Parish Council Minutes: Monday 29th November 2021

Minutes of Parish Council meeting held on Monday 29th November 2021 at 8 pm in the Village Hall.

Present: Mrs Edwards, Mrs Mallows, Ms O’Callaghan, Mr Dinsdale, Mrs Jack, Mr Oliver and, in the Chair, Mr Prince.

1. Apologies for Absence were received from Mr Brown, Mrs Glasse and Mr Watterson.

2. There were no declarations of interest received

3. Approve Minutes of 18th October 2021 . These were carried over for approval to the next meeting so that Mrs Edwards could circulate her proposed changes.

4. Open Forum for Public Participation (10 minutes)

Cllr Glasse by note informed that Barbara Sach had passed on PC files including land
registry documents.

Mrs. Mullins had raised the issue of vehicles travelling at high speed through the Village. Speedwatch coordinators had confirmed they were in need of volunteers so were unable to use the equipment. The Clerk will circulate previous information received from Hardwick Parish regarding flashing signs showing speed, including costing.

Mrs. Mallows informed the meeting that Mr. Mallows had rubbed down the bench and repaired it at the Village Sign. Mrs. Mallows will investigate solar powered lights so that the Village sign area can be more visible to passersby.

Mrs. Jack asked about the possibility of a bench on the verge at the top of Wimpole Road between the road and Banks land.

5. Matters Arising & Clerks Report: The Clerk reported that had the reordering of the defibrillator pads outstanding.

Website: It was agreed that we would proceed with the eversdenparishcouncil.gov.uk email address. However, until we could resolve the issue of the front page of the new website, it was decided not to proceed. Mr Prince will liaise with Vision ICT to see if the technical issues can be overcome

6. Dates 2022. The next meeting would be Monday 10th January 2022, Covid permitting, and the dates would be agreed then.

7. Fossey Field/Recreation Ground Maintenance
Further to Mr Blatch’s information that the hedge between the football pitches and the
Fossey field was in need of maintenance, Mr Dinsdale and Mr Mallows (groundsman) inspected the area and it was confirmed that remedial works were needed.

Three contractors were approached to recommend how to address the problem, and to (mainly) deal with overhanging branches from trees bending towards the recreation ground. It should be noted Mr Mallows was very accommodating with his time in order to meet the contractors on site to explain the issues and to evaluate their proposed methods.

All three contractors gave an indication of costs and lead time. Mr Mallows and Mr Dinsdale agreed on a preference for one contractor, as they were the cheapest at (£ 750) and also had the shortest lead time, as the football season is already underway and work was needed in the shortest possible timeframe.

No tenders were returned for the Fossey Field long term maintenance contract, but the same contractor suggested an on-demand relationship for maintenance of the field and this seemed sensible as it was more flexible than the long-term contract initially envisaged. The contractor quoted £ 600 to mow the field (including a surcharge for removal / disposal of cuttings which was the recommended arrangement to establish suitable soil conditions).

It was resolved to engage the contractor for both of the above works.

8. Local Plan Submission: https://www.greatercambridgeplanning.org/localplan
Cllr Van de Weyer confirmed that Eversden sites were no in the draft plan. Mr Prince asked for advise on how best to complete the submission. Cllr Van de Weyer indicated to complete each section separately. Mr Prince will complete an initial submission and forward to Councillors to approve before the 5 pm deadline on 13th December. Cllr Van de Weyer informed us his main news was about the Local Plan consultation that he had spoken about earlier in the meeting. The Chair thanked him for his report.

9. Precept & Budget 2022/23
Last year’s budget had been circulated to Councillors for information. It was agreed that certain figures could be reallocated this year as the previous year was a one off expense. This included legal fees being reallocated to Fossey Maintenance and the Village Hall defib being reallocated to the new website costing. The Clerk will update the figures and recirculate for further comment.

10. Finance
Balens Handbells £129.55 LGA 1972 s.143i
K Easey: Clerks Salary £223.25 LGA 1972 s.112
Both payments were approved for payment via BACS by the Clerk.

11. The Clerk will contact the Tree Officer, Jay Patel, with regard to wholeheartedly supporting the TPO of the Black Poplars.

12. Correspondence received:
a) Email from John Martin: The Clerk had circulated an email from Mr Martin suggesting the creation of an “Eversden wood”. The Council favourably received the idea and would be interested to hear more. The Clerk will invite Mr Martin to the next meeting.
b) The Clerk had received a letter inviting representatives to a virtual meeting with the Police and Crime Commissioner. The Clerk will circulate to Council for a volunteer to attend.

13. Cllr Atkins was not in attendance. Cllr Van de Weyer indicated that it was possibly the Ox-Cam Arc could be dropped, which would throw doubt on EWR.

Mr Prince asked about the financial state of South Cambs and Cllr Van de Weyer indicated that it was quite healthy and they have had to make no cuts and have employed several new people.

14. Next meetings: Planning, if required, 13th December and 3rd January 2022, Full Parish Council Monday 10th January 2022.

Mr Prince closed the meeting at 9:28 pm.


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