Minutes of the Meeting of Great & Little Gidding Parish Council held on Tuesday 19th April 2016 at 7:30pm
Present: Cllrs L James (Chair), R Hayden, P Hodson, R Giddens and E Richmond
In Attendance: L Ellis (Clerk), District Cllr D Tuplin and two members of the public
Key:
CCC = Cambridgeshire County Council
HDC = Huntingdon District Council
PC = Parish Council
37.16 Chairman’s Welcome
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
38.16 Apologies and reason for absence
Cllr Alexander (other commitments).
39.16 Member’s declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests
None.
40.16 Public and press participation session with respect to items on the agenda
A resident asked for an update on the horse warning road signs that were discussed at the March Council meeting.
Cllr James reported that she would shortly be attending a meeting with the new Highways Officer, cost and location of signs would be discussed but it is understood that Highways have no funding available at this time.
A resident reported that a speed watch unit had been flooded and subsequently ruined, he was unsure on how to fund for a replacement.
Cllr James suggested that he could liaise with other villages recommending that they could possibly join together to raise the money required.
Cllr Hayden reported that he was in favour of having a unit as the speed watch team carryout an excellent job but unfortunately the cost of a unit would take a large portion of the precept. Speeding in the village has been an on-going problem for many years.
The resident stated that the current equipment is shared with Glatton but that he would speak to his Police contact to ascertain whether there were other sharing options available.
41.16 To confirm and accept minutes of meeting held on 15th March 2016
To take the minutes as read and approve them as a true and accurate record. Proposed by Cllr Hodson and seconded by Cllr Giddens. The minutes were then duly signed by the Chairman.
42.16 Matters arising from minutes
None.
43.16 Communication from Councillors
Cllr Tuplin reported that the Electoral Commission’s review had been completed. During an election a third of D Cllrs would need to be elected, it would therefore be necessary for the number to be either 51 or 54, HDC want to keep the number of D Cllrs at 52, all of them will need to go through the process at the same time.
He stated that the number of residents was out of kilter due to all of the new housing developments.
He reported that the timescale for comments had been tight and unfortunately Gidding has been combined with a large number of other small villages thus making it a huge area for one D Cllr to cover.
It was agreed that a letter should be sent to the Electoral Commission stating the Council’s concerns at the short timescales provided.
Cllr Tuplin left the meeting at this juncture (7:50pm)
The Clerk reported that Cllr Bywater had wished to report that CCC had rejected the devolution proposal and it has been sent back to Government for a rethink.
Cllr Giddens reported that the bridleways and footpaths were in a good condition however a number were still wet.
Information for new residents has been provided at the Vicarage and would also be given to the residents at Footpath House and at Chapel End.
The British Horse Society currently has a campaign to register bridleways to ensure everything remains registered.
44.16 Volunteers and funding for a new speed watch monitor
The Chairman reported that having received input earlier from a resident that this item would remain on the agenda until it is fully resolved.
A question was raised regarding the location of the 30mph sign leading into the village, was it in the correct position. The Chairman agreed to clarify the matter at her meeting with the Highways Officer.
45.16 Review of the office equipment
Item to be deferred to the May meeting to ensure sufficient information is available on equipment costs.
46.16 To agree the content for the production of the Clarion
It was agreed that
Volunteers for speed watch
Annual Parish Meeting – 10th May – guest speaker HACT
Uncontested elections
Welcome to the Clerk including office opening hours
Dog fouling/dogs on leads
Parking on pavements
Cycle Tour
Big Lunch event
Village show
47.16 Correspondence
Correspondence duly noted.
The Clerk reported on the email from HDC relating to the litter bins. It was agreed that Cllr Hayden would remove the yellow bin currently located on a pole.
It was agreed that Cllr Hayden and the Clerk would review the insurance renewal documentation with a view to obtaining an alternative quotation.
Cllr Hayden asked Cllrs to keep in mind the amount of precept money being spent in comparison with other villages, a tight rein should be kept on Council Tax, as elected Cllrs who are representing the residents and we should not spend without due care and attention.
48.16 Finance:
a)Payment of accounts
Expenditure:
£21.87 – HDC(100942)
£305.21 – Salaries (100943A)
£194.28 – BT line rental (100943B)
Receipts:
£10,835 1st half Precept
£237.50 Allotment rents
All payments were unanimously approved and all associated documentation was initialled by two signatories. It was noted that the invoice for the speed watch signs had still not been received.
The Clerk reported that the cheque raised for £128 payable to the History Society had been returned, it was agreed that it should be made payable to the Village Hall.
Cllr Hodson distributed a summary of the 2015/16 year-end accounts that he had prepared. He was thanked by Councillors for the work he had undertaken on the accounts which were duly adopted.
Cllr Hayden left the meeting at this juncture (8:45pm)
49.16 Items for discussion at the May meeting
Declarations of acceptance of office
Election of Chairman
Election of Vice Chairman
Councillor responsibilities
Speed watch
Burning of horse manure
It was noted that the Annual Meeting would commence at 6:45pm, the Annual Parish Meeting at 7:00pm followed by the Full Council meeting at 7:30pm.
50.16 Date of next meeting
Tuesday 10th May 2016
Meeting closed The Chairman thanked everyone for attending, the meeting then closed at 8:51pm
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