Meeting Minutes: 27th February 2020

KIMBOLTON & STONELY PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES of the Council meeting held at 7 p.m. on Thursday 27 February 2020 at the Youth & Community Room, Mandeville Hall, Thrapston Rd., Kimbolton.

PRESENT  Councillors P Seabrook (in the Chair); Mrs D Hellett ; D Poole; Mrs R Lloyd; R Gooderham; Mrs J Stainer &  Mrs C Jessup

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

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Mrs Catherine Jessup to her first meeting.

16/20  APOLOGIES were received from Councillors Mrs E Milne; L Farrer; K Hutchinson & Ms S Mugglestone..

17/20  PUBLIC FORUM  was not used.

18/20  DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS

Councillor Mrs Hellett declared her ongoing interest in the matter of Mulberry Cottage stables and Councillor Mrs Jessup declared her membership of the Mandeville Hall Committee.

19/20  COUNTY COUNCILLOR    Councillor Gardener said that he had held a meeting with the Rights of Way Officer and the Bursar from Kimbolton School regarding footpath 34, which is routed through the School grounds and between school buildings.  They walked the official route and the diverted route, which had been introduced due to safeguarding issues.  Officers were happy for the School to continue to use the diverted route but asked that the footpath sign be amended and the colour of the roundel changed.

LHI bids are to be confirmed on 10 March and next year’s bids will need to be submitted between 1 April and 31 May.

There will be a 1.59% increase in the County’s Council Tax.

£16m will be in the budget in respect of climate change measures, £15m of which will be for the de-carbonisation of County buildings.

Councillor Gooderham joined the meeting.

A camera survey of gullies has found that those in Park Lane are blocked.       White lines are not now needed in the centre of roads where there are white line edge markings.

The Highways Maintenance Engineer will be visiting the Gas Venting Station regarding the damage caused to verges and roads.

A Combined Authority consultation has been issued in respect of the proposed Cambs Metro system.

The East/West rail preferred route has been announced and will cross the main north/south line between Tempsford and St Neots and then route via Cambourne to Cambridge.

Locally, this Council’s request for a pedestrian crossing on Thrapston Road is being hindered by the position of the bus stops which clearly cannot be near to a crossing.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Gardener and reminded him that the gullies in Hatchet Lane; Station Road and outside Priory Farm are also blocked.

20/20  MINUTES  The minutes of the Council meeting of 30 January 2020 were read, approved and signed as a true record of that meeting, subject to including, at Councillor Mrs Lloyd’s request, the words ‘entering and’ prior to ‘exiting the car park’ at the end of the first sentence of minute 9/20 (h).

21/20  MATTERS ARISING

• Neighbourhood Watch.   The Clerk reported that the Rural Watch team is due to patrol next week.
• Hearse House repairs   Quotes from two other companies are awaited.
• Churchyard Cobbles   No suitable contractor has been identified except for  Councillor Farrer’s company and he has promised a quotation. 
• Flooding.  Due to extensive flooding throughout the country, which has greatly increased their workload, no reply has been received from the Environment Agency..
• Pound Lane Working Party.   No meeting as yet this month.
• Twinning   The Chairman said that he has not yet had opportunity to contact the Mayor of Fernie.

22/20   PLANNING MATTERS.

• Applications  

20/00241  43 Hatchet Lane, Stonely – thatch and re-render.

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

20/00123 & 20/00124LBC  Stonely House, 37-51 Main Rd Stonely – demolition & re-construction of rear outbuilding & 2 x new dwellings + 3 x new dwellings.

The authors of letters of objection were present, as was the developer and the Chairman agreed to suspend Standing Orders to enable them to speak.

An objector explained his objections to the proposals and the developer responded.

District Councillor Jonathan Gray joined the meeting.

Councillor Mrs Lloyd said that she liked the idea behind the development but recognised the problem of ‘backland’ development.

Councillor Gooderham said that he was concerned about the footpath which crosses the site and he didn’t think the development was in keeping with the area.

There was further discussion and ultimately

It was proposed by Councillor Gooderham and seconded by the Chairman that the application be refused, being overdevelopment of the site and not in keeping with surroundings (backland development).

Upon being put to the vote, there were 2 votes in favour, 2 against and 3 abstentions.

The Chairman therefore used his casting vote in favour of refusal of the application.

• Ongoing Matters.     Mulberry Cottage stables.  No report.

                                 Former Barclays Bank, High St.   The Clerk wrote to the owners asking how long it would be before the eyesore of the frontage was improved.  The response explained the length of time it was taking to receive decisions from the Planning Dept, to the extent that the owners were losing heart and undecided whether or not to continue.      Members were very disappointed to hear this and Councillor Gray said that he understood their feelings, but the Planning Department was very short-staffed and considerable delays have occurred.     The Clerk will write again and try to ascertain whether the development will proceed and, if not, what is the plan.

23/20    REPORTS

Allotments  The hedges, except for that on the west boundary, have been cut inside and out by Mr Hellett and the Groundskeepers have started to clear the vacant plots.   The vacant plot at the east end needs clearing and the suckers removing..

Playpark.  The Clerk reported that the gate has now been replaced, as have the slat on the bench and a panel on the Hall end gate, to prevent trappage of fingers.   These jobs will need finishing by sanding and painting when weather permits and concreting beneath the bench still needs doing once weather improves.

Footpaths.  The footpath running from Park Lane Stonely , opposite the school gate, is blocked by a fallen tree.

Outside Bodies.

Mandeville Hall.  Councillor Mrs Lloyd said that all was fine.

Kimbolton Trust.  The next meeting of Trustees will be in May.

24/20  LHI BID AND 20 mph LIMIT

The Clerk said that a Highways officer had said that buffer zones were not acceptable and that we should amend our bid to the provision of repeater signs, an MVAS sign and road markings.  Councillor Gardener said that he was not happy that we had been told that, as those works were a part of normal Highways work and should not be funded from the LHI.

He suggested that we apply again in April and once more ask for the buffer zones and for a 20mph limit through the village.  This was agreed.

25/20  KIMBOLTON & DISTRICT OIL BUYING GROUP

The Clerk said that Conquest Oil had now been merged with a larger company and the new company will not offer vouchers for free oil as had been done in the past.  He will try to get them to honour the arrangements for this year’s Annual Parish Meeting, but is not hopeful for the future.   It was suggested that enquiries be made with local suppliers to see if a deal could be arranged.

26/20  CORRESPONDENCE

• Correspondence re diversion of Footpath 34 was reported, but the matter is now resolved.
• The Clerk confirmed that our Precept for 2020/21 will be £59730 and the tax base is 598 properties.  This represents a Band D charge of £99.88 per annum, or a £1.79 per annum increase.
• Circular re Great British Spring Clean 20 March to 13 April 2020.     Councillor Mrs Hellett said that she was not willing to organise anything this year.   Councillor Mrs Lloyd said that Rotary could undertake this for us on Saturday 7 March as they are undertaking a similar Litter Pick elsewhere on that day.

It was agreed to accept Rotary’s offer with thanks, though the Clerk said it might not be possible to get the litter picking kit in time for that.  Councillor Mrs Lloyd said that if it is possible, she is happy for it to be delivered to her home.

• The Town & Parish Council Forum takes place on 12 March and details have been circulated.
• The Clerk said that he has deposited old minutes with County Archives in Huntingdon and now hold only signed minutes from September 2009 to date.
• A further letter has been received from the Chairman of the Mandeville Hall Committee insisting that the hedge is creating problems for drivers entering and leaving our car park. Councillor Mrs Lloyd said that she had nearly had an accident when pulling into the car park.     The decision to take no action had been made only last month and Standing Orders prevent a decision being re-visited within 6 months, but notwithstanding that, members did not consider there to be a problem and agreed that no action is necessary.

27/20  ACCOUNTS

a)The following were proposed and approved for payment –

Fishers                                     Groundsman sundries                         7.10

K & M Lighting                           Streetlight maintenance                  125.48

Robinsons                                Windscreen wiper                                5.87

Mick George Ltd                       Skip hire                                           201.60

H J Hellett & Son                       Hedge cutting                                  300.00

D Eades                                     February work                                 348.84

Payroll costs                              Pay, PAYE & NIC                          2212.23

28/20  DISTRICT COUNCILLOR

Councillor Gray said he is heading the budget team and Council Tax will increase by 2.6%.  He is expecting a surplus budget for the next two years.

A capital bid is being made to acquire Civil Enforcement powers from the police.

The County Council’s preferred route has been selected for East/West rail.

County Councillor Ian Gardener has been re-elected to the District Council and represents Alconbury.

29/20  ANNUAL PARISH MEETING.  The Clerk reminded all that the start time of the meeting is 7.30pm. 

30/20  HIGH STREET CAR PARKING  Nothing to report.

31/20  MEMBERS’ POINTS OF INFORMATION.

Councillor Poole asked about signage for CCTV and warning signs about cemetery trees.

Councillor Mrs Stainer said that the hedge outside properties on Newtown Lane needs trimming.

Councillor Mrs Jessup reported a dead badger on the Causeway.

Councillor Mrs Lloyd wondered whether new speed cameras had been installed on Crosshall Road and at Abbotsley.   She also mentioned possible attempted burglaries in Tudor Court, where marks indicating attempts to force entry had been found on doors.

Councillor Gooderham said that a resident has cut part of the hedge in Halls Meadow to the ground.

32/20  DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next normal meeting of Council will be held on Thursday 26 March 2020, commencing at 7pm in the Youth and Community Room at the Mandeville Hall, but prior to that, the Annual Parish Meeting will take place on Thursday 5 March 2020 commencing at 7.30pm.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 2150 hours.