Decisions

RESOLVED:         that the Minutes of the Halls & Green Spaces Committee meeting held on 9 March 2020 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

With the express permission of the Chair, this item was moved up the agenda so that the members of the public could hear the debate.

The Committee received and considered the report of the Operations and Estates Officer.

A member said that if there was to be groundwork done he would like drainage to be looked into at the same time.

The Chair emphasised that there was little capacity for officer involvement.  The Parkrun representatives indicated that they would be happy to approach local firms to donate aggregate for the paths and also even to use volunteers to dig out the path if they could access Town Council Machinery under guidance.

During the presentation the Town Clerk had asked parkrun about funding streams, as there was no funding available in the current years budget for these works.  Parkrun said they could point the Council in the direction of funding or would be happy to be involved in making the application but as an organisation parkrun could not make grant applications itself.  The Town Clerk reiterated this point and the current capacity issues.

RESOLVED:          that the Town Council would facilitate the installation of a path subject to the Operations and Estates officer being satisfied at all stages and on provision that no Town Council funding or labour would be required.

RESOLVED:         that Cllr Butterfield be elected as Vice Chair of the Committee for the ensuing municipal year.

The Committee received and considered the report of the Operations and Estates Officer.

A member asked a question about football clubs returning and the Chair replied that it was a question of checking if they were insured to play – this was dealt with by the F.A.  The Operations and Estates Officer was trying to ascertain what the situation was.

The Chair asked if Woodgreen would be ready for the Spartans.  The Town Clerk advised that it had been delayed as District Council Officers had been redeployed dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

A member asked about recycling water from the splash park to water the cricket pitch at The Leys. The Town Clerk replied that a limited amount of water was already retained in a tank but it only held a certain amount of water.  Water recycling units had been looked into but were very expensive.  This could be something for the Council to look into as a bigger project in the future.

The Committee briefly discussed the possibility that the water pressure had been turned down and whether a question could be asked about it.

The Chair asked why the Town Council had not reopened public toilets on The Leys when the District Council had reopened its toilets.  The Town Clerk explained that it was a logistical/social distancing issue, whilst the District Council’s public toilet was one unit with clear accessibility, the Town Council’s facilities were accessed via a narrow walkway with no visibility to enable social distancing, however Officers were actively looking for a solution.

RESOLVED:          that the report be noted.

The Committee received and considered the draft Terms of reference for the Committee. The Chair asked if the word “supervised” in relation to football pitches could be replaced by something else.  The Town Clerk would change this.   A member commented that she thought third party events should be included.  Members agreed that this should be added in.  The Town Clerk would ensure this was added from the Stronger Communities Committee.

RESOLVED:  that the Terms of Reference as circulated be agreed subject to the word “supervised” (in relation to football pitches) being replaced with something suitable and the addition of third-party events.

Members received and considered the draft Terms of Reference for the new Committee.  A member felt that the council should firm up the concept of being carbon neutral by 2028.  She felt that this should state that the Council is looking to be carbon neutral in its operations by 2028 and will encourage residents to be more environmentally conscious.  She wanted this to be clear that it was not realistic to expect the whole town to be carbon neutral by 2028.

The Chair agreed.  Events held on our land should also work towards being carbon neutral. 

The Town Clerk commented that she was pleased to hear that members wanted this to be a very clear element in the Terms of Reference, as she had been led to believe initially it was something quite different when the motion was originally presented to Council last year.

A member referred to scope 1 – all use of fossil fuels and scope 2 – use of electricity, and this would be incorporated into the wording.

RESOLVED:  that the Terms of Reference for the Committee as presented be agreed with the addition of some wording explicitly on the Council’s commitment to Carbon neutrality by 2028 – Cllr Ashbourne would work on these with the Chair and they would be circulated to the Committee for approval.

The Committee received and considered the minutes of the Witney Traffic Advisory Committee held on 14 January 2020 and also the notes from a Special Witney Traffic Advisory Committee held on 5 June 2020.

In relation to the meeting held on 5 June on the Covid-19 related traffic measures being implemented by WODC, a member commented on confusion that had arisen as it was presented as if it would come into action on 15June and it hadn’t –  there had been a lack of proper communication. The Town Council had only heard that WODC had been involved at the special Traffic Advisory meeting.  They clearly hadn’t had time to get things in place. It was clear that the Town Council would like active travel measures but had no power to take it forward. It could only advocate for the people of the town although there was a split between those in favour and those not in favour.  There followed a discussion about what had happened.

RESOLVED: 

1) that the minutes of the Witney Traffic Advisory Committee meeting held on 14 January 2020 and the notes of a Special Witney Traffic Advisory Committee Meeting held on 5 June 2020 be noted;

2) that Cllr Ashbourne as Leader would write to WODC expressing disappointment with the

 communication on the introduction of a COVID-19 related active travel plan and asking for

 better communication going forward.

The Committee received and considered the Planning Responses submitted during the Covid-19 lockdown between 25 March and 27 May 2020.

RESOLVED:  that the consultee planning responses submitted to West Oxfordshire District Council during the Covid-19 lockdown between 25 March – 27 May 2020 be noted (this delegation having been resolved at the Extra-Ordinary Meeting of the Council held on 20 March 2020, minute no. 112(3)).

The Chair invited nominations for the position of Vice Chair of the Committee. 

RESOLVED:          that Councillor Andrew Prosser be elected Vice Chair for the Municipal year.

The Committee received and considered the minutes of the Planning & Development Committee meeting held on 10 March 2020.

RESOLVED:  that minutes be noted