Minutes of last meeting:

MINUTES OF THE BLOXHAM ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD AT JUBILEE  HALL, BLOXHAM ON THURSDAY 24 APRIL 2025 AT 7.00PM 

PRESENT: Chairman Councillor David Bunn; Councillors Russell Avens, Amanda Baxter, Joanna Barton, Mike Fenner, Alex Harrison, Neil Hegarty, Richard Morley, Laura Noakes and Nick Rayner.

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Theresa Goss (Clerk & Responsible Financial Officer), District Councillors David Hingley and  Rob Pattenden and eighteen members of the public.

APOLOGIES: Parish Councillors Steve Craggs and David Morris, District Councillor Gordon Blakeway and Jenny and  David Yates.

1/25 Minutes – The minutes of the meeting held on 24 April 2024 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the  Chairman.

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 24 April 2024 be approved.

2/25 Matters Arising – There were no matters arising from the minutes of the meeting held on 24 April 2024.

3/25 Chairman’s Report & Financial Information – The Chairman reported on the Parish Council’s activities over  the last 12 months and how its funds had been spent.

The Chairman’s report included the following topics:

• Village and infrastructure – bus shelters, bus stops, benches and bins, Smith’s memorial stone, potholes,  drains, road cleaning, burial ground and open requests with the County Council.
• Planning and Speculative Developments – housing developments, other major developments and S106  funds
• Bloxham Neighbourhood Development Plan
• Flooding Working Group
• Traffic Calming
• Community Speed Watch
• Defibrillators
• EV Charging Points
• Drop-In and Chats
• Communication and PC meetings

The Chairman’s report and the Parish Council accounts for 2024/2025 would be available on the Parish Council  web site. www.bloxhamparishcouncil.gov.uk

4/25 Reports from County and District Councillors – Councillor David Hingley addressed the meeting and  reported that he had been a District Councillor for Bloxham for almost three years. Following the elections in  May 2024, there had been a change of administration, and the Liberal Democrats had formed an Administration  with the Green Party and the Independent Alliance and no political party was in overall control of the Council.  Therefore, as the Leader of the largest political party, Councillor Hingley had been appointed Leader of Cherwell  District Council and it was his pleasure to represent communities in that role.

The Administration had produced a balanced budget for 2025/2026, without any cuts to public services.

The Local Plan had passed the Regulation 19 Consultation and the public had commented on housing numbers  and sites for the District. Houses numbers across the District had been allocated in the draft Plan and 75  houses had been allocated to Bloxham. This figure was lower than it had been at the start of the process and  would be reviewed by the Council before the Plan was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. It was hoped the  new Plan would come into force next year.

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A reorganisation of Local Government was being undertaken and the Government hoped to establish Unity  Councils all over the Country. Interim proposals for Oxfordshire had been submitted to the Government and  final proposals would be submitted later in the year.

The council offices had now been relocated to Castle Quay in Banbury town centre.

District Councillor Hingley was thanked for his report.

5/25 Questions from Residents – A resident asked whether the public could attend Cherwell District Council’s  Planning Committee meetings. The Chairman reported that the meetings were open to the public and advised  where to find the agendas and the Case Officer reports. The meetings could also be viewed online.

A resident asked Councillor David Hingley about the housing numbers in the Local Plan, specifically the 75  houses allocated to Bloxham. Councillor Hingley advised that there were 75 houses in the Local Plan which  went up to 2042, but until the Local Plan came into force, there was unfortunately a tilted balance towards developers. However, applications could still be refused by Cherwell District Council, but the best protection for  the village was to have the Parish Council’s reviewed Neighbourhood Plan in place as soon as possible.

The Chairman encouraged residents to respond to all planning applications in the village.

A resident asked whether residents should comment on revised applications which had been submitted to  Cherwell District Council. The Chairman advise that residents should comment on those applications too.

6/25 Thanks and Close of Meeting – The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the meeting

. (The meeting closed at 8.45pm)