Management Committee – presented on behalf of Mr. Bob Warne, Chairman. The Committee was reformed a year ago at the time when it was clear that the anticipated lottery funding for a new Village Hall would not be forthcoming. The new Committee launched a two-pronged programme –
a)refurbishment of the Hall – Committee members and other volunteers have almost finished redecorating the Hall and hanging new curtains. b)dealing with structural defects – the electrical wiring has been certified as safe for a further year. The roof needs attention, some windows have to be replaced and a new porch built. The Committee are currently seeking estimates for this work - £20K is already held towards these costs and applications for various grants will be submitted shortly. A plea was made for more volunteers to help with the refurbishment work that is still outstanding.

10. The Luncheon Club - between 22 and 24 elderly people are served lunch every Friday which is provided on a rota basis by 5 or 6 residents. Two courses plus tea or coffee are provided for £1.50p per person and this cost has remained steady for at least the last 5 years. The Club has proved so successful that new applications are only being accepted from residents of the actual Parish. It has been noted that people are arriving earlier and leaving later and much more socialising is taking place. The recent Easter lunch was particularly successful.

11. Poors Land Charity – this is a charity specific to the Parish of Sunningwell. Various issues have arisen regarding the property which generates income for the charity and a recently appointed new Trustee has helped greatly by bringing his considerable knowledge to the discussions. Ten school leavers have recently been presented with their bibles.
The following organisations were invited to produce reports but did not submit anything this year and no-one present was able to give a verbal report –

12. Sunningwell Church of England Primary School

13. Sticky Fingers Pre-School
  1. Bayworth Triangle Association
The Chairman thanked everybody involved with the various Parish organisations for their energy and commitment – without which these activities would not take place and said that achievements in some area had been quite remarkable.

Cllr. Nichol then closed the official meeting and invited those present to continue informal discussions with refreshments provided by the Parish Council.

Signed……………………………………….Date……………………………..
(Chairman)
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