Parish Council Minutes: December 2025
Oakford Parish Council
DRAFT MINUTES
These minutes will be agreed at the meeting due to be held on 12th January 2026 and might be subject to slight amendment.
The minutes of a meeting of Oakford Parish Council held in the Committee Room at Oakford Village Hall at 7.30pm on Monday 8th December 2025.
Present:
Cllr’s J Levick (Chair), G Baylis, J Cridland, F Cross, L Gould and V Stevens.
In attendance:
District Cllrs C Adcock and M Stratton, one member of the public and the Clerk, Mrs J Larcombe.
099/12/25. To receive apologies for absence.
Apologies were accepted from Cllr Mayer.
Apologies were received from County Cllr S Lodge.
100/12/25. Declarations of Interest.
Cllr Cridland declared a personal and prejudicial interest as her son is employed by Hampton Maintenance. Cllr Mayer declared a personal and prejudicial interest regarding Spurway Barton as she does some work for the owners.
101/12/25. Public Forum.
A member of the public who lives at Riverside, a property at the bottom of Hamslade Hill in Oakfordbridge, spoke about the problem of serious water ingress into the property. Together with his wife he has lived at the property for 10 years. For the first 7 of those years, they lived there happily but that changed in January 2023, when they first experienced serious water ingress into their property, a situation that continues to impact them. Upon investigation, speaking to DCC Highways at the time, and two builders, it was clear this is as a result of work that was carried out by South West Water (SWW) in August 2022.
SWW spent 6 weeks replacing/repairing the mains pipe that runs the length of Hamslade Hill, digging up the road in several places in the process. The trenches dug by SWW were allegedly poorly refilled and all of them have subsequently sunk.The largest trench is on the corner of Hamslade Hill, and is pointed directly to their house, so all ground water and any mains leaks are also now being directed to their home. Although the resident didn’t request them, 2 weeks ago, a specialist water leak detection organisation called Aqualogic had surveyors verbally confirm “they can hear water gushing along the SWW trenches”. They also confirmed that where SWW have dug the trenches, and how they have been filled in, has changed the water course, and these are now acting as a soak away which stops at their house. All of this has been relayed to SWW, who are being slow in helping them.
To rectify this issue, they have been quoted £3,000 to extend the trench, but this will involve road closure applications and section 50 licences being sought.He has also tried to get DCC involved, as he believes they are responsible for ensuring the highway is repaired appropriately and any work carried out by contractors does not have a detrimental impact on housing but they do not seem to want to help them. He also contacted DCC regarding the general state of Hamslade Hill, the non-clearing of leaves, which is contributing to poor road surface quality and directing water to their house, and the non-clearance of drains. He askedthe Parish Council for help in resolving the matter. He has also spoken to Rachel Gilmour MP. The Clerk will contact County Cllr Lodge with the details and ask for his assistance in trying to resolve this matter. The Chair asked for this to be added as an item on the agenda for the January meeting.
Action: the Clerk to contact Cllr Lodge with the information and ask for his assistance and to add this as an item for the January agenda.
102/12/25. To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 10th November 2025 as an accurate record of the meeting.
The minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting and were duly signed by the Chair.
103/12/25. Matters arising from the minutes, not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
After the last meeting Cllr Levick reported the huge amount of leaves along the edges of the roads, including Rookery Hill to DCC and asked for a road sweeper to come and clear them. DCC responded to say they were not responsible for leaf clearance. The drains are at risk of being blocked and they are responsible for blocked drains.
Following recent heavy rain there are a lot of flooded areas including Oakfordbridge and Brushford. A local flood warning sign states work will be completed by 22nd December.
104/12/25. Planning
a) To comment on any planning applications received before the meeting.
25/01656/Full Erection of extension to agricultural building and addition of sides to existing pole barn. Location: land at NGR 285908 122575 Beeches, Oakford.
Comment: no objection.
b) Application submitted – for information only, no response required.
25/01655/PNAG Prior approval for the erection of an agricultural storage building.
Land at NGR 391808 121862 Hamslade Farm, Oakford. Noted.
c) To note any planning decisions made by MDDC.
25/01292/CAT Notification of intention to pollard 2 Ash trees within the Conservation Area. Location: Bakery Cottage, Oakford. Decision: no objection.
25/01351/CLU Certificate of lawfulness for the existing siting of 1 free standing biomass flue and 1 biomass boiler and flue within an existing building for a period in excess of 10 years. Location: Wedgewood Buildings Limited Unit, 2 Highfield
Farm, Oakford. Decision: granted.
d) Update on alleged planning breaches.
No updates.
e) To confirm the topics to be discussed at the meeting with MDDC
Enforcement Officer have been agreed. Heather Nesbitt, MDDC Enforcement Officer, cancelled the meeting because she hadn’t received the list of items to be discussed. This was immediately supplied and she was asked for the meeting to be held but thiswas refused by Ms Nesbitt and by John Hammond. Development Management Manager. It was claimed that the agenda proposed for the meeting was not about providing more detail or insight into a particular priority investigation but was a wider discussion about the operation of an enforcement service more generally, something which is of course relevant to all towns and parishes rather than a particular body within the district. The Parish Council had been told that Enforcement Officers couldn’t discuss open cases and that was why the items had been chosen. In place of the meeting Ms Nesbitt send a copy of the enforcement policy document, which is very thorough, but councillors were already aware of this policy and understand it. This was very frustrating for councillors and for Cllr Adcock who had arranged the meeting. Everyone felt the rug had been pulled from under them. Some councillors had rearranged other commitments to attend. Cllr Adcock was thanked for his assistance. Reference numbers for reported breaches will be obtained and the Parish Council will keep asking for updates.
f) Any other planning matters.
No other planning matters.
105/12/25. Highways:
a) Any matters to note or report.
b) Update on flooding issues/blocked drains. Covered un
c) Update on improvements to the fingerpost signs and Chapter 8 training.
d) Any other highways matters.
On the evening of 6th December, a driver of a very large lorry had followed the satnav to get to the quarry on the main road but had found itself stuck at the bend before the hill down to the Police House. With no possibility of turning, it had to reverse its way back to Ford Moor Cross, eventually getting free at around 3 a.m. The lorry barely fitted the width of the road in places, so its journey back caused numerous gauges and scrapes along both sides of the hedgerow and tearing out lumps of the bank which were causing more blockages to the flow of the field run-off. The lorry was believed to be so damaged that it had to be replaced for use today. The lorry was owned by Keily Bros and was on ‘council business’ collecting gravel from the quarry. A road sweeper was ordered to clear the mess from the road.
106/12/25. Footpaths
a) Update on P3 funding.
The Clerk has emailed Donna Manson, DCC CEO about the non payment and is waiting for a response.
b) Update on issues regarding the line of Footpath 5a.
Mr Cridland attended a meeting with Stuart Howell, DCC Public Rights of Way Warden, and the owner of the field. The owner’s preferred option is for the footpath to go around the field as he didn’t want it to go through his ‘camp’. The previous owners didn’t want the footpath in front of their house and encouraged people to go across the field. Cllr Lodge had emailed the Clerk with an update following the meeting. To move matters forward, DCC is liaising with the owner of the field to see if agreement can be secured on an official diversion to the recorded alignment which will enable walkers to continue to lawfully use a route across the field. The indication, is that the owner of the field is amenable to this. If this is not feasible, DCC will need to reinstate the recorded alignment that follows the track.
c) Any other footpath matters.
Mr Cridland has carried out some minor repairs to prop up a bridge. He was thanked by the Parish Council.
106/12/25. Reports:
a) District Cllr Report.
A written report was circulated prior to the meeting. Cllr Adcock gave a brief overview.
b) County Cllr Report.
Cllr Lodge was unable to attend the meeting but his written report had been circulated by email prior to the meeting.
107/12/25. Community Area:
a) Any points to note from inspections of community area.
Cllr Levick has sent a copy of his report to the Clerk. The last grass cut for 2025 has been completed.
Quotes will be obtained for 2026.
Action: Cllr Levick to try to get three quotes.
b) To receive quotes for the refurbishment of the pavilion interior.
No progress with this item.
c) Any matters to note.
None.
108/12/25. Finance
a) To approve any invoices or expense claims presented for payment.
It was resolved to make the following payments:
|
Hampton Maintenance |
£180.00 |
Grass cutting |
Payment ref: 2526/23 |
|
Jill Larcombe |
£159.22 |
Salary for November |
Payment ref: 2526/24 |
|
Cllr Julie Cridland |
£98.59 |
Expenses claim |
Payment ref: 2526/25 |
The Christmas lights have been put up in the village and there was some expenditure on replacements. Consideration will be given to adding funding for Christmas lighting to the 2026-27 budget. Cllr Cridland, Cllr Mayer and those involved were thanked.
b) To note the increase in Unity Trust Banks monthly service charge.
The monthly service will be increasing from £6 per month to £7 per month
c) To note any receipts since the last meeting and the bank balance.
No receipts since the last meeting. The Current Account balance is £500.00 and the Instant Access Account balance is £12,143.20
d) Bank reconciliation 30.11.25.
The bank reconciliation and bank statements were checked and signed by Cllr Stevens.
e) To agree arrangements for budget planning for 2026-27.
A working party will be held at 6.30pm on 12th January, prior to the Council meeting.
109/12/25. Correspondence.
The following correspondence was noted:
DALC Newsletters
MDDC press release
MDDC Residents Survey reminder
MDDC – Infrastructure Funding Statement and Infrastructure List.
MDDC – Warm Home Grants open.
Cllr Cross reported that she had attended the film location meeting organised by
MDDC which explained the benefits a location being used for filming. Anyone can put their land forward and Parish Councils could help by promoting this to landowners. She will ask the film office to send out information on how to get involved to Parish Councils.
Action: Cllr Cross to contact the film office to send out information on how to get involved to Parish Councils.
110/12/25. To confirm the date of the next meeting.
Monday 12th January 2026.
Working party meeting at 6.30pm and Council meeting at 7.30pm.
Action: the Clerk to arrange to hire the Committee Room from 6.30pm and for the heating to be switched on earlier.
The meeting closed at 9.06pm.