COMBERTON
PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT
The Parish Council has been chaired this year by Dr
Malcolm Wright. All of the Parish Council members have an area of
responsibility and many also serve on one or more of the council’s committees
or working parties, reports of which are below. This enables the council to
thoroughly consider the many areas of its business and plan and implement its
projects effectively during the year. The Chairman is ex-officio on all
committees and working groups. The following reports have been written by the
members whose names are in brackets.
Chairman’s
Report to Annual Parish Meeting
Shortly after the start of the Council’s year Bill
Watts sadly died. Bill had been a member of the Parish Council continuously for
over forty years until his death on June 8.For over thirty of those years he
also represented the village on the District Council and has given enormous
service to the village. He was passionate about trees and was the Parish
Council Tree Warden at the time of his death. Bill was largely responsible for
establishing Watts Wood(see later in this report).Amongst his other varied
activities included the Village Hall, Allotments & Gardens Association and
the Royal British Legion. Bill is greatly missed.
The Parish Council has had another very active year
bringing about numerous improvements to the amenities
and appearance of the village.
Probably the most notable achievement was in being
named Village of the Year 2002 in
The Golden
Jubilee Celebrations were in the end a great success in spite of little
interest in the organisation from members of the village. An estimated 600
residents brought their picnics and were entertained by three groups including
our local Jazz band ,The Combertones,
headed by Keith Jackson. Ian Rigg was the compere for
the evening and the festivities ended with a firework display executed by Chris
Warner. This display was sponsored by local businesses to whom many thanks. The
evening started with a balloon race organised by the Meridian PSA.
Later in the year a large crowd turned out for the Christmas Lights Event in the
playground of the Playgroup to be entertained by carols played by the Salvation
Army Band .Hot festive punch and roasted chestnuts were prepared and served by
members of the Parish Council and mincepies courtesy
of the WI. The band then moved to
Very soon the Parish
Plan based on the findings of the Village Appraisal of 2001 will be complete
and we will begin to see the implementation of certain elements of it.
Preparation of the plan has involved an enormous amount of work by residents
including members of the Parish Council .Comberton is at the forefront of
producing Parish Plans and Mark Bennett, who initiated it, is frequently asked
to give advice to other villages. Of course any improvements cost money which
has resulted in an increase in the Parish precept but much of the funding for
these will come from outside sources in the form of grants.
A
Plans for a much needed New Village Hall are well under way and hopefully it will be built
by the end of 2004 on the car park of the existing hall. The Steering Group for
the new hall have met frequently since it was formed in November 2001 resulting
in the plans which were exhibited on March 15th .Over 100 people
attended this exhibition many of whom expressed
approval of the plans. The new hall will cost a large amount of money so
fund raising is very high on the agenda. Donations and offers to hold
fundraising events will be very gratefully received. Our thanks to the Steering
Committee under the chairmanship of Al Gadney for all their hard work. Also to
the Village Hall Committee in managing the existing hall.
The Village
Memorial is now in place on the corner of Swaynes Lane & Barton Road.
At the time of writing the landscaping of the site has not been completed and
the words have not been added. This will all be finished for an official
unveiling on May 10th.When all of this is done it is hoped that
those who have already said they don’t like it will change their minds. The
South Cambs. District Council through their Arts Development fund have provided
a large grant for this project.
The Parish Council was very happy to fund a Memorial Plaque to be hung in St.
Mary’s Church commemorating those who died in the Second World War.
The Recreation
Ground desperately needs enlarging to give more space for sports including
football, cricket, skateboard etc and also to provide space for general
recreation. The Parish Council would like to acquire the 7 acre field to the
north of the present rec. and is currently looking into ways of doing this.
Watts Wood on the Herringfield Drift
has recently been acquired by the Parish Council from the South Cambridgeshire
District Council. This will be a fitting memorial to Bill Watts who did so much
for the village including much of the work in the creation of the wood. We are
very grateful to John Smith who has also done much to help make this into such
a delightful spot.
A Flood
Action Group has been formed .Max Bacon is leading it with the aim of
improving drainage of water at times of heavy rain. He is working with South
Cambs District Council, Anglia Water and the Environment Agency to ensure that
the village does have adequate drainage and that this is regularly maintained.
The main problems at present are the mixture of sewage with storm drainage,
leading to unacceptable pollution when covers are forced up and the inability
of the three main streams to cope with the flow after heavy rain. We hope to
resolve both these failings and welcome the help of residents to advise us
where they know of particular problem
areas. Please contact the Clerk in the first instance.
The Village
Enhancement Focus Group under the chairmanship of Chris Westgarth has been
very active in bringing about improvements to the village.
The Tree
Group is now headed by Robert Cook who the Council was very pleased to
welcome as the new Tree Warden .The Group does valuable work in maintaining
existing trees and hedges and planting new ones.
The Planning
Sub-committee of the Parish Council under the leadership of Rhona Bratt has
a big task in responding to the numerous planning applications received. The
District Council in arriving at their decisions do not always agree with our
views but it is essential that we express them.
It is expected that the Housing Development on Barton Road will soon commence and with it
the traffic calming measures including a roundabout at the junction with Long
Rd.
This new area of housing will be known as Thornbury.
The Mobile
Warden and Village Help Schemes continue to be great assets to this village
which the Parish Council is very happy to support financially. Thanks to all
those whose efforts make these work.
Work on The Causeway is now virtually complete
and it is now a very interesting historical feature of the village. The
restoration work has been supported by a grant from the County Council Parish
Paths Partnership. The Parish Council is looking to create additional footpaths
to link up those which already exist.
Litter continues to be a problem.
Four of the ‘rustic’ litter bins still have to be installed, one of which will
be sited next to the corner shop which is a litter blackspot.
These bins which were designed by and made for the Parish Council have
attracted the attention of other villages who have ordered some for
themselves.(e.g. Harston).
The Village
Map which was stolen with its frame from Harbour Avenue last year has at last been replaced and
should be erected by the time this report is read together with the one on the
bus shelter. The new maps are fade proof.
We are very fortunate to have an excellent Parish
Magazine ‘Contact’. Our thanks to
the editor Mary Whiting and her team for doing a great job. The Parish Council
is very happy to provide a grant towards its production.
It is very disappointing to report that there are
only 7 candidates for the 13 places on the Parish Council. In a village with
about 2,500 residents one would have expected better. The Parish Council will
be looking for people to co-opt to fill the vacancies so if anyone is looking
for an interesting, satisfying occupation where they can give something back to
the village please contact the Clerk.
Finally I would like to thank all of my Parish
Council colleagues and our hard working Clerk for all their efforts over the
past four years. We have together achieved a great deal as reflected in this
report and that only covers the last year! Previous reports showed a similar
level of activity. The results of this are apparent for all to see. Personally
I have enjoyed these last four years and feel a great deal of satisfaction in
what we have achieved. I will now take a rest.
Village Enhancement and Parish Paths Partnership
(P3) (Chris Westgarth)
The
Village Enhancement Focus Group usually meets once a month looking at ways to
improve the village from anything from drains to traffic calming with the aim
of making Comberton a better place to live in.
Litter bins/Dog bins
Following
the anonymous donation last year we have been able to enhance the village with
the provision of the rustic bins. We still have a few more to site and these
should be in place by the time you read this report. We will be putting in 3
new dog bins and would encourage dog owners to act responsibly and to 'pick up'
after their dog.
Village Map
Following
the theft of the village map at Harbour Avenue, we have had a replacement made.
Footpaths
Comberton
continues to be a member of The Parish Paths Partnership (P3). This involves
the parish working with the County Council to ensure that the footpaths are
well maintained and accessible to all. With this in mind The Causeway has been
restored and the ancient cobbles revealed. Work on the drainage at the foot of
the Causeway, later this year will alleviate this swampy area. We have surveyed
all the rights of way within the parish and are working with local landowners
to improve access to all. We are still looking at the possibility of creating
some new footpaths in the village to form circular walks incorporating the
existing ones. This is a fairly slow process but we are hopeful of a positive
outcome.
Public Art Project (Village memorial)
You
cannot have failed to notice the larger than life 'Head'. It has already
received several comments, positive and negative…
One of
the objectives of any public art project is to encourage people to view and
talk about 'art'… and Combertonions have certainly
been doing that.
At the
time of writing the project is not completed and several issues concerning the
planting and the care and usability of the site will need to be addressed.
Jubilee picnic in the park
This
was a truly memorable occasion. Over 600 people enjoyed an afternoon and
evening of live music, including the local ‘popstars'
competition, the great balloon race and culminating with a spectacular firework
display.
Jubilee Sensory Garden -Harbour Avenue
This
project is funded by a grant from Awards for all; it could only be used for
something to commemorate the Queen's jubilee. A unique feature in this scheme
will be a scale replica of the original village maze.
Christmas Lights
A
couple of hundred people braved the winter weather to enjoy a time of Christmas
carols, courtesy of the Salvation Army, roasted, chestnuts, mince pies and
festive punch. General feeling is that this should be an annual village event.
Waymarkers
We are
looking a ways of providing signage for village amenities, i.e. Watts Wood, the
recreation Ground, the Church, the Village Hall, etc. Again we will be looking
at sources of external funding for this project. These will probably be
'rustic' to continue the rustic rural theme around the village.
Tree Group (Robert Cook)
During 2000 the Parish Council commissioned a survey
of trees on land in their ownership. The
aim was to provide a basis from which future management and enhancement of
trees in the village could be planned.
The survey has provided a catalogue and synopsis of the location,
condition and health status of over 300 trees for which the Parish Council has
responsibility.
The Parish Tree Group, comprising Dorothy Morison
and Jane Wakelin as Parish Council members and Robert Cook, Tree Warden has
inspected each of the trees during the winter.
We are developing a management plan which will consider new planting
opportunities within the village and other enhancements to the village
environment.
Planning
(Rhona Bratt)
The Parish Council considers all planning applications
and make recommendations to the District Council, for their approval or
refusal. A planning committee composed
of five members of the Parish Council review most with the full Parish Council
considering larger applications.
All plans are received from South Cambs District
Council and circulated to committee members, between meetings, to allow ample
time for each member to consider and prepare a response. Notice of which plans
have been received and an agenda giving the time and location of meetings are
placed on the Notice Board, outside the newsagents shop on the corner of West
Street and South Street. A list of plans received can also be found on the
village Internet site. http://www.comberton.org.uk/planning/planning.htm
Meetings take place, if required, on the second and
fourth Wednesday of the month, in the old Village Hall. Members of the public
are welcome to attend the planning meetings, particularly if the have an interest
in or a concern about a particular plan.
The plans are also loaned out to residents who are encouraged to write
with their comments to the District Council.
The decisions on the applications can be found on the Internet at http://www.comberton.org.uk/planning/planning.htm
as well as in the Minutes of the Parish Council Meetings.
The planning committee considers a wide range of
applications including residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural
developments. During the year up to early April 2002 the following plans have
been received (figures in brackets are for the previous year) and subsequently
approved by the District Council, some after refinements:
·
16 (16) domestic extensions
·
2 (4) garages
·
3 (1) conservatories
·
3 (5) listed building changes
·
1 (3) conversion of Barns/outhouses
·
1 (2) Telecommunications
·
2 (1) new dwelling
·
1 (2) vehicular access
The following applications are still outstanding: 3
extensions, 1 conservatory, 4 listed building, 1 Telecommunications, 2 signage,
2 new homes and a development of 25 houses on Barton Road. This last
application is likely to be fully approved by late spring 2003. The Parish Council is also consulted on
planning applications in neighbouring parishes, for example all applications at
Comberton Village College.
A small number of applications were refused, 1
extension, 1 new home (applied for and refused on two occasions) and 1 signage
application.
Issues of public safety, highway access and the
prevention of damage to overhead services have been paramount. Work to reduce these risks and congested
growth has been identified and some has been completed. The Parish Council is also responsible for a
number of hedges. We aim to change their
management to enhance benefit for wildlife.
Cutting will in future take place on a biennial cycle in February, so
that berries will be available for over winter bird feed, with trimming
completed before nesting takes place.
A number of sites where trees have died or are in
poor health have been identified and some replanting has been completed. Additional sites for informal plantings have
been identified and these will be discussed with local residents before any new
trees or shrubs are planted.
The Parish Council may soon own this small area of
woodland on the site of the former sewage works. We intend to prepare a management plan to
improve the biodiversity of the site, whilst allowing
public access. An offer to supply
indigenous deciduous trees for the wood has been received and we aim to plant
the seedlings this Autumn.
The Parish Council has agreed that we should try to
tidy up the north side of the village pond, the grass area extended and a small
number of ornamental trees planted.
During the last six months there have been eight
requests for guidance or information on trees in private gardens or village
land. The group will continue to welcome
comments from the village, which includes many residents with special skills in
environmental and wildlife management.
Parish Plan
Steering Committee (Mark Bennett)
Following the success of the village appraisal,
during which opinions were sought from all households on matters of concern
within the village, five groups from the community have been working for most
of this last year on the detailed areas within the parish plan, namely village
infrastructure, transport, recreation and sport, public services, and the
environment. These reports are now complete and the entire plan, including
budgets and short-term and long-term recommendations, have been approved by the
Parish Council. A summary booklet for all households has now been prepared and
is due for distribution within the next few weeks.
Whilst the Parish Council has put aside some funds
for the implementation of the plan these have to be matched by about 10 to 1
from outside sources and discussions are now taking place to finding possible
funding.
As we move to the implementation phase of the Parish
Plan volunteers are being sought from the village to help drive forward the
work required in the many areas involved, especially in recreation, sport and
transport. If anyone has an interest in any particular area – however small –
they are encouraged to come forward. It is hoped that this will become a real
community exercise which will begin to make a positive change to the life of
the village.
Village Hall
Steering Group (Charles Chambers and Janet McCabe)
The Village Hall Steering Group was set up in December 2001 to take forward the development of a new village hall. The existing hall has served our community well, but does not satisfy new government regulations, and refurbishment of the old hall is not considered to be cost-effective.
The Village Hall Steering Group is made up of 9 local representatives, including 2 parish councillors and meets approximately once per month. Most of the last year has been dedicated to establishing the requirements for a new hall, identifying an appropriate location and consulting with villagers and users of the existing hall on what Comberton needs. These needs were captured in a design brief. After discussion with planning authorities (the departments of Highways, Planning and Conservation) is was established that the existing site was the most suitable. An architect (Chris Sale) and quantity surveyor (Ian Kendall) have been appointed to work with the VHSG to translate the design brief into a design that can be costed, and used for planning and grant applications.
A draft design has been completed. A presentation to the village was held on 15th March when over 100 people came to see the design, providing overwhelming support to the work that had been done. This design has also been approved in principle by both the Parish Council and the Village Hall Trustees.
The VHSG is now working on
the business plan, seeking planning permission and applying for grants. The
critical issue now is to raise the necessary funds and the majority of this is
likely to require support from the Community Fund (‘Lottery’). Village
organisations have already raised more than £2000, and the Parish Council has,
in principle, committed £60,000 to the costs over several years.
Finance (the
Clerk)
The audit for the FY ending 2002 has been completed
and this was the first year of what is termed 'the lighter touch regime' which
means that not one but two audits must be undertaken! The internal audit was
carried out by Mrs Pauline Wright of Comberton and the Council's thanks go to
Mrs Wright for kindly undertaking this work.
The audit not only checks that the figures balance
but also looks at risk assessment for example:
· Is the Council
budgeting effectively?
· Spending on
appropriate items
· Monitoring its
budget and being proactive and not too reactive
I am pleased to report that the Parish Council was
given a clean bill of health and copies of the accounts are available on
request.
The accounts for FY ending 2003 are being prepared
for audit which will take place this year at the beginning of August. Once
again thanks go to Mrs Pauline Wright for kindly agreeing to undertake the
necessary checks.
The budget for FY ending 31 March 2004 (the current
year) has been approved and copies are available on request. The budget not
only identifies basic and maintenance items which can not be avoided when
running a village but also the special projects for the year. As these projects
are in the main detailed in the Parish Plan some funding was agreed in the
budget to underpin the Plans aims. The Parish Council also agreed to support
the proposed new village hall.