Minutes of the Meeting of Great & Little Gidding
Parish Council held on 21st July 2015, 7.30pm
Present: Cllrs Alexander (Chair), Giddens, Hodson, Howden, Hayden, James and the Clerk
Members of the public: 1
D Cllr: Tuplin
C Cllr: Bywater
Key: CCC Cambridgeshire County Council
HDC Huntingdonshire District Council
145.15 Chairman’s Welcome
146.15 To receive apologies and reasons for absence
None.
147.15 Member’s declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests
None.
148.15 Public and press participation session with respect to items on the agenda
None.
149.15 To confirm and accept minutes of 16th June 2015 Minutes were, unanimously, approved by the PC.
The Chairman signed and dated them.
150.15 Matters arising from minutes (information only)
None.
151.15 Communication from District and County Cllrs
Reports were heard from D Cllr Tuplin and C Cllr Bywater.
C Cllr Bywater offered to support the PC in any applications for the Local Highways Improvement initiative (LHI).
D Cllr Tuplin advised that he had been notified about an 18c wall in the village and that he had requested HDC contact the owners, before it is taken down.
At this point D Cllr Tuplin and C Cllr Bywater left the meeting.
152.15 Communication from Parish Cllrs Reports were heard from the Parish Councillors.
Cllr James reported that:
• There had been no update from Cambridgeshire Future Transport.
• Works to reduce the overgrown vegetation on the bend by the recreation ground had been put out to tender.
• She had photographed areas outside the thatched cottage on Chapel End which appeared to be unsatisfactory work.
• She had discovered a fallen bough of an ash tree across the bridleway accessed from Luddington Road. Debris had been removed. She advised that attention was needed on the remainder of the tree.
Clerk was requested to report the apparent, unsatisfactory, Chapel End work to CCC and to advise David Buttery (Joliffe Daking) regarding attention to the ash tree.
153.15 Communication from Village Hall Charity Committee
Clerk to forward the most recent minutes to the Cllrs.
Cllr Alexander reported that the grant application for new curtains had not been successful and the facia board at the front of the hall was to be replaced. Cllr Hodson reported that the end of year accounts had been recorded on the Charity Commission website.
154.15 Clerk’s report, inc:-
Status of invoicing for parish land
Clerk reported that the tenants of the parish land had been invoiced and they had communicated when they would pay. Clerk was requested to review the contracts to establish whether it was allowable for the tenants to sub-let.
Clerk advised that she was taking annual leave on Thursday 23rd July.
155.15 Correspondence received, inc:-
a) Email – CCC, Local Highways Improvement initiative
PC noted.
b) Email – CCC, Part-night Lighting implementation
PC noted.
c) Email – HDC, Gambling Act 2005 Draft statement of Principles consultation
PC noted.
d) Email (letter) – CCC, Public Rights of Way grass cutting update
PC noted.
e) Email – HDC, Licensing Act 2003 Draft Statement of Licensing Policy consultation
PC noted.
f) Email – HDC, Houghton and Wyton Submission Neighbourhood Plan
PC noted.
g) Email – The Rural Services Network, survey
PC noted.
h) Email – East Northamptonshire Council, Pre-Submission North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy
PC noted.
i) Email – Village Hall Committee – WW2 event cancellation and Parish Council contribution
PC noted.
Following a discussion, it was, unanimously, agreed for the Village Hall Committee to retain the costs incurred in preparing for the event – £50.00 band deposit, £21.00 alcohol licence. The remaining £179.00 was to be returned to the Parish Council funds. Clerk was requested to communicate this with the Village Hall Committee.
156.15 Finance, inc:-
a) Payment of accounts
Expenditure
£305.21 – Salaries (STO)
£14.07 – BT June payment (DD)
£102.89 – CGM, grass cutting (CHQ 100916)
£40.78 – Anglian Water, Rec Field (DD)
£2.50 – Stationery (paper) (CHQ 100917)
£35.00 – Data Protection Registration renewal (CHQ 100918)
Receipts
None
All payments were, unanimously, approved. Paperwork and cheques were signed by two signatories.
b) To note the reconciled bank account balance
£11,052.94 Current Account
£15,780.14 Deposit Account
157.15 To receive a quotation from CGM Group to spray weeds in the areas of hard standing around the Village Hall, not including the removal of dead weeds.
The PC reviewed the quotation of £320.83, inc VAT, for 5 sprays per annum and it was, unanimously, agreed that the village maintain the hard standing area on a voluntary basis.
158.15 Planning
None.
159.15 Health & Safety matters, inc:-
Update on :
a) The state of the jitty – Clerk
The Clerk reported that CCC has advised that after reviewing the jitty, they considered it to be clear of debris and in a satisfactory condition. Cllr Giddens felt it would be a good idea to sweep the area and offered to do this with the assistance of another member of the public. Cllr Giddens also expressed her concern regarding some tree branches she considered were in need of trimming. It was resolved for individuals to report concerns of this nature, personally, on the CCC website, fault reporting page,
www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk
b) Gains Lane, overhanging branches – Clerk
Clerk was requested to add this information to the website.
The Clerk reported that she had been advised by CCC that the branch trimming work was due to commence in the next couple of weeks, approximately. Clerk was requested to gain a definite date of works commencement and request a copy of the brief that the contractors would be working from. The Clerk was also requested to contact Les Middleton to ascertain who would be covering the Giddings area in the absence of Tony King and to request that that person to visit with a couple of Cllrs to ascertain which trees in Gains Lane belong to whom – CCC/Milton Estates?
At this point Cllr Hayden left the meeting.
160.15 Play equipment on the recreation ground, update – Cllr James
Cllr James reported that she expected an answer by the end of the week. To be reported at the next meeting.
161.15 Tree Survey, update – Cllr Alexander
Cllr Alexander reported that he had organised for another tree surgeon the review the trees. To be reported at the next meeting.
162.15 Village Hall notice board replacement, update – Cllr Alexander
Cllr Alexander reported that he had sourced an aluminium framed, magnetic, notice board at £199.00. He was requested to compare the price against a similar product, however, the PC were satisfied with the product and price. To be reviewed at the next meeting.
163.15 Update regarding use of Community Payback Team (CPT) – Cllr James
Cllr James reported that after several attempts, she had not received back any communication from the CPT and it was, unanimously, agreed not to continue pursuing this avenue.
164.15 Update on village sign work – Cllr James
Cllr James reported that she had emailed two sources to gain quotations for the works, however, as yet, she had been unsuccessful. It was, unanimously, agreed that she continue.
165.15 Approval of ‘Welcome Pack’ for new residents to the village
Cllr Giddens provided a copy of a leaflet that had been, kindly, put together by a member of the public. It was discussed and agreed that an electronic version be emailed to all Cllrs. To be discussed at the next meeting.
166.15 Policy review, inc:-
Risk Assessment, update – Cllr Alexander
Cllr Alexander explained that he had not had time to address this and it was suggested that another member take ownership. Clerk to email a model version of the Risk Assessment to Cllr James to be reviewed and approved at the next meeting.
167.15 Items for the next CLARION
Clerk to print the CLARION this coming week and Cllr James to deliver.
The member of the public left the meeting at this point.
168.15 Items for discussion on next agenda
Continuing discussions. Actions from the Clerk’s Appraisal – Clerk’s hours, CAPALC membership discussion, assessment of Trustee’s training needs plus to consider maximising investments.
169.15 Date of next meeting
18th August 2015.
This section of the meeting was closed to the public
Staffing Matters
The Clerk was requested to leave the room while the PC discussed the following two items.
She returned and minuted the outcome of the discussions.
170.15 To confirm the completion of the Clerk’s annual appraisal and confirm actions
Cllrs Howden and Giddens confirmed that the Clerk’s annual appraisal had been completed on Monday 20th July 2015.
The associated actions are listed above for discussion at the next meeting.
171.15 To discuss a request from the Clerk for her to work from home during school holiday periods
The PC, unanimously, agreed for the Clerk to work from home during this current summer holiday period, ending on 3rd September 2015. This was to be seen as a trial run and was not to be assumed that permission was granted for the Clerk to work from home during any future school holiday period. The PC requested the Clerk put up a notice on the office window advising the public that she was working from home and to provide a mobile phone number for those wishing to contact her. The PC also requested the Clerk forward the office phone to her mobile.
The Clerk agreed to these stipulations and thanked the PC was their flexibility.
Meeting closed 9.25pm
Date of next meeting
18th August 2015
