Parish Newsletter June 2009

The annual parish meeting is an opportunity for villagers to raise issues of concern

and interest for open discussion with the Parish Council. Thirteen members of the

public attended. Annual reports from Marsh Baldon and Toot Baldon parishes were

given together with that of the Baldons Fuel charity, a report on developments and

activity at the school, and a progress report on the Parish Plan.

Our District and County Councillors also reported on their work. Cllr Turner referred

to his efforts to resolve some of the outstanding construction issues of the new school

hall and help to resolve parking problems. He also referred to the County Council

budget and financial problems in maintenance of roads and pavements.

Elizabeth Gillespie referred to her work as our representative on SODC and

commented on the success of the concessionary fares scheme in spite of it creating an

overspend for the district council. She updated the village on the current status of the

proposed developments off Grenoble Road and the requirement by government on

SODC to include the plans and feasibility of this in the SODC local plans.

Other issues raised included new waste and recycling arrangements and discussion on

parking problems outside the school with a report on the recent meeting between the

Parish Council, School Governors and OCC to consider measures to resolve the

problems. Villagers indicated a wish to see progress and action on this.

John Maskell, parish treasurer, reported on the Council financial status for 2008/9

which in summary shows:

Receipts and b/f £16,894.98

Payments (£4,866.43)

Parish Plan budget (£1,174.57)

Balance £12,028.55

Anyone with questions on the parish finances can contact the treasurer direct.

Since the Annual Parish meeting as most of you will now have heard or seen reported

in the press the government have now issued their final South East Plan which in

spite of all the objections made over the past 5 years does make provision for a

review of the green belt and the building of 4,000 houses South of Grenoble Road.

The outcome is disappointing but not totally unexpected but this may not be the end

of the road. SODC and OCC remain very opposed to this development and there will

be much more negotiation before any development is firmed up or planning

permissions granted.

4

Election of Officers

The following were re-elected

Chairman Dorothy Tonge

Vice chairman Charles Barclay

Treasurer John Maskell

14th July 7.30 pm Village Hall

Don't forget the start of the new waste collection service on June 8th. If you have

queries about your bins or collection points do phone the help line, 03000 610610,

where staff are helpful.

Things you can and cannot place in the new recycling wheeled bin are:

YES (preferably clean) NO

Any paper, card, magazines and

telephone directories

Mirrors

All steel and aluminium food and drink

cans

Lightbulbs*

Aluminium foil including food trays Batteries*

Household plastic packaging including

all plastic bottles, food trays, yoghurt and

margarine pots

Window panes, glass cookware (Pyrex),

glasses etc

All glass bottles and jars (any colour) Chinaware

Aerosols Children's toys

Food and drink cartons (tetrapaks) Cling film

Plastic bags Food waste

Garden waste

* These can be recycled at the County Council Recycling Centres

When the new service starts on 8th June all recyclables, including glass bottles and

jars, will need to be placed in the new green wheeled bin and you will no longer be

able to use the obsolete green recycling box with this system. Should you not be able

to find a use for it and would wish for its removal please give me a call or e-mail and

I shall have it removed for you.

Ralph Slaney - Clerk to the Baldons Parish Council

01865 343275

Clerk@BaldonsPC.org.uk

5

On 22 April, the Annual Parish Meeting agreed to retain the parish council. The

meeting requested South Oxfordshire District Council to call an election for five new

councillors to fill all the vacancies. The district council will consider this request at

its meeting on 18 June and, if the council agrees, on the 19th will make an official

order calling the election.

Nominations can be delivered to the elections office between the 19 and 29 June, and

if more than five people are nominated then a ballot will be held on 24 July. If five or

fewer people are nominated they will be elected unopposed on 29 June.

After the Annual Parish Meeting, the parish council met briefly.

They agreed to write to the district council requesting an election of new councillors.

The annual parish meeting makes the formal request, but the council wanted to make

their support for this clear to the district council. They noted that the parish council

has to pay all the costs of the election.

They agreed to purchase a standard insurance policy for the council and discussed the

formal audit of the accounts in July.

They decided not to give a grant to the village hall until after the costs of the election

are known. It does leave the village hall committee very short of cash in the

meantime.

For further information, contact the Clerk, Mrs Jennifer Thompson on 01491 823619

or email jennifer.thompson@southoxon.gov.uk

The financial and administrative implications of having a Parish Council were

discussed. It was noted that moving to a Parish Meeting or Grouping, instead of

retaining a parish council, would be irreversible under current legislation and that this

would mean Nuneham could not revert back to having its own Council in the future.

After a discussion amongst the villagers there was a unanimous vote that Nuneham

should try to maintain its own Parish Council. The term of those elected would run

until the next formal election date in 2011.

6

The draft policy, which sets out the planning framework for the whole of SODC until

2026, has been out to public consultation. After discussion between the villagers still

present and the Councillors it was agreed that a formal response would be made with

particular objection to plans to review the Green Belt and build 4,000 homes south of

Grenoble Road - these having an adverse impact on the environs of Oxford and our

villages and also potential issues concerning traffic generation. It was noted that the

strategy introduces the concept of limited housing development in small villages of

up to 0.1 hectare.

Other issues discussed at the parish meeting included:

Speeding and related road safety issues - Mary Jenkins is to approach the local

Neighbourhood Action Group to discuss what action might be taken. Issues

around the re-opening of the pub and safety aspects of access onto the A4076

were raised.

Need to have a more accessible village noticeboard outside the Village

Hall/Flower Angel

Signage for Global Retreat Centre and Village Hall on the main road. The

appearance and need for the ‘toad' signs was the cause of comment

Environmental improvements - including matching gates at the north end of the

village and a path from the village to the Arboretum. There is a clear desire to

improve the appearance of the village. The need for improved signage versus

the impact of proliferation of signs was noted

Flooding - the need to keep this raised. The continued support of SODC in

trying to resolve matters was noted.

Notices etc. related to Council business will be placed on the board outside Flower

Angel. Any matters villagers want raised should either be notified to Jennifer

Thompson or brought to the next Parish Council meeting for discussion at an

appropriate point on the agenda.

If any other villagers on the electoral roll wish to put themselves forward for election

as a Parish Councillor then they should, in the first instance, contact Jennifer

Thompson at SODC (jennifer.thompson@southoxon.gov.uk, 01491 823619). If there

is also any interest in taking on the role of the Parish Clerk then please also let

Jennifer know.

Colin George (39 NC)

7

Those who remember Annie and Paul Church and their daughters will be pleased to

know that Annie is to be ordained on Saturday 27th June at St Woolos Cathedral in

Newport. Please pray for her. Her email address is anniechurch@hotmail.com.

There will be a Clutter Clearance Sale at Nuneham Village Hall on Saturday 13th

June. A limited number of tables are available if you wish to sell your items (Contact

June on 01865 343371). Home made cakes, tombola and refreshments will be

available. Doors open from 2pm - 4pm.

11th July - The Nuneham Courtenay Village Hall Committee would like to invite all

local residents to come together for a Summer Social from 7pm onwards. More

details to follow.

By the time that you receive this Newsletter, I suspect that the tickets will already

have sold out. So can we ask you to pray for better weather than we have had in the

past couple of years? Similar format to before, can you please bring chairs and

support the bar which helps to defray the costs. Also can we have volunteers for the

erecting and dismantling.

Erecting - Friday night (26/6/09) at 6.30 p.m. followed by a refreshing beer in the

Seven Stars

Dismantling - Sunday (28/6/09) at 10.30 a.m. (as there is a cricket match in the

afternoon - weather permitting), again a small libation after.

Adam is in charge of marquees - can volunteers please email him to let him know:

ackw@another.com

We are preparing for the Ball on 19th September and any volunteers to take on some

of the workload would be much appreciated. Can you please contact Linda

linnysimpson@btinternet.com.

Please keep the date free and make up tables of 8-10

Chris Lake

Chairman Baldon Events Committee

8

Just a reminder of the excitements planned for this term:

5th June: A- Team to visit

19th June: Drumming session

3rd July: BBQ and Rounders on the Green

After the ‘Juniors' excellent production of ‘Skellig' it is now the turn of the older

generation. Whilst we cannot match the talents of our offspring we are nevertheless

pressing on undaunted with planning our next production, the Neil Simon farce

‘Rumours'. We expect to stage this in mid-November. Whilst some are using the

excuses of court-room battles and pre-Christmas sales drives to keep out of the show,

a hardened core of local luvvies will be starting to rehearse shortly under the

directorial dictates of Dave Adlam. We think it's a show our audience will enjoy as

much as we will enjoy putting it on.

Whilst we have cast this latest production we are always looking for help backstage.

So if you'd like to help out with this one, or in are interested in performing in future

shows, then please let Colin George know - 01865 343767 or

colin.george@virgin.net.

In June and July we will be collecting subscriptions for the 2009 / 2010 newsletters.

The price will remain at £5 for the year's 10 issues. Please use the envelope attached

and write your name and address on the front: collection of these will be by your

usual distributor for the Baldons, while those in Nuneham and Little Baldon will be

able to leave their envelopes at Flower Angel, by kind permission of Yasmin.

Items for the July / August 2009 (DOUBLE ISSUE) newsletter, by 16th June please,

to Natasha Eliot: tashaandjames@btopenworld.com. Alternatively I can be contacted

on 340562 or at The Barn House, Baldon House East, Marsh Baldon.

For advertising queries, please contact Sheila Harris on: s.harris886@btinternet.com

or on 340403.

9

10

Dorchester Abbey, Sunday 7 June at 7 pm, followed by refreshments & Quiet Spaces

Dorchester Abbey welcomes Dr. Marcus Braybrooke and Rebecca Hind for a

celebratory presentation of their most recent publications, Beacons of Light and

specially made performance by artist Holly Slingsby.

Studies show that walking is great for your health, both physical and mental.

Walking also offers a great way to help kids get the active habit, and if they

experience walking as part of a fun activity they are more likely to want to go again.

So, how do you find out what is on offer? John Harris, a keen walker, got fed up with

the lack of information on walks that were going on in the County. So, he decided

that if he couldn't find what he was looking for - he had better create it!

www.walkinginoxfordshire.co.uk gives you all the information you need for the best

walking in the County:

Details of more than 100 walks to download and print free, details of all the

Oxfordshire walking groups, maps and walk books - plus loads more information.

So check out the website and get walking!

Thanks to everyone who came to the Plant and Seedling Swap. It was a great success:

the plants were very cheap and the refreshments delicious!

If you're interested in joining the BGG then please contact Diana Belli, tel: 343384

or dianabelli@btinternet.com

11

12

7th June 9.30am Holy Communion Toot Baldon

11.00am Informal Worship Service Berinsfield

6.00pm Holy Communion Drayton St Leonard

14th June 9.30am Holy Communion Drayton St Leonard

11.00am Holy Communion Berinsfield

21st June 9.30am Holy Communion Marsh Baldon

11.00am Holy Communion Berinsfield

11.00am Holy Communion Berinsfield

7th June 9.30 am Ann Druce

14th June 6.00 pm Sonia Hobbins

21st June 9.30 am John Mason

28th June 8.30 am

9.30 am Peter Barclay-Watt

7th June J Hackney & V Sandilands Angela Avis

14th & 21st June W Barclay & R Anggard J Van Dijk & S Hobbins

28th June & 5th July C Attewill & L Barnett J Van Dijk & S Hobbins