DRAFT MINUTES
E N S T O N E P A R I S H C O U N C I L – F I N A N C E M E E T I N G
A meeting of the Council was held on:-
Thursday 2nd November 2023 at 7.00 pm in Enstone Parish Hall
PRESENT: Parish Councillors N. Knott (Chair), P. Shaw, D. Robottom, T. Gilbert, R. Parker, C. Glendinning, M. Gomm and A. Ward
APOLOGIES Cllr. H. Bourne-Taylor
IN ATTENDANCE Mrs B Sinclair, Clerk
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.
1. Apologies for Absence had been received from Cllr. H. Bourne-Taylor (after the meeting)
2. Review of minutes from the Finance Meeting held 3rd November 2022:-
a) The One-way system at the shop had been delayed due to one objection being received by OCC. A meeting by the Cabinet at OCC is to be held in January 2023. There has been confusion in that some residents thought that the one-way system was for the whole of Chapel Lane, not just the village shop.
b) Dog & litter bins – £800.00 has been budgeted for any bins that need installing in the future.
c)Monies towards the King’s Coronation totalled £1,300.00 with a budget of £1,500.00.
d)Christmas Tree – Cllr. Gilbert agreed to arrange this.
e)£2,000.00 had been budgeted for repair to the wall along Coxs Lane – the estimates totalled circa £18K and so this work has not been carried out. The monies will be transferred towards the extension of the pavement along Coxs Lane to the Charlbury Road junction.
f)£5,000.00 towards road safety along Lidstone Road – the clerk will contact OCC about the possibility of gates.
3. Renewal of Sports Club Lease & Rent Review:-
Cllr. Knott thanked Cllrs. Robottom, Gilbert, Shaw and Ward for all their work liaising and meeting with the sports club. Cllrs. Gilbert, Shaw & Ward met with committee members on 31st October 2023 and the following were addressed:-
- From 2023/2024, the rent is to be a peppercorn rent of £5.00 – this was unanimously agreed (Cllr. Parker abstained) from voting.
- The clerk is to contact the insurance company regarding third-party liability for persons using the sports field/club who are injured when not playing in an organised game.
- The sports club will submit quotes to the Parish Council by 10th December regarding the refurbishment of the clubhouse and replacement of the garage, mowers, and tractors and updating the kitchen with the use of S106 monies (subject to approval by West Oxfordshire District Council).
- Should the S106 monies be approved for the sports club, the improvements will be for the benefit of the whole village, not just sports club members – this was unanimously agreed.
- The description of the “sports field” will remain.
- Membership – anyone can use the sports field without being a member. To use the clubhouse, anyone is welcome but membership is necessary to be part of the ESSC committee and voting rights. No one will be turned away for not being a member and the terms & conditions will be updated to make this clear. The alcohol licence at the club does not depend on it being a ‘Private Members’ Club’.
- It was agreed that fundraising activities should also be included within the scope of the new lease, in addition to the use of the premises as a sports field.
- The Parish Council will fund the tree survey, as needed, with the ESSC undertaking the resulting work.
- It was agreed to arrange for the lease to be extended for another 25 years but to have a break in the clause every five years (in terms of the Sports Club) in case of future pandemics, for example. This was unanimously agreed.
- The clerk will contact Weller Hadleys, Solicitors, regarding updating the new lease.
4. Parish Questionnaire
Although this was not an agenda item, following 144 responses, Cllr. Knott acknowledged that it is clear many residents need to be better informed about what is available within the parish. The Parish Council, Parish Hall Management Committee, the Sports Club and the School could work together to improve the current facilities available. Many responses were for better sports facilities. A quarterly newsletter from all the organisations within the parish was suggested and could be put into the Ensign. It is acknowledged that with Covid and the cost of living crisis, young families are finding it difficult to socialise and undertake sporting activities. A Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) at the sports club could create further sporting events. Suggested activities included netball, basketball, a running club and having flood lights. A further suggestion was to create more car parking spaces within the current sports field and join the sports club and parish hall land together. All this can only be achieved with more volunteers to run such clubs and a willingness from everyone within the Parish to engage more and create an improved community spirit.
In the first instance Cllr. Robottom agreed to contact Mrs Mann at Enstone School.
5. Draft Budget 2024/2025 to include responses from the Parish Questionnaire 2023;-
The draft budget was discussed to include:-
- Monies towards celebrating the 80th anniversary of D-Day on 4th June 2024
- Monies towards installing a pavement along Coxs Lane
- Monies towards road safety along the Lidstone Road (£5K already allocated) for example, white gates near the current 30 mph sign before the entrance of the school as vehicles travel from Chipping Norton to Enstone.
- A contribution to WODC towards the S106 monies for recreation (ten per cent of the total amount i.e. £7,500.00).
Cllr. Glendinning and the clerk will work together to draw up the draft budget/precept calculation and shall present this at November’s Parish Council Meeting.
6. Date of Next meeting – Thursday, 23rd November 2022 at 7.00 pm
The Chair thanked everyone for attending and the meeting closed at 8.50 pm