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Present

 

Members:      

  • Cllr Mike Kidley
  • Cllr Katharine Keats-Rohan
  • Cllr Rosslyn Lester (Chairperson)
  • Cllr Deborah Whelan

Officers:         

  • Scott Wells, Parks & Estates Manager
  • Luke Whitcomb, Meetings Officer

Others:           

  • 0 members of the public
  • 0 members of the press

 

 

403/22     MEETING PROTOCOL

The Chairperson explained the protocol that would be followed in conducting the meeting

404/22     APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Councillors Hendrie and Holder and the Senior Local Government Officer.

Councillor Sinkinson did not attend.

405/22     DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

No interests were declared.

406/22     MINUTES

It was proposed by Councillor Kidley, and seconded by Councillor Keats-Rohan, and RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Parks, Gardens, Allotments and Open Spaces Committee held on 25 July 2022 be approved as a correct record and the Chairperson is authorised to sign them.

407/22    ACTIONS FROM PREVIOUS MEETING

The Committee reviewed actions agreed at the last meeting.  Most had been completed and others were in progress.  Uncompleted items would remain on the Action Log and carried forward

408/22     PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

No members of the public attended.

409/22     TERMS OF REFERENCE

Councillor Holder as Chairman and Councillor Lester as Vice-Chairman had reviewed the existing terms of reference and saw no need to make modifications.  The rest of the Committee agreed.

410/22     APPOINTMENTS

The Committee congratulated Mr Scott Wells on his appointment as Parks & Estates Manager.

411/22    GENERAL UPDATE

The Committee received a general report from the Parks & Estates Manager looking back at the work of the Parks & Estates Team over the past three months.  The Committee liked the ‘diary format’ of this new regular report.

They also congratulated the new Parks & Estates Manager for creating such a positive attitude within his team and for the considerable amount that had been achieved in a short space of time.

412/22     CLIMATE ACTION

(a)   ‘Low mow’ areas

The Parks & Estates Manager reported that the ‘low mow areas’ were progressing but the team had yet to purchase the necessary machinery.

(b)   Queen’s Green Canopy & tree scape

Councillor Keats-Rohan reported that 918 trees had been planted in OX10 parishes.  The Queen’s Green Canopy initiative would come to an end in March 2023 when it would morph into a different scheme.

A ‘statement’ tree was still to be planted to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and a further one was being considered to mark the coronation of King Charles III.  The exact placement had yet to be determined.

(c)    Field study by Wild About Wallingford

In Councillor Holder’s absence, it was unclear what this item referred to and therefore it could not be discussed.

413/22     KINECROFT

Horse chestnut tree, Coach and Horses Pub

Councillor Lester reported that a meeting with Fullers Brewery would be held on 24 November 2022 to talk through the Full Council’s decision (Minute 390/22).

A wider, more public communication would be made after this.

414/22     BULL CROFT

Councillor Lester gave a report on behalf of Councillor Holder.

(a)   Rec room site

All the fencing had now been removed and the site levelled ready for the wild flower seed.  In the spring this area would have mown paths and hopefully some benches and bins once they had been approved by Historic England

(b)   Ha-Ha wall

This still needed be resolved.

(c)    Planning applications

The planning applications would be in by the end of November 2022.

(d)   Funding

The Town Council’s new Grants Officer was looking at available Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Section 106 monies.

415/22     CASTLE GARDENS

(a)   Castle ruins

Councillor Keats-Rohan reported that the conservation work was progressing well.  The fencing would remain in place for some time to protect the work.

The Parks & Estates Team were to undertake a lime mortaring course.

(b)   Placement of Queen’s Diamond Jubilee tree

This had been discussed earlier (Minute 412/22).

(c)    Opening and closing times

The winter times had already been agreed as 8.30 am to 3.00 pm.

416/22     ALLOTMENTS

Councillor Holder had held three surgeries will allotment holders since the Committee’s last meeting at which useful feedback had been obtained.

Water pressure, which had been a subject of complaint, has been thoroughly tested by Thames Water and no issues had been discovered.

The boundary fence still had to be secured and this was currently allowing dog walkers access.

417/22     RIVERSIDE

Councillor Whelan reported that a joint District Council/Town Council application had been made to the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for clean bathing water status.

418/22     REST GARDEN

The Parks & Estates Manager reported that a hand-crafted noticeboard had been erected, paid for by Lidl.   A hanging basket tree was being considered, potentially to be associated with the Coronation of King Charles III.  The intention was also to remove all hard landscape and possibly match the Market Place stone.

419/22     NEW ROAD SENSORY GARDEN

Councillor Lester reported that a grant of £1k from South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) had been received for this scheme.  The next step would be a meeting with Green Acre, the gardening maintenance social enterprise of StyleAcre.

420/22     BRITAIN IN BLOOM

The Full Council had given their backing to an application by Wallingford for the ‘town’ category (Minute 382/22).

The Parks & Estates Manager reported that a meeting had been held with one of the regional judges to understand the criteria and process.  Wallingford would already score highly on some of the criteria.  There was a need to a two-hour tour to be agreed which could include if necessary a short presentation.

The Full Council had decided against the setting up of an additional working party for this, preferring instead for the Parks, Gardens, Allotments & Open Spaces Committee itself to oversee our submission.

421/22     EVENTS

(a)   Forthcoming events

There was nothing to report.

(b)   Hatwell’s Fair

It was proposed by Councillor Kidley, and seconded by Councillor Keats-Rohan, and RESOLVED that a request by Hatwell’s Fair to increase the duration of their springtime event by one day be approved, the dates being Thursday 27 April 2023 to 1 May 2023 (inclusive), with arrival on 24th and departure on 2nd.

(c)    Parking

Parking within the town for larger events was becoming a problem, and there had been particular issues with the recent November 5th firework displays

422/22     FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

The following items was identified for a future meeting:

o   Marking the Coronation of King Charles III

423/22     EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

It was proposed by Councillor Kidley, and seconded by Councillor Lester, and RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting due to the confidential nature of the business to be transacted

424/22     KINECROFT [confidential]

November 5th firework displays [confidential]

 

The meeting ended at 7.47 pm

 

Minutes of the meeting of the Parks, Gardens, Allotments and Open Spaces Committee held on 21 November 2022, signed as a correct record

 

Chairman

 

2022-11-21 PKS minutes PUBLIC