GREAT & LITTLE GIDDING PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Great and Little
Gidding Parish Council Meeting
Held on Tuesday 17th
December 2019 at Great Gidding Village Hall
PRESENT: Cllrs Hill, Hodson, Dear, Valderas and Pudney
116.19 Cllr
Hill welcomed those present.
117.19 To
receive apologies and reasons for absence:
Cllr
Hebb – unable to attend due to family circumstances
Cllr
Page – resigned due to personal circumstances
District
Councillor Alban – due to ill health
County
Councillor Gardener – attending another Parish Council meeting
118.19 There were no Member’s declaration
of Disclosable Interests for items on the Agenda
119.19 Public & Press participation
session with respect to items on the Agenda – no press or public were present.
120.19 To confirm and accept minutes of
the meeting held on 19th November 2019 Cllr Hill signed – approved
by Cllr Hodson and seconded by Cllr Dear
Matters arising from
those minutes:
Vodaphone contract had
been renewed by Cllr Hill, Clerk advised there had been a small increase in the
monthly direct debit (£31.00 to £32.20), which Cllr Hill will enquire about.
Cllr Hill had written to Anglian Water regarding the frequency
of water main leaks in recent years (copy to Environmental Health Dept. of
Huntingdonshire District Council) – replies are awaited.
Clerk had reported the water running from the drain in
Main Street to Anglian Water, who responded that it was due to recent heavy
rainfall.
121.19 COUNCIL
ISSUES TO NOTE:
To
receive reports from Councillors:
Cllrs
Valderas and Hodson had nothing to report.
Cllr
Pudney will submit the first draft of the Risk Assessment(s) to the
January meeting.
Cllr Dear had a resident complaining about the footpath being
blocked (past Chapel End pond, across the field and out onto Mill Road) and had
advised the resident to report online (Parish Clerk has already reported
online).
Cllr Hill had
heard that the feasibility study for the Local Highways Initiative bid has been
completed, the overall cost to Cambs CC is estimated at £7741, The Parish Council would be expected to
contribute £1000 if the scheme receives approval (the speed awareness sign
would be an additional cost to the Parish Council). The Cambs CC technical
appraisal rated our bid “green” with an “amber caveat” being applied against
the width of the roadside verges for installation of the high visibility “speed
gates”; the Parish Council will review the bid and may decide to withdraw the request
for high visibility “speed gates” to give our overall bid a higher chance of
success.
From
Parish Clerk – Section 137 money has increased to £8.32 per elector for 2020-21
financial year.
Clerk
had attended the recent Parish Clerk’s Forum as the speaker was a grass/grounds
contractor who had some useful hints and tips regarding maintenance of grass.
122.19 FINANCIAL MATTERS:
a) to note Barclays Bank
statements and letter re. Instant Access accounts
b) to note the Budget control statement (spreadsheet
available at meeting) – a full copy of the spreadsheet was made available to
Councillors, together with information regarding Parish Council Reserves.
c) PAYMENTS AND ACCOUNTS – to approve and sign cheques
in respect of the following:
1) ***CGM Group
– grass cutting on 9th September £130.97 (21.83 VAT)
(Clerk has queried the
invoice – this will not be paid until further research has been carried out to
establish why this payment is required).
2) GG Village Hall – support for Games Club £50.00 (no VAT)
3) Great Gidding Charity – support for Orchard
Project £200.00
(no VAT)
5) J R Trolove – Clerks working hours for October £xxx (no
VAT)
6) HMRC tax in respect of October salary £10.60
(no VAT)
7) to
approve Clerk’s hours worked between 1st and 30th November
8) Viking
supplies – print cartridges + stationery £102.95 (20.60 VAT)
123.19 Request received from resident for
village to purchase large poppies for display prior to Remembrance Day/or
alternative ideas/VE Day event.
Clerk has requested
information about availability and cost of poppies. The resident wanted to replicate Sawtry
parish example of attaching them to lamp posts – this would require a
licence/permission to be obtained for each lamp post (cost not yet known) from
Balfour Beatty (the contractor with responsibility for lamp posts. Clerk suggested that Gidding devise its own
style of commemoration, possibly using knitted/handmade poppies, wooden cut-outs
placed on the green opposite the shop or on the grass bank outside the
Church. Councillors were asked to come
up with ideas for the February meeting.
Cllr Dear suggested, in relation to the VE Commemoration in May 2020
that the village hold an event, possibly on the Recreation Field – this will be
discussed again at a future meeting with a view to getting both school and
residents involved in the event. Clerk will advise the resident of the ongoing
discussions.
124.19 Recreation Ground update –
Cllr Pudney had
researched grants available through the Mick George Community Fund, with a view
to using the grant for the all-weather surface. The initial step is to obtain any planning
permissions that are required for the site and contact will be made with the
Planning Department of Huntingdonshire District Council.
Cllr
Hill had repaired the Tai-Chi disc on the multi-gym as the replacement part had
been delivered (free of charge due to unacceptable delay).
Bin moved near to
container – this will be reviewed in the summer months to see if the bin is
being used and/or needs to be moved back to the entrance to the Recreation
Field.
Cllr Hodson advised that the hedge is still to be
cut but the weather is preventing the contractor accessing the site.
125.19 Grass
cutting contract for 2020/21
Proposal
to instruct contractor – Cllr Dear proposed that Bradgate be instructed to
carry out the grass cutting contract, this was seconded by Cllr Valderas.
126.19 CIL
report and return –
There has been one CIL
payment received in the last 18 months, in respect of the development in Laurel
Farm yard. Clerk will complete and
submit the paperwork, advising that the payment will be used to fund
improvements to the village road safety infrastructure.
127.19 Clerk’s salary review for
2020/21(in accordance with Financial Regulation 4.4)
4.4.
The salary budgets are to be reviewed at least annually in December for the
following financial year and such review shall be evidenced by a hard copy
schedule signed by the Clerk and the Chairman of Council. The Clerk will inform
committees of any changes impacting on their budget requirement for the coming
year in good time.
Clerk left
the meeting for this discussion and, on return, was advised that her salary
will remain the same for 2020/21.
128.19 Correspondence
received since 19th November 2019 (other than that discussed in
agenda items above). Correspondence that
was available to view at the meeting, included the following:
- Email from the
Fire Authority regarding their Risk Management Plan
- Planning Application (received morning of meeting)
Proposal: Demolition of a 9″ thick garden wall and
replacement with a close boarded timber fence.
Site Address: Outbuildings Rear Of 80 Main Street Great Gidding
Reference: 19/02422/FUL129.19
Cllr Hodson recommended refusal and the Parish Council
to request that the wall be replaced, including the gateway, other Councillors
were in agreement.
129.19 Items
for decisions at next meeting:
Speaker or event for Annual Parish Meeting – a recent
email had been received regarding First Responders, Clerk enquired if this
would be a suitable speaker at the Annual Parish Meeting. It was agreed that this would not be
pursued. Cllr Dear suggested a visit
from the A14 Highways Information Team – Clerk will make enquiries to see what
can be offered and report back to a future meeting.
Risk Assessments
130.19 Date of next meeting – Tuesday
21st January 2020,
starting at 1930 hours in the Village Hall, Great
Gidding
Meeting
closed at 20.55
