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