Nuneham Courtenay Parish Council, May 09

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.

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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)