Apologies for absence  Cllr L Lindsay-Gale,  Ms J. Markham.

Minutes of meeting held 10th May 2010 
These had been posted on the parish notice boards prior to the meeting and were agreed by the meeting and signed by the Chairman.

Matters arising  - There were none.

Chairman's report  2010-2011   Appended.

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT 20010-2011 It has been a year of change following on from Nigel Northcott who moved from the village after many years as we also welcomed three new parish councilors. Over this last year the Council dealt with many local issues and, in the wider interests of Sandford on Thames, engaged with groups outside the parish to give support on relevant matters. The major Grenoble Road development of housing in the parish has now been shelved - at least for the foreseeable future. Thanks go to the Oxford Greenbelt Network group and South Oxfordshire District Council, both of whom worked hard to prevent this development. We also argued against the development and are pleased with the success achieved through the joint efforts. A major development during the year has been the redevelopment of the Orchard House site on the main Henley Road which we have welcomed. The site had become an eyesore and we are pleased that The Vale House alzheimer's charity acquired the land and are currently building a new and modern dementia care home. This community project is much needed and we will continue to engage with the Vale House on behalf of the village. We have discussed the poor state of the footpaths during the building phase. The home is expected to be open by Christmas and we look forward to a long and happy association. The Village Hall is acknowledged as a main resource for the village and I am pleased to report another successful year, building on previous good years. The number of events and use by a range of groups has increased again and this is down to the work and commitment of the Village Hall Management Committee and event leaders, all of whom give their time voluntarily. It reflects the need for the village hall by residents and parishioners and this is welcome. There will be discussion in the coming year of possible further developments. Traffic speed has remained an issue throughout the year. We have met with county transport and police representatives to add pressure to seek ways in which the general speeding by some people can be tackled effectively. Two surveys have indicated some reduction in speed levels but a problem still exists at certain times. These are generally peak working times and evenings. We will continue to address this to seek an improvement. Work has been done on most of the play areas to improve the equipment and give a better environment for children to play. Unfortunately we cannot do all we wish as this is an expensive matter and costs have to be balanced with other needs. We are considering plans for the coming year. Work has been done to enhance the environment and the look of the village. This includes work on bus shelters, flower beds, tree and hedge cutting, verges and grass maintenance and some signing. The state of the main roads and in particular, the footpaths running from Heyford Hill Lane down towards the Four Pillars entrance has been a source of concern. This footpath has become even worse over the year and we will take this up with South Oxford District Council in the coming year. We have also sought to improve the state of the footbridge over the river from the Kings Arms public house and kept in contact with the Environment Agency which has just completed a major replacement of the lock gates. The village has also benefitted from the initiative of the Oxford Preservation Trust to develop the meadow land off the Henley Road into a 'wildlife conservation area'. This is well worth visiting and is a place to enjoy nature and quiet. We have maintained regular contact with the Local Authorities via the district and county councillor's and John Howell, MP has also been in touch on occasions. This is welcomed as it ensures the village has direct links to raise any key matters to the village. There have been some 25 planning applications forwarded to the parish council for comment most of which were routine. Several larger and more contentious applications have been considered also and the PC has on three occasions felt it appropriate to advise against these where they either impact too intrusively on neighbours or are generally felt detrimental to the village. This is an area of key interest for the Parish Council. One of the most important developments during the year has been the initiative to introduce a village shop. We first had discussions in June last year with the 'Talking Shop' group who have since gone through a number of demanding stages to reach the point of trialling the 'new' Community Village Shop by opening on Saturday mornings through the late spring and summer of 2011. We have been pleased to support the initiative in a number of ways including offering the village hall site for the venture and seeking to support funding where we can. We hope to continue helping the development so that it can establish a permanent place in the village. Finances for the parish council have remained stretched but manageable and are reviewed at each parish council meeting. The parish clerk deals with these on behalf of the council and organizes the annual audit, a requirement of the charity commission and the local authorities. I would like to thank all parish councilors for their work and particularly the parish clerk, without whom matters would not run so smoothly. We have been planning to update the village plan and for this establish a new vision. This will be a primary initiative during 2011/2012 and everyone is invited to take the opportunity to help where possible. Stephen Paine Chairman

District Councillor's report  

J Cotton described how the combining of services with the Vale of White Horse had saved millions of pounds through measures such as halving management costs and through the waste contracts. Re-cycling rates had doubled and the service was at lower cost. The SODC rate was frozen once again and yet with no significant cutting of service. SODC's core strategy document had been submitted earlier this year and was awaiting the public enquiry later this year. It was possible that the proposals to develop Grenoble Rd might yet be resurrected. He would enlarge on this at a regular monthly meeting. Cllr Cotton described his usual way of working with other parish councils. He was particularly interested in planning matters and would be very happy to help in any queries which might be raised in Sandford, he would keep in communication two way with Sandford and invited us to pass on any problems. He was happy to come to all our meetings if that is what we wanted but usually preferred to attend only when he had something to say or when we had a particular need.

County Councillor's report   April 2009 - April 2010

The Budget Oxfordshire County Council provides 80 per cent of the local government services in the county. Our revenue budget for 2010/11 is £973 million. Of this, 65% is funded by central government; 29% comes from the council tax and 6% from charges and income. As we all know, however, we have faced significant reductions in central government funding this year amounting to approximately £109 million from our budget over the coming four years. This has meant changing both the services we provide and how we deliver them. This scale of cuts could not be achieved simply by efficiencies. It was very clear that the situation required a wholesale review of services and some fundamental thinking about priorities. The county council has been asked to make some very difficult and in some cases very unpopular decisions. It was not until mid December that we finally received a financial settlement announcement from central government which left only a few weeks to settle a budget for approval by Council on 15th February 2011. We gave a commitment to a zero council tax increase for 2011/12 and this has been achieved by planning for a 2.5% rise in council tax revenue which is being funded by a central government grant to lead to a council tax freeze. Given the current economic position, this freeze will be welcomed by many Oxfordshire council tax payers. Our largest area of spend is Children, Young People & Families at £540 million. Of this £400 million goes straight to schools and is ring-fenced by the government. Also included is Children's Social Care of £43 million, School Transport of £17 million; Special Educational Needs of £28 million; Youth and Connexions Service of £12 million and Children's Centres of £11 million. Our second largest area of spend is on Adult Social Care, totalling almost £200 million. This is under severe pressure with a growing elderly population. Next is Environment & Economy at £83 million, including Transport at £48 million and Waste Disposal at £22 million. Smaller but important service areas include our Fire & Rescue Service at £25 million; Libraries & Heritage at £12 million; our Schools Music Service at £2.7 million and Trading Standards at £2.5 million. With properties valued at £1.3 billion we have debt requiring annual debt repayments of £40 million. All areas have taken a share of the cuts in government funding representing approximately 26% of their budgets and we have faced with some very difficult decisions around prioritisation. Change of Approach on funding for Libraries One of the services that has had to make savings is the Library network. Out of all the county council services the loss of 20 libraries out of 43 has caused the most public concern, and given rise to a very vocal campaign to keep them open. The county council has listened to the people of Oxfordshire and although it remains committed to finding savings in expenditure, it wants to do so in a way that has sustained popular support. To that end the policy towards libraries is changing to keep them open and seek to improve the level of service that the public receive. The aim is to go ahead with £1m savings in terms of central costs by increasing efficiency and reducing the number of staff at OCC with responsibility for this area. The additional £1m savings originally identified will be contingent on making efficiencies in the library network and will not be met through a programme that involves funding being withdrawn from the 20 libraries identified in previous proposals. Every library will now be assessed during a consultation process that will commence at the end of May and continue until September. Additional Funds for Highway Maintenance The amount of extra money the Government is allocating to OCC for highways maintenance is more than expected - £3.5 million rather than £1.1m. This is to be used to invest in improving the structure of our roads which in turn will prevent pot holes developing. It is not available simply to fill potholes. The types of work will be: large areas of patching, resurfacing of areas of road and full reconstruction. This will enable the County Council to invest in the long term future of the roads - rather than just firefighting. The Council is required to publish what this funding has achieved by the end of Sept 2011. Therefore the plan is to have a programme of works agreed during April and for work to start during May. This will enable OCC to deliver the schemes during the period of better weather. It is essential that work starts quickly and is spread throughout the summer to achieve the best value for money. In addition the Council will be ensuring that the programme is communicated widely to the public to ensure that wide coverage can be given to what is achieved. Speed Cameras Last summer the county council decided to stop funding the Thames Valley Partnership to save money. This organization was responsible for running the speed cameras in the county and they decided to turn them off. However, after negotiations with the Thames Valley Police it was agreed that from 1 April 2011speed cameras would be turned back on and funded from the Speed Awareness Courses run by the police. The level at which these courses are offered and also the cost they charge for them is being raised. The cost of the courses has gone up from £79.50 to £95.00. People caught speeding will only be able to attend one course in a 3 year period. Oxfordshire County Council funding is restricted to the maintenance of fixed sites. The media has been making selective use of statistics supplied by Thames Valley Police. They report that road fatalities have increased from 12 over a year to 18 - citing a "50% increase". However, there is no evidence that the additional fatalities were the result of speed nor that they happened in proximity to inoperative speed cameras. Public opinion appears to be polarised on this issue. The Big Society The coalition government launched its "Big Society" idea to enable and encourage local communities to provide services that local government will no longer be able to afford. On 16th February the County Council officially launched its Big Society Fund, which will enable local people to bid for start-up funding to help them take responsibility for providing services in their community. The council is keen to create an environment in which it is as easy as possible for communities to do things for themselves, and the £600,000 Big Society Fund is a part of this. Projects could include but do not have to be restricted to taking on responsibility for libraries and youth services, day opportunities for older people or community transport. The council will require a viable business case from communities but is determined to work closely with people to advise them on the process. I hope community groups and local individuals in my area will see this as an opportunity to come forward with creative and sustainable ideas and I look forward to working with them. Minerals & Waste Development Framework As the County Councillor who represents seven parishes in South Oxfordshire who feared they would be devastated by large scale gravel extraction I was hugely relieved that the County Council Cabinet took the decision on 19th October to concentrate gravel extraction in existing areas of the county. I have consistently supported the option to continue working at existing sites, and I would suggest that any other option that would have blighted so many rural communities without justification was totally unacceptable. The local communities came together in November 2009 and the successful defence of our area was due in no small measure to the dedicated and highly effective campaign run over the last year by PAGE (Parishes Against Gravel Extraction). As a result the Dorchester/Warborough/Benson area is now precluded from assessment within the period of the proposed Minerals & Waste Development Framework up to 2030. In addition as a result of representations made by their Parish Council supported by myself, Nuneham Courtenay has been taken out as well. In the unlikely event that gravel is required from this area the preferred site for extraction will be Cholsey. However the "Stadhampton/Berinsfield" and "Clifton Hampden" areas are being retained by OCC as "not being precluded from further assessment". These proposals will now go out to a further round of consultation in June 2011. In addition, the Atkins report sponsored by OCC on gravel supply and demand in Oxfordshire that I began calling for a year ago, was presented to cabinet on 16th Feb. It supports our contention that 2.1mtpa was far too high a target figure for gravel extraction and comes down in favour of 1.26mtpa. This is very good news and if successfully promoted to central government could be the first blow Oxfordshire strikes for localism! Once finalized and combined with the County's Waste Strategy, the Development Framework will be subject to public enquiry probably by the end of 2011. The waste strategy has fallen behind in the timetable due in part to the delays in choosing a site for the county's incinerator. Two sites were proposed, one at Sutton Courtenay and the other at Ardley near Bicester. This issue has now been settled and much to the relief of some local residents the incinerator will be built at Ardley. The policy on waste re-cycling plants is due to go out to consultation in June with the minerals proposals. Berinsfield Library Unfortunately Berinsfield library was one of the 20 libraries listed as those about to loose their funding. The public meeting held on 15th January to discuss the withdrawal of funds was attended by about 60 people. I explained that if it was impossible to keep the library as it is there could be a whole range of options for saving it such as re-locating it or facilitating a co-location with another community service in the existing building to reduce costs. Since then I have formed a Berinsfield Library Working Group to liaise between the County Council and the Parish Council and it met for the first time on 8th February. I am currently working with OCC officers to provide the necessary information with which to help the group produce a robust case to save the library because although OCC has now responded to the huge public outcry against the funding cut backs with a promise to 'think again' every library will now have to make its case for survival. Berinsfield Day Centre For some time now I have been a Trustee of the day centre which meets on Tuesdays and Fridays at the Marsh Baldon Village Hall because no suitable accommodation could be found in Berinsfield. At a recent meeting of the Trustees it was agreed to try again to find a suitable venue within the village. Several site visits have taken place and a favoured site has been identified. If all goes well the day centre should be able to return to Berinsfield within the next few months. Culham Primary School, European School After three years of trying to find a new head teacher, and experiencing falling pupil numbers and consequential loss of funding, the Primary School has been facing closure from August 2011. A very active campaign has been waged to try and keep the school open. The county council Cabinet has tried to give the School Governors as much time as possible to rectify the situation, and in the last few weeks a new acting head teacher has been appointed. If the Governors can now satisfy the County Council's requirements on pupil numbers and therefore a robust budget going forward, the school could be saved from closure. A decision will be taken by the Cabinet on 24th May. The European School at Culham has had its European funding withdrawn and has failed in an attempt to become an Academy School. A parent/teacher group tried to set up as a Free School from next September but failed with this application too. They are now working on an application to start as a Free School in September 2012. However the outcome looks uncertain at the moment. Lorraine Lindsay-Gale County Councillor Dorchester & Berinsfield

Items for discussion
 

'Talking Shop'; Saturday Market.
Abi Johnson and Jackie Beesley from the 'Talking Shop' group were present and were asked about progress. Abi said that the Saturday Market had had a wonderful start - blessed with fine weather and several bank holidays. The local produce on sale was popular and though prices were higher than the local supermarkets they were comparable to other suppliers of equivalent goods. The quality of goods was first class.

The café was very popular too and had been from the first week, there were detectably 'regulars' each week as well as first time visitors. Community spirit was being helped along and 'local strangers' introducing themselves. Even on last Saturday when it had rained the café had done well indoors in spite of having only half the number of tables.

Abi thanked all her team and helpers and when she was asked whether volunteer 'burn out' was occurring yet said there was no sign yet even amongst the dedicated kitchen team. She thanked the parish council for their support - financially and good will.

The group was hoping to arrange a joint meeting with the village hall committee to clarify some concerns. S Paine suggested that it would be a good idea for a member of the group to join the hall committee as a user group representative to improve liaison and for members to attend the forthcoming village hall AGM.

Jacky as treasurer of the group gave an outline of financial performance which so far had exceeded expectation though she stressed that it was early days. Over £1,000.00 had been garnered so far which would be going into the fund for the proposed community shop. The articles of agreement of the group stated that if a shop did not come about then the money would be re-invested in the community.

Village Plan 2011:
S Paine proposed that a small group be formed to contain any interested parish councillors and others to decide on subjects of relevance to Sandford which should be included in such a plan and to formulate a method for asking the thoughts of local residents. S Wilson suggested that Charlie (her husband) would be a good person to steer such a group and this was welcomed.

Statement of accounts 2008 - 2009
Before presenting the accounts, the clerk expressed the thanks of the parish council to Mrs Eugenia Skelly who once again had so generously acted as the parish hon. internal auditor.
The accounts were presented by the Clerk and adopted by the meeting

Matters raised by parishioners   There were none

Meeting closed at 9.00 pm