HNNL April 2004 page 3

April 2004

Series 29 No 2

Parish Council and Cherwell news

PARISH COUNCIL INFORMATION BOARD

PROMOTER FOR CDC EVENTS IN HOOK NORTON Cherwell District Council, through its Arts at Large Scheme, subsidises various entertainments which appear at village halls throughout the district. Over the past few years, Cllr Ray Jelf has arranged these for Hook Norton. However regrettably, due to public commitments, he can no longer continue in this role. We urgently need an enthusiastic replacement to act as promoter to arrange the varied entertainments available. The promoter does not have to be a member of the Parish Council and those interested in arranging concerts, children's entertainments etc. for the village please contact the Parish Clerk [01295 758352].			NORMAN MATTHEWS COMMUNITY HALL People using the library will have noticed that a doorway has been opened into the Community Hall and permission has now been granted to put up a partition inside the Hall to create a reading room. It is hoped that this will be in place shortly to enhance the library while the rest of the building will be used primarily by the Out of School Club, along with the Youth Club and others.
	MEMORIAL HALL The Parish Council has recently approved expenditure on a new cooker for the Hall and this should be installed in the near future.
		CEMETERY Residents will have seen that the dry-stone wall bordering the cemetery has been re-built in places over the past few weeks. However, the storms in early February brought part of the wall down again and part of the problem has been identified as four large trees on top of the bank, which are effectively acting as levers in high winds. Reluctantly the Parish Council has therefore taken the decision to fell the trees. Three of the trees are quite tall and, while not dangerous at present, they have little root room and would cause problems in the future. The fourth is diseased and would have to be felled in any event. An application for planning consent has been submitted.
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING The Annual Parish Meeting will take place in the Memorial Hall on Thursday 1st April 2004 at 7pm. All parishioners are welcome to attend.

SALT BINS
For almost a year, I have been trying to arrange for the provision of salt on the Swerford Road, particularly between Ropeway and Cross Banks Lane.
The Wiggington Road has dozens of heaps along its length, but Oxfordshire will not agree to this along the Swerford Road. There has been some limited success in so far that Oxfordshire has replenished salt in the salt bin where Cross Banks Lane joins the Swerford Road, near the top of the hill; additionally Oxfordshire has offered to supply salt bins, at cost, to our Parish Council and to fill them as needed at no cost to the Parish Council.
The matter has been taken to the Parish Council by letter and twice in person and incredibly the Parish Council has flatly refused to purchase any salt bins. Reasons given by the Environment and Open Spaces Committee (E&OSC) are 'that salt bins for public use are undesirable and in these litigious times it is probably unwise for members of the public to undertake salting of the roads and undesirable for the PC to make this possible. Alternative routes in and out of the village, salted by OCC are available in poor weather.' It was said cost is not an issue.
I said that the logic of refusing to provide salt bins for legal reasons suggested that existing salt bins should be removed and a member of the E&OSC said this would be to his liking. My belief is that those who travel the Swerford Road, and probably many other Hooky folk, would appreciate the chance to make that road (and other roads) safer in icy weather and that they are intelligent enough to do it carefully. I also think that the Parish Council may be making themselves liable to a claim should an accident occur in icy conditions on the stretch of road for which they have resolutely refused to provide salt bins.

If you feel there should be salt bins on this road (and existing salt bins retained), you may wish to contact the members of the E&OSC — Jem Hayward (chairman) 737717, Peter Millar 737128, or Mike Terry 737842 to express your views.

Frank Cookson.

Hook Norton Adult & Community Learning Can you help? Liz Wilkes our Evening Site Supervisor leaves at the end of Term and we urgently need to recruit a replacement for her to start after Easter.
If you would like to know more about this part-time role please contact the Centre Head, Lorraine Whitfield, Tel: 01608 730052 or 01295 266763.	Perhaps you or someone you know could combine the two jobs!	Hook Norton School Caretaker We are still seeking suitable applicants for the Caretaker position in school.
The post is for 25 hours per week am and pm, with benefits including 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, generous sick scheme, and company pension scheme. A degree of flexibility with these hours can be accommodated. Application forms can be obtained from the school or by ringing 01865 336391.

OUT OF THE BLUE

On the evening of Thursday 4^th March, Thames Valley Police in partnership with Hook Norton Parish Council held a Forum in the Memorial Hall. There were 10 members of the public present, 7 Parish Councillors, 1 District Councillor and 6 Police Officers including the Chipping Norton Sector Inspector, Nick Deacon. The numbers were a little disappointing but the questions asked were extremely good and some were quite challenging. It would appear that, in the main the community is pleased with the way in which we police your village and surrounding area. Subjects covered included drugs, the fear of crime, how it affects the community; especially the elderly, the play area and youth problems. One thing that did come across to me was the fact that despite advertising contact telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and the like, people were still not using them to tell us when incidents happen, regardless of how small they may seem. Note: Since the meeting, the play area has been checked regularly during the evenings and no problems have been experienced. By the time you read this, Hook Norton Primary School together with Thames Valley Police, will have hosted a Chat Safe Evening on Wednesday 31 March. Chat Safe is a Community Safety Initiative by Thames Valley Police and The Royal Air Force Police and deals with internet chat rooms and what you as parents can do to keep your children safe by taking responsibility for your child's on line computer use.
For those who missed the evening, Thames Valley Police have a dedicated web site: www.thamesvalley.police.uk/chatsafe. The site contains information and guidelines and is well worth a visit. This is an important subject and we are all sadly aware of some of the tragic consequences of meeting people over the internet.

Crimes/Incidents: 1^st February – 7^th March 2004

One criminal damage to a motor vehicle in Bell Hill.
One burglary other than a dwelling
Two thefts of motor vehicles (property recovered in one instance)
One obtaining property by deception
One assault (detected)

Remember! The new telephone number for Thames Valley Police is 08458 505 505
I can be reached at 01608 648715 or rosemary.dilsaver@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk Thank you and keep safe

Rosemary H. Dilsaver PC 818