Minutes of 4 October 2021 meeting

(The agenda for this meeting is available in a separate post. These minutes are also available in PDF form for offline reading and printing. Minutes are draft until approved, at a subsequent meeting of the Parish Council)

Those present were:

  • Giles Scott, Chairman;
  • Peter King, Parish Councillor;
  • Nick Ginn, Vice Chairman;
  • James Catmur, Parish Councillor;
  • Catherine Fox, Clerk;
  • Nigel Day, Parish Councillor;
  • Michael Capps, Parish Councillor;
  • Andrew Pett, Parish Councillor;
  • Vikki Murphy, Parish Councillor;
  • Cathy Davis, Parish Councillor;
  • County Councillor Stephen Ferguson;

and 3 members of the public.

1. The meeting was opened at 7:30 pm with a silent prayer.

2. Apologies.

Apologies were received from District Councillor Richard West.

3. Declarations of Interest.

Councillor Murphy and Councillor Pett both declared an interest in item 12.1 of the agenda as owners of properties in the same road, though not immediately impacted. It was agreed that both would therefore abstain from discussions and voting on item 12.1 but would not leave the meeting.

4. Minutes.

The minutes of the previous full Parish Council meeting held on the 6th September 2021 and of the meeting of the Planning sub -committee held on 27th September 2021 were approved and signed accordingly by the Chairman.

5. OPEN FORUM.

The meeting was closed for 15 minutes.

County Councillor Ferguson gave a short address to the meeting during which he highlighted the number of consultations that had taken place affecting the local area. In particular, around the A428, EWR and Airspace proposals. Councillor Ferguson commented that this was all part of the OxCam Arc – a plan to build a million houses between Oxford and Cambridge, with the EWR proposal central as the transportation link.
There have been many large development proposals near St Neots; totalling more that 24,000 homes. When plotted on a map, the trends are clear and the future may bring substantial development right from Bedford to Cambourne. It was noted that Gransden had been relatively ‘safe’ so far but that building of this scale would certainly have an impact. To that end, Councillor Ferguson urged the Parish Council to respond to the OxCam Arc consultation and will help formulate a response if required.
Finally Councillor Ferguson confirmed that he had been out to look at the problems reported to him around Waresley road flooding and the broken drain cover at the corner of Fox Street and Caxton Road. These have been reported to Highways. Unfortunately, the Highways Officer responsible for the area has recently left his post and no replacement has yet been confirmed, meaning that waiting times for resolutions were significantly longer.

Anna Rabbett gave a short presentation to the meeting, which gave the views of the children in the school around village issues that the Parish Council may be able to look at. These included, replacement of the roundabout (following reports of injury amongst school children), a map of the village for newcomers to the area, a reduction in the speed limit outside Old Barn Farm and the possibility of purchasing the Old School House with the intention of creating more useable space for the school. Miss Rabbett also raised the question of installing a ‘friendship swing’ at the park that could be used by disabled children and also a ramp at the little lane entrance to the park to enable wheelchair and buggy access. Councillors unanimously agreed to give the points raised due consideration and will discuss at the next meeting on 1st November. Councillors thanked Anna for her clear, concise and thoughtful presentation.

6. Matters Arising

6.1 Neighbourhood Plan: Councillor King reported on the meeting held between the NDP working group and HDC on 29th September 2021. The aim of the meeting was to discuss in greater depth issues around Rural Exception Sites, development of the school, local green spaces, development of the boundary and assistance from HDC around mapping.
Questions were raised around the ownership of the Mill Weir Pond, which has been designated as an industrial area on the plan. Councillor King will approach HDC to redraw the boundaries declaring the historic registration of the Mill Weir as common land.
Councillor Day will contact Natalie Elworthy ( HDC Planning Policy Officer) to sign up and accept the use of HDCs maps.
The Neighbourhood Plan working party will finish current editing and aim for the plan to be adopted by the Parish Council on November 1st. That will then start a 6 week consultation period using Google Forms. Simultaneously, a copy of the Plan will be sent to HDC for comments. After 6 weeks the plan will be edited to reflect comments made during consultation. HDC will consult with statutory bodies (5 weeks) and write final report (2 weeks) ahead of the Reg 16 consultation.

6.2 Installation of new bench in the playing field. Following discussions at the meeting held on 2nd August 2021, quotations had been sought by the Clerk round the costs of correctly installing a larger picnic style bench in the playing field. Cambourne Parish Council had offered to do the installation at cost price. Following a site meeting with a representative from Cambourne, Councillors unanimously agreed to accept the quotation of £228.16 (ex VAT) for the installation works and to order the agreed bench at a cost of £992.26 (inc VAT). The bench will be delivered to the Reading Room prior to installation. (Proposed Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Pett)

6.3 Replacement of the PC Laptop. The PC laptop was purchased in September 2016 at a cost price of £358.00. It is currently unable to run without being permanently plugged in, the speakers are blown and it can take up to 4 minutes to load documents and files. It is also unable to cope with updates and only recognises the external back up drive intermittently. It is displaying many symptoms which suggest that it is approaching the end of its useful life. Similarly, the printer has lost some of its functionalities and is frequently unable to perform adequately although the cost of monthly ink subscriptions remain high. Councillors unanimously agreed to replace both the laptop and the printer, with a budget set of £500.00 and £250.00 respectively. Clerk to source and purchase agreed equipment.

7. Financial Statement for September 2021.

The sheet filed as Appendix No. 1 had been circulated. The statement was unanimously approved and signed by the Chairman. Councillors also noted the budget review as at the end of September 2021. In line with the Councils Risk management policy, the bank statements were reconciled by a non-signatory.

8. Cheques for approval.

The following payments were approved:
(Proposed Councillor Pett, seconded by Councillor Capps)

Cheques/ Bank Transfers payable September 2021

  1. Clerk’s expenses for September 2021 £26.08
  2. HMRC – PAYE (period ending 5th Nov 21) £0.00
  3. Mr Nigel Day – Basic Web Hosting £85.44
    (greatgransdenpc.org.uk)
  4. Mr Nigel Day £214.80
    (Barn 2 Plugins – WordPress)
  5. PKF Littlejohn LLP £240.00
  6. Buchans Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance £336.90.
  7. Mr R McIntosh (Garden of Remembrance) £7.50
  8. Caretaker Salary –October 2021 £684.38
    (28th October 2021)
  9. Clerk’s Salary – October 2021 £802.05*
    (28th October 2021)

Automated Payments payable October 2021

  1. DD BT – Broadband Reading Room £30.16
    (11th October 2021)

*To include Tax Rebate

9. Review of External Auditors Report Y/E 31st March 2021.

Councillors noted that the external auditor had raised no findings, therefore concluding the audit for 2020/21.

10. Highways.

Councillors reported no new potholes but raised the following issues:
10.1 The cracked manhole cover on the cross roads of Fox Street/Caxton Road still has not been repaired despite being reported to Highways on several occasions. County Councillor Ferguson has been out to visit the site and has also reported it. Clerk to contact Highways again as a matter of urgency.
10.2 Despite being reported previously, the surface dressing signs on Caxton road are obstructive to larger vehicles. Clerk to contact Highways again to ask for their removal.
10.3 Roots of trees have caused bumps along the footpath on Caxton Road between Fox Street and Audley Close which are worsening. These have previously been reported but Clerk to raise again with Highways.
10.4 The metal barrier at the entrance to the crossing at Audley Close has been damaged for some time. Clerk to report to Highways.
10.5 The 20mph signs on Middle Street are currently obstructed by trees. Clerk to contact Highways.
Councillor Ferguson offered to visit the village to look at the Highways issues and to familiarise himself with the village. Councillor Capps will accompany him. Date and time to be arranged.

11. Correspondence.

11.1 CIL Funding – Next round information Councillors noted the dates for the next round of applications.
11.2 LHI Bid 2022/23 Councillors noted the extension of the deadline for applications to October 14th 2021. Councillor Scott will draft a submission and circulate to councillors. This will include photographs of possible locations for repeater signs which will be required as part of the proposal for Councillors to consider.
11.3 Repair of the Church Wall Councillors had received a request for permission for work to be undertaken on the wall at the Church. The homeowner had confirmed that they were happy to pay for the repairs to be done, with the caveat that they would not be accepting responsibility for the wall generally or if the wall were to come down pending permissions before the work started. Councillors unanimously agreed to grant permission. Proposed Councillor Pett and seconded Councillor Scott)
11.4 Fallen tree at the Cemetery A fallen tree had been reported in the cemetery. Clerk to obtain quotations for its removal. For expediency, Councillors unanimously agreed to delegate authority to the Chair and Vice Chair to approve this expenditure based on the quotations obtained before the next full meeting. It was noted that many of the trees in the cemetery are of significant age and therefore should be added to the annual tree survey for monitoring.

12. Planning.

12.1. PARISH COUNCIL CONSULTATION – APPLICATION REF.21/01946/HHFUL.
Two-storey rear extension, infill of front porch, alterations to openings and erection of freestanding garden room.
1 Baldwins Manor Great Gransden Sandy SG19 3RH.
Councillors agreed to recommend ‘Approval’ on the grounds that there were no reasons to object. (Proposed Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Catmur and carried with 7 votes in favour and 2 abstentions)

12.2. PARISH COUNCIL CONSULTATION – APPLICATION REF. 21/02006/LBC.
We want to fit 18 solar panels onto our Garage and shed, these are detached outbuilding’s appx. 20 metres from the Grade II listed Manor House.
The Manor House 10 Manor Lane Great Gransden Sandy SG19 3RA.
Councillors unanimously agreed to recommend ‘Approval’ on the grounds that there were no reasons to object. (Proposed Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Ginn)

13. Review of HR Policies and Procedures through external consultancy

In line with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 this item was considered in closed session.

14. Outsourcing of payroll

In line with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 this item was considered in closed session.

15. Date of next Meeting

The Next Meeting has been arranged for Monday 1st November 2021 at 7:30pm

This meeting closed at 8:42pm.