Godmanchester Town Council Minutes.

The Minutes of the Godmanchester Town Council are provided simply to increase ease of access for fellow residents here in GMC. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of the webmaster (Stuart Bond) or Godmanchester Community Association. The Minutes are released to the public once they are approved.

Please note that the financial details are not held on this website and that only the entire Minutes as recorded in the Minutes Book have legal standing. Hard copies are posted around the town on the noticeboards and also sent to Huntingdon Library. If you have any queries please contact the Town Clerk by e-mail or telephone / fax 388 870.

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD IN THE GODMANCHESTER TOWN HALL ON THURSDAY 15 APRIL 2004

PRESENT: Mrs A LOOKER Town Mayor, W D BUTTERWORTH Deputy Town Mayor
Councillors: D ASHWORTH, D BROWN, H R BUTCHER, M COHEN, D COMBEN, Mrs H HULL, E KYNOCH, Mrs B MOORE, R NORRIS, A SURSHAM,
Town Clerk: A J WELTON
Mace Bearer: M WILLIAMS

APOLOGIES: Councillors: A GOFF, C VANE PERCY, G WILSON

There were 2 members of the public present.

There was a pre-meeting with the Cambridgeshire County Council, Ms Emma Murden, to discuss traffic calming in Godmanchester. This was in response to the detailed proposals that had been received and debated by the Planning WP. It was DECIDED that the Town Council should prioritise the proposals and respond to CCC within 2 weeks.

The Town Council proper then convened at 9.10pm and the MAYOR requested that matters be confined to decision-making. This was AGREED.

TOWN MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

The MAYOR advised the Council that she had represented the Town on 3 occasions since the last meeting. The DEPUTY MAYOR represented the Town on 1 occasion. The MAYOR reminded the Town Council that there would be a meeting with HDC officers to discuss S106 Agreements. This would be held in QES on Tuesday 25 May 2004, beginning at 7.30pm. It was DECIDED to invite the County Cllr and both District Cllrs to attend.

04/021 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 18 March 2004 were APPROVED and signed as a complete and accurate record.

04/022 MATTERS ARISING

The Outstanding Actions List dated 15 April 2004 was reviewed and it was AGREED that the matter of trees on verges could now be deleted.

04/023 CORRESPONDENCE

The correspondence listed at Appendix A, not covered by the WP reports, was addressed.

The MAYOR advised that she had received a “Springboard Toolkit” from HDC that detailed the local Arts programme. She suggested that a copy should be sent to the Huntingdon and Godmanchester Art Group.

The Town Clerk was to hasten receipt of official forms from HDC in order that Cllrs could record any changes to their individual registers of interests, such as affiliation to political parties.

Cllr Mrs HULL arrived at 9.20pm.

The Town Clerk was to write to Graysons Solicitors and the Environment Agency about the increasing deterioration of the vessel Spartacus, moored in Godmanchester.

041/024 ACCOUNTS

The accounts set out in Appendix B were APPROVED.

The MAYOR and the Town Clerk signed the Reconciliation of the Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2004 as being correct.

04/025 PLANNING APPLICATIONS AND CORRESPONDENCE

The applications and correspondence set out in Appendix C were considered. The Town Clerk was to advise HDC of the Council’s recommendations. All the applications were approved unanimously with the exception of 04/01088/FUL – construction of the National Cycle Route. Cllr KYNOCH voted against the proposal because the construction would lead to the loss of 5 car-parking bays.

04/026 WORKING PARTY (WP) REPORTS

CHUMMS and A14 . There had not been a WP meeting but Cllr ASHWORTH reported that he had received a response to his recent letter to Jonathon Djanogly MP. He would produce a further letter to the MP in draft and would circulate it to Cllrs for comment before finalisation.

Cemetery. Cllr COHEN advised that he had received a letter from the Social Security Office requesting confirmation of current burial charges. He said that charges had remained unaltered since the cemetery had been handed over to the Town Council and he recommended that they remain unchanged for the time being. It was AGREED that a Finance WP would review charges.

Environment. The WP had not met since the last Town Council meeting.

Cllr NORRIS advised that the whips delivered by HDC had now been planted in the Cemetery.

He further advised that he had received a letter from Nokia’s solicitors in which it was alleged that some of the trees in Judith’s Field were beginning to cause subsidence damage and it was recommended that certain vegetation should be removed. The Town Clerk was to reply agreeing but requesting that the vegetation removed be replaced with suitable smaller trees or a hawthorn hedge in order to maintain the present screening. It was further suggested that there should be consultation with the HDC arboriculturist and/or Cllr COMBEN. This was APPROVED.

Cllr NORRIS advised that the repairs to the pathway to Godmanchester lock were underway.

The seats for the Recreation Area and Buttermel Meadow had been ordered.

Finance. The WP had not met but it was proposed that there would be a meeting on Tuesday 11 May 2004 at 4 Crowhill, beginning at 8.00pm. AGREED.

Flood Defences. The WP had not met.

Property/Judith’s Field. Cllr SURSHAM advised that the WP had not met but tenders had been received for the proposed work on the gates and piers at Chadley Lane and East Chadley Lane. The Town Clerk was to check that the conditions set out by SITA in providing funding for this project were met. It was DECIDED that a tender board would be convened to select a successful tenderer and this would meet prior to the Finance WP meeting on 11 May 2004.

Cllr SURSHAM reported that he had investigated the feasibility of providing Disabled Access to the Town Hall. Whilst he had developed the relevant drawings, he had received a letter from HDC acknowledging the difficulties in providing disabled access to older and listed buildings and advising that action should only be considered following complaints from the public. He recommended that, in the circumstances, nothing further should be done at this time. However, it was recommended that the feasibility of providing a portable ramp should be investigated.

The meeting was adjourned at 10.00pm to allow questions from the public.

Mr Paddy Hull from the Godmanchester Community Association asked the Town Council whether it was considered advisable that the Community Association spends £250.00 as the premium for wet weather insurance for the Picnic in the Park. After some discussion, it was RECOMMENDED that this premium should be paid. The MAYOR wished to record the thanks of the Town Council to Mr Hull for his contribution to the Picnic in the Park.

The meeting reconvened at 10.05pm.

Due to the absence of Cllr GOFF on holiday, the Town Clerk reported briefly on Judith’s Field. He advised that the Youth Shelter had been installed and was being used. However, because of various perceived deficiencies in the specifications for the proposed kick wall, selection of a suitable contractor remained on hold until other avenues had been investigated.

Other Representative Groups/Twinning/Inter Town Forum/Detached Youth Initiative. The MAYOR advised that she had been invited to attend the Szentendre celebrations commemorating the entry of Hungary into the EU on 1 May 2004 and said that she would be attending. It was AGREED that the Town would pay the Mayor’s fare up to a maximum of £200.00. The MAYOR was to provide a supporting invoice to the Town Clerk.

The MAYOR pointed to the copy of the “workshop feedback” that had been provided to each Cllr, indicating the various issues and possible solutions in tackling anti-social behaviour.

There was some discussion of the news article on the BBC television programme “Look East” in which Godmanchester had been highlighted as a “town living in fear” because of the level of vandalism. It was generally agreed that the language used had been inappropriate and irresponsible. The report was unbalanced and could seriously undermine the work already undertaken in the Community by the Town Council, Youth Workers, Huntingdonshire Community Safety Partnership, the PCSOs, HHP Street Wardens, the Police and the Neighbourhood Watch Groups. Cllr Mrs HULL had attended a Police Consultation Group meeting immediately prior to this Town Council meeting and had received apologies from the Sector Commander. It was generally agreed that it would have been common courtesy if the Mayor had been consulted prior to the programme being aired.

The Town Clerk was to write to the District and County Cllrs to remind them that they should, out of courtesy, advise the Town Mayor of proposed activities within the Town.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS. The Town Clerk had received an e-mail from the Secretary of the Godmanchester Rovers Football Club requesting a letter of support addressed by the Town Council to the Football Foundation be forwarded to the Godmanchester Football and Sports Trust as they were seeking funding from various sources for help towards the new building. After some discussion it was DECIDED that the Town Clerk would send a suitable letter.

Cllr BROWN presented his apologies for the Planning WP meeting to be held on Thursday 13 May 2004 and advised that he would be out of the country on business. He asked if Cllr WILSON could chair the meeting in his absence. The Town Clerk was to contact Cllr WILSON.

THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING WILL BE HELD ON 20 MAY 2004

The meeting ended 10.23 pm Mayor

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