15th Februaury 2010
A meeting of the Parish Council was held in the Village Hall on 15th February 2010 at 8pm.
Apologies received from Mrs Connolly, Mrs Hobbs, Mr Kilker, and Mrs Pritchard.
Present, Mrs Handley, Mr Huddleston, Mr Blatch, Mr White, and, in the Chair, Mr Dalton. Cls. Mrs Heazell and Mr Kindersley were also present.
Minutes of the meetings held on 18th January 2010 were approved and signed.
Matters arising from the Minutes
1 Nixon's Hall Tablet. This is still under repair.
2 Land Registration of Parish Property Declaration. This is in the hands of the solicitors.
3 Hedges at 2 Wheeler's Way One hedge has been cut, but not fully cleared.
4 Road at St Helen's Transfer. This is in the hands of the solicitors.
5 Allotment Organisation. In the absence of Mrs Hobbs, no report, but, in view of recent weather progress unlikely.
6 Standing Orders. Agreed to study Part II of the revised NALC standing Orders, and if it is of any value, consideration will be given to ordering Part I at a cost of £25.
7 Village Plan Mr White reported he and Mr Farnell had almost completed processing all 168 questionnaires. There were 15pp. of answers, but a summary had been produced together with graphs. These would be circulated to all households. The 168 returns represented 427 people. This is a response of about 50%, which is regarded as a good proportion.
8 Youth Club Bus. Mr Blatch reported that this was progressing slowly but an assessment of need had to be made, and the proposed site inspected. Tuesday was a possible evening, but other villages might have priority. Mrs Heazell reported that SCDC would no longer make grants towards such activities.
9 Telephone Box at Little Eversden BT had replied stating they have no plans to remove this box at present, but will review all boxes annually
10 Salt Bins It was agreed to purchase three salt bins to be placed at the junction of Leete's Lane and Lowfields, at the junction of High Street Little Eversden and the Harlton Road and at the Hoops junction. Mr Blatch to find out the source of unobtrusive bins and Mr Huddleston to look for exact places to locate the bins.
11 Rats in Wimpole Road Ditch. the Chairman had reported this as a Statutory Nuisance to the Senior Environmental Health Officer, who had taken immediate action. Bait had been laid, warning notices placed, the hedges had been cut back and the holes dug out. In addition the old straw-bales had been removed from the field. This had reduced the problem, but caused the rats to spread further down the road. It was agreed that the Chairman should contact Environmental Health to check progress.
12 Cycle Path Eversden to Comberton Nothing further to report at present, though an extensive discussion took place on other possible cycle paths and the difficulties in organising them. It was agreed that it was sensible to concentrate on one at a time.
13 Low Close Affordable Housing Cl. Mrs Heazell reported that the price had been set on the advice of an independent firm of Quantity Surveyors based on local comparisons. A two bed-roomed house cost from £215,000 and a three bedroom one from £245,000. Mr Blatch expressed dismay at these prices. He believed that the houses should have been substantially cheaper in view of the fact that the sites had cost much less than they would have done on the open market. He had written to our MP and various organisations expressing his opinion.
14 Planning.
The Hoops. Continuation of licence for Take-away Food. Approved
The Wheatsheaf Retrospective permission for notice boards. Refused
15 Finance
The following cheque was approved
Parochial Church Council, Graveyard Fund £1000.00 LGA1972 s214
16 Cl. Kindersley had circulated a full report previously.
He mentioned that pre-budget meetings were taking place and cuts would have to be made which could affect libraries and other services. A cut in the Highways budget was of particular concern in view of the bad state of many roads and the work needed to repair potholes. These were a serious danger and work was continuing on them as rapidly as possible.
There was still no date for the start of the guided bus service.
SCDC had approved the plans for the sixth form at Comberton Village College.
He had attended a packed meeting of students at Hills Road Sixth Form College and had been most impressed by their serious concerns about the war and the economy.
17 Cl. Mrs Heazell spoke about negotiations over the scheme for SCDC to form a joint administration with Uttlesford District Council which were facing difficulties.
Blue wheelie bins could be expected shortly.
The proposal to change to a 'flying' warden at sheltered homes had been put off for a year as an additional grant had been received from the government.
18 Grant for DVD. Mr White enquired if the PC would consider giving a grant towards producing a DVD featuring village scenes and activities shot over the past five years by Dave Farnell. Any profits would go to the Village Hall fund. It was agreed that this should be an agenda item for the next meeting.
19 Correspondence. In circulation
20 Notice had been received of a meeting for Tree Wardens to be held on 6th March at Eltisley.
21 Barrington Cement works. Mr Blatch asked about plans for waste disposal. Dr Rutland, who had been at the liaison meeting, explained that part of the site would be filled with inert material and covered with a metre layer of clay so that it could be returned to agricultural use. The kilns and part of the site would be retained and 'mothballed'.
Date of Meetings
Little Eversden Parish Meeting Monday 1st March in the Pavilion at 8pm
Planning Meeting (if necessary) Monday 8th March at 8.30pm
Full Parish Council Monday 29th March in the Pavilion at 8pm.
Great Eversden Parish Meeting Monday 12th April in the Village Hall at 8pm