DRAFT Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting of Upton held in the Village Hall at 7pm on Wednesday 4th May 2022, facilitated by the Parish Council.
Present:- Mr B Shaw (Chair / BS), Miss E Cooper (Clerk / EC). Also present:- District Cllr H Gascoigne (HG), County Cllr S Povolotsky (SP) and approximately 50 Upton residents.
Reports received from various groups were made available to view from 6.45pm.
- Welcome and opening remarks – Parish Council Chairman Ben Shaw
BS noted the number of attendees in the hall & thanked everyone for attending.
- Apologies for absence
No apologies were received in advance of the meeting.
- Chairman’s Report
BS covered the main points of his Parish Council Chairman’s report. He also stated that the other
reports were available to read at the back of the hall.
- Open Forum
Questions from those present to the Parish Council or other groups represented.
A list of 9 questions were submitted by J Fidgen, with other resident nominated to speak on the
subjects.
4.1 To discuss traffic calming measures on the A417 (Di Rabetts/DiR)
DiR highlighted concerns regarding the speed of traffic through the village. County Cllr S
Povolotsky updated as follows:-
20mph in the village – Upton is in the second tranche which currently is the end of 2022,
beginning of 2023.
A417 crossing – this is scheduled for September/October of 2022.
DiR was particularly concerned about how traffic calming might be introduced at the Blewbury end
of the village.
SP added that there is a bigger picture ‘safety review’ with a push for other alternative transport
methods, as roads need to be made safer for all.
SP advised people to continue to use Fixmystreet as they have a 28 day response.
4.2 To discuss plans to erect a fence along the end of the Rec (proposed by Brian Rippon/BR)
BR expressed his opinion that a palisade fence would be completely unsuitable.
Other suggestions included a gate at that end of the field. BS stated that the other side is
private land. Also the purchase of a strip of land to enable access. This would involve major costs,
works & maintenance.
BS confirmed that previous quotes for a fence were in the region of £16k. He also confirmed the
need for a fence (the land the other side is private/Council should be legally compliant with
covenant) & that no decisions had as yet been made.
4.3 To discuss the viability of a cycle path between Upton & Blewbury (Kieron Humphrey/KH)
County Cllr S Povolotsky confirmed that work to change Coffin way from a footpath to a bridleway
started last September. This is a long process & SP hoped to have the next update in June. An
estimate for creating a ‘banded surface’ route is c£250-295k. SP stated again this is part of the
bigger decarbonisation picture.
4.4 To discuss improving verges in the village for wildlife (Kieron Humphrey/KH)
KH explained he had spoken to County Cllr S Povolotsky regarding verges at the village end
of Chilton Road, Upton, which he would like to fill with wild flowers. KH stated that wilding is a
science backed way to promote diversity. The verges are the responsibility of the county council &
he indicated that the Parish Council could take on responsibility for the verges from the County
Council. A case would need to be put forward to the Parish Council detailing how the verges would
be planted & cared for now & into the future, together with any potential costs involved,
immediately & in the future.
4.5 To discuss plans to erect a fence around the toddlers’ playpark (Guilia Rippon/GR)
GR asked about plans to place a fence around the new toddler play area. This has been
discussed by the Parish Council, but no decisions yet made due to the high costs. The fence must
meet child friendly regulations & consideration will be given to a wooden fence (cheaper to install,
but required maintenance) or a recycled plastic fence (twice as expensive as wood, but no
maintenance).
Derek Whitmell said there was a Magnox socio economic fund that may help.
Bins on the rec were also raised at this point. Replacement bins are in the budget for this year, but
consideration also needs to be given to the emptying of the bins, which is under investigation.
Placing 2 or 3 wheelie bins around the rec was suggested. A volunteer would then need to move the
bins to the gate on waste collection days.
4.6 To discuss overflow parking in the Rec (Jacqui Reid/JR)
JR acknowledged that additional parking was required for specific events, & that the level of
matting used for the overflow was not designed for the level of use. BS explained that part of the
precept increase was to make improvements to the overflow parking. This needs to be revisited by
the Council, but this may not be this year due to a lack of resource.
JR said that the village hall would be happy to contribute to ideas & solutions.
4.7 To discuss maintaining access to the Rec (Duncan Reid/DR)
DR thought the closing of the gate to the rec at night was preposterous. BS explained that ‘out of
hours/anti-social behaviour’ use of the car park was why the gate had been closed at night &
opened early in the morning. Anti-social behaviour was reported to the police & patrols had been
increased. D Whitmell said traditionally the gate was always locked at night.
A new combination lock was suggested.
4.8 To discuss the near-doubling of the precept (Jo Fidgen/JF)
JF complained that the increase of the precept had not been discussed ahead of residents receiving
their council tax bills. BS explained that everyone was welcome at Parish Council meetings.
Clerk’s note:- UPCX Meeting 7.12.21, item 5.1.1 re precept refers.
JF requested that all plans are published in all the usual places. Also requested more information in
minutes. The Clerk said that more information could be included in the minutes.
BS explained that this was a two-way street & that residents can contact Councillors outside of
meetings.
4.9 To discuss plans for the installation of CCTV in the Rec (Rob Traynor)
Mr Traynor was not present at the meeting.
B Heneghan (BH) explained that with CCTV came the problem of GDPR. BH will look in more detail
at potential funding for such systems & whether it is worth investigating.
- BH gave an update on Speed Watch
5 volunteers are undergoing online training.
Teams of 3 are required.
Requested more volunteers to put themselves forward (please contact the Clerk).
BH is teaming up with Harwell & Blewbury who have Speed Watch up & running.
- The Chairman again thanked all for attending & brought the meeting to a close at 9.40pm.
- Date of the 2023 Annual Parish Meeting – Wednesday 26th April 2023
Reports received from:-
UPC Chairman
UPC Finance
County Councillor
District Councillor
Blewbury Primary School
Downland Village Transport Group
Harwell Stakeholders Group
St Mary’s Church
United Charities
Upton Nature Garden
