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MINUTES OF THE HILTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING 04-06 HELD ON MONDAY
8 May 2006 IN THE VILLAGE HALL
Present: Cllrs Barradell (Chairman), Ashby-Swain, Fleming, Shardlow, Stott, Ward and Wright.
In Attendance: District Councillor Bates (from Item 14), Mr Thomas, Clerk to the Parish Council and three parishioners.
1. To note Apologies for Absence. Cllr. Randall,
2. To Approve the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 3 April 2006.
Approved unanimously: RESOLVED
3. Parishioners Open Session (10 minutes).
The Chairman closed the meeting:
Mr Blake advised that the production date for the Village Handbook shown on the village web site should be 1999 and not 2004 as shown. The Clerk was to advise the production coordinator. Mr Blake also asked whether the Parish Council were involved with the emerging Visiting Scheme. The Chairman advised that the Council was not actively involved but had supported the principle of the proposal.
The Chairman re opened the meeting.
4. Declarations of Interest.
Cllr Wright declared an interest in Items 14a and 14b due to her involvement with the Feast Week committee and left the room for the whole of the discussion.
5. To Authorise the Payment of Accounts.
a. £580 JCS Services (March)
b. £770 Conway, Tree Maintenance
c. £400.00 Spectrum Grant (S137)
d. £32.32 Handymans Wages April
e. £30.16 J A Thomas Stationery
In addition the Council authorised payment of the following invoices which were urgent but had arrived after closure of the agenda. These invoices will be presented to the June 2006 meeting.
f. Wicksteeds Leisure £47.00
g. JCS Services (April) £580
h. Allianz Cornhill £1671.91
Payment of the above accounts was proposed by Cllr Wright, seconded by Cllr Ashby-Swain and approved unanimously. RESOLVED
6. Review of A14 Consultation Process.
Cllr Wright advised that the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency had replied to Mr Djanoglys recent letter on the A14 consultation process and she suggested that the village should respond robustly and as soon as possible. The Clerk had circulated a draft letter and Cllrs were asked to comment as a matter of urgency. Cllr Wright also stressed that the A14 Action Groups priority was for further work was to establish its detailed position on those areas most likely to impact on the village in order to be able to respond to any external inputs. The Chairman advised that he hoped the replacement councilor would fill the vacant Council member on the A14AG. The Clerk to progress comments on the draft letter with Cllrs.
7. Update on Village Web Site.
Cllr Ward advised that although there were still a few problems with data loading, the site was now fully functional. The Clerk was to stress the existence of the web site in Spectrum and also to see if the Parish Council button on the Home Page could be improved.
8. Planning Matters
The Clerk was to write to Boxworth to offer support, if required, at the wind farm pre inquiry to be held on 5 June 2006. Cllr Fleming agreed to attend the pre inquiry if required.
9. Summer Activity Roadshow
The Council noted that the Summer Roadshow would be held on 4 August and agreed that they would fund the £15 requested by the Village Hall for the provision of toilet facilities. The Clerk was to advise the Village Hall Committee of this decision.
10. New Councillor.
There had been no formal applications for the vacant position made via the Returning Officer and the Parish Council had therefore been instructed by HDC to co-opt a replacement councillor. The Council had received one applicant, Mr Clive Robinson, who had met the Chairman to discuss the position. The Clerk was to complete the administration needed to formally appoint Mr Robinson.
11. Agenda for Annual Village Meeting.
The meeting noted the arrangements and the agenda for the AGM to be held on 10 May 2006. The Chairman advised that he wished to use the AGM to publicise the proposals to register The Green and also to seek any further suggestions for spending the S106 grant arising from the Scotts Crescentdevelopment.
12. Burning of Straw
The meeting noted that the Clerk had seen no evidence of burning straw during his recent visit to Monach Farm. Nevertheless, the Council agreed by a majority to ask HDC for their view of what had happened in the past and what action they were taking to ensure straw was not being burned.
13. Parish Electoral Review.
The Clerk explained that the Review took place every twenty years or so and was designed to harmonise the size and structure of Parishes with their communities. The Council agreed that no input was required from Hilton. The Clerk was to advise HDC accordingly.
14. Grants:
a. Queens Birthday. The Chairman summarised the request from the Village Hall Committee for a grant towards the Queens 80th birthday party. By a split vote, the Council agreed not to support the request on the grounds that it had not been budgeted and would create a precedent. The Clerk was to inform the Village Hall committee.
b. Feast Week. The Chairman summarised the request from the Feast Week (FW) committee for a grant to help them overcome their current financial problems. The Clerk advised the meeting that a loan to FW was not permissible. The Clerk also briefed the meeting on the legal constraints of making a grant, including the impact on the village budget. The Council wanted to help FW if it could and agreed to seek an early meeting with the committee. The Clerk was to respond to the letter from the FW Chairman.
15. Registration of The Green
The Clerk advised that Copleys Solicitors had been advised of the intention to proceed with registration. It had been ascertained from Mr Blake that in the past, a number of comments had been raised against the boundary line but there was no evidence to show if these had been incorporated. The Clerk was to seek clarification of this matter from the solicitor before the Council gave its final instructions. Cllr Fleming proposed, seconded by Cllr Stott and approved unanimously that Cllr Shardlow and the Clerk should attend the CALC workshop on Registration at a cost not to exceed £15.
16. Update on Feast Week.
Cllr Wright said that there had been a great deal of support for Feast Week following the recent rallying call from the Committee. There had been a number of fresh fund-generating initiatives as well as some economies which gave the expectation that much of the present deficit would be resolved.
17. Report from F&GPWG.
A meeting of the F&GPWG had been held on 4 May and in addition to topics covered elsewhere in this meeting, the Chairman advised the following:
S106 Candidates included a new permissive path and an uplift to the Cricket Pavilion.
A14 The F&GPWG recommended that the A14AG consider making Fenstanton Roadrestrictive entry.
Ponds & Ditches. More work was needed to clarify ownership and responsibilities for all the ditches and ponds in the village
Parish Plan. Cllr Stott sought money to print an update flyer for distribution to every household.
It was proposed by Cllr ward, seconded by Cllr Shardlow and approved by a majority for Cllr Stott to spend up to £100 on printing a two-sided colour broadsheet. It was hoped that future information could be distributed via the website
Young Lives. This was the new name for CCYVS. Cllr Stott had recently signed a new contract with Young Lives to recognise their new title. The Young Lives organiser would brief the Parish Council on progress in the June Council meeting.
18 The Clerks Report on Parish Matters.
a. Parking on The Green. Work to identify suitable posts to define the edge of the Green continued. In addition, The Clerk was hoping Cambridgeshire County Council would shortly provide advice on how to prevent erosion of verges.
b. New Councillors Training. The Council agreed to fund a training course for Mr Robinson to be held on 8 July at a cost of £35
c. Playpark Safety Survey. Wicksteeds have recommended in their annual safety survey that parts of the play park surface needs to be levelled and reseeded. The Clerk was to obtain a price for this work.
d. CPRE Workshop-Local Development Framework The meeting agreed that the Council should attend this workshop to be held on Thursday 5 Oct 06 at a cost of £16. Cllr Shardlow agreed to be the Council representative
e. Crime. The Clerk advised that two crimes had been reported to the Police over the past month: the theft of a bicycle outside The Prince of Wales on 23 April and an attempted break-in along Church Laneon 29 April.
19. Councillors Items
a. Traffic Through the Village. Cllr Shardlow highlighted the potential for increased traffic, especially HGVs, along Potton Roadfollowing the completion of the Papworth Bypass. She also believed that the Council needed to address the subject with increased energy with the aim of seeking a 24 hour weight restriction. The Council accepted Cllr Shardlows points and agreed that this topic also needed to be included within the A14AG proposals. The Clerk was to seek advice from Cambridgeshire County Council on the parameters for Traffic Criteria along the B1040.
b. Chairman Parish Council. Cllr Barradell advised that he would stand down as Chairman and offered his place for election at the June meeting. Cllrs agreed to consider forwarding their names for the position of Chairman
G M Barradell
Chairman of Parish Council 5 June 2006
MINUTES OF THE HILTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING 02-06 HELD ON MONDAY 6 MARCH 2006 IN THE VILLAGE HALL
Present: Cllrs Barradell (Chairman), Randall, Shardlow, Stott, and Wright. In Attendance: Mr Thomas, Clerk to the Parish Council and three parishioners.
1. To note Apologies for Absence. Cllrs Ashby-Swain, Fleming, Potter and Ward 2. To Approve the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 6 February 2006. Approved unanimously: RESOLVED 3. Parishioners Open Session (10 minutes). The Chairman closed the meeting Dr Salam explained that he would be prepared to undertake cutting of the cricket pitch for the coming season at a price of £340. This subject was discussed at Agenda Item 14. The Chairman reopened the meeting
4. Declarations of Interest. No issues were raised during the meeting.
5. To Authorise the Payment of Accounts.
a. £ 882.28 Street Lighting b. £ 100 Neighbourhood Watch c. £ 1638.8 Clerks Salary d. £ 199.38 Clerks Expenses e. £ 76.44 Clerks Salary adjustment f. £ 31.79 Handymans Salary February g. £ 15.23 Handyman Salary Adjustment h. £ 103.27 Village Web-Site start up costs. i. £ 152.75 Moore Stevens audit charge j. £ 12.50 CPRE Planning Course
Payment of the above accounts was proposed by Cllr Shardlow, seconded by Cllr Stott and approved unanimously. RESOLVED.
6. Review of A14 Consultation Process.
The Chairman confirmed that the arrangements were in place for the meeting between Mr Djanogly MP and residents to be held on 10 March. Cllr Wright, on behalf of the A14 Action Group, advised that the meeting was being extensively publicised.
7. Village Web Site.
Preparation work for the launch of the Hilton Web site is almost complete and the site is expected to go live within the next month. Village organizations will be asked to populate their allocated pages. Cllr Shardlow proposed, Cllr Stott recommended and approved unanimously that the Clerk should prepare a cheque ex committee for up to £10.40 to cover domain registration and to have the transaction endorsed at the next meeting. The Clerk explained that set-up costs were slightly above forecast but are explained by the decision to use a more capable host site than originally planned. Assuming VAT can be reclaimed, the total net cost would be within the £100 ceiling.
8. Planning Matters
a. Report of Planning Meeting held on 8 Feb 06. The Planning Meeting held on 8 March had recommended approval of Application 0600314 for a Gazebo at Oak Tree Farm but had recommended rejection of Applications 0600162 for change of use of land at The Grange, and 0600184 for the erection of Flats at Roselea Church Lane.
b Application 0600494 extension to Electrical sub station St Ives Road. The meeting recommended approval of this application on the grounds that there was no detrimental impact on neighbouring properties and that the upgrade was needed to meet increasing power demands in the local area.
9. Independent Huntingdonshire Primary Care Trust
The Clerk was to write a letter supporting the campaign to retain an independent Primary Care Trust for Huntingdonshire.
10. Report of the F&GPWG held on 28 February 2006
Cllr Stott summarised the discussions held in the F&GP WG held on 28 Feb 06 as follows:
a. Damage to The Green. The Clerk was to seek costs for the repair of the current extensive damage. In addition, for future consideration by the Council, the Clerk was to seek information about a range of traffic measures to limit damage caused by vehicles.
b. Section 106 Money. The meeting discussed a number of options to spend the S106 money and had further asked, through Spectrum, for further suggestions from residents.
c. P3 Grant. The F&GPWG had identified a number of possible candidates for the P3 grant but further work would be needed before a decision could be made.
d. Visiting Scheme for the Elderly. The Clerk was to write to Mrs Robinson wishing her well in her plans to start a visiting scheme for the elderly and asked to be kept informed of progress.
e. Miscellaneous. Other items discussed at the F&GPWG had been referred to the Parish Council and are discussed at Agenda items 13 and 15.
The report of the F&GPWG was accepted by the Council.
11. Village of The Year Competition The Council accepted Cllr Potters recommendation not to participate in this years Village of the Year Award and further agreed that the aims of the competition would benefit from close examination in future years.
12. Clerks Salary The meeting considered the recommendation made in the F&GPWG on 4 October 2005 to increase the Clerks salary to Spine Point 19 to reflect competency but mutually agreed with the clerk that despite a considerable rise in workload over the past year, to limit conditioned hours to 10 per week but to be more flexible in time off and the dates of meetings. Proposed by Cllr Wright seconded by Cllr Randall and approved unanimously. RESOLVED.
13. Registration of Council Interests with The Land Registry.
The Clerk briefed that registration of The Green with the Land Registry would help safeguard ownership interests. Costs were expected to be some £350 including solicitors fees. The Council considered registration to offer long-term benefits and the Clerk was to seek confirmation of likely costs and report findings to the Council. The meeting emphasised that careful scrutiny of the documentation would be essential as a pre-requisite for registration.
14. Grass Cutting
Cllr Stott proposed, Cllr Randall seconded and the meeting approved unanimously that Dr Salam should be asked to cut the cricket pitch throughout 2006 at a cost of £340 for 17 cuts. The Clerk was to inform Dr Salem that his generous offer was accepted.
The Clerk informed the meeting that JCS Services had signed the contract for grass cutting services over the next three years.
15. Parish Plan
Cllr Stott advised that a number of recommendations within the Parish Plan had been completed or were close to finalisation. These were: refurbishment of village paths, establishment of a youth scheme (PARC project) and the establishment of a village web site. A full report on progress with the Parish Plan would be made to the Annual Village Meeting.
16 The Clerks Report on Parish Matters.
a. Crime Report. There had been no crimes reported since the last meeting.
b. HDC Summer Roadshow. The planned date of 25 July now clashed with Feast Week. Clerk was to discuss a new date with HDC.
c. Rutland Green The Clerk advised that HDC intended to patch-repair the roads in and around Rutland Green during 2006 and to undertake more extensive repairs next year.
e Clerks Training The meeting agreed that the Clerk should attend a CALC run course on election procedures at a cost of £12.
f. Tithe Lane Ditch. The Clerk was to establish which body had responsibility for the ditch along Tithe Lane and then to request maintenance.
g. Planning Application 0600184 Apartments at Roselea Church Lane. The meeting agreed to hold a Planning Meeting on Wednesday 15 March to discuss a number of planning applications.
h. Miscellaneous. The Chairman agreed to organise a working party to remove surplus gravel from the footpath running between The Grove and the High Street and the Clerk was to obtain a price for draining the damp patch at the SW corner of the Churchyard. In addition, the Clerk was to establish the possibility of HDC/CCC fitting additional street lights at selected sites throughout the village.
17. Councillors Items
a. Town Trust. The Chairman advised that the Clerk to the Town Trust had confirmed that the Council could appoint a trustee from within the village.
b. Grass Outside The Grange. The Clerk was to speak to the householder and remind them that the grass to the West of Wraggs Row was part of the Parishs management scheme and that grass cutting of the area would be undertaken by the Council contractor.
c. Feast Week. Cllr Wright advised that there would not be a Ball during 2006 and confirmed that the Feast Week Committee was aware of the need to keep the Parish Council advised of their plans
G M Barradell Chairman of Parish Council 3 April 2006
Hilton Traffic Petition You will have seen that the Parish Council have posted a flyer through your letter box regarding a petition (copy HERE) and we would be most grateful if you could support this important campaign to get a 24 hour HGV ban through the village. Please sign and return (as per the instructions) or email the Parish Clerk (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) with your names (remember every person in your household can sign) and address please.
Unfortunately there were a couple of important errors in the flyer. According the CCC report (copy can be found HERE) that references the traffic survey that took place on the B1040 in July 2019 on page 15, there were in fact 60,935 vehicles that travelled through the village per week of which 7,805 were HGVs (not 8705 vehicles and 1115 HGVs as per the flyer), so you can really appreciate the problem.
MINUTES OF THE HILTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING 01-06 HELD ON MONDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2006 IN THE VILLAGE HALL
Present: Cllrs Barradell (Chairman), Ashby-Swain, Fleming, Randall, Shardlow, Stott, Ward and Wright. In Attendance: Mr Thomas, Clerk to the Parish Council, PCSO Davies and one parishioner.
1. To note Apologies for Absence. Cllr Potter 2. To Approve the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 5 December 2005. Approved unanimously RESOLVED 3. Parishioners Open Session (10 minutes).
a. Dr Salam highlighted the poor state of The Green resulting from vehicle damage. The damage was particularly bad along Wraggs Row where despite the best efforts of Monach Farm staff, drivers chose to exercise inappropriate driving and parking courtesy. He asked that action be taken to repair the surfaces and for the Council to seek ways of preventing further damage. Dr Salam advised that residents of Wraggs Row would be prepared to help fund the provision and installation of suitable bollards.
b. Mr Davies introduced himself to the Council and advised that he was the new Police Community Support Officer covering a number of villages, including Hilton. He had already observed a considerable number of speeding vehicles in the village and agreed to advise on the feasibility of a vehicle speed check in the near future. PCSO Davies also commented on the recent damage to vehicles parked in Potton Road and reminded the Council that criminal damage of cars and harassment of the owners would be viewed seriously by the Police.
4. Declarations of Interest.
Councillors took note of the call from the HDC Monitoring Officer to review the adequacy of their current declarations of interest.
5. To Authorise the Payment of Accounts.
a. £1974 Mr Killick for Footpath Maintenance b. £84 Subscription to Society of Local Clerks c. £278.47 Copleys Solicitors Fees d. £25 Membership of ACRE e. £25 Membership CPRE f. £234.42 CALC subscriptions. g. £83.30 Handymans wages: Dec 05 and Jan 06 h. £12.50 CPRE Workshop 11 Mar 06
The Clerk advised that the subscription for the Society of Local Clerks had been miscalculated and should read £84 not £118 as originally shown. Payment of the above accounts was proposed by Cllr Stott, seconded by Cllr Randall and approved unanimously. RESOLVED
6. Review of A14 Consultation Process.
a. Arrangements for Mr Djanoglys Visit 10 March 2006. Despite concerns that the Highways Agencys Consultation Report might still not have been published, the Council agreed that the planned meeting between Mr Djanogly MP and the village scheduled for the 10 March should go ahead. The A14 Action Group agreed to publicise the meeting and the Clerk was to call a pre-meeting for late February.
b. Report from the A14 Action Group Cllr Wright advised that the petition had been a great success with almost all of those villagers consulted giving their support to the Action Group (AG) objectives. The petition had been handed to the Secretary of State, local MPs and District Councillors. The A14 AG would continue to identify exactly what the village wanted from the detailed design for the new road and to keep pressure on the Highways Agency and other bodies to secure what was in the best interests for Hilton.
c. Action re Joint Villages Initiative. The Clerk advised that 11 other villages had agreed to join the Hilton initiative to form a joint approach to environmental issues with the prospect that some of the other villages might join later. The Highways Agency had recognized the Hilton initiative and had agreed to meet with the villages to help develop the design of the A14. The Clerk was to circulate the Highways Agencys letter to the other villages.
7. Village Web Site.
Despite some delay the system was close to being rolled out. Launch costs were expected to be a little higher than forecast but still within budget.
8. Annual Village Meeting.
The Council agreed to hold the Annual Village Meeting on 10 May 2006 and the Clerk was to invite Matthew Hunt from Cambrigeshire County Council to present the Councils Climate Change Strategy.
9. S106 Scotts Close
A cheque for £9500 generated by the S106 for Scotts Close development had recently been received and banked. The Council noted that there were no specific timeframes for committing the money but also agreed that the process should not be delayed. It was agreed that the matter should be referred to the F&GPWG for resolution.
10. Financial Report.
The Clerk advised that there was likely to be a modest overspend in FY2005. There had been inescapable escalation in some recurring items as well as agreed over-expenditure on a number of non-recurring items. Less than expected receipts from the Village Fireworks had reduced income to the account. Agreed over-expenditure in FY 2005 would be met from reserves which would also go some way to help reduce the excessive holdings highlighted by audit.
11. P3 Application.
The Clerk was to bid for the full £500 of the grant and potential candidates for the funds included a new gate at the start of the Drift and the construction of a hard-path between The Limes and the High Street. The matter would be passed to the F&GPWG for resolution.
12. Grasscutting Contract.
The Clerk explained that following an audit observation, the grass cutting contract had been subject to competitive tender. Three firms had responded and the tenders had been examined by Cllrs Stott and Ashby-Swain. Their recommendation was that the Council should accept the offer from JSC Services even though it was not the cheapest because there were serious concerns regarding the ability of the lowest tenderer to meet the required quality standards. This recommendation was proposed by Cllr Randall, seconded by Cllr Wright and supported unanimously.
13. Report on Meeting of the HJCC Held on 25 Jan 06
The Chairman explained that the main concern of the meeting had been the continuing damage to The Green and the erosion of verges by traffic. The CRO was not in favour of either temporary or permanent structures to deter traffic from driving onto The Green but agreed that traffic cones could be employed for short periods at peak times. The Clerk was to write to Whippet Coaches regarding the damage outside the cricket pavilion and to emphasise the deterioration situation of the state of The Green in Spectrum. The meeting agreed to seek more lasting solutions to traffic on The Green in the F&GPWG.
14 The Clerks Report on Parish Matters. a. Crime Report. There had been four crimes reported since the last meeting: i. 30 Nov 05: Handle forced on garage on Green; no entry gained. ii. 1 Dec 05: Lock to garage door forced; nothing stolen. ii 4-14 Jan 06 Mirror broken off an Astra parked in Potton Road iv 26/27 Jan 06 Bonnet of Astra scratched by handmade sign.
b. HDC Summer Roadshow. HDC had again offered to host a Summer Roadshow. Date offered was 25 July 2006. This date was satisfactory and Cllr Potter had agreed to see if toilet facilities could be made available at the Village Hall.
c. Village of Year Competition. Cllr Potter had agreed to take responsibility for the 2006 round. She had agreed to report to the March meeting of the Council.
d. Repairs to Grass Verges. Discussion held at Item 13. The Clerk was to obtain an estimate for the repair of the damage.
e New Clerk to Town Trust Cllr Ward explained that the Town Trust committee consisted of two persons nominated by the Council, two nominated by the Church with a clerk to deal with the administration. Mr Steven Sheppard had agreed to replace Ralph Slayter as clerk at the end of this financial year. Cllr Ward agreed to further investigate the constitution of the Trust to clarify the terms of membership of the committee.
f. Visiting Scheme for the Elderly. The Council had recently received a letter from Mrs Angela Robinson offering to set up a visiting scheme for elderly residents. The Council welcomed this kind offer and agreed to discuss the concept in more detail in the next F&GPWG.
15. Councillors Items
a. Cllr Stott advised that the Conservation Group intended to carry out further work in the village over the coming months.
b. The Clerk was to request a further traffic survey to be taken in the village as soon as possible.
c. Cllr Randall said that Mr Conway would undertake tree in line with his estimate during March. Mr Burton had agreed to replace the bollards at the top of Wraggs Row and the Clerk was to remind residents of the need to bag dog fouling and to place in the bins provided. Cllr Randall also reported that the recent Police presentation had highlighted that Cambridgeshire County Council had a new specialist dealing with Travellers, Countryside watch has a new awareness campaign and trading standards had agreed to set out new standards to deal with avian flu.
d. The Clerk was to make Highways West aware of the deteriorating condition of Rutland Green.
G M Barradell Chairman of Parish Council 6 March 2006
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