MINUTES OF ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON 8TH MAY 2014
The Chairman opened the meeting, introduced himself and welcomed 13 attendees.
Apologies had been received from Mr Fred Drain.
Signing of the Minutes of the 2013 Annual Parish Meeting:
After being published in the Over News these were taken as read and signed as a true record of that meeting.
Over Church and Town Lands Charity:
Mr Drain had provided a written report in relation to the accounts and activities of the Charity and these had been circulated to those present prior to the start of the meeting.One Parishioner queried the insurance valuation of the Town Hall, the Clerk will contact Mr Drain regarding this.
Chairman’s Report:
Mr Fenn introduced himself and reported on the year’s events.
Green, Recreation Centre and other village areas.
The Chairman reported that despite the increased rainfall this winter, Over continued to play the vast majority of fixtures with many outside villages requesting to play their fixtures at Over Green, is testament to the amount of work that has been carried out on the drainage here, the ongoing verti-draining and the effort put in by Dave Bridgman. More work is planned at the Green to lower the goal mouths back to the same height of the football pitch, the Parish Council also monitor the trees on the green and the Pavillion. The encroachment issues are still to be fully resolve but it is hoped that with better communication these can be resolved.
Footpath and hedge maintenance
The Parish Council has recently carried out a considerable amount of this type of maintenance. The County Council now has very little financial assistance for this type of work and even new projects so the Parish Council have had to manage what is undertaken very carefully. Atlas Tree Surgery will be putting a 5 year rotational plan together for the Pound area to make sure this area is maintained in way that is both pleasing to look at and also a haven for wildlife. Hedges along the Doles footpath have been cut back after some had become overgrown and the area at Giffords way has been cleared to make way for some lower maintenance planting and fencing. The Parish Council are now consulting with the residents of Giffords way to discuss the best way forward for this area. Sandpit Pond was treated last year for the red weed that had grown across the surface and this year it will again be cleared of unwanted plants
Communication
The Parish Council now has its’ own website thanks largely to the work of Mr Twiss. This does not in any way dilute the village website which still continues to be available as it always has been but with a link to the Parish Council website for anyone looking for Parish Council details only.
Finance and Budgets
The Parish Council fixed it’s precept this year at the same level as last year. (£36,000) This is one of the lowest precepts in South Cambs and it is recognised that the Council has a duty to maintain the village’s assets and also look at any new projects. The Council does hold healthy reserves but it is felt that we cannot use too much of this to fund new projects and any new undertakings (such as items from the Parish Plan) will have to be fully accounted for and precepted in the coming years.
The grant to the Day Centre has been increased to £3000
The funding for the Youth Club has been reduced to £1500 as it was felt that not many people were benefitting from this service and little fund raising or volunteer work was being done to support the club.
General
Over Parish Council has been through a lot of changes in members over the last year with four councillors resigning due to personal commitments. Four new members in the April meeting after holding a vote and Mr Fenn took the opportunity to welcome Peter Mason, Pat Scrivener, Frank Wilkinson and Mark Oxley to the Parish Council.
He also expressed thanks on behalf of the Council to everyone who does anything for the benefit of the village including Mr Hayward,Mr Bridgman, Mr Aves, The Church and Town Lands charity, Over litter pickers, The staff at the Over Community Centre, the Carnival Committee for their donation towards the Christmas Lights on the Green and all others who contribute.
Mr Fenn expressed his thanks would to the Clerk and his fellow councillors for their hard work and support especially in his short time as Chair.
Presentation of Parish Council Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2014:
These had been made available along with some explanatory notes and questions were invited, there were none.
Phone box on Over Green:
This agenda item had been requested by Mrs Valerie Twiss. Mrs Twiss stated that she felt this phone box was an eyesore and was in a bad state of repair. She asked if the Council could look into finding how regularly this phone box had been used over the past 12 months and consider having it removed. Mr Fenn stated that he had seen a notice in the box inviting people to adopt the box. It was agreed a proposal be put to the Parish Council asking them to contact British Telecom to find out if the phone box is used, who is responsible for maintaining it and consider its removal. She also felt that the Annual Parish Meeting should be more widely publicised and noted that the agenda in the Over News did not include her agenda item. The notice in the Over News was the initial notification of the meeting, inviting Parishioners to submit agenda items and due to the fact that the final agenda is published in the week preceding the meeting and due to the timing of the Over News it had not been possible to publish it in the Over News. Mrs Twiss felt that the initial notice should stress the meeting is for Parishioners to put forward items they wish to raise. Mrs Twiss also asked Councillors if they would consider putting their photographs on the new Parish Council website and if the address for this could be published in the Over News. This will be put to the Parish Council
OCA:
Mr Sean Watkiss, Centre Manager, and Mrs Tracy Kimber were present at the meeting and Mr Watkiss gave a report of the past year’s activities at the Centre. He stated that the aim of the Centre is to provide and run a community facility for residents of Over and surrounding villages. The Centre had been well used during the past year by a wide selection of users. Some new groups had used the Centre this year and one event had been undertaken for which the Centre had provided catering, this had been successful and the event has been re-booked for the coming year. The all-weather surface has been well used although a little less than last year. The football pitches continue to be well used and this year the Centre had hosted a football tournament. The Centre has now purchased a new mower and some of the clubs have donated funds to the running of the Centre. The conferencing income is still disappointing but 169 conferences had been held over the year and a number are also booked for the coming year. Once again the holiday club will be held at the Centre and Mr Watkiss expressed thanks to the Brewery for their financial support in hosting this. The Christmas lunch had been held for 120 residents and Mr Watkiss thanked the Over Primary School for coming to sing at this event. A grant from the District Council had enabled the Centre to purchase a bouncy castle and they are now able to offer bouncy castle parties. In addition a grant had been received from the Over Town Lands Charity and this had been used to buy new chairs and patio furniture. The management committee continue to work to find ways of reducing costs and obtaining new bookings. Mr Watkiss thanked all the staff and volunteers for all they do to ensure the Centre runs smoothly. Mr Burling thanked Mr Watkiss and Mrs Kimber for their attendance and suggested this be an agenda item for future Parish Meetings.
Yesteryear Road Run:
Mr Daren Seekings asked why the Road Run had not stopped in Over this year. Mr Fenn stated that, at the time we had been approached, via Mr Bridgman, there was standing water in places on the Green and it was due to be verti-drained this meant we were not able to commit to allowing such a large number of vehicles onto the Green. We had passed their request onto the Community Centre but this had not been used. Mr Watkiss stated that they had offered the use of the car parks but like the Green the Recreation Ground was not in a suitable state to allow so many vehicles to traverse it. The offer had however been declined as the space was not sufficient. It was hoped that the Road Run committee would approach the Council next year in enough time to perhaps plan to defer the verti-draining until after their visit.
There being no further business Mr Fenn thanked parishioners for attending and declared the meeting closed at 8.27pm
Chairman
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