FEN DITTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of a Meeting of the Parish Council held on Tuesday 10th April 2007
at the Recreation Ground Pavilion
Present:
Chairman: B. Felstead
Councillors: I. Ritchie, A. Alderson, E. Daniel, R. Slack, C. Jones, I. Jupp and K. Flintoff.
Parish Clerk: L. Marshall
District & County Councillor R. Turner was in attendance.
Open Forum
There were no issues raised at the Open Forum.
425. No Apologies were received.
426. The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting of the 6th March 2007 were agreed.
427. No interests were declared.
428. Matters Arising
i Vacancy for Parish Councillor
Mrs. Kate Flintoff, of 48 Church Street, was proposed as Parish Councillor by R. Slack and seconded by I. Jupp. The vote was unanimous. K Flintoff completed her Declaration of Acceptance of Office and joined the meeting.
ii Annual Parish Meeting
It was decided that the Annual Parish Meeting would be held on Tuesday 8th May 2007 at 7.30pm in the Church Hall. The agenda was agreed and will be posted on the notice-boards 7-14 days before the meeting.
iii Resignation of Councillor Mark Cullen
It was reported that Councillor M. Cullen has resigned from the Parish Council and the Recreation Ground Trust. It was decided that A. Alderson would take over the responsibilities of Chairman of the Recreation Ground Trust in the short term. It was agreed that a special Recreation Ground Trust meeting would be called to formally elect a Chairman. It was agreed that R. Slack would meet with A. Alderson to discuss potential involvement in the Recreation Ground Trust.
iv Land by the Barn
B. Felstead reported that further to correspondence between the Parish Council’s solicitor and Mr. Gough-Goodman’s solicitor, further discussions are necessary. A discussion of the letter from Barr Ellison followed, in particular their claim that the Parish Council are contributing towards Mr. Williams’ legal fees. It was emphasised that any costs incurred by the Parish Council in this matter are towards land registry fees.
429. County and District Reports
Corporate Governance Inspection
District & County Councillor R. Turner reported that the Corporate Governance Inspection Report (CGI) was published last month and outlines three areas where South Cambridgeshire District Council is seen to be failing:
• Political leadership, culture and standards of conduct
• Focus on communities
• Democratic accountability, decision-making and planning
The Commission's concerns were serious enough for them to have given the Council only until the Autumn, when the Council will be inspected again, to show significant improvement. R. Turner reported that he is concerned that changes may be made too hastily and is pressing for full consultation, consideration and proper debate to precede any changes.
Cambridge East
R. Turner reported that at the close of the recent Northstowe examination, the developers asked the Inspectors if they could provide an early indication of their key findings on the Area Action Plan to assist the planning application process. This has been published and is of great concern to Fen Ditton, as what is decided at Northstowe will be reflected in policies for Cambridge East. Proposed changes include:
• 8,000 houses now increased to 10,000,
• The Strategic Open Space policy is to be deleted from the plan and there will be no requirement for country parks at Northstowe,
• The requirement for a minimum of 200m green separation is to be deleted (but no indication yet how it is to be determined),
• The requirement for no urban related open uses in the green separation is to be deleted.
The full inspectors report is due at the end of March. The only influence now possible will be through the planning application and implementation process.
Budget
R. Turner reported that full Council set the budget for 2007-08 on 22nd February.
For a band D property the charge will now be £1,276.29 pa.
The District Council portion of this equates to £102.26 – just under £2 per week, a 4.9% increase.
County Council portion is £932.49 – just under £18 per week, a 5% increase.
Police Authority £149.40 – 2.87 per week, a 5% increase.
Fire Authority £52.38 – approx. £1 per week, a 3.93% increase.
Highways Issues
Horningsea Road - Footway opposite school is being resurfaced.
Green End - Footway both sides will be resurfaced.
High Ditch Road - Footway will be resurfaced. Road surface will be inspected to see if any patching will be required.
High Street - Lime Trees alongside Manor House have had sucker growth removed. Self set elder tree has been removed.
Wadloes footpath - brambles trimmed back, dead branches removed.
Fen Ditton Primary School
R. Turner reported that the position of head teacher will be awarded to Miss E Bassett. Miss Bassett will be on pay scale 9 and she is expected to take up the post at the beginning of the new academic year.
R. Turner congratulated the school on receiving a grant from SCDC of £650, for their wild life initiatives.
R. Turner added that plans for a cycle-path/walkway between Horningsea and the school are being considered.
County Councillor Leadership
R. Turner reported that Cllr Keith Walters is standing down from being council leader after being in this position for 10 years. The councillors will be electing a new leader on 15th May.
44 Horningsea Road, Fen Ditton
R. Turner reported that Rosemary Simpson at the Environmental Health Dept. had informed him that there had been a planning application received for the redevelopment of the site.
Waste Water Treatment Relocation
R. Turner reported that the County Council seem to have made a major U-turn, stating that they need more time to look at the 100’s of proposals made by the general public on how to deal with the County’s waste & mineral extraction. About 1,400 responses were made to a massive public consultation on the complex issue of where to build new waste recycling facilities as well as quarries and mineral extraction measures. Areas that will be examined in more detail include;
• Demonstrating whether the proposed relocation of the Waste Water Treatment Works from near Milton to Honey Hill in Fen Ditton is technically & financially deliverable, and
• Identifying the pros and cons of moving the Waste Water Treatment Works by considering the implications of the “do nothing” option.
430. Conservation
i Tree Works at jasmine Cottage, 21 High Street.
It was reported that as there is no visual impact from the street, and taking into account the poor health of the tree, no objections were made to the proposed tree works.
ii SCDC – Alteration in Responsibility for Grounds Maintenance
A. Alderson reported that the maintenance of grass areas around the village formerly the responsibility of the County Council Highways department, are now to be maintained by South Cambs District Council who have signed a five year contract with a company called S.P. Landscapes. It was agreed to monitor the results.
431. Recreation Ground
i General Report
Due to the resignation of M. Cullen this matter was held over to the next meeting.
432. Highways
i A14 Preferred Option
It was decided that discussions on this issue should take place at the Annual Parish Meeting.
433. Cemetery
i Emergency Planning for Pandemic Flu – Burials
It was decided that C. Jones would liaise with the Parish Clerk to draft a suitable response on this matter.
ii Memorial Application
The memorial application made for the placing of a headstone for Wendy Sorrell was approved.
434. Planning
i Decisions made due to Planning deadlines
i S/0272/07/F – Use of Land for Vehicle Parking – Land R/O North Works. Recommended: ‘No Recommendation’
ii S/0350/07/F – Enlarged Lobby and Relocation of ATM at Tesco Stores, Fulbourn. Recommended: ‘No Recommendation’
435. Accounts
i Forms for added signatories to be completed.
It was decided that further to the resignation of M. Cullen a further signatory was needed. C. Jones proposed that I. Ritchie become a signatory and this was seconded by R. Slack. The vote was unanimous.
ii Internal Audit for Year End Accounts 2007
It was reported that J. Deane has offered to carry out the internal audit. Parish Clerk to organise.
iii The following invoices were agreed:
i Laura Marshall – Salary and expenses for March: £232.92
ii SCDC – Euro Container: £7.64
iii Kevin Bennett – Recreation Ground work: £440
iv CALC – Subscription to Association of Burial Authorities: £56.50
436. Correspondence
i Wildlife Trusts – Letter re: Maintenance of Willow Trees
ii P.A. Hibble – Letter re: Replacement memorial
iii SCDC – Letter re: Dial a Ride
iv Letter to Sustrans re: Wadloes Footpath Maintenance
v Cambridgeshire ACRE – Questionnaire on Service
vi SCDC – Letter re: Consultation with the Travelling and Settled Communities
vii Highways Agency – Letter re: A14 Preferred Option
viii Fen Ditton Cricket Club – Letter of thanks
ix Sustrans – Letter acknowledging receipt
x CCC – Letter re: Pandemic Flu - Burials
xi DCA – Letter re: Memorial Safety
xii Cambridgeshire Local Access Forum – Letter re: upcoming meetings
xiii Barr Ellison – Letter re: Land by the Barn
437. Any Other Business
i It was reported that the cemetery gates are in need of redecoration.
438. Date of Next Meeting
The date of the next meeting will be Tuesday 1st May 2007.
The public are welcome to attend meetings of the Parish Council
Laura Marshall
Parish Clerk
Tel: 01223 295568
E-mail: parish-clerk@fenditton.org