LEAFIELD PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
Wednesday 25th June at 8.00pm, Village Hall
Attendees:
Juli King (JK – Chair), Kate Tustin (KT), Luke Caunt (LC),
6 Members of the Public
Guests:
PCSO Representative Lizzie Swinney
Minutes
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Kieran Mullins
2. ELECTION OF CHAIR
Juli King stated she was willing to continue as Chair of the council if re-elected; Luke Caunt nominated
and Kate Tustin seconded. A vote was taken and all were in favour. Luke Caunt was nominated to
continue as Vice-chair, which was seconded, a vote was taken and all were in favour.
Juli King signed the ‘Declaration of Acceptance of Office’ form, which was then signed by the Parish
Clerk.
3. GUEST: Local PCSO Representative Lizzie Swinney
PCSO Lizzie Swinney asked those present at the meeting whether there were any issues or concerns
for her to take back to the neighbourhood team. Juli King requested more night-time patrols – there
had been £3000 of vandalism in the play park area in the previous year. Lizzie explained that more
focus was being put on Anti-social behaviour in the Witney area, particularly on
Thursday/Friday/Saturday nights.
Vulnerable resident list: Thames Valley Police are gathering details to register vulnerable residents –
the local neighbourhood team can then keep a closer eye on them, and if there is a particular incident
or spate of burglaries in the area, they can make sure those on the register are ok. TVP will be in
attendance at the Leafield Fete to give out more information, and will also send on some leaflets
regarding the vulnerable residents list.
A discussion was held over the Neighbourhood Watch scheme, but there isn’t one in place in Leafield
at present. TVP are looking for someone to be a co-ordinator or point of contact for the scheme, and
will send on more information regarding this. For the current time, it was suggested that the Parish
Clerk be the point of contact and would review the information sent through. Thames Valley Police
operate an alerts system that residents can sign up to and they will be sent alerts about crimes or
incidents in the area. The details can be found online:
https://www.thamesvalleyalert.co.uk/
TVP are running operations on Anti-social behaviour in the Witney area, and the surrounding villages.
If residents have any concerns or they are aware of an issue, they should contact TVP with the details
on 101.
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TVP are also issuing Section 59s, relating to drivers/vehicles causing “distress” to residents. This is a
warning issued to the vehicle and the person driving it, and if the vehicle or driver is seen driving in a
similar incident, the vehicle can be seized.
A member of the public raised an issue relating to drug use in the playing fields; this was now
happening in the afternoon, not just in the evening, and those involved were meeting in the far corner
of the playing fields, not just in the play area. PCSO Lizzie suggested residents could discreetly ring 101
with the details, but not put themselves in an unsafe situation by doing so. If someone is seen dealing
drugs, or causing a nuisance, residents can call in with information. TVP need 3 pieces of intelligence
taken from different sources and can then investigate/take action, which may include patrolling more.
The action taken would depend on the age of the person/how much or how often they were dealing,
but this isn’t classed as Anti-Social behaviour.
PCSO Lizzie Swinney was thanked for her time in attending the Parish Council meeting this evening.
4. TO APPROVE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 19th MAY 2014
The minutes of the meeting (copies of which had previously been circulated by email) were formally
approved and signed. The Parish Council minutes had also been posted on the Leafield Village website
earlier in the month, as a draft version prior to approval today.
A member of the public hadn’t seen a copy of the Agenda on the website. This had been posted as a
‘News’ item, but would also be included on the Parish Council page in the future.
5. DECLARATION OF INTEREST ON ITEM ON THE AGENDA
The Parish Council declared an interest in the village playing field/car park as joint trustees.
Luke Caunt had 2 declarations of interest, one as a member of staff at Thames Valley Police, and one
as he has a property that backs onto the car park.
6. REVIEW OF ACTIONS FROM THE LAST MEETING
1) Parish Clerk and Kieran Mullins to make arrangements for the signs to be fixed around the Village
Hall car-park (5 in total). ACTION: This is still to be arranged.
2) Parish Clerk to contact Church to put forward revised proposal from Parish Council and to ask if the
clock timing can be looked at. This has been done and the Church committee will be reviewing the
proposal (due to meet on 25th June – today).
3) Parish Clerk to confirm all land/trees that Parish Council is responsible for and to investigate the tree
survey being undertaken. ACTION: This is still to be arranged.
4) Arrangements will be made to have the defibrillator installed and signs to be looked into. The
defibrillator has now been installed in the village – in a yellow metal cabinet by the rear door of the
Fox Inn. This has been publicised on the website, and an article will be in the Forest Edge newsletter
next month. If a second defibrillator was wanted for the village, there would need to be fundraising
to pay for this. ACTION: Signs to be arranged to display the location. Training sessions to be arranged
with South Central Ambulance Service – one session in the day time, one session in the evening.
5) Parish Clerk to establish whether front concrete drive to road is owned by PC and therefore needs to
be included in scope of project. It has been established that this driveway does need to be included in
the project.
6) Parish Clerk and Kate Tustin to look into possible available grants for this project and assess the
timescales/applications process. This is ongoing. Some leads have been looked into.
7) Parish Clerk and Kieran Mullins to analyse budget for available funds. This is ongoing.
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8) Village Hall Committee to look into setting up a local giving page, and how hall users can be
encouraged to donate or fundraise towards the costs of the car park. The committee looked into the
local giving page, but felt it looked risky and not cost effective. In terms of hall users donating or
fundraising, there are several options including Paypal donation scheme or TextGiving. ACTION:
Parish Clerk to look into Paypal/TextGiving as fundraising options.
9) Parish Clerk to send an article to the Forest Edge newsletter for the next edition (the cut-off for
submissions is 20th May). This was done.
10) Parish Clerk to investigate planning permission requirements for the car park renovations.
Confirmation from WODC that planning permission would not be required to undertake
improvements to the car-park.
11) We need to check the Parish Council constitution with regard to official tender/quotes process, to
confirm to West Oxfordshire District Council. Information noted within Parish Council documents
stated 3 quotes should be obtained for any work over £500.
12) Village Hall committee to confirm they are happy to take over responsibility for running the pavilion
upon completion of works. The village hall committee are prepared to enter into discussions with a
view to taking on the management of the pavilion if they can use the lobby area for short term storage
(3 years). This is further discussed in item 10.
13) Parish Clerk to check with our insurance broker on how our insurance will be affected during the
refurbishment work, and what is covered on an ongoing basis. This has been done and was sent to
the gym committee to take forward – this is further discussed in item 11.
14) Abandoned cars: Parish Clerk to confirm whether the land is owned by the Parish Council, and to
follow up with WODC. Also an update to go onto the website that if residents have concerns regarding
abandoned vehicles anywhere in Leafield, to contact the Parish Clerk. The land has been looked into
and it is believed to be “common land” but not sure if it is registered. Local police team may be able
to advise/take action – if cars are a nuisance on this area.
15) Parish Clerk to review minutes from September/October and investigate the issue (drainage ditch
on the left hand side of the top of the ridings – overgrowing). Minutes (from November) stated that
“residents had asked to re-gravel a shared pathway and clear a gully at their own cost, and asked for
council approval. No objections were raised at the meeting to this work being undertaken”. However,
a resident has since contacted the Parish Clerk stating that the notes were not accurate, and the
residents had offered to get a cost for clearing the gully for the Parish Council to progress with, but
this was not taken any further. There was further discussion regarding this and felt that it would be
WODC responsibility under drainage. ACTION: Parish Clerk to contact Highways department.
16) Re complaint about grass cutting at Witney Lane/Buttermilk lane. Parish Clerk to send apology to
residents concerned. To keep the area under review – it is only due to be cut once a month, however
this may need to be increased or discussed as part of next year’s grass cutting contract. Complaint
received regarding this area, in particular due to the Open Gardens event serving teas from this
junction. Our grass cutting contractor was able to cut the area on the Saturday before the event.
Specification for this section is to mow 1 x a month – for visibility reasons primarily.
A member of the public raised a question about the burial ground next to the church, as this was very
overgrown and was under Parish Council responsibility. This would be kept under review and action
taken when the ground was needed.
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7. CORRESPONDENCE FOR VIEWING
Planning Applications:
14/0832/P/FP: Leafield C of E School – Erection of a cycle rack in the school grounds.
No objections were raised regarding the cycle rack, but a preference for the colour to be either green
or stone if this was possible. Parish Clerk to send these onto the Planning Team.
14/0874/P/FP: Land adjacent to Leafield Technical Centre, Langley – Replacement of 3 antennas on
new 3.0m long support poles and ancillary development.
No objections raised to this as it was seen to be a benefit to residents.
Decisions:
Leafield Pre-school – Construction of a canopy over the garden – this has been granted.
A letter from RSA Insurance Group to David Cameron (copied to Leafield Parish Council) regarding the
Horse chestnut tree insurance claim had been received (on 10th June). This related to the ongoing
investigations into whether the tree is causing subsidence damage, and that a meeting of all the
involved parties had been arranged for 10th June, to ensure that all possible alternative means to
progress the claim would be considered. The letter also stated that the decision ultimately lies with
Leafield Parish Council and their insurers, and if the tree is not cut down, any future subsidence
damage caused by it will be payable by the rate payers or insurers, not their client.
A member of the public stated that they felt RSA had not looked into any other options, and they were
not taking these into consideration. Juli King confirmed that the Parish Council’s insurers Aviva were
reviewing all the information, and had appointed a solicitor to discuss the case with the councillors.
Email from Leafield School requesting painting lines on The Green for school sports day (received 12th
June). There were no objections raised to this by the council.
8. CHEQUES FOR SIGNING
Cheque
Payable to
Number
401440
Amiantus Environmental
Consultants LTD
401441
St Johns Ambulance
401442
Helen Fallows
Shane Barnes
Reason
Amount
Pre-refurbishment Asbestos
Survey – Pavilion
First Aid for Fete
Salary/Overtime
May: 68 hours
CCTV signs (Amazon)
Mobile Phone top up
(28/05/2014)
Mobile Phone top up
(02/06/2014)
Postage
12 x 1st class Stamps and
special delivery (Accounts)
Toner Cartridge
Poppy Seeds
Total
Grass cutting: May
Grass cutting: June
Total
Total Spend:
£24.00
£105.60
£578.00
£ 5.29
£ 10.00
£ 10.00
£ 13.84
£ 48.16
£ 25.00
£690.29
£ 822.75
£ 639.20
£1461.95
£2281.84
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Grass-cutting: The green was due to be cut on 28th June (prior to the fete) but it was discussed and
felt not to be required. As the invoice submitted for June had included the cost for this cut, this would
be discussed with the contractor and deducted from July’s invoice.
ACTION: Parish Clerk to discuss grass-cutting requirements with contractor for current month.
Incoming funds:
£250 Cheque from Lord Rotherwick – for the car-park fund
9. FUTURE PAYMENTS FOR REVIEW
Discussion deferred.
10. VILLAGE HALL CAR-PARK RENEWAL PROJECT
Luke Caunt opened up the discussion by summarising what had happened since the discussions at the
last Parish Council meeting, where designs and specifications had been considered. A proposed plan
and tender pack has been drafted and sent to the councillors for review. A test hole has also been
dug in the corner of the car-park to assess the make-up of the car park, which showed it is primarily
mud in that section.
An estimated cost for the project is uncertain at this stage – the best case depends on the ground
beneath the main access way having a high stone content (cost estimated at £45-55K), the worst case
would mean digging further down, taking away the contents and bringing in stone (cost estimated at
£65-75K). Given the uncertainty in the costs, this would mean it was unlikely the project could go
ahead this year – a subject for the council to debate. Should the council look at temporary works for
the potholes for this year?
Fundraising
A suggestion from a member of the public (previously a parish councillor) was to increase the precept
in 1 year for the full amount of the project – this was done when purchasing land next to the
churchyard and avoided paying back any interest (£16,000 in total).
Luke Caunt has started looking at different sources of funding, and we should be able to raise £10K
straight away from Parish Council funds, Village Hall committee matched funding and other sources.
If the full loan of £70K was taken out in one year, that would triple the precept currently paid by
residents. We would therefore need a combination of a loan and fundraising. The uncertainty of not
knowing what is underneath the concrete means the loan cannot be applied for yet – the cost of the
project is required for this.
Temporary Repairs
There was a discussion about whether the council should look at undertaking temporary repairs to
last 1/maybe 2 years, while further fundraising was done for the renewal project. The Village Hall
committee had checked their lease agreement – they are responsible for 50% of repairs, so could
match the Parish Council in paying for temporary repairs. However, the cost of temporary repairs
would take funds away from the renewal project. If only basic repairs were made, there would still
be no drainage and there would always be potholes. The essential areas to repair would be the
courtyard and the access way.
ACTION: Luke Caunt to ask for quotes for temporary repairs.
Rebuild project - review of design
The proposed plan was to use tarmac for the access way and the courtyard – this would be the
cheapest option, but might not be the best option. Could we get a quote for the basic design, and one
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for the best option? Once a contractor is selected, could we amend the design elements? We would
still need fixed costs for the works to get the loan.
ACTION: Luke Caunt to find out about having a test hole made in the concrete, so we could assess
what the cost of the project would be.
Funding Updates
The Village Hall is set up to receive gift aid and forms will be available at the fete. There are collection
pots in The Fox and in the Leafield shop. We have also received a cheque from Lord Rotherwick for
£250 towards the project. Other options could include a freelance fundraiser, but this would cost
money. Luke has looked into Paypal donations and TextGiving, which the Parish Clerk will research
further.
11. PAVILION / GYM PROJECT UPDATES
The Parish Clerk had researched insurance queries with our broker, as follows:
We will need written confirmation from the Contractor overseeing the work that they are responsible
for the volunteers working on the site, and directing the work on the project. They should have
public/employers liability to cover this – this is in progress with the contractor. There will need to be
a JCT building contract between the Parish Council and the Contractor, stating who is responsible for
what in terms of insurance (relating to the building). These details have been sent onto the contractor,
so it is in progress. In terms of insurance after the works, there will need to be a review of the value
of the pavilion to reflect the refurbishment, and they suggested that the Contractor may be able to
advise on this value. They would also like to check with our insurance providers about the cover for
the pavilion as a community gym. This has been looked into previously by the Gym Committee, and
they have sourced insurance from another organisation to cover the gym.
Funding updates – the Big Society has donated £2000, Cottesway £1000, the Parish Council £600,
WODC £1800 and Awards for All – the outcome is expected around September. Another source of
funding had been identified – ScrewFix, which could donate up to £5000 for projects that refurbish
disused buildings.
The electrics have been made safe so the walls can be taken down, the plumbing is still to be done.
The work can then start – demolition of the internal walls and the internal refurbishment. Once the
outcome of the Awards for All grant is known, the gym could be opened by September.
The Village Hall committee had discussed the lease arrangements at their recent meeting. They would
be prepared to enter into discussions about taking on the management of the pavilion, if they could
continue to use the pavilion for storage, in the short-term, which could be 2-3 years. The issue with
storage is hampering Village Hall operations, and affecting hires of the hall and they have been looking
into getting a storage container at a cost of £6000. There was further discussion regarding this – could
the gents toilets area be used as extra storage, if the other toilets could be made unisex? Would the
Parish Council be willing to give up the Pavilion community room to allow extra storage? We would
need to maintain access corridors from the gym to the toilets/kitchen. Could the money to be spent
on a storage container be used to go towards joining the 2 buildings together? Would the gym lose
out on a stretching area if the middle area was being used for storage? This would be accommodated
in the gym section of the pavilion, not in the community meeting area, so not affected by the storage.
The refurbishment project would install new heating and lighting into the whole area, the cost has
been included for this.
In conclusion, it was agreed that the middle space in the pavilion would still be made into a usable
room, but used for storage for now. This would be reviewed every 12 months, to assess the progress
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made on the long-term storage solution. An architect would be needed to join the 2 buildings
together, which is being looked into. The Parish Council stated that they reserved the right to say the
area would not be for storage if the project was not moving forward, so would be reviewed every 12
months. The Parish Council had looked into refurbishing the kitchen, but would leave for now and
just look at the toilets.
12. LEAFIELD VILLAGE FETE
The Fete committee asked the Parish Council about wet weather contingency for the Fete – if raining,
the Fete would be held at the Village Hall – could a marquee be erected on the Playing Fields? The
council were all in agreement with this. If the weather was fine, the Fete would be held on the Green
and there would be a Tug of war and coconut shy – could small white lines be painted on the grass for
competitors to stand against? The council had no objections to this. There was due to be ‘welly
wanging’ at the Fete, but a concern over insurance had been raised, and whether the Parish Council
would cover this activity.
ACTION: Parish Clerk to check with insurance brokers about whether insurance would cover this
activity.
Car-parking at the Fete was also discussed, as it was felt that more was needed, but there had been
problems identifying a field to use. It was concluded that the Village Hall car-park should be used,
with signs stating that there would be free parking available here during the Fete.
13. VILLAGE NOTICEBOARD
This was deferred to the next meeting.
14. FUTURE PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS
Proposal to change the time to 7.30pm. This was put to a vote – 2 votes to 1 against the proposal,
therefore the council meetings would continue to start at 8.00pm.
15. PARISH COUNCIL CIRCULATION LIST
This would be added to at the Fete.
16. SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING
Not covered.
17. AOB
None
Meeting closed at 10.25pm.
The time and date for the next parish council meeting will be 8.00pm on Wednesday 30th July in
the Village Hall.
Signed:_______________________________ (LPC Chairman) Date:______________________
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