Meeting Minutes: 28th May 2020

KIMBOLTON & STONELY PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES of the Council meeting held at 7 p.m. on Thursday 28 May 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 E Milne 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.

67/20  ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN.  Councillor Mrs Lloyd proposed and Councillor Ms Mugglestone seconded, that Councillor Paul Seabrook be Chairman for the coming year.  There were no further nominations and Councillor Seabrook was unanimously elected.

68/20  APOLOGIES  were received from Councillor Mrs Stainer..

69/20  PUBLIC FORUM  The member of the public present introduced himself to members and explained that he specialised in renovating historic buildings and he wondered whether members might know of projects in this area.

70/20  DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS

Councillor Mrs Hellett declared her interest in the ongoing matter of Mulberry Cottage stables and Councillor Hutchinson declared a pecuniary interest in Item 8 c) on the agenda.

71/20  COUNTY COUNCILLOR    Councillor Gardener said that at the annual meeting he had been re-appointed as Vice Chairman of the Planning and Pensions Committees and remains a member of the Fire Authority.

He said that, regarding covid 19, there are 17500 people within the county on the ‘shielded’ list.

All recycling centres are now fully open.

The application for funding regarding the pedestrian crossing will go before the scoring panel this week for a decision by 2 July.    He said that the panel will expect there to be match funding

And asked whether this Council can help.  Councillor Gray said that he would seek funding from Huntingdonshire District Council and suggested that, if the County Council found half of the required amount c £24,000 for the option including the platform, he would endeavour to obtain the District Council’s agreement to fund £20,000, leaving c £4000 for the Parish Council to find.  

It was duly proposed by Councillor Hutchinson, seconded by Councillor Ms Mugglestone and unanimously agreed to contribute the balance of around £4000.

The Chairman thanked Councillors Gardener and Gray for all their assistance in bringing this project to fruition – whilst appreciating that the final decisions have to be made by their councils.

On a different subject, the Chairman referred to the letters received from residents complaining about the noise being made by both motorcycles and cars and the speeds which they were attaining through and near the village.    Complaints have been made to the police who ask that anyone concerned notifies them using the 101 ‘phone line, since they can then build up a record of complaints and hopefully put more resources this way.

Councillor Gardener left the meeting.

72/20  MINUTES  The minutes of the Council meeting of 30 April 2020 were read, and approved  as a true record of that meeting.

73/20  MATTERS ARISING

• Neighbourhood Watch.   Nothing to report.
• Hearse House repairs   An application must be made to CAPALC for authorisation to apply for a loan from the Public Works Board.  The forms have been completed and the Clerk will arrange for the Chairman to sign them tomorrow.
• Churchyard Cobbles   The Vicar had replied to our request for assistance with the cost and the PCC’s Planning Committee had offered £2000, but this has to be confirmed by the whole PCC and a decision is expected tomorrow, 29 May.
• Annual Parish Meeting – request for noticeboard at The Leys   The Clerk said that the noticeboards he had been able to find for around £200 were aluminium and glazed and he didn’t think they would be appropriate for fixing to the fence.  Unfortunately, wooden boards seemed to be over £300 and rather more elaborate than we need.   He wondered whether anyone knew a carpenter locally who might make one for us. 
• Pound Lane Working Party has not met.
• Twinning with Fernie.  Not progressed due to circumstances.
• LHI Bid.  The Clerk reported having revised our bid to 2 x MVAS signs and 5 posts.
• Pedestrian Crossing.  The finances were discussed earlier in the meeting and the Clerk has written to residents living adjacent to the proposed site of the crossing, to appraise them of Council’s intentions and ask their views.  One resident has responded and a copy of the plans sent to him.  He had no further comment to make.

74/20   PLANNING MATTERS.

• Applications  

20/00636/s73   Unit 2 Cromwell Court, Kimbolton – vary condition.

It was proposed by Councillor Ms Mugglestone, seconded by Councillor Mrs Hellett and agreed to recommend approval.

• Ongoing Matters.     Mulberry Cottage stables.  No report.
• Grass Yard.

Councillor Hutchinson declared an interest in this matter, left the room and took no part in the discussion.

The Clerk reported on receipt of a letter from a resident complaining that the owner of Bell House intended to breach his planning condition by creating a separate dwelling of the annexe at the property.

It was pointed out that the Planning Department cannot take action prior to a breach occurring, but Councillor Gray said that the Enforcement Officer had advised the owner that he needed to apply for planning permission and had recommended that he do not let the property as a separate dwelling in the meantime.

Incidentally, notification of a new separate address for the annexe has been received.

Councillor Hutchinson re-joined the meeting.

75/20    REPORTS

Allotments  Councillor Mrs Lloyd said that the general condition of the plots was good with plot 4 perhaps being the only one that needs improvement.   She had noticed that the gate had been left wide open and suggested that a ‘please close the gate’ sign be provided.  She also noted that all sorts of rubbish was being deposited on the bonfire despite requests for rubbish to be confined to burnable items and she recommended that a sign be placed at the bonfire area.

PlayPark   Councillor Mrs Hellett said that the cable ties closing off the play park had been cut and people were again using the play equipment.     People were also using the exercise equipment in Pound Lane and thought that a notice at the equipment, rather than on the gate, might help to deter them.

Village Maintenance.  The following were mentioned as needing attention-

• Trees in Halls Meadow by the bridge appear dead
• Benches need refurbishment or replacement
• A tree in the churchyard needs cutting back
• A cherry tree by the north wall of the cemetery needs attention
• Weeds in the churchyard, particularly cobbled areas, need spraying
• The Ginnell needs spraying
• Railings on Carnaby bridge need treatment for algae and painting

Outside Bodies.

Kimbolton Trust.  The Chairman reported that a virtual meeting had been held and The Vicar appointed Chairman.

Kimbolton School.  Councillor Mrs Hellett said that a virtual meeting had been held and staff were getting ready for Monday.

Mandeville Hall.  Councillor Mrs Lloyd said that the committee had not met.

76/20  ELECTION OF VICE CHAIRMAN.  It was proposed by Councillor Seabrook, seconded by Councillor Ms Mugglestone and unanimously agreed that Councillor Keith Hutchinson be Vice Chairman for the coming year.

77/20  CHAIRMAN’S ALLOWANCE  It was agreed that this should remain at £200.

78/20  WORKING PARTIES   The composition of the working parties was agreed as being –

Allotments  – Councillors Mrs Hellett and Mrs Lloyd

Burial and Cemeteries – Councillors Hutchinson, Gooderham and Farrer

Dog Fouling – Councillors Gooderham and Farrer

Footpaths – Councillors Mrs Lloyd; Mrs Stainer; Mrs Jessup and (co-opted) Mr G Lloyd.

Grounds and Car Parking – all members

Playgrounds – Councillor Mrs Hellett

Planning, Structures and Supervision of Property – all members

Trees – Councillors Gooderham; Mrs Stainer and Mrs Jessup

Personnel – Councillors Hutchinson; Farrer and Mrs Milne

Highways – Councillors Farrer and Poole

Neighbourhood & Countryside Watch – Councillors Farrer & Ms Mugglestone

Pound Lane – Councillors Hutchinson; Gooderham and Farrer.

The Chairman is an ex-officio member of all Working Parties.

79/20  REPRESENTATIVES TO OUTSIDE BODIES 

It was agreed that our representatives should be –

Civil Protection –  Councillor Gooderham

Mandeville Hall – Councillor Mrs Jessup

Kimbolton Trust 1986 –  Councillors Seabrook and Hutchinson

Kimbolton School Governors – Councillor Mrs Hellett

80/20  GENERAL POWER OF COMPETENCE

It was affirmed that as the Clerk and Council both remain qualified the General Power of Competence will be adopted for the coming year.

81/20  FEES AND CHARGES

It was proposed by Councillor Mrs Lloyd, seconded by Councillor Ms Mugglestone and agreed that there should be no change to the schedule of allotment charges, but those for the cemetery should increase by 2%, rounded to the nearest £5.

82/20  ANNUAL WALKABOUT

It was agreed that this would not take place this year.

83/20  CORRESPONDENCE

• Letter of thanks for the donation from the Curator of St Neots museum
• Letter from resident offering to sponsor a pack of trees from Woodland Trust, to be placed on Stonely Green.  This was considered, but members did not feel that more trees were appropriate on this open space.   They agreed to thank the resident for his kind offer and to suggest that,if he did wish to sponsor anything, we would gratefully accept a new bench for Stonely Green. .
• Response from resident regarding Halls Meadow. Councillor Hutchinson said that this Council should replace the planting where it had been cleared and asked that this matter be placed on the agenda of the next meeting.

84/20  ACCOUNTS

a)The following were proposed and approved for payment –

        Came & Co               Piaggio insurance premium                 437.55

        Mrs K Alexander       Refund of allotment rent                        30.00

        K & M Lighting Services   Maintenance                                 125.48

        Payroll costs             Pay, PAYE & NIC                                2182.77

        C L Thatcher             Purchase & engraving of plaque            44.84

b)2019/2020 accounts are now with the Internal Auditor and should be finished next week. They will then be sent to the External Auditor and made ready for the exercise of public rights of inspection.

85/20  DISTRICT COUNCILLOR

Councillor Gray said that refuse collection is still proceeding alright. There had been a minor fire in a collection vehicle due to someone placing batteries into their bin.

HDC Car Parks are still free and leisure centres remain closed.

A cabinet meeting had been held remotely, as had a  meeting of Development Control.

The revenue the council is currently losing due to closures is around £1million per month.

Councillor Gray left the meeting 

86/20  HIGH STREET CAR PARKING  Nothing to report.

87/20  MEMBERS’ POINTS OF INFORMATION.

The points raised by members are reported under ‘Village Maintenance’ above.

88/20  DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next normal meeting of Council will be held on Thursday 25 June 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 2120 hours.