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Oulton Community Group
Meeting November 16th 2009
Minutes.
Attendees;- Pam Sinclair, Jan Wright-Village Agent, Elaine Robinson, Eileen Manley, Maureen Manley, Barbara Palmer, Peter Roberts, Martin Robinson, Des Robinson - Oulton Cricket Club. Cllr John Russell, Chairman Sue Haine, Treasurer Sylvia Burdon, Secretary Andy Burdon.
The meeting was opened by Village Agent, Jan Wright who made a presentation to Village Hall Chairman, Barbara Palmer on behalf of the Community Council for Staffordshire. This was in recognition for the hard work and dedication that Barbara has put in over the years to ensure the continuing success of Oulton
Village Hall.
The minute of the previous meeting were read and approved as an accurate account of proceedings.
1/ Matter Arising
a/ Playpark Gates - it was noted that the gates to the play park still needed a self closing mechanism to ensure. The secretary reported that he had emailed Sally Macdonald after the last meeting and would follow up.
b/ Illuminating Speeding Signs - the secretary reported that he had contacted Highways Dept about being included in the program but had had no reply and will follow up via the Parish Clerk
c/ Footpath from village to Oulton Heath - Peter Roberts reported that the landowner had been written to by the Parish Clerk about the condition of the path at the village end.
d/ Bus Route via Rock Crescent - secretary reported that he had emailed Jackie Cuerdon at SBC to try and get this route reinstated. Other villagers reported that the bus was still taking this route.
2/ Secretary’s Report - nothing to report outside the main agenda.
3/ Treasures Report - The treasure reported that the OCG bank account stood at £693.91.
4/ Des Robinson represented Oulton Cricket Club. OCG it to look into funding opportunities to support the club. Peter Roberts reported that possible funding for the Club had been referred to the Oulton and Moddershall Parish Council for discussion. Des Robinson brought up the subject of funding for youth activities. He said that the club was fast becoming a big club and had recently gained promotion and that it supported up to 70 young players in the season. They are looking to extend their lease on their ground to make it easier to apply for funding. Jan Wright indicated that there are funds available which are applicable to youth activities. These grants must be applied for by the young people themselves. It was agreed to set up a meeting with Oulton Cricket Club at a later date to discuss.
5/ Peter Roberts reported that the Parish Council were not happy about taking on the responsibility of the red telephone kiosk in Oulton because of the initial costs of disconnecting the electricity supply and ongoing maintenance and insurance. At this stage OCG has decided not to pursue the matter.
6/ BKV feedback from judges. Sue Haine read out the report from the judges. Ocg provisionally agreed to enter the competition for 2010 and will finalize at the first meeting in the new year.
7/ Bulb planting- Martin Robinson reported that the daffodil bulbs purchased by OCG had been planted at location around the village.
8/ Third Party Insurance - Sue Haine to contact insurance companies to ascertain costs.
9/ Sustainability Grant for |Village Halls. Jan Wright reported that there were grants available to help with energy conservation at Village Halls.
Village Hall reports that there had been no security issues over the past few months. The last Monday market was well attended but some of the regular traders did not attend. It was reported that students from the Clifford Project helped serve tea and refreshments.
AOB
The subject of an OCG Newsletter was brought up. This is in order to let those villagers, who do not have access to the internet, what the OCG has been involved in over the past year. The secretary will look into designing producing a simple newsletter and costs involved.
The hedges and trees along Kibblestone Road need cutting back. Peter Roberts to contact the Parish Clerk.
Date of next meeting Monday 25 January 2010 at a venue to be decided.
Sue Haine thanked all those who had attended and the meeting finished at 09.15
Oulton Community Group
Meeting Monday 7th September 2009
Minutes
Attendees - Maureen Manley, Eileen Manley, Jan Wright, Barbara Palmer, Pam Sinclair, Elaine Robinson, Martin Robinson, John Poole, Cllr John Russell, Betty Benbow, Sue Haine, Sylvia Burdon, Andy Burdon.
Minutes from the previous meeting were read and approved as an accurate record of proceedings
1/ Matters arising
a/ Whilst everyone present felt that the new play park gates were an improvement there was still concern over the lack of self-closing spring. Andy Burdon to contact Sally Macdonald at SBC
b/ The Flash footpath has been cleared of encroaching vegetation but other verges in the village needed regular tending to keep overgrowth in check. Cllr John Russell indicated that there were gcommunity gangsh employed by SBC to do this work. The secretary to email Parish Clerk to see what can be done. Elaine Robinson reported that the footpath on Longton was almost impassable due to overgrown vegetation and overhanging trees.
c/ Stafford Local Community Fund ( administered by County Councillor) for village hall improvements to the basement. Martin Robinson to assess cost of this prior to submitting a request for funding.
d/ Concern about speeding traffic through Road Kibblestone. The secretary to email Highways to see if the village can be included in the rolling program of illuminating speed warning signsf
2/ Agenda
a/ Treasures report. The treasurer reported that the balance of the OCG account stood at £795.05 after purchasing paper and printing ink.
b/ Third Party Insurance. The secretary to contact June Basnett (Treasure of Village Hall Committee) to see if the OCG could be included in their third party insurance policy.
c/ Best Kept Village Competition 2010. It was agreed that the village had done well in gaining an Highly Commended award, but it was also agreed to wait for feedback from the BKV Working Group before deciding whether to enter for 2010.
d/ Village Hall Sustainability Grant. Jan Wright looking to possibility of Government funding for energy sustainability for the Village Hall.
e/ Security- no reports of security problems over the summer months. John Poole reports that the Trading Standards grant for CCTV will be decided on October 8th. The secretary will contact Local PC again to invite him to subsequent meetings.
f/ Monday Market- Maureen Manley reports that the Monday Markets, after the summer break, was doing well. She also reported that a photographer from the Newsletter would be attending the next meeting.
g/ Oulton Cricket Club. OCG to look into funding opportunities for youth based activities at the club.
h/ OCG Notice Board- though it was deemed desirable there might be problems obtaining planning permission for a Community notice board. It was suggested that the telephone box might make a useful if unusual information centre if it was to be adopted by the Parish.
I/ Village website- Andy Burdon reported that the website was continuing to grow in usage and that there had been 1355 visits to the site in August
A.O.B.
Martin Robinson brought up the condition of the footpath from the village to Oulton Heath. The village end of the path is very badly churned up by cattle. The secretary to email the Parish and County Councils.
Martin Robinson also suggested that the village plant daffodil bulbs this autumn to improve the environment of the village. OCG voted to fund the purchase of the bulbs.
Betty Benbow reported that the No. 250 Bus had stopped going up Rock Crescent and was concerned about older residents having to walk, with shopping, to Kibblestone Road. The secretary will email Jackie Cuerden at SBC to request that it re-instated.
Adoption of telephone kiosk. Secretary to email BT to see if OCG qualifies as a possible adopter.
The meeting finished at 9.10 and Sue Haine thanked those who had attended
Next meeting was scheduled for Mon 2nd November 2009 at 7.30 pm (postponed to 16th November at 7.30.
At the Village Hall Committee Room
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Oulton Community Group
Meeting 6th July 2009
Minutes
Apologies:- Sylvia Burdon, Peter Roberts, Elaine Manley, Sue OfNeil, Cllr John Russell, Cllr Ian Parry
Attendees:- Pam Sinclair, John Poole, Betty Benbow, Barbara Palmer, Maureen Manley, Elaine Robinson, Martin Robinson, Sue Haine, Andy Burdon.
1/ The minutes of the previous meeting were read and verified as an accurate record of events.
2/ Matters arising
a/ Playpark gates - it was reported that the modifications to the entrance to the park was a great improvement and should go long way to allay safety fears of the original design, although a spring on the roadside gate would be a good idea. The secretary will email Sally Macdonald at SBC to try to arrange this.
b/ Flash footpath has been improved by a gang from Highways division. Vegetation has been cut back and now allows two people to walk abreast. This should help parents with pushchairs and people who are dependant on mobility buggies although the surface needs repair in places. The secretary will email Cllr Ian Parry to try to effect this.
c/ Calor Village of the Year Competition. Due to workload and holiday commitments it was decided to postpone the application for this award to next year. Pam Sinclair has done a lot of preparation which she will retain for use at a later date.
d/ Sustainability Grant- in the absence of Village Agent, Jan Wright, it was decided to postpone discussion to a later date to be arranged.
e/ Best Kept Village Competition - it was reported that the last litter pick was successful in that only a small amount of litter was found and disposed of. This indicates that residents are doing their bit to keep Oulton tidy. A discussion ensued as to what, if the village is successful, we should spend the prize money on. Ideas included planters near the Parish Notice Board in Church Lane or a Community Notice Board.
Sue Haine reported that Sue OfNeil was very pleased with the presentation of the Book Token to the school as appreciation for the childrenfs efforts in designing posters.
f/ Monday Market - some of the usual traders at the Monday market were absent due to illness etc so it was not as successful as previous ones. The next one should be back to normal, hopefully with new additions.
3/ Treasures Report - as the treasurer was absent the secretary gave a brief report in that £450 had been transferred to the Village Hall for the Monday Market and that there was still £50 for publicity to be allocated. The secretary had also used some funds to purchase stationary sundries including printing ink.
4/ Secretaries Report - the secretary has been in contact with Cllr Ian Parry. This was in reference to the Staffordshire Local Community Fund (ex Local Members Initiative Scheme). Each County Councillor has a fund of £10000 to allocate to community projects. The meeting discussed various options and decided that they would apply for funding for maintenance of the village hall with the possibility of bringing the cellar area into use as a storage area. Martin Robinson and Barbara Palmer to look into costs etc.
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A.O.B.
Local Trading Standards Watchdog John Poole said that there may be funding available from Staffordshire Trading Standards. The committee would need to identify a target for this funding. The idea of CCTV for the village hall was suggested. There have been a number of incidents of petty vandalism recently and this would deter potential perpetrators.
Unauthorized use of Oulton School playing fields was reported. Residents have reported this to the Police who have attended on a number of occasions .
Traffic Concerns - the parking of vehicles around Oulton School was a concern for residents living in Vanity Lane and Rock Crescent. The corner of these roads is a particular worry as drivers park their vehicles on the corner which may present a hazard to other road users including pedestrians. Another concern was drivers leaving their vehicles all day whilst car sharing. Whilst residents appreciate that this is a public road and drivers have every right to park if they wish, there are concerns that these vehicles present a hazard when parked on the blind bend halfway along Rock Crescent and obstruct the driveways to some houses.
It was reported that the Landlord of the Wheatsheaf Inn on Kibblestone Road has already offered the use of his car park to parents picking up and dropping off children a the school.
The subject of speeding vehicles along Kibblestone Road was also bought up, especially as there is no pedestrian refuge at certain places. An illuminating speed warning sign was suggested as a deterrent.
The secretary was asked to contact the appropriate authority to see if this was a possibility at the Kibblestone Road entrances to the village.
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The meeting ended at 9.10 pm
Chairman Sue Haine thanked all those who had attended
Date of next meeting Monday 7th September at 7.30 p.m. Venue to be arranged.
This is the website for Oulton Community Group. Whilst every care is taken we act on information passed to us, and therefore cannot take responsibility for any inaccuracies herein.
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