Minutes of the Great Staughton Parish Council
AGM held on 27 May 2021 – 7.30pm
Present:
R Jewell (BJ) H Glanville (HG). G Brittain (GB)
N Yates (NY) L Goody (LG)
A Gilbert (AG) J Duberly (JD)
W Mumford (WM)
J Russel (JR) (clerk).
1. Apologies for absence – Ian Gardener, David Moore, Darren Tysoe
2. Election of Officers
Chair – Bob Jewell, HG proposed, NY seconded
Vice chair – Nicole Yates, BJ proposed, AG seconded
Responsible Finance Officer – Jo Russel – Clerk
3. Declaration of Interests – none
4. Residents’ Forum – n/a
5. Election of Sub-Committees –
Planning – all councillors
Playing Field – GB, NY, BJ, JD, WM
Village Hall – DM, LG, HG
Highway Warden & Safety – DM
Neighbourhood watch – vacancy
West Hunts Friendship Club – LG
Parish Charities – to be dealt with at the July meeting
Footpaths – HG
Life Magazine – NY
Speed watch – DM
6. Minutes 4 March 2021 – reviewed and approved
7. Reports from County and District Councillor – Darren Tysoe – no report
Ian Gardener – IG had emailed his report to the councillors prior to the meeting.
8. Matters arising
Green Close potholes – the clerk will chase this up as it has not been dealt with yet by CCC.
Replacement of streetlights in the village – work is now completed. We are still waiting for the CIL monies from HDC though. Clerk will chase.
Bus services – this will be kept under review.
Tree in Moory Croft – HDC agreed to remove this after April 2021 as it is rotten. Clerk will chase up with Joe Hudson at CCC as it has not been removed yet.
Dredging rivers – issue was raised by DM but now has changed his opinion and does not think the river should be dredged as there are concerns that dredging makes flooding worse and so this item can be removed from the agenda.
Parish trees – this has been raised by a local resident as people are picking blossom from the trees. A notice will be put in Life magazine asking people to refrain from picking the blossom. In addition, BJ has been contacted by a local wildlife group asking if parts of the playing field can be left to grow wild. Unfortunately, this is not practical as the field is used by football clubs and it would be difficult to maintain. Plus, there is already some 50 acres of grassland in the village. BJ will ask about Swift boxes being added to the affordable housing project. Regarding trees in the village that may need pruning etc. This will be identified by the PC and Phil Yates will be asked to deal with these as and when necessary. The PC will always ensure that the parish trees are maintained.
Dogs on Leads – it has been noted by a resident that people are not keeping their dogs on a lead. BJ will put a note in Life magazine about.
Footpath blocked near 5 Acres salvage yard – this was first reported to CCC on 12 February. The clerk will chase up and cc Ian Gardener.
9. Attendance at other meetings – n/a
10. Planning
Staughton Moor planning enforcement – BJ has recently visited the site. Little America is under different ownership to the Five Acres site. The PC does not object to Little America’s planning application for CCTV etc. BJ reported that it is a well looked after property. In relation to the salvage yard, HDC and CCC are involved in this due to the pre-application enquiry for waste disposal.
Chestnut Nursery site – lapsed planning permission – this has been raised by a local resident. It is believed that the planning permission for the units has lapsed. It is believed the building does not belong to the school. Clerk will ask the school what their intentions are with the site. It is likely that as a business no longer operates from the site then no one has applied for the planning permission to be renewed.
21/00525/HHFUL – The Old Vicarage, extension to annex – no comments/objections
21/00530/FUL – Little America – security fence and pole for CCTV – no comments/objections
21/00573/HHFUL – The Old Vicarage – removal of entrance – no comments/objections
21/00574/LBC – The Old Vicarage – removal of entrance – no comments/objections
21/00670/LBC – The Old Vicarage – internal alternations for a listed building – no comments/objections
21/00654/LBC – The Old Vicarage – install new internal door – no comments/objections
21/00652/HHFUL – 13 Vicarage Walk – domestic rear extension – no comments/objections
20/02098/FUL – cemetery railings – extension until 1 June for comments to be submitted to HDC Planning. There was some confusion as to what would actually be rebuilt – i.e. what mixture of railings and wall. It was felt that a wall would be in keeping with what was there previously, but JD indicated that this would be very expensive to replace. The PC felt that they would not want just railings but that if it was in keeping with what was already there then they would have no objections. Clerk will raise the issue with HDC.
11. Highways –
LHi Bid 20/21 – emails have been circulated to the councillors. Unfortunately, due to an error by CCC the scheme will now cost double the original estimate. This is due to CCC not including a sum for traffic regulations and the posts for the signs requiring more substantial footings. CCC have said that they will fund £2,500 of the additional monies for the project but if the PC went ahead as per the original plan then we would have to pay a £5700 contribution rather than £1100. The red surface, speed signs and dragon’s teeth cost £2000 and it was agreed that we could change the works so that these are not included, which would save monies. CCC have indicated that drivers tend to ignore the red surface over time plus the PC would have to find the ongoing maintenance costs. It was agreed that this should be the way forward. It was agreed that BJ would ask CCC if they would accept the PC paying a new contribution of £2500.
LHi Bid 2021/22 – councillors are asked to consider this and provide any ideas they may have. We will ask IG if he can visit with the highways engineer.
Pedestrian Crossing Safety ideas – IG will ask an engineer to visit and to provide advice as to what is possible.
Blocked drains in the village – Drains on the corner of Highway and Green Lane are still blocked, as is the drain on Cage Lane. Clerk will chase this up.
Hump in road Dillington outside numbers 3 and 17 – this is substantial work. The timescale for dealing with this is unknown.
Footpath works – CCC are dealing with this. Works will be undertaken in the next few months.
Damage to the bridge – The Town – this matter is ongoing. IG is providing assistance. It is now being dealt with by the CCC legal team. No further input required from the PC.
Broadband Voucher Scheme – the first scheme proved unsuccessful but Fibre is now being installed in parts of the village. The PC does not have any resources to be involved in the voucher scheme but will support any future initiative. No further action required.
Blocked Bridleway – WM raised this issue again. Anglian Water have installed a gate over the bridleway. JR will alert Perry and report to AW. Also, alert CCC as this is a Rights of Way issue. BJ has a number of the bridleway.
12. AGAR 20/21 – this was circulated prior the meeting and all councillors approved JR will now send to the internal auditor.
13. Correspondence – as discussed above.
14. Cashbook – reviewed and approved. Clerk will prepare a VAT reclaim.
15. Income & Expenditure:
Income: £41380.51
Expenditure: £17749.59Phil Yates65.25Element Energy10305.90Bradgate235.20EON982.89Phil Yates52.32Jo Russel323.94CLT Network350.00Phil Yates82.00ROSPA Play Safety181.20CAPALC395.93Bradgate235.20Balfour Beatty3,110.39Red Shoes45.00CAS Ltd308.23Jo Russel326.14Janet Hall750.00
Balance in Community Account £66149.14
Balance in Tracker Account. £14647.67
16. Affordable Housing – BJ reported that the s106 agreement originally produced by HDC was not acceptable to the CLT and the Charities. It has therefore taken a long time to sort with HDC. The Parish Charites and the CLT have now signed it but HDC still have not done so. BJ will continue to press for this to be resolved as soon as possible.
17. Three Village Sustainable Heart Scheme – HG reported that unfortunately a heat scheme is possible but not economically viable. This raised the question as to how any rural village can make this type of scheme work. EE are finalising their report and then the group are going to look at ways of involving the government to work out what can be done. This may take the form of a workshop.
18. Neighbourhood Plan – BJ reported that the group had asked Cambs Acre to assist to help define the vision for the Neighbourhood Plan. The group could do with more members to help with looking at the history of the area, biodiversity and local businesses.
19. Report from:
Village Hall Committee – HG reported that the hall had reopened for education and two groups that have stated to meet again. Some work has been carried out on the roof but further work is needed. PC will pay the invoice and reclaim the VAT.
Playing Field Committee – NY has placed the order for the new play equipment. Many thanks to the Parish Charities for their contribution of £5000.
Neighbourhood Watch – no report
Speed Watch – no report.
West Hunts Friendship Group – LG reported that the group met last week and in its current format is not viable unfortunately. They simply do not have enough members. The thinking is to set up some sort of Community Hub instead.
20. Parish Matters – GB wanted to know if IG and DT know anything about the Denny Brook development. Clerk will ask them.
BJ – proposed that Shaun Prince help with the website. The PC agreed to pay him a monthly retainer to update our website with agendas and minutes etc.
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Meeting closed at 21.42
Dates of meetings for 2021 – 8th July, 9th September, Parish Assembly 23rd September, 11th November
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