Minutes 2nd October 2012
NUMBER 381
Held at the School on Tuesday, 2nd October 2012. Starting at 7.30pm
Present: Margaret Chadwick Chairman(MC), Lynn Reed Vice-Chairman(LR), Sharyn Robinson(SR), Sue Romero(SRo), Mary Smith(MS) and Ian Woodroffe(IW).
Members of the Public: None.
In attendance:
CCC – Cllr David Brown
ECDC – Cllr Allen Alderson
Karen King – Clerk
3109: Apologies for Absence:
Brian Ambrose – family bereavement
Bert Collins – unwell
3110: To Aprove & Sign the Minutes of Meeting Number 379, 4th September 2012:
Minutes agreed and signed as a correct record. Proposed: Lynn Reed. Seconded: Mary Smith.
3111: To Approve & Sign the Minutes of Extraordinary Meeting Number 380, 18th September 2012:
Minutes agreed and signed as a correct record. Proposed: Sharyn Robinson. Seconded: Mary Smith.
3112: Matters Arising from Previous Minutes (for information only):
Min.ref.378/3081: Owners confirmed to the Clerk that they would cut back boundary hedges from the footpath.
Min.ref.378/3087: SR reported that 5 people had now come forward as volunteer drivers and added that any requests to use this service must be made through the Practice Manager at the Burwell Surgery.
Min.ref.379/3091: In addition to the copy of CCC’s letter held on file, the Solicitors were to be asked to send a copy to the Land Registry for their records.
Min.ref.379/3095: Nick Harris confirmed that he hoped to let the PC have some indication of rents for 2013/14 before the Precept meeting.
Min.ref.379/3097: The contractor confirmed a cost of £350 + VAT for the spiking/rolling of the recreation ground and would carry out the work.
Min.ref.379/3099: The play area car park sign had been repaired and resited by Mr Alf King. Everyone thanked him for his help.
Min.ref.379/3099: IW reported that he had not contacted Sanctuary Hereward following the last meeting as in the interim the trees had already been cut back.
Min.ref.380/3105: BC had removed and disposed of the noticeboard outside the Free Church. The Clerk was to return the keys held to the Trustees.
3113: Members’ Declaration of Interest for Items on the Agenda:
Sharyn Robinson declared a Prejudicial Interest for item 16 of the agenda [Min.ref.381/3124(e)].
3114: Parish Council Vacancy:
ECDC’s Democratic Services confirmed that following the statutory notice period, no applications had been received and as such the Parish Council could now fill the vacancy by co-option.
A notice was to be displayed on noticeboards and on the village website. Carried forward to November meeting. Action: Clerk
3115: County Councillor’s Report: (Cllr David Brown reported to the meeting):
DB apologised for missing the last couple of meetings due to family commitments.
Burwell Day Centre: Of particular local interest was an agenda to consider a new lease for Burwell and District Day Centre at “less than best consideration”. Discussions around the new lease have been on-going for some months now and included a visit by relevant Cabinet members to the Day Centre to see the excellent work that is done. The final outcome has been to offer the Day Centre a 21 year lease at a peppercorn rent of £1 per annum – best possible outcome for all concerned.
Road crossing at Ely: Cabinet also had a lengthy debate about the possibilities for a new road crossing at Ely to sort out the traffic bottleneck around the station. After discussion Cabinet unanimously approved the next steps for a new crossing across the river and railway line. A formal planning application was now to be submitted.
Budgets: The County Council is currently doing a consultation called “Your Choice” to seek the views of local residents. This can be found on the website – www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk. As one of the fastest growing counties we face a number of demographic pressures. High on this list is the funding we receive from Government for education.
IW asked DB if consultations make a difference. DB replied that they did and referred to the consultation on libraries.
3116: District Councillor’s Report: (Cllr Allen Alderson reported to the meeting):
Burwell Masterplan: The Development and Transport Committee approved the draft version of the Burwell Masterplan. Amongst other things it proposed building 350 new houses and creating 630 new jobs between 2012 and 2031.
SR asked for some clarification on the above. There followed discussion.
Cllr David Brown left the meeting at 8pm
3117: Correspondence for Consideration/Circulation:
ECDC – Community Right to Challenge Protocol. Circulated following the September meeting. There were no comments.
ECDC – Neighbourhood Panel Questionnaire. MS to review questionnaire and feedback after next NHP meeting.
Cllr Allen Alderson left the meeting at 8.10pm.
3118: Consideration of Planning Application for The Abbey, Abbey Lane – part enclosure of the covered veranda of the existing building to create a wine store. Ref: 12/00779/FUL:
There were no objections or comments.
3119: Adoption of New Code of Conduct:
SRo, MC, LR, MS & SR + the Clerk had attended a training session on the Code of Conduct. There followed discussion on some aspects of the Code particularly the ‘language’ in which it was written. Members agreed that the document could have been made easier to read and understand.
The adoption of the Code was agreed. Proposed: Lynn Reed. Seconded: Mary Smith. All agreed.
As part of this process, it was also agreed to delegate the power to grant dispensations to the Clerk. Proposed: Sharyn Robinson. Seconded: Mary Smith. All agreed.
3120: Amendment to Parish Council Standing Orders to comply with agenda item 11 (min.ref.3119):
The Standing Orders were to be amended to take into account the new Code of Conduct. All agreed.
3121: Consideration of Draft Complaints Policy:
This was reviewed and agreed. Proposed: Sharyn Robinson. Seconded: Sue Romero. All agreed.
3122: Joint Consultation on need for a new Community/Village Centre:
SRo reported on the last meeting of the Church Reordering Group confirming discussion on the possibility of using the Church as a community centre. Sue explained that this was a long-term project which required several stages with full consultation with the Parish Council at each stage and the whole village when there was a feasible plan to discuss. Opinions were invited from members of the Parish Council and residents. At the December meeting, the Parish Council would be asked to approve an initial brief, based on a paper to the Parish Council and all subsequent comments. This initial brief will then go to architects and others to establish what might be feasible.
There followed general discussion on the implications of using the Church as a community centre. SR suggested the alternative possibility of doing something with the Pavilion.
3123: Clerk’s Report:
Noticeboard outside School: A resident had noticed that the noticeboard was in need of some tidying up and asked if it was possible to display posters for events as this was a prime location to attract attention. The noticeboard was to be cleaned up and it was suggested that if the School agreed, perhaps posters could be added to the School half of the noticeboard. The other side of the noticeboard was to be kept for Parish related notices only.
3124: Finances including Approval of Payment of Outstanding Accounts:
Payments:
a) Karen King – Clerk’s salary, September 2012 £ 253-78
b) Inland Revenue – Clerk’s PAYE £ 63-40
c) Karen King – expenses/reimbursements £ 22-80
d) Herts & Cambs Ground Maintenance – grasscutting services £ 896-40
e) Ventress Technical Ltd – photocopying services £ 31-08
f) Moore Stephens – external auditor fees £ 176-40
g) Viking Direct – computer supplies £ 37-64
Total: £ 1,481-50
The above payments were agreed. Proposed: Mary Smith. Seconded: Lynn Reed.
Receipts:
a) BIAA Bank Interest (September) £ 0-90
b) CCC – agency services £ 806-75
Total: £807-65
3125: Parish Councillors’ Reports:
Play area inspections: Ian Woodroffe carried out the play area and pavilion inspections for September and reported on items needing attention.
3126: Dates of Next Meetings:
6th November
20th November (Precept Meeting)
4th December
8th January 2013
5th February
5th March