Minutes of a meeting of Wimblington Parish Council held on Tuesday 12th November 2013 in the small room of the Parish hall, Addison Road, Wimblington at 7.00pm
Present G Bellard, J Clarke, C Brown, A R Knowles, R Wright (Clerk) Mrs M Moulton, F Bellard, A Thomas, P Fulcher,
Psco T Liano
Apologies for Absence Cllr M T Davis (holiday), P Crawford (Governors meeting), E Gowler (Meeting), E Wright (illness)
Appointment of Chairman for meeting in absence of Cllr Davis – RESOLVED That G Bellard be appointed Chairman for the meeting.
Pursuant to the National Code of Local Government Conduct Members are reminded that they must declare
if they have anydirect or indirect pecuniary interest in respect of any item to be discussed at the Meeting.
Cllr A R Knowles Item 6 FYR13/0796/F G Bellard item 9(c) allotments
805/13Confirmation of minutes –RESOLVED – that the minutes of meeting held on 8thOctober 2013 were correctly recorded and that they be signed as being a true record. It was noted that C Brown was listed as G Brown and this was duly amended.
806/13Police representative report - Psco T Liano reported that the offender caught shop lifting from Skylark had been cautioned, a purse was stolen from the RSPCA centre at Block Fen and a car driven around village with occupant impersonating a police officer had been stopped.
Hook Road-Unknown offender/s have stolen a pair of batteries, unknown amount of fuel and fuel pump
Manea Rd-Unknown offenders have entered a locked and secure shed and various gardening items were stolen and theft from retail shop.
Rural forum results:Members of the public were invited to complete a short questionnaire, the results of which have been used to identify the community concerns and influence the multi-agency response.
124 survey questionnaires were completed in total covering all parishes and the majority of the community that replied to the survey questionnaire felt the level of crime and antisocial behaviour was low.
76 survey forms were completed, out of these 30 identified issues of concern and 46 raised no concerns.
The main issues raised were antisocial behaviour with youths hanging around the church yard, dogs barking and trees being vandalised.Speeding, Dog fouling and littering.
As a result the key concerns the police will be focusing on is antisocial behaviour and speeding. Fenland District Council will be the lead on dog fouling and littering/fly tipping.
The Clerk reported that A Pollard of 25 Meadow Way was concerned about the lack of lighting on the green near to his property which had resulted in a congregation of youths, which was being monitored by the police.
807/13Matters Arising
All matters are to be reported under main item headings
808/13Income Expenditure
a) The members considered and approved the following accounts for payment
M DoeRepairs to cemetery side entrance 450.00
Cambs CC Clerks pension 229.33
R WrightClerks salary 612.21
Mrs M Moulton Booking Clerk 82.03
R BarkerCaretaker 136.72
British Gas Hall maintenance 20.00 4.00 24.00
Fenland DC Hall rates 120.00
Fenland D C Wheeled bins – hall & churchyard 240.88
Thomas Eaton SchoolRe-cycling credits 74.40
J MottramElectrical work - Pat tests 82.00
J ClarkeWeb site expenses 27.48
Anglian Waterhall water 59.71
b) The Clerk presented a schedule of income of £61,528.85 & expenditure of £26,194.45. The balances held on the current account were £380.11 and on the Treasurers £39,229.60.
The Clerk reported that the Minimum wage from the 1st October 2013 was increased from £6.19 to £6.31 per hour. The Clerks salary would be increased by 3.5% in accordance with minute 672/12(f) from 1st November 2013.
c) Risk Management & health & Safety – the Clerk reported that the review of policies and procedures was on going and risk assessments undertaken on a regular basis at the War Memorial Playing Field, Cemetery, Churchyard and allotments.
809/13Planning
Observations on the following applications
FYR13/0755/FW King south 32Eastwood End 6 bed three storey dwelling – concerns over the access on Workhouse Drove had been resolved to the satisfaction of Councillors
FYR13/0764/TRTPOP Haine 2 Walnut Tree Walk – works to walnut tree – no objections
FYR13/0786/FS Brown south 42 March Road 2 4bed dwellings – not supported dangerous bend
FYR13/0791/FM Alderton south 41 Doddington Road single story dwelling – no objection
FYR13/0796/FKnowles Transport Ltd Manea Road – re-location of entrance and security fencing – concerns as to whether new access was in correct location. One suggestion was that it should be nearer to Isle Of Ely Way, another was it should be away from Lavenham’s entrance. It was decided that the matter would best be resolved by the Highway Authority. Work on the site was welcomed.(Cllr Knowles vacated the room whilst this matter was discussed)
FYR13/0823/FMr Jones Long Acre Lodge Horsemoor Road – dwelling and domestic turbine – no objection
The Clerk reported that the proposed public consultation regarding the proposed major development at March Road had been shelved until they had spoken to Fenland District council.
810/13Highway Matters/Street Lighting/Transport
a) Street lights – The Clerk reported that a quote to replace FPC5 Doddington Road was £1,116.54. The Council were aware of further lights in a similar state and the fact that FDC were reviewing the lighting for the whole of their district. It had been suggested that because of budget restraints Parishes may be asked to contribute towards the electric supply and maintenance to lights. It was agreed that the Chairman and Clerk meet with FDC to discuss the matter.
b) Footpaths and highway issuesThe 2013/2014 scheme to reduce the speed limit throughout the village had receiveda comment from Cambridgeshire Constabulary. Their main points were:
'The limited speed data provided suggests the possibility of a 21% non-compliance rate over 40mph. This percentage figure is in fact somewhat even higher taking into account the ACPO guidelines for enforcement of 10% + 2 mph above the ‘sitting’ restriction.
Your proposals do not appear to include any other measures that would bring about a suitable level of speed limit observance should it be reduced.
It is a concern, being the agency responsible for the enforcement of speed restrictions, that merely providing the correct signage for a restriction is not likely as a standalone to encourage compliance if the highway environment is not conducive. Operational commitments and current resources may not allow for routine enforcement if issues of non-compliance arise'.
The Council were happy to proceed, so the scheme maybe passed onto the County policy and regulation team who will start work on the formal proceedings.
The County had the quotes back from their contractor regarding changing the current interactive 40 signs to 30's and were confident it could be accommodated in the current budget.
The Clerk asked for suggestions for the 2014/2015 bids – To assist speed scheme flashing lights showing speed at 53 March Road, Doddington Road in the Rays Court area. The other bid would be for improved street lighting in March/Doddington Road.
The Clerk reported that he had met with Kate Day from the County footpaths section and Rod Marshall and inspected the village footpaths and Bridle Ways. Works had been identified and would be carried out.
The County had complaints about the condition of a section of footpath in St Peters Drive. The Council agreed to support any bid for the improvement of the footpath.
811/13Recreation Ground
a) WMPF –J Clarke had no matters to report. The Chairman reported that the Fisher Parkinson Trust had agreed to a £25,000 grant. The Council could now seek match funding from Wren and Rural Community for £30k
b) Parkfield – No report had been received.
812/13New Cemetery/Churchyard/Allotments
a) New Cemetery – The Clerkreported that work on the hedge and bushes had been started.
b) Wimblington St Peters Churchyard
The PCC had obtained an Architect report, regarding the roof and maintenance work is required on the trees blocking access to the gutters and windows. The need to remove the trees is apparent and a provisional quote is £160.00 to complete work and remove all debris from the churchyard.The PCC asked if the PC has any observations on this work being carried out. And as the PCC has a considerable bill to meet for the roof work; could the council meet the cost of removing the trees? The Clerk explained the position as regards to a Closed Churchyard and stated that it was not certain as to the extent of maintenance or even that the Council were legally obliged to provide maintenance. RESOLVED – that the Clerk and Chairman meet with the PCC to discuss the matter.
c) Allotment Association – Request by Association to review Terms & Conditions. The Association had been tenants for about five years and felt that they had worked with the Council in providing a valuable asset for the community. They were seeking relaxation of the condition regarding the provision off sheds. They were looking to provide each plot with a 6x4 shed as the Community shed was full of Association equipment, the sheds being the responsibility of the Association. RESOLVED – that the Association provide a plan showing the location of the sheds so that full Council may consider the matter. (Cllr Bellard did not vote on the issue)
The Association had obtained a grant from the Fisher Parkinson Trust for drainage works and agreed to extend the works to drain an area of the cemetery hat flooded. The Clerk would liaise with the Association.
d) Remembrance Sunday 9th November. Cllr Brown requested that the item be discussed at the December meeting.
813/13Parish hall
a) General matters – The Clerk reported that he had sought quotes from E.on and Cg Utilities regarding the supply of gas and electric. A one year term for electric with British Gas and a new 3 year fixed price energy plan for gas had been agreed.
b) Other matters –No other matters were raised.
814/13Correspondence & Other matters
i) Fenland D C – Commercial Recycling Service – commercial cardboard and paper recycling collection service has now been expanded to include mixed dry recycling- card, plastic, cans, and glass bottles.
ii) Cambridgeshire Statement of Community Involvement (Sci) – sets out Councils requirement in respect of community involvement for nationally strategic infrastructure projects for major developments in energy, transport, waste water and water sectors.
815/13Date of next meeting
Tuesday 10th December 2013
The meeting was closed at 20.18