Parish Council Minutes: August 2026
DRAFT MINUTES
These minutes will be agreed at the meeting due to be held on 14th September 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 10th August
Present: Cllr’s J Levick (Chair), G Baylis, T Davies, L Gould, and J Mayer.
In attendance: County Cllr S Lodge, three members of the public and Mrs J Larcombe.
44/08/26. To receive apologies for absence. Apologies were accepted from Cllr’s J Cridland, F Cross and V Stevens.
Apologies were received from District Cllr C Adcock and M Stratton.
45/08/26. Declarations of Interest. Cllr Mayer declared a personal and prejudicial interest
regarding Spurway Barton (Item 49/08/26d) as she does some work for the owners
46/08/26. Public Forum. A member of the public commented that the work that DCC Public
Rights of Way had organised was generally a job well done. The person renting the
field will start erecting post and rail fencing, hard up against the one metre width
surfacing, tomorrow. Horses will then be put into the field. Signage will be added.
People will then have to follow the path.
One of the members of the public reported that one hundred and one loads of soil
had been removed from the field and it is now in the hands of the Environment
Agency (EA) who have the greatest legal powers. The EA believe that most of the
soil has been taken away but that is not the case. The earth that is now banked up is
a risk, particularly to the fish farm, if the area floods. The members of the public
were asked to send photos to the Clerk. There was concern about who was paying
for the soil to be removed.
The members of the public left the meeting.
47/08/26. To agree the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 13th July 2026 as
an accurate record of the meeting. With a small amendment to item 33/07/26 the
minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting and they were duly
signed by the Chair.
48/08/26. Matters arising from the minutes, not covered elsewhere on the agenda. None.
49/08/26. Planning
a) To comment on any planning applications received before the meeting.
26/00943/FULL Conversion of staff office facilities and showroom building to a rural
workers dwelling. Location: Unit 2F, Highfield Farm, Oakford. Comment: No
objections,
26/00958/CLU Certificate of lawfulness for the existing use of a barn as a dwelling
(Known as The Flat) and associated vehicle parking. Location: Flat, Nethercott
Farm, Stoodleigh. It was confirmed this application was in Oakford parish. Cllr Mayer
said the use had been taking place for more than ten years.
b) To note any planning decisions made by MDDC.
25/01265/Full Erection of two dwellings utilising the Class Q fallback position;
conversion and extension of an existing barn to form a dwelling; erection of garages;
demolition of redundant agricultural buildings; and creation of new access tracks
with associated landscaping. Location: Land and Buildings at NGR 286852 123156
Lower Woodburn Farm, Oakford. Decision: conditional approval.
c) Update on action being taken regarding the dumping of soil and associated works at Oakfordbridge.
This was discussed under item 46/08/26. The matter of
the soil remaining on the site will be taken up with the District Councillors and there
will be an update at the next meeting. Councillors were concerned that Bampton
Town Council are not taking ownership when it is actually in their parish.
d) Update on alleged planning breaches. No update.
e) Any other planning matters.
50/08/26. Highways:
a) Any matters to note or report. Cllr Mayer will report the tree that is overhanging
the road. Cllr Baylis is still getting fortnightly updates about the outstanding repairs to
the cobbles by the phone box.
b) Update on flooding issues/blocked drains. It was reported that the drain
opposite the Village Hall is leaking water and has been marked up, presumably for work to be carried out.
c) Update on improvements to the fingerpost signs. No update.
d) Any other highways matters. The Clerk will book Mr Cridland and Cllr Davies
onto the Chapter 8 training that will enable them to start repairs to potholes as Road
Wardens.
51/08/26. Footpaths
a) Update on work to grade the area of Footpath 5a as agreed by DCC. This
was discussed under item 46/08/26. Mr Cridland has contacted those who provided
evidence for the diversion application to see if they had any opinion on the regrading
work by DCC. Some have fed back to him verbally and the consensus seems to be
that more time is needed to see how the permissive path is going to hold up in
harsher weather, especially as it hasn't been fenced yet. The Chair, Clerk and Cllr
Cridland have received an email from an older parishioner who regularly uses the
path who has found that although the new path is an improvement it is steep in
places and she is concerned about its suitability for those with mobility issues. She
would prefer to retain the traditional route across the field which has no steep rises
and falls. Councillors agreed that the S14 application would not be withdrawn at this
stage. More time is needed to see how the regraded path works.
b) To discuss the suggestion to provide simple fire precaution signage at key
access points into our woodlands and public footpaths, particularly during
periods of high fire risk. It was agreed to order six temporary A3 warning signs. A
quote of £54 + VAT was given. As these are needed as soon as possible the quote
will be accepted arther than taking further time to obtain more quotes.
c) Any other footpath matters.
52/08/26. Reports
County Cllr Report. A written report was circulated by email prior to the meeting. Cllr Lodge had nothing further to add.
District Cllr Report. No report prior to this meeting. The next report will be circulated in late August.
53/08/26. Community Area:
a) Any points to note from the regular inspections of community area. Due to
the drought the grass has not needed cutting. Cllr Levick has emailed his inspection
report to the Clerk. Prices will be obtained for replacement swing seats and chains.
Action: the clerk to obtain prices for replacement swing seats and chains.
b) Update on the delivery of the picnic tables and the wording for the plaque.
They have been delivered to Cllr Stevens.
c) Report from site meetings to discuss which fitness equipment would be
suitable for the community area so that an application can be made for S106
funding. Cllr’s Baylis, Cross and Mayer were thanked for attending the site meeting.
Two quotes have been received and these include installation. Councillors would like
to purchase three items for adults and one for the children’s play area. Cllr Mayer
will put together a list of five possible pieces of equipment to make a choice from.
A third quote will be needed for the S106 funding application. Cllr Lodge is willing to
support an application for funding from his County Councillors Locality Budget and
the Clerk will submit an application for £500.
Actions: Cllr Mayer to out together a list of five possible pieces of equipment.
The Clerk to apply for £500 from Cllr Lodge’s Locality Fund budget.
d) Any matters to note.
54/08/26. Finance
a) To approve any invoices or expense claims presented for payment. It was
resolved to make the following payments:
|
2627/15 |
Hampton Maintenance |
£189.00 |
Grass cutting |
|
2627/16 |
Mrs J Larcombe |
|
Salary for July |
Since the last meeting a payment of £1,428.91 has been paid to Gate Huts Ltd for
two wheelchair access recycled plastic picnic tables (Payment reference no
2627/14)
A service charge of £7.00 was taken from the current account at the end of June. A
service charge of £7.00 will be taken from the account at the end of July.
Internal transfers will be made to return the balance to £500.00.
b) To note any receipts since the last meeting and the bank balance. . A
cheque for £28.49 for a wayleave has been
banked since the last meeting. Bank interest of £72.13 has been received since the
last meeting
The Current Account balance is £774.67 and the Instant Access Account balance is
£15,466.44
c) Bank reconciliation 31.07.26. Deferred to the next meeting for Cllr Stevens to check
d) To receive a report on budget v actual for 01.04.26 – 31.07.26. To be
presented at the next meeting.
e)Internal Audit Report. The Clerk is still contesting some of the comments made
by the Internal Auditor. The Council will seek another internal auditor for the next
internal audit.
Insurance for the defibrillator will be increased to reflect its cost.
Action: the Clerk to increase the insurance on the defibrillator.
55/08/26. Arrangements for a screening of The People's Emergency Briefing at
Bampton. Bampton Town Council has booked the Riverside Hall, Bampton to
screen the briefing on Friday 18th September at 7pm. Oakford parishioners will be
very welcome.
56/08/26. To continue to discuss options for the replacement of the Oakford website
before April 2028 when MDDC will no longer provide the service. Cllr Baylis
reported that he had had a meeting to discuss the possibility of continuing to use
Umbraco but MDDC are using version 7 for the parish websites and the current
version is 17 which means it wouldn’t be possible to easily transfer the content as
formats will have changed. He is now looking at companies who specialise in
providing websites for Town and Parish Councils. Cllr Lodge asked if the parish
council would own the website if produced by one of these companies. There will be
further discussion at the next meeting.
57/08/26. Correspondence. The following correspondence was noted.
DALC Newsletters
MDDC press releases
MDDC - Site Tours at the waste facility at Carlu Close to see the new Depot
Configuration and In Cab Technology
Mid Devon Group Travel Workshops
Chat - A Summer of Support, Community and Impact
58/08/26. To confirm the date of the next meeting:
Monday 14th September 2026.
The meeting closed at 9.15pm.