UPTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of Upton Parish Council
Upton Village Hall Meeting Room, Wednesday 17th February 2016 at 8.00 pm
PRESENT: Dr R Lott (Chairman), Mr S Fraser, Mr R Traynor, Ms K Marshall, Mrs K Fletcher, Mrs A Hoy (Clerk) and Mrs J West (Transport Representative)
1. Apologies for Absence – Mr S Norman
2. Declarations of Interest
Members are asked to declare any personal interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any items under consideration at this meeting. None received
3. Public Forum – no members of the public were present
4. Planning Application:
P15/V2406/FUL and V2407/ LB – Owlcotes, removal of all non-historic buildings, granary conversion, erection of 3 new dwellings + gardens and garaging: The amended application did not address the concerns previously expressed. Changes were noted to the aspects of Units 1 and 2, and all three houses had been moved some 4 metres further east, but in so doing Unit 3 had extended beyond the “village envelope” and into open countryside. Only a marginal lowering of roof height was observed, which was felt insufficient to overcome the previous concern of over-dominance. Mr Fraser reported that he had spoken to the Conservation Officer and mentioned that the view and the character of the village from the Sustrans path on the old railway would be damaged by the erection of three large houses and would also impact on the listed buildings. The Conservation Officer confirmed that this was a legitimate concern and reason for objection. It was also noted that the Environment Agency requirement for a valid Flood Risk Assessment to be submitted continued to be lacking in the revised application. It was therefore proposed and unanimously AGREED that the application should be REFUSED on the grounds of over-dominance of the three houses, intrusion of the site into the open countryside and lack of measures to deal with the increase in flood risk. Clerk to advise the Vale, and refer them to the PC’s earlier comprehensive objections. Clerk
5. Downland Transport Campaign Group – update on developments: Mrs West described the events that had happened in recent weeks, including the meeting hosted by Thames Travel’s Luke Marion in Oxford on 19th January and the one between various local PC Transport Representatives at Mrs J Lakeland’s house in Blewbury and other interested parties, after which the name of the group was adopted. The budget agreed by OCC on 16th February seemed to confirm that there was very little hope of continuing bus service subsidies, favouring instead children’s centres and the elderly, which all present supported. Dr Lott noted that the local Parish Councils would not be able to contribute sufficient funds to make a meaningful difference. Volunteers had agreed to carry out research on the use of the bus routes with a view to finding alternative solutions (being collated by Mr Alex Elderfield). These findings would be used to guide discussions with Luke Marion of Thames Travel, who had continued to give some grounds for optimism that some residual service may remain. It was agreed that a “Transport Questionnaire” be circulated around the village to ascertain the required information from Upton. Dr Lott presented previously devised questions dropped from the Parish Plan questionnaire covering this topic. Mrs Fletcher offered to go round the village knocking on doors to obtain a quick response, during the half term week. Mrs West advised there would be another meeting with Luke Marion in Blewbury to study the research.
Appendix A – Schedule of payments
| Description | Amount |
| Angela Hoy (Office 365 subscription) | 37.20 |
| Hall Hire, Jan – March | 30.00 |
| 67.20 |
Angela Hoy, Clerk
Tel: 01235 851726
20th February 2016