FULBROOK PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF MEETING
Date: 13
th July 2023
7.00pm
Venue The Parish Church of St James
Present: Councillors Mr Malcolm Taylor (Chair) MT
Mr Robert Warner RW
Dr Filipa Hinton FH
Dr Peter Burns PB
Parish Clerk Mrs Sarah Ebeling
Parishioners attending: None
Apologies:
OCC Councillor Mr N Field-Johnson
WODC Councillor Hugo Ashton
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 11th May 2023
Minutes of the last meeting were signed by the Chairman.
4 Co-option of new council member
All councillors agreed with the co-option of Toby Staveley to become a councillor of Fulbrook
Parish Council.
5 Matters arising
5.1) 20MPH speed limit – see Road Safety
5.2) Speed Camera – see Road Safety
6 Reports from County and District Councillors
See reports from both Nicholas Field-Johnson and Hugo Ashton at the end of the minutes.
7 Responsibilities of Fulbrook Parish Council
7.1) Parish Clerk
MT ran through a brief description of the Clerks responsibilities and duties with the Clerk’s Job
Description, Procedure & guidance and Clerk to FPC duties documentation being handed out to all
councillors before the meeting, MT advised that the Clerk should always call upon councillors
when needed.
7.2) Parish Council
The Parish Council are responsible for the following:
• Meadow End Play Park
• Public Benches
• Parish Funds
• Fulbrook War Memorial
• Footpaths
• Fulbrook Garden
Footpaths were discussed further. What is the Parish Councils duties when it comes to the
footpaths? What are the footpath warden’s duties?
Clerk to email OALC for further advice.
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8 Finance
8.1) Updated financial plan for 2023/24
MT explained the new set out of the financial statement which now includes the full year
projection so that all councillors can compare the year-to-date figures which the projections and
budgeted figures.
8.2) Financial Statement for April/May/June
Financial Statement agreed at the meeting.
8.3) Audit 2022/23
The financial statement and reconciliation has been agreed with the Internal Auditor. Clerk to meet
with him to go through the original bank statements and then he can sign off the audit.
8.4) Donations including increase for Fulbrook Church
Clerk received an email from the Church Treasurer asking if we would discuss the possibility of
increasing our yearly donation to £1,000 rather than the usual £500. All councillors agreed to keep
the donation at £500 however it was also agreed to pay the church ‘rent’ of £15 for each meeting
which is held at the church. The council meetings happen every two months and this would
therefore be an extra payment of £90 a year to help towards the maintenance of the Church.
8.5) Bank Accounts
NS&I: The council currently have two NS&I accounts with one being originally for the War
Memorial. MT has spoken to NS&I regarding changing the use of the account so we can access the
money for the Play Park Project. NS&I have advised that it will take up to 13 weeks before they
make the decision and we can move the funds. We do not foresee any issues with being able to
move the money to the TSB account.
Clerk to write to NS&I to change the address and to find out who has authority with regards
to both the NS&I accounts.
TSB: MT has spoken to TSB and updated the signatories on the account, removing old ones and
adding the relevant people to it. MT has also started the process for online banking as currently the
council pay their invoices through the payment of cheques rather than bank transfers.
9 Amenities
The current events that happen every year are as follows:
• Yearly Plant Sale
• 2 yearly village clean ups
• Carol singing
Movie Night – August
A movie night has been planned for August, with the movie of choice being ‘Mamma Mia’. As
this is a free event for people in the village to enjoy the councillors discussed the possibility of
asking villagers for donations which will then be used towards the play park renovations. It was
also discussed as to whether a ‘meet up’ could be arranged before the movie starts for people who
are unable to attend watching the movie to make the event more inclusive to everyone in the
village. MT advised that this would need to be discussed with The Carpenters Arms as that is
where the event is taking place.
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10 Planning and Estates
Footpaths: The footpath from the roundabout at the bottom of Fulbrook Hill going up towards
Westhall Hill is very overgrown. Fulbrook’s Footpath Warden has advised us to speak to the
landowners and ask them to keep the footpath trimmed so people can access them properly.
Clerk to email OALC to clarify the council’s responsibilities with regards to footpaths.
Trees by Orchard Row: The councillors all agreed that no action would be taken with regards to
the trees on the plot of land by Orchard Row and would advise residents to cut down any overhang
that is encroaching on their properties if it is causing problems.
Wall by the Memorial: The wall on the right-hand side as you approach the memorial is
increasingly pushing out and causing obstruction to the pathway and making it dangerous for
pedestrians.
Write a letter to highways to see if anything can be done.
Overgrown hedges causing obstructions: There are a few overgrown hedges causing
obstructions to footpaths and forcing pedestrians closer to the road when trying to get past them.
MT to write to homeowners with regards to their responsibilities with trimming back any
bushes that may be causing a problem.
Planning application process: When the clerk is notified of any planning applications relevant to
Fulbrook these are emailed over to councillors asking if anyone has any objections. If councillors
decide the plans need to be discussed properly then a meeting will be arranged in order to
accommodate this. Only strategic problems within the application should be noted by the Parish
Council. Any concerns that are in need of greater consideration can be passed onto Hugo Ashton
who can discuss these during District meetings.
11 Road Safety
11.1) Speed camera
PB has been in touch with Vish from Stock Signs who has advised that the camera is still under
guarantee and he has asked us to complete some checks regarding the batteries before they come
out to check the camera themselves.
PB to follow up further with them.
11.2) Burford Bridge
PB in correspondence with Peter Higgs and Hugo Ashton to keep conversation open regarding the
progress of the bridge fixture. Currently the bridge is due to be fixed in October however 3
months’ notice needs to be given before work can commence, which only leaves a couple of weeks
before the 3-month mark.
11.3) Work vehicles causing obstruction.
Work vehicles are being parked next to the houses by the bridge and they are causing obstruction
to pedestrians. Pedestrians are then forced to walk further into the road when trying to walk over
the bridge. This is particular problematic when people are also trying to get past with pushchairs.
PB to write to highways regarding this problem.
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12 Play Park
FH has submitted an application to the National Lottery Community Fund for funds up to £10,000
to go towards the Play Park renovations. The application process takes up to 13 weeks and she will
report back to the councillors once she hears news on this.
Other funding options have been discussed such as crowd funding, which has been very successful
with Burford Town Council, and easy fundraising.
FH and clerk to speak to local parents and children with regards to the current plans for the
renovation and to discuss what improvements they would like to see and discuss the current plans
with them.
Final plans to be agreed so that the Clerk can speak to Sovereign Play to draw up final plans
and get final costings.
By: mid-August so that funding levels can be assessed.
13 Climate Change
Nothing new to report
14 Future Meeting Dates
The next meeting will take place on the 21st September 20