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 GODMANCHESTER TOWN HALL ON
THURSDAY 11 DECEMBER 2008

PRESENT: G WILSON Town Mayor,
Councillors: D BROWN, H R BUTCHER, J DUTTON, Mrs H HULL, Ms D MIDDLETON, C RICHARDSON, N WELLS, Mrs S WORTHINGTON

Town Clerk: Mrs M LIDDIARD
Mace Bearer: Cllr R BUTCHER
APOLOGIES: Cllrs: T CANT, M COHEN Deputy Town Mayor, M DOBBIE, C R HYAMS, Mrs A M LOOKER
ABSENT: Cllr C VANE PERCY

2 members of the public were present

08/111 MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

THE MAYOR has represented the Town on 13 occasions and the DEPUTY MAYOR on 2 occasions since the last meeting.

THE MAYOR thanked CLLR BUTCHER for standing in as Mace Bearer at short notice.

THE MAYOR thanked those who had attended and helped organise the Carol Service and switching on of our Christmas lights, which had gone well.

THE MAYOR reminded everyone that the Co-op’s winter skating evening would take place in the Town Hall car park on Friday 12th December. Everyone invited to attend.

THE MAYOR confirmed that Cllr Mark Rzymek had resigned his position as Town Councillor. On behalf of the whole Council he was thanked for all his hard work on Finance matters and also Judith’s Field. So far two letters of application for the vacant positions of Town Councillor have been received and it was agreed that all candidates would be invited to attend the January Town Council meeting and given the opportunity to address the Town Council.

THE MAYOR confirmed a further Finance Working Party had been arranged for Tuesday 13th January. Town Clerk would confirm details.

THE MAYOR advised the Town Office would be closed to members of the public from Friday 19th December and also during the week commencing 22nd December. The office would be picking up telephone calls and dealing with urgent matters during this period.

THE MAYOR confirmed invitations to a Civic Dinner to be held in Godmanchester would be sent out shortly. All Cllrs are invited to buy tickets in aid of the Mayor’s charity: The Richmond Fellowship.

08/112 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The Minutes of the meeting held on 20th November 2008 were APPROVED and signed as a complete and accurate record.

08/113 MATTERS ARISING

The Town Clerk reported Fire Alarm Systems had been installed in the Town Hall, Queen Elizabeth School and Judith’s Field. Jacowe Joinery had advised they were unable to complete the work to provide or upgrade fire doors at the three locations until mid February. Town Clerk would liaise with Fire Officer to discuss this delay.

The Town Council is required to adopt a Model Publication Scheme in relation to Freedom of Information by 31 December 2008. As CLLR COHEN was not present, it was AGREED that the draft would be circulated prior to the January Town Council meeting, to be adopted at the January Town Council meeting.

CLLR VANE PERCY and CLLR BUTCHER had attended an on-site meeting regarding further works to be carried out at the church gates in Chadley Lane. The terms of the project had been AGREED and the Town Clerk would liaise with Campbell Rees for details of when the work would be carried out.

CLLR MRS WORTHINGTON confirmed a Property working party would be held on Wednesday 17th December to discuss outstanding matters relating to property. All Cllrs are invited to attend.

08/114 CONSIDERATION OF S137 GRANTS

12 applications had been received for S137 grants. Following discussion, the following amounts were APPROVED:
Godmanchester Allotment Association - £500
Godmanchester Churches Together - £440
Huntingdon Citizens Advice Bureau - £500
Vitalise – NIL
Jigsaw Nursery – NIL
Open Spaces Society – NIL
Godmanchester in Bloom - £3764
Godmanchester Community Nursery - £500
McCartney House Gardening Group - £200
Huntingdon Volunteer Bureau - £200
Godmanchester Rovers - £200
St Anne’s CofE Primary School - £500

The Town Clerk would write to advise all applicants, and cheques would be sent in January 2009.

CLLR DUTTON arrived at 8.02pm during discussions on S137 grants. He declared an interest as a District Councillor for Huntingdonshire District Council.

08/115 CORRESPONDENCE - see Appendix A

THE MAYOR advised that Mrs Welton had written to thank the Town Council for their donation of the old Cllrs gowns, which had been well received by local drama groups.

An anonymous complaint had been received regarding the state of a garden in Godmanchester. CLLR MRS WORTHINGTON would follow this matter up.

CLLR BUTCHER reported a response had been received from Smiths Gore on behalf of the Church Commissioners in respect of the proposed diversion of the right of way through the Allotment gardens. Smith’s Gore have stated “whilst the Commissioners are happy for the ‘red’ route to remain as a permissive route, they would not be prepared to see this upgraded to a formal public right of way”. They also stated that as they had spent time on this matter that they required payment in the sum of £237.50. As the Town Council have not, at any time, instructed Smith’s Gore to undertake any work on this matter, but have merely sought their agreement to the Town Council’s proposal to divert the right of way, these costs are not chargeable to the Town Council. The Town Clerk would write to confirm that the Town Council would not be pursuing the matter and would not be paying for a service they did not request.

CLLR BUTCHER confirmed that our request for a bus shelter to be located at Old Court Hall had been acknowledged. HDC would prioritise the list of requests early in 2009 and would then advise the Town Council of progress.

CLLR MRS WORTHINGTON advised a letter from St Mary the Virgin PCC regarding repairs in the churchyard would be discussed at the Property WP and a response sent to the PCC thereafter.

08/116 ACCOUNTS

The accounts set out in Appendix B were APPROVED. A petty cash account for the period ending 11th December 2008 was presented to the Council.

The updated list of Monthly Actions in relation to Financial Regulations was APPROVED and is included as Appendix E to these minutes.

The meeting was adjourned at 9.00am to received questions from members of the public. There being none, the meeting was reconvened.

08/117 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 WELLS reported that the recent Planning working party had been attended by Elizabeth Fitzgerald and Andy Moffat from the Planning Department of HDC. They had confirmed in more detail what was required from the Town Council in respect of our response on planning applications. The Town Clerk would obtain a copy of the current Design Guide from HDC Planning Department.

It was AGREED that CLLR WELLS would submit further comments on the Core Strategy submission, as APPROVED by all Cllrs present.

The Town Clerk confirmed Fairfield Partnership have been invited to attend the next Planning working party to be held in January 2009.

08/118 DISTRICT/COUNTY COUNCIL REPORTS

CLLR DUTTON reported that the Guided Bus scheme has overspent by £6 million.

CLLR DUTTON advised that the phasing of all traffic lights around the ring road and into Godmanchester were being checked to ensure a suitable flow of traffic.

CLLR DUTTON advised that CCC are proposing changes to County Council Division names in Huntingdonshire. He advised it will not change boundaries and he recommended the request to change Godmanchester to Godmanchester & Huntingdon East should be supported. Town Clerk would write to confirm the Town Council’s support for this proposed change.

08/119 WORKING PARTY (WP) REPORTS: not covered by correspondence

CLLR BUTCHER confirmed a bid under the Small Scale Environmental Improvement Scheme had been submitted to replace the front doors for the Town Hall.

CLLR MRS HULL confirmed that she and CLLR MRS LOOKER had attended the recent Inter Town Forum meeting. Zurich had confirmed that the proposal for insurance to cover the group of Town Councils was not viable.

CLLR MS MIDDLETON advised she had attended a recent meeting: Cambridgeshire Together, where Parish Plans were discussed. She suggested we have a further discussion on the possibility of producing a Parish Plan for Godmanchester at the February Town Council meeting. CLLR MRS HULL had also received similar information at the Engaging Community Event, through CPALC who confirmed Cambs ACRE are keen to assist in the process of producing a Parish Plan. This would be discussed in more detail at the February Town Council meeting.

MISCELLANEOUS

CLLR RICHARDSON advised he was now an active member of Link and involved in Health and Social Care discharge planning. He would keep fellow Cllrs informed of important issues.

CLLR DUTTON confirmed that Pathfinder House would be closed by the end of January and if any Cllr was attending a District Council meeting, they should check for new venue details.

THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING WILL BE HELD ON 15th JANUARY 2009

The meeting ended at 09.40pm Mayor

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