MELBOURN PARISH COUNCIL
UNAPPROVED MINUTES
Minutes of a Parish Council Meeting held on Monday, 27th September 2010 at All Saints’ Community Hall at 7.15pm.
Present: Cllrs. D. Mowatt (Chairman), V. Barrett, I. Bloomfield, R. Gatward, J. Hales, M. Linnette, A. Mulcock, P. Simmonett and M. Townsend.
In attendance: The Clerk, C. Cllr van de Ven, Anna O’Leary – Locality Manger and Amanda Silvester – Locality Youth Co-ordinator and 6 members of the public.
351/10 Apologies for absence: Cllrs. Brett, Hardingham, Sherwen and Wakerley.
352/10 Declarations of Interest: Cllrs. Barrett and Linnette declared Personal Interests in Item 367/10 (f). Cllr. Hales declared a Personal and Prejudicial interest in Item 360/10.
[The next item was taken out of sequence]
354/10 Report by C. Cllr van de Ven:
1. MVC will be supporting a regeneration of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and has applied for a grant to help lessen the cost of equipment needed to complete the various stages of the award, and thereby lessening the financial burden on those young people who would like to apply.
2. Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Rail User Group met last week. The new 50% student discount for 16-19 year olds is now being offered for Melbourn young people, and this is a big improvement over the previous 30% discount, although the on-line ticket purchasing system wasn’t working for everyone and I’ve been in contact with the Customer Services Manager who has helped sort out problems. It looks like the fare is being offered not only to state school students but also private school students. The Fen Line between King’s Lynn and Royston is getting four new improved ticket machine screens to trial, following problems with visibility, and two will go at Foxton and Meldreth on the basis of feedback from customers – something we have been campaigning for. The RUG will be getting notice boards at all three stations imminently, so please keep a look out for what we’re up to. We would like to say a big thank you to the Melbourn Village Website for creating such an excellent website for the RUG under its umbrella. Other village sites, including Foxton, Shepreth, Whaddon and Chishill, are now feeding into the Melbourn RUG site. The next regular meeting will be in early December, in Meldreth.
For a future agenda item: We’d like to hold our AGM in Melbourn in February, and would like to formally request to the parish council the cost of hiring the Lecture Room at MVC between 7:30-9:30 PM on either Feb 8 or 15. The cost is £12.95 per hour. The other three parish councils are all funding one meeting per year in each of the respective villages.
3. Thriplow Recycling Centre: I’ve asked if the new compost provision could be made more obvious to visitors. Cost is £2.50 per bag, made out of our green bin contents. Please check it out – makes great potting compost and is peat free.
4. Consultations galore at the County Council which is a reflection of huge budget cuts and inevitable pressure to scale back. The County Council is now thinking about the Big Society agenda and one has to keep a fine eye on the detail of proposals for restructuring that may happen under this banner. There has been some talk about developing the Neighbourhood Panels into a wider remit beyond just police reporting, but the recent survey of our Melbourn/Bassingbourn Panel showed that people are happy with it as is. There will no doubt be changes ahead, though, for the role of the parish council and how decisions are made and services delivered via the most local tier of the democratic system. I circulated the consultation on the ‘Referendum on Excessive Tax Increases’ within the Localism Bill a couple of weeks ago.
353/10 Report by County Youth Services:
A presentation was given by Anna O’Leary and Amanda Silvester and some of the young people who attend the Melbourn Youth Club on the work carried out by youth workers. There is a weekly evening session held at the Youth and Community Centre on the school site and between 20 & 40 young people attend these meetings. The club has taken part in a County Celebration Event where a number of the young people were presenters at the Award Event. A sponsored walk raised over £300 for the teenage cancer trust. A fashion show has also been held.
The Youth Club environment provides a space for young people to enter voluntarily and learn a new skill, get advice and support, make friends and have fun.
Due to funds being cut by CCC the club is looking for funding from Parish Councils. To employ staff, there would need to be an agreement in place to fund for at least a year.
Cllr. Mowatt thanked the members and staff of the Youth Club for attending the meeting and said that the Council is more than sympathetic to their cause and that the Council will consider financial support for the club.
355/10 Practical Solution Group:
C. Cllr Susan van de Ven presented her report
The group met on September 14 to assess its progress over the past year and to consider the merits of continuing its work into the coming year. We felt that on balance it has been a worthwhile effort and we are prepared to contribute our time and effort to continuing the project.
Our ‘Accomplishments and Challenges’ are listed below.
The outstanding point of agreement in our self-assessment was that progress happens little by little but that it does add up, and that various efforts have paid dividends in sometimes unexpected ways. Most importantly, we have come to recognize the fundamental importance of the proactive work carried out by County Youth Services, behind the scenes at Melbourn Village College and at the Youth Club.
Accomplishments:
Defining more specifically the problem of anti-social behaviour and confining it to a more manageable challenge; refocusing this group in a positive direction – renaming the group from Anti-social Behaviour Problem Solving group to Practical Solutions Group.
a. Increasing awareness via the village website (including web forum), Magazine, and reports to parish council
b. Improved reporting to PSG and Police by residents
c. Police data indicates a noticeable decrease in reported incidents of ASB and criminal behaviour.
d. Beginning of a better understanding of the work of the Village College and the County Council Youth Work team in Melbourn, and developing relationships and support for their work which is fundamental to preventative and positive work with young people.
e. Beginning discussion with MVC about facilitating the establishment of community groups at the College.
f. Facilitating SCDC’s car park lease to PC and prospective programme of improvements via engaging architectural firm, working to secure CDRP funding
g. Good ‘multi-agency’ involvement in the PSG discussions: PC, SCDC, CCC, Police, Neighbourhood Watch.
h. Positive links with the Village Plan steering group, so some ability to help feed into the VP’s ultimate vision for Melbourn in terms of identifying community activities and services that need support. The Youth Work team provided invaluable feedback to the VP directly from young people.
i. Vicarage Close gardening project and fencing
Challenges:
a. Paid administrative support from CCC/Police/SCDC lacking; a burden. Action: SCDC provided admin support for this meeting and will endeavour to do so again.
b. As of yet, the PSG has not had a meeting with young people themselves, though the Youth Worker has been discussing how young people would most like this to happen. Action: Youth Club members had been invited to the PSG but understandably declined; they have now invited PSG members to attend Youth Club.
c. CCC Detached Youth Worker was deployed in the quiet winter/spring months, and then moved on elsewhere.
d. In spite of the highest standard of reporting incidents of ASB and possible criminal activity, there is a perception that we have not had proportional feedback and action from the Police. Action: Police agreed that better communication was needed to explain success and failure in the ability to take action in response to good reporting.
e. Slow movement toward bringing community groups into the College. Action: We have now met with MVC and are pleased to note that the college has now begun to draw new groups into the college (i.e. Melbourn Dynamos and others.) and that a new programme of community activities will be taking place via its Adult Learning remit.
f. Web forum has had natural teething issues These have been solved.
g. CCC may devolve power to Neighbourhood Panel meetings to deliver community engagement agenda – to anticipate.
The PSG is resolved to continue its work, with some changes to its format, and with an affirmation of its priorities:
j. Format: We will continue to meet at MVC as a small way of demonstrating support for the college and increasing our awareness of what the college does. This also enables Youth Work team to attend PSG meetings.
k. Frequency of meetings: bi-monthly to alleviate admin pressures, with any urgent items to be taken on by a small task force by email/phone.
l. Representation at meetings: ‘Multi-agency’ – i.e. parish council reps, district councillor reps, county councillor, Police, Neighbourhood Watch, MVC Warden, CCC Locality Manager and Youth Work team. It was felt that it would be unfair to identify any specific residents to form part of the group, but that all local representatives will have the responsibility of liaising with individual members of the community who raise concerns.
m. Priorities for coming year:
Improve communication with police following the reporting of serious incidents
Continue to follow and support all the ‘achievements’ listed above, especially:
Involvement of community groups at MVC
Youth Work projects
Improvements to car park
All aspects of communication
The PSG wishes to thank everyone who has supported its work programme. To Melbourn Parish Council we would like to say thanks in particular to councillors who helped get internet links set up for the Youth Club, to its dedication and support to the BMX project, and for its determination to see the car park lease through in spite of bureaucratic challenges.
356/10 Minutes of the meeting held on 23rd August 2010:
With the removal of the words “had finished” at Item 260/10, it was proposed by Cllr. Gatward and seconded by Cllr. Hales that the minutes of 23rd August be signed as a true record.
357/10 Matters arising:
Item 264/10 (C. Cllr van de Ven’s report) Cllr. Gatward reported that she had passed on the names of farmers to the Clerk and requested that she pass these on to C. Cllr van de Ven. C. Cllr. van de Ven confirmed that she had received the names.
C. Cllr van de Ven reported that there will be no change to the gritting pattern for Melbourn
The Clerk was asked to chase the salt bins which had been ordered from CCC.
It has been confirmed that there is no personal liability in connection with spreading salt on pavements. With this in mind, employees at the Doctor’s surgery could do the pavement outside the surgery.
Cllr. Gatward said that as the Handyman had a barrow and shovel he could be utilised to spread salt in well used places.
358/10 To receive the Minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 6th and 20th August 2010:
6th: Item 302/10 should read meeting with the Planning Committee members and Huck Partnership.
20th: Item 343/10 (a) should say Hale and not Hales
Personal and Prejudicial Interest declared by Cllr Hales is in connection with Item 345/10 and not Item 343/10.
Item 350/10 (Urgent Matters) Cllr. Gatward had met with representatives of the Bowls Club and had told them that the Council would trim back the outside of the boundary hedge.
The Council were in agreement that the self-seeded Ash Tree situated in The Moor Play Area could be removed by the Bowls Club at their expense.
The Clerk will write and inform them of this decision.
[Cllr. Simmonett declared a Personal and Prejudicial Interest in the next item and left the room]
359/10 Greengage Rise:
Cllr. Hales reported on the Planning application decision.
It was decided that further discussion could take place in camera.
[Cllr. Simmonett rejoined the meeting] [Cllr. Hales having declared a Personal and Prejudicial Interest in the next item left the room]
360/10 Heydon Grange Wind Farm:
Jeannie Seers is the appointed liaison for Melbourn Village and will act as the feed for information exchanged between our village and the Action Group. At the present time there was no new information to report.
[Cllr. Hales rejoined the meeting)
361/10 Relocation of Parish Office:
Cllr. Hales produced a spreadsheet entitled Parish Office alternative accommodation assessment. Two sites came out well in the weighting of requirements and these were The Science Park and Melbourn Village College. The site on the Science Park did not appear to have disabled access. It was decided that the group of Councillors who had looked into the matter in the first place should make an appointment to see the Warden – Elaine Stephenson and the Bursar to discuss any relevant and financial matters.
Cllr. Hales wished to thank Cllrs. Barrett, Brett, Sherwen and Simmonett for all their help in this matter.
362/10 Allocation voting rights:
It was proposed by Cllr. Barrett THAT VICE-CHAIRMEN TAKING THE PLACE OF THEIR COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN AT A MEETING OF THE FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSE COMMITTEE MEETINGS BE ALLOWED FULL VOTING RIGHTS. Seconded by Cllr. Townsend and CARRIED.
363/10 Position of Chairman to Finance and General Purpose Committee:
It was proposed by Cllr. Townsend THAT ANY MEMBER OF THE PARISH COUNCIL COULD ELECTED AS CHAIRMAN OF THE FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSE COMMITTEE. Seconded by Cllr. Hales and CARRIED.
364/10 Allotment rents:
Due to the requests from the Allotment Association for improvements to The Moor Allotments it was decided that to finance these, a 50% increase in rents be levied on this site.
365/10 Financial Report as at 31st August: Noted
366/10 Cheques to be signed:<See attached pdf file>
The Clerk recommended the transfer of £14,600 from the Business No Notice Account to the Current Account.
The Clerk recommended the transfer of £1823.40 from the Magazine Account to the Business No Notice Account.
It was proposed by Cllr. Gatward that the cheques be approved and signed, seconded by Cllr. Barrett and Carried.
The Clerk is to write to MD Landscapes requesting that a copy of his insurance documentation is given to the Clerk as required by the Council from its contractors and that the invoices are sent monthly and are up to date.
In future the Clerk will need to see the certificates of all contractors before tenders are accepted.
367/10 Correspondence:
(a) Letter from WTV Wedd & Sons – Hedging New Road to A505.
The Clerk is to write thanking Jane Wedd-Green for her letter and informing her that the Council are very pleased that the hedging work has been agreed to. Cllr. Gatward is to contact Andrew Grimmer with regard to the project and to suggest a site meeting with all parties concerned.
(b) Letter to Cambridgeshire Police, Shrievalty Trust – Request for a donation to help support The Bobby Scheme.
The Clerk is to write informing the Police that it is not in a position to give a contribution this year in light of its added responsibilities due to cut backs elsewhere.
(c) Letter from Meadow Nursery – Clarification of work to reduce and thin out shrubs in all the flower beds at Chalkhill Barrow.
The Council wishes for this work to be carried out. The Clerk will inform Meadow Nursery of this.
[As the time was approaching 10.00pm it was proposed by Cllr. Townsend and seconded by Cllr. Hales that the meeting continue till 10.15pm]
(d) CCC – Integrated Youth Support Service. Dealt with under Item 353/10
(e) E-mail from Hilary Warboys – Unmarked Speed Bumps.
The Clerk is to tell Hilary that she is passing on her e-mail to the Highways Department.
(f) Letter from Brenda Meliniotis, Chairman of the Francis John Clear Almshouses – Double yellow lines in Orchard Road.
The Clerk is to inform Brenda that the relevant notification was carried out.
(g) E-mail and letter from Dr David Atkins – Requesting use of a pitch for Melbourn Dynamos Football Club.
The Parish Council agreed that Melbourn Dynamos could use the pitch on a Sunday between now and Christmas. The pitch fees would be the same as those charged to Melbourn Football Club and these will be reviewed at the end of the season.
(h) E-mail from Tim Stebbing – Use of Old Recreation Ground for Caravan Rally in 2011.
The Council could see no reason why some of the dates could not be accommodated. The Clerk is to check with Mr Harris which dates the fair would be visiting the village next year.
(i) No further correspondence was received.
368/10 Cemetery and Churchyard Inspection Record:
It was Cllr. Bloomfield’s turn to carry out the inspection. At the present time this was still waiting to be carried out.
[As the time was approaching 10.15pm it was proposed by Cllr. Townsend and seconded by Cllr. Hales that the meeting continue till 10.30pm]
369/10 New Road Cemetery:
The quotations received to select a contractor to realign the road surface at the entrance to New Road cemetery are to be dealt with at the meeting of the 11th October.
370/10 Further Developments to Village Car Park:
There is to be meeting held at the Parish Office at 2.00pm on 14th October with members of the Planning Committee and Huck Partnership.
371/10 Update on BMX Trails:
Cllr. Barrett read out a report on how the site was progressing. A roadway has now been laid from the bottom corner of the park which runs up to the parking area. This it was felt would allow easier access to the site for emergency vehicles and it also afford better visual access from all aspects of the junction of the park. She then went on to explain that the next step was a fencing issue as the last Condition that has to be fulfilled before use of the site commences. This is to prevent motorised bikes using the site.
The following items 372/10 to 379/10 were not dealt due to lack of time.
372/10 Anti-social behaviour of Motor Vehicles down The Moor:
373/10 Village Plan:
374/10 Neighbourhood Panel:
375/10 Committees:
(a) Finance and General Purpose:
(b) Highways and Rural Footpaths:
(c) Play Areas, Recreation and Youth:
(d) Urgent reports from Committee Chairmen:
376/10 Future Meetings.
(a) 4th October – Planning
(b) 11th October – Cemetery + Conservation
(c) 18th October – Planning
(d) 25th October – Full Parish Council Meeting.
377/10 To consider re-instating the Chairman’s Reception at Christmas
378/10 To discuss a suitable method of saying thank you to residents who carry out community work in the village:
379/10 Urgent Matters:
The Chairman closed the meeting at 10.30pm