Minutes 6th August 2019 – Swaffham Bulbeck Parish Council

MINUTES OF SWAFFHAM BULBECK PARISH COUNCIL
MEETING NUMBER 477
Held at Downing Court on Tuesday 6th August 2019 starting at 7.30pm

Present: Cllr Sue Romero (SR); Cllr Lynn Reed (LR); Cllr Gordon Reid (GR); Cllr John Trapp (JT); Cllr Nicky Bates (NB); Cllr Peter Raby (PR); Cllr Robin Sewell (RS);
Clerk: Mrs D Bayliss
0 Parishioners
County Councillor Shuter

Meeting opened at 7.30pm

4715 TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Councillor Kay Ballard;
4716 MEMBERS DECLARATION OF INTEREST FOR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA & REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATION
Councillor Trapp – Planning Matters at all meetings.
Councillor Bates – 4722a) Planning Matters; 19/00896/VAR Variation of condition 1 (Approved plans) of previously approved 17/00766/FUL for demolish and replace existing rear ground floor extension at Newnham House, Commercial End, Swaffham Bulbeck
4717 OPEN FORUM FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
None
4718 CO-OPTION OF PARISH COUNCILLOR
It was proposed by Cllr John Trapp, seconded by Cllr Robin Sewell and resolved that Miss Sophie Singleton is co-opted as a councillor to Swaffham Bulbeck Parish Council.
4719 TO APPROVE MINUTES OF MEETING 476 2nd JULY 2019
It was proposed by Cllr Lynn Reed, seconded by Cllr Peter Raby and resolved that the minutes of meeting 476 held on 2nd July be approved and signed by the Chairman.
4720 MATTERS ARISING including REPORTS FROM CLERK AND COUNCILLORS (For information only)
Matters Arising
• None
Clerk’s/Councillor’s Report
• None
4721 COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS REPORTS
a) County Councillor
A resident had contacted the County Councillor and the Parish Council about the cutting back of the Swaffham Bulbeck Lode, several conversations had taken place about this and photographs had been sent in. In order to approach the Environment Agency, the Council need to have all the relevant information as things have changed since the original agreement in 2002/3.
(This item had been included on the agenda under Highways/Footpath Matters)
The County Councillor reported that the County Council are currently considering a new highways verge policy, while reviewing a more environmentally friendly attitude to the cutting of verges and to be more conscious of plant life and its lifecycle. Cutting right up to the road is not necessarily the most helpful although the visibility splays must be cut.
The Parish Council reported the following items to the County Councillor:
• The verges on Fen Lane have not been cut although one of the farmers has cut the corner near Red Tile Farm so that drivers and pedestrians can see around the corner.
• The verge on Abbey Lane is encroaching onto the road
• The cycle paths have brambles growing across them
Councillor Shuter left the meeting at 7.50pm
b) District Councillor Report
There was no formal report from the District Councillors this month as there had been very little activity and only one short full council meeting.
4722 PLANNING MATTERS
a) Planning Applications
19/00932/FUL Creation of 30 car parking spaces with associated landscaping and access work at Downing Farm, Station Road, Swaffham Bulbeck – the council had no comments to make but requested that at least 1 electric car point is included if the application is to be approved.
19/00896/VAR Variation of condition 1 (Approved plans) of previously approved 17/00766/FUL for demolish and replace existing rear ground floor extension at Newnham House, Commercial End, Swaffham Bulbeck – Councillor Bates left the meeting at 7.56pm
The council had no comments about the proposal.
Councillor Bates re-joined the meeting at 8.03pm
19/00860/FUL Extension to existing car park, to include associated landscaping and operational development at site south of 118 High Street, Swaffham Bulbeck – it was pointed out that concerns have been raised by the tree officer about the existing trees on the site/the majority of the plants that are suggested are not suitable.
It was proposed by Councillor GR, seconded by Cllr PR and resolved that the parish council comment that they are sympathetic to the increased car parking and the employment opportunity that it supports, but objects to the proposed choice of replacement trees and ground cover as inappropriate.
I objection
Councillor Trapp abstained from the vote.
19/00992/ARN Change of use from B2 (Tanks) to C3 (dwelling) to create 1no. 4 bed dwelling with associated parking and landscaping works at 4A Downing Park Station Road Swaffham Bulbeck – there were no comments from the parish council.
b) Tree Works
TPO/E/13/67/Swaffham Bulbeck/19/00803/TPO Refused Consent to tree works at land south of 98 High Street, Swaffham Bulbeck.
4723 NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING UPDATE
a) The minutes of the Neighbourhood Steering Group had been circulated. This was the first meeting with consultants Mark Deas and Rachel Hogger who will offer ‘light touch’ support for the proposed plan.
4724 CLT UPDATE
• An application for grant funding to support planning costs has been submitted to the Community Housing Fund.
• At the request of the Planning Officer, a meeting has taken place with the CLT adviser, the landowner and developer to consider the community-led (CLT) aspects of the development.
• Heads of Terms are currently being drawn up which will lead towards a formal contract between the landowners and CLT.
• A decision on the planning application is likely to be made by the ECDC’s Planning Committee rather than Planning Officers, although this has yet to be confirmed.
4725 ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSERVATION POLICIES FOR SWAFFHAM BULBECK
A paper had been circulated before the meeting by Councillor Raby who would like the Council to consider the need for clear policies to enable the Council to preserve, or improve, the environment. With the onset of the Neighbourhood Plan it was considered to be a good time to proceed with such policies. Councillor Romero reported that the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) were promoting an initiative encouraging councils to sign up to the woodland trust tree charter. Councillor Romero also reported that the County Council plan to double the number of open spaces in Cambridgeshire by 2050. Councillor Trapp reported that a considerable amount of garden space has been concreted over in the last few years.
It was resolved that the Clerk and Councillor Raby will take the first steps in identifying the land that the council owns and sign up to the woodland trust via NALC.
Cllr Romero will add this item to the action plan when it is updated in the autumn.
Action: Councillor Raby and the Clerk to arrange a meeting to discuss parish land. Clerk to sign up to the tree charter on behalf of the council.
4726 FINANCES INCLUDING APPROVAL OF PAYMENT OF OUTSTANDING ACCOUNTS
a) It was proposed by Cllr Reid, seconded by Cllr Raby and resolved that the bank reconciliations for July are approved.
b) The invoices had been verified by Cllr Bates and Cllr Reed before the meeting.
It was proposed by Cllr Reed, seconded by Cllr Trapp and resolved that the August accounts are approved and paid.
Action: Clerk to set up payments for councillor authorisation.
Payments Since the Last Meeting
Mrs D Bayliss Clerk’s Salary Confidential
Payments for Tonight’s meeting
HMRC Tax & NI Confidential
Mr J Sugg Handyman Payment £115.50 £0.00 £115.50
Mrs D Bayliss Travel/Telephone £45.43 £0.00 £45.43
JCS Bookkeeping Payroll £20.40 £4.08 £24.48
Vision ICT Email Address £18.00 £3.60 £21.60
Herts & Cambs Ground Maintenance Grass Cutting £1,024.00 £204.80 £1,228.80
CAPALC Training Courses £170.00 £0.00 £170.00
Rialtas Cemetery Software Support £193.00 £38.60 £231.60
Burwell Print Centre APM Leaflets £54.00 £0.00 £54.00
Cheffins Tenancy Agreement £2,000.00 £400.00 £2,400.00
4727 DENNY AND PLAY AREA MATTERS
a) Councillor Romero reported that the day after the last meeting there had been another spate of vandalism on the Denny. The damage had all been reported to the police. Local schools are aware of the current issues and will work supportively with the parish council to address these matters.
It was agreed that this further vandalism would be reported in the Beacon and a note would be included stating that unfortunately no bats and balls will be provided for the ping-pong table for the foreseeable future as they have been consistently broken.
Action: Clerk to obtain advice from the PCSO as to what action we might take as a parish council/can we write directly to families and tell them that the council will report this as a criminal matter.
b) It was proposed by Councillor L Reed, seconded by Councillor Bates and resolved that the quotation for remedial works to the play area is accepted.
1 objection
Action: Clerk to arrange works with Fenland Leisure Play.
It was agreed that quotations would be sought for the following:
• To cut the verge along the road by the Denny
• To cut back the shrubs around the footpath/cycleway
• To replace the sign for the Denny Moat Sign (English Heritage)
• To re-roof gazebo
• The handyman will be asked to repaint the bouncy toys in the play area
Action: Clerk to obtain quotes and speak to the handyman.
4728 HIGHWAYS MATTERS
a) • The P3 discussion was deferred until the next meeting.
• A note of thanks to whoever cut back the overgrowth on the cemetery footpath will be included in the next Beacon report.
b) The banks of Swaffham Bulbeck Lode were discussed under the County Councillor’s report.
c) A reply will be sent to the parishioner who had expressed concern about speeding traffic on Quarry Lane to say that no action is to be taken at this time as significant development is planned in this area of the village which will have an impact on the road.
Action: Letter to be sent by the Clerk.
4729 CEMETERY MATTERS
a) • The Cemetery Working Group report was deferred until the September meeting.
• The funeral arch is currently being repaired.
4730 AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING
Cemetery working group report and quotations for remedial works on the Denny and in the Cemetery.
4731 Date of Next Meeting:
3rd September 2019
Apologies Councillor Bates and Councillor Raby
Apologies for September 17th Councillor Bates
The meeting closed at 9.37pm