Parish Council Minutes: Monday 27th July 2020
Minutes of Full Parish Council meeting on Monday 27th July 2020 at 8:00 pm via ZOOM
Present: Ms O’Callaghan, Mr Dalton, Mrs Glasse, Mrs Mallows, Mrs Edwards and, in the Chair, Mr Dinsdale.
1. Apologies for Absence recorded from Mr Watterson, Mr Prince, Mr Oliver, Mrs Handley
2. There were no Declarations of interest.
3. The minutes of both the Full Council on 15th June and Planning on 29th June 2020 were agreed as an accurate and true record.
4. Open Forum for Public Participation (10 minutes)
A member of the public commented that the Millenium Orchard was very overgrown. As Mrs McCollum was also present she answered the enquiry. The orchard had been part of an arrangement with Natural England for a period of 10 years which finished at the end of last year with the land returning to the landowner. Temporary access will be given to permit holders at harvest time and the orchard will be mowed in time for this.
A further meadow in the village causing concern due to weeds will be mowed in the Autumn.
5. Both Councillor Aiden Van De Weyer and Lina Nieto were in attendance via Zoom. Cllr Van De Weyer informed the meeting that progress was being made across the county on cycle routes and work was continuing to inform Councillors with uptodate information on the current Covid 19 situation. He also reported that the Sewage works at Milton were looking to move sites and 3 potential new sites had been identified.
Councillor Lina Nieto will follow up on the proposed EWR meeting and informed the Council that the A603 improvements had been approved and an assessment of cost was currently taking place.
Mrs Glasse asked for information on the playground grant applied for. Cllr Nieto will chase on behalf of the Recreation Ground.
6. Matters Arising & Clerks Report
a. Three Free Trees: It was agreed this would be postponed until September 2020.
b. Key Codes for PX Farm Gates: The Clerk will chase the Rights of Way Officer as no reply received.
c. Tree Surgeon Quotations: It was resolved unanimously to proceed with the Town & Country quotation. The Clerk will contact the company.
d. Connections Bus Follow Up to Courses: It was resolved to decline both courses.
e. Bank Account Update: The Clerk will complete the new bank mandate for a single signature bank account, with statements send to the Chair & Vice Chair for transparency. The Clerk reported that £1873 had been taken from the Bank Account due to an error on the part of Opus Energy for the street lighting switch over. We had been charged for 88,000 KW instead of 2,000 KW. £1807 will be refunded to the bank account within 5 working days.
f. LHI Bid Update: Mr Dinsdale and the Clerk are working on costings for possible yellow lines and speed signage in the Village. Mr Dinsdale suggested we proceed with caution as increased traffic and parking maybe due to the current climate. It was suggested we continue to proceed with speedwatch which currently takes places approx. every 2 months and should include Wimpole Road and High Street, Little. We would also explore an LHI bid to change Wimpole Road to 20 mph.
7. Village Hall and Recreation Ground Minutes: It was agreed to carry forward this item.
8. Ceiling Board in Bus Shelter: The Clerk will investigate whether this is simply the board that has fallen or whether it is due to the roof tiles leaking.
9. Request to fund the installation costs for connecting a water supply tap to the community allotments
The proposal had been submitted by a member of the public with an allotment with the approval of other allotment holders. The price had been cheaper than expected and would make life easier at the allotments. The water can connect from the boundary of the allotments and extra would need to be paid per metre to the pipe. The Chair said there was no objection in principal however a more formal request from the allotment committee, along with addressing the liability issue would be preferable.
10. Finance
Taylor Vinters £1800.00 LGA 1972 ss.124
K Easey Clerk £TBC LGA 1972 s.(112.2)
SCDC Car Park Rental £50.00 LGA 1972 s.133
Eversden Churches Grant £1500.00 LGA 1972 s.124
All payments were agreed.
11. Correspondence:
Concerns had been raised with the Clerk with regard to the kissing gates at the bottom of the Recreation Ground/Bucks Lane footpath being removed and a new enclosed fence erected. The Clerk had discussed with the landowner and she had provided a comprehensive document to the Council outlining the reasons behind the decision. In the first instance the work was carried out to improve security; deter trespass, reduce criminal activity and to prevent straying dogs entering the property and fouling. The gates were removed to improve access for buggies, childrens bicycles and wheelchair users. Mrs McCollum has offered to donate the kissing gates to the village so that they can be re-erected a more suitable area and will store them until this decision has been made. In the meantime Mr Mallows will cut the hedge on the footpath to maintain the regulation width.
Given the increasing coverage of the East West Railway it was agreed to make a list of issues for Mr Watterson to take to the cross Parish meeting when the date is set.
It was requested that light pollution around homes in the winter, as well as requesting lower wattage at Cam Spice be added to the September agenda for discussion.
12. Next meetings: Monday 7th September 2020.
The Chair closed the meeting at 9:07pm.
