Upton Village

South Oxfordshire

UPT/4960/03 Maslina

Planning Application: UPT/4960/03. 09/00958/FUL

Location: Maslina, Reading Road

Application – Demolition of existing garage. Erection of new garage with studio over, new extension and improvements.

Applicant – Mr & Mrs B Arnold

Application Date – May 2009

Parish Council Reply – No Objection

District Council Decision – Permission Granted

Note

All drawings and other hard copy documents connected with the above application will be destroyed after 3 years.

For further information on this application visit www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk and click on Planning and Planning Applications using the above Ref No.

Minutes of Extraordinary Meeting 10th June 2009

UPTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of an Extraordinary Meeting of Upton Parish Council

held on Wednesday, 10th June 2009 at 8.00 pm

in the Village Hall

Present: Mr J Dickens (Chairman), Mr M. Brown, Mr S Norman, Mrs T Seelig

7 parishioners

1. Apologies: Mr D Mason & Mr G Summers

2. Declarations of Interest

Members are asked to declare any personal interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting. Any Member arriving after the start of the meeting is asked to declare personal interests as necessary as soon as practicable after their arrival even if the item in question has been considered.

Mr Brown declared a prejudicial interest in item 3(ii).

3. Planning Applications:

(i) UPT/1062/5 – Rowlands, Church Street. Erection of a new dwelling with garage. Erection of replacement garage for Rowlands. Applicants Mr & Mrs E Johnson and Mrs S Carter. After considering the plans and listening to comments of neighbours it was agreed that the PC should object to this application for the following reason: the proposed building is an over dominant structure for the plot size. Concern was raised that there is no separate garden associated with this property.

(ii) UPT/4960/03 – Maslina, Reading Road. Demolition of existing garage. Erection of new garage with studio over, new extension and improvements. Applicants Mr & Mrs B Arnold.

Mr Brown, having declared a prejudicial interest, left the hall while this application was discussed. After discussion the PC agreed that it had no objections. It was decided that in its response a comment should be made that due consideration should be given to the colour of the wood cladding so that it blended with the surroundings.

(iii) OCC Ref MW/0127/09 – Chilton Waste Services. Proposed extension to MRF and waste transfer station. Applicant Mr J Richardson

This application is to increase the size of the site by 0.7 hectares. Councillors agreed that a site visit should be made to fully understand this application. An informed decision would then be made by the PC.

Clare Lightfoot, Clerk

Tel: 01235 850486

12th June 2009

Minutes of Meeting 27th May 2009

UPTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of Upton Parish Council in the Village Hall on

Wednesday, 27th May 2009 at 8.00 pm

Present: Mr M Brown, Mr J Dickens, Mr D Mason, Mr S Norman, Mrs T Seelig (part time), Mr G Summers,

Mr R Farrell, Mr C Lamont

Parishioners: Mr G de Wilde & Mrs L Shaw

1. There were no apologies for absence

2. Declarations of Interest

Members are asked to declare any personal interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting. Any Member arriving after the start of the meeting is asked to declare personal interests as necessary as soon as practicable after their arrival even if the item in question has been considered. None recorded

3. Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman: in the absence of any nominations, Mr Summers proposed that Mr Brown continue as Chairman, say for the next 3 months, with Mr Dickens as Vice Chairman, with a view to taking over as Chairman . This was seconded by Mr Norman, all in favour.

4. Minutes of meeting of Upton Parish Council held on Wednesday 25th March 2009 and the Annual Parish Meeting held on Monday 6th April 2009 having been previously circulated were agreed to be a true record and duly signed by the Chairman.

5. Matters Arising

a) Parish Council Meeting, 25th March

i) Rats: Mr Summers reported that he had received information from 18 people about rats in 9 different parts of the village. Mr Brown asked Mr Summers to investigate whether a private pest control company would offer a collective deal to residents in the village. GS

ii) Clarification of status of land designated for extension at Stream Cottage. Mr Farrell confirmed that the land proposed for the extension at Stream Cottage is designated as residential. A piece of agricultural land next to the property owned by the same person was shown within the curtilage in error.

6. County Councillor’s Report

Mr Lamont said that WRG who are bidding to build the incinerator at Sutton Courtenay are now revising their plans. The new plan, for a smaller incinerator to be used exclusively for Oxfordshire waste, has yet to go through the consultation process. Mr Brown thanked Mr Lamont for his report and wished him well in his retirement.

7. District Councillor’s Report

Mr Farrell said that the Vale’s Constitution is being reviewed and minor adjustments made to harmonise the Vale and SODC councils. He said that significant savings should be made which will offset the effect of the credit crunch and various impositions by central Government on the Vale. The publication of the Vale’s preferred options for location of housing will be published shortly.

8. Planning

(i) Fieldside Cottage: Following complaints by a parishioner about the boundary wall the Chairman has looked back at the planning process and how permission was given for the wall as part of the extension to Fieldside Cottage. As a result of that investigation it has been found that the plans on the web site are not the same as those approved for construction and the wall has not been built to either plan. The problem has been brought to the attention of the Vale who is in discussion with the builder.

A briefing document (see attached), produced as a result of the investigation, highlights the changes to the planning procedure that the Chairman believes are urgently required to ensure better

local planning. These suggested changes have been put to the District Council in the past but to no avail. Mr Farrell suggested that the P.C. meets with the new Head of Planning Mr Adrian Duffield. Mr Brown and Mr Dickens were asked to investigate such a meeting. MB, JD

(ii) Beeching Close: The Chairman proposed that Standing Order 15a be set aside for this item to allow members of the public to take part in the debate.

Mr de Wilde and Mrs Shaw, residents of Beeching Close, updated the Parish Council on events relating to the Beeching Close development.

Mr de Wilde had observed all the terms and condition issued with the Planning Permission are being ignored by the developer, he had been in daily contact with the Vale Planners to appraise them of the situation. Contrary to the planning permission the foundations are now in place but the new access has not been built neither is there any alternative access solution in place. 10 days after first being told of the violation the Vale has still not issued a Stop Notice.

In a last ditch attempt to prevent the dangerous access off Station Road, Mrs Shaw had offered to negotiate with the developer about using the existing Beeching Close access. To date no agreement has been reached but the developer has claimed such an agreement is in place and all construction vehicles to date have used the existing access.

Mr Farrell told the meeting that he understood the matter to be in the hand of the Vale’s Legal Department and it would be their intention to issue a Stop Notice.

Mr de Wilde said that in his view the Vale’s actions to date have been seriously flawed.

It was pointed out that the behaviour of both the District Council and the County Council in allowing this development to go ahead has been taken to the Ombudsman. This action by the local residents was welcomed by the Chairman

Standing Order 15a was then invoked. The Chairman requested permission from the Parish Council to give the residents of Beeching Close every support. This was agreed unanimously.

9. Villagers’ Forum: no discussion

10. Delegation of Duties

It was agreed that the following Councillors will take the lead role in the areas as listed:

Communications – Upton News & Website – Mr Brown

Roads and Footpaths – Mr Norman

Planning – Mr Dickens & Mr Brown

Village Hall – Mr Summers

Amenities including Recreation Ground – Mrs Seelig

Young Parishioners including the Play Area – Mr Mason

Volunteer Group Rep – Mr Brown

UKAEA Stakeholders Rep – Mrs Seelig

N.A.G. Rep – Mrs Davies

Parish Transport Rep – Mr Summers

11. Reports from Councillors on areas of responsibility

i) Roads and Footpaths

Frog Alley Options: Mr Norman reported on the letter received from the Highway Records Manager, dated 15th April 2009, confirming that Frog Alley is an unclassified vehicular highway. As a highway, in law it must remain open. Discussion took place on the extent to which Frog Alley needs improving, bearing in mind the comment at the Annual Parish Meeting that “Frog Alley is what it is and that’s why we like it.” The Chairman asked Mr Norman to further investigate closing the road to traffic as set out in the letter and report back to the next meeting. SN

Street sweeping: It was agreed at the Annual Parish Meeting that more effort is required to sweep up the leaves particularly in the Pound Lane area. It was agreed to contact the Highways Dept. in the Autumn Clerk

Dog bin: It was agreed at the Annual Parish Meeting that a dog bin would be useful at the end of the Sustrans path. An additional bin will cost ~£200 plus £120 per year to empty. Clerk to write to Sustrans asking if they are prepared to contribute. Clerk

Footpath to Blewbury: Mr Norman was asked to contact Blewbury Parish Council to investigate whether they would be in favour of flattening out the footpath to make it easier for walking as requested at the Annual Parish Meeting. SN

ii) Amenities including Recreation Ground

Weed killing: this has been undertaken by Complete Weed Control and appears to be very successful.

A request to cut back overhanging trees and put up rabbit wire along the railway side of the ground was made at the Annual Parish Meeting. The Steering Committee of the Volunteer Group (VG) have looked at the problem and agreed to cut back the trees but feel that erecting rabbit wire on just one side will not be worth the effort of digging a trench through the tree roots. The Parish Council endorsed the view of the Steering Committee.

iii) Young Parishioners including Play Area

Cutting hedge – the VG has agreed to undertake this.

Constructing fort – Mr Mason reported that he has been in touch with Thames Water to ask if they can supply a piece of 12’ piping to be used as a tunnel for the fort. It is intended to use spoil from the foundations of the hall extension to build the mound.

Playground Management Committee – Inspection reports have been received for April and May. It was noted that the surface beneath the slide is slippery and some pales are missing from the fence. MB to replace pales where appropriate. MB

Clerk to write to Dr Lott thanking him for removing the old safety tiles. Clerk

iv) Village Hall

Progress on Extension: it was noted that UVHAT has now gone out to tender for the extension with responses anticipated at end of May. Fund raising is ongoing.

Patio and Car park: The Chairman expressed his concern that the car park and the patio were not being discussed and agreed between UVHAT and the P.C. Discussion to at least decide the size of both should take place. The Chairman stated that the VG were of the opinion that the extension to the car park should be constructed using reinforced matting through which grass would grow. This solution is likely to be much cheaper and to look better as that area is not likely to be in regular use.

v) Communications

Website – A section has been set up on the website for the Volunteer Group under the name of Village Volunteers.

All Parish Council documentation that had to be put on the web is now in place but as there are so many documents, keeping it up-to-date is going to be a difficult task. Mr Brown asked for assistance from all the other councillors to let him know if they see something out of date.

Proposals 1 & 2 by Mr Brown:

1) In order to improve our communications between meetings all emails sent between councillors will be marked U or N (urgent and normal) as part of the heading of the note.

It is the duty of all councillors to do their best to

a) Reply to all emails marked U within 3 days even if that is just to say no comment.

b) Reply to all emails marked N within 7 days.

2) In order to improve our document circulation system it is the duty of all councillors to pass on all documents in circulation within 7 days putting the date received and the date forwarded on the envelope. The first councillor to receive the document should highlight paragraphs of interest such that other councillors can scan read the documents to reduce the time taken to read through all documents. The Clerk will decide on who should be marked as main reader.

Councillors were in favour of endeavouring to implement both proposals.

vi) Volunteer Group: Mr Brown reported that the VG Steering Committee had met. All existing volunteers will get a note explaining the changes to the set-up and asking if they are still willing to be volunteers.

All proposed projects will go on the group’s website section and will have a box seeking comments from parishioners as to whether they oppose or support the proposal.

Dr B Lott will Chair the group for 6 months. Clerk to check volunteers are covered by P.C. insurance. Clerk

vii) N.A.G. – no report

viii) UKAEA Stakeholders Committee – no report

ix) Parish Transport Rep. – The next meeting of the Group is to be held on 19th August 2009.

x) Energy Saving Initiative – No progress

xi) First Responders – The Chairman reported that he and three parishioners had held a meeting with South Central Ambulance NHS Trust. The Trust are very keen that Upton sets up a group and will be prepared to provide us with all the necessary equipment to keep in the village. Providing a reasonable number of volunteers come forward training will be provided in one of our village halls. The Chairman said that a number of people have volunteered and he is optimistic that we will be able to participate in this worthwhile activity. (Clerk’s note we have 9 volunteers before the Upton News has come out so the idea will go ahead)

12. Finance

i) Adoption of accounts: The accounts have been audited by Mr Brian Simpson, Internal Auditor.

The accounts were adopted by the Council.

ii) Ratification of Annual Governance Statement: The Annual Governance Statement was distributed. The council unanimously agreed that the Annual Governance Statement be signed by the Chairman.

iii) Invoices for payment since last meeting

a) Oxfordshire Rural Community Council (ORCC) membership – £20

b) Oxfordshire Assn of Local Councils (OALC) – subscription – £126.26

c) Clerk’s salary, refreshments for APM & postage – £343.11

d) Complete Weed Control – £264.50

e) Allianz Insurance – annual premium – £389.91

Payment of the above invoices was agreed with the exception of the Allianz Insurance invoice. The clerk reported that she has asked Came & Company, underwritten by Norwich Union, to provide a quotation for comparison.

(Clerk’s note – The quotation has been received and is £70 cheaper with improved cover. The cover has been checked by the Clerk and the Chairman and the quotation has been accepted)

iv) Receipts since last meeting: bank interest March £1.14, April £1.25

13. Correspondence recently received

i) *Oxfordshire County Council – letter dated 15 April 2009, Stream Road/Frog Alley

ii) CPRE Spring bulletin 2009

iii) Equality & Human Rights: Public Sector duties vis a vis New Equality Bill

iv) Thames Valley Police Open Day – 8th August

v) Home2School Newsletter – Summer 2009

vi) The Playing Field – Spring Newsletter

vii) Minutes of Parish Transport Representatives meeting – 15th April 2009

* Correspondence at Item 13 (i) has been previously circulated to all councillors. The remainder is in circulation except 13(vii) which is being retained by Mr Summers.

14. Date of next meeting: The next meeting is to be held on Wednesday 22nd July 2009.

The Chairman declared the meeting closed at 11.08 p.m.

Clare Lightfoot, Clerk

Tel: 01235 850486

31st May 2009

Village of the Year

In 2007 you will recall that Upton was runner-up in the Vale section of the Calor Oxfordshire Village of the Year Competition. We did not enter in 2008.  

Now is our chance to put together an entry for 2009 which has to be in by 31st May.  We are looking for 2-3 volunteers who can pull the entry together and then, providing we are shortlisted, give up a Saturday in July to present the entry to the judges. The village is in a better position to do well than it was in 2007 so please think about helping to put an entry together. If you are interested please give Mike Brown 850135 or Clare Lightfoot 850486 a call.

Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting 6th April 2009

UPTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting of Upton

held on Monday 6th April 2009 at 8.00 pm in the Village Hall

Present: Mr M Brown (Chairman), Mr J Dickens, Mr D Mason, Mr S Norman,

Mrs T Seelig , Mr G Summers

Mrs C Lightfoot (Clerk)

Mr C Lamont (County Councillor)

Mr R Farrell (District Councillor)

Mrs A Brown (Blewbury School Representative)

Mr P Gardiner (Parish Transport Representative)

Mrs J West (Upton Village Hall Amenity Trust)

21 members of the public attended.

1. Apologies for Absence: received from Mr & Mrs D Beckles, Mrs C Davies, Mr J Scarborough,

Mr & Mrs B Simpson and Mr G de Wilde.

2. Minutes of the meeting of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Tuesday 8th April 2008 were read by

Mr G Summers. The minutes were agreed to be a true record and duly signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman opened the meeting by saying that reports had been circulated in advance of the meeting and he welcomed questions. A copy of reports is attached to these minutes.

3. Discussion on Annual Reports

i) Chairman’s Report: the Chairman gave an overview of Parish Council (PC) activities outlining where objectives had been met and listing areas where the PC had been less successful.

Questions and comments arising:

Beeching Close: Mrs De Wilde said that there were still unresolved issues and matters were being pursued with the Ombudsman.

Cycleway to Blewbury: the Chairman reported that it is unlikely that the cycleway will go ahead in the foreseeable future despite it being the top priority in the parish plan. The permission of the landowners to change the official status is required.

ii) Finance: the accounts show a healthy situation with a balance being carried forward of ~£14,000. A donation of £9,000 had been promised towards the village hall extension.

iii) District Councillor: in answer to a question on rodent control, Mr Farrell said that it was not a duty of the Local Authority to deal with this problem. Mr Summers had received 13 reports of rats in different locations throughout the village and it was perceived to be an issue which should be addressed collectively.

Mr Joel asked whether we are entitled to road sweeping. Mr Farrell said that the District Council provides 50% towards street cleansing. The PC to pursue. Clerk

The Chairman thanked Mr Farrell for his report.

iv) County Councillor: no questions. The Chairman thanked Mr Lamont for his efforts on our behalf in the past and wished him well as he retires as District Councillor in June 2009.

v) Parish Transport Representative (PTR): Mr & Mrs Gardiner were thanked for their hardwork which had been much appreciated over the past 10 years. Mr de Wilde has agreed to act as Sustrans Ranger.

vi) United Charities: it was noted that if anyone was in need of financial help Mrs Whitmell should be contacted.

vii) Blewbury School: no questions.

viii) UVHAT: it was noted that £80k had been raised which is sufficient to allow UVHAT to go to tender for building the extension to the Village Hall. It is hoped to be able to place the contract by end of May with a start date of end June.

ix) Neighbourhood Watch: no questions

x) St Mary’s Church: no questions

4. Discussion on the future

Volunteer Work Force The Chairman outlined how he would like to see the village’s volunteer work force evolving in the future. He would like 3 parishioners to come forward who together with a member of the PC would form the steering group of a new “club” of village volunteers. The steering group would look at proposed projects that will improve the amenities and the village environment, decide which projects should proceed and arrange and manage them. The PC will remain accountable for the actions of the volunteer workforce. After discussion the majority were in favour of the revised set up.

A document outlining the working practices of the new “club” will be drawn up by the steering group and submitted to the Parish Council for approval.

Mr Maytham and Mr Lott volunteered to join the Chairman as members of the steering group. Chairman

Projects for the Workforce to consider:

Downs Litter Pick in the Summer: To undertake a one-off tidy up of the area on the south side of Alden Farm which is not covered by the annual litter pick and where fly tipping is a problem.

Clearance of Frog Alley Stream: To clear out the dead and dying shrubs and trees over a 400m length of the stream. Permission of the landowner has been given. Mr Joel said that the stream is crystal clear and any clearance is unnecessary.

Resurface Frog Alley: To resurface Frog Alley so that it could be walked throughout the year. This idea has been under consideration for the past 2 years. A note was put in the Upton News in 2008 suggesting it should be made pedestrian only and seeking opinions (just 1 parishioner objected). The County Council Highway’s Dept who are currently responsible for the road have been asked if it could be re-classified as a footpath and a gate installed – a response is expected soon.

Mrs Durbin commented that Frog Alley is what it is and there are other walks when Frog Alley is impassable.

It was agreed that both clearing the stream and constructing a footpath would be a huge project requiring support of the village.

Other Suggestions for the Workforce to consider:

  • Tidy up the site of the old telephone box
  • Erect rabbit fencing and chop back the bushes in the Recreation Ground alongside the old railway line.

Other suggestion for the Parish Council to consider:

  • Purchase the grass collector that will fit on the Mower

Effects of Village Hall closure during building of extension

It is anticipated that the hall and parts, or even all, of the children’s play area may be out of use for up to 3 months whilst it is classified as a building site. Mrs West was asked to check whether this will be the case. Users will be kept informed on progress. Some regular bookings will transfer to the Methodist Hall. Mrs West

Fund Raising for the Car Park/Patio

At least a further £10k is required in order to double the size of the cark park. A quote for the patio is awaited.

Ideas for further fund raising would be appreciated.

Mr Lightfoot said that he is prepared to organise a fun run and requested helpers. Mrs A. Brown, Mrs Lott,

Mr Maytham and Mr Whitmell volunteered.

Parish Transport Volunteer

A representative is urgently required to act as PTR. This involves occasional meetings in Oxford where policy matters are discussed. The next meeting is scheduled for 15th April. Mr Gardiner said that it was very important that we send a representative at bus review time. The Parish Council to continue its search for a volunteer. PC

Work on Recreation Ground

The Chairman proposed that the recreation ground be treated with weed killer as there are many bare patches caused by the growth of plantains. 2 accredited companies have provided quotes of £230 and £250. It was agreed to go ahead with this treatment. The meeting was assured that the recreation ground will be useable within 1 hour of treatment. Chairman

Village of the Year

The Chairman asked for 3 enthusiasts to prepare and make the presentation on behalf of the village. No volunteers came forward and therefore an entry this year is unlikely.

Energy Saving Initiative

For the last two years the Parish Council has been trying unsuccessfully to explore the idea of setting up an Upton Energy Saving Group and no offers had come forward as a result of a recent request in the Upton News for volunteers to set up the group. A number of people showed interest in exploring the idea and it was agreed to invite members of the Blewbury Group over to Upton to hear about their achievements. TS

First Responders: The Chairman outlined how first responders operate; he said that recently a person’s life had been saved through the actions of a first responder in a neighbouring village. Mrs de Wilde and Mrs Lott offered to be involved and Mrs Lott said that the company where she works may be prepared to sponsor a kit. The chairman will pursue this further. Chairman

New Ideas from the Village to follow on from Parish Plan

Parishioners requested that the following aims be incorporated in the Parish Council’s Annual Plan:

Mr Bob Lott proposed that the footpath to Blewbury be levelled, this was seconded by Mr D Whitmell. PC

It was suggested that an additional dog bin be placed at the Upton end of the Sustrans track. PC

5. Chairman’s closing remarks

The Chairman thanked the army of volunteers who carry out a range of tasks within the village and for being “good neighbours”.

Special thanks were given to Cathy Brown for compiling the Upton News, to Dawn Saunders in the Duck House for printing it and to Jessie West and her helpers who deliver it.

Thanks also to Brian Rippon for his unstinting work on the web site which is highly acclaimed both outside and inside the parish.

He also thanked parishioners for their support and for the excellent turnout at tonight’s Annual Meeting.

The Chairman said that he intended standing down from office with effect from the May 2009 Parish Council meeting.

6. Date of next meeting: no date was set for the 2010 Annual Parish Meeting but it will be in the second week of April 2010.

The Chairman closed the Meeting at 10.05 pm

Clare Lightfoot

13th April 2009

Clerk, Upton Parish Council

2008-09 Council Annual Report

Parish Council Annual Report 2008-2009
Chairman’s Report

This year has seen some changes in our composition having begun the year with just 5 councillors.

In July we welcomed David Mason onto the council and asked him to take the lead role in our work to support and provide facilities for our younger residents.

No sooner were we back to our full compliment than unfortunately in November Belinda Drew had to resign as she was leaving the area. During the 18 months that Belinda served she proved to be a valued and enthusiastic member of the council, we appreciate and thank her for her efforts.

Belinda’s resignation has created a vacancy that has been advertised in accordance with the regulations. We are hoping that we will have co-opted a new member before the Annual Meeting.

You will recall that last year I told you that we were doing our best to share the workload and that has continued this year.

Stuart Norman has continued with the lead role on roads and footpaths and is also our representative on UVHAT.

John Dickens has continued with the lead role on matters relating to our Recreation Ground and also continued as our representative on the Neighbourhood Action Group until January when that role was taken over by Celia Davies to complement her valued work as our Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator.

Tracy Seelig has continued with the lead role on matters relating with the play-area of the Recreation Ground and has taken over from Belinda as our representative on the Harwell Site Liaison Committee.

I have temporarily taken the lead role on planning matters as well as continuing with my responsibilities for amenities and communications (Upton News and Website).

Clare Lightfoot has continued to give us excellent support in her role as your Parish Clerk and Finance Officer.

This has been a year of mixed achievements with just about equal amounts of success and disappointing outcomes.

I will deal with the disappointing internal outcomes first.

One of the downsides (there are many upsides) of having a young council is that other than myself they all have to earn a living and three of them also have a young family to consider and that means as volunteer councillors they have limited time to spend on council activities. This needs to be taken into account when looking at the short-comings we have experienced this year. A disappointment to me personally has been our failure to get the energy saving project off the ground despite agreeing that 3 councillors should take this idea forward some 18 months ago. The idea of this type of project, which has been so successful in many other villages in the county, is to help us all save energy and to make us all aware of the ways available to us in which we can improve our carbon footprint. When the initiative was seen to be floundering within the council we asked for help from the village, none was forthcoming and we will need to agree at the meeting that this initiative is unfortunately dead.

Another internal problem has been our failure to find a member who was prepared to take on the role of Parish Transport Representative following the “retirement” of Peter & Juliet Gardiner who have done sterling work in that role for the past 10 years. This is a very important task if we are to continue to have our say on the standard of bus service we receive and have any influence on other local transport issues. Once again when we realised we had difficulties within the council we asked the village for help and sadly no one has come forward.

The third disappointment for me was our decision not to go ahead and enter the Village of the Year competition. The decision, which I believe to be the right one, was a combination of the difficulty in finding a group of volunteers to organise and present our entry and our feeling that we had not sufficiently moved on from the position at the time of our previous entry due to our failure to make progress on the energy saving and on an environmental improvement project.

On to the disappointing outcomes where we have tried our best without success.

The council did everything that it could to try to prevent the closure of our Post Office. On your behalf we spent a lot of time, sent out many protest letters and made countless telephone calls to all parts of the UK including Ireland. Right from the outset we were told that Upton had the lowest usage of any of the offices under threat in Oxfordshire and was the No 1 target for closure. Undeterred we made every effort including asking the Post Office for conditions under which the council could consider a deal where we covered the losses being made in this parish. The terms that they eventually offered just a week before the closure included us having to pay to them a non-negotiable £30,000 security up front to show we were able to cover the losses and were a capable organisation. We could not consider such action and at that point we had to reluctantly accept the inevitable knowing that we had done our best to prevent it.

You will recall that as soon as an application for an additional exit from Beeching Close onto the hump in Station Road was approved by the District and County Councils we called a public meeting because of our concern over safety. Over 50 of you attended with 20 more apologies and left us in no doubt that we should do our best to get the planning decision reversed. We wrote letters to the leader of the District Council and the leader of the opposition at the District Council. The leader of the opposition has still to reply but the leader of the council set up a meeting for us to go down to Abingdon to air our grievances and to seek a review. At that meeting the District Council agreed to seek clarification from the Highway’s Dept. on the contents of their erroneous report. The Principal Highways Engineer has replied with a less than factual response. We have pointed out the errors in his reply to the District Council but it would appear they have accepted his comments, or at least they have failed to respond to our latest letter.

We have now taken the matter up with Ed Vaizey who at the same time has been working with the residents of Beeching Close on other areas where the County Council have behaved in a manner that is less than acceptable.

The way this application has been dealt with by the District Council Planning Dept. and the County Council Highway’s Dept. clearly shows the difficulties we have in dealing with them. To both of them we are a minor irritant that keeps asking awkward questions and won’t go away despite their attempts to ignore both ourselves and some of our parishioners. I regret that despite our showing up the obviously flawed practices of both councils the exit will go ahead and the local residents will I am afraid have to put up with the safety consequences.

The later letters on this issue I have posted on our website so that you can make up your own minds on the competence of those involved in imposing this decision upon us. Please look under ‘Village News’ for an item titled ‘Planning Communication – Station Road’.

Having got the downsides out of the way let us turn to this year’s achievements of which we can be proud.

First an internal plus.

In November we suddenly stumbled on a directive that we must set up a system in which we had to make available to the world a vast array of documentation and it had to be in place by 1st January 2009. We obviously were not the only council caught on the hop as a few days later the deadline was extended but we had to be seen to be underway by 1st January. You will be pleased to hear we were much better organised than we might have been and had much of the documentation within the council but had not made it available to the public.

We were very grateful to Brian Rippon who worked miracles on the new website and soon had it set up and tailored for us to use. I estimate it has taken about 100 hours of councillor’s effort in writing, collating and posting documents to get to where we are now. We have now completed the task and this week with more help from Brian the Parish Council section of the website has been tidied up. You now have access on the web to all the council’s documents that the government says you should be able to see, we will be very pleased to hear back any comments on the way the section has been set up and on documentation we have produced. Whilst at the time we were definitely not pleased with the government edict we can now look back and see that the effort we have put in can only improve the way in which both ourselves and future councils will work. The size of the Parish Council section on the website and the number of documents involved has left us with an on-going problem namely the amount of work that will be necessary to keep it up-to-date.

And now to the areas where the village can be proud.

The volunteer spirit within the village is still alive. With the help of a generous donation from Infinium the village volunteer work force has installed new safety mats under the swings and the climbing chains and has made good use of the best of the old safety mats by putting down an all-weather surface to allow greater use of the ball wall.

On another front that volunteer spirit has allowed us to make an enormous improvement to our Recreation Ground by allowing us to take control of mowing our own grass. The work of the 13 volunteers who manned the mowers for us during last summer was great and from the number of compliments that I received about the state of the Recreation Ground I know how much many of you appreciated their efforts. Due to the higher price of petrol and the fact the grass grew so well last summer we have not saved quite as much as I had predicted but including a generous write off on both mowers we still saved over £500 as well as improving the use and the appearance of our amenity.

It is largely down to savings like this by using our volunteer work force on so many jobs over the last 4-5 years and by very sensible forward planning that the Parish Council have been able to put up the sum of £9000 towards the cost of building the extension to our Village Hall. This initial promise from within the parish together with the news that something approaching that sum was also being raised by the residents has enabled UVHAT to go out to other organisations and obtain promises of funding that hopefully will allow work on the extension to begin in the next few months. Had the council not been able to put up that sort of sum I doubt that UVHAT would have had the same success. We hope by this time next year our enlarged hall will be in use and all the volunteers who have helped the council save money and all the councillors past and present who have sensibly planned the council’s finances can take their share of pride in that achievement.

If you have read the earlier version of this report with the note on the Litter Pick you will be delighted to hear that we did match last year with 30 volunteers going out on a cold but fine morning to do their bit in tidying up our parish. Those passing the Recreation Ground will see the results of our labours.

The above items are just some of the topics that has kept us all busy during the last year, there are many others that we have done our best to take forward with various degrees of success including getting part of our AONB tidied up, improving the safety of Chilton Road, creating a cycleway to Blewbury and improving the state of Frog Alley and the adjacent stream.

Mike Brown

Chairman Upton Parish Council

28/03/09

Finance Report

At the time of writing this report, which is not quite the end of the financial year, the council’s bank account shows a holding of £14,630. When the contribution of £9000 towards the village hall extension is made this will give the council reserves of just over £5000 which should be seen as very healthy for a parish of our size. With no further large projects looming in the foreseeable future your council will budget in future to maintain its reserves at that level.

It should be noted that about £400 recently donated by parishioners for improvements to the children’s playground is being held by the council and will not be spent until the extension to the village hall is complete.

The decision to undertake our own mowing has resulted in a saving to the council of just over £500 compared to the cheapest quotation that we received. It has been agreed that both mowers will be written off over a 5 year period at £450 per year. The saving on mowing whilst very acceptable was not as high as we had predicted due to the higher price of petrol last summer, a healthy grass growing year which meant more cuts and a higher than predicted maintenance cost.

Other significant outgoings during the year were

Clerks Salary £1900

Burial Ground Loan £826

Insurance £337

Playground Improvements £850

Village Hall Planning Approval £356

Our total spend in the financial year is predicted to be £6800 with a predicted income of £8000.

Next year we will see a loss of income due to a large drop in bank interest and a much smaller sum invested.

In the coming year the Parish Council will be heavily involved in handling the finances of the hall extension, in order that this in no way interferes with the normal council business separate bank accounts and income/expenditure reports will be set up.

Mike Brown and Clare Lightfoot

Chairman and Finance Officer Upton Parish Council

25/03/09

UPT/1972/4 Village Hall

Planning Application No UPT/1972/4

Location – Village Hall

Application- Modification to Extension to Village Hall

Applicant – Parish Council

Application Date – 21-02-09

Parish Council Reply – No Objections

District Council Decision – No Objections

Note

All drawings and other hard copy documents connected with the above application will be destroyed after 3 years.

For further information on this application visit www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk and click on Planning and Planning Applications using the above Ref.No.

Minutes of Meeting 25th March 2009

UPTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of Upton Parish Council in the Village Hall on

Wednesday, 25th March 2009 at 8.00 pm

Present: Mr M Brown (Chairman), Mr D Mason, Mr S. Norman, Mrs T Seelig, Mrs C Lightfoot (Clerk),

Mr G Summers, Mr R Farrell, Mr C Lamont (part time), PCSO L Gardner & colleague (part time)

1. Apologies: received and accepted from Mr J Dickens.

2. Declarations of Interest: none recorded

3. Minutes of meeting of Upton Parish Council held on 28th January and the Extraordinary meeting held on 12th February 2009 having been previously circulated were agreed to be a true record and signed by the Chairman.

4. Matters Arising

i) Future of volunteer groups ) the Chairman proposed that these items be deferred

ii) Parish Transport Representative ) to the Annual Parish Meeting

iii) Model publication scheme – see Item 10(vi)

iv) Litter pick – this is scheduled to take place on 28th March at 9.30 a.m.

v) Vale of White Horse Chairman’s Community Awards lunch – Mr Brian Arnold was nominated to attend and had written to the Parish Council thanking us for his nomination and saying that the event had been very enjoyable.

Police Report

PCSO Gardner reported that there had been no notified incidents in Upton since 28th February 09. Additional patrols are being made to address problems in the Frog Alley Farm area and incidents of poaching and criminal damage on the Ridgeway. The SID machine is in evidence regularly on the A417 and Chilton Road. Regularly police surgeries are being held in Upton. If dates are provided they will be advertised in the Upton News

5. Co-option of additional councillor

The Chairman welcomed Mr Summers to the Parish Council as a co-opted member.

6. County Councillor’s Report

Mr Lamont reported that the County Council had received its Annual Audit and Inspection and in the area of education had received a lower rating than previously. He said that there were a number of factors which made this a difficult area to address.

7. District Councillor’s Report

Mr Farrell outlined the difficulty faced by the Vale due to the drop in interest rates. The Vale’s budget had been set in February with a resultant 4.8% rise in council tax. He said that a number of redundancies had been made following the merger of the Vale and South Oxfordshire DC. Further savings will be achieved with the joint waste collection due to commence in October 2010.

8. Villagers’ Forum

Mr Summers reported that there had been complaints about rats in various parts of the village.

After discussion the Chairman proposed that we establish the extent of the problem by placing a note in Upton News requesting feedback from parishioners. The Parish Council will then investigate hiring the services of a professional company to deal with the problem. MB


9. Planning Applications

The following planning applications have been permitted with conditions:

UPT/15731/3 09/00018/FUL – Renovation of barn including vertical extension to provide family room, utility room, shower room, master bedroom and ensuite bathroom at the Coach House, Alden Farm Lane, UPT/20176/1 – Demolish roof to existing and raise ridge height to create new first floor and room in the roof, also kitchen area to ground floor. Single storey sun room to side aspect at Stream Cottage.

It was noted that the Vale have not clarified the position of agricultural land being used in this application. Mr Farrell will check the position. RF

10. Reports from Councillors’ on areas of responsibility

i) Roads and Footpaths:

Cycle Track from Blewbury to Upton

Mr Norman reported that further discussions had taken place with the landowners, and modified proposals had been put forward, but it seemed unlikely that the cycle track would be agreed in the near future.

ii) Recreation Ground: The Chairman said that the recreation ground would benefit from spraying off the plantains. This would have to be undertaken by a professional contractor at an estimated cost of £250. It was agreed that this should be considered at the Annual Parish Meeting.

iii) Playground: Mrs Seelig said that a new inspection rota had been distributed. Safety tiles need removing to the Drayton tip.

iv) Village Hall: the revised planning application is under consideration by the Vale.

v) Young Parishioners: nothing further to report.

vi) Communications and other Amenities: The Chairman reported that the work on the Model Documentation Scheme which required about 100 hours of effort from councillors is now just about complete. The list of documents now displayed on the website is very impressive. The concern now is the time it will take to keep the system up-to-date.

vii) NAG: Mrs Davies, Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator, will attend future NAG meetings on behalf of the Parish Council.

viii) UKAEA Stakeholders Committee: Mrs Seelig has agreed to attend future meetings.

ix) Energy Saving Initiative: Mr Farrell agreed to put us in touch with the appropriate person in Blewbury in order that the Parish Council can make an informed decision about the merits of taking this initiative forward. RF

11. Finance

i) Statement of Financial Situation.

The Chairman reported that he had checked expenditure and receipts almost to year end and was satisfied they are in line with expectations. Copies of receipts, expenditure and the completed estimates sheet will be circulated to members soon after the end of the financial year. They will also be posted on the website. Clerk/MB

ii) Invoices for payment since last meeting

Clerk’s Salary – February & March 09 – £311.80

Milton Garden Machinery (servicing mower) – £71.93

Mr B Simpson – copies of plans for Village Hall extension – £21.16

Mr M Brown – reimbursement of fuel for mowers – £33.10

The above payments were agreed.

iii) Financial transactions since last meeting

Bank Interest: January £1.34, February £1.32

The above receipts were noted.

iv) Distribution of Council’s Charitable donations

After discussion the following donations were agreed:

£200 St Mary’s Church (towards upkeep of cemetery and production of Upton News)

£25 Mr & Mrs G Churchman (gratuity for locking recreation ground gates). This payment is justified under para 8 of the Local Govt Act 1972.

£50 Air Ambulance

£50 South and Vale Carers

£40 CPRE annual subscription

12. Correspondence recently received

i) BDO – local council briefing Spring 09

ii) Nominations requested for Community Policing Awards

iii) VWH Core Strategy Preferred Options Evidence Base. Evidence can be seen on Vale website – comments requested by 30th March

iv) CPRE Fieldwork publication – March 2009

v) Oxfordshire CC – Consultation on proposed changes to shelter grants scheme – March 2009

The above correspondence was noted.

13. Date of next meeting:

The Annual Parish Meeting is to be held on Monday 6th April 2009.

The next Parish Council meeting is to be held on Wednesday 27th May 2009.

14. Additional Item – Frog Alley

It was agreed to discuss this as an additional item so that thoughts can be put forward for discussion at the Annual Parish Meeting.

The Chairman said that Frog Alley is classified as a road and responsibility for its maintenance rests with the County Council but he did not think it correct in these times of restricted budgets to ask them to use their resources to make it usable for traffic. About 12 months ago the Parish Council published an idea in the Upton News to install a gate just below the pumping station and make the bottom 300m pedestrian only and asked the County Council to agree to permanently closing the road no decision has yet been made. The original idea does not now have the full support of the Council.

The following actions were agreed:

  • Mr Norman to put a proposal together on what the council should be looking to do in Frog Alley in the future. This proposal will need to be agreed by all members of the council. SN
  • If “A Volunteer Workforce” is formed at the Annual Parish Meeting it is to be asked to consider clearing the stream in Frog Alley. This action was originally requested by a parishioner.

15. The Chairman concluded the meeting by saying that he wished to resign as Chairman at the end of the current term of office having completed 2 years.

Meeting closed at 10.10 p.m.

Clare Lightfoot, Clerk

Tel: 01235 850486

2nd April 2009

Reports for the Upton Village Annual Parish Meeting 2009

Parish Council Reports 2008-2009

You will have seen in the Upton News that the reports will not be read out in full at the meeting this year which gives us the opportunity to include more detail than in previous years. Rather than go over the report information in full we feel there are more important issues that we would like to discuss with you in the time we have available at the Annual Meeting. In particular we would like your thoughts on the following

1) It is now 5 years since we worked on the Parish Plan. Its publication created a lot of ideas and work for the council but things have moved on and we need your latest thoughts, criticisms and ideas on what we should be looking at in the coming year.

2) The future of the Volunteer Work Force, which you will remember was an early spin off from our Parish Plan. There is a feeling that it would be better if the Force were to be organised by a small group of volunteers away from the Parish Council. It would be the role of that group to come up with projects, seek the finance necessary and organise the working parties. The advantage would be to further share the workload, to involve more people coming up with more ideas of how we can improve our environment, make it easier for that organisation to seek project funding and it should help make parishioners proud to be a member of the force.

3) What can we do about finding a Parish Transport Representative?

4) The likely effects the work on constructing the hall extension will have on the availability of the hall and the use of the children’s playground.

The Parish Council reports and all the other reports received prior to the meeting can be viewed on the Upton village website and will be made available in hard copy prior to this meeting. We hope will read through them and then at the meeting we will welcome and encourage questions and requests for more information or clarification that we will be pleased to provide.

We really do hope you will be able to join us on Monday April 6th at 7.45 p.m. for 8.00 p.m. and that we are able to enjoy a very constructive meeting.

Chairman’s Report

This year has seen some changes in our composition having begun the year with just 5 councillors.

In July we welcomed David Mason onto the council and asked him to take the lead role in our work to support and provide facilities for our younger residents.

No sooner were we back to our full compliment than unfortunately in November Belinda Drew had to resign as she was leaving the area. During the 18 months that Belinda served she proved to be a valued and enthusiastic member of the council, we appreciate and thank her for her efforts.

Belinda’s resignation has created a vacancy that has been advertised in accordance with the regulations. We are hoping that we will have co-opted a new member before the Annual Meeting.

You will recall that last year I told you that we were doing our best to share the workload and that has continued this year.

Stuart Norman has continued with the lead role on roads and footpaths and is also our representative on UVHAT.

John Dickens has continued with the lead role on matters relating to our Recreation Ground and also continued as our representative on the Neighbourhood Action Group until January when that role was taken over by Celia Davies to complement her valued work as our Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator.

Tracy Seelig has continued with the lead role on matters relating with the play-area of the Recreation Ground and has taken over from Belinda as our representative on the Harwell Site Liaison Committee.

I have temporarily taken the lead role on planning matters as well as continuing with my responsibilities for amenities and communications (Upton News and Website).

Clare Lightfoot has continued to give us excellent support in her role as your Parish Clerk and Finance Officer.

This has been a year of mixed achievements with just about equal amounts of success and disappointing outcomes.

I will deal with the disappointing internal outcomes first.

One of the downsides (there are many upsides) of having a young council is that other than myself they all have to earn a living and three of them also have a young family to consider and that means as volunteer councillors they have limited time to spend on council activities. This needs to be taken into account when looking at the short-comings we have experienced this year. A disappointment to me personally has been our failure to get the energy saving project off the ground despite agreeing that 3 councillors should take this idea forward some 18 months ago. The idea of this type of project, which has been so successful in many other villages in the county, is to help us all save energy and to make us all aware of the ways available to us in which we can improve our carbon footprint. When the initiative was seen to be floundering within the council we asked for help from the village, none was forthcoming and we will need to agree at the meeting that this initiative is unfortunately dead.

Another internal problem has been our failure to find a member who was prepared to take on the role of Parish Transport Representative following the “retirement” of Peter & Juliet Gardiner who have done sterling work in that role for the past 10 years. This is a very important task if we are to continue to have our say on the standard of bus service we receive and have any influence on other local transport issues. Once again when we realised we had difficulties within the council we asked the village for help and sadly no one has come forward.

The third disappointment for me was our decision not to go ahead and enter the Village of the Year competition. The decision, which I believe to be the right one, was a combination of the difficulty in finding a group of volunteers to organise and present our entry and our feeling that we had not sufficiently moved on from the position at the time of our previous entry due to our failure to make progress on the energy saving and on an environmental improvement project.

On to the disappointing outcomes where we have tried our best without success.

The council did everything that it could to try to prevent the closure of our Post Office. On your behalf we spent a lot of time, sent out many protest letters and made countless telephone calls to all parts of the UK including Ireland. Right from the outset we were told that Upton had the lowest usage of any of the offices under threat in Oxfordshire and was the No 1 target for closure. Undeterred we made every effort including asking the Post Office for conditions under which the council could consider a deal where we covered the losses being made in this parish. The terms that they eventually offered just a week before the closure included us having to pay to them a non-negotiable £30,000 security up front to show we were able to cover the losses and were a capable organisation. We could not consider such action and at that point we had to reluctantly accept the inevitable knowing that we had done our best to prevent it.

You will recall that as soon as an application for an additional exit from Beeching Close onto the hump in Station Road was approved by the District and County Councils we called a public meeting because of our concern over safety. Over 50 of you attended with 20 more apologies and left us in no doubt that we should do our best to get the planning decision reversed. We wrote letters to the leader of the District Council and the leader of the opposition at the District Council. The leader of the opposition has still to reply but the leader of the council set up a meeting for us to go down to Abingdon to air our grievances and to seek a review. At that meeting the District Council agreed to seek clarification from the Highway’s Dept. on the contents of their erroneous report. The Principal Highways Engineer has replied with a less than factual response. We have pointed out the errors in his reply to the District Council but it would appear they have accepted his comments, or at least they have failed to respond to our latest letter.

We have now taken the matter up with Ed Vaizey who at the same time has been working with the residents of Beeching Close on other areas where the County Council have behaved in a manner that is less than acceptable.

The way this application has been dealt with by the District Council Planning Dept. and the County Council Highway’s Dept. clearly shows the difficulties we have in dealing with them. To both of them we are a minor irritant that keeps asking awkward questions and won’t go away despite their attempts to ignore both ourselves and some of our parishioners. I regret that despite our showing up the obviously flawed practices of both councils the exit will go ahead and the local residents will I am afraid have to put up with the safety consequences.

The later letters on this issue I have posted on our website so that you can make up your own minds on the competence of those involved in imposing this decision upon us. Please look under ‘Village News’ for an item titled ‘Planning Communication – Station Road’.

Having got the downsides out of the way let us turn to this year’s achievements of which we can be proud.

First an internal plus.

In November we suddenly stumbled on a directive that we must set up a system in which we had to make available to the world a vast array of documentation and it had to be in place by 1st January 2009. We obviously were not the only council caught on the hop as a few days later the deadline was extended but we had to be seen to be underway by 1st January. You will be pleased to hear we were much better organised than we might have been and had much of the documentation within the council but had not made it available to the public.

We were very grateful to Brian Rippon who worked miracles on the new website and soon had it set up and tailored for us to use. I estimate it has taken about 100 hours of councillor’s effort in writing, collating and posting documents to get to where we are now. We have now completed the task and this week with more help from Brian the Parish Council section of the website has been tidied up. You now have access on the web to all the council’s documents that the government says you should be able to see, we will be very pleased to hear back any comments on the way the section has been set up and on documentation we have produced. Whilst at the time we were definitely not pleased with the government edict we can now look back and see that the effort we have put in can only improve the way in which both ourselves and future councils will work. The size of the Parish Council section on the website and the number of documents involved has left us with an on-going problem namely the amount of work that will be necessary to keep it up-to-date.

And now to the areas where the village can be proud.

The volunteer spirit within the village is still alive. With the help of a generous donation from Infinium the village volunteer work force has installed new safety mats under the swings and the climbing chains and has made good use of the best of the old safety mats by putting down an all-weather surface to allow greater use of the ball wall.

On another front that volunteer spirit has allowed us to make an enormous improvement to our Recreation Ground by allowing us to take control of mowing our own grass. The work of the 13 volunteers who manned the mowers for us during last summer was great and from the number of compliments that I received about the state of the Recreation Ground I know how much many of you appreciated their efforts. Due to the higher price of petrol and the fact the grass grew so well last summer we have not saved quite as much as I had predicted but including a generous write off on both mowers we still saved over £500 as well as improving the use and the appearance of our amenity.

It is largely down to savings like this by using our volunteer work force on so many jobs over the last 4-5 years and by very sensible forward planning that the Parish Council have been able to put up the sum of £9000 towards the cost of building the extension to our Village Hall. This initial promise from within the parish together with the news that something approaching that sum was also being raised by the residents has enabled UVHAT to go out to other organisations and obtain promises of funding that hopefully will allow work on the extension to begin in the next few months. Had the council not been able to put up that sort of sum I doubt that UVHAT would have had the same success. We hope by this time next year our enlarged hall will be in use and all the volunteers who have helped the council save money and all the councillors past and present who have sensibly planned the council’s finances can take their share of pride in that achievement.

If you have read the earlier version of this report with the note on the Litter Pick you will be delighted to hear that we did match last year with 30 volunteers going out on a cold but fine morning to do their bit in tidying up our parish. Those passing the Recreation Ground will see the results of our labours.

The above items are just some of the topics that has kept us all busy during the last year, there are many others that we have done our best to take forward with various degrees of success including getting part of our AONB tidied up, improving the safety of Chilton Road, creating a cycleway to Blewbury and improving the state of Frog Alley and the adjacent stream.

Mike Brown
Chairman Upton Parish Council

28/03/09

Finance Report

At the time of writing this report, which is not quite the end of the financial year, the council’s bank account shows a holding of £14,630. When the contribution of £9000 towards the village hall extension is made this will give the council reserves of just over £5000 which should be seen as very healthy for a parish of our size. With no further large projects looming in the foreseeable future your council will budget in future to maintain its reserves at that level.

It should be noted that about £400 recently donated by parishioners for improvements to the children’s playground is being held by the council and will not be spent until the extension to the village hall is complete.

The decision to undertake our own mowing has resulted in a saving to the council of just over £500 compared to the cheapest quotation that we received. It has been agreed that both mowers will be written off over a 5 year period at £450 per year. The saving on mowing whilst very acceptable was not as high as we had predicted due to the higher price of petrol last summer, a healthy grass growing year which meant more cuts and a higher than predicted maintenance cost.

Other significant outgoings during the year were

Clerks Salary £1900

Burial Ground Loan £826

Insurance £337

Playground Improvements £850

Village Hall Planning Approval £356

Our total spend in the financial year is predicted to be £6800 with a predicted income of £8000.

Next year we will see a loss of income due to a large drop in bank interest and a much smaller sum invested.

In the coming year the Parish Council will be heavily involved in handling the finances of the hall extension, in order that this in no way interferes with the normal council business separate bank accounts and income/expenditure reports will be set up.

Mike Brown and Clare Lightfoot

Chairman and Finance Officer Upton Parish Council

25/03/09

District Councillor’s Report 2009

The main issues to which I would like to draw your attention are:

  • the expansion of joint working with South Oxfordshire District Council,
  • the joint senior management arrangements between the Vale and South Oxfordshire,
  • the new waste collection contract,
  • Continuing pressures on the Vale’s budget.

I have long thought that the structure of local government in our part of Oxfordshire was wrong. It seemed crazy to me that the Vale, a small authority with fewer than 120,000 electors had its own Chief Executive, its own legal department, HR department etc. and that SODC, a similarly sized council, had the same. For this reason I enthusiastically supported the proposal in the consultation a year or two ago that the Vale and SODC be allowed to form a unitary authority – in other words one that was responsible for the services at present provided by both the County and District Councils. In addition to efficiency savings, this would have the advantage that there would no longer be any doubt in the public’s mind as to which council was responsible for providing a particular service. Sadly, after a change of ministers the government seemed to loose interest in the subject and permitted only a relatively small number of new unitaries. A Vale/SODC unitary was not among them, but the government did say that it expected local authorities to make the savings by joint working anyway.

Three years ago the Vale and SODC jointly outsourced their finance operations to Capita Local Government Services and this operation is overseen by a Supervisory Board made up of councillors from both authorities. This year joint working has been taken substantially further forward with the creation of a joint senior management structure for both councils which now share a chief executive, David Buckle, who was previously the chief executive of South Oxfordshire. David is supported by three very experienced strategic directors who divide between them oversight of all functions of both councils. Under the strategic directors each service has a senior officer responsible for similar operations in both councils so that, for instance, the same person is head of planning at both Vale and SODC. Getting to this position has, inevitably, been a difficult and at times, painful process, as serving officers sought to gain selection for jobs that covered much of their existing responsibilities. It was made slightly easier by the fact that several officers elected to take early retirement and there had been one post vacant. Even so three long serving officers were made redundant, or four if you count Terry Stock, the former chief executive of the Vale who lost out to David Buckle.

This January a contract was awarded jointly by the Vale and SODC for waste collection in both districts. This will entail the weekly collection of food waste, both cooked and raw, and also either recycling or residual waste on an alternating basis. The new arrangements come into operation in SODC this year and in the Vale next October when the present waste collection contract expires. Hopefully, this will mean that any snags with the new contractor will be ironed out in SODC before operations start in the Vale. I believe that it will result in a significant increase in the recycling rate, which has been the experience with similar waste collection regimes which are well established at other councils.

The new contract will also bring substantial financial benefits to both the Vale and SODC. It is anticipated that by municipal year 2011/12, the first full year of operation for the Vale, the benefits of the new contract and the enhanced recycling credit income will save the Vale over £760,000 a year. This will be most welcome as the Vale continues to face relentless financial pressures, particularly as a result of the new duties that the government imposes on the Vale, but does not fund satisfactorily.

A good example of the above is the Council’s experience with concessionary fares. Although the government says that it is fully funding this scheme, this is far from the truth. Last year’s budget, the first covering the new national free bus pass for the over 60’s, contained a provision of £130,000 as our finance officers believed that this is what it would cost the Vale over and above what the government may have provided – and even that is obscured by smoke and mirrors. In the event the new scheme has proved to be even more popular than anticipated, and this year a further £319,000 is required to meet the cost of providing this service.

Last time that I travelled on a bus from Blewbury to Didcot it cost me £2.50 return, (although this was almost a year ago and it may have gone up since). I presume that the fare from Upton would be similar so that just one trip a week would add up to £130 per annum. Compare this with the amount of one’s council tax bill that is retained by the Vale (as opposed to being passed on to the County Council, the Parish Council and the Police) which ranges from £74.87 for a Band A property to £224.62 at Band H, with Band D, the most often quoted measure, at £112.31. The only slight sign of relief is that during the really cold weather a month or two ago the use of bus passes fell quite sharply.

A further financial pressure comes from the credit crunch, from which the Vale is not immune. When the budget was being finalised it was anticipated that lower income from the council’s substantial cash and property investments would reduce revenue income by over £1.1 million, and, if anything, interest rates have eased further since then. All these figures should be seen in the context that this year the Vale will be raising £5.38 million in total from the council tax payer. Our council tax is capped so that once efficiency savings have been exhausted any revenue shortfalls have to be met by cutting services.

I will, as always, be happy to answer any questions that anyone might have about this report or any other council matter, either at the Annual Parish Meeting, by phone (850275), or by email at richard.farrell@whitehorsedc.gov.uk.

Richard Farrell

Upton Parish Transport Representatives (PTR) Report.

Buses: During the year, the 94 service came up for its 4-yearly review under the County Council Review of Subsidised Bus Services programme. Although the previous company had proved to be unreliable and unable to sustain the service, the timings of the buses had been very satisfactory for the village. However, the 94 was under great threat as it was a heavy loss-maker for the County Council. We therefore made representations and attended meetings with the Council to do all we could to save this service, which is of vital importance to the village. In May we heard that the service was to be taken over by Heyfordian, and that the timetable, with minor alterations, would stay very much as it had been before. This was good news – the only disappointment being that the 9.00 a.m. bus had been removed, the one that had proved of most use to many villagers. A 9.50 a.m. service has been substituted which, although free to pensioners, is far too late for most purposes. Since it started on 1st June, the Heyfordian service, with its comfortable and reliable bus, has proved very satisfactory.

Cycle Track: For many years we have been Sustrans rangers for the Upton end of the track. This unfortunately we are unable to continue to do. There is another ranger, Keith Walton of West Hagbourne, but as he is also in his seventies it is not really possible for him to carry out the heavy work of clearing up bad cases of litter, which is a continuing problem.

Railways: We understand that a planning application has at last been submitted for the radical redesign of the forecourt of Didcot Parkway station.

Upton PTRs: After 10 years as Upton PTRs, we feel the time has now come for us to retire. We sincerely hope a new volunteer can be found, and will be only too pleased to give all the help we can in the meantime.

Juliet and Peter Gardiner

United Charities of the Ancient Parish of Blewbury (Blewbury, Upton and Aston Upthorpe) Report.

The United Charity is managed by a group of Trustees. One of our functions is to provide financial gifts to certain elderly residents of Upton at Christmas time and to contribute to a Christmas lunch for them. This was carried out last year but the number of recipients has, sadly fallen. If anyone feels that they would like to nominate a new recipient to the charity, would they please contact me. There are certain financial criteria to be met, but we guarantee total confidence and careful consideration of any nominations made.

Charmian Whitmell Trustee, representing Upton, Tel: 01235 850135

Blewbury School Report

We are pleased to report that in its recent Ofsted Inspection Blewbury School achieved not only a “good” rating, but one with significant “outstanding” elements. Here are some of the highlights from the report which provide a good summary of the school and what it stands for:

“The school provides an exceptional curriculum” which “captures pupils’ enthusiasm for learning and their thirst for knowledge.”

“Teachers… invariably set interesting and challenging activities that are well matched to pupils’ interests and learning needs”

“Provisional results in the 2008 national tests at the end of Year 6 show standards that are above average in English, mathematics and science”… “Current year 6 pupils are achieving well and are on track to attain the targets set for them and to improve on the current above-average results”.

“Pupils in all year groups are eager to learn, enjoy coming to school and behave exceptionally well.”

“Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are outstanding.”

“Pupils are proud of their contribution to the school and to the lives of others through membership of the influential school council and eco-councils” and “thrive on the many opportunities that they have to take responsibility”.

“Parents were unanimous in saying that their children enjoy school and this is reflected in the exceptionally high levels of attendance.”

“The outstanding emphasis on global development has enabled the pupils to have a highly developed sense of the importance of global understanding.”

We believe one of Blewbury’s strengths is its ability to identify areas for improvement and address them. This was reflected in the really encouraging comment from the Inspector that the school had the potential to achieve an “out-standing”.

Aside from the Ofsted inspection, the school has had a very busy and successful year:

  • Maintained our excellent staff from 2008/9 into 2009/10
  • All new Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum requirements met in full
  • The Creative Partnership Project gave children the opportunity to work with an architect and visual artist, solving problems in practical and constructive ways
  • The Comenius Project ‘Fit for the Future’ took place in which 6 pupils travelled to France and took part in an Eco Council
  • Secured place in “Pathfinder” trial – grant to enable economically disadvantaged children to participate in activities as part of extended schools and beyond.
  • 89% of key stage 2 children participated annual activities weekend, where they learn to take risks and extend their perception of their capabilities
  • A number of teachers visited Uganda (grant funded) and have been able to bring Uganda “alive” in the class room
  • New website launched, new prospectus produced and increased Upton News articles
  • Hosted a trainee German teacher in Summer 2008 and will host two further teachers in 2009
  • Art Exhibition raised funds for the school and displayed children’s work
  • Mid Summer Night’s Dream production by Year 2 in Spring 2008
  • The school will introduce a breakfast club in September 2009

Andrea Brown, Local Authority Governor

UVHAT Annual Report 2009

A revised planning application for the hall extension is currently being considered by the Vale of the White Horse District Council. The original plan included dividing doors across the hall to enable two meetings to take place simultaneously. Due to a shortfall in funds available the dividing doors will not now be installed. The revised plan adds a metre to the length of the archive room and includes a window and an emergency escape door. This will facilitate holding two separate meetings at the same time.

Promises amounting to £67,770 have now been received from various official bodies and £5,595 from people living in the village. A further £4,145 has been raised at events held in the village during the past twelve months and the Trust itself has built up some financial reserves in recent years.

The Trustees think, therefore, that they may soon be in a position to go ahead with the scheme to extend the hall – providing the building of the patio and the extension to the car park is deferred. Providing also, of course, that an affordable tender is forthcoming from a reputable building firm.

The Government has reduced the VAT payable in 2009 to 15%, and so completion of the work by the end of the year would save about £2,000.

Accordingly, the Trust has appointed a Managing Architect to oversee the invitation of tenders, the letting of the contract and the execution of the work.

It should be stressed that the work will only go ahead in the next few months if an affordable tender is received.

It is important that the fundraising should continue. Any money received that is not needed for the extension itself can be used for the patio.

Brian Simpson
UVHAT Treasurer

Neighbourhood Watch Report

On the whole we have had a quiet year in Upton on the Neighbourhood Watch front.

In October 2008 there were 2 reports of vandalism in the village, one being an empty property in Fieldside being renovated by builders where damage occurred and the other being flagstones removed from outside a dwelling, also in Fieldside. Both incidents occurred on the same night.

In Frog Alley a car was stolen from the owner’s driveway and in Fieldside a 4 Wheel Drive was stolen also from the owner’s drive.

There were 3 burglaries in the summer of 2008.

One being in Beeching Close and 2 along the Reading Road area of Upton.

Otherwise things have been fairly quiet especially when you compare our few incidents with those in the larger local villages and Didcot itself.

Celia Davies

Upton Organiser NHW 29th March 2009

St Mary’s Parochial Church Council Report

Church life in the village continues to flourish with a regular congregation attending our weekly Sunday morning services together with the other acts of worship. We now hold a Family Service once a month starting at the later time of 10.00am which over the past year has been well supported by children and their parents. These are set to continue and all are very welcome to attend.

During the year we welcomed our new Rector, Father Jason to St. Mary’s who together with his wife Miranda have now settled in the Benefice living at The Rectory in Blewbury. Together with Father Anthony and The Revd. Louise Butler they lead our acts of worship at St. Mary’s at most of the services and provide important pastoral care. In turn, the Lay Ministry Team and those who serve on our Parochial Church Council to whom we are extremely grateful support the Clergy.

The final phase to complete the refurbishment of the Church building has recently been undertaken namely the internal redecoration. This now complements the new roof, floor, lighting and heating systems that we have installed over the past few years. A great deal of this work was carried out and supervised by our dear friend and long serving Churchwarden Tony West who sadly died during the year. He is sorely missed for many reasons not least as our regular organist.

There will be ongoing repair work as for any building and particularly one of this age but the fabric is now well protected for the foreseeable future.

Our annual fete remains one of the primary sources of fund raising for the work of the Church including the maintenance of the property. The support received from those living in the village for this event is much appreciated.

Julian Sayers 30th March 2009

County Council Report

The Audit Commission report on the County Council this year gave it an overall rating of three stars, out of a possible four, and “improving well”. This is not quite such a good result as two years ago, but it is still very satisfactory in comparison with many other Councils, including the Vale. The report says that “the Council is delivering better outcomes and infrastructure improvement that are enhancing the quality of life for its residents. Effective partnership working is improving health, reducing inequalities and making Oxfordshire a safer place to live. The environment is well managed, with strong focus on sustainability.”

Areas where there is some criticism are GCE results, road deaths and violent crime. These are difficult matters to address and you may wonder why the Council is blamed for violent crime, when that is not under its control. The answer to that is that the Government is now insisting on “Partnership Working” with other bodies such as the Police and the NHS. If a Partnership fails to deliver its targets the Council has to share the blame. However, as the report gave financial management and use of resources the maximum possible score you can feel satisfied that the Council is using your money wisely.

Elections for a new Council will take place on 4th June this year but I shall not be standing for re-election. I have done four terms as a councillor on the Vale and the County and I think I deserve a rest. It has been a privilege to represent you, which I have very much enjoyed.

Colin Lamont