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Bottisham Parish Council Minutes |
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On this page are the Minutes of Bottisham Parish Council |
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DRAFT
MINUTES OF BOTTISHAM ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 17th MAY 2006 Held in the Lecture room at Bottisham Village College commencing at 7.30pm
Received from Cllr’s Bailey and Bryant and County Councillor Mathew Shuter.
Councillor David Tilley chaired the meeting and welcomed councillors and 8 villagers. He also paid tribute to John Walker who had recently died. John had given tremendous service to the community and had represented the Parish Council for a number of years.
The minutes from the previous Annual Meeting dated 25th May 2005 were agreed and signed.
Councillor Tilley updated the meeting on changes that had taken place during the past year within the Parish Council. A new clerk had been in post for 9 months and many records had now been computerised. He thanked the previous clerk, who had had a great deal of experience both as clerk and councillor. Also a new councillor, Anastasia Banks had been appointed in the last few months. Cllr Tilley gave an overview of the past years work and how the Parish Council work with other agencies i.e. East Cambs District Council and the County Council. He reported that Parish Council are finding it difficult to get the County Council to honour their obligations.
Cllr Tilley ran through the functions of different committees and how they report back to Parish Council with all major decisions being endorsed by full council.
Grass cutting is maintained on behalf of both the County and District Council. They give the Parish Council a small allowance which has recently been reduced to 4 cuts per year; we typically have between 10-12. We are pleased with the work our contractor does and there has been no price increase for the last few years. Cllr Tilley reported that a lot of trees had been planted in the last 40 years for which the County Council holds us responsible for the maintenance. In the future, Parish Council may have to get permission from the County for every tree they plant. Parish Council have a small budget for planting in public spaces and the spring bulbs along Bell Road had been well received.
We have 2 litter pickers. The Environment Committee has reviewed the litter picking rounds this year as there were areas that weren’t covered. Cllr Tilley wished to publicly thank the Woman’s Institute for their offer to clear the A1303 from the Bell Road junction to the White Swan once a quarter. We receive a small grant for which last year we cleared the bridleway up to Swaffham Bulbeck. There is now a kissing gate at the entrance to every footpath in Bottisham.
The Parish Council have not been happy with the level of service we have received in the past from the Police which has been communicated to them. The past few months have seen a dramatic change. They have employed a Police Community Support Officer who covers the village and whose presence is very visible. We are pleased with the improvement in service.
Cllr Tilley stated how frustrated Parish Council has been with the County Council over the condition of pavements in the village. We have been in contact with them and are conducting a survey in the village, particularly on the Beechwood Estate and we really hope for an improvement over the next few years. The Heathway off the A1303 is full of rubbish. A local farmer recently complained in the local paper about the lack of help from the County Council. Cllr Tilley paid tribute to our District Councillors who were trying to remedy the problem.
Collections will be changing in the next year to meet recycling targets and to keep costs down. We have offered to pilot a scheme which is already taking place with success in Witchford where there are alternate weekly recycling and waste collections. In return we expect the Council to clear the green waste on the Heathway and the travellers camp.
Fly tipping is a huge problem. There is estimated to be 30 tonnes of rubbish on the Heathway. Cllr Tilley again criticised the County Council for their lack of support with regard to the travellers camp. Although the land belonged to them only members of the Parish and the District Council have visited the site and there has been no reaction from the County whatsoever. The site of the travellers camp is a hazard to roadusers. We were promised at the end of 2005 that the rubbish would be removed but that just did not happen.
There has recently been a lot of media attention with regard to the ‘free bus service’ brought in by the government, which is actually more costly for pensioners. The no. 11 bus does not come through the village and Cllr Tilley thanked Paddy James for the work she has done in bringing the problem to the attention of the bus company. The Parish Council is also writing to Stagecoach with their views.
After meetings last year the electricity supply for the village has improved. We sometimes have to contact Anglian Water regarding the storm drains being blocked on the Lode Road/High Street but otherwise there are no problems.
A development of 42 dwellings is to be built at the rear of the surgery on Tunbridge Lane. The Parish Council will make sure the public are aware of the details when they become available. We are talking with the developer regarding road names. They suggest a roman theme as there are roman remains in the village and possibly a roman villa on the development site. If any villagers wish to suggest names they can contact the clerk. East Cambs District Council will come up with their plan for the Local Development Framework but it is not anticipated that Bottisham plans will alter. D/Cllr Leake reported that stalls will be available in towns such as Newmarket/Soham displaying the plans when they become available. There will be an element of affordable housing in the new development. Last year we were trying to get the Charitable Land Trust to build new homes but there was not enough interest. The Barr Trust who own land off the High Street would like to see some development here but the Parish Council is not keen on development in this area. Hastoe Housing have not yet come back with any possibilities.
The Childrens Playground is a joint venture with the Primary School. Cllr Tilley had contacted parents that wrote in the Cresset about the need for a playground. He has encouraged them to form a committee who the Parish Council can work with to improve the current equipment.
Parish Forums has been a new idea where several agencies meet and join forces to improve local services. Cllr Tilley felt that this was partly responsible for the improved level of policing in the village.
Cllr Tilley reported how the Parish Council provide advice to the public in a number of ways. The Councillors and clerk receive approximately 300 telephone calls a year. Each year we give grants to village organisations. Those to benefit this year include:- Football Club - £1000, Gardening Club - £100, Community Library Art Club - £250, Cricket Club - £400
Cllr Tilley explained the importance of the Parish Council carrying out its Statutory Obligations. As the churchyard is now closed the Parochial Church Council can apply for the Parish or District Council to take over responsibility. At present the Parish Council have an informal arrangement with Revd Lewis to support the maintenance of the churchyard. They have proposed putting together a working party with the Parochial Church Council to make sure that everyone receives a better service.
All Parish Council agendas and minutes are publicised on the Bottisham Website whose costs they contribute to. We write monthly in the Cresset and agendas are placed on the noticeboard.
The precept has been held for the second year running at £18,000. For the fifth year running there has been no increase in our grass cutting costs although the County Council has decreased the amount of money they give us towards this service. All papers are readily available from the clerk, to create a more effective administration and more records have been computerised. The clerk has attended a training session and courses are also available for councillors.
The Parish Council tries to involve the public in their work and we consult the public where appropriate. It would be impossible to get a consensus from all.
Cllr Tilley took questions from the group. Someone queried whether the path from the White Swan to the A1303 would be repaired. Cllr Tilley replied that the Parish Council have written to the County Council numerous times about this problem and we look to our County Councillor to support us on this matter. He encouraged the public to write to the County about this and other problems they encountered.
District Councillor Leake spoke on concessionary fares. She has asked officers to get the scheme running across the whole of the County. The extra money needed is available once a county wide scheme can be agreed. Since the 16th April there is now a half hourly service going through the village. She reported that Stagecoach does not want the number 11 to go down Bell Road because of the tight junction coming into the village.
The Cambridge Evening News is doing a petition for concessionary fares. It was noted that the Parish Council supported a motion asking for support for this scheme from both District and County Councillors.
4. REPORTS: a) Bottisham Primary School – a written report. The Primary School has developed the car parking area and extended the KS2 playground. In January they had an Ofsted inspection which was very complimentary about the school and the children. The curriculum was seen as being of outstanding quality with a strong feature being the excellent use made of ICT. They have been developing more links with the community and other outside agencies increasing the number of visitors who come to school to share their expertise and experience and encourage anyone who feels they have something to offer to visit.
b) Bottisham Village College – a written report. The examination results for 2005 were once again very encouraging and results in the KS3 National tests were amongst the best ever. The Youth Manager and Youth Workers have continued to work closely with Bottisham Action for Youth to develop increasing opportunities for young people in Bottisham and surrounding villages. Our second year as a Humanities Specialist College has been busy, specialist money has been used to finance the purchase of ICT equipment across the school, now all teachers have a laptop computer and a ‘wireless’ network has been installed throughout the college. Links with the community and other schools have been further developed. A recycling scheme, with the waste paper from each class being recycled has been established. Earlier this year a new CCTV system covering both the inside and outside of the college buildings was installed. Over £5,000 was raised for charity last year to help a range of good causes.
c) Bottisham Local Charities – The Local Charities Report and accounts to 31st December 2005 prepared by Margret Coles were circulated and Margret briefly explained the work of the group.
d) Cresset – no report
Cllr Tilley reported on the groups and organisations that had been awarded grants. The Bottisham and District Gardening Club had written a letter stating that they would not be able to report to the meeting as the grant had not yet been used. It was for their annual summer show and they would be pleased to report back at next years Annual Parish Meeting.
e) Bottisham Community Library Art Club – a written report The Art Club meets on a Saturday morning from 10-12 and has a membership of 28 junior and senior children. The group has been running since March 2004. In 2005 they were successful in receiving a grant from the local network fund for over £3000 which helped pay for an arts and craft facilitator and trips. Julie Bristow thanked the Parish Council with their help in funding the art group for 2006/07.
f) Bottisham Boys Cricket Club – a written report Charles Fletcher thanked the Parish Council for their grant of £400 in helping with the starting up this new club. He has passed his first coaching course and will be doing the second part in the autumn. Sessions will then start on a Saturday morning from the beginning of May 2006 on the Village College Playing Fields.
g) Bottisham Football Club Jim Tideswell reported on the playing year. They plan to enter at least two girls teams in the league next year . This year the club has attained the title of a community charter standard club and has merged with Bottisham Sports, the mens side to achieve this. Jim thanked the Parish Council for the £1000 grant which had been used to purchase training tops for all players to give them an added identity and to enhance the image of the club.
Cllr Tilley thanked Jim Tideswell for coming. He praised the voluntary work that the organisation did working with all age ranges, boys and girls.
h) County Councillor – Mathew Shuter County Councillor Shuter was unable to attend the meeting but circulated a briefing paper.
i) District Councillors – Valerie Leake and Colin McLean After a dramatic rise in the cost of moving to new office accommodation, the Council voted not to go ahead with the proposed move to Angel Drove in Ely. ECDC have been awarded Beacon Status as part of the Cambs and Peterborough Waste Partnership. From May 2006 100% of households in East Cambs will have a kerbside collection for a range of recyclable materials. ECDC is one of 13 councils selected to receive free mentoring on rural issues which are important to our communities. In East Cambs these have been identified as affordable housing, community transport and better communication with Parish Councils. The introduction of the Planning Portal accessible through the website means planning permission can now be applied for and progress monitored entirely online.
j) Bottisham Action for Youth District Councillor Colin McLean who is a trustee of BAFY reported that 40-50 young people are attending the youth club each Monday evening. Approximately 64% are from Bottisham and the surrounding villages. BAFY received their second successive High Sheriff’s Award in recognition of work being undertaken and continues to forge close links with other local groups including Soham Action 4 Youth. In February club activities were twice interrupted when several carloads of people from outside the village arrived to cause trouble. The youth club was closed for the subsequent 2 weeks but once re-opened activities resumed. Cllr McLean thanked the Parish Council for money provided to purchase a pool table. After receiving Lottery Heritage funding an 18 month project will being which will allow for the youth club to open on a further evening and some weekends and secures the future of youth projects in the village until early 2008. A ‘Time Teams’ project is being set up which will chronicle facets of local history.
Cllr Tilley congratulated District Cllr McLean and hoped that everyone would be able to contribute to this project.
5. ACCOUNTS:
Cllr Clark had circulated a copy of the draft accounts. Cllr Tilley thanked him for his work in computerised the accounts.
6. NOTIFIED ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION:
There were five items that Mrs S Overton has asked to be put on the agenda. Unfortunately she could not attend but had sent a letter detailing her objections which Cllr Tilley read out and will respond to. Mrs Overton has sent approximately 8 letters to which we have replied. She has also publicised her letters in the Cresset which the Parish Council are happy for her to do. Mrs Overton wrote a letter on the 3rd May 2006 which she sent to the Cresset. The Editor has contacted Cllr Tilley and stated that he would not be publishing the letter as he did not want the Parish magazine to be used in this way.
a) Removal of trees in the Cemetery. Cllr Tilley reported that back in 1996 the Parish Council were discussing the need for a new cemetery. In 1998 some trees were cut down and there are approximately 77 references to this in past minutes. The Parish Council voted to take more trees down in October 2004 but this task was not done at the time. The trees in the hedge which borders the bowling green were mostly self seeded and have been replaced with a laurel hedge to give good screening. The Parish Council needs to re-plan the grave spaces available as current plans are extremely old and we also need to make provision for cremated remains.
b) that signed minutes be displayed on the Triangle noticeboard after each Committee and full Council Meeting. Cllr Tilley reported that the Parish Council have no problems with the minutes going on the noticeboard and at the last Parish Council Meeting they voted for this to go ahead.
c) that there should be a Public Question Time session at the start of each full Council Meeting. Councillors were happy for parishioners to come along and talk about issues that were not on the agenda before the meetings started and it will be made clear on the agenda that people can come to talk beforehand, although they did not agree on having a formal question time.
d) that no work should be undertaken on trees without prior consultation with those in the near neighbourhood. Most of the trees in Bottisham are actually on County Council land so we don’t have total authority anyway. Cllr Tilley went on to explain that it was difficult to get a consensus from everyone. Parish Council do want to communicate where appropriate with parishioners but if we had everyone’s viewpoint we couldn’t function.
e) that no tree should be felled purely on the grounds of inconvenience or aesthetics. Cllr Tilley stated that something which is inconvenient to one person may not be to someone else. To support this motion this would have to be written into the Parish Councils standing orders and would commit future Parish Councils to something they might not be able to do.
As a Parish Council we are aware and appreciative of the work that Sylvia and John Overton do in many organisations in the community and are very grateful to them.
Cllr Tilley thanked all of the residents that attended as well as the District and Parish Councillors and thanks were extended to all those who had either given reports or provided written accounts.
The meeting closed at 9.20pm.
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