Unconfirmed PC Minutes – 20th April 2015

FULL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING ON MONDAY 20^TH APRIL 2015 AT 8 PM IN THE VILLAGE HALL

Present: Mr Dalton, Mr Dinsdale, Mrs Glasse, Mrs Handley, Ms Hoar, Ms O’Callaghan, Mr Prince, Mrs Pritchard, Mrs Spencer and, in the Chair, Mr Tebbit.

The minutes of the full Parish Council on 9^th March and the Planning minutes of 7^th April 2015 were approved as correct and signed by the Chair.

Open Forum for Public Participation

Mr Tebbit opened the meeting to the public. Miss Sach congratulated the Council on the litter picking. Mr Tebbit informed the meeting that 17 bags of rubbish were collected and had now gone to SCDC for disposal. There was a very good turn out and most roads within the Eversdens were “picked”. Miss Sach said that many of the gutters also seemed to be full of debris. The Clerk will check the SCDC for the schedule for mechanical sweeping and report back.

There were no declarations of interest received.

Matters Arising

Speedwatch – New coordinators were required for Speedwatch and volunteers should contact Rev Charles Fraser. At a previous meeting Speedwatch warning signs, attached to existing street furniture, were discussed. Councillors discussed other traffic calming measures such as speed bumps and rumble strips. Mr Dinsdale informed the meeting that at the time of the speed limit change through the Village, Highways advice had been that rumble strips would not be considered due to it being a residential area. It was resolved that the Clerk would forward the information regarding the signage to Rev Fraser to seek his views and also circulate to the Parish Council for full discussion and decision at the next meeting.

Village Sign – The Council discussed the proposal received from Harry Stebbings Workshop regarding the work to the Village Sign. It was resolved that Clerk will clarify whether the quotation includes removing the algae. The sign needs to be removed and re-erected by ourselves and it was agreed that the Clerk would contact Tom Harland to ask if he would do this as he did previously.

It was resolved unanimously that we go ahead with the proposal at a cost of £782.25 plus VAT.

War Memorial Restoration – The Council considered the recommendation from Andrew Cook to restore the War Memorial. Ms Hoar proposed that the Clerk apply for a £1k grant to carry out the work. This was unanimously agreed and the Clerk will progress the application.

There is no further information available on the Recreation Ground Drainage.

Litter Picking – As mentioned in the public forum, 17 bags of rubbish were collected around the Village on Saturday 18^th April. The Chair thanked all volunteers involved.

Agricole Payment – Over the last 12 months £130 has accumulated in the oil rebate from Agricole. The rebate does not pass through the Parish Council accounts, however the Council do make the decision on its use. It was resolved that the money be given to the Village Hall Committee to go towards the new staging in the Village Hall.

Great Eversden Parish Meeting

Mr Tebbit outlines some of the issues that the Parish Council have dealt with this year:

The Connections Bus has been funded for a further 36 sessions, with support from the Village. Connections Bus – support for it from Village -
There was a plea for new treasurer for the allotment. There is currently £1,100 in the account which Diarmund Coyle is currently custodian of.

The change of the A603 speedlimit to 50 mph, thanks to Mr Dinsdale.
We joined a coalition of Parish Councils in support of STOP BAD
The approval at Planning Committee of OSP 148. During the Parish Meeting Mr Tebbit informed Mrs Webster that Mr Bridgewater had withdrawn his site. Mr Tebbit reported that the the Parish Council can only look at sites that been put forward to the Council. Cllr Page attended the Parish Meeting and likened both the Parish Council and Mr Tebbit to jihadists and accused Cllr Kindersley of breaking his word. Mrs Handley said she found it deeply shocking that Cllr Page could accuse a fellow Cllr of lying. Mrs Pritchard commented that she did not think it was a relevant forum to discuss the matter, however the Chair said that the Parish Meeting feedback had been part of the agenda.

Planning

S/0725/15/FL, 23 High Street, Little Eversden, CB23 1HE

The Parish Council recommended to “REFUSE” the application.

The Parish Council are very concerned about all the work taking place currently on site and this should cease with immediate effect.

We formally request a site meeting with South Cambridgeshire District Council and the planners and request the applications go to Committee.
Applications S/0725/15/FL; S/0586/15/FL and S/0585/15/FL should be treated as one application as in the outline application not 3. Some local residents were informed of S/725/15/FL but not S/0586/15/FL and S/0585/15/FL
While the front of the new building is carefully modelled on the existing house, the proposed boundary wall topped with railings would be completely out of character with the rest of the High Street.

There are inaccuracies in the site plans over boundaries with neighbouring properties.

Residents of the property will have an impact from the increase in Plot 1 and Plot 2 in terms of traffic and overlook.

A number of trees have been removed from the site contrary to the original proposal.
Work has taken place on site outside normal working hours, i.e before 8 am.
The annexe over the garage should not be leaded as a dwelling separately from the main house.
Treatment of all boundaries to site, hedge planting and facing to be agreed with neighbours prior to commencement must be a condition of approval.

Internal landscaping should also be a condition, bearing in mind the destruction of trees mentioned above.

Finance

The Council resolved to pay the following cheques:

Connections Bus £2205.00 LGA 1976 s.19

CAPALC Membership Fees 2015-2016 £261.93 LGA 1972 s.142(i)

The Clerk had circulated the draft audit report that was currently with the Internal Auditor for information. The final version will be available on 8^th May and agreed at the 11^th May Annual Parish Meeting.

Footpaths

Surface Repairs – Mr Tebbit reported that he re-circulated the SCDC fault reporting website for all Councillors to use to report surface repairs.

The website is http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/highwayfaults

Encroachment of Hedges – The Beech hedge, as you turn left out of Finch’s Field, has grown substantially over the path causing a problem seeing oncoming traffic. Mr Tebbit will ring/call round to discuss with the residents.

Hedge in front of Low Close – Private contractors had cut the hedge on behalf of the Housing Association, Accent Nene. Ms Hoar said they had cut the hedge very low and damaged saplings. Mrs Pritchard, Mr Dinsdale and Mr Tebbit, however thought it was a very good job. There is an encroachment of ivy, however to remove this would have meant cutting the hedge lower, which would not have done any harm. It was requested that the Accent Nene be informed of the mess left and contractors asked to tidy up after themselves and minimise plant damage

Report from Councillors

No reports were received from Cllr Page or Cllr Kindersley.

Correspondence

The Clerk informed the Council that under the new Transparency Code for smaller authorities the following should now be published: