Parish Council Minutes

Present:  Councillors Hodson, Moody, Hargrave, D’Altilia, and Maciag and the Clerk. 

172.23 Cllr Hodson, as Chairman, welcomed those present to the meeting

173.23 Apologies for absence:

County Councillor Gardener – at another meeting

Councillor Sanders – work commitments

Councillor Bolton – not available

174.23 Cllr Hodson declared an interest in agenda item 181.23

175.23 There were no members of Press or Public in attendance

176.23 Minutes of the meeting held on 20^th February 2024 were declared as a correct record – proposed by Cllr Moody and seconded by Cllr Hargrave

177.23 Reports from Councillors and Clerk:

Cllr Maciag had attended a meeting with HuntsDC and other members of the Neighbourhood Plan group to discuss the draft policy.  They were advised that some re-editing was required, particularly with regard to policies and planning matters.  Once this has been completed, the Plan will be re-submitted to HuntsDC.

Also, monies left in the Neighbourhood Plan budget will have to be returned to the Department of Levelling Up after the end of the financial year on 30^th March 2024, and then re-applied for in respect of the 2024-25 budget.

Clerk – PCSO Sergeant Martin has accepted the invitation to attend the Annual Parish Meeting.

Clerk has completed an online survey from CambsCC regarding the re-introduction by the Council to spray weeds with chemicals – the request was made to include our Parish in weed spraying schedules.

Clerk had forwarded to Councillors the recently received email about alternative plans for those who have not signed up to the Garden Waste Subscription Service.  Larger villages will have a monthly collection, Great & Little Gidding fall into another category where they were offered up to 10 bins to be sited/emptied from Parish Council owned property.  Lengthy discussion followed regarding locations and logistics.  District Councillor Alban joined the meeting during this discussion, having been at the Folksworth & Washingley Parish Council meeting, where similar questions and observations were made.  On the whole it was felt that the District Council was transferring many problems and issues regarding green waste disposal to Parish Councils and the Clerk was asked to compile an email of comments and observations and send to the District Council (cc to Cllr Alban).

District Cllr Alban reminded those present of the District Wide Parish Council meeting to be held on the evening of 20^th March at Norman Cross Motel.

Cllr Hodson asked if anything further had been heard about HuntsDC Call for Sites report  (Clerk had checked their website and there was no mention) – he will enquire about its progress.

178.23 Financial Matters

            a a) to note Barclays Bank statements for Parish Council account.

• Parish Council (everyday) Account  – balance as at 4/3/2024 £2323.92 (includes £500 bequest)
  • Parish Council Deposit Account – balance as at 4/3/2024 £26,286.99 (1.85% interest applicable)
  • Defibrillator account – balance as at 4/3/2023 – £248.84

b) PAYMENTS – Clerks wages and Village Hall payments were approved

* see 182.23 regarding the Microsoft payment.

c) Clerk’s working hours for February were approved as a total of 30.5.

179.23 Planning applications and other planning matters

            61 Main Street – extension to form orangery.

            As this was a resubmission of a lapsed permission, the Parish Council have no objections.

180.23 School playground – proposal from Milton Estates.  Cllr Maciag had advised Milton Estates that the Parish Council would not be buying or leasing the School House from them.  Milton Estates then asked if the Parish Council would continue with the project to convert the school playground to a MUGA – Councillors agreed that Cllr Maciag should advise Milton Estates that the Parish Council are still interested in this site.

181.23 Allotments – Cllr Hodson requests approval  for installation of 8 x 6 shed, to replace an existing shed on his allotment – approved by Cllr Moody and seconded by Cllr Hargrave.

182.23 IT and online storage – Clerk has had issues with the laptop as storage capacity of 5MB was overfull and emails could no longer be sent or received.  She has deleted lots of non-essential documents and emails, stored documents on memory sticks and this has alleviated the problem for the very short term, and was grateful for advice from a resident.  Part of the problem is due to the expiry of the Microsoft package.  Discussion followed about payment for the Microsoft package, now only available online via payment by debit/credit card, which the Parish Council does not have. 

            Clerk was asked to enquire how other Parish Clerks overcome this.

            Clerk was recommended to purchase an external hard drive to increase storage capacity.

183.23 Highways, Byways and Footpaths

Hemington Lodge Road – Temporary Traffic Road Closure mid-April for repairs.  Clerk had been contacted by Clearchannel and directed them to CambsCC Highways Dept  to answer their specific enquiries.

Chapel End – Temporary Prohibition of through traffic between 12^th and 18^th March – this was thought to be another water leak issue between the Mill and Gains Lane, but details are not known

184.23 Recreation Ground – application to HuntsDC for bio-diversity grant was unsuccessful.  Councillors agreed not to reapply.

185.23 Village Maintenance

Benches in Main Street – one quote has been provided,  Cllr Hodson felt this was too high, various suggestions made about how to get this work done and this will be added to the April meeting agenda.

Cllr Moody requested Clerk to enquire of Highways Dept if 2 x 3 seater benches can be sited on the area of grass opposite the shop (intersection on the Luddington Road/Winwick Road).

186.23 Correspondence received since 20^th February 2024:

a) NALC

b) Cambridgeshire County Council

• Help at home – care micro enterprises
• www.volunteercambs.org.uk – ways to volunteer and where
• Traffic Management Centre monthly report
• Easter Holiday Activities and Food Programme

c) Huntingdonshire District Council

• Installation of cigarette butt bins in centre of Huntingdon
• Community bio-diversity grant scheme
• Police & Crime Commissioner election on 2 May 2024 – poster re identification requirement
• Festival of Huntingdonshire – slides from the online session
• Reminder that householders can still sign up for Green Bin collection

d) Cambs ACRE – staying in touch, Kirsten Bennett to step down as Chief Executive,

e) CAPALC – March training sessions, selling D DAY 80 Flag of Peace,

f) eCOPS etc – tackling speeding, parking and anti-social behaviour,  news from the Courts,  Police Community Engagement sessions, Action Fraud

g) Parish Online – newsletter

h) Jon Parsons – email request to metal detect on Parish Council property – Clerk will respond as Parish Council does not own land that can be detected.

i) Barclays Bank – scams and how to avoid them

j) Ian Clarke Dip Arb L4 (ABC) TechArborA, Arboricultural Consultant, S P Landscapes & Tree Contractors Ltd – offer to survey trees in the parish – Clerk will retain this information for the future survey of trees in the Parish.

187.23 Items for next Meeting (including Annual Parish Meeting):

            21^st May is the date of the Annual Parish Meeting – preparation of annual review

Preparation of Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR)

Appoint an Auditor to carry out Internal review

188.23 The next meeting of the Parish Council will take place on

Tuesday 16^th April 2024 at Great Gidding Village Hall, starting at 7.30PM

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 16^th January 2024

Present:  Councillors Hodson, Bolton,  Maciag, Moody, Hargrave, D’Altilia and Sanders, and the Clerk. 

146.23 Cllr Hodson, as Chairman, welcomed those present to the meeting

147.23 Apologies and reasons for absence were received from:

            County Councillor Gardener – attending another meeting

            District Councillor Alban – attending another meeting                    

148.23 Member’s declaration of Disclosable Interests for items on the Agenda were made by Cllr Hodson in respect of 155.23 – Allotments

149.23 No members of Public & Press were in attendance

150.23 Minutes of the meeting held on 19^th December  2023 were confirmed as a true and correct record by Cllrs Bolton and Maciag.                       

151.23 Reports from Councillors and Clerk:

            Cllr Bolton – Cllrs had agreed, prior to this meeting, not to submit an LHI bid for the current round of assessment and funding.  The details of the next round of 20MPH bid process had been received and Cllr Bolton agreed to resubmit the application  in respect of Church Lane, Little Gidding.

Cllr Hargrave will attend a meeting on infra-red heating (for the Village Hall) on 24^th January.

Cllr Maciag advised that the first draft of the Neighbourhood Plan is on track to be sent to Hunts DC by the end of January.

Cllr Moody had read through the accompanying documents for the recent CambsCC Budget meeting  (Clerk and Councillors had not been available to attend the online meeting).  Her summary was that there were many budget cuts to be made, but nothing that would greatly impact on our residents.

Clerk had corresponded with the developer of the Gains Lane property regarding items left on the roadside – he advised the landscaping of the property is to be completed when better weather arrives, and the former property owner has an outstanding matter to complete.

Gidding News had been distributed at the end of December – so far there have been no responses to questions/requests made.

152.23 FINANCIAL MATTERS:

            a) to note Barclays Bank statements for Parish Council account.

• Parish Council (everyday) Account  – balance as at 4/12/2023 £6048.11 (includes £500 bequest)
  • Parish Council Deposit Account – balance as at 22/12/2023   £26,189.05 (1.85% interest applicable)
  • Defibrillator account – balance as at 4/12/2023 – £247.91

            b) PAYMENTS – the following online payments were approved by all:

• to approve Clerk’s working hours for November       –         total of 31.5.  These hours were approved by all.

Cllr Hodson advised that, after updating the cash flow forecast, the budget figures were all adequate but, due to the various additional issues that had arisen during 2023, the wages budget would be exceeded.

It was agreed that a further £50 should be added to the Website budget to cover any future storage/amendment requirements.

153.23 PLANNING applications and other planning matters:

1. School playground area/School House  – the registration of the area as an Asset of Community Value was unsuccessful.  Contact is now John MacMillan of the Property Team at CambsCC (Jonathan Lewis to leave the employ of the County Council in the near future).

An additional meeting of the Trustees of the Village Hall & Recreation Ground will be held in February, to consider all community assets and the way forward.

• Anaerobic Digester – nothing further heard on 10/1/2024
• Galliford Try/Cornerstone – have  acknowledged the “no objections”  email sent following the December meeting, regarding the proposed telecommunications base station to be sited at Longbrook Farm, Thurning, PE8 5RG

154.23 Roads, footpaths and bridleways:

a) Clerk has obtained a quote for an additional speed camera, to be sited on the second post opposite Manor Site Farm – Cllr Moody proposed the purchase of another unit, seconded by Cllr Hargrave. 

Further road safety measures were discussed for presentation as a future bid for LHI funding.

b) Ian Gardener/Tim Alban/Highways Department – correspondence regarding Milking Slade and Bullock Road potholes – Highways Department had visited and will take action.  District Cllr Alban has also reported the damaged name plate on the sign for Hemington Lodge Road – Clerk had measured the sign and this will be replaced by CambsCC contractor.

155.23 Allotments – it was agreed that the rent should remain at £25 per allotment.  No additional  terms or amendment to the tenancy agreement were required. 
At the next meeting of Gidding Charity Trustees (owner of the allotment site), the water meter/high increase in water charge will be discussed

156.23 Correspondence received since 21^st December 2023:

a) NALC newsletters –NALC events list, Legal update, Consultation to update the Model Financial Regulations, Legal Update (including fire safety for non-domestic buildings)

b) Cambridgeshire County Council –

• Cambridgeshire Matters monthly newsletter INCLUDING
• Traffic Management Centre – reports for incidents in December
• Request for volunteers to join schools admissions panel

c) Huntingdonshire District Council –

• Press release – 4/1 first Community Biodiversity Grant awarded.
• Press release – 8/1 regarding St Neots Town Centre Improvement project.
• Press release – 37 community spaces awarded funding
• Various emails from Emergency Planning Tactical Co-Ordinating Group (TCG) regarding flooding incidents
• Town and Parish Council Newsletter – forwarded on 10/1/2023 prior to meeting
• CAPALC– several emails about the various training courses available, January bulletin forwarded to Councillors prior to meeting, some important changes in fire safety legislation recently following the introduction of the Building Safety Act 2023,

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority –

 Combined Authority Local Transport and Connectivity Plan team

f)Greater Peterborough/Greater Cambridge Partnerships

g) Neighbourhood Alert/ECOPS etc –

News from the Courts emails

Tackling lorry thefts across Cambridgeshire and how to protect your lorry

h) Cambridgeshire ACRE –

i)  Parish Online Newsletter – January

j) email from resident suggesting showing of film “6 Inches of Soil”  – Cllr Hodson thought this should be explored further.  The resident will be requested to provide further information.

k) Gigaclear have forwarded the slides that were used in their December presentation

l) BHIB Councils (Parish Council insurer) have changed name to Clear Councils from 1/12/2023, email regarding hints and tips for dealing with winter weather.

m) North Northants Council advise (22/12/23) on 7 December 2023, the meeting of the Full Council approved the adoption of the East Northamptonshire Local Plan Part 2.  http://www.northnorthants.gov.uk/ENLP

n) from Abigail Benson, Milton Estates, to advise that the Dryer Yard is to be marketed for sale.

o) Cambridgeshire Home Improvement Agency – offer to advise/guide on available grants and products – Cllr Hargrave had expressed an earlier interest in this scheme and it had been mentioned on the December issue of Gidding News.

157.23 Items for next meeting:

            Village litter pick and tidy up tasks

            20MPH scheme for Little Gidding     

158.23 The next meeting of the Parish Council will take place on

Tuesday 20^th February 2024 at Great Gidding Village Hall, starting at 7.30PM

The February meeting will be followed by a Village Hall & Recreation Field meeting.

Meeting closed at 20.35

Present:  Councillors Hodson, Hargrave, Moody,  Maciag and Bolton, one member of the public  (LS), and the Clerk. 

049.23 Councillor Hodson, as Chairman, welcomed those present to the meeting

050.23 Apologies were received from:

County Councillor Gardener – will join the meeting later as he is attending another meeting.

District Councillor Alban – attending another meeting.

Councillor D’Altilia – unwell               

051.23 There were no Member’s declaration of Disclosable Interests for items on the Agenda

052.23 No members of the Press were present.  Member of the Public was in attendance for item 059.23 of the agenda.

053.23 Minutes of the meeting held on 20^th June 2023 were confirmed as a correct record, proposed by Councillor Maciag and seconded by Councillor Moody.                       

054.23 There were no matters arising from those Minutes that would not be discussed as an agenda item.       

055.23 To receive reports from Councillors and Clerk:

District Councillor Alban had sent a report via email, which the Clerk read – regarding the lengthy debate of the proposed introduction of a charge for emptying of green waste bins.  The District Council Cabinet will make a decision this evening (18^th July).  He

Clerk and Paul Hargrave had accessed the data on the speed awareness sign, approx 18 months worth of information.  Paul Hargrave had since carried out analysis of the data, a summary of which will be shared with Parish Councillors.  On the whole, in the vicinity of the speed camera, motorists were travelling within the speed limit, although it was shown that they travelled slightly faster going uphill (towards the back of the sign, which still records in this direction) – huge spikes of through traffic were recorded on cycle race days and these have been removed as they skew the figures.

There were no further reports from Parish Councillors.

County Councillor Gardener arrived later in the meeting and gave his report:

There is a Fire & Rescue related risks survey for completion online – Parish Council’s are encouraged to complete and a link will be sent to the Clerk.

Proposed congestion charge for Cambridge – 58% of Councillors were against the proposal, particularly as it included the various hospital sites in the charging zone, and there will be a review in October.

The next round of Highways Improvement bids can be submitted between 27^th October and 12^th January – non-complex (under £10,000) and complex (costing between £10,000 and £25,000) categories.  Existing submissions of 20MPH zones will be reconsidered in this process,  also buffer zones around existing speed restricted areas were proving to be successful and would be given greater consideration.

Cambridgeshire Priorities Capital Fund – deadline for applications is 24 September 2023, Clerk has forwarded details to Parish Councillors.

Following changes made by the Boundary Commission, Great & Little Gidding will remain in North West Hunts division.

Huntingdonshire District Council’s proposal to implement a £57.50 charge for emptying of green waste bins had been debated at a Council meeting for over 3 hours, there being many reasons why this would be unpopular/unworkable, a decision will be made this evening (18^th July).  If this proposal is approved, with effect from 1 April 2024, all food waste will have to be put into the grey bin, and go to landfill. (Currently, the District Council is unable to charge for emptying blue or grey bins).

In response to Councillor Gardener’s report:

Councillor Bolton asked when the outcome of 20MPH LHI submissions will be known – IG will find out.

Clerk asked for an update on when work to the footpaths would be carried out, as has been proposed by Sharon Middleton (Highways Officer) when she visited the village last year – IG will find out a timeframe for this work to be carried out.

School site – Councillor Gardener has reminded the Chair of the Children and Young People Committee, Briony Goodliff, of the Parish Council’s interest in retaining the site as a community facility.

Call for sites – these were available to read via the HuntsDC website, including those proposed for Great Gidding.  The Planning Department are reviewing the submissions now.  There will be a 10 week consultation period, possibly Spring 2024, in respect of those sites that meet the required planning guidelines and the Parish Council will be a consultee.

Suggestions were made to consider this site for having the school house listed/graded, and to register this as an Asset of Community Value

Councillor Gardener left the meeting at 21.00

056.23 FINANCIAL MATTERS:

            a)  Barclays Bank statements for Parish Council account had been shared with the agenda.

            Parish Council (everyday) Account  – balance as at 4/7/2023 £16373.86

Parish Council Deposit Account – £33.43 interest added, balance as at 22/6/2023   £16,061.85

            Defibrillator account – 51p interest received.

            b) PAYMENTS – the following online payments were approved:

• to approve Clerk’s working hours for June     –         total of  38

Payments and Clerk’s hours – approval proposed by Cllr Maciag and seconded by Cllr Moody.

• AGAR was emailed to the external auditor on 23 June, exemption certificate is awaited.  The Internal Auditor’s report was shared with the agenda.

057.23  PLANNING applications and other planning matters:

There are no new planning applications in advance of this meeting.

Clerk did comment that there had been no planning application in respect of works to Manor Barn, Main Street and, it would appear, that the entrance to the property (in the Conservation Area of the village) had been altered.

Councillor Hodson advised that, at 65 Main Street, the window size had been reduced in accordance with the submitted plans, but the stone wall has not yet been reinstated.

Clerk will email the Conservation Officer in respect of both properties.

058.23 Call for Sites – Cambs CC have submitted an application to Hunts DC in respect of the school site proposing a housing development. (see Cllr Gardener’s comment above at 055.23).  Clerk had obtained contact details of the CambsCC  employee with responsibility for the school site – an email will be sent requesting a visit/access by Parish Councillors.

059.23   Co-option of Parish Councillor – Mr Lee Sanders has completed a co-option form, introductions were made.  He was proposed as a Parish Councillor by Cllr Hodson, seconded by Cllr Maciag. 

060.23  Current Standing Orders and Financial Regulations were distributed to Parish Councillors prior to the meeting.

                Standing Orders – Cllr Moody proposed acceptance, without changes, seconded by Cllr Maciag.

                Financial Regulations – Cllr Moody proposed acceptance, without changes, seconded by Cllr Hargrave

                Other policy documents – the Clerk will research templates for required policies.

                Information Commissioners Office template for model publication scheme – suggested amendments and additions – this had proved difficult to read and will be sent again to Councillors.

061.23 Recreation Field annual inspection report from Wicksteed Playgrounds – a 42 page inspection report  had been received.  The Clerk will summarise the comments and forward to Parish Councillors

062.23 Correspondence received since 20^th June 2023:

                a) NALC newsletters – Chief Executives Bulletin, NALC events list, Star Council awards,

b) Cambridgeshire County Council – nothing received

c) Huntingdonshire District Council –

 waste minimisation meeting held on 12 July – speaker on home composting. Community Ownership Fund – webinar invitations – Cllr Hargrave will attend one of the webinars

Huntingdonshire Climate Conversation – registration required:

Friday 17th November

The event will last most of the day, we’ll confirm start and finish times in due course

The Burgess Hall, Westwood Road, St Ives, PE27 6WU

Clerk will forward details to Cllrs Moody and Hodson.

Health Inequalites – Quality of Life survey available on HuntsDC website until 4^th August

Roadside grip cutting between Winwick and Hamerton on 31^st July

 d) CAPALC – email re. Cambridgeshire Priorities Capital Fund funding – initial deadline

24/9/2023, June Bulletin forwarded to Councillors, Health inequality support services,

e) Combined Authority Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – *** has this disbanded, or replaced by the Greater Peterborough and Greater Cambridge Partnerships

f) Neighbourhood Alert/ECOPS etc – News from the Courts emails, cannabis factory alert, scam emails, youth work, cable thefts, anti-social behaviour,

g) Greater Peterborough Partnership / Greater Cambridge Partnership – bus network alongside better walking and cycling infrastructure

h) Cambs Acre – affordable rural housing

i) Keep Britain Tidy – Love Parks Week will take place from 28 July to 6 August, 2023.

062.23 Items for next meeting:

            Templates for policies, review of ICO template

            Registering properties in the Parish for Listing or Asset of Community Value

063.23 The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 15^th August 2023 at Great Gidding Village Hall