Meeting Minutes: 25th June 2020

KIMBOLTON & STONELY PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES of the Council meeting held at 7 p.m. on Thursday 25 June 2020 by means of video conferencing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

PRESENT  Councillors P Seabrook (in the Chair); K Hutchinson; D Poole; Mrs R Lloyd; Mrs C Jessup; Ms S Mugglestone; L Farrer ; Mrs J Stainer and Mrs D Hellett ..

IN ATTENDANCE  County Councillor I Gardener; District Councillor J Gray , C L Thatcher, Clerk to the Council and one member of the public.

89/20  APOLOGIES  were received from Councillor Mrs Milne..

90/20  PUBLIC FORUM  was not used.

91/20  DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS

Councillor Mrs Hellett declared her interest in the ongoing matter of Mulberry Cottage stables.

92/20  REMEMBRANCE PARADE

The Chairman welcomed David Henrick Chairman of Kimbolton & District Branch, Royal British Legion.   Mr Henrick explained that RBL nationally are no longer carrying insurance for liability resulting from the Parades and he asked whether this Council would take on responsibility for Kimbolton.

The Clerk said that he had spoken with our insurers who confirmed that our existing policy offers cover without an additional premium, subject to a risk assessment being undertaken.

Members agreed that they are willing to take on this responsibility and asked that Mr Henrick be the liaison point with the Clerk.

Mr Henrick confirmed that he would and that he will keep the Clerk informed of meetings and decisions taken.  The RBL will be responsible for obtaining the Traffic Management Order.

David Henrick left the meeting. 

93/20  COUNTY COUNCILLOR    Councillor Gardener talked about the coronavirus and the County Council’s Outbreak Control Panel.  He said the infection rate in Cambridgeshire was relatively low at 178.4 per 1000, compared with overall at 269.6 per 1000.

A plan for Care Homes was underway, together with PPE supplies.

The County’s energy plan for schools has seen some schools upgrade from oil based to carbon neutral and Grafham Water Park and Huntingdon Library are both now carbon neutral.

All recycling centres are now open, though a booking system has been introduced to manage the queue of cars.

As of today, Councillor Gardener is a member of the Internal Management Group.

There is still plenty of time for LHI bids to be submitted.

He said that he will chase the repair to the Tollfield footpath and trusts that he will receive praise for having arranged the filling of most potholes in Easton Road!

Councillor Gardener will also enquire the status of the Stattie Fair, following last year’s complaint.

A decision on the funding for the pedestrian crossing will be made in the next two weeks.

The Chairman asked him to note that some footpaths have not been properly cut by contractors.

94/20  MINUTES  The minutes of the Council meeting of 28 May 2020 were read, and approved  as a true record of that meeting.

95/20  MATTERS ARISING

• Neighbourhood Watch.   Nothing to report.

             Councillor Farrer left the meeting, took no part in the discussion and did not vote.

• Hearse House .  The Clerk said that the application to PWLB had been returned together with a 12 page questionnaire asking such questions as the necessity for the repairs; whether residents had been consulted etc etc.   This was quite a contrast to the last loan application which was made, but now it is being dealt with by a different government department.   He said that in view of the time this could take, he now recommended that we use reserves to pay for the repairs and delay requesting a loan until such time as a significant project is undertaken.
• This was agreed and it was proposed by Councillor Mrs Stainer, seconded by Councillor Poole and unanimously agreed that the estimate of E Farrer & Sons be accepted,
• Churchyard Cobbles   The Clerk confirmed that the PCC were willing to contribute £2000 towards the cost of repairing/replacing the cobbles in the churchyard and it was agreed to instruct Messrs E Farrer & Sons to undertake the work at an estimated cost of £7500.
• Annual Parish Meeting – request for noticeboard at The Leys   The Clerk said that he had been unable to find a company making basic boards at a reasonable price and asked if anyone could suggest someone locally.  A name was put forward and the Clerk will contact him.
• Pound Lane Working Party  The Chairman said that a Zoom meeting is proposed.
• Twinning with Fernie.  Not progressed due to circumstances.
• Halls Meadow Planting. Councillor Hutchinson suggested that replacement trees/shrubs are planted at the appropriate time and this was agreed..
• Pedestrian Crossing.  District Councillor Jonathan Gray said that Huntingdonshire District are happy to support the proposal and to provide match funding.

96/20   PLANNING MATTERS.

• Applications  

20/00928/LBC  Unit 2 Cromwell Court – create 2 apartments in two upper floors.

It was proposed by Councillor Poole, seconded by Councillor Mrs Lloyd and unanimously recommended for approval as appropriate development.

20/00887    Land rear of 23 Stow Road – erect two outbuildings.

It was proposed by Councillor Mrs Lloyd, seconded by Councillor Mrs Hellett and unanimously agreed to recommend refusal as this remains back-land development; the unrelated frontage dwelling is in different ownership and the site is not now forming a part of the curtilage of that dwelling.

Ongoing Matters.     Mulberry Cottage stables.  No sign of activity is reported and the windows remain boarded.

97/20  DISTRICT COUNCILLOR

 Councillor Hutchinson declared an interest in this and took no part in the discussion.

Councillor Gray said that the owner OF Bell House ,Grass Yard .had been advised not to sub-let the property.

He said that the full council had met last week and the committees were up and running.    He felt that the District Council and its officers had worked well during this crisis.

The Business Support Grant is now running and a Discretionary Grant is available.

The leisure centres will remain closed for the time being despite what happens on 4 July.

They are trying to help town centres with their Future High Streets bid.  Free parking is still offered in their car parks, though they will probably have to start charging in early autumn. 

Councillor Mrs Lloyd asked whether HDC was still in good financial order. Councillor Gray said that money had come from the Treasury but there was a loss of revenue from car parking and leisure centres.  There is some reduction in Council Tax receipts – usually it is 98% but now it is 94%.

The commercial estate has very little retail in it so it is still very good.

Councillors Gray and Gardener left the meeting.

98/20    REPORTS

Allotments  Councillor Mrs Hellett said that most allotments were very good now.   The former plots need attention such as spraying and the removal of the wire netting.

Some tenants have complained about produce being stolen from their plots.

Trees.  It was agreed to seek a survey of the trees on parish council land for safety reasons.

Pound Lane.  Councillor Mrs Hellett said that a party appeared to have taken place on the recreation ground recently.            It was agreed to place notices on the play and exercise equipment warning people about using it and that we are unable to frequently clean it.  However, the grounds staff will be asked to disinfect it before opening it to the public.

Village Maintenance.  The following were mentioned as needing attention-

• Lamp PC14 in Newtown is out
• Cemetery wall at The Leys badly needs repair
• Footpath in Pertenhall Road needs attention due to encroachment over it.  Councillor Farrer offered to deal with this.
• Benches in various places need refurbishment
• The churchyard would benefit from spraying.
• The Ginnell needs clearing of rubbish
• The sign on the 5 bar gate into the new cemetery is redundant and should be removed.
• Complaint of loose dogs in the churchyard.

Outside Bodies.

Kimbolton Trust.  The Chairman said that the next meeting will be in October.

Kimbolton School.  Councillor Mrs Hellett said that a virtual meeting is to be held on Friday.

Mandeville Hall.  Councillor Mrs Jessup said that the Chairman of the Hall Committee is contacting regular users to find out what is required in order to re-open.

99/20  CEMETERY COTTAGE The Clerk reported that the letting agent had advised against any increase in rent this year.    It was proposed by Councillor Poole, seconded by Councillor Mrs Stainer and unanimously agreed to make no increase.

100/20  CORONAVIRUS – REOPENING OF PUBS, RESTAURANTS AND CAFES.

The Clerk said that it seemed likely that refreshment premises would soon be allowed to open, though with social distancing in force.  He was concerned that this might make it uneconomical for the pubs and restaurants I the village to continue, since they are in old buildings with fairly cramped conditions.

He suggested that this Council support the granting of permission to those premises requesting it, to enable them to site tables and chairs on the highway in front of their premises.

Members thought this would be worthwhile and agreed to support businesses in their applications and authorised the Clerk to contact those businesses and advise them of this Council’s support.

101/20  CORRESPONDENCE

A circular was received from MAGPAS asking for donations and it was proposed by Councillor Mrs Lloyd, seconded by Councillor Mrs Hellett and agreed to donate £100.

102/20  ACCOUNTS

The following were proposed and approved for payment –

         Fishers                      Sundries                                               25.38

         Glasdon Ltd           Parts for litter bin                                    209.41

         Shred Station           Document shredding & disposal            66.00

         JD Garden & Landscaping        Grass cutting                    1554.24

         Mick George Ltd             Skip hire                                        207.60

         G R Dixon                 Auditor’s fee                                          60.00

         Shaw & Sons            Burial register                                     211.20

         Anglian Water            Allotment water                                    16.43

         D Eades                     June work                                          403.92

        Payroll costs             Pay, PAYE & NIC                               2182.77

        C L Thatcher             McAfee security & fuel                           53.51       

103/20  HIGH STREET CAR PARKING  Nothing to report.

104/20  MEMBERS’ POINTS OF INFORMATION.

Councillor Mrs Stainer asked whether anything could be done about the eyesore of the former bank.

She asked whether the hedge along Newtown Lane in front of the bungalows could be cut and referred to vehicles using Rookery Lane as a shortcut

Councillor Farrer said the scaffolding in the High St will be there for 2/3 weeks.

He asked that Christmas lights be placed on the next agenda..

105/20  DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next normal meeting of Council will be held on Thursday 30 July 2020, commencing at 7pm in the Youth and Community Room at the Mandeville Hall, if permitted, otherwise by means of video conferencing.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 2130 hours.