WATERWAYS
MANAGEMENT
COMPANY
Minutes
of
the
Management
Committee
meeting
no
70
held
at
7.30
pm
on Tuesday 3
October 2017 in
the
Waterways
Community
Room
Present:
Adrian
Olsen
(Chair), Sally
Duncan, Ann
Hall,
Adrian
Mourby,
Nicholas
Orme, Louise
Robertson, Brian
Shine,
Raquel
Stremme, Mary
Tovey,
Liz Wheater,
Cath
Whitehead
In
attendance:
Rebecca
Burt and
Esther
Kolawole,
FirstPort
Property
Services
Minute
taker:
Imogen
Olsen
1 Apologies for
absence
1.1 Tao
Tao
Chou,
Paula
Reynolds,
Hilary
Sorensen.
Esther
was
welcomed
to
her
first
meeting. It
was
agreed
to
send
condolences
to
PR
on
the
death
of
her
mother.
2 Minutes
Approval
of
the
minutes
from
meeting 69,
11
July 2017
2.1 The
minutes
were approved
as
an
accurate
record
with
one
correction: the
number
of
the
meeting
(in
the
heading)
should
be
69,
not
68.
3 Matters
arising
from
the
minutes
3.1 The revised Frenchay
Road
parking
plan
has
still
not
materialised.
The
Chair agreed
to
contact
Councillor
John
Howson and
ask
him
to
chase
it up.
3.2 It
had
been
agreed
that
it
was
impractical
to
send
a
copy
of
the Welcome
to
the
Waterways
booklet
to
all
non-‐resident
owners.
3.3 HMOs
– the
sale
of the
house
in
question
is
still
pending but
likely
to
happen
soon.
3.4 FirstPort
had
written
to
GreenSquare
regarding
the
bins
permanently
left
out
in
Stone
Meadow,
but this
had
made
no
difference.
A
director pointed
out
that
if
these
are
causing
an
obstruction
on
the
highway
which
could
endanger
partially
sighted
people,
then
the
Council
could
be
brought
in
to
take
action.
FirstPort
agreed
to
write
to
the
City
Council.
4 Railway
line
developments
4.1 The
Council’s
response
regarding
noise
and
vibration
monitoring
beyond
Network
Rail’s
inadequate
scheme
had
been
disappointing.
The
question
of
doing
our
own
monitoring
is
still
being
considered with
the
Wolvercote
group.
4.2 The
Chair
had
written
to
two
rail
freight
companies (DBCargo
and
Freightliner) about
their
freight
trains idling
for
up
to
30-‐40
minutes
at
the
North
Oxford
Junction
signal,
which
is
just
north
of
Cox’s
Ground
and
beyond
the
end
of
the
noise
barrier,
and
the
air
2
and
noise
pollution
they
cause.
However
both
had
replied
unhelpfully
that
there
was
nothing
they
could
do,
even
though
DBCargo
does
have
some
stop/start
locomotives
in
its
fleet.
Subsequent correspondence
with
the
City
Council
asking
them
to
undertake
on-‐
going
air
pollution
monitoring
had
also
proved
unproductive,
but
the
Chair
will pursue
the
matter.
4.3 As
a
director
felt
they
might
have
a
conflict
of
interest
regarding
engaging
the
advice
of
Ken
Edwards,
expert
on
noise
pollution,
it
was
agreed
that
the
Chair
would
contact
him
instead
with
a
view
to
arranging
a
meeting. This
director
will
provide
him
with
Ken
Edward’s
email
address.
5 Sub-‐Committee
news
round-‐up
5.1 Finance
5.1.1 The
accounts
had
been
a
fortnight
late
in
arriving
with
Wenn
Townsend
(WT)
from
FirstPort,
who
explained
that
this
had
been
because
of
staff
change-‐over
arrangements.
Nevertheless,
WT
had
reported
that
a
very
comprehensive
job
had
been
done
on
them
by
FirstPort
and
all
was
on
schedule
for
sending
out
the
final
version to
members.
FirstPort
and
the
Treasurer
reported that
WT
seemed
to
be
very
satisfactory
so
far.
5.2 Apartment
Blocks
Sub-‐Committee
5.2.1 Roof
works
remained
a
problem
as
it
was
still
proving
difficult
to
obtain
tenders.
Apparently
the
jobs
are
considered
too
small.
FirstPort
reported
that
the
matter is
now
in
the
hands
of
their
surveyors,
who
have
further
contacts
among
roofing
companies
and
they
will
report
back
in
due
course.
5.2.2 The
Asset
Management
plans
have
been
revised
and
are
now
all
ready
for
review.
5.2.3 New
carpets
have
now
been
requested
by
108-‐126
Frenchay
Road.
Two
quotes
have
been
obtained,
but
on
different
specifications.
FirstPort
are
sorting
out
this
issue.
Both
quotes
would
necessitate
a
Section
20
consultation.
5.2.4 The
Airbnb
website
has
been
changed,
so
that
it
is
now
impossible
to
work
out
whereabouts
on
the
estate properties
on
the
estate
are
being
offered.
The
Short
Term
Lets
website
indicates
that
only
one
property
is
currently
being
offered
by
them,
in
Clearwater
Place.
This
is
being
pursued
with
the
owner
by
FirstPort.
Local
councillors
have told
the
Chair
informally
that
the
City
Council
are
unlikely
to
do
anything
to
curtail
the
activities
of
Airbnb
in
Oxford
as
they
are
too
keen
to
encourage
tourism and
there
is
a
lack
of
accommodation
on
Oxford.
There
was
some
discussion
of
the
apartment
in
EJW
which
is
being
offered
as
a
short-‐
term
let
and
whose
owner
claims
that
she
cannot
get
out
of
her
contract
with
the
tenant
who
is
sub-‐letting. The
problem
is
hers
and
FirstPort
have
suggested
she
seek
legal
advice.
5.3 Gardening
Sub-‐Committee
3
5.3.1 A
follow-‐up
multi-‐party
meeting
had
been
arranged
by
a
director
for
Wednesday
4
October,
in
order
to
pursue
the
matter
of
excessive
silt
in
the
watercourse.
It was
agreed
that
Stuart
Divall
would
be
taken
to
see
the
swale
afterwards
so
that
he
could
give
an
opinion
as
to
its
current
state.
5.3.2 Metrorod
has
still
not
been
able
to
level
the
swale.
It
was
suggested
that
they
do
not
want
to
do
the
job and
that
another
contractor
should
be
sought.
5.3.3 The
damaged
grass
by
Cox’s
Ground
will
be
either
reseeded
or
turfed,
depending
on
what
is
decided
at
the
next
gardening
walkabout.
There
is
also
a
gap
in
the
fence
there
which
James
has
been
asked
to
repair.
A
director complained
about
the
damage
to
grass at
the
top
of
EJW,
where
the
new
houses
are
being
built.
However,
this
work
is
now
coming
to
an
end
and
the
building
company
has
so
far
been quite good
at
clearing
up after
themselves:
it
is
assumed
that
they
will
attend
to
any
damaged
areas
in
due
course. They
will
replace
the
grass
strip
next
to
the
pavement
on
the
lake
side
that
they
have
temporarily
covered
with
tarmac.
5.3.4 Long-‐term
plans
were
discussed
for
replacing
paving
slabs
with
something
more
substantial
and
relaying
car-‐park
surfaces
throughout
the
estate.
These
plans
will
have
to
be
done
in
priority
phases
as
they
are
certain
to
be
very
expensive.
A
director
had
brought
in
samples
of
small
paving
blocks
and
it
was
agreed
that
these
would
be
further
discussed
at
the
next
gardening
walkabout.
FirstPort
had
obtained
a
surveyor’s
specification
with
three
options
for
relaying
car-‐park
surfaces.
The
surveyor
had
recommended
the
mid-‐priced
option.
A
director mentioned
some
loose
paving
stones
outside
25
Lark
Hill
and
it
was
agreed
that
Evergreen
should
be
instructed
to
relay
these. The
exact
location
will
be
identified
on
the
next
gardening
walkabout.
5.3.5 The
Frenchay
Road
bridge
arches
were
painted
in
July
by
the
same
team
as
did
the
murals
in
August
They
depict
the
flora
and
fauna
as
found
in
the
Trap
Grounds,
the
canal
and
surrounding
areas.
They
have
received
an
overwhelmingly
positive
response
for
residents
and
visitors
alike. A
director
was
formally
congratulated
and
thanked
for
both
inspiring
and
driving
this
project,
which
was
the
winner recently
in
the
Art
and
Interpretation
category
of
the Canal
and
River
Trust’s Living
Waterways
Awards,
and
presented
at
a
ceremony
in
Birmingham
on
27
September. The
murals
have
now
become
a
tourist
attraction
in
their
own
right.
5.3.6 It
was
agreed
that
the
house-‐building
work
in
EJW
had
not
caused
too
many
problems.
The
building
company
had
been
most
cooperative
in
dealing
with
any
complaints.
5.3.7 The next
bike
cull
had
been
set
in
motion:
tagging
of
around
100
bikes
was
now
complete
and
all
was
on
schedule
for
clearance
later
in
the
autumn.
5.3.8 The
poplar
on
the
Green
seemed
to
have
suffered over
the
summer,
losing
all
its
leaves
very
early.
It
was
agreed
that,
subject
to
expert
advice,
it
might now
have
to
be
felled. A
director reported
that
she
had
sent
FirstPort
the
old
email
trail
from
when
the
C&RT
had
first
cut
down
part
of
this
tree
in
error.
It
is
hoped
that
the C&RT will
complete
the
4
felling,
if
agreed,
and
contribute to the
costs
involved
in turning
the
stump
into
a
sculpture.
A
director agreed
to
supply
the
name
of
a
tree
sculptor
in
Oxford
whose
work
she
had
admired.
5.3.9 There
had
been
a
case
of
arson
in
Stone
Meadow,
in
which
a
car
had
been
torched
causing
damage
to
the
house
and
the
parking
space in
front.
FirstPort
reported
that
the
loss
adjusters
had
been
and
two
quotes
were
being
sought
for
rectifying
the
damage.
No
news
had
been
received
from
the
police
as
to
the
identity
of
the
culprit,
but
it
was
generally
assumed
to
be
the
same
person
who torched
six other
cars
in
North
Oxford
a
few
days
later
and
who
has
been
charged
with
these
offences.
5.3.10 The
new
wooden
fence
by
the
lake
had
been
vandalised
in
three
sections at
its
eastern
end.
This
would
be
discussed
at
the
next
gardening
meeting,
along
with
the
possibility
of
installing
CCTV,
or
dummy
CCTV.
5.3.11 The
next
gardening
walkabout
would
be
held
on
Wednesday
11
October
at
9.30am
and
all
directors
were
invited
to
attend.
5.3.12 More
furniture
had
been
dumped
at
the
southern
end
of
Stone
Meadow.
It
was
agreed
that
the
Chair
would
write
to
GreenSquare
and
ask
them
to
arrange
for
its
removal.
5.3.13 A
director reported
on
The
Big
Rake
of
17
September,
which
had
attracted
only
three
volunteers.
Another
director offered
to
produce
and
put
up
posters
next
time,
and
suggested
it
should
be
called
The
Green
Gym
to
entice
more
people.
5.3.14 FirstPort
had
received
notification
from
the
Council
that
a
tree
was
obscuring
a street
light
in
Frenchay
Road.
Evergreen
had
been
instructed
to
cut
back
the
foliage.
5.3.15 The
Chair
had
received
a
complaint
from
GreenSquare
regarding
traffic
speeding
in
Clearwater
Place.
It
was
unclear
whether
this
was
on
the
public
highway
or
on
WMC
land
(unlikely).
He
had
replied
to
explain
that
there
was
nothing
we
could
do
to
stop
people
speeding
down
EJW
if
that
is
where
the
problem
lies
and
suggested
GreenSquare
add
their
protests
to
our
own
by
contacting
the
County
Council.
5.4 Scrutiny
Sub-‐Committee
5.4.1 The
next
meeting
would
be
set
up
in
the
near
future.
6 Feedback
6.1 Nothing
had
been
received
on
the
Feedback
web
page.
7 WRACIC
7.1 The
late
summer
barbecue
had
been
a
great
success,
with
a
higher
turnout
than
on
previous
occasions.
Takings
had
totalled
£500.
The
Christmas
event
had
been
scheduled
for
early
December.
7.2 Newsletter
distribution
had
been
a
problem,
and
the
list
required
revision.
7.3 The
litter-‐pick
on
30
September
had
gone
well,
with
plenty
of
volunteers.
5
8 Managing
Agent
8.1 There
were
no
Section
20
consultations
to
discuss,
and
FirstPort
had
nothing
further
to
report.
9 Any
other
business
9.1 None.
10 Date,
time
and
location
of
future
meetings
10.1 28
November
(2017),
16
January,
13
March
(2018)
– all
Tuesdays
at
7.30
pm
in
the
Community
Room.