Godmanchester Town Council Minutes.

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MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD IN THE GODMANCHESTER TOWN HALL ON THURSDAY 22 JULY 2004

PRESENT: W D BUTTERWORTH Town Mayor, M COHEN Deputy Town Mayor
Councillors: H R BUTCHER, Mrs C A GODLEY, A GOFF, L HOLGATE, C R HYAMS, E KYNOCH, Mrs A M LOOKER, Mrs B MOORE, C VANE PERCY
Town Clerk: A J WELTON

APOLOGIES: Councillors: D BROWN, R COXHEAD, Mrs H HULL

There were no members of the public present.

APPLICATION TO BECOME A TOWN COUNCILLOR

Mr Jonathan Coxhead gave a brief explanation of why he felt that he should be accepted as a Town Councillor to fill the vacancy left over from the Local Elections. He then answered questions from Councillors. The Town Council voted after Mr Coxhead had left the meeting and it was unanimously DECIDED that Mr Coxhead should be co-opted onto the Town Council.

TOWN MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

The MAYOR advised that he had represented the Town on 14 occasions since the last meeting. The DEPUTY MAYOR had represented the Town on 8 occasions.

The MAYOR expressed his thanks to Campbell’s Estate Agency for their kind donation of £66.00 to the Mayor’s Charity from the proceeds of a raffle they held on Gala Day.

The Chairman of the HGTA had asked to give a brief to the Town Council on Twinning and HGTA’s future plans. It was AGREED that Mr Lyons would be invited to talk at the August meeting.

The MAYOR recorded his thanks to Cllr BROWN for redecorating the hall at Judith’s Field.

The MAYOR sadly announced that Mrs Moorhouse, the Town Clerk’s Assistant, had handed in her resignation and she would be leaving on 31 August to start a new job. He said that she had been an excellent Assistant to the Town Clerk and he was sure that all Cllrs would want to wish her well. An advertisement had been prepared for the local press and the Town Council APPROVED the spending of up to £500.00 on those. The closing date for applications would be 12 August, with interviews on 17 August in QES. Cllr Mrs MOORE and the Town Clerk were asked to assist with those interviews.

Cllr R COXHEAD had volunteered to chair the Health & Safety Working Party and the MAYOR had asked for his initial assessment in September.

The MAYOR reminded the Town Council that there was still a vacancy for the chair of the Planning WP. He emphasised that there would be a comprehensive handover from Cllr BROWN and that there were many existing Cllrs who would lend their support to anyone who volunteered. He also pointed out that there were a number of Cllrs who were free of extra responsibilities and said that he hoped a volunteer would be forthcoming by the time Planning was discussed on the agenda.

Finally, the MAYOR asked all Cllrs to note that 19 September 2004 would be the Civic Service. This year it would be combined with a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the granting of Godmanchester’s new charter by King James 1st. The service would be based on the format of the 1604 Morning Prayer and the 1559 Prayer Book. It would include instrumental music of the period. During the subsequent small reception in the QES there would be a display of archive material in the Town Hall. In addition to Civic guests, the MAYOR invited Cllrs to nominate people from Godmanchester who had played a significant role in the community in whatever way.

04/047 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 17 June 2004 were APPROVED and signed as a complete and accurate record.

04/048 MATTERS ARISING

The Outstanding Actions List dated 22 July 2004 was reviewed.

The wording of the Town Hall lease was still to be amended and approved by the Senior Citizens Club. Cllr Mrs LOOKER undertook to prepare an amended version for consideration at the September meeting.

Cllrs KYNOCH and Mrs LOOKER had attended a meeting in St Ives to discuss future proposals for the management of public conveniences in the HDC district. Cllr Mrs LOOKER reported that St Neots had already assumed responsibility for their own facilities and that Godmanchester apparently stood alone as being satisfied with existing arrangements. HDC was proposing a standard design across the region, with each council looking after its own assets. Both Huntingdon and Ramsey were undecided about which line to take. The Town Clerk was to contact HTC to see which way they were intending to go and to ask that GMC be added to their contract should they decide to administer their own conveniences.

04/049 CORRESPONDENCE

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

The DEPUTY MAYOR had attended a meeting of the Brampton Parish Council at which Mr Povey from CCC and a representative from Atkins had given a presentation on the proposed A14 bypass. The consultation process was expected to start in September and to run for 12 weeks, with major exhibitions in Huntingdon and Cambridge (Girton interchange). The DEPUTY MAYOR gave a detailed report on the presentation and the Town Clerk was asked to pass a copy of the report to all Cllrs.

There had been a late submission of an application for a S137 grant by the Godmanchester Town Cricket Club. Because the application was time-critical, it was considered that the request should not be delayed until the next round of grants in December. It was DECIDED that the full amount of their request would be granted subject to a satisfactory indication of the numbers of Godmanchester children involved. Town Clerk’s Note: The club secretary informed the Town Clerk that 60 – 65% of the children involved came from Godmanchester, the remainder form the surrounding area, specifically Huntingdon and Brampton.

The MAYOR had received a quotation from House of Flags for the maintenance of the flagpole outside the Town Hall. The flagpole had not been serviced for many years and the halyard was beginning to fray. The Town Council APPROVED the quotation of £300.00. With the Civic Service theme being the 400th anniversary of the granting of Godmanchester’s second charter, the Town Clerk was asked to ascertain what the national flag of the time would have been.

The DEPUTY MAYOR, in his capacity as the chairman of the Cemetery WP, had received a request for the siting of a memorial bench in the Cemetery. The Town Clerk was to ascertain the cost of a concrete base and fitment of the bench together with the cost of an appropriate bench and e-mail the details to the Deputy Mayor.

04/050 ACCOUNTS

The accounts set out in Appendix B, with the exception of the payment to Wicksteeds, who had yet to carry out the work to which the payment was related, were APPROVED.

The Town Clerk was to draft a letter of appreciation, to be signed by the Mayor, to the Godmanchester Community Association for organising Picnic in the Park.

04/051 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. Cllr HOLGATE volunteered to take over the chairmanship of the Planning WP and the MAYOR proposed a vote of thanks to Cllr BROWN, who had had to relinquish the post, for his dedication and hard work in the chair. APPROVED.

04/052 S106 AGREEMENTS

This item had been deferred from a previous meeting. Seven members of the Town Council had met with representatives of HDC on 25 May 2004 to discuss the principles of S106 agreements. The details of Cllr Mrs LOOKER’s notes had been e-mailed to all Cllrs. The Town Clerk was instructed to write to HDC about the potential problem related to the Roman Way development and specifically about moving any play equipment into the Judith’s Field play area. This approach was APPROVED by 10 of the Cllrs present, Cllr KYNOCH wished his opposition to be recorded. Additionally, the Town Clerk was to ascertain whether there would be a path from the Roman Way development into Judith’s Field; would there be access over the boundary ditch and would such access be disability friendly. The Environment WP would examine the ramifications of these proposals.

04/053 DISTRICT COUNCIL REPORTS

There was nothing of particular interest to report other than there appeared to be some development problems with the Roman Way site in that the housing appeared to be higher than on the plans. Cllr HYAMS advised that he would keep the Town Council informed. Similarly, the proposed SUSTRANS cycle path through Rectory Gardens was being re-examined in light of objections from residents.

04/054 WORKING PARTY (WP) REPORTS

CHUMMS and A14. There was nothing further to report on this subject following the report given earlier by the DEPUTY MAYOR.

Cemetery.

Cllr COHEN (DEPUTY MAYOR) advised that he had spoken with the vicar about the removal of soil arisings from the Cemetery. It appeared that the soil was not consecrated and could, therefore be removed from the Cemetery area. The Town Clerk was to write again to all undertakers to advise that it was their responsibility to ensure that the gravedigger removed such arisings.

Referring to the request for the installation of a bench, Cllr COHEN had identified a suitable location. The bench would be located centrally on its concrete base.

Environment.

Cllr BUTCHER advised that he had attended the “New Councillors” course run by CALC and commended it to all new councillors. He also advised that there were courses for longer standing cllrs who might benefit from updates in legislation, planning, finance, H&S, employment and so on.

The benches had been located in Buttermel Meadow and were being well received. A new bench had been placed in the Recreation Ground and a further bench was due to be located nearby but the concrete base was in need of inspection. The Town Clerk was requested to contact Ashley & Foster for an assessment.

Fergusons had removed various broken branches from willow trees prior to Gala Day.

The bench at the corner of Tudor Road and Cambridge Road had been renovated and painted.

Cllr BUTCHER had attended the SITA meeting on 8 July 2004 at which the extension of use of the site had been discussed. Nothing had been finalised as CCC had not yet approved planning consent. The site would require extra filling, whether as a consequence of continuance of the present operation or in the future as it was below the agreed height.

Those using the fishing or recreation facilities had identified a need for the provision of a cycle rack outside QES for use. The matter would be discussed further at the next meeting of the Environment WP.

The Devana Close play area would be the subject of discussion at the next Environment WP, which would be held jointly with the Finance WP at 4 Crowhill on Tuesday 10 August 2004 starting at 8.00pm.

Cllrs Vane Percy and Mrs Godley left the meeting at 9.43pm.

Finance.

The WP had not met but the next meeting would be held jointly with the Environment WP at 4 Crowhill on Tuesday 10 August 2004, starting at 8.00pm. Cllr BUTCHER had asked CALC, whilst on his course, the question about the requirement for standing orders. CALC had indicated that standing orders were not required where a Working Party did not have the power to make decisions of any kind. As none of the WPs was so empowered, there was, therefore, no need for standing orders.

Flood Defences.

The WP had not met and as Cllr Mrs HULL, the chairman, was not present, there was nothing to report.

Property/Judith’s Field.

Cllr GOFF reported that the skateboard ramps had been repainted but he proposed that they should be repainted again, using an appropriate resin paint to inhibit the ingress of water, before autumn. APPROVED.

The newly installed youth shelter at Judith’s Field had had 2 sheer bolts removed. Replacements had been ordered. The young people using the facilities had found a way to get on the roof of the shelter and it had been dented.

Progress on the football wall had stalled. The cost of providing a suitable tarmac area could not be met within the existing budget and Cllr GOFF requested a further £1500, bringing the total expenditure to £10600, to complete the project. APPROVED. Cllr GOFF indicated that he expected the tarmac to be completed within the forthcoming 2 weeks and the wall to be installed by the end of the summer.

Other Representative Groups/Twinning/Inter Town Forum/Detached Youth Initiative.

At the HGTA AGM, attended by Cllr Mrs LOOKER, it was pointed out that Godmanchester should have 2 representatives on the committee. It was DECIDED that they would be the MAYOR and Cllr Mrs LOOKER. Cllr Mrs LOOKER reported that the Town Clerk of Huntingdon had volunteered to become the new HGTA press officer. A copy of Twinning events would be forwarded to all Cllrs.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS.

Cllr KYNOCH reported that he had attended the CALC (County) meeting at which it had been announced that there were to be dramatic staff reductions in the organisation.

Cllr Mrs LOOKER reminded Cllrs that there was to be a meeting of the Youth Problem Solving Group in the QES on Tuesday 27 July starting at 6.00pm. She expected the Muir Group Dream Scheme Initiative to be discussed at that meeting.

Referring to the letter from CCC about the introduction of an extension to the double yellow lines extending from Park Lane towards the Black Bull public house, Cllr BUTCHER queried the use of the caravan park and the Town Clerk was instructed to write to the HDC Enforcement Officer to ensure that the site was not being used for any other purpose than its authorised use as a touring caravan and camping site. Cllr HYAMS, in his capacity as a District Cllr, undertook to follow up on this matter.

Cllr HYAMS proposed that the Town Council should convey its good wishes for a speedy recovery to the Town Clerk of St Ives. APPROVED.

Cllr Mrs LOOKER advised the meeting that Mr John Lewis, an ex-Town Councillor had died on 20th July and suggested that a letter of condolence, signed by the Mayor, be sent to Mrs Lewis.

THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING WILL BE HELD ON 19 AUGUST 2004

The meeting ended 10.13pm Mayor

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