MELBOURN PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES

Draft Minutes subject to formal ratification at the next Parish Council Meeting

Minutes of a Parish Council Meeting held on Monday, 25^th July 2011 at All Saints’ Community Hall at 7.15pm.
Present: Cllrs. D. Mowatt (Chairman), V. Barrett, I. Bloomfield, J. Hales,
M. Linnette, A. Mulcock, M. Sherwen, P. Simmonett, C. Stead and R. Wakerley

In attendance: The Clerk, Deputy Clerk, C. Cllr van de Ven and 5 members of the public.

190/11 Apologies for absence: Cllrs. Gatward and Townsend
 
191/11 Declarations of Interest: Cllr. Simmonett declared a Personal and Prejudicial Interest in Item 203/11 as he was receiving a cheque on behalf of Melbourn Magazine of which he is the Production Manager.

192/11 Minutes of the meeting held on 27^th June 2011:
With the alteration at Item 134/11 of the words “Village Plan” to “Implementation Process”.   It was proposed by Cllr. Sherwen seconded by Cllr. Barrett that the minutes of 27^th June be signed as a true record.

193/11 Matters arising:
Item 132/11 (Village Car Park) Cllr. Mulcock enquired why he had not been informed by JK Drainage (which is now part of Dyno-Rod) when they were to carry out an inspection.  Cllr. Sherwen apologised to Cllr. Mulcock if he was under the impression that this was the meeting to which he referred. Cllr. Sherwen had contacted ADM as they were a local company and he was interested in what they had to say about the car park drainage. He had arranged an ad-hoc meeting with ADM on site. Cllr. Mulcock incorrectly assumed that this was the JK meeting.
 
194/11 To receive the Minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 4^th and 18th July 2011:
4^th July:  There were no comments.
18^th July:  Item 187/11 (Planning Application item 6) Cllr. Barrett wanted the words “if officers were mindful to approve” in place of “rather than leaving it to the Planning Officers”.  At Item 6 and the word “paly” changed to “play”
The House no is missing from planning application (c) Russett Way.  This should read 32 Russett Way.

195/11 To consider the Implementation process of the Village Plan:
C. Cllr van de Ven enquired what the structure is meant to be and how it is to work.  She was told that the Implementation Team will have representation from the Parish Council on the team.  Cllr Mulcock was confident that what was proposed was perfectly satisfactory.
Cllr. Mulcock was concerned about the accountability. He was told by Mr Travis that no decisions of any magnitude would be made by the team without bringing them to the Parish Council meeting for ratification.
Cllr. Mulcock then asked if the Parish Council had access to all data from the Village Plan.  Cllr. Mulcock and the Council were informed that the data was the council’s to see as they saw fit.
The Village Plan had adhered to Cambridge ACRE requirements and a lot of effort, strength and passion had been put into the plan.
Cllr. Mowatt suggested that the Parish Council adopt the Implementation Process of the Village Plan and he felt it was right for the Parish Council to have encouraged the Village Plan.
Cllr. Mulcock hoped that the data will be put on the computer for access in the future.
C. Cllr van de Ven said she was going to rely on the Village Plan and was relieved that there was a Village Plan which had been meticulously processed.  She had already used the plan on two occasions.  She felt it gave confidence to know what people in the village wanted.
It was proposed by Cllr. Linnette THAT THE PARISH COUNCIL ACCEPT THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS AS IT WAS.  Seconded by Cllr. Barrett and CARRIED.

196/11 The setting up of new Bank Accounts:
This will be discussed at the meeting on 22^nd August.

197/11 Request to take over maintenance of land owned by SCDC:
Cllr. Hales had spoken to Head of Housing on this matter.  The questionnaire is be filled in and the Parish Council will consider this matter.

[The Chairman suspended Standing Orders at 8.10pm to allow for public participation.]
[The Chairman resumed Standing Orders at 8.40pm]

198/11 Quotations for the construction of a brick box to house water and electricity on Old Recreation Ground:
The Council felt that the design of the box was not appropriate, so Cllrs. Hales and Sherwen are to redesign the box using brick and metal.  They will then present the design to the Council at the Parish Council meeting in August.

199/11 Work schedule and costing for Pavilion upgrade:
Due to total cost of the quotation, a second quotation is to be obtained.
The Clerk was asked to check the electricity bills to see if the Council is being charged for single phase or three phase supply.

200/11 Quotations for the Repairs to the Bus Shelter:
The Council is going to incorporate it into the plan to update the car park.  With this in mind Cllr. Sherwen was asked to obtain quotations for the refurbishment of the bus shelter rather then the repair.

201/11 Report from C. Cllr Susan van de Ven
Melbourn Parish Council July 2011, County Councillor Report

1. Dropped kerbs in Melbourn – the Area Joint Traffic Management Committee met today and says it will be completing its installation of dropped kerbs around the county by August.  Since Melbourn PC compiled its list of dropped kerb needs around the village, two years ago, we’ve had no communication from County. I’ve chased this today and hope the work will still be done.
2. Library reorganization:  Movement toward a Library Trust appears to have stalled somewhat; expectation that interim trust chair appointment would be advertised in April and it still hasn’t happened.
3. ‘Cambridgeshire Future Transport’ – a project to redeploy everything the County Council spends on transport (about £34 million, the bulk being in home-to-school transport) in a smarter way, coming up with localized solutions involving micro-franchises, has just been announced.  The project has been conceived over an intensive five month period in which local county councillors have been rigorously excluded, so that in spite of being based on the premise of local solutions to local transport needs, there has been a gap in local input. CPALC invited but came only once; this ticked the ‘parish council involvement’ box.  The first ten weeks of the project were undocumented and the rest of the paperwork is held in confidential status.  Essentially it’s a good idea but the project has been thwarted by being so exclusive to a handful of district and county council leaders, rather than local reps who need to be feeding in on local transport needs.  Pilot projects are being run in Fenland and West Hunts but not in South Cambs.
4. Royston and District Community Transport Manager David Wherrell and I are inviting anyone who needs transport but doesn’t have it to a coffee morning at All Saints Community Hall on September 29. The idea is to learn more about what people need and want and how we can join up transport resources – included will be a close look at the potential for links to the rail station for those who can’t manage the walk.
5. HCVs – County Council is setting out framework for a new policy in which ‘local communities’ will be expected to monitor presence of HCVs in rural areas.  Did you know this?   I am concerned that the ‘Localism Agenda’ is devolving too much too fast without adequate communication to parish councils about what they feel is reasonable and sensible.
6. Railway Station birthday – thanks to all the local businesses, residents and village college students who supported this event.  To add to the list of contributions from Melbourn, the Melbourn Village History Group is providing frames for old photographs of the station to be hung in the booking office, litter picking on the Melbourn side of the station with help from Melbourn Village Plan Steering Committee, and sponsorship of a platform tub by a member of the Village Allotment Association.
7. I visited two children’s homes earlier this week, one in Harston, one in Cambridge.  The total number of looked after children in Cambridgeshire in 2006 was 414, and in 2010 it had risen to 474.  Seven children are from the Melbourn Division.  If anyone has any questions, please let me know.
8. Practical Solutions Group met July 12, on the same day that an event which it had encouraged was taking place – this was a gathering of MVC students and residents of Vicarage Close.

202/11 Financial Report as at 30^th June:  Noted
.
203/11 Cheques to be signed:
The Clerk recommended the transfer of £34,000 from the Business No Notice Account to the Current Account.
The Clerk recommends the transfer of £21,433.80 from the Magazine Account to the Business No Notice Account.
It was proposed by Cllr. Wakerley that the cheques be approved and signed, seconded by Cllr. Hales and Carried.
Cllr. Simmonett did not vote on this matter as he was a cheque recipient.
The Clerk is to inform Mr. Peter Andrews that due to Health and Safety issues the Council does not wish him to start work before 8.00am in the morning.  The Council will not pay him for any hours worked before this time.

204/11 Correspondence:
(a) E-mail from Sharon Lewis of TBS Hygiene Ltd – Information on services provided.  Noted
(b) Letter and plan from Mr John Stevens – loss of pathway between allotments 9a and 8b.
The Clerk is to contact Mr Stevens and request that he uses the pathway between allotment 6a and 7a and then crosses over allotment 7b to get to his allotment 8b.

[As the time was approaching 10.00 p.m. it was proposed by Cllr. Mulcock and seconded by Cllr. Bloomfield that the meeting continue till 10.15 p.m.]

(c) E-mail from Chris Blows – More vandalism on the bowling green.  Noted
(d) Letter from Mr Ray Pritchard – Availability of grants and tree planting schemes.  Dealt with under the Addendum attached to the minutes.
(e) E-mail from Linda Browne SCDC – Speed Sticker Initiative.
The Clerk is to order the free 120 stickers and another 120 stickers priced at 50p each.
(f) E-mail from Jenny Clark, Lands Officer – SCDC – Garages rear of car park, Melbourn.  Noted.
(g) There was no more correspondence received.

[As the time was approaching 10.15 p.m. it was proposed by Cllr. Hales and seconded by Cllr. Barrett that the meeting continue till 10.30 p.m.]

205/11 Cemetery & Churchyard Inspection Report:
Cllr. Sherwen reported to the Council that he was not happy with work carried out to the tap housing in Orchard Road Cemetery.  Cllr. Gatward is to be asked what was said at the meeting held with PAS with regard to remedial work.
Cllr. Sherwen also said there was a need to discuss what needed to be done with Victoria Way gates.

206/11 New Road Cemetery:
Cllr. Sherwen that the wheels were in motion to get the gates installed in August.  The opening ceremony will take place on 17^th September and from 3.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. there will be an exhibition held in All Saints’ Community Hall based on the history of the gates and the cemetery itself.
There was a discussion held with regards to who should declare the gates open.  There was a suggestion that the Regional Director of English Heritage or the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire may be suitable.

207/11 Village Car Park:
As the present time the Parish Council was awaiting new quotations for the work to the car park.

208/11 BMX Trails:
Cllr. Barrett reported that some of the forms have arrived and the insurance form had two items left to be filled in.  The youth will be contacting the Parish Council for assistance with these two items.
Cllr. Linnette reported that due to the site not yet being open some children were being turned away.  This had apparently caused a parent to be upset and had been abusive to one of the youths.

The following items were not dealt with due to lack of time.

209/11 Neighbourhood Panel:

210/11 Committee Reports:
(a) Highways and Rural Footpaths
(b) Play Areas, Recreation and Youth
(c) Any Urgent reports from Committee Chairmen

211/11 Urgent Matters:
 
The Chairman closed the meeting at 10.30 p.m.
 
 
Addendum to the Full Parish Council meeting of 25^th July 2011
 
 
Mr John Travis, Chairman of the Village Plan Steering Committee, said he was a bit distressed that the discussion had got heated; he added that all the answers were in the paperwork already sent to the Council.
 
He thanked the Council for its acceptance of the Implementation Process and for its positive comments.  It had been a big job, which now needs implementation steps and this must be done through a partnership between the village and the Parish Council.  A huge amount will not need any Parish Council input, but anything legal or involving Parish Council land or finances will need the Parish Council input.
 
The Parish Council now needs to decide who will sit on the Implementation Team.  There has to be an agreement on a constitution, which will include those areas which will require the approval of the Parish Council.  Mr Bruce Hewitt has already drafted a constitution and would like to circulate this to all Councillors.  There are expectations within the community as a whole that something will start to happen soon.
 
Cllr. Hales said he thought that the Implementation Team will take much the same form as the Village Plan Steering Committee with some key people from the Parish Council joining in.
Volunteers will work within a clear set of guide lines, facilitated by Implementation Team volunteers and Parish Council members who will support working groups, which will be led by enthusiastic leaders.
 
C. Cllr van de Ven explained to the meeting the matter of applying to the SCDC Standards Committee for dispensation as members of the Village Plan Implementation Team, in order to allow themselves as parish councillors to participate on matters relating to the Implementation Process.
 
Mr Ray Pritchard addressed the meeting with regard to old varieties of Apple Trees.  Trees are available at the start of November and the Parish Council can apply for these packs.
For the Queens Diamond Jubilee there are all kinds of schemes available, including free tree planting packs with quantities of 105 or 420 and a choice of 4 mixtures, themed to suit the local area.
The Tree Council’s ‘Big Tree Plant’ campaign hopes to plant 1,000,000 trees by 2014.  Mr Pritchard recommended that the Council apply for funding.
Mr Pritchard was asked if he was free to help the Council with this matter.
Mr Pritchard said he would like to see more bulbs planted in the village, which would include tulips, snowdrops and English Bluebells at a cost of £74 for 700 bulbs. It was suggested that bulbs could be purchased at wholesale prices.
 
Cllr. Hales who had been nominated by the Council as the Tree Warden for the village, was very happy to step down and offer Mr. Pritchard this role.  Mr Pritchard said he would be very happy to take up this role. Cllr. Mulcock offered to help Mr. Pritchard.
 
Cllr. Mulcock said that the northern end of the village is lacking in trees and that the Junior School was also talking about getting some trees.