LITTLE THETFORD PARISH COUNCIL

964

Minutes of the meeting of Little Thetford Parish Council on Monday 8 February 2016 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall

Present: Cllr J Ballantyne, Cllr R Bullen (Chairman), Cllr T Dickenson, Cllr S Hampton, Cllr A Kilby, Cllr L Stubbs

Also Present: Cllr Bill Hunt, Mrs S Thompson (The Clerk)

1.  Apologies

None received

2. Declarations of Interest

None raised

3.  Approval of the Minutes of previous meetings

The minutes of 11 January 2016 were approved and signed

4. Matters Arising from those minutes

None raised , everything is later on the agenda.

5. Reports from County and District Councillors

Cllr Hunt reported on County Council matters.

·  Cllr Hunt has been working on a Village Life Assured scheme in response to problems with excessive speed of agricultural vehicles through Haddenham, Wilburton and Stretham.

·  The Ely by-pass is still due to be open by the end of next year.

·  Streetlights are being turned off at 2am until 6am, there is an option to have the timings changed

·  Looking at multi-use of mobile facilities, eg mobile library, the aim is to use everything better

·  Ely Zipper Bus is also being supported

·  Road markings at the roundabouts on the A10 are aimed at reducing congestion

·  Littleport schools are under construction

·  Science Park station is under construction

·  1.99% is the intended council tax increase, but an increase of 4% would not require a referendum

Cllr Hunt then reported on District Council matters

·  Bus shelters in Market Street are being replaced

·  Community Land Trusts – there is now an officer at ECDC who is assisting

·  Local Authority Trading Company is being set up, the aim is to generate funds for the benefit of the District

·  Barton Road car park development of flats and houses is the first LATC project. There are currently 192 car parking spaces and this number will be retained. Alternative coach drop off facilities will be provided in the town.

·  0% Council Tax change

·  Cinema is under construction

·  Angel Drove car park is regularly full. 140 extra spaces are being planned

·  Planning – applications that are outside the development envelope need to be considered on grounds of sustainability, traffic issues etc.

·  The application for 8 traveller pitches in Stretham Station has been approved by ECDC Planning Committee

6. Public Comment

None present

7. Planning

15/01579/FUL – The Acacias, Ely Road – Roof extension – it was agreed to recommend approval

8. Community Land Trusts/Land at Little Thetford

The information circulated has not been seen by all councillors yet. It was agreed to ask Debbie Wildridge, CLT Adviser to a meeting.

9. Internal Auditor – Appointment

It was confirmed to continue with Jacquie Wilson.

10. Transparency Code/Website

CAPALC are administering funds available to small councils to implement the requirements of the Transparency Code. It was agreed to apply for the cost of a laptop for the Clerk.

11. Correspondence

11.1. ECDC – Parish Conference and Workshop event – 18 February 2016 – Cllr Hampton will attend

11.2 ECDC - Local Authority Trading Company – Members Seminar – 3 March 2016 – no one is able to attend

11.3 Volunteer Centre Ely and District – 25 February 2016

11.4 Ely Zipper Bus - noted

12. Clerk’s Training

The Clerk is going to attend the SLCC Practioners conference, the total cost is £250 + VAT . It was agreed to contribute one third and also one third of travelling expenses.

13. Items from Councillors

13.1 Cycle Path – condition is unsatisfactory

13.2 Pot holes in Holt Fen – not yet fixed

13.3 Parking on pavements – ask for a reminder in the newsletter for car users to be considerate of and allow space for wheelchair users and pedestrians

14. Play Area

14.1 Monthly Inspection – items highlighted for repair are the fence and the rope on Burma Bridge. It was agreed to ask ECDC to fix these. It was agreed that the roundabout is not a prioriy.

14.2 Maintenance Issues – nothing to report

15. Finance Report

15.1 Income and Expenditure Report – noted

January
2016- £
Income / -
Expenditure / 749.75

Balances as at

/ 31 Jan
£
Santander Current Account / 21,301.94
Cambridge Building Society
- Easy Access Account
- Notice Account / 5,041.31
15,785.27
VAT paid out so far this year / 193.65
Uncleared Cheques / 250.00

15.2 Cheques for approval

The following cheques were approved for signature

Payee / Detail / Chq No / Amount
Mr J Skipper / Cemetery Maintenance / 701414 / 135.00
ECDC / Play area inspection / 701415 / 24.00
Anglian Water / Cemetery / 701516 / 14.43
ICCM / Membership / 701517 / 90.00
Mrs S Thompson / Salary / 701518 / 400.75
TOTAL / 664.18

16. Conservation Area

No issues to report

17. Reports from Representatives

None

18. Items for Next Agenda

Dog bin for New Close Road

Meeting closed at 9.55pm

Signed ………………………………………………… Date ………………………………………………

Chairman