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 21 JULY 2005

PRESENT: H R BUTCHER, Town Mayor, M COHEN Deputy Town Mayor
Councillors: J COXHEAD, Mrs C A GODLEY, A GOFF, E KYNOCH, Mrs A M LOOKER, Mrs B MOORE, Mrs E TREHARNE-JONES

Town Clerk: A J WELTON

APOLOGIES: Cllrs: W D BUTTERWORTH, C R HYAMS, L HOLGATE, C VANE PERCY

ABSENT: Cllrs: D BROWN, Mrs H HULL

There were no members of the public present.

TOWN MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS.

The MAYOR advised that he had represented the Town on 11 occasions since the last meeting. The DEPUTY MAYOR had represented the Town on 5 occasions since the previous meeting.

He advised the Town Council that the replacement tables for QES had been delivered but he was not satisfied that they were suitable and they did not match the sample table purchased in April. Town Clerk’s Note: The Town Council was invited to inspect the tables but QES was occupied and the inspection was carried out after the meeting had finished. The Town Council AGREED that the tables should be returned to the supplier.

The MAYOR expressed his concern that the medallion on the chain for the Deputy Mayor was not distinctive enough and had often been taken for a representation of the emblem for the Boy Scouts Movement. It was DECIDED, on a majority vote, that a medallion similar to that worn by the Mayor’s consort should be purchased from Fattorini, who had designed it, to replace the Deputy Mayor’s insignia. The Town Clerk was to ascertain the price from Fattorini.

05/047 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2005 were APPROVED and signed as a complete and accurate record. However, Cllr Mrs GODLEY objected to the wording of the paragraph concerning attendance at meetings on the grounds that she felt it was disrespectful to Councillors and could be misconstrued by the public.

05/048 MATTERS ARISING.

The Outstanding Actions List, dated 21 July 2005 was reviewed.

The Town Clerk confirmed that a cheque for £36392.50 had been received from Barclays Bank for the balance of the Reserve account, which was now closed. This sum had been deposited in the National Savings Investment account to attract a higher rate of interest. Town Clerk’s Note: Subsequently a letter has been received from the National Savings informing us that the maximum amount that can be held in the account is £100000. The residue of £6836.28 will be placed in the Business Reserve Account at Barclays Bank. Interest accrued will have to be transferred annually from the NS account.

Cllr Mrs MOORE advised that there was a copy of the new Conditions of Employment and Job Description for the Town Clerk in their correspondence packs and asked that they peruse them for consideration of approval at the next meeting in August.

05/049 CORRESPONDENCE.

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

Referring to the letter from CCC concerning Christmas Lighting including on The Causeway, the MAYOR explained that there were so many restrictions on fixing lighting festoons on lamp standards that he recommended that the idea be abandoned. It was AGREED that the Town Clerk should ascertain the cost of replacing the existing Christmas lighting on both QES and the Town Hall.

The Campbell Rees Partnership letter had suggested that the Town Council should make a planning application for the disabled access to the Town Hall. It was the understanding from the previous meeting that Campbells would provide costings so that the Town Council could make a decision on whether to proceed. The Town Clerk was instructed to write to the Campbell Rees Partnership requesting detailed costings.

The Huntingdonshire District Guide 2005/2006 draft had been vetted by Cllr VANE PERCY and approved. The Town Clerk was to reply to HDC confirming that the entry for Godmanchester was acceptable.

Referring to the letter from the Alzheimer’s Association, the MAYOR expressed his thanks to Cllrs BROWN and HOLGATE for marking out the car parking spaces at Judith’s Field.

The Friends of QES had written explaining that they had been able to acquire the “Godmanchester Pendant” for display in the museum and had asked for consideration of a contribution towards the cost of acquisition. The Town Council APPROVED the granting of £1000 from S137. The Town Clerk was instructed to inform the Friends.

Referring to the letter from Twigdens concerning the drainage of Lavender Grove/Judith’s Field, Cllr Mrs LOOKER outlined the problem and advised that the Town Clerk had written a lengthy letter to Twigdens to which this was the reply. Only one of the concerns had been addressed and the Town Clerk was instructed to ascertain the extent of what Twigdens intended to do. He was also to write to HDC, Planning and Environment Departments, sending them both a copy of the letter sent to Twigdens and pointing out that the agreed S106 expenditure was to provide access from Lavender Grove onto Judith’s Field and this did not appear on recent plans.

Referring to the letter from Mrs Johnson concerning the error made in the cemetery, it was DECIDED that the Town Clerk would write to Mrs Johnson expressing regrets at her remarks and reiterating that the offer made was considered feasible but asking her for any reasonable solution that the Town Council could consider. The Town Council would also be willing to discuss compensation.

The letter from CCC concerning the conversion of the footway on Cambridge Road to dual use raised a number of questions that the Town Clerk was to advise to the County Council: would the pathway be widened to accommodate both cyclists and pedestrians; would there be a speed limit imposed on cyclists; would the path be marked with separate paths and would there be an “end of cycle lane notice”.

05/050 ACCOUNTS.

The accounts set out in Appendix B were APPROVED.

The Annual Return was explained and the comments of the Internal Auditor were noted. The Town Council APPROVED the return. The Mayor and Town Clerk signed the relevant certificates in preparation for submission to the external auditors, Moore Stephens.

05/051 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.

05/052 DISTRICT COUNCIL REPORTS.

Cllr Mrs GODLEY reported that the Kids’ Club at the Community School had been granted a 5-year extension on their lease. The new building would be opened in September and they would be able to keep the existing building temporarily to make a smooth transition.

05/053 WORKING PARTY (WP) REPORTS.

Cemetery. Cllr COHEN suggested that now that the car parking facilities had been completed, it might be appropriate to erect a sign, advising visitors to use the car park.

The Town Clerk was to write to Anglian Water to request that they repair the water tap located in the car park.

The Town Clerk was to write to Huntingdon Town Council to seek advice about the layout of their Primrose Lane cemetery and who to approach to ascertain costs of creating a similar layout.

Environment. The MAYOR, as chair of the Environment WP, suggested that the Finance WP should meet to discuss the returned tenders for the Grounds Maintenance contract for the years 2006-2009. Only two tenders had been received from the three invitations. It was AGREED that the Finance WP would meet at 4 Crowhill on Wednesday 10 August at 8.00pm to recommend the preferred submission.

Referring to the letter concerning Jointly Funded Minor Improvement Schemes, the MAYOR advised that he would pursue the idea of a car park at the end of Betts Close and also at the cottages on The Avenue.

The MAYOR advised that there had been 3 letters of complaint about the removal of the old iron benches from The Avenue. Following discussion it was CONFIRMED that the earlier decision to remove the seats on the grounds of Health & Safety would stand and the Town Clerk was instructed to order modern seating for installation by Ashley & Foster. Additionally he was to advise the complainants of the decision.

Cllr Mrs GODLEY left the meeting at 9.35pm.

The MAYOR referred to the quotation from Ashley & Foster for the replacement of the block paving next to the Chinese Bridge. The expenditure of £447 was APPROVED.

Cllr GOFF reported that, at long last, the repair of street furniture in Godmanchester was proceeding.

Cllr Mrs LOOKER reported that she, together with Cllr Mrs HULL and Emma Murden, had walked the route of the proposed cycleway along East Chadley Lane. An assessment of the street lighting along the cycleway would be carried out and it had been noted that one lamppost was in need of repair.

Cllr KYNOCH reported that following the repair of the bridges next to the osiers it appeared that the top step of the waterway was lower than previously and was not flushing the water in The Causeway. The Town Clerk was asked to contact the Environment Agency with a view to asking them to reset their computer to raise the step.

The Town Clerk was also to ask the Environment Agency when they proposed to start work on the renovation of the Mill Sluice.

Finance. There had not been a meeting of the Finance WP but it was confirmed that the next meeting would be at 4 Crowhill on Wednesday 10 August at 8.00pm.

Flood Defences. Cllr Mrs HULL was not present so there was no report on the present situation.

Health & Safety. Cllr Mrs TREHARNE-JONES reported that there had been a WP meeting in June when the primary concern had been the risk assessment of lone working. It was pointed out that a written Health & Safety policy had to exist if there were more that 5 employees.

Cllr Mrs TREHARNE-JONES expressed her concern that the administrative workload associated with Health & Safety at Work fell on the Town Clerk and the Town Clerk’s Assistant and raised the question on how to proceed. It was AGREED that both the Town Clerk and the Town Clerk’s Assistant should attend the relevant Health & Safety course and, if necessary, the Town Office would be closed whilst they were being trained. Additionally, it was AGREED that, where appropriate, overtime payment would be made.

Judith’s Field. Cllr GOFF informed the meeting that there was continuing damage to the building at Judith’s Field. He said that about £500 had been spent so far this year on repairs.

He outlined a proposal that he was working on to provide low level fencing around the building to reduce the incidence of football damage and he would report his findings at a subsequent Town Council meeting.

Other Representative Groups/Twinning/Youth Focus Group.

Twinning Cllr Mrs LOOKER reminded the meeting that Huntingdon was holding its 800th anniversary celebrations over the weekending 6/7 August and that the Huntingdon and Godmanchester Twinning Association had invited representatives from the Twinned towns to attend.

Youth Focus Group Cllr Mrs LOOKER reported that the presence of PCSOs in the town was no longer restricted to weekday days but now included weekends and weekend evenings.

She further reported that there were now 3 pre-ASBO agreements in place in Godmanchester.

Cllr Mrs LOOKER together with the Town Clerk, Cllr Mrs HULL and representatives from the Cambridgeshire Youth Service met at Judith’s Field. It was reported that the Live the Dream Project had so far failed to recruit any adult help. It looked likely that the project might not continue unless they could recruit 2 adult youth workers. Such workers would have to undergo Police clearance and attend a training course.

The youth club continued to meet on Tuesday evenings and asked to continue after the school summer holidays. There was a requirement for some storage facilities at Judith’s Field and it was APPROVED that the youth club could install a lockable storage cupboard in the changing room.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS.

The MAYOR announced that Campbells estate agents had donated £157 from the proceeds of their stall at Gala Day to the Mayor for his charity fund.

The Town Clerk was asked to write to the Godmanchester Community Association to thank them for Gala Day and Picnic in the Park.

THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING WILL BE HELD ON 18 AUGUST 2005.

The meeting ended at 10.30 pm Mayor

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