Council Minutes
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Draft Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held at the Cathodeon Centre on Thursday 5th August 2010
Present: Ms E Cornell (Chair), Mrs E Bald (Vice Chair), D Champion, Mrs S Dew, M Gee, R Hickford, Ms T Hunt, T Krarup, B Manley, G Potter
Mrs S Parry (Clerk to the Council)
Mrs K France (Press) was in attendance together with three members of the public and District Councillor Bear.
Public Forum
Mrs Hill of Back Road asked when the meeting with the District Councillors would take place. The Clerk would remind Cllr Batchelor to arrange this upon his return from holiday. Clerk
The Chair opened the meeting of the Parish Council at 8.10pm
76 Apologies for absence.
Cllr Cox – holiday. Cllr Lindsell – unwell. Cllr Mannassi – holiday. Cllr Wilson – work commitments.
77 Declaration of Interests from Members. Cllr Hickford declared a prejudicial interest under item 89, payments due.
78 Approval of the Minutes of the meeting held on 15th July 2010. Cllr Gee proposed that the minutes be adopted as a true record of the meeting. The proposal was seconded by Cllr Bald and agreed by the meeting.
79 Matters arising from the Minutes of the meeting held on 15th July 2010.
Under item 71, wind farm update, Cllr Champion reported that he and not Cllr Hickford had suggested that £5000 be set aside for legal representation. He was very concerned that a solicitor from Newmarket would be employed adding to costs, due to the distance from Newmarket to Cambourne where the inquiry would resume. Cllr Champion stated, and was adamant that, in his experience, the PC would not be able to employ a firm of solicitors for instructing a barrister for anything less than £4,000 - £5,000. Cllr Champion stated he thought a firm of solicitors from Cambridge would be more cost efficient and was also concerned that no funding had been allocated to pay for these services. He had researched the company and found that they were a small firm of family solicitors.
Cllr Hickford in response apologised for “hijacking” Cllr Champion’s suggestion. He reported that Stop Linton Wind Farm had offered the services of their Planning Company who were unable to provide a quote at the time due to personnel being on holiday. The Parish Council’s solicitor’s Kester Cunningham John had wished to become more involved and had quoted £4 -5k. Cllr Hickford had then spent a whole day contacting local solicitors, all of whom had wanted more involvement at great cost to the Council. Only a third party service with minimal work involved was required due to the employment of a Highways Consultancy and work already done. After much searching Cllr Hickford made contact with Bendall and Sons of Newmarket who were pleased to be able to offer the required service at a cost of around £200 per hour for 2 to 3 hours work, which would come out of the funding already set aside for legal representation for this issue. It was agreed to request written confirmation from Bendall and Sons of the likely costs involved. RH/Clerk
Cllr Bald reported she had sent a cheque for £60 (her mileage claim) to the Firefighters Charity in thanks for the watering of newly planted trees on Bartlow and Horseheath Road.
80 Consideration of the Minutes of the Planning Meeting held on 15th July 2010. These were noted.
81 Consideration of the Minutes of the Finance meeting held on 17th June 2010. These were noted.
82 Reports from Co-ordinators:
- Open Spaces and Environment – Cllr Bald reported that risk assessment checks had been carried out for Parsonage Way, Paynes Meadow and Coles Lane car park. Areas for improvement had been identified.
Cllr Hickford reported that an area adjacent to 101 Back Road was still causing concern because of overgrowth and roots. This area had already been identified for action by SCDC, and he asked the Clerk to chase. Clerk
Cllr Hickford asked for Council’s opinion on whether the Parish Council would/should consider tree works in the area of Brinkman Road. It was agreed by all that as the Parish Council did not own the land a precedent should not be set. It was the responsibility of the land owner to attend to overgrown trees and root problems.
Cllr Hickford suggested that a working party could be set up, that might be able to assist not only in this work, but any other issues that arise where the PC might be able to assist residents with problems and issues. The clerk would contact our insurers to ascertain whether volunteers would be covered. A risk assessment would be required prior to any work taking place. Clerk
- Recreation Ground – Cllr Krarup reported that a risk assessment check had been carried out. There was slight damage to the clapper stile and the picnic table. It was noted that a security light at the rear of the pavilion needed to be secured. Clerk
- Cemetery – Cllr Gee reported that a risk assessment check had taken place. It was noted that signage was required. The following wording was considered:
LINTON CEMETERY
VISITORS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT MEMORIALS MAY
BECOME UNSTABLE AND COULD CAUSE INJURY BY FALLING.
DO NOT LEAN ON, PUSH OR PULL MEMORIALS.
YOUNG CHILDREN SHOULD BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT
DOGS MUST BE KEPT ON A LEAD
FULL CEMETERY REGULATIONS ARE AVAILABLE FROM
THE PARISH COUNCIL OFFICE AND WEBSITE
It was agreed to contact the Council’s insurers to ascertain whether this wording was
sufficient.
- Rights of Way – There was nothing to report
- Venture Playground – See item 83
- Leadwell Meadows, River and Wildlife – It had been reported that mink had been seen in the river by the Dog and Duck PH. Clerk
- Glebe Land – There was nothing to report
- Churchyard – The clerk reported that the planning application for the rebuilding of the southern flint wall had been returned by SCDC due to lack of information.
- A1307, Traffic and Recreation Ground Parking – a meeting would be arranged prior to 17th September. An update on the pavilion was also required. Clerk
The Chair stated that when the agenda was prepared it was anticipated that the Allotments item would be confidential. Since then a meeting had taken place which allowed it to be in included in open session.
82 X Allotments
The Chair reported that 21 acres of land on Back Road had been identified. The landowner had been contacted and discussions had taken place to lease approximately seven acres for allotment use, and maybe to lease the rest for community orchard and public open space. The landowner was reluctant to sell any land. The current leaseholder, Fairey Farms Ltd was reluctant to release any of this land for allotments.
A favourable pre planning meeting and site visit was held with SCDC to determine the viability of the proposal which may include an application for a small dwelling adjacent to 12 Back Road. Cambridgeshire County Council made a site visit to look at access to the field via Bridleway 21 adjacent to the telephone exchange. Discussions were ongoing.
83 Risk Assessments – The clerk had issued a report following the receipt of correspondence from our insurers regarding a claim. Correspondence items 7, 15 and 24 refer. Much discussion took place and it was felt that Councillors were not trained to assess play equipment safety and as volunteers, should not be expected to undertake these safety checks. However it was agreed to contact ex Cllr Hammett to ask if he would agree to make a statement detailing how frequently visual play equipment checks had been carried out over the previous year. Anglian Playgrounds who undertake repairs to our play equipment had stated that general wear and tear had occurred and the failure of this piece of equipment could not have been foreseen. Discussion took place as to whether the aerial runway should be permanently removed. This was deferred until a response from the insurers was received. It was agreed to arrange a meeting with Glen Staff from Zurich Insurance to discuss the situation. It was also agreed to ask other Parish Councils how they carry out their checks and whether they employ a specialist. Clerk
Risk assessment checks had been received from Cllr Krarup for the Recreation Ground and the Cathodeon Centre external and internal areas.
84 Complaints Procedure - A draft complaints procedure had been issued by Cllr Champion. This would be sent to CPALC to check whether this could be adopted. Clerk
85 Wind Farm Inquiry – This was discussed under item 79.
Under item 25 – Discussion took place regarding the Planning Conditions to be imposed should the appeal be allowed. It was agreed to ask for Highways safety issues on the A1307 to be addressed especially at the Little Linton and Hildersham junctions. RH/EC/Clerk
86 Written reports from Council representatives. There were none.
87 Comments regarding landscaping plan for Nichols Court – Cllr Bald was concerned that there was insufficient and inadequate provision for planting and screening. Clerk
88 Correspondence received and for discussion.
Item 11 A letter had been received from Mr V Harris and it was agreed to contact him to clarify the
situation. Whenever the gate to the Recreation Ground was removed for access by large vehicles stones collect in the gate post hole. This lifts the gate up so that the mechanism does not shut easily. Therefore the gate had been left open for ease of entry until the hole had been cleared.
Item 12 A letter from the ‘six existing residents of Flaxfields’ had been received in support of Nichols
Court. It was felt that the situation had been misread. The Parish Council had not objected to the care facility just the bulk and design of the building which had resulted in gross overlooking.
Item 13 CCC re reduction in mobile library van visits – Council was disappointed that visits had
been reduced from fortnightly to monthly however they felt that this was an acceptable reduction due to financial constraints.
Item 28 CCC re Village Green application. Following the withdrawal of the objection the application
was now deemed to be unopposed and therefore the application could be determined under
delegated powers by Mark Kemp, Director of Highways and Access.
89 Cllr Bald proposed that the payments listed below be paid. The cheque for Bendall and Sons, which included barrister costs, would be held subject to confirmation of their fees (see item 79). The proposal was seconded by Cllr Dew and agreed by the meeting. Cllrs Gee and Potter signed the cheques.
| Gross | Excl VAT | |||
| Wages | bacs and 1387, 1388 and 1389 | 3035.29 | ||
| CGM Ltd (grass maintenance) | bacs | 1661.07 | 1444.41 | |
| Linton News | bacs | 90.00 | ||
| Shine Windows (bus shelters) | 1390 | 56.00 | ||
| BT | 1391 | 158.62 | 135.00 | |
| R Hickford (paint for railings) | 1392 | 20.38 | 17.34 | |
| Viking Direct (printer cartridges and stationery) | 1393 | 302.82 | 257.72 | |
| Halls of Cambridge (to secure Pavilion following break in) | 1394 | 548.29 | 466.63 | |
| CGM Ltd (to cut BW20 additional to contract) | 1395 | 88.13 | 75.00 | |
| Bendall and Sons Solicitors | 1396 | 5000.00 | ||
90 Reports from Councillors.
Cllr Potter reported that the repairs to the bridge were proving difficult. Previously the stainless steel bolts which held down the wooden slats had been replaced with wood screws which had rusted. The boards had expanded when wet and the screws had broken. When the boards had dried out the screws would be replaced.
Cllr Hunt asked if the ‘Keep dogs on lead’ notices could be removed from the Recreation Ground.
Cllr Manley reported that a meeting to discuss the proposed pavilion improvements would take place shortly.
Cllr Cornell reported that she would be writing an article ‘From the Chair’ for Parish Matters for the next six months.
The meeting closed at 9.50pm
Signed ……………………………… Date ………………….
Note: Copies of reports and documents referred to in these minutes can be inspected at the Council’s office.