Minutes of the meeting held at Great Gidding Village Hall on Tuesday 15th June 2021
Present: Cllrs Hodson, Hill, Cotton, Maciag and Pudney, District Councillor Tuplin, County Councillor Gardener and the Clerk. 1 member of the Public
023.21 Cllr Hodson, as Chairman, welcomed those present to the meeting
024.21 District Councillor Alban sent his apologies as he was attending another Parish Council meeting
025.21 Member’s declaration of Disclosable Interests for items on the Agenda
Cllr Cotton in respect of 031.21 a)
Cllr Maciag in respect of 031.21 b)
026.21 There was no Public or Press participation session
Member of the public was given a copy of the minutes of the May meeting.
027.21 To confirm and accept minutes of the meeting held on 18th May 2021
Cllr Pudney proposed and Cllr Hill seconded
028.21 There were no matters arising from those Minutes that will not be discussed as agenda item.
029.21 To receive reports from Councillors and Clerk:
District Councillor Gardener:
He advised that in the County Council elections held on 6 May, he had been returned as the County Councillor for our area. 43% of the local population voted on that day. As there was no overall control of the County Council a pact has been formed by Labour/Liberal Democrats and Independent Councillors, this arrangement will be reviewed every 6 months and Council meetings will be held quarterly. One of the first decisions taken was to abolish the Health Committee and this now forms part of the Adults Committee (looks after the interests of those aged 18+, includes Social Care and has the largest spend).
His Councillor remit is to cover Planning Committee, Pensions Committee, Environment Committee and Fire Authority.
He advised that Jo Hudson, the Highways Officer covering our area, is currently covering the St Ives area too and this may create delays regarding Local Highways initiative bids.
***Cllr Hill has been in correspondence with Jo Challis and Calvin Mugemuzi regarding the LHI bids for this Parish, whilst a start has been made on the projects, both a lack of sign availability and sub contractors (SKANSKA) lack of labour are likely to add to the delays.
County Councillor Gardener left the meeting at this point to attend another Parish Council meeting.
District Councillor Tuplin had been invited to the meeting to share his knowledge of Planning matters, to assist Councillors to assess and give valid planning reasons for acceptance or objection to Planning Applications.
Councillor Hodson thanked District Councillor Tuplin for attending and providing useful information and insight into the Planning process.
Councillor Tuplin left the meeting.
Councillor Pudney – asked the Clerk about landowner responsibilities for trees adjacent to The Jitty (Main Street to Gains Lane) – Clerk advised that there were several landowners, including Milton Estates and, as it was felt that the trees on Milton Estates land were needing attention – Clerk will request an on-site meeting with the Land Agent to assess what can be done. Cllr Hodson advised that a tree survey has been carried out by Ayres Tree Services (approx. 2 years ago) of all trees in the Parish.
Parents of children attending the village school have expressed concern about the speed of vehicles driven by USAF Molesworth staff – they pass by the school at the end of the school day, not complying with the 30MPH restrictions and, due to their uniforms and vehicles, it is obvious where they have travelled from – the Clerk will write to the Base Commander and bring it to their attention.
Councillor Hill – emails have been received from Jo Challis (CambsCC Highways Dept) regarding the siting of the speed activation device – it should be in situ for 4 weeks and then removed or moved to another post every 4 weeks, this would appear to be a legal requirement. Cllr Hill enquired in the Parish wished to proceed with a device and the decision to continue was agreed by all present.
Cllr Hill was requested to respond to the Highways Department to enquire:
- As the Parish will only have one post for the device initially, could it by turned through 180 degrees, thereby taking readings from a different positon.
- It is difficult to find a suitable site for a second post near to the bottom crossroads, could a site be found between the School and Church Farm.
Cllr Hodson enquired if the device would continue to take speed readings when it was not “flashing”?
Councillors Cotton, Maciag and Hodson had nothing to report.
030.21 FINANCIAL MATTERS:
a) Barclays Bank statements shared prior to the meeting.
b) Cashflow spreadsheet shared prior to the meeting
c) PAYMENTS AND ACCOUNTS –
| Who | What for | TOTAL Amount | VAT | Authorised | Authoriseded | |
| 15 | Bradgate Fencing | Grass cutting | 199.32 | 33.22 | JRT+PH | |
| 16 | Milton Estates | Footpath Rental | £1.00 | NONE | JRT+PH | |
| 17 | J R Trolove | Wages for April – 36 hours | £xxx | NONE | JRT+PH | |
| 18 | Catalyst Design | Website hosting + domain name renewal | 132.77 | 22.13 | JRT+PH | |
Payments were approved by Cllrs Pudney and Cotton.
d) Clerk’s hours worked between 1st and 31st May ( 31 hours) – approved by Cllrs Hill and Maciag
e) Update of signatories on Barclays Bank accounts – Cllr Pudney will become a signatory in place of Cllr Hill – forms signed and will be sent to Barclays. Approved by Cllr Maciag.
031.21 To view the AGAR documents prepared for the Internal Auditor’s visit.
Proposal to agree and sign the AGAR for the year 2020/21.
To view the Annual Governance Statement for 2020/21.
All Councillors had been sent copies of the AGAR and associated documents prior to the meeting and approved the content. Cllr Hodson and Clerk signed the documents.
032.21 Planning workshop with District Councillor Dick Tuplin – see 029.21
033.21 a) Planning application to be considered – : 21/00790/HHFUL
6 Luddington Road – deadline 23 June 2021 (Cllr Cotton declared an interest)
No observations in favour or against.
b) Planning application to be considered – 21/01169/HHFUL
The Old Chapel, Main Street – deadline 2 July 2021 (Cllr Maciag declared an interest)
No observations in favour or against
034.21 Training for Parish Councillors and Clerk – Clerk had forwarded dates of future training dates and encouraged Councillors to attend. Cllrs Maciag and Pudney will attend when work commitments permit.
035.21 Recreation Ground Update:
Refurbishment of the seat – Cllrs Pudney and Macaig to order parts and commence required work.
Monthly safety checks – Cllr Hodson has removed waste bins (stored in the container).
He found the door handle and lock on the toilet unit had been vandalised again, and the window broken with additional minor damage. He will purchase and replace the door handle, replace the glass in the window with Perspex too.
Clerk will request an update regarding the MUGA planning application.
037.21 Allotment Lease Agreement was signed by Cllr Pudney for the Parish Council and Cllr Hodson for the Charity Trustees.
038.21 Co-option of Parish Councillor – member of the public expressed an interest in joining the Parish Council and signed a Co-option form at the meeting. Cllr Hodson welcomed him to the Parish Council.
039.21 Correspondence received since 18th May 2021 (other than that discussed in agenda items above). Emails have been shared immediately with Parish Councillors
a) email from Dr Nick Johnson – Combined authority proposal for St Ives
b) email from Huntingdonshire DC, Healthy Lifestyles – various activities available
c) email from Cambridgeshire CC – street lighting attachments
d) email from Neighbourhood Alert regarding suspicious emails/scams
040.21 Items for decisions at next meeting:
Prepare for Co-option of Parish Councillor
Approval of the content of the issue of Gidding News before sending to printers – include use of the Defibrillator (YouTube or other online link) or in person workshop.
Renewable Energy potential in the parish
Queens Jubilee in 2022 – event in the Jubilee Wood, tree planting areas, other suggestions.
041.21 The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 20th July
starting at 1930 hours in the Village Hall, Great Gidding
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