Bassingbourn-Cum-Kneesworth Parish Council

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Bassingbourn-cum-Kneesworth Parish Council

Annual Parish Meeting

Minutes of the meeting held at 7.30pm on Tuesday 21st April 2008

at The Chapel. South End

Present:

Mr White (Chairperson)

District Council: Mr McCraith, Mr Cathcart

County Council: Mrs Oliver

Mrs Ram (Kneesworth House Hospital) Mr Clarke (Huckle Trust) Mr Webb (Book Café) Mrs Bond (Conservation Group) Rev McFadyen (Bassingbourn Parish Church & Church Charities) Mr Saggers (Elbourn Memorial Housing Trust), Mr Knight (Bassingbourn Sports Centre), Major Fotheringham (Bassingbourn Barracks), Mr Hallett (Parish Plan), Mr Robinson (Bassingbourn Football Club), Mr McNulty (Bassingbourn Tennis Club), Mr Falcini (Bassingbourn Bowls Club)

Members of the Public: 26

Apologies for absence: Mr V Nickson (Neighbourhood Watch), Mr Hudson (Bassingbourn Village College), Mr Timms (Bassingbourn Youth Football Club)

CHAIRPERSONS WELCOME

The Chairman welcomed attendees and advised the Parish Council during the year had carried on with the parish work. There had been a significant improvement at the Clunch Pit with the planting of the new wood. The Chairman congratulated the village conservation group. The parish was slowly moving forward with the affordable housing and the Chairman assured parishioners this had not gone away. The Chairman thanked Mr Hallett, Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes committee, Mr Webb, Chairman of the Recreation Ground committee and Mrs Pidgeon, Chairman of the Planning committee who had contributed a lot of hard work. County Councillor Mrs Oliver and the District Councillors, Mr Cathcart and Mr McCraith were also thanked for doing their best to resolve problems put to them. The Chairman concluded his report by urging people to attend Parish Council meetings to let Councillors know what was wanted. Councillors would then try to push things forward to make the parish a better place.

MINUTES OF 2007 ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

Minutes of the meeting, held on 24thApril 2007 were circulated amongst members and parishioners prior to the meeting. They were agreed a true record and signed by the Chairman amendment to the Item ELBOURN MEMORIAL TRUST second sentence which should read: A few of the old Trustees had been lost but the uncertainty over the Trusts legal status had been clarified. The spelling of Rev Dr McFadyen was also amended on Apologies for absence.

MATTERS ARISING

NOTICE BOARD FOR MINUTES –Ms Chandler repeated her appeal over the past years for a dedicated notice board for the Parish Council. The Chairman advised that before the position with the Red Cross Hut was resolved, it had been suggested a board could go outside if the Parish Council were to take over the building. As this would not now happen, another position would have to be found. Ms Chandler suggested another board outside The Limes. As this would be on District Council property permission would have to be sought. Mr Webb added that sites with high visibility should be considered. This would be discussed further at a Parish Council meeting.

VILLAGE VOICE –The Editor of the newsletter was thanked. It was stated that the publication was now distributed promptly now that he organised it.

FINANCIAL REPORT 2007/2008

Copies of the report were distributed to the meeting.

REPORTS

KNEESWORTH HOUSE HOSPITAL (Mrs Linda Ram)

Mrs Ram thanked the Parish Council for the invitation and advised that she was the Director of Clinical Services at the hospital. It had been a busy and demanding year consolidating the restructuring of services from the previous year, striving to offer quality care and secure services to patients and meeting the needs of stakeholders, NHS funders, patients, carers and staff. The hospital was currently working towards the implementation of the revised Mental Health Act and were working with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 which came into statute last year. There had been various inspections throughout the year with no significant issues raised. During the year Kneesworth House had ceased to be the headquarters of Partnerships in Care who had relocated to new offices in Borehamwood. This had meant relocation for some of the non clinical staff who worked for the central office. At Kneesworth House there had just been a successful recruitment event. Mrs Ram thanked all members of the community who continued to support the church services and the important work of the Chaplain, Debbie Ford who was licensed at a welcoming service in July 2007. This was a joyous and colourful occasion enjoyed by visitors, staff and patients. There had been further development sat the patients’ clubhouse/skills centre. A new large greenhouse had been erected and currently staff and patients were propagating. Various OCR courses and other classes in horticulture, car maintenance, photography, floristry, animal care and manufacturing were available for patients. A number of patients had won prizes for taking part in the Koestler Awards, a national art competition for those in secure accommodation. Mrs Ram concluded her report by advising that there had been a discovery of a small Second World War bomb in the grounds during tree planting. A number of buildings were evacuated and a controlled explosion was conducted. Mrs Ram asked for any questions.

Mr Crow asked the position of the planning application for new wards. Mrs Ram replied that permission had been granted but there were no plans to activate this at the moment.

The Chairman thanked Mrs Ram for her report adding that there were a huge amount of rabbits in the grounds but apart from that the grounds were extremely well kept.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

A report was not available. Mr Nickson, the Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator was at a Neighbourhood Police meeting. The Chairman stated that the anti-social behaviour in the village had been a lot better recently. He congratulated Mr Nickson for carrying out a good job.

BASSINGBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

The Clerk read the report provided by the Village College. It stated that in 2007 the College again

achieved very good examination results at both Key Stage 3 and GCSE level and the results placed them above county and national averages. As well as the relative performance being high, the value added scores were also above average. This is a measure of what students achieved against what the underlying data suggest that they should achieve when they enter the College in Year 7 and is an indication of the ‘difference’ that a good school can make. The overall results and the value added scores placed the College amongst the top performing schools in the county.

The specialist Technology status continued to help support the work and further developments had been made to the Information communications Technology infrastructure which enables the College to provide an up to date and secure environment for the students to use which they can now also access at home and the re-launched website also provides access to a range of information.

Following recognition of the College strengths by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust they have also taken on a Vocational specialism which has allowed an increase in the range of subjects on offer at examination level. This year the College provided BTEC courses in Construction, Media and Sport which proved to be popular and successful.

Drama, Music and Sport were successful during the year there and there had been a number of performances and activities for the students to participate in and show their talents. Two concerts and a visiting choir showed the parents and the local community a range of musical talent and the Dance show proved to be a real success. In sport the College had competed in many local, district and county competitions achieving its fair share of success for a relatively small school.

The commitment to the local community continued and the Youth workers, led by Pat Piggott were committed to providing a quality service to the young people of the villages. Youth Club continued to thrive and the work done in partnership with other groups, notably the PCSOs had undoubtedly had an impact upon the significant reduction of anti social behaviour in the area.

Adult education at Bassingbourn continued to be successful and a full range of courses were offered with class sizes remaining healthy despite the many challenges faced in this area. There would be further challenges for Adult Education as funding from the Learning and Skills Council was being cut. At present new initiatives such as the village coffee pot and table top sales were being in order to provide a service to the community and meet a particular local need. The Community Manager, Barbara Isherwood, welcomed any feedback.

The Chairman stated that he was pleased that vocational courses for the youngsters were now being offered.

ELBOURN MEMORIAL TRUST & ELBOURN MEMORIAL HALL (Mr S Saggers)

Mr Saggers reported that 2007 was a year of transition and evolution for the Trust. The Trust had lost the experience and skills of a number of long standing Trustees and Mr Saggers thanked them for their commitment and dedication to the work of the Trust. New Trustees had been recruited but the Trust were still looking for people who were interested in the work of the Trust and could offer the appropriate skills and commitment. A new governing document was compiled with the Charity Commission in October 2007 which introduced a number of provisions which would allow the charity to progress and expand in the future. As part of the process the Trust changed its name to the Elbourn Memorial Housing Trust which more accurately reflected the purpose of the Trust going forward. A General Policy document was also produced alongside the new governing document and copies of these were given to the residents of the Trust properties. The Trustees were now working on a strategy document that would set out how the Trust would develop in future. They were clear that the mission was to provide and manage quality affordable housing for the parish. In assessing the Memorial Hut the Trustees agreed that the return on the investment would not justify any expenditure. It would therefore be decommissioned from all use in the summer of 2008.

The Chairman thanked all the Trustees that played a part in bringing the Trust to its current position.

Mr Cathcart asked if there had been any discussions about the Trust becoming a social housing association. Mr Saggers confirmed that the Trustees were working on ambitious plans and this would be considered. It was stated that the Social Landlord status was a very complicated process.

Mr Clarke asked if the Memorial Hut would be demolished. Mr Saggers stated that plans were for the Hut to be decommissioned in terms of use.

Mr Crow asked why the word ‘Housing’ had been added to the Trust title. Mr Saggers replied that housing was the reason the Trust was set up and was there to do.

HUCKLE TRUST (Mr Clarke)

The Frank Huckle Trust was established in 1919 on the death of Frank Huckle. The current Trustees were Mr Matthews and Mr Bob Clarke. The assets had lain dormant since its establishment since 1919. It had been stated in the will of Mr Huckle that they were to be expended on the purchase of land to be used as recreation ground for the enjoyment of the inhabitants of Bassingbourn.

Mr Webb asked the Clerk to obtain paperwork relating to the charity.

BASSINGBOURN PARISH CHURCH –(Rev McFadyen )

Rev McFadyen reported that the Church was helping the village to express its spiritual aspect in three ways. The first being Worship which meant the sustaining of Sunday Services, the conducting of baptisms, weddings and funerals and the celebration of major festivals. The Church is open during daylight hours for private prayer as well as morning and evening prayer. Secondly the Church also had a role in the development of social life as a village. They were keen to develop live music with Cantalan Singers returning and the Big Village Gig happening again during the summer. The Church were also trying to build relationships with young people with a group named ‘Organic Fish’ meeting on a Tuesday evening. Thirdly the Church were thrilled that the re-roofing project was completed on time and on budget and also that so many people from the village took part in raising the money in many imaginative ways. The next project was to tackle the development of the inside of the church so that it enhanced worship and social life. For many people top of the development list was a toilet. In response to the Parish Plan questionnaire for more information on church activities, cards were produced and distributed to every home in the village giving details of Easter services this year as well as Christmas ones. Rev McFadyen concluded his report by speaking about partnership between the church and the community. The church was relatively small in numbers but if they could capture the spiritual imagination of the village then they could be a source of help.

BASSINGBOURN CHURCH CHARITIES- (Rev McFadyen )

Rev McFadyen reported that he had been in discussion with the Primary School to see if the charity could help some of the disadvantaged children in the village with payment for school trips, where the family could not afford them. Mr Crow stated that this was a good idea.

Mr McCraith congratulated the church on their repairs to the roof and asked what the future plans were for the inside of the church. Rev McFadyen replied that apart from the installation of a toilet, the kitchen facilities were very limited.

Recently there had been concern raised over the future of churches and the suggestion made that they should be developed and given back to the community. Mr Cathcart stated that caution should be applied to a too radical approach regarding the architecture. Mrs Oliver added that although the church was not attended on a regular basis by some people, making changes that were unncessary was a sensitive subject.