Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 17th January 2023 at 7pm in the meeting room in the village hall.
In attendance:- Chairman Ben Shaw
Vice Chairman Neil Thorp
Councillors David Beckles, Brendan Heneghan
Clerk Liz Cooper
District Councillor Hayleigh Gascoigne
- To receive apologies for absence
Peter McLaughlin, Sally Povolotsky
- To record any declarations of interests relating to this meeting
B Shaw (any discussion on recreation ground bin collections)
- To receive the County Councillor’s report
No report received this month.
- To receive District Councillor’s report
Report received & distributed to Council members. In addition:-
- The Council confirmed to HG it was not aware of any ‘Warm Spaces’ being run in Upton.
- NT & BH asked for an update on the provision of new healthcare facilities? HG explained that no planning consultations had yet been raised for healthcare facilities in Great Western Park or any other new development. BH to provide HG with a list of related questions.
- HG explained about the possibility of a future district council boundary change that may affect Upton village. This is the responsibility of the Boundary Commission & any changes would not be in the near future.
- To receive a report from the PCSO
No report received.
- Open Forum
No members of the public were present.
- To hear an update from the PCC
The following report was received from P Batho & J West:-
We were pleased to welcome good numbers to the Christmas services held at St Mary’s, and it was
great to see a full church for the Crib Service on Christmas Eve.
It was also a pleasure to welcome the Parish Council to the church on 15th December. This was a good
example of how the church building might be used more widely by the community especially once the
proposed improvements have been completed, aided maybe by a heating upgrade!
A newsletter and final appeal for the vestry improvements has been distributed to all houses in the village in the last couple of days. In summary, planning consent and a diocesan faculty have been received and a bat survey and tree protection measures are in hand. We are aiming to raise the final £12,000 which should enable us to seek tenders for the work in the spring, with the hope of undertaking the works as soon as possible thereafter.
Finally, we are still awaiting an estimate from Whites Bellhangers for the repair of the bell rope (which broke in September) and a general overhaul of the bell frame. It appears they may not be prioritising such a relatively small job, so we are looking at the possibility of undertaking the work using voluntary labour. In particular, if anyone in the village has access to a portable scaffold tower, we’d be very pleased to hear from them.
- To hear an update from a UVHAT representative on village hall operations
There was no report nor attendance from any UVHAT representative. However, BS & BH reported that
the UVHAT AGM would be held on Wednesday 25th January.
- To hear an update from the Nature Garden representative
There was no attendance from a Nature Garden representative. The following update was received
from K Humphrey:-
Headlines from the nature garden are:
- bulbs successfully planted
- sign erected
- the team was concerned to learn about the development proposal on the boundary – and dismayed that no parish council comment was recorded about the proposal and potential impact on the nature garden
- next maintenance day in the works – probably in the spring
- To approve the minutes of the Parish Council meetings held on:-
UPC Meeting 23rd November 2022
Council agreed that the minutes were a true record of the meeting.
11. Planning
11.1 To agree / ratify the council’s response to the following consultations
11.1.1 P22/V2956/HH Icknield House, Chilton Road, Upton
Single storey rear extensions with double glazed full height frames & Ultraframe double
glazed roof.
Deadline 20.01.23
Returned 18.01.23. Four no objections & one abstention from UPC.
11.1.2 P22/V2432/HH Conifers, Stream Road, Upton
Convert existing single garage to habitable space & reorder interior. Create new flat-roofed
extension with small porch in the north re-entrant corner of the existing. Provide/extend
parking for 4 cars to the front.
Deadline 09.12.22
UPC returned no objections 20.12.22
11.2 To note planning permissions /withdrawals received during the month
None.
12. Finance & Administration
12.1 To receive an update UPC Finances
12.1.2 Treasurers Account to 31.12.22 £7,428.59
Business Bank Instant Account to 31.12.22 £13,080.14
Total funds available as at 31.12.22 £20,508.73
12.2 To agree the authorisers for this month’s payments.
NT & PM
12.3 To approve payments to be made noted spending powers and within budgeted amounts
| DATE | Description /Payee | Amount |
| 28.12.22/ 28.01.232 | Clerk’s salary since last meeting [LGA1972 s112(2)] | Not publicly disclosed |
| 24.11.22/ 08.01.23 | Clerk’s expenses [LG(FP)A 1963r5] | £21.80 |
| 28.12.22/ 28.01.23 | HMRC PAYE (Dec £84.50, Jan £85.40) [LGA 1972 s112(2)] | £169.90 |
| 28.12.22 / 28.01.23 | Microsoft subscription @£4.50pm [LGA1972 s111] | £9.00 |
| 16.12.22 | CloudAlly 1 year backup wef 16.01.23 [[LGA1972s111 ] | £42.00 |
| 05.12.22 | Dark White Digital – IT updates (Paid to be ratified) [[LGA1972s111] | £40.00 |
| 06.12.22 | Moore external audit (Paid to be ratified) [[LGA1972s111] | £480.00 |
| 19.12.22 | OALC W2284 BS Budgeting course [LGA1972s111] | £66.00 |
| 18.01.23 | OALC W2351 BH Training course [LGA1972s111] | £132.00 |
| 18.01.23 | OALC W2352 BH Training course [LGA1972s111] | £144.00 |
| 18.01.23 | OALC W2353 BH Training course [LGA1972s111] | £48.00 |
| Total | £1152.70
(plus salary above) |
| Receipts | Description | Amount |
| Blewbury Parish Council | SLCC Membership share [LGA1972s143] | £124.00 |
| Lloyds Bank | Interest December 22 | £2.99 |
| Total | £126.99 |
12.4 To sign off bank reconciliation to end December.
Provided in advance of the meeting & signed by BS at meeting
12.5 To review the final budget for 23/24 & agree the precept
Council formally agreed, by majority (with one against), to increase the precept by 5%. The precept
application would therefore be in the sum of £26,500. EC to return precept application.
12.6 To hear / agree on any other financial or administration updates
End of Q3 results were distributed to Council ahead of the meeting & were accepted by Council.
- To hear any updates on any aspect of the recreation ground play areas
13.1 Play area inspections
13.1.1 RoSPA had carried out a quarterly inspection in January & Council had received the
subsequent report. The play area bin would be replaced as soon as a new one can be
ordered & delivered. The Slide was noted in the RoSPA report & would be taken out of use,
due to the wear on the wooden platform. Council to organise ASAP. PM & BS to issue a
notice via usual communication channels
13.1.2 Ground inspections were carried out by Council members on a regular basis.
13.2 Toddler play area
No areas of concern reported.
13.3 Adventure play area
See 13.1.1 above. A new sign has been ordered.
13.4 Pump track
No areas of concern reported. A new sign has been ordered.
- To hear any updates on the maintenance of the recreation ground
14.1 New bin provision / new bin collection proposal
14.1.1 Council agreed unanimously to order two new single bins for the recreation ground. One
to replace the one by the play area & the other to be placed elsewhere on the recreation
ground. EC to order bins.
14.1.2 Council unanimously agreed that Organised Grime would be formally engaged to collect bin
refuse from the recreation ground with effect from 1st February 2023 for a trial period of 3
months. EC to formalise.
14.2 Current maintenance activity
Previously received quotes are to be reviewed & updated for further consideration.
14.3 New signage for the recreation ground
A new sign for the entrance to the recreation ground has been ordered.
14.4 Any other updates on the recreation ground
BH to speak to B Lott regarding additional storage within the UPC garage to house the marquee.
- To hear an update on Speed Watch Activities from BH
No update.
- To hear an update on UPC IT
EC reported a problem with the UPC laptop. Council agreed for EC to pursue outside help to sort out
the problems.
- To hear any update on Risk Management
Compliance, GDPR & any other risk management updates – no update.
- To hear an update on the production & issue of Upton News – NT
Agree content for next edition of Upton News – Council agreed to note the 23/24 budget had been
agreed & the precept would be increased by 5%. Also to include play area considerations.
- To set the date and venue of the next full council meeting
Full council meeting Tuesday 14th March 2023 at 7.00pm, meeting room in the village hall
The meeting closed at 8.30pm.
Appendix A – Meeting Action Points
| No. | Actions from January Meeting | By when |
| 1. | BH to provide HG with questions relating to health care provision on Great Western Park & other new developments. | Actioned. |
| 2. | EC to return precept form. | Actioned. |
| 3. | Council members to arrange taking the adventure play area slide out of use. | ASAP |
| 4. | PM, NT & BS to issue notice via usual communications channels re slide taken out of use. | ASAP |
| 5. | EC to order 2 new bins. | ASAP |
| 6. | EC to formalise trial agreement with Organised Grime. | ASAP |
| 7. | BH to speak to B Lott re marquee storage inside UPC garage. | ASAP |
| 8. | EC to sort out laptop problems & report back. | ASAP |
| No. | Actions from previous meetings | By When |
| 6. | BH to source fencing quotes for replacement of fence at end of recreation ground | This is postponed until further notice. |
| 7. | BS to obtain quotes for chain & post fencing to delineate current overflow parking area. | This is postponed until further notice. |
| 8. | BH to produce a specification for a new surface for overflow parking | C’fwd |
| 9. | BS to obtain quotes for a new surface in the overflow area (once spec produced) | C’fwd |
| 10. | Clerk to email UVHAT re parking considerations | C’fwd |
| 12. | Clerk to organise formal agreement for new bin collection. | Actioned |
| 15. | HG to let Clerk know what replacement VoWH signage is available. | Actioned |
| 16. | BH to investigate further improvements to the inside of the garage. | Actioned |
| 17. | BH & PM to arrange the installation of the speed watch signs. | C’fwd until roadworks complete. |
| 18. | Clerk to check IT budget & report back to Council | Actioned |
| 19. | All to consider IT back-up & future proof options | C’fwd |
| 3. | BS & EC to work on Clerk in Training, Lengthman job descriptions & ads | In progress |
| 4. | PM to organise fitting of nets to goal posts | C’fwd |
| 7. | BS to invite villagers to state what they would like to see from a ‘welcome to the village’ pack. | November meeting |