COMBERTON PARISH COUNCIL

Wednesday 10 January 2007 in the Comberton Village Hall at 7.30pm

Members present:

Councillors:

Dr C Chambers

Mr Coulson

Mr A Hollick

Mrs D Morison

Dr R Rintoul

Mr R Rowland

Mr D Charge

Mr D Ellis

Mrs S Hyde

Dr J McCabe

Dr H Roscoe

Miss C Westgarth (Chairman)

In attendance: Cllr Baldwin and Harangozo, 2 members of the public and Mrs G Stoehr (Clerk).

Comments and observations from members of the public

It was bought to the attention of the Parish Council that all the streetlights along West Street up to Kentings are not working. It was also highlighted that the current pot holes in the Recreation Ground car park may deter use of the recycling facilities.

1. To approve apologies for absence and declarations of interest

1.0 There were no apologies as everybody was present.

1.1 The following declarations of interest were noted:

· Miss Westgarth declared a personal interest in the S137 request as a member of the Parochial Church Council.

· Dr McCabe declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the S137 request from Mobile Warden Scheme.

1.2 The resignation from Mrs Webb was noted.

2. To approve the minutes of the meeting on 13 December 2006

2.0 On a proposition by Dr McCabe, seconded by Mr Ellis the minutes of the previous meeting of 13 December 2006 were approved as a true record after the following amendments:

· Item: 2 the word ‘been’ should be inserted.

· Item: 3.6 ‘letter form’ should read ‘letter from’.

· Item: 5.4 ‘lo0ok’ should be spelt ‘look’.

3 Matters arising or carried forward from the meeting for discussion or decision including

3.1 (3.6) To consider another letter from Mr Catley, District Valuer

On a proposition by Mr Charge, seconded by Dr Roscoe it was agreed to reopen this matter in order to discuss the recent letter from Mr Catley, District Valuer dated 21 December 2006 in which he states that he wishes to resolve the issue of outstanding fees by agreeing to compromise[1].

On a proposition by Mrs Morison it was proposed to offer a sum of £200 to Mr Catley. This proposal was not seconded.

On a proposition by Dr Roscoe, seconded by Mr Charge it was agreed to accept the compromise offer from Mr Catley and the Parish Council pay an extra £300. The vote was recorded as 7 for, 3 against and 2 abstentions.

4. County Councillor and District Councillor reports & questions

4.0 County Councillor

The County Councillor’s report[2] included:

· Additional funding has been awarded for the Guided Bus and the project has now started.

· The PFI waste disposal contract is due to be shortly awarded.

· A pay as you throw concept of charging has been reported in the news.

· The A428 road works were expected to be completed early.

· The CCC Budget consultation.

4.1 District Councillor

The District Councillor’s report[3] included:

· The difficulties facing Milton Country park.

It was agreed that the Parish Council would write a letter to South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) asking that it does all it can to keep the park open.

5. Finance, procedure & risk assessment

5.1 To receive the financial report and to approve the payment of bills[4]

The financial report was received and considered and checked by a member against the invoices and statements. On a proposition by Dr Chambers, seconded by Dr McCabe it was agreed that the payments as listed in the financial report should be paid plus: Miss Westgarth £41.65 (re-imbursement of lights event)

BT	Telephone bill	£57.00
PT Pinner and Son	Plants	£58.46
ACRE	Affiliation fee	£25.00
SLCC	Affiliation fee	£135.00
Peter Oakes	Slide repairs	£869.50
LGS Services	Admin support	£826.52
LG Stoehr	Salary	£136.76
CCC	Graffiti removal	£117.50
A Marsh	Pavilion cleaning	£150.00
Land Registry	Land dispute	£100.00

The following was noted:

· The SLCC affiliation will be shared between the Clerk's councils. Comberton Parish Council's contribution will be net £19.28.

· Parts have been ordered to repair the swings.

· A letter will be sent to the football clubs following a complaint that the pavilion lights were left following matches four weeks in a row.

· The Clerk attended a training course in December on the audit and role of the internal auditor. The mileage costs were shared between the Clerk's councils.

5.2 To consider the tenders received for the assets review work and to issue the contract/s

It was noted that tenders had been received from Herald Contract Services, MD Landscapes and On the Ball. On a proposition by Mrs Morison, seconded by Mr Coulson it was unanimously agreed that the Parish Council will pick and choose who undertakes the village assets work and this was allocated to the Clerk to allocate.

5.3 Quality Council Status

On a proposition by Dr Roscoe, seconded by Dr Chambers it was unanimously agreed to apply for a grant towards the administrative cost of the application.

5.4 To consider the Budget recommendation from the working Group and to agree the Budget for FY 2008

5.4.0 The notes on the Budget working group meeting held on 4 January[5] as drafted by the RFO were considered.

On a proposition by Dr Chambers, seconded by Miss Westgarth it was agreed to adopt the following principles:

· The Council will continue to look for other sources of funding apart from the Precept to fund its budget

· There should be strategic benefit

· The Council should endeavour to make the recreation ground and pavilion run at as near to, if not at, nil cost

· Support should be given to other village groups and organisations which benefit the village

· The sports pavilion and recreation ground should be self financing and sports use should reflect fair use.

· Any capital expenditure should have a strategic benefit.

The Parish Council agreed a baseline budget of £49,636 as a starting point; this amounting to the minimum requirement of the Council to operate for the forthcoming 12 months.

· On a proposition by Dr Chambers, seconded by Miss Westgarth it was agreed to budget £500 for a pump.

· On a proposition by Miss Westgarth, seconded by Mr Rowland it was agreed that the land purchase fund should be carried forward as this was going to be required in the forthcoming year.

· On a proposition by Miss Westgarth, seconded by Mrs Morison it was agreed to budget £3000 for youth projects.

· The report/recommendation from the TWG that £3,000 is set aside for the purpose of traffic claming was noted and considered. On a proposition by Dr Chambers, seconded by Dr McCabe it was agreed to accept the TWG request/recommendation and budget £3k for traffic calming. The vote was recorded as 12 for and 1 abstention.

· On a proposition by Miss Westgarth, seconded by Dr Roscoe it was agreed to budget £1600 for the pond wall and obtain an ecology grant. The vote was recorded as 11 for and 2 abstentions. It was agreed that a letter should be sent to Mr and Mrs Turnbull re the bulging pond wall.

· It was agreed to carry forward discussion of the finger post to the next meeting for further consideration. Sponsorship may be considered.

· On a proposition by Dr Chambers, seconded by Miss Westgarth it was agreed to budget £200 for a gazebo/s.

· On a proposition by Dr Chambers, seconded by Dr Roscoe it was unanimously agreed to budget £750 for village events.

· It was agreed to seek insurance advice with regards to the pond.

· Each of the reserve headings was reviewed to see if any could be released into general reserves or to offset the amount which would need to be raised by the precept.

· The cost of running the pavilion and sports pitches was considered.

5.4.2 S137 requests

5.4.2.1 Dr McCabe having declared a prejudicial interest in this item and left the room whilst the matter was being discussed. On a proposition by Miss Westgarth, seconded by Mrs Hyde it was unanimously agreed to include £1500 for the Warden Scheme in the 2008 budget. Dr McCabe re-joined the meeting.

5.4.2.2 A letter dated 1 January 2007 from the Comberton Renewable Energy Group requesting financial assistance to in its ongoing work to raise awareness of energy and climate change issues in the village was noted. It was agreed to award Comberton Renewable Energy Group £75 from this year’s budget.

5.4.2.3 An e-mail/request dated 1 January 2007 from A Marsh on behalf of Comberton Football Club for financial assistance was noted and considered. It was agreed that before any request can be considered more information is required and to carry this matter forward to the next meeting.

5.4.3 Miss Westgarth declared a personal interest in this item as a member of the Parochial Church Council. On a proposition by Mrs Hyde, seconded by Mr Hollick it was unanimously agreed to include £750 for the churchyard maintenance in the 2008 budget.

5.4.3 On a proposition by Dr Chambers, seconded by Mrs Morison it was agreed to allow an amount of £200 for any other S137 donations.

5.5 To set and demand the Precept for 2008

On a proposition by Mrs Morison, seconded by Miss Westgarth it was unanimously agreed to demand a precept of £57886.00, this being the amount required by Comberton parish Council to balance its budget.

Mr Rowland left the meeting.

5.6 Internal Auditor & reply from N Sloman

The letter from Mr Sloman saying he would not reconsider continuing as the Internal Auditor was noted. A new Internal Auditor is to be found.

6. To receive reports and members items and consider recommendations therein

6.1 Planning report[6]

Taken ad read.

6.2 Power disruptions before Christmas

It was noted that there were disruptions in power on the 23 December 2006 resulting in large parts of Comberton, and also parts of Toft and Bourn were caused by a resident carrying out unauthorised work in/on the awarded watercourse. An article is to be put in the newsletter explaining and Mr Pat Matthews at SCDC is to be informed.

7. To consider matters arising out of correspondence/communications received including

7.1 Mr Banyard – Village Hall, fire emergency facilities

The letter from Mr Banyard dated 14 December 2006 regarding fire emergency facilities within in the new Village Hall[7] was considered. The copy of the reply from Mr Brian Cook and Mr Colin Waller’s to Mr Banyard was also considered. It was agreed that the room was too hot this evening even with the fan on its highest setting. This is to be taken up with the Village Hall Committee.

7.2 R McGuinness – request to purchase POS adjacent to 76 Harbour Avenue

In response to the e-mail from Ruth McGuinness dated 4 January 2007 enquiring into the possibility of purchasing the POS adjacent to 76 Harbour Avenue[8] on a proposition by Miss Westgarth, seconded by Mrs Morison it was agreed not to sell the land in question to Ruth McGuinness. The vote was recorded as 12 for and 1 abstention.

7.3 CCC Budget consultation[9]

Noted. Each member was given a consultation questionnaire to complete should they so wish.

8. Closure of meeting

There was no further business and the meeting closed at 9.55 pm.

Signed ……………………………………. .Chairman …………………date