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, 13th December 2010 at All Saints’ Community Hall at 7.15pm.
Present: Cllrs. D. Mowatt (Chairman), I. Bloomfield, R. Gatward, J. Hales, M. Linnette, A. Mulcock, M. Sherwen, M. Townsend and R. Wakerley.
In attendance: The Clerk, C. Cllr. van de Ven and one member of the public.
583/10 Apologies for absence: Cllrs. Barrett, Brett, Simmonett and Stead.
584/10 Declarations of Interest: Cllr. Sherwen declared a Personal and Prejudicial Interest in Item 589/10 as he is a friend to one of the objectors to the application.
585/10 Minutes of the meeting held on 22nd November 2010:
It was proposed by Cllr. Gatward and seconded by Cllr. Hales that the minutes of 22nd November be signed as a true record.
586/10 Matters arising:
Item 527/10 (c) (Correspondence) Cllr. Mulcock had been in contact with the Minister of the Baptist Church, Rev. Clark, and he said that he is going to talk with the minister at the United Reform Church so the directional sign for the Baptist Church is the same design as the one planned by the United Reformed Church.
Item 536/10 (Committee Reports) C. Cllr van de Ven has spoken to the Clerk with regard to her contact with Judy Damant, the Clerk of Meldreth Parish Council, on the subject of Japanese Knotweed growing in Meldreth. The Clerk has not heard from Meldreth Parish Council with regard to this matter. C. Cllr van de Ven will contact Meldreth again over this matter.
Item 536/10 (a) (Committee Reports) Cllr. Gatward said that drainage problems in Melbourn affected the whole of the High Street and not only Kay’s Close. Cllr. Sherwen said that the drainage problems revolved round drainage in Kay’s Close which in turn affected the whole of the High Street.
(The next item was taken out of sequence)
598/10 Report from C. Cllr van de Ven:
I was very glad to be invited to the recent Melbourn Village Plan Volunteer Event and to learn more about how this project is progressing: a high response rate to the questionnaire, detailed work on processing those responses, a strong volunteer force that is taking shape, and good ideas for new projects for Melbourn.
Given that the world of local government finance is undergoing a fundamental but not entirely clear transformation, both in terms of financial resource and the decision-making processes around public services, I thought it might be useful to explore the possibility of a formally adopted
principle for precepting funds specifically to support projects emanating from the Village Plan. There is a great deal we don’t know about restrictions that may be imposed upon parish council precepting. My thinking is that extra steps now to ensure the potential for financial support for projects run by Melbourn village volunteers, for the direct benefit of Melbourn village residents, might turn out to be helpful in future years.
I realize that time is very short in the parish council’s work programme toward setting a precept and apologize for this very late notice of an idea that has only recently formed in my mind. I have taken the liberty of sharing the idea with the Village Plan chairman and also Cllr Brett as the designated liaison member between Village Plan and Parish Council. Would the Parish Council wish to discuss the idea further?
Cllr Mowatt thought this not to be necessary as such, as the structures already exist for precepting for projects coming out of the MVP, and that there is a presumption that such projects will indeed be supported in principle and in practice.
587/10 To receive the Minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 6th December 2010:
Item 562/10 Cllr. Hales enquired if the Clerk had contacted CCC with regard to the car park rates. The Clerk replied that she had contact Ian Trafford of CCC but as yet had not had a reply to her e-mail.
Item 568/10 (Drainage Problems at Kay’s Close) Cllr. Hales requested the word “Highways” to be placed in between the words CCC and budget.
Item 571/10 (b) (Correspondence) Cllr. Hales has spoken to Planning on the concerns raised by Mrs Sage in an e-mail with regard to the Rotational Moulding Factory on Whiting Way. Planning will pass on these concerns to an Environmental Officer and Cllr. Hales has asked that this matter be dealt with as quickly as possible. He has asked for any information to be passed on to the Clerk and himself. The Clerk had passed on to Mrs Sage an e-mail which had been received from the Highways Department.
Cllr. Hales will ask the Planning Department why documents such as
Environmental Impacts and Highways Safety were not given to the Parish Council and are not on the website.
[As the time was approaching 8.00pm the Chairman suspended Standing Orders to allow for Public Participation]
[The Chairman resumed Standing Orders at 8.10pm]
588/10 Notifications or Planning Consultation documents:
(a) SCDC – 48 Clear Crescent. Porch and Carport. S/1380/10. Permission Granted
[Cllr. Sherwen left the meeting at this point having declared a Personal and Prejudicial Interest in the next item for reasons stated under Item 584/10]
[Cllr. Hales presented the plans for Land at and including 9 the Lawns, to the meeting]
589/10 Planning Applications:
(a) Land at and including, 9 The Lawns. Dwelling. S/1963/10
The Planning application has been amended – Additional rear window and further Tree Survey. Recommend Approval.
[Cllr. Sherwen returned to the meeting at this point]
(b) 28 Station Road. Change of Use from office to dance/exercise studio. S/1622/10. Revised layout showing parking areas. For Information Only.
590/10 Ratification of decision taken at Cemetery meeting on 6th December:
It was proposed by Cllr. Wakerley THAT THE PARISH COUNCIL RATIFY THE DECISION TAKEN AT THE CEMETERY MEETING OF THE 29TH NOVEMBER THAT QUOTATIONS RECEIVED FROM SANDERSON SCULPTOR PRICED AT £9,285 + VAT FOR ROAD RE-CONTOURING AND INSTALLATION OF NEW ROAD CEMETERY GATES, BE ACCEPTED. Seconded by Cllr. Bloomfield and CARRIED.
592/10 Memorial to Janice Guest:
The Parish Council acknowledged Janice’s input to the BMX trails and will recognise this at a later date, when this has been fully discussed in the New Year.
593/10 Publishing of Unapproved minutes::
The Clerk is to leave this matter as an agenda item so that it can be fully discussed at the Parish Council meeting in January.
594/10 Circus Tyanna:
The Council were happy to allow the circus the use of the Old Recreation Ground but state that this visit must not clash with the Village Fete so suggest the circus visit any time from the 2nd week in July.
595/10 Financial Report as at 30th November: Due to the meeting being held earlier than usual there was no Financial Report, as the Clerk had as yet to receive the bank statements.
596/10 Cheques to be signed:<Click attached pdf>
The Clerk recommended the transfer of £24,000 from the Business No Notice Account to the Current Account.
The Clerk recommended the transfer of £1,838.63 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. Sherwen and Carried.
597/10 Correspondence:
(a) E-mail from Glen Wooldrige – Dog fouling in the village.
The Council felt there was not a lot that could be done about this problem as SCDC no long employs a Dog Warden.
(b) E-mail from John Travis – To consider a reply to Play Parks.
The Clerk is to write to Mr Travis informing him that the Council will offer its support in principal but no financial commitment can be made. She is to inform Mr Travis that the Council is looking forward to seeing the costed village plan.
(c) CCC – Street Lighting and Maintenance and Energy April 2011 onwards.
This was noted and is to go on the agenda for the next Highways and Rural Footpaths meeting.
(d) CCC – Winter Service and Localism Agenda – Opportunities for Third-Party working. Noted
(e) Letter from Mr Keith Rudge – Requesting three weeks unpaid leave in January.
The Clerk is to inform Mr Rudge that the Council agree to his request but will not consider any more requests for this in the future.
(f) Letter from Smiths of Derby – Quotation for repairs to village clock.
The Clerk is to write to Smiths asking them to revisit the quotation to see if any adjustments can be made to the price. If so the Council would be very grateful to receive a revised quotation.
(g) Letter from Mr Ray Pritchard – Thanking the Council for the opportunity to attend the Orchard Day on 5th December and including a report on the day’s proceedings. Dealt with under Item 605/10 (c)
(h) No further correspondence was received.
[As the time was approaching 10.00 it was proposed by Cllr. Sherwen and seconded by Cllr. Hales that the meeting continue till 10.15pm]
599/10 Cemetery & Churchyard Inspection Report:
As it was Cllr. Stead’s turn to do the inspection and as he had sent his apologies for non-attendance at the meeting the book could not be filled in.
600/10 New Road Cemetery:
There were no matters to report.
601/10 Village Car Park:
Cllr. Sherwen was putting together an analysis of the draft proposals received from Huck Partnership and when finalised, this will be presented to the Planning Committee.
A letter is to be sent to Mr and Mrs May-Gillings requesting that they cut back a tree in their garden as it is growing round a light in the car park.
602/10 BMX Trails:
Cllr. Linnette reported that Herts and Cambs Ground Maintenance had carried out a repair to the fence and a replacement piece has been put in. A letter had been received from Mr Cooper who was disputing the boundary with the fence. Cllr. Linnette had arranged for the Surveyor who had surveyed the land in the first instance place to return and re-establish where the post that marked the boundary should be. The Clerk is to write to Mr. Cooper informing him that the Council will reply to his letter when the above has been carried out.
[As the time was approaching 10.15pm it was proposed by Cllr. Hales and seconded by Cllr. Sherwen that the meeting continue till 10.30pm.]
It was reported by Cllr. Hales that he is to produce a map of the site ready for signing off by SCDC.
Insurance for the site is needed at a cost of approximately £1,500 (and is dependent on CRB checks). Club Members will have to be CRB checked at a price of £10 per head.
Also a First Aid Course is to be arranged for future members of the BMX trails committee.
603/10 Village Plan: It was reported that the Volunteers Day held on 4th December was very well attended and it was felt to have been very successful. The Village Plan is proceeding satisfactorily.
604/10 Neighbourhood Panel: The next meeting is to be held at Bassingbourn Village College on 18th January, 7.00 pm for a 7.30 start.
605/10 Committee Reports:
(a) Finance and General Purpose: There were no comments.
(b) Cemetery: There were no comments.
(c) Urgent reports from Committee Chairmen: Cllr. Gatward reported on the East of England Orchard Day and a letter from Mr Ray Prichard, who had attended the day, was read out.
606/10 Future Meetings.
(a) 3rd January – Bank Holiday
(b) 10th January – Planning
(c) 17th January – Finance and General Purpose
(d) 24th January – Parish Council
(e) 31st January – Conservation + Planning
607/10 Urgent Matters: The Clerk was authorised to purchase two new office chairs up to the value of £300 per chair.
There being no other business the Chairman closed the meeting at 10.25pm
Addendum to Parish Council meeting of 13th December 2010
The Chairman of the village fete addressed the meeting and asked the Council to give consideration to not allowing Circus Tyanna to hire the Old Recreation Ground in June as this was the month of the Village Fete and also when the Fun Fair came to Melbourn. He felt that there was only so much money that people had to spend and that three events in one month would be too much.
He also asked the Council to reconsider its decision with regard to allowing a storage container on the Recreation Ground. This is required to hold equipment in connection with the village fete. The Fete Committee would like a suitable storage space so that everything could be stored together and not spread out over the village.
The Council felt that the Recreation Ground was not suitable for a container and that it could be vandalised. Cllr. Bloomfield was to ask if there may be room on the village college grounds for a container. The Council felt that this would be a more suitable place as it would offer more security.