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 16 AUGUST 2007

PRESENT: M COHEN Town Mayor, C R HYAMS Deputy Town Mayor
Councillors: H R BUTCHER , W D BUTTERWORTH, A GOFF, B HENNESSY, Mrs H HULL, E KYNOCH, Mrs A M LOOKER, Mrs E TREHARNE-JONES, C VANE PERCY, G WILSON

Town Clerk: Mrs M LIDDIARD

APOLOGIES: Cllrs D BROWN, Mrs C A GODLEY,

MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

THE MAYOR advised he had represented the Town on 7 occasions since the last meeting and the DEPUTY MAYOR had represented the Town on 1 occasion.

THE MAYOR reported CLLR MRS MOORE had resigned her position as Town Councillor. Sincere thanks are recorded for her many years of service. The vacancy has been advertised and all interested residents should write to the Town Clerk in the first instance.

THE MAYOR reminded all Cllrs that the Annual Civic Service would be held on 16th September. He hoped as many as possible would attend.

THE MAYOR reported the French Market held on 15th July had been well attended and it was AGREED a further market could be held towards the end of October. The organisers and also London House Signs would be advised that it was not permissible to place any advertising signage on the QES as this would further damage the building.

THE MAYOR confirmed the Twinning event Youth Together in Europe would take place from 24th – 28th September.

Mrs Carter, caretaker for Judith’s Field had tendered her resignation. The Town Clerk would pass on the Town Council’s thanks for her excellent work in the past year. A replacement would be needed and CLLR HYAMS and CLLR BUTTERWORTH would join the Town Clerk to conduct interviews.

07/063 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The Minutes of the meeting held on 12 July 2007 were APPROVED and signed as a complete and accurate record.

07/064 MATTERS ARISING

All Cllrs were reminded to submit articles for the next Town Council newsletter by 1st September to CLLR HYAMS.

It was AGREED to repair the broken doors to the cupboard housing an electricity meter at Judith’s Field. CLLR BROWN’S quotation of £78 was accepted. It was also AGREED that the meter would be turned off to determine which property it was connected to.

CLLR WILSON had prepared a response to HDC regarding the Core Strategy. He was thanked for being thorough. CLLR MRS LOOKER and CLLR HYAMS declared an interest.

The Environment Agency have requested the opportunity to place up to 3 fishing platforms with access for persons with disabilities along the Mill Stream. The Town Clerk would seek clarification regarding on going maintenance, regular inspections, signage and liability for the platforms. The Town Council accepted the proposal in principle subject to confirmation of the above information. CLLR KYNOCH is against this proposal and 3 further Cllrs did not support this proposal.

CLLR GOFF reported he had considered provision of cycle racks instead of railings but had not been able to source a suitable design. It was AGREED to go ahead with provision of railings at a cost of £945 from B E Welding and allow a further £500 for Breheny to incorporate D shaped hoops as cycle racks.

CLLR GOFF also reported damaged railings along The Avenue. He would ask Breheny to quote for repairs.

CLLR BUTCHER reported he had found portable and sturdy coat rails at a cost of £44 each. It was AGREED to purchase two. Town Clerk’s Note: It has also been agreed to purchase fixed coat hangers for the rails at an additional cost of £76.

CLLR BUTTERWORTH reported some progress had been made in relation to Deeds and registering Town Council land. The Town Clerk would now follow up enquiries with Hunnybun Solicitors.

CLLR KYNOCH AGREED to review Standing Orders and report back with recommendations at the October meeting.

No further comments have been received from residents regarding the one way section of Old Court Hall. CLLR BUTTERWORTH therefore proposed closing this matter and writing to all residents to confirm that without support from the residents affected, we would not be taking action. This was AGREED.

CLLR BUTCHER was hoping to organise a trip to view the work undertaken by the painting conservator in the next few weeks. He would liaise with the Town Office to confirm dates.

07/065 CORRESPONDENCE (see Appendix A)

Mr Sursham had written asking permission to tidy up the non-conformist burial ground. It was confirmed the Men’s Group of the Church PCC maintained the main burial ground. It was AGREED that the Town Clerk would write to Mr Sursham advising him it was not our land and we could not therefore grant permission. CLLR VANE PERCY would discuss the matter with Mr Sursham personally.

The cricket club have requested a grant towards a variety of projects they are undertaking. Town Clerk would write to advise we consider grants in June and December each year.

The Town Clerk confirmed Moore Stephens have closed our annual audit for the year ending 31 March 2007 without comment. Thanks would be passed to our Internal Auditor, Mr Ken Sneath.

Mr Thackray had asked whether Godmanchester Town Council would support a Godmanchester in Bloom initiative. It was AGREED that we would support this in principle and Town Clerk would write to provide details of the S137 Grant Application procedure.

CLLR BUTTERWORTH advised residents in Linden Grove had written complaining about bad parking, road obstructions and hazards. It was AGREED the matter should be referred to CCC and PCSOs should also be advised. Town Clerk would write to all parties.

A quote for repairing the roof cladding at Judith’s Field was deferred until the building protection railings had been installed. Town Clerk would also investigate cost of UVPC cladding as an alternative.

CLLR HENNESSY reported he had received a request from NHS Mental Health Division to attend a Town Council meeting to advise Cllrs of their work. It was AGREED to invite a representative to attend the October meeting.

HDC’s Monitoring Officer had written indicating training could be provided for all Cllrs on the New Model Code of Conduct. Town Clerk would arrange a session to take place asap. Town Clerk’s Note: It was subsequently AGREED this training session would not take place during a normal Town Council meeting.

CLLR MRS HULL advised our MP had written to the Secretary of State asking for reconsideration of the Flood Alleviation Schemes for Cambridgeshire in light of recent adverse weather conditions.

A refund for the proportion of Godmanchester Town Council’s unspent donation to the Live the Dream Scheme had been received.

CLLR KYNOCH referred all Cllrs to a website relating to a white paper on Planning for a Sustainable Future.

CLLR MRS LOOKER and CLLR MRS HULL had attended an Inter-Town Forum with Town Clerks and Cllrs from St Neots, St Ives, Ramsey and Huntingdon. Discussions had taken place regarding a draft Charter and Town Clerks were keen to set up their own agency agreements. HDC have stated they will not negotiate with individual parishes and want to work with a collective. The next meeting will be held on 5th November. It was AGREED it was not practical for Godmanchester as a smaller parish to support collective negotiations and CLLR MRS LOOKER/CLLR MRS HULL would report this back to the next meeting.

07/066 ACCOUNTS

The accounts set out in Appendix B were APPROVED. A petty cash account for the period ending 16th August 2007 was presented to the Council. The Town Clerk had confirmed prior to the meeting that the £20 discrepancy in the latest bank reconciliation had been found to be a bank error and had been rectified.

It was further confirmed that the Town Clerk and Town Clerk’s Assistant could work up to 10 hours overtime in a month, under exceptional circumstances although this was not likely to be a regular occurrence. The Town Clerk confirmed that during her recent holiday period the Town Clerk’s Assistant had worked an additional 5 hours.

As Keith Walters would be covering both caretaker’s positions until a replacement caretaker could be found for Judith’s Field, it was AGREED he would be paid double time on the days he was required to work at Judith’s Field.

07/067 PLANNING APPLICATIONS

The applications and correspondence set out in Appendix C were considered. The Town Clerk would advise HDC of the Council’s recommendations.

CLLR WILSON reported the Development Control Panel (DCP) to be held on 20 August would be considering the development of the car park at Bridge Place. He would speak on behalf of the Town Council but the Town Clerk would write to the Chair of the DCP advising of our concerns regarding dramatic traffic flow problems and the need for a traffic impact analysis. The Town Council still considers the provision of a safe pedestrian crossing must be a condition of this application being approved.

CLLR HYAMS advised the proposed dwelling in Berry Lane was due to go to DCP but an independent consultant had been appointed and this matter would be deferred.

07/068 DISTRICT/COUNTY COUNCIL REPORTS

CLLR HYAMS asked that comments be forwarded to him regarding CCC Rural Transport.

07/069 WORKING PARTY (WP) REPORTS: not covered by correspondence

Cemetery: THE MAYOR advised he would provide details of the plots requiring turfing at the London Road Cemetery in the next couple of weeks.

Twinning: CLLR BUTCHER presented a quote for £49 from Godmanchester Picture Framers (CLLR BROWN) to frame two banner style pictures of the Twinned Towns. This was APPROVED.

CLLR VANE PERCY LEFT AT 10.07PM

CLLR MRS LOOKER advised that during the Youth Festival, the Twinning Association would host 12 children and two adults from each country. There was a lot of support from Godmanchester. CLLR MRS LOOKER also confirmed there would be a trip to Szentendre at Easter 2008 and Cllrs should contact HGTA for further details.

MISCELLANEOUS

The Town Clerk would investigate costs of an additional fire proof document safe for the Town Office.

THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING WILL BE HELD ON 20 SEPTEMBER 2007

The meeting ended at 10.18pm Mayor

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