Fen Ditton Parish Council

Minutes of a Meeting of the Parish Council held on Tuesday 6th July 2010

NOTICE - THESE ARE DRAFT MINUTES AND HAVE NOT YET BEEN RATIFIED BY THE PARISH COUNCIL

Chairman – Councillor Charles Jones

http://www.fenditton-pc.org.uk/

Minutes of a Meeting of the Parish Council held on Tuesday 6^th July 2010

at the Recreation Ground Pavilion

Present:

Councillors: M. Easterfield, J. Green, I. Harvey, J. Parr, G. Peel, P. Snellgrove Hawkins, L.Woolfenden, R. Turner and C. Jones (from 8pm)

Parish Clerk: M. Starkie

Vice Chairman P Snellgrove Hawkins chaired the meeting because the Chairman was unable to attend the start of the meeting.

Open Forum
Two members of the public attended the meeting.
One reported that there had been parking issues in Stanbury Close when the Plough car park was full and when there were footballers on the Recreation Ground on some Wednesday evenings. These constituted a hazard as they parked on the verge and on the corner. Clr. Snellgrove Hawkins responded that Fen Ditton has a new PCSO and that the previous PCSO had patrolled the area and put notices on windscreens if the cars were illegally parked. There was a suggestion that yellow lines could be used but Clr. Turner said that the Highways agency had no money because of spending cuts and might expect the Parish Council to pay; the law about parking on junctions is clear. The Parish Clerk will contact the manager of the Plough, PCSO Coppard and the Wednesday footballers.

One member of the public reported that the High Street to South Barn has overgrown lime trees. Parish Clerk will contact CGM for an escorted visit to discuss how they should be managed. He also asked if there had been any progress on improving the village sign. Clr. Green responded that he had tried to contact Richard Melling of Bottisham Village College without success but would continue to try.

1. Apologies for absence
   Clrs. A. Cram and N. Clarke sent their apologies
   

2. Declarations of interest
   There were no declarations of interest
   

3. Ratification of the Minutes of the Council meeting of 1^st. June 2010 and of the Planning Meeting of 1^st June 2010
   The minutes of both meetings were agreed; proposed by Clr. Peel, seconded by Clr. Harvey and agreed unanimously.
   

4. Matters arising from the previous meeting
   a) Security of Ditton Meadows – Clr. Parr reported that there had been no further incidents. The house is for sale by auction and the councillors expressed the hope that the new owners would be able to maintain the area securely.
   b) Councillor representation - Clr Easterfield has accepted nomination to Marshalls Consultative Committee which meets twice yearly and Clr. Woolfenden accepted nomination to Townlands Trust.
   c) Clearance of earth slippage on Green End path – the clerk had contacted the Highways supervisor who advised that this is the responsibility of the Environment Department of SCDC who have passed it to the contractors. Parish Clerk to follow up
   

5. Reports from County and District Councillors
   a) There was no report from County Clr. N. Clarke who was unable to attend the meeting
   b) District Clr. R. Turner reported that, following the recent elections, the business of the District Council continues but cuts are expected. He was asked if he had heard from Mr. Alexander about Wadloes and the cycle path but he replied that the report would have gone to the County Councillor. The Clerk has written to Mr. Alexander but had not heard of any progress.
   
   

6. Vote on Parish Councillor nominations to SCDC Standards Committee
   There were two candidates; Clr. Kelleway from Teversham and Clr. Booth from Cambourne. The clerk read Clr. Booth’s statement; this had previously been sent to the councillors. Clr. Turner explained that Clr. Kelleway was standing for re-election, having served for some time on the Standards Committee. He summarised Clr. Kelleway’s experienced. The Council agreed to vote by a show of hands and voted for Clr. Kelleway; five for, none against and two abstentions. The clerk completed the voting paper to send to the monitoring officer at SCDC.
   

7. Planning Applications and other Planning Matters
   a) Planning application S/0669/10/F at 27 Green End has been withdrawn
   b) S/0350/10/CAC (Conservation Area Consent) – 2 Horningsea Road. Demolition refused by SCDC
   

8. Conservation matters
   a) Village Tidy Up Clr. Woolfenden reported:
   Fen Ditton’s Big Tidy Up on a very warm Saturday 5^th June, saw twenty two volunteers in High viz vests and armed with litter pickers, tackle everything from cigarette ends to plastic pipes, as they made their way around the village. Guided by their team leaders, Ian Ritchie (High Ditch Road), Lee Wells (River Team), Mark Easterfield (Ditton Lane and Horningsea Road), Jenny Parr (Wadloes), Helen Warnock (Cemetery and Recreation Ground), Mark Woolfenden (Green End, Bakery Close and Stanbury Close) and Margaret Starkie (High Street and Church Street), 24 bags of rubbish were collected in total which were removed by the Council on 7^th June. Particular thanks should also be expressed to Trevor Warnock who dealt with some rather nasty rubbish.
   Special thanks need to be expressed to Mike Hellowell and Peter Davison of Horningsea and Lynne Strover, for their advice and loan of litter pickup sticks and other equipment. Also thanks to Steve Beeson, Manager of McDonalds, for providing drinks and ice-creams and also for the help of three McDonalds litter picking volunteers. Further refreshments were provided on the Green by Margaret and Laurie who worked together to organize the event.
   Sincere thanks to all those who took part in what proved to be an enjoyable and rewarding day. Everyone appreciated the work of the volunteers in picking up litter and also highlighting the need to do so, in order to keep Fen Ditton looking beautiful. Thought should also be given to adopting a scheme similar to that in Bottisham. The council discussed the possibility of contracting a young person to regularly collect litter. Parish Clerk to investigate further.
   b) Metal detection request – an Ely resident had written asking permission to search Ditton Meadows. As this land does not belong to the council the clerk will write to him referring him to Bidwells who are agents for the owners, Gonville and Caius College
   c) TPO – Work on a tree in a conservation area. Clr. Parr summarised the request to lift the crown of a birch tree at the bottom of the garden of 2 Wright’s Close where it overhangs the adjacent roof. The council agreed to the request without comments; proposed by Clr Jones, seconded by Clr. Green and carried unanimously
   d) Fen Ditton Meadows Conservation work – Bidwells, as agents for Gonville and Caius College, has informed the Council of conservation work agreed between Natural England and the College to take place between 2010 and 2016. New permissive access will be given in addition to the public footpath across the meadows. The work will comprise coppicing bank-side trees, cattle drinking bay, ditch restoration, hedgerow restoration laying, scrub management and scrape creation. The plans are available for inspection by appointment with the Parish Clerk.
   e) Community Orchard – as Clr. Cram was unable to attend the meeting this item was held over until the next Parish Council meeting in September.
   f) Update from CGM on extra area of roadside verge cutting – the area in front of the Blue Lion is now on the regular schedule.
   

9. Highways matters
   a) Notification of postponement of A14 Inquiry meeting – the meeting has been postponed because of the proposed cuts by the new government. Clr. Turner pointed out that if the scheme should be resurrected it will require a completely new consultation process.
   b) Overgrowth on path between traffic lights and school – the bushes are restricting the path width. The council agreed that CGM should cut back the hedges. Parish Clerk will inform the tree warden and the owners of the house next to the field. It was suggested that there is a brick wall around the telegraph pole that restricts the path. Parish Clerk to contact BT.
   

10. Cemetery matters
    a) Planting
    Since last month, there has been a little more weeding and watering undertaken in the area behind the bins. Generally plants and seedlings seem to be doing quite well. Clr. Cram has been given some money to source some lavender. It is planned to put this along the back border of the Cemetery, with the recreation ground. Bee keeping societies have been contacted for advice about planting for bees and also websites offering free seeds for bees have been contacted. The Co-op are currently offering free packets of wild flower seeds again so please pick one up if you happen to be shopping there.
    Further tidy up sessions will be planned for the Autumn and also professional expertise will be needed to deal with the Ivy on the trees bordering the entrance to the recreation ground after the bird nesting season as previously discussed. Once blackcurrant bushes have been sourced, hopefully from villagers, they will be planted in the autumn. The Gardening club will be asked about contributing blackcurrant bush cuttings.
    b) Bins
    Both Cemetery bins (black and green) were filled to over capacity on Bumps Saturday (12^th June) with black bin waste. This was not very pleasant for people visiting the Cemetery to have to pass. Thought needs to be given, next year, to having extra bins in the village at this time. The green bin was consequently not emptied until both bins were, fortunately, emptied in the black bin collection the following week.
    c) Parking on Bumps Saturday for visitors to the Cemetery
    The accessible parking space outside of the Cemetery needs to be designated for any visitors to the Cemetery on that day and any disabled people requiring accessible parking should be invited to use the designated accessible parking slots on the recreation Green.
    d) Gate in Fence The Clerk will investigate this with contractor
    e) Cemetery Tap The clerk has contacted an estate maintenance company for an estimate to replace tap, repair railings and undertake some work on the pavilion (for the Trust).
    

11. Recreation Ground matters
    a) RoSPA Report – Clr. Jones reported that the report had highlighted one safety issue which required immediate attention (rope on Flying Fox). Apart from this the report was satisfactory with some minor recommendations. One of the Trustees, Mr. Winchester, had immediately replaced the rope with a chain and had also addressed some of the smaller issues in the report.
    b) Report of Bumps Parking – Cllr. Woolfenden reported as follows:
    Firstly, The Parish Council would like to take the opportunity to thank all those who helped with the parking and traffic management arrangements on Bumps Saturday, 12^th June. These included Ian Ritchie, Ryan Butler, Kay Bispham, Gill and Ian Griffith, Mark Woolfenden and Parish Councillors. Particular thanks must be expressed to John and Margaret Starkie who put in a tremendous amount of work, with less than three weeks notice, in the planning and execution of arrangements on the day itself, including sourcing and collecting over 100 traffic cones and barriers from various locations. Thanks should be extended to Les Phillips at Poplar Hall Farm and George Devine for loan of cones and advice and to Linda Allen for use of her car port for storage. Thanks must also go to villagers for their co-operation, patience and understanding on the day. Having more than 1000 cars leaving the village within an hour can only ever be “organised” chaos.
    Approximately 400 cars and two motorcycles parked on the Recreation Green, including residents. After modest expenses for items including high visibility jackets, stationery and about 1 kilometre of hazard tape, the profit was just over £1,700. Detailed accounts have already been placed on the parish notice boards. This money will go straight to the Recreation Ground Trust, to be used for the benefit of the village.
    On Friday 25^th June, a de-brief meeting was held, generously hosted by Margaret and John Starkie . This allowed for discussion on constructive ways in which parking and traffic arrangements might be further improved upon for next year, whilst it was still fresh in everyone’s mind. It proved to be a very useful evening. Next year, a committee will convene 3 months before the event to start planning. If you would like to be involved or have any constructive suggestions as to how you feel arrangements might be improved upon, please contact the Parish Clerk. Thank you to all those villagers who took the time to write/e-mail or to verbally express their thanks for the hard work of those who were involved in what proved to be a successful sunny day.
    

12. Report from Primary School liaison Councillor
    Clr. Parr reported that she had visited the school and had a tour of the six classrooms and met the six full time teachers. There is a problem with space and funding. She reported that the swimming pool is well used. The children and two volunteer parents tend the vegetable and flower garden and there is a small orchard. All food served is cooked on the premises. The next meeting of the School Governors is 12^th July and the new Chair is Liz Harrison.
    

13. To hear update on Parish Council Newsletter and Website
    Clr. Green reported that the website was now up and running well after some initial issues. He felt that he can only look after the website and cannot give time to a newsletter as well. Clr. Snellgrove Hawkins asked if there was still a need for a newsletter as the website was so successful but Clr. Woolfenden pointed out that there were still people in the village without access to the internet and that they would appreciate a paper copy. It was agreed that the council should aim for a paper copy to be distributed in October and that each councillor should contribute an article for the newsletter in September. Clr. Parr offered to help with any typing and Mark Woolfenden has offered to help with layout. Village organizations are invited to contribute short articles or contact information.
    

14. To Discuss Crime and Welfare Issues
    a) Update from Horningsea PC Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. Clrs. Parr and Woolfenden and the Parish Clerk attended the meeting in Horningsea. The website and newsletter will be used to assess opinions on the need for such a scheme in Fen Ditton.
    b) Crime report – Clr. Green reported that there had been reports of distraction robberies, especially at supermarket car parks. There have been several abandoned vehicles in the area; members of the public are asked to report registration numbers of suspected vehicle to the police on 0345 456 456 4
    c) Voluntary car scheme – Clr. Woolfenden reported that the Beaches scheme committee had decided that their scheme could not extend to Fen Ditton. She had received no offers of volunteers. Currently there is an informal arrangement of friends taking people to surgeries and hospitals. Opinion will be gathered through the newsletter.
    d) Possibility of forming an emergency response group – there has been no response to this. Clr. Woolfenden suggested that in the middle of summer people had forgotten the problems of the winter snow. Opinion will be gathered through the newsletter.

1. Finance matters
   a) Approval of Accounts
   The following Invoices were approved
   i) MiJan Ltd. Internal Audit Ch. No. 814 62.80
   ii) CGM – verges, Recreation Ground, Village Green, cemetery Ch. No. 816 1462.89
   iii) Hayden Woodruff – ‘bus shelter cleaning Ch. No. 815 25.00
   iv) Parish Clerk Salary and expenses Ch. No. 817 298.28
   N.B the agenda showed CGM invoice as 616.88 but a further invoice had been received and, because of time constraints, was also authorized at this meeting.
   
   No monies had been received
   After payment of invoices the current A/C is £4881.58; the savings A/C is £20,091.30
   
   b) To review report from Internal Auditor
   The auditor had highlighted the need for an overall risk assessment. Clr. Woolfenden offered to help with this and the Clerk will get advise from CPALC. The auditor also highlighted the need for the Clerk to have a contract. Clr. Snellgrove Hawkins suggested that the Clerk worked more than the 30 hours currently agreed and asked that she keep a record of her hours over the next two months ready for her assessment in October. The Clerk will also ask CPALC for advise on contract templates.
   
   c) Possible effects of Budget
   As insufficient information is available this was not discussed.
   

2. Report from Parish Clerk
   a) Planning Parish Forum Meeting – there is some information in the report on Community Orchards and the Clerk will make this available to Clr. Cram.
   b) BT Openreach - 26-40 Church Street uneven path after trunking work. Openreach has passed this to the contractors and the Clerk will follow-up.
   c) South Cambridgeshire Community Pride and Village Hero Awards – this scheme is to recognize the contributions of local people to their community. SCDC is inviting parish councils to nominate one local resident for a Village Hero Award and the council to enter the Community Pride Awards. The council discussed possible nominations and asked the Clerk to complete the forms.
   

3. Correspondence
   a) Letters received
   i) From Traffic Management at Cambridgeshire County Council stating that weight limit for prohibited traffic would be increased from 17 Tonnes to 18 Tonnes.
   ii) Cambridgeshire Local Access Forum Annual Report
   iii) South Cambridgeshire Community Pride and Village Hero Awards
   iv) IDeA – Social Media use guide for circulation to all councillors
   v) Cambridgeshire County Council – consultation on cuts to Youth Work Provision
   vi) NALC - Legal Topic Note 5 – Parish, Town and Community Meetings
   vii) BVC – becoming a Trust Foundation School from September 2010
   
   b) Letters sent
   i) To Traffic Management at CCC objecting to change in vehicle weight limit (two)
   ii) To Highways CCC re Salt Bins
   
   

4. To Accept Notices & Matters for the next Agenda
   Please note that no decisions can lawfully be made under this item. LGA 1972 s12 10(2) (b) states that business must be specified; therefore the Council cannot lawfully agree any matter that is not on the agenda.
   A planning application had been received after the agenda was published. The Planning Committee will meet on Tuesday 13^th July at 19.45 to discuss it. The meeting is open to the public and an agenda will be posted on the notice boards.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting closed at 21.25

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Tuesday 7^th September 2010

The public is welcome to attend meetings of the Parish Council