Minutes of the Meeting of the Community Committee
Held at Exeter Hall, Oxford Road, Kidlington on 2nd February 2012.
Present:
Cllr Chris Pack (Chair)
Cllr T Emptage
Cllr L Gray-Wright
Cllr S Rhodes
Cllr D Robey
Cllr R Truman
Apologies:
Cllr D Betts
Declaration of interest:
None.
43.
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 24th November 2011 were agreed and signed as a true
record.
44.
Matters Arising from the Minutes of the Meeting held on 24 th November
2011:
i)
Exeter Close Pavilion – Water Issues (Minute 30(ii)
The alternative quotation had still not been received and Cllr Betts who had
been looking into the matter was currently on holiday. It was hoped that a
more positive update could be brought to the next meeting.
ii)
Diamond Jubilee (Minute 30 (iii))
Some applications for the Parish Council’s Diamond Jubilee Grant Fund had
been received. All applications would be considered at the Full Council
meeting on 29th March.
iii)
Flood Issues (Minute 37)
A response to Mr Smith letter to the Environment Agency had been received,
explaining that the Banbury Flood Alleviation Scheme was designed to
decrease the flood risk for Kidlington. The scheme would protect Kidlington
from a 1 in 100 year flood – a scheme for a 1 in a 200 year flood would have
been too great economically.
There was also an undertaking to assess whether the fallen trees in the river
could be removed.
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iv)
New Allotments (Planning) (Minute 31)
The Chair reported that subsequent to the previous meeting of the
Council he had discussed the issue of applying for planning permission
for allotments at the new cemetery with Cllr Betts. The Clerk stated
that there had been reluctance to proceed with a planning
application, but reminded the Committee that it would be several
months from submitting the application before a decision was made
by the planning authority.
The Committee discussed the issue further and the Chair
recommended that the Parish Council should apply for planning
permission. This was agreed by the Committee.
45.
Condition Survey
Members had attended a walkabout of Exeter Hall prior to the meeting. It had been a
useful exercise and the general feeling was that that hall appeared “tired”. Lots of small
items added up to create a compound effect.
The Community Projects Officer reported that progress was being made on actioning the
relevant elements of the condition survey.
The most significant was that the air handling unit had been examined by a contractor who
had initially estimated a cost of £1, 100.00 to get the unit running properly again. There
may be additional costs as the extractor unit required a new motor, but this it was
anticipated that this would be some way below the £15k plus estimated in the condition
survey – the Committee accepted this course of action.
A specification for the redecoration of Exeter Hall had been received and would be sent out
to contractors for quotations.
Smaller items were being actioned and a periodic electrical inspection of the building had
been arranged.
Cllr Pack felt that the priority areas for refurbishment were the bar and the toilets. Cllr
Emptage felt that these areas were important but he had concerns about the potential cost.
A quote had been sought for the toilets 18 months ago and had come in just below
£30, 000.00. There was currently a total of £40, 365.00 in earmarked reserves.
The Committee agreed that the essential items of the condition survey should be carried out
and the remaining funds would be assessed at the next meeting.
46.
New Cemetery
Security issues relating to the new shed at the cemetery had been resolved by the Open
Spaces Manager and it was now far more secure.
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The Clerk explained that a height barrier/lych gate would be needed to prevent travellers
entering the site, and the Committee agreed that the traditional height barrier would not be
an attractive option. It was hoped that something could be designed similar to the arches at
the entrance to Exeter Close.
Currently the project was slightly over budget but £18, 000.00 (80% of the bond) was due
back from the County Council after the Stage 3 safety audit was satisfactorily completed.
The remaining £2, 000.00 would be paid back 3 years after the end of the project.
However, the Parish Council had to pay £7, 000 back to the contractor – the return of their
bond.
It was expected that Gosford and Water Eaton Parish Council would make a contribution
towards the construction costs over two years.
There was a proposal that a sit on lawnmower would be the ideal way to cut the large
amount of grass at the cemetery. Although one of the machines at Stratfield Brake would
be suitable, it could not be driven on the road and there was no way of transporting it. A
new mower would cost in the region of £1, 500.00.
The Committee was minded to see how much money was left in the budget at the next
meeting before making any large decisions.
Cllr Pack was revising the leaflet on guidelines for what was permitted in the cemetery, in
terms of memorials etc. He reminded the Committee that the new cemetery was to be a
lawn burial ground and only headstones (no kerbing) would be permitted.
47.
Fencing in Burial Ground
Research had been carried out by the Open Spaces Manager and new quotes were being worked up
for 1.8m and 2.2m fencing, which should help to prevent the deer from accessing the burial ground.
It is thought that the 1.8m fencing should be sufficient.
It had been thought that fixing angle irons onto the existing posts and attaching the new fencing on
top would be an ideal solution and would cost an estimated £1, 000.00 extra or £3, 000.00 in total.
However, a recent visit to the burial ground had resulted in the discovery that the concrete posts
had metal running down the middle of them and therefore they could not be drilled to attach angle
irons onto them. This meant that new concrete posts would be needed to attach higher fencing to
which would be expensive.
The Committee suggested that hedging could be used instead and the Open Spaces Manager would
be asked to look into this option.
48.
Web Site Upgrade
Cllr Pack had spoken to the Parish Council’s web designer and had agreed for a “pop up”
promotional section to be added on to promote the facilities for hire. The wording used would be
“Google” friendly so it would be picked up more often on the search engine.
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Cllr Pack was also working with the Community/ Projects Officer on a draft of a new promotional
leaflet.
49.
Facilities Promotion Update
The Community/Projects Officer reported that a new laptop with speakers has been purchased in
place of hiring the t.v and video, and two new whiteboards had also been purchased and were
available for hire. All regular bookings have been sent copies of the updated price list and this has
now been updated on the Parish website.
The Community Projects Officer had done a performance report of the booked hours of the facilities
and bookings seemed to be increasing. In 2011 the main hall was booked for a total of 2, 769 hours.
In 2012, (bearing in mind that the report was done in January and the hall would accumulate more
bookings over the year) the main hall was already booked for 1, 718 hours. The small hall and
committee room showed similar trends which supported staff beliefs that bookings were gradually
increasing.
50.
Display Cabinets
The display cabinets were donated to the Parish Council by Cherwell District Council some years ago
and were historically for the display of arts and crafts made by the people of Kidlington. No charge
has ever been levied.
It has been noted that in recent months the cabinets have been increasingly used by people selling
items – from glass and jewellery to photographs and paintings – some of these are not of a
Kidlington provenance.
The Committee discussed the issue and agreed that it did not support the selling of items or the
promotion of businesses in the cabinets. It was thought that it would be better to ask local groups
e.g. guides, historical society and schools if they would like to use the cabinets for displays.
Kidlington Groups would be written to and made aware of this possibility.
51.
Olympics
RESOLVED “in view of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted it
is advisable in the public interest that the press and public be temporarily excluded and
they are instructed to withdraw”
The Committee discussed the outcome of recent meeting with other agencies concerning the
passage of the Olympic torch through Kidlington. The Committee would be updated as necessary.
RESOLVED that the press and public be advised that they may return to the meeting.
52.
Risk Assessment Action Plan
The Committee had previously been circulated with two items from the Risk Assessment Action Plan
with the following suggested actions:-
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1) Consider adding clause to tenancy agreement stating that the Parish Council will not
accept any responsibility for injury as a result of tools etc being left out.
The Committee asked that the clause be added to future tenancy agreements.
2) Consider removing this item from the action plan. Consider if a policy is needed re: fly
posting on roundabout by Sainsbury’s.
There was a discussion about fly posting as the actual responsibility was split between
Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council. It was agreed that there was
minimal fly posting in Kidlington and any signs etc tied to lamp posts were removed by
Parish Council staff. It was agreed that this should be monitored as the action plan
suggested. It was not felt that a new policy should be created to deal with items on the
roundabout.
Agreed: to approve the Community Committee’s elements of the action plan.
53.
Finance Report
The Finance Report was noted.
54.
Project List
The updated project list was noted.
55.
Open Spaces Report
The report was noted.
The Chair commented on how good the new Christmas lights had been and that there had
been a good atmosphere at the switch on.
The Clerk reported that those businesses who had contributed financially towards the
Christmas lights had received a letter of thanks and had been mentioned by name in an
article in the Kidlington News.
56.
Any Other Business
i)
Fire Service Parking
The Clerk explained that the Parish Council had been approached by
the Fire Service to ask if it would be possible to use the Exeter Hall car
park for parking for their meetings which were normally between 2
and 4 hours in length. It had been known for a long time that people
visiting the fire station had used the car park, but this was the first
time that the Parish Council had been formally asked for permission.
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The fire service explained that they would always give prior warning
and would make alternative arrangements if the car park would be
full.
The Committee was pleased with the formal approach from the fire
service and recommended that permission was given, with a proviso
to limit the number of cars.
ii)
Reservation of Burial Plot
The Community Projects Officer, Nicky Cayley, had been approached
by the mother of a lady who had been buried in St. Mary’s burial
ground last year by her husband. The husband had chosen not to
reserve the next grave in line and so the lady had been buried on the
end of a row. Her mother had recently become aware that reserving
the next in line grave would have been a possibility and was now
upset that this had not been done, as she and her husband wanted to
be buried close to their daughter. There was only one free grave
remaining in that section of the burial ground and she had asked if
she could reserve it as it was two spaces up from that of her daughter.
Normally only next of kin would be allowed to reserve a grave.
The Committee had sympathy with the situation and agreed that the
lady in question should be permitted to reserve the grave.
The meeting closed at 9pm.
Chair.
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