20 Mar 2008 - PARISH COUNCIL
SHENINGTON WITH ALKERTON PARISH COUNCIL
The meeting of the Parish Council on Wednesday, March 19 2008 in the Village Hall was attended by six councillors and 25 members of the public with Keith Hainsworth in the chair. An apology for absence was received from Margaret Coles. The minutes were taken by the Parish Clerk, Wendi Court.
The chairman welcomed new councillor, Emma Philcox, the successful candidate in the recent Parish Council election.
Before the main business of the meeting Aimee Evans of the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council made a short presentation on the nature of parish plans. They are prepared by a steering group from the community and specify what the community wants in the next ten years, covering aspects such as safety, traffic and transport, the environment, and parish facilities together with a plan of action outlining how it can be achieved. Several villages in the Cherwell District have already or are currently preparing parish plans.
The Council approved the formation of the following initial steering group of volunteers – Mark Marot, Gerald Cashman, Chris Duffy, Tiggy Day, Lavinia Bentley, and Keith Heron. Emma Philcox, who has previous experience of preparing a parish plan, will act as the monitoring Council portfolio holder.
In the first open forum members attending the meeting were asked to keep a close watch for potential thieves in view of the spate of thefts of lead and copper from church buildings.
It was reported that there was a strong possibility that SITA would be relinquishing its operation of the Alkerton tip. The chairman expressed the hope that the operating conditions imposed by Oxfordshire County Council would be strengthened for the new site operator. Concern was also expressed that the minutes of the previous meeting had not been displayed on the notice boards until the last minute.
Tim Dowdeswell had circulated a draft budget to members of the Council by email and this was approved at the meeting. It included £150 provision for the expenses on preparing a parish plan.
The validity of the chairman’s invoice of £120 for the cost of removing stone from the Stone Pit was questioned. It was agreed to sell the Council’s share of the stone with a reserved price of £500 plus the cost of advertising it.
The request from the conservation department of Cherwell District Council on the Council’s views on a proposed conservation appraisal was discussed. Five members were in favour and one against giving permission to proceed with the appraisal.
The Parish Council expressed their concern over the reduction in the opening hours of Shenington Surgery.
The Council also expressed concern over the apparent move towards retail operations on the Sugarswell Business Park.
It was reported that the application for change of use from agricultural land to equestrian use had been withdrawn.
The Chairman observed that SITA are not responsible for removing litter outside the tip. This is Cherwell District Council’s responsibility which they do very well.
Keith Adams stated that Pigmarket Lane will be resurfaced shortly and reported on his investigation into village signs. He also presented a summary of a traffic survey though the village in early January where the average speed was only 22 mph. In view of these results it was agreed that no further speed limit is needed. Further, it is hoped that the land on the left up Alkerton Hill will be tidied up in the near future.
The next meeting with the Highways Department of Oxfordshire County Council will be on April 15 at 5 pm.
It was reported that the buses serving the schools in Warwick and Stratford are not going to change.
It was also reported that the Kart Club meeting scheduled for November 29 and 30 had been rearranged for December 6 and 7.
The Chairman commented that all the paperwork associated with the appointment of the Parish Clerk was now in order.
The meeting closed at 10.15 pm. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 14 2008 following the Open Annual Meeting.