Minutes of the Meeting of Caldecote Parish Council on Thursday 2nd December 2004 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall
Present:
Parish Cllrs B Drayton, C Stopp, T
Footman, P Phillips, F Wolton (Chairman) and
In attendance: County Cllr R. Martlew, Mrs. L Hazel (Clerk) and 10 members of the public.
1. Apologies for absence : Cllrs S Breeze, J Lang, A Levett.
2. To approve the minutes of the 4th November 2004
On a proposition by T Footman, seconded by F Wolton the minutes were approved as a true record. The Chairman signed the minutes.
3. Matters arising for information only
3.1 Environment Agency reply on Storm cell matrix.
A letter dated 9th November 2004 from Environment Agency was read. The letter stated that it would be necessary for the developer to submit alternative proposals to the local planning authority for approval, in order to continue with their development proposals in the area.
3.2 TKA Tallent Chassis Ltd - Appeal update.
A copy of a letter from South Cambridgeshire District Council to Mr. C J Corcoran dated 12th November 2004 was summarized and read. TKA Tallent is being asked to submit retrospective planning applications for a range of alterations that would have required the formal consent of the Local Planning Authority. These developments are:
1. all of the external roller doors that have been inserted over the past four years.
2. all of the external flues that have been added to the buildings over the past four years.
3. the external pole lighting which is currently being erected; and
4. the canopy housing the external conveyor belts close to the eastern boundary of the site.
Through the determination of these planning applications the Parish Council will be given the opportunity to comment.
A
letter dated 22nd November from Brian Heffernan to the Parish clerk
was also summarized and read. TKA Tallent have
been requested to provide more technical data with their acoustic consultant
than they have already done so in relation to structural and operational noise
reduction measures at the site. This will help to establish the extent as
to which TKA has a defence available of Best
Practicable means (BPM). The notice served on TKA refers to a category of
nuisance to which the defence of best practicable
means applies. Both TKA and the Council have agreed to ask the
C Stopp confirmed that she has spoken to Fiona McMillan, Legal Department in relation to this. Fiona McMillan confirmed that TKA does not have to remove all noise. If the noise is still bad however, then TKA would not be able to use BPM.
3.3 Church steps hand rail.
An e-mail from Mike Cooper has been received stating the following points;
· A plan and written approval must be sought from the Parish Council, Caldecote Church, The Church Diocese and South Cambridgeshire District Council.
· The fence which is to be erected is within a Conservation Area and would require a full planning application/approval ahead of construction.
On a proposition by C Stopp, seconded by F Wolton it was agreed that B Drayton would take up this matter on the Parish Council’s behalf.
4. Januarys – Land at Jason Farms Kennel, Caldecote.
An e-mail was received from Mr. C Brown, Director Januarys informing the parish council that he and his client are unable to attend tonight’s meeting.
5. To attend to correspondence/communications received since last meeting including.
5.1 Parishioner correspondences
A
letter dated 9th November 2004 from Mr. J Hellingsworth,
Tree and Landscape Officer at SCDC was read out. The letter referred to
trees on the boundaries of Mr. Gawthrop’s land
adjacent to
5.2 Other
It was bought to the attention of the Parish Council that there is Regional One Day Conference which is to be held on Friday 10th December at Hitchingbrooke House in Huntingdon with an emphasis on the ‘Funding and managing Community projects’.
Details on Parish Path Partnership were read out. It was agreed that this would be something that the Parish Council would be interested in however before any commitment can be made more details would be required. It was agreed to write to the Parish Paths Liaison Officer inviting him to the next parish meeting with a view to doing a presentation on the subject. In the meantime it was agreed to circulate the details and place this item on the agenda for the next meeting.
6 To attend to planning received since the last meeting including
6.1 S/1797/04/F Johnson – Land adj.
6.2
S/1798/04/F Johnson – Land adjoining 2 &
6.3
S/2350/04/F Altman,
· Neighbours comments to be taken into account.
6.4
S/250/04/F Jackson,
S/2348/04/F, Grafton Pig Farm – Variation of condition 3 of planning permission S/0460/02/F to allow occupation of up to 15 houses prior to the completion of off site works in Highfields Road. On a proposition by F Wolton, seconded by B Drayton it was agreed to refuse this application on the following points;
· Safety for school children
· Inconvenience i.e. mud on road which can be dangerous to road users
· Footpath is being ruined due to vehicles on a daily basis driving over it to access the site.
6.5 S/2382/04/F Hawkins, 90 West Drive – Retention of existing self contained flat and use for holiday accommodation and short or medium term lets. On a proposition by F Wolton, seconded by B Drayton it was agreed to refuse this application due to complaints received regarding the surface of the driveway and the noise it emits from vehicles driving over it daily.
6.6 SCDC planning notices.
It
was noted that SCDC has granted permission for erection of outbuilding
following demolition of existing outbuilding at The Shieling,
It
was noted that SCDC have granted permission for extensions to bungalow
including addition of first floor to form 2 storey dwelling and erection of
double garage at
7. The village development
7.1 Developer matters, Taylor Woodrow, Banner, JS Bloor, Ashwell Homes and Beechdale Homes.
It was noted that the transfer papers for Banner Homes have still not been received. It has been indicated that hopefully these will be ready for signing at the next meeting in January.
It was bought to the attention of the Parish Council that the new houses on the Ashwell Development are very close to the existing hedge and that the agreed fencing which is to be installed in between the hedge and new houses is not in place. It was agreed that a site visit is to be undertaken by the parish councilors to ascertain the situation.
It was noted that the pumping station in the village has had several tankers there over a short period of time. It was confirmed with Anglian Water that this was due to an unforeseen blockage in one of the pumps therefore they had to pump out the station to enable them to rectify the situation. Anglian Water has confirmed that they are stepping up their maintenance program to ensure that this does not happen again. During this work the grass verges were damaged due to the tankers turning around in a very tight spot. It was agreed to write to Anglian Water to ask them to re-instate the grass verges or to put in kerb stones.
A letter from Chris Taylor to Martin Cassey, Wilson Connolly dated 29th November 2004 was read. The letter is a prelude to the service of an Enforcement Notice under Section 171A (1) (B) “failing to comply with any condition or limitation subject to which planning permission has been granted”. This is in relation to the recreation ground. In order for the Notice to be valid it has to be served on every person having a legal interest in the land. The letter requires a response within eighteen days setting out the details of all persons having an interest in the land.
8. Reports
8.1 Sport and Recreation Ground Committee – to note the draft minutes. It was noted that these are due to be circulated shortly.
9. Finance.
9.1 Grass cutting specifications for quotes.
Two quotes have been received for the maintenance of the borders/flower beds and grass cutting in the village. It was agreed that more quotes should be sought before a final decision is made. It was noted that 3 year contracts would be more beneficial to the parish council.
9.2 Bus Shelter quotes.
A quote from Herald Contract Services has been received. It was noted that at least 3 quotes should be obtained before a decision is made. As the parish council have now received two quotes, one more is required.
9.3 To receive the financial report and approve the payment of bills also payment to SMP Playgrounds.
The financial statement was received and considered and the invoices and bank statements were available for checking. On a proposition by the Cllr T Footman, seconded by a Cllr P Philips the following payments were approved:
|
CALC (Training) |
£218.40 |
|
|
£305.50 |
|
CALC (Publication) |
£3.00 |
|
L Hazel (Salary) |
£xx.xx |
|
K Martlew |
£33.00 |
On a proposition by B Drayton, seconded by P Philips it was agreed to make a payment to SMP for approx £18,000.00 but to withhold approx £2,000.00 to cover full reinstatement of the MUGA and surrounding area.
9.4 Parish Clerk’s allowances.
It was agreed that the parish clerk is to be paid an allowance for use of her own equipment which is to be paid quarterly. This can be claimed with immediate effect.
It was agreed that a printer should be purchased to allow the parish clerk to carry out her duties. This would become the property of the parish council and be classed as an asset. Details of printers and prices are to be obtained. It was noted that at present there is not much demand for a fax machine and this would be monitored over the next couple of months with the view of purchasing one in the future if required. The parish clerk was authorized to get the photocopier serviced.
9.5 To prepare a budget for Financial Year 2005 – 2006.
The budget report (appended 2 to these minutes) showing income and expenditure against budget to date and draft figures based on past history and existing contracts was received and consider. It was agreed to carry this item forward to the next meeting to allow the parish council time to clarify certain figures and obtain more information.
On a proposition by B Drayton, seconded by C Stopp it was unanimously agreed to hand the cutting of the grass verges in the village back to Cambridge County Council due to high cost and problems occurred during the last year.
10. Councilors’ items
It was bought to the attention of the parish council that the footpath along the rear of the children’s play area has brambles encroaching onto it. It was noted that this is being dealt with by the SRC.
The
bollard outside
It
has been noted that the road and footpath outside
Due to time limits it was agreed to place ‘Lost Highways information’ on the agenda for the next meeting.
It has been noted that the buses are stopping directly outside the BP Garage to let passengers disembark. This is very dangerous due to the close proximity of the roundabout. It was agreed to write a letter to Whippet Buses and Stage Coach bringing their attention to this.
The
pothole in
It was bought to the attention of the parish council that B Drayton and F Wolton had been contacted by Mr. Temple in connection with a barn on his property that they surveyed. Mr. Temple was enquiring if it was suitable for conversion. Mr. Temple was advised that the correct procedure was to put in a planning application and that both Councilors were unable to comment on the situation.
C Stopp advised that Saskia Dart should be contacted immediately with a view to standing as auditor again.
Mr. Newby bought to the attention of the parish council that several glass bottles had been deposited on the kick about area and east side of the tennis courts which he offered to pick up. This offer was gratefully accepted and Mr. Newby was thanked for carrying out this task.
11. Closure of meeting and Parish Matters
There was no further business and the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 10.30 pm.
Signed………………………… Chairman …….…………………Dated.