FULBROOK PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF MEETING
Date: 9
th February 2023
7.00pm
Venue The Parish Church of St James
Present: Councillors Dr Peter Burns (Chairman) PB
Mr Robert Warner RW
Dr Filipa Hinton FH
WODC Councillor Hugo Ashton
Parish Clerk Mrs Sarah Ebeling
Parishioners attending: 2 Parishioners.
Apologies:
OCC Councillor Mr N Field-Johnson
Mr Malcolm Taylor MT
For convenience the following abbreviations may be used in some instances in these Minutes.
FPC Fulbrook Parish Council
OCC Oxfordshire County Council
POF Parishioners Open Forum
WODC West Oxfordshire District Council
OALC Oxfordshire Association of Local Councils
NALC National Association of Local Councils
CHA Cottsway Housing Association
TVP Thames Valley Police
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1 Public Participation
No public participation
2 Declaration of Interests
Nothing new to declare.
3 Minutes of the meeting held on the 17th November 2022
Minutes of the last meeting were signed by the Chairman.
4 Vacancy
There is now a vacancy for a new councillor.
Clerk to advise in the newsletter.
5 Matters arising
5.1) Trees by Orchard Row.
A member of the public present at the meeting opined that these trees are Horse Chestnuts which
are prone to a disease that can cause branches to snap without warning. Could be a good idea to
take half the weight off the top.
Contact a tree surgeon to look into and advise.
5.2) 20MPH speed limit
Peter has emailed Geoff who is the project manager for the 20 mph limit project and it looks
promising that we can get this applied through Fulbrook.
PB to email Nicholas Field-Johnson to ask if he will support our application.
5.3) Speed Camera
No response from the company as of yet.
Clerk to call and ask them to come out and look at the camera.
5.4) Sweeping of the A361
The side of the road just past Orchard Row going down towards Burford is covered with leaves
and mud. This has built up quite a lot and will need sweeping to clear.
PB to repot on ‘Fix my street.’
6 Reports from County and District Councillors
Hugo Ashton:
Bridge
Listed building consent has been applied for with regards to adding the Bollards to the bridge to
act as a protection for pedestrians. Comments have been made with regards to large vehicles being
able to safely cross the bridge once the bollards have been erected. It was asked if some kind of
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rounded curbs could be used instead to help with the large vehicles being able to cross the bridge.
This could however then cause problems for Pushchairs. The tarmac being redone on the
pedestrian walk would also be beneficial in making it safer for pedestrians.
Fix My Street
You can add someone to be a ‘Super User’ on fix my street – Hugo to send over the details on how
to apply for this.
Planning
Land East Of Barns Lane: Planning has been turned down again however there is expectations for
this to be appealed. Geologists had confirmed that there were problems with the water mains
which would be problematic with future building plans.
WODC Budget Meeting
This is due to take place next week with council tax looking to go up by 2.9% and green waste
bins to go up to £45 a year.
Nicholas’ report is attached to the end of the minutes.
7 Amenities
7.1) Plant Sale
It was discussed whether purchasing a card machine would be beneficial going forward for the
yearly Plant Sales. ‘Sum Up’ can be purchased from around £30.
MT to check if this can be linked up to the council bank account and to look into which
device would be best.
7.2) Coronation
It would be nice to be able to hold a village event for the Kings Coronation.
Clerk to add something into the newsletter asking for volunteers to plan the event.
8 Fundraising
PB to follow up on some fundraising routes.
9 Planning
Outline application with some matters reserved for the erection of 4no terraced cottages with
associated parking and access way. – Land East Of 4 Meadow End Fulbrook Burford Oxfordshire
Sue & Richard Newport were both present for the meeting as the councillors had a few
questions/requests.
Can a 10ft wire-type fence be placed on the boundary between the park and the new houses? This
will stop balls etc from going over the fence and disturbing the residents.
Can a construction management plan be put in place to restrict times that the building work takes
place. This is to make it safer when children are going to school and on the way home.
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A good amount of signage needs to be up to make sure construction vehicles do not end up driving
through Meadow End and to make sure all the children that live in the street can still play outside
safely while the work is being carried out.
Sue & Richard were both happy to look into all these comments/questions when finalizing
the plans.
Councillors response to the planning application
Councillors are in agreement that this modest project of four linked houses is the right project, in
the right location at the right time. The reason for support is twofold. First, there is a need for less
expensive housing in the village to attract newcomers (we are thinking of young families). Second,
there is a need for smaller houses in the village that long-term, older residents who wish to
continue living here can downsize to, thus releasing their larger houses to new owners who will
have the wherewithal to maintain them and their grounds. The parish council has a responsibility
to think about sustainability and we are very much hoping that sustainability will be built into
these houses that goes beyond current planning criteria. We would like to see heat source pumps,
solar panels (that can be built into the roof at construction stage), and smart technology that will
keep energy costs down for the new owners. On a separate point, the plot is next to the village
children’s playground so we recommend a high wire mesh fence between the plots that will
prevent the nuisance of balls landing in gardens. We wish the developers, who are residents of the
village, the best of luck with this project.
10 Speed Watch
Currently with the camera down we are unable to collect any data from the camera at this time.
PB to pick this back up once it is back up and running.
11 Play Park
BW normally takes ownership of the monthly maintenance checks at the play park and he asked if
any other councillors would be happy to share this out. Councillors all agreed they were happy to
help with this.
Clerk has spoken to Sovereign Play and been given an updated quote for the rest of the upgrade
plans. The councillors have agreed to do this in stages and to look at the next stage which should
be moving the toddler swings back in order to add a new basket swing for the older children.
Clerk to go back to Richard to discuss further.
12 Financial Statement
13.1) Financial Statement for November/December agreed at the meeting.
13 Climate Change
No new updates
14 Next Meeting
The next meeting will take place on the 23rd March 2023.
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REPORT TO FULBROOK PARISH COUNCIL – FEBRUARY 2023
FROM CLLR NICHOLAS FIELD-JOHNSON
GENERAL OCC REPORT
COUNCIL BUDGET FOR 23/24
OCC has received an unexpectedly generous Local Government Settlement which
has resulted in the council having a surplus of £9m relative to the draft Budget that
has been out for public consultation. Rather than use this surplus to cut Council Tax,
the administration is looking for ways to spend the money. This approach is being
contested by the Conservative Opposition. The Budget will be debated and voted
upon by Full Council on 14 February.
OCC SPENDS £152K ON 20MPH SCHEME ADS – £10K IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE!
The LibDem/Green/Labour
administration at OCC is
spending £8m of Council Tax
payers’ money switching 85% of
the county’s 30mph speed limits
to 20mph. This is little more than
a cosmetic sign-changing
exercise, and in most cases is
not supported by the police, who
are unlikely to enforce it.
Nevertheless, many parish
councils are giving the scheme a
go while others are concerned
that lots of money is being
wasted.
While there is disagreement on
the merits of the scheme, almost
all Oxfordshire residents will be
baffled why they are funding the
administration’s selfcongratulatory advertising aimed
at BUCKINGHAMSHIRE residen
ts! This photograph was taken at
Tesco, Broadfield, Aylesbury,
BUCKS on Sunday 8th January.
The ‘out of Oxfordshire’ element
accounts for about £10,000 of
the overall advertising budget of
£152,000 for the campaign.
PLANS TO SPLIT OXFORD INTO FOUR SECTORS WIDELY ATTACKED
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As previously reported, OCC plans to spend £6.5m on traffic filters that will split
Oxford into four sectors: North, South, West and East. When the traffic filters are
operating, for cars without a permit, movement within each sector is unrestricted, but
direct movement between sectors is not possible and requires use of the ring
road. Affected motorists will face much longer journey times and distances. The
intention is to force a change in behaviour. The Conservative Opposition has grave
concerns about the sectors proposal and condemns the misinformation that is being
spread.
OXFORD LTNS REMOVED FOR REPAIR AS TAXPAYER BILL SOARS
The Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) scheme continues to be highly controversial.
In November 2022 OCC said it had spent £72,000 repairing vandalised plastic
bollards. Many of the plastic bollards have now been removed at various locations in
Oxford. OCC is temporarily replacing them with metal plates embedded in concrete.
Officers said this is a safety measure while bollards are being repaired or replaced.
OCC is now spending £100,000 to replace the plastic bollards with steel ones to
prevent further damage.
OCC CABINET APPROVES CONTINUED STADIUM DISCUSSIONS WITH
OXFORD UNITED
OCC’s cabinet has authorised its officers to start negotiations with Oxford United FC
on outline legal and commercial terms relating to the club’s proposal to lease land for
the development of a new football stadium. Any final decision regarding the leasing
of the land will be taken in public by a future cabinet meeting.
OCC Cllr Nicholas Field-Johnson, Burford & Windrush
Valley
nick.fieldjohnson@oxfordshire.gov.uk and nfjuk3@gmail.com
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REPORT TO FULBROOK PARISH COUNCIL – NOVEMBER 2022
FROM OCC CLLR NICHOLAS FIELD-JOHNSON
GENERAL OCC REPORT
THAMES WATER AGAIN DUMPS RAW SEWAGE INTO OUR RIVERS.
Thames Water’s latest 48-hour sewage release amid a hosepipe ban has “nailed the
myth” that dumping only occurs into rivers in high flow.
During the first heavy rain for months, the water company started releasing sewage
from its Witney treatment works on Sunday afternoon with the discharges
continuing on Monday. There was also an ongoing release from the Oxford sewage
treatment works from Sunday afternoon into Monday.
Photograph from The Oxford Mail
WASP has also commented that: “Many rivers are still in very low and slow
conditions and Thames Water is still applying for drought orders to take even more
water from the aquifers, yet there is only one place that untreated sewage is going
when the effects of 33 years of underinvestment mean that far too much rainwater
still gets into the sewers and overwhelms inadequate sewage works – into our
depleted rivers, and nationally our coastal waters as well.”
One has to ask when will the National Government act to stop this damaging
practice to our environment which makes our rivers unfit for generations to come.
OCC COALITION CONTINUES WAR ON MOTORISTS IN OXFORD
A wide range of initiatives are either in place or being consulted upon. These
include:
· ZEZ (Zero Emissions Zone): Non-electric cars are charged or fined if they enter
the area
· LTNs (Low Traffic Neighbourhoods): Through traffic is blocked from certain
areas
· Traffic Filters: The city is to be split into four sectors and cars without permits
will be unable to travel directly from one sector to another
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· Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs): Cars without permits are fined if they park in
certain areas
· WPL (Workplace Parking Levy): Businesses are to be taxed if they provide
parking spaces for employees
While understanding that traffic is a huge issue in Oxford, one has to wonder
whether this is an overkill and there is concern about the amount of Council time
and Council money being devoted to Oxford in comparison to towns and villages.
OCC DECLINES THE GOVERNMENT’S INVESTMENT ZONES INVITE
The OCC Coalition has written a formal letter to the Secretary of State for
Levelling Up to explain why OCC has decided not to bid to be involved in
Whitehall’s investment zones initiative. One may well question this decision
– why not accept Government money at a time of great need…??
OCC Cllr Nicholas Field-Johnson, Burford & Windrush Valle