Local issues, and Parish and District Council reports

Launton Parish Council Meeting held on Thursday 6 October 2022 at 7:30pm in Launton Parish Hall

Councillors present Mr Andrew Briant, Mr Ed Sanders (Vice Chairman), Mrs Lesley Thompson, Mr Simon Turner (Chairman), Mrs Jaqueline Webber

Apologies Mrs Abigail Dowman

In attendance The Clerk, Mrs Jane Olds; Cllrs Angus Patrick and Gemma Coton (CDC); 3 East West Rail representatives, and 4 members of the public

Councillor Resignation There is still time to help the community by joining the Parish Council. If you are interested in putting yourself forward for co-option, please see the Becoming a Councillor page of the Parish Council website at https://www.launton-pc.gov.uk/becoming-a-councillor/ or have a chat with one of the current Councillors

East West Rail George Singh from East West Rail made a presentation. The works are currently on schedule with the earthworks and structures complete. The team was currently undertaking a programme of reinstatement works. The first 2.3km of track has been installed between Bicester and Launton and it is hoped that he will let us know when the next delivery is as villagers may like to watch the amazing machinery install it.

The EWR Team has supported, or intends to support, a number of local projects including Island Pond Wood, the Hummingbird Centre, and the Bark Park, and slightly further afield, Bicester Green, Gavray Drive Meadows and Langford Community Orchard.

Reports from District and County Councillors Councillor Patrick reported that he had continued to meet with the Keep Launton Free Group about the proposed Grange Farm development appeal. He then participated in the discussion about the traffic issues.

No report had been received from Councillor Corkin (OCC).

Finance The Finance Report is available on the Parish Council website.

Planning All planning applications, which include the links to Cherwell’s Planning Portal, are put on the Parish Council website when they are received (www.launton-pc.gov.uk in the Agenda and Minutes section). If any villager has concerns or comments about a planning application, they are welcome to come along to Parish Council meetings to bring them to the attention of the meeting. Villagers are also welcome to contact Councillors or the Clerk to make comments. Guidance about how the Parish Council is able to respond is available on the Parish Council website at https://www.launtonpc.gov.uk/planning-applications

The Council agreed that Councillor Turner would attend the Grange Farm planning appeal hearing on 11 October; others could attend virtually.

Parish Hall The Working Group is now getting into the finer detail of the project and has been liaising with the architect over a number of points.

A separate grant group is investigating all sources of external funding.

Flood Warden Scheme The Parish Council has been invited to take part in a trial scheme. This will focus, particularly, on the area of the village around Station Road which sometimes floods. If you would like to get involved, please get in touch with the Clerk (clerk@launton-pc.gov.uk).

Speedwatch Project The Speedwatch Group has conducted two surveys recently and recorded two vehicles exceeding the speed limit; details of these vehicles have been sent to Thames Valley Police for their follow-up. Interestingly, a further check was carried out on 4 October which observed a larger than usual number of vehicles diverting through the village to avoid the bottleneck on the A41, but all the speeds were below the 30 limit (of course this was probably because of the increased volumes). Further sessions will be arranged in due course, but if you’d like to help out, please do get in touch with speedwatch@launtonpc.gov.uk.

Traffic volumes and parking around the crossroads Please see our separate report about this below.

Agenda items and dates of the next meetings The next meeting will be on Thursday 10 November in the School Hall (please note change of venue) starting at 7.30pm. If you’d like to chat with a Councillor, do come along after 7.15pm.

We are trying to reduce our printing and paper use, so if you would like hard copies of the agenda or any of the meeting papers, please let the Clerk know well before the meeting. Suggestions for agenda items for the 1 December meeting need to be with the Clerk by 17 November and items for the meeting on 5 January 2023 by 28 December. If you’re not signed up to our mailing list to receive news from the Parish Council, you can find a signup form at the bottom left hand menu of the Parish Council website at www.launton-pc.gov.uk/

The regular report from our Cherwell District Councillors for October 2022

As the evenings draw in and we head into winter, although it is lovely to see a display of colour in the great outdoors, we are conscious that recent events have put even greater pressure on household budgets. From rising inflation, mortgage rates increasing and the already tough winter ahead with higher energy costs, the economic situation is affecting many. A reminder that resources from CDC have been brought into a single page on the website: https://www.cherwell.gov.uk/info/118/communities/977/help-with-thecost-of-living

Now, here are updates from around the area that may be of interest, and we are available as always on 01869 717712 or at gemma.coton@cherwelldc.gov.uk or angus.patrick@cherwell-dc.gov.uk.

Full Council Meeting Report – 17 October 2022 A full district council meeting took place at Bodicote House. Two motions were passed unanimously:

��A motion declaring Cherwell a ‘no fracking zone’

��A motion ensuring there is more transparency around sewage discharge into our rivers and making sure that treating sewage discharge is taken seriously by the council when making planning decisions.

However, we were disappointed that two motions were not passed:

��A motion ensuring that environmental protections and local democracy were respected with the proposed investment zones from the UK government.

��A motion calling on the council to take into consideration the goals of the Climate and Ecology Bill when making decisions. This would have put the climate crisis at the heart of the Council’s decisions.

You can find about the full council meeting, and all the motions discussed at https://modgov.cherwell.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=114&MId=36 46&Ver=4

Pension Credit Age UK are trying to ensure that everyone who is entitled to pension credit receives it. You can use their hand benefit calculator to find out what help you are entitled to: https://benefitscheck.ageuk.org.uk/home/start

Launton: Grange Farm development, Station Road Appeal It was amazing to see so many people come together at the appeal meeting for the planning application for 65 Houses on Station Road and a massive thank you to everyone for all their hard work. We are now waiting for a result from the planning inspector to see whether the application will go ahead and will keep you updated as we know more.

Blackthorn and Launton: Boundary Review At the full Council meeting on 17 October, the Community Governance Review was passed which changed the boundary of Blackthorn Parish and Launton Parish. This means from 2023, Blackthorn Meadows will move out of Blackthorn Parish and into Ambrosden Parish, and that approved development on Wretchwick Way will move into Bicester from Launton Parish (this is the small area of land south of the Railway embankment). You can find more about the outcomes of the review here: https://modgov.cherwell.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=114&MId=36 46&Ver=4

Keep in Touch! As always, we love hearing from you so please do keep in touch! You can get in contact either through email or calling: gemma.coton@cherwell-dc.gov.uk or angus.patrick@cherwell-dc.gov.uk or call us on 01869 717712.

Launton Parish Council: Road Report

Councillors Sanders and Turner, together with the Clerk, met with an Oxfordshire County Council Highways officer in September to discuss the issues with the crossroads and to see if a way forward could be found.

The Officer spent a great deal of time listening and discussing the issues and then took measurements in order to draw up plans. The concerns he hopes to address include the vision splay at the exit from Station Road, the cars parking too close to the crossroads junction together with the speed of the traffic through the village.

He will investigate the possibility of a ‘speed pillow’ over the entire crossroads area together with double yellow lines to deter parking close to the junction - particularly up Station Road and along the northern side of Blackthorn Road - which he thinks will also assist with pedestrian safety.

Further to these proposals, the Officer is suggesting looking at extending the weight limit - which currently starts at Blackthorn Road - so that it starts at the Charbridge Lane roundabout, which would act as a deterrent to HGVs using the village as a cut through; however, all access for deliveries to the village would still be possible.

The Parish Council has already applied for the 20mph speed limit promoted by Oxfordshire County Council and it is hoped that the consultation costs for the crossroads work and the speed limit could be combined.

Further to all this, the Parish Council has asked for a temporary pedestrian crossing, similar to the one which EWR installed while Charbridge Lane was closed, to be provided by the developers working on the A41 roadworks, but this is yet to come to fruition.

We have also set up a village Speedwatch group. The group has already had a couple of sessions, but we do need more volunteers. If you would like to put yourself forward to volunteer please contact David Jones, the Speedwatch Co-ordinator, at speedwatch@launton-pc.gov.uk and he will be pleased to send you all the information.

Please be assured that we are taking the issue of the traffic very seriously, but we have to acknowledge that the roads are provided by Oxfordshire County Council and are, therefore, their responsibility. We also need to remember that the roads are available for all - whether the users live in the village or not - and we have no way of limiting that use.

Concerns with roads should be directed to our County Councillor - Ian Corkin - ian.corkin@oxfordshire.gov.uk or via FixMyStreet - https://fixmystreet.oxfordshire.gov.uk/

Jane Olds | Parish Clerk

Traffic gridlocked on Bicester Road opposite the school, just by the temporary traffic lights installed by the contractors of the A41 roadworks so Launton families can cross the road to get to school.