August 2019 Minutes

Cllr H Thomas, Cllr B King, Cllr C Metcalf, Clerk Mrs T Cameron, Cllr C Mathew plus 2 members of the public

Cllr D Butlin, Cllr J Perrin, Cllr C Rylett & Cllr D Levy

No Declaration

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 6^th June 2019 were approved after some changes

a) Thames Valley Police Report – notifications of incidents in Cassington

Burglaries

There has been a spate of shed burglaries in West Oxfordshire.  Police are asking if people have anything valuable to please mark it and also if it has to be kept in the shed make sure that it is locked away and you have the right amount of security.

b) Report from the Clerk on actions from the last meeting –

1) Email from village resident with regards to the Charcoal Factory – I have emailed the resident to advise them that if they should smell the same smell again then they should contact Cllr Thomas asap so that he an another member of the Parish Council can visit the location to see if it is the charcoal factory or maybe something else that is causing the smell.

2) Contact Details for the Environment Officer – I have spoken to Customer Services at WODC to see if I could get a name and contact details of the local Environment Officer.  I was advised that they cannot give out contact details. The customer needs to contact customer services.  They have also advised that if there is any type of noise or smell nuisance that there is a log that can be downloaded from the WODC website that they would like you to complete for 3 weeks then forwarded onto them.

3) Get Playground Inspector in to check the new equipment – I emailed Donna at WODC and the inspector went up Tuesday or Wednesday this week. The Inspector has advised that they need to put up safety notices.

4) Bus Shelters – I emailed the gentleman back re the A40 Bus Shelters to advise that to our knowledge we have never received any money from the advertisements on the bus shelters. Cllr Thomas to email the Chairman of Eynsham Parish Council to see what they plan to do.

5) New Tree Survey – I have emailed Greenfields to arrange a new tree survey to be done on the trees on the Green.  This is set for 6^th September @ 9.30 meeting at the Village Hall.

i) Previous Planning Application –

APPLICATION NO: 19/01392/LBC

PROPOSAL: Refurbishment of curtilage listed building

Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act

LOCATION: Reynolds Farm Pound Lane Cassington

APPLICANT: Mr Matthew Walls

STATUS: Under Consideration

APPLICATION NO: 19/01391/FUL

PROPOSAL: Conversion of a former barn to two residential units. (Retrospective).

LOCATION: Reynolds Farm Pound Lane Cassington

APPLICANT: Mr Matthew Walls

STATUS: Under Consideration

APPLICATION NO: 19/01391/FUL

PROPOSAL: Use of building and land for charcoal production (B2 use)

LOCATION: Land and Building at Cassington Oxfordshire

APPLICANT: Mr Adam Hulewicz

REGISTERED: STATUS: Under Consideration

c) Playing Field – Sports Pavilion Improvements – This is now complete.  There is some insulation that needs to go in the loft and some painting round the front.  Phase 2 is that we would like to look at installing Solar Panels on the roof so that we make the Pavilion partially self-sufficient.  We also have a form that means that we can have an energy audit on the Pavilion.  This will also go together with the Climate Change group that has now been set up in the village.  They are looking at having a meeting in September.

d) Request for Headstones by Banbury Memorial – None

e) Manor Farm – There 6 residents in there at the moment.  There are 4 more to move in they will be in by the end of August. The road work will be carried in till September. The whole area will be blocked paved.

f) Horsemere Lane Closure – The consultation period has now finished.  There will be a meeting on 12^th September at County Hall @ 10am.  If you wish to speak you will need to give 2 days before.  Please send your emails to Cllr C Mathew.

g) Lease for the Playing Field – We are waiting for the list of addresses of the trustees of the Sports and Social.  The lease is up on 1^st September.  The Sports and Social also need to agree to pay for the new lease.

The Parish Council has been asked by OCC if we need any salt bags for the winter.  This will be delivered by late October. It was decided to order one bag.

We received an email from a resident who had seen the article in CAWN with regards to the housing needs survey.  They advised that they have been registered with WODC since 2016 but are classed as low priority.

a) Neighbourhood Watch –

Cllr Mathew – Would like to raise the possibility of Cassington sharing the new speed watch gun which is going to cost roughly £2k with Eynsham, Stanton Hardcourt and Aston. With one to take responsibility of booking.  All information would then be fed back to Thames Valley Police who will send out letters.  Cllr Mathew has been advised that on the third time of being in two months an officer would be sent to the property to talk to the owner. Cllr Butlin raised the point that Cassington has asked for volunteers for Speed Watch but no one has come forward.

The 2031 Gravel Strategy the sites are about to be published.  These are potential sites still the waste sites have been published and are now on OCC website.  These are not the final sites but are just the shortlist.  The total amount of gravel is West Oxfordshire is 15million tonnes between now and 2031.

Cllr Mathew had a meeting with regards to 106.  He spoke about the 106 at Manor Farm and the new people in charge of the section 106 had no record of any section 106 on Manor Farm. Cllr Thomas confirmed that there was a Section 106 on Manor Farm however this was an agreement between WODC and Blenheim to which Cassington Parish Council put in an application for some of the money.  We received £20k which has been spent on the Pavilion.  There was a thought that there was something on the Section 106 for Horsemere Lane.  Cllr Mathew confirmed that there was money on a list that he saw for Horsemere Lane for the amount of £3542.

Cllr Rylett and Cllr Levy – Our key concerns have been relating to the County Councils Park and Ride/Bus Lane planning application and the development of the Cotswold Garden Village.

a) The Park and Ride is about to be given planning permission by OCC.  We this it is unlikely that OCC, as the planning authority will fail to give its own scheme the go-ahead.  The state of affairs if preposterous.  Carl, Ed James and I have submitted jointly an objection to the scheme, focussing in the process, the extreme unlikelihood of the development achieving its objectives of reducing traffic in the A40, as well as objecting to specific features of the scheme including the effect on biodiversity and on flooding.

We pointed out that it is ridiculous for the plans to have been put together under the assumption that the Garden Village will not be built.  For instance, there is no consideration of how people, including school children will be able to cross between Eynsham and the Garden Village.  Access to the Garden Village from the A40 has not been included at all.

We also urged WODC to object to the scheme.  As expected WODC has drafted a response which welcomes the A40 developments.  Given that one of the justifications for the Garden Village and West Eynsham developments is that the improved infrastructure will cope, we are not anticipating anything different.  However somewhat to our surprise, the WODC response is firmly critical of many aspects of the new scheme.

b) The Garden Village scheme carries on.  The Area Action Plan is going to public consultation, probably starting on 8^th August and with an 8-week consultation period.  The three district councillors all spoke at the Cabinet Meeting at which this was determined.  We called for enforcement of the nice planning aspirations for affordable housing to be built from the start, questioned what would happen if the A40 scheme doesn’t happen or only phase one happens etc.

Parish Councillors – Cllr Butlin made a comment with regards to the plaque that was on the Green with the Oak Tree whip for the WW1 end centenary.  He advised that the plaque has been broken and that when the new whip is planted maybe we should get a proper brass plaque for it. Cllr Mathew has offered to supply an oak tree from his own store to replace the one from OCC.  Tracey to email Charles.

Cllr Thomas met with the new PCSO Helen Keen to discuss various issues that are going on within the Parish.

b) Speedwatch – Cllr Thomas has put another advert in CAWN to ask for volunteers.  Neighbourhood Watch have a few volunteers that would like to start up Speedwatch.

No questions from the public

Thames Water and the response we have had on the letters that have been sent to the Consumer Council for Water.  At the moment Thames Water feel that the valves that they installed will protect the village should there be another leak. That it gives them enough time to turn It off so that the village won’t flood.  The Parish Council have said that we don’t think that enough has been done. The Consumer Council feel that they have done all they can and that if we are still unhappy then the next course of action is to go to Ofwat. The Parish Council feel that what has been put in place by Thames Water isn’t sufficient and that the Village will be flooded again.  A resident has said that they are disappointed that Blenheim hasn’t pushed as much as the Parish Council even though it would flood the new houses in Williams Court.

Please can people remember to things on fix my street on the WODC website.

a)    Payments:

b) Income:

APPLICATION NO: 19/01820/FUL

PROPOSAL: Conversion of barn to create 2 self-contained units (Retrospective)

LOCATION: Dove House Pound Lane Cassington

APPLICANT: Mr Matthew Walls

REGISTERED: 25th July 2019

Mr Walls attended the Parish Council meeting to discuss the planning applications for Reynolds Farm.  He was able to put his views and reasons forward for the works that have been done. The Parish Council also advised of their views.

i) Closure of the Barclays Account – As everything is done via Unity Trust Bank the Tracey thought it would be better to close the Barclays account and either move the money into the Nationwide Savings Account or pay it into the Unity Account. The decision was to close the Barclays Account and move the money into the Nationwide account.

ii) Wedding Reception 17^th August 2019 – There have been emails going between the Parish Council and the Village Hall with regards to the use of the car park. When the village hall is hired, they also have use of the car park, however the carpark is a public car park. Which means that we cannot stop people parking there even if the hall has been hired for an event.  The reception has hired a hog roast van which will be parked on the car park which the Parish Council agreed too.  They have then asked if they can bring a horsebox bar on too the carpark.  The Parish Council have discussed and decided that there is no reason to have 2 bars as there will also be a bar in the Village Hall. Kathryn is a bit concerned that there won’t be enough room for parking although they have asked the school if they can use their carpark which the school has agreed too. The suggestion was made that people could use the Pavilion carpark.

iii)CAWN Adobe Licence £238.42 – This has been approved

iv) Letter of Change of Address for Nationwide – Cllr Thomas and Cllr King just need to sign the letter.

v) No Parking on the Grass Sign – It was decided that there shouldn’t be any signs but, on the grass, but that people in the village should be made aware that there is too be no parking on the grass.

Mid Monthly Planning Meeting 20^th August @ 8pm in The Chequers

Date of the next Parish Council Meeting Thursday 5^th September 7.30pm in the Village Hall