DRAFT MINUTES
Annual Council Meeting of Enstone Parish
Held on Thursday 22nd May 2025 at 7.00 pm at Enstone Parish Hall
for the purpose of transacting the following business:-
Present: Parish Councillors N. Knott, C. Glendinning, N. Peart, A. Ward, J. Ferguson-Davie, CC Geoff Saul, DCs Alex Wilson and Andrew Beaney and two members of the public
APOLOGIES: PCs P. Shaw, C. Millar, D. Robottom & H. Bourne-Taylor
IN ATTENDANCE: Mrs Beth Sinclair, Parish Clerk
At the start of the meeting, a minute’s silence was held to remember the two firefighters and one member of the public who perished at Bicester Motion on Thursday, 15th May
256. Election of Chair (Cllr. A. Ward Chaired)
Cllr. A. Ward proposed and Cllr. C. Glendinning seconded the proposal that Cllr. N. Knott be re-elected as Chair. All Councillors unanimously agreed to this proposal and Cllr. Knott was thanked for all her continued hard work and dedication to the Parish.
257. Chair’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office
Cllr. N. Knott signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office Form.
258. Election of Vice Chair (Cllr. N. Knott Chaired)
Cllr. N. Knott proposed the re-election of Cllr. P. Shaw as Vice-Chair, and this was seconded by Cllr. A. Ward. All Councillors unanimously agreed.
259. Vice Chair’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office
Cllr. P. Shaw will sign the Declaration of Office Form at June’s meeting.
260. Appointment of members to carry out quarterly independent checks of
The Council’s Financial Records:
It was agreed that all members check these on a quarterly basis at the
Parish Council Meeting. It was also agreed that Cllr. Glendinning continues to check the bank statements against payments and receipts and was thanked for this. From 1st April 2025, the Parish Council has implemented the new financial software “Scribe”.
261. To Appoint a Planning Sub-Committee:
It was agreed that all members of the Council would form the planning subcommittee.
262. To appoint a Committee to receive Notifications covering complaints about
members. The Chair, Vice-Chair, one other member and Clerk will form this committee.
263. To appoint Councillors to check through the draft minutes
Cllrs. Knott, Glendinning & Shaw will continue to check the draft minutes.
264. Appointment of Trustees to ERINC for four years from 24th April 2025:-
- Cllr. Philip Shaw
- Mrs. Karen Ward
- Mr. Rory Calderwood
265. Members’ Allowances/Expenses for the period 1.4.24-31.3.25 – None
266. Clerk’s Appraisal and Salary Review:-
- This will be undertaken in July. The clerk’s salary is negotiated on an annual basis with the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) – Noted
267. Register of Members’ Interests:-
- Cllr. Ward queried whether an interest needs to be declared as his spouse is a Trustee of ERINC. It was agreed that this was necessary, and the clerk will contact Cllr. Shaw, explaining that he too needs to declare an interest with the Monitoring Officer at WODC.
268. Review of Standing Orders following the Model Publication dated April 2025
From the NALC:-
- The clerk had circulated the first draft, incorporating the updated Standing Orders with the Parish Council’s. These will be discussed further at June’s meeting.
269. Parish Council’s Financial Regulations:-
- These are discussed at the annual Finance Meeting held in November. Noted.
The meeting concluded at 7.15 pm.