In attendance:- Councillors Ben Shaw (BS), Neil Thorp (NT), Nicola Hall (NH), Graham
de Wilde (GW)
Clerk Liz Cooper (EC)
Deputy Clerk Lisa Morgan (LM)
One member of the public.
- To elect a Chairman for the year
BS was nominated by NT, seconded by GW & all in favour. Cllr Ben Shaw is therefore elected Chairman
for the year.
- To elect a vice-chair for the year
NT was nominated by GW, seconded by BS & all in favour. Cllr Neil Thorp is therefore elected Vice-
Chairman for the year.
- All Councillors to complete their Declaration of Acceptance of Office
All Councillors present completed their Declaration of Acceptance of Office & these were counter-signed
by the Clerk.
- All Councillors to complete their Register of Interests forms
All Councillors present completed their Register of Interests forms & handed these to the Clerk.
- To confirm the appointment of a Deputy Clerk
The Chairman, on behalf of the Council, was very pleased to welcome Lisa Morgan as the newly appointed
Deputy Clerk to the Council, effective from today.
- To receive apologies for absence
DB, BH, County Cllr SP, District Cllrs HG, DD.
- To record any declarations of interests relating to this meeting
BS declared an interest with any Nature Garden discussion relating to his boundary with the garden, & an
Organised Grime invoice.
- To confirm all Committees & Committee members currently existing for the Council
– Finance
The Finance Committee members were confirmed as BH, BS & DB.
– HR
Council agreed unanimously to rename this Committee ‘Personnel’. Members are BS, NT & NH.
BS to create a new Terms of Reference.
– Nature Garden – working group
Members confirmed as BH & NT from the Council, & Kieron Humphrey from the village. To review the
ToR.
– Events Calendar Working Group
NH to look in to this & report back to BS.
- To hear an update on the Council’s Annual Plan for 23-24
9.1 Organisation Chart / Allocation of Councillor Areas of Responsibility
BS had spoken to all Councillors regarding areas of responsibility & would send out a confirmation of
roles for the coming year.
9.2 Village Survey, Village Welcome Pack/Public Engagement Policy
Council agreed to the set-up of a Working Group to look at these three areas of work.
- To receive the County Councillor’s report
None this month.
- To receive District Councillor’s report
None this month.
- Open Forum
To receive representations from members of the public if present.
(Maximum 15 minutes, 3 minutes per person)
Mr John Lightfoot attended to express his opinion regarding the volunteer group for maintaining the
recreation ground, & the appointment of contractors to maintain this area, together with other area of
the village.
- To hear an update from the Nature Garden representative & to review Nature Garden current activities
No one from the Nature Garden working group was able to attend the meeting. This update was provided
by K Humphrey:-
– water butt installation. Aim is to carry out as part of village hall guttering repairs. UVHAT intend to
hire a workman to complete in the next few weeks (March) – still pending a date for the works on the
guttering.
– initial pruning of pome fruit and hedging (March) – done
– spring prep volunteer day tba tasks in line with annual plan – done
– assessment of plant health and additional stock required (March) – partly done
– prep for additional wildflower seed sowing (March) – done
– purchasing of wildflower seeds & sowing – done in April
– sourcing mulch – ongoing
- To hear an update from a UVHAT representative on village hall operations
Jacqui Reid & Rob Trainor attended the meeting for this item only. They were concerned about concerns
expressed at the Annual Parish Meeting about a lack of knowledge of UVHAT. JR explained they are only
obliged to hold 2 meetings a year, but BS (as a UVHAT trustee) said the meetings were not booked or
advertised well enough, & the proceedings were not transparent. JR agreed to send a quarterly update to
Upton News. JR & RT agreed they would like villagers to ask questions at any time & not wait for a
meeting.
JR also reported that bookings were back to pre-Covid levels.
JR also reported that they are looking at various contractors for the refurbishment of the hall toilet, & that
the repairs to the village hall guttering were imminent.
- To hear an update from a PCC representative
None this month.
- To approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on:-
UPC Meeting 14th March 2023
Council agreed the minutes were a true representation of the meeting.
17. Planning
17.1 To agree / ratify the council’s response to the following consultations
17.1.1 P23/V0863/LDP Wychwood, Newmans Close, Upton
Certificate of lawful development for rear dormers on existing dwelling & a rear single storey
extension.
Deadline not provided.
UPC majority (3) to object. Returned 10.05.23
17.1.2 P23/V0433/HH South Springs, Stream Road, Upton
New car port.
Deadline 24.03.23
UPC agreed no objections (3 for, 1 abstention), returned 16.03.23
17.1.3 P23/V0475/FUL Horse & Harrow, Main Street, West Hagbourne
Change of use of land to provide residential garden space in association with P22/S3609/FUL.
Deadline 29.03.23
UPC agreed no objections (4 for, 1 abstention), returned 16.03.23
17.2 To note planning permissions /withdrawals received during the month
17.2.1 P23/V0252/FUL Skippets Stables, Dene Hollow, Chilton
Planning permission 04.04.23
17.2.2 P23/V0257/HH Somerset House, Chilton Road, Upton
Planning permission 30.03.23
17.2.3 P23/V0475/FUL Horse & Harrow, West Hagbourne
Planning permission refused 21.04.23
17.2.4 P23/V0433/HH South Springs, Stream Road, Upton
Withdrawn 26.04.23
- 18. Finance & Administration
18.1 To receive an update UPC Finances
18.1.1 End of Year Accounts:-
Treasurers Account to 31.03.23 £3462.38
Business Bank Instant Account to 31.03.23 £13,098.57
Total funds available as at 31.03.23 £16,560.95
18.1.2 Accounts to end of April 2023:-
Treasurers Account to 30.04.23 £18,980.71
Business Bank Instant Account to 30.04.23 £13,106.86
Total funds available as at 30.04.23 £32,087.57
18.1.3 To hear an update on UPC’s VAT 126 reclaim
VAT reclaim received to account from HMRC on 12.04.23 in the sum of £4,301.05
18.1.4 To agree the renewal of the Council’s insurance policy, which expires on 31 May 2023.
Council agreed this was the last year of a 3-year agreement & accepted that a c25% increase
was partly down to the economic climate & partly down to a claim made during the year for
damage to a third party vehicle.
18.2 To hear an update on the audit process 22-23
Council to agree & sign off Annual Governance Statement
Council agreed the Annual Governance Statement & this was signed by the Chair.
18.3 To resolve to accept the General Power of Competence
The Council has 6 elected members out of a total of 6 & a qualified Clerk & therefore the Council is
eligible to adopt the General Power of Competence (under the Localism Act 2011).
Council unanimously resolved to accept the power of general competence.
18.4 To sign off bank reconciliation to end of year 22-23 & end of April 2023
Provided in advance of the meeting & to be signed at meeting
Reconciliations were duly signed by the Chair.
18.5 To agree the authoriser for this month’s payments & at least one new authoriser for the account
The authorisers for this month’s payments are BS & NT. GW agreed to become a third signatory on
the account. Clerk to complete the appropriate Lloyds Bank mandate.
18.6 To approve payments to be made noted spending powers and within budgeted amounts
Council agreed to make all payments with the addition of an invoice from Gallagher for the Council’s
liability insurance in the sum of £905.51 (Clerk’s note:- confirmed as the 3rd year of a 3-year deal), &
an invoice from OALC for a training course (BS) for £36.
| DATE | Description /Payee | Amount |
| 28.04.22*/ 28.05.23 | Clerk’s salary since last meeting
|
Not publicly disclosed |
| 15.03.23 – 17.05.23 | Clerk’s expenses | £12.60 |
| 28.04.22/ 28.05.23 | HMRC PAYE (April £98.40*, May TBC) | £98.40
+May23 TBC |
| 28.04.23* / 28.05.23 | Microsoft subscription @£4.50pm | £9.00 |
| 10.05.23 | OALC Annual Subscription 23-24* | £156.00 |
| 19.04.23 | Boston Seeds 1kg seeds for nature garden* (via debit card) | £163.99 |
| 18.04.23 | UVHAT hall hire – Jan, Mar, April, May | £15.00 |
| 12.04.23 | Scofell March ground maintenance* | £618.00 |
| 18.04.23 | Scofell April ground maintenance | £618.00 |
| 20.04.23 | Playsafety Ltd – play areas inspection* | £302.40 |
| 18.04.23 | Organised Grime – April bin collections | £168.00 |
| 11.04.23 | Debit Card – Amazon No dog waste bin stickers* | £21.99 |
| 18.04.23 | Expenses – GdeW | £99.76 |
| 18.04.23 | Expenses – NH | £178.20 |
| 18.04.23 | Gallagher Council Insurance Renewal wef 1.6.23 | £905.51 |
| 18.04.23 | OALC Training Course W2573 (BS) | £36.00 |
| Total | £3,402.85
(plus salary above) |
| Receipts | Description | Amount |
| VoWHDC | Precept | £12,800.00 |
| HMRC | VAT Refund | £4,301.05 |
| Mr A Smart | Marquee hire | £50.00 |
| Lloyds Bank | Interest March & April 2023 | £8.29 |
| Total | £17,159.34 |
*All paid to be ratified
Clerk’s Note:- Council agreed at this point to extend the meeting by a further 30 minutes as per the Standing Orders, as it was at the 2 hour point.
18.7 To hear / agree on any other financial or administration updates
18.7.1 To agree to increase the number of hours for both the Clerk & Deputy Clerk to 22 per month,
based on 5 hours per week over 52 weeks calculation.
Council unanimously agreed that both the Clerk & Deputy Clerk should be on 22 hours per
Month, as this was a fairer distribution of hours over the year. Clerk to arrange contract
amendment letters for Chair’s signature.
18.7.2 Councillor roles & responsibilities – covered in item 9 above.
18.7.2 UPC Risk Assessment document
This document is now with NT for a full review. To send draft to Council asap.
18.7.3 To hear an update on the Coronation Party & ratify the donation of £178.20 to the celebration.
BS & NH reported that the Coronation party was a success with c40 attendees. Council duly
ratified the donation.
18.8 To review the procedure for reviewing & producing documents for the Council.
Council agreed that a Committee should be formed to cover this. Clerk to speak to Deputy Clerk as a
starting point.
- To hear any updates on any aspect of the recreation ground play areas – this item is carried forward to
the next meeting.
19.1 Adventure play area remedial work / inspections
19.2 Toddler play area
19.3 Pump track
- To hear any updates on the maintenance of the recreation ground & car park – this item is carried
forward to the next meeting
20.1 Council to agree parameters of ‘no mow May’
20.2 Council to ratify its decision to agree a new 12-month contract with Organised Grime for bin
collections from the recreation ground, with effect from 1st May 2023, following the successful
completion of the 3-month trial.
20.3 To ratify decision to renew white lines on car parking spaces
20.4 Car park extension proposal
20.5 Any other updates on the recreation ground
20.5.1 Communications regarding the previous mowing rota
- To hear an update on Speed Watch Activities from BH
None this month.
- To hear an update on UPC IT
None this month.
- To hear any update on Risk Management
Compliance, GDPR & any other risk management updates
NT is reviewing.
- To hear concerns on the future of the George & Dragon public house – BH
Ahead of the meeting BH had raised concerns regarding this village asset. BS stated that the previous
landlord had left & it was on the market for a new landlord.
- To hear an update on the production & issue of Upton News – NT
Agree content for next edition of Upton News
Council agreed to take this one outside of the meeting due to time.
- To set the date and venue of the next full council meeting
26.1 The next full council meeting will be held on Wednesday 19th July 2023 at
7.30pm in the meeting room in the village hall
BS is reviewing meeting dates, times & venue for the rest of 2023 & for 2024/25.
The meeting finished at 10.10pm.
Appendix A – Actions points from meetings
| No. | Actions from this Meeting | By when | |
| 1. | BS to create new ToR for the Personnel Committee | July meeting | |
| 2. | BH & NT to review Nature Garden ToR | July meeting | |
| 3. | NH to look into ‘Events Calendar Working Group’ & report back to BS | July meeting | |
| 4. | BS to update & forward to Council the Areas of Responsibility/Role for Councillors | ASAP | |
| 5. | BS / Council to look at a Working Group for the Village Survey / Village Welcome Pack / Public Engagement Policy | ASAP | |
| 6. | Clerk to complete a bank mandate for amendments to signatories. | ASAP | |
| 7. | Clerk to arrange for contract amendment letters x 2 | ASAP | |
| 8. | NT to review UPC Risk Document | July meeting | |
| 9. | Clerk to speak to Deputy Clerk re document review | Actioned | |
| 10. | Council to form a Committee to oversee document review & production | July meeting | |
| 11. | BS to review meeting dates, times & venue for the remainder of 2023 & 2.24/25 | July meeting | |
| No. | Actions from previous meetings | By When | |
| 7. | BH to speak to B Lott re marquee storage inside UPC garage. | ASAP | |
| 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 | |
| 17. | BH & PM to arrange the installation of the speed watch signs. | C’fwd until roadworks complete. | |
| 19. | All to consider IT back-up & future proof options | C’fwd | |
| 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. | From November meeting |