Minutes 4th July 2017

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MEETING NUMBER 453

Held at Downing Court on Tuesday 4th July 2017 starting at 7.30pm

Present: Cllr Mrs Sue Romero (SR); Cllr Mrs M Smith (MS); Cllr Robin Sewell (RS); Cllr Gordon Reid (GR);
Members: 9 Quorum: 3
Members of the Public:
Clerk: Mrs D Bayliss
C Cllr Allen Alderson
1 Parishioner
Meeting opened at 7.30pm

4295 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Cllr Mrs Lynn Reed; Cllr Mrs N Bates; Cllr Mrs Kay Ballard;

4296 PARISH COUNCILLOR VACANCIES
East Cambs District Council has notified the council that there has been no call for an election meaning the council may co-opt members as soon as any applications are made. There have been no expressions of interest so far. Clerk

4297 MEMBERS DECLARATION OF INTEREST FOR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA
None

4298 OPEN FORUM FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION INCLUDING QUESTIONS FROM COUNCILLORS
The parishioner present expressed his concerns about the possible reduction of the speed limit throughout the village.
COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS REPORTS Clerk

  • The District Councillors report was distributed before the meeting.
  • This week’s chairman’s chat should have an update on the local plan
  • By October it may be possible to apply elements of the new plan
  • ECDC reserves stand at £13.5million therefore the council are borrowing their own funds to pay for the leisure centre
  • Matthew Shuter is hoping to attend some of the meetings however the county councillors are have larger areas to cover making it difficult to attend each parish council meeting regularly.

4299 TO APPROVE MINUTES OF MEETING 452 6th JUNE 2017
It was proposed by Cllr RS and seconded by Cllr MS that the minutes of the meeting held on 6th June 2017 are approved and signed by the Chairman.
CARRIED
GR abstained from the vote as he was not present at the last meeting.

4300 MATTERS ARISING/CLERKS REPORTS
None

4301 TO AGREE TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR WORKING GROUPS
The revised terms of reference for each of the working groups were approved by the council and will be distributed to each member. Clerk

4302 CONSIDERATION OF HOW TO MANAGE ESSENTIAL VILLAGE JOBS INCLUDING PAVILION; RUBBISH; REPAIRS; CEMETERY MAINTENANCE.
It was proposed by Cllr GR that a part-time job of 2 hours per week is offered. Duties will include checking the pavilion; emptying the bins on the Denny and at the cemetery; general cemetery maintenance including marking graves and levelling graves along with some ad hoc jobs – guttering; fencing etc., The salary is to be agreed.
CARRIED
The clerk will contact a few local Parish Councils to see if they have a handyman who would be willing to undertake a few extra hours and Cllr SR will contact the school caretaker to see if it is something he would be interested in.

4303 PLANNING MATTERS
a) Planning Approvals
17/00704/FUL Construction of single storey rear extension at 31 High Street, Swaffham Bulbeck for Mr Kamaljit Singh Randhawa
16/01318/FUM Change of use to equine use, construction of 3No. dwellings and 3No. Stable blocks to provide isolation facilities at New England Stud, heath Road, Swaffham Bulbeck.
b) East Cambs Local Plan Update
SR distributed the further draft consultation report which outlines the key issues raised for Swaffham Bulbeck. The report is available on the ECDC website.
c) Other Planning Matters
It was agreed that the planning application for change of use for the telephone kiosk will be deferred until September. Clerk
d) Update on CLT
The first official board meeting of the CLT was held on June 19th following the official registration of the body which took place on 13th June. The six formation trustees were adopted and Mrs Sue Romero was invited to join them. She will also act as the parish council link representative to the trust. A Special General Meeting for CLT members will be arranged for the near future.
The trustees met with one of the landowners of the Cemetery/Pony field site and the developer to discuss the next stages of development; possible village benefits; and the financial aspects of building the affordable homes.

4304 CEMETERY MATTERS
a) Report from Cemetery Working Group
It was agreed that Cllr LR would take the lead on any actions related to the cemetery. Matters for attention:

  • Clear rubbish away (RS)
  • Arrange to repair the tap (RS)
  • Get quotes for clearing the area near the back wall (DB)
  •  alongside the chalk pit – get quotes and suggestions for easy growing hedge/will create a maintenance problem
  • SR will investigate how repairs to the wooden funeral arch can be carried out.
  • No further tree planting will be carried out for the time being.

b) To Consider Purchase of Waste Bins or Hire of Waste Bin from Veolia
It was agreed that this matter would be deferred to enable other options to be considered.

4305 HIGHWAYS MATTERS
a) It was agreed that the council should check whether the shop has a responsibility to provide a bin outside the shop
The BT manhole outside the shop has sunk; the clerk will contact BT to ask them to repair it. Clerk
4306 FINANCES INCLUDING APPROVAL OF OUTSTANDING ACCOUNTS
a) It was agreed that a copy of the valuation of Parish Council land rental carried out in 2012 would be sent to Mr Dean. No reduction on the current rent was agreed. All the land rents will be re-assessed before Michaelmas this year. Clerk
b) It was proposed by Cllr SR and seconded by Cllr GR that the parish council minutes from the year 2000 to the present are bound by Stoakley Book Binders and are then archived at the County Council.
CARRIED
c) It was proposed by Cllr MS and seconded by Cllr SR that the bank reconciliations for April are approved.
CARRIED
It was proposed by Cllr MS and seconded by Cllr SR that the bank reconciliations for May are approved.
CARRIED
d) It was proposed by Cllr SR and seconded by Cllr MS that the July accounts are approved and paid.
CARRIED
Cheque No; Payee Item Net VAT Total Power
Payments Since the Last Meeting
BACS Mrs D Bayliss Clerk’s Salary £610.38 £0.00 £610.38 LGA 1972 s112
BACS HMRC Tax & NI £180.17 £0.00 £180.17 LGA 1972 s112
Payments for Tonight’s meeting:
300143 JCS Bookkeeping Payroll £17.00 £3.40 £20.40 LGA 1972 s112
300144 Mrs D Bayliss Travel 57.60 £0.00 £0.00 LGA 1972 s174
300144 SLCC CiLCA Module Fee £30.00 £0.00 £30.00 LGA 1972 s 111
300145 R Daniels Pest Control £50.00 £0.00 £50.00 Open Spaces Act 1906 ss9 & 10 LGA 1972 s214
300146 Nightingale Landscapes Grass Cutting £1,489.00 £0.00 £1,489.00 Open Spaces Act 1906 ss9 & 10 LGA 1972 s214

Grand Total>>> £2,376.55 £3.40 £2379.95

4307 TO CONSIDER SETTING UP A FACEBOOK PAGE
It was agreed that this item would be deferred until the next meeting when there are more councillors available to discuss it.

4308 DATES OF NEXT MEETINGS
August meeting to be arranged if required.
September 5th
September 5th Pavilion Charity Meeting
The meeting closed at 9.22pm