UNAPPROVED MINUTES
Minutes of a Parish Council Meeting held on Monday, 23rd March 2009 at Vicarage Close Community Centre at 7.15pm.
Present: Cllrs. D. Mowatt (Chairman), V. Barrett, R. Gatward, J. Guest, D. Hardingham, A. Kulina, M. Linnette, M. Sherwen, C. Stead and M. Townsend.
In attendance: The Clerk and C. Cllr D. McCraith,
610/08 Apologies for absence: Cllrs. I. Bloomfield, C. Charter, C. Purbrook and J. Robson.
611/08 Declarations of Interest: None
612/08 Minutes of the meeting held on 23rd February 2009:
It was proposed by Cllr. Townsend and seconded by Cllr. Gatward that the minutes of 23rd February 2009 be signed as a true record.
613/08 Matters arising:
Item 560/08 (Matters Arising) Cllr. Barrett reported that work on the CCTV cameras was in progress. She had received information from one company but was waiting to hear from another company. Cllr. Mowatt requested that Cllr. Purbrook was kept up to date on this matter.
Item 566/08 (Cutting of the verges in the village) Cllr. Sherwen enquired if the Clerk had been in touch with other councils in connection with the standard of work done for them by MD Thomas. The Clerk replied that she had spoken to two councils who were both very satisfied with the work which had been carried out by MD Thomas.
The Addendum An e-mail received from Cat Coley on this subject was discussed. C. Cllr. McCraith reported that he had spoken to Cat Colley who is an Admin. Assistant, Passenger Transport for Cambridgeshire County Council on the matter of the Service 26 calling in at Trumpington Park and Ride. In her e-mail Cat had informed the Council that Stagecoach would be writing to them.
At the present time there has been no reply from Stagecoach on this matter. C. Cllr. McCraith will wait until the end of the month for a reply from Stagecoach and if there is not one received by then he will take this matter a stage further.
614/08 Minutes of the Planning Committee:
2nd March: Item 588/0 (Urgent Matters) Cllr. Stead reported that an excellent job had been done on the sign at the end of Sheepshead Row Cottages.
615/08 Notification or Planning Consultation documents:
(a) SCDC – Kingsway Golf Centre. Replacement Protection Netting. S/1967/08/F. Permission Granted.
(b) SCDC Land South of 25 Station Road – Dwelling and Garage. S/0034/09/F. Permission Refused.
(c)SCDC – Land to the North-East of 107 High Street. Dwelling. S/2074/08/F.
Planning application has been withdrawn.
616/08 Planning Applications:
(a) Application to carry out Tree Works subject to a Tree Preservation Order or Situated within a Conservation Site. Application from 8 Greenbanks for the proposed works to a tree in 9 The Lawns. Works to one mature Sycamore Tree to reduce the crown by 20%. The tree overhangs the gardens of Nos. 8 and 6 Greenbanks. No comments
(b) Land to the North-East of 19/21 Dolphin Lane – Erection of Dwelling and erection of Carport, Workshop and Tractor Store. S/2060/08/F. Plans have been amended. “Revised access block plan showing correct driveway width”. For information only.
(c) Land to the North-west of Bridgefoot Farm Kennels, Flint Cross. Erection of two poultry houses. S/0311/09/F. Recommend Approval
(d) PA Consulting Group, Back Lane. Installation of Door, Bridge and Ramp. S/0330/09/F. Recommend Approval
617/08 Little Hands Nursery School Roof:
There was nothing to report on this matter at the moment.
618/08 Model Publication Scheme:
This is to be discussed at the Finance and General Purposes meeting.
619/08 1950’s sign advising “No Through Road” at the entrance to The Moor.
Cllrs. Hardingham and Stead will look into refurbishing this sign.
620/08 Financial Report as at 28th February 2009: This was approved and the Clerk was asked to contact Cllr. Robson in connection with an article in The Times with respect to the Council investments.
621/08 Cheques to be signed: see attached pdf filecheque-list-for-march-09
The Clerk recommended the transfer of £8,400 from the Business No Notice Account to the Current Account
The Clerk recommended the transfer of £1864.26 from the Magazine Account to the No Notice Account
It was proposed by Cllr. Guest that the cheques be approved and signed, seconded by Cllr. Hardingham and carried.
It was proposed by Cllr. Barrett that IF THE CLERK NEEDED TO WORK OVERTIME IN ORDER TO PREPARE THE END OF YEAR ACCOUNTS AS THESE ARE DUE FOR SUBMISSION ONE MONTH EARLIER THIS YEAR, SHE SHOULD BE PAID FOR THIS WORK. Seconded by Cllr. Sherwen and CARRIED.
622/08 Correspondence:
(a) (a) E-mail from A. Kulina – Traffic calming on Orchard Road.
(b) Cllr. Kulina reported that he is in discussion with David Lines and a meeting is to be arranged.
(b) Royston and District Community Transport – Informing the Parish Council that RDCT has recently become a charitable limited company. Also seeking financial assistance and informing the Council that end of year accounts are being prepared. Noted.
(c) Letter from P Saunders, Hon Treasurer of Melbourn District Villages Association. Thanking the Council for their generous donation. Noted
(d) Letter from Mr Peter Chilvers – acceptance of post of Internal Auditor. Noted
(e) Letter from Melbourn Primary School PTFA – requesting permission to erect a sign from 13th April at The Cross to promote their Spring Fayre which is to be held on Saturday 25th April.
It was proposed by Cllr. Hardingham that MELBOURN PRIMARY SCHOOL PFTA BE ALLOWED TO ERECT A SIGN ON THE CROSS FROM MONDAY 13TH APRIL TO PROMOTE ITS SPRING FAYRE. Seconded by Cllr Kulina and CARRIED.
(f) Letters from Andrew Lansley CBE MP – with regard to concerns raised over changes to opening hours of the booking office at Meldreth Railway Station. Noted.
(g) E-mail from Cat Colley Admin Asst. Passenger Transport – acknowledging the Parish Councils letter of 26th February. This was dealt with under Item 613/08
(h) Letter and accompanying documentation from Peter Wakefield, Chairman of Rail Future East Anglia to Mr Hugh Clancy, Commercial Director, First Capital Connect – highlighting things that could improve usage for Melbourn Commuters ie more storage boxes for bikes, better signage for walking routes. Plus reverting back to original station name of “Meldreth and Melbourn”. Noted
(i) Letter from SJ Hoffman – Mobile Warden Scheme
The Clerk is to write to Mrs Trueman requesting proof of payments.
(j) Copy of letter to Melbourn Youth Club – Village Sports Facility Grant 08/09. The Clerk is to contact Cllr. Bloomfield to ask if the Council need to take an action before this grant can be paid.
(k) Melbourn Bowls Club – Documentation as requested by the Council
It was proposed by Cllr. Hardingham that THE PARISH COUNCIL GIVE A DONATION OF £1000 TO MELBOURN BOWLING CLUB TOWARDS THE RENOVATION PROJECT OF THE BOWLING GREEN DITCHES. Seconded by Cllr. Wakerley and CARRIED.
The Clerk is to write to Mr Blows and inform him that the Council are to make a donation of £1000 toward the renovation of the ditches.
(l) Letter from Commune de la Roche-Chalais – re twinning with Melbourn.
Cllr. Mowatt is to deal with this letter.
(m) No further correspondence was received.
623/08 Cemetery and Churchyard Inspection Record:
It was Cllr. Charter’s turn to carried out the inspection and as he had given his apologies and was absent from the meeting no report was given.
624/08 New Road Cemetery:
Cllr. Guest reported that she had been in touch with SCDC with regard to obtaining a green bin for the cemetery. A decision was taken at the Conservation meeting that this matter would not be pursued at the present time.
Cllr. Sherwen had contacted Mr Quentin Carroll with regard to the return of the Saxon remains but had not as yet received a reply.
625/08 Further Developments to Village Car Park:
There was nothing to report on this matter at the moment.
Cllr. Mowatt felt that something must be done with what was left of the greenery in the car park. Cllr. Barrett said this had been spoken about at the problem solving meeting which had been held at the Police Station and she felt there had been talk about replanting this area.
Cllr. Gatward felt that everything needed to be removed before new planting could be thought of. The Clerk is to contact one of the companies who does this sort of work and request a price for this.
626/08 Update on BMX Trails:
Cllr. Hardingham said that most of what was happening had been covered in the Conservation Meeting minutes. Plans drawn by Cllr. Linnette had been accepted and he had done a very good job of pegging out the site.
Cllr. Hardingham had received an e-mail from Jonathan Whitelaw in respect of a proposed design for the jumps. The Planning Application had now been filled in and Cllr. Guest will be taking it up on Wednesday for registration at SCDC. She will report back at the next Planning meeting.
The Youths using this site will need to get their own insurance as the site and its activities will not be covered by the Parish Council’s insurance.
627/08 Neighbourhood Panel:
Next meeting is to be held at Melbourn Village College on Monday the 20th April.
[ Cllr. Stead left the meeting at this point the time being 9.07]
628/08 Committees:
(a) Play Areas, Recreation and Youth:
Cllr. Kulina enquired if there had been a response to the letter sent to Record RSS with regard to the toddlers slide.
The Clerk replied she had received an e-mail which had stated that if the gap between the steps was no more then 400mm it was suitable for a toddler. The gap between the steps is 285mm. She had passed this e-mail onto Cllr. Robson who had reported the complaints made about the slide in the first instance. In her reply, Cllr. Robson had stated she was still not happy and gave the reasons why. The Clerk had forwarded this e-mail on to Record RSS and was awaiting their reply.
Cllr. Hardingham enquired if a reply had been received from the contractor who was going to paint the inside of the Pavilion. A letter had been sent seeking confirmation of the start and finish date for this work. The Clerk replied that the Contractor had been in touch with her and said that work would commence on 6th April and had assured her that it would be finished by the 17th of April.
Cllr. Gatward reported that when she visited the Recreation Ground her attention had been drawn to the fact that compost was being placed on the Recreation ground. She felt there was a need to define the boundary of the Recreation Ground. Cllr. Townsend is to check this matter out and if needs be the Clerk will write to the person who is thought responsible for putting out his vegetable peelings on Parish Council land.
(b) Conservation:
Item 608/08 (Village Allotments) Cllr. Barrett said she thought that the owners of the allotments had expected to have another meeting before the end of 2008. She thought that the allotment holders would not think an annual meeting sufficient.
New Allotment holders were abiding by the rules and were writing to the Council to request permission for the erection of such things as fruit cages on their plot. Cllr. Mowatt felt that the Council needed to be proactive in such matters.
Cllr. Sherwen had measured up for gates to the front and to the North east corner of The Moor Allotments and submitted these to the Council for its approval. It was decided to place a wood gate at the front and a metal farm gate at the North East corner. Cllr. Sherwen will make any necessary changes to his submission.
The Clerk is to continue trying to source boundary posts for the back of the allotments. If she is not successful she will contact Cllr. Charter for his views on this matter.
The Clerk presented verbal quotes from JW Maintenance and MD Thomas for the cutting of the paths in Stockbridge Meadows Riverside Park. The Council decided to ask JW Maintenance to carry out this work at a price of £25 per cut + VAT. Cllrs. Charter and Gatward are to inform JW Maintenance when to carry out the first cut. It was expected that these cuts will be carried out on a monthly basis.
(c) Urgent reports from Committee Chairmen:
There were no urgent matters.
629/08 Future Meetings.
(a) 6th April – Planning
(b) 13th April – Easter Monday
(c) 20th April – Planning
(d) 27th April – Parish Council
630/08 Urgent Matters.
Cllr. Guest reported that Mr. Charlie Harris had died on Friday. He had been a very good man to the village and had always been willing to lend a hand.
C. Cllr. McCraith reported that on 4th March the Police had carried out a day of action in our area and 74 motoring offences were recorded. These offences included using a mobile phone whilst driving, not wearing a seat belt, driving a car without tax/MOT/insurance cover, speeding, three vehicles were seized for no insurance, one FPN for defective tyres and one person arrested on suspicion of driving whilst disqualified.
The Police are proposing to continue with these days of action.
There being no other business the chairman closed the meeting at 9.35 pm