Parish Council Report:  December 2006:

Hilton

A14 Consultation  A second A14 exhibition was to be held in the village on 8 December.  Following this, a public meeting was scheduled to be held in the Chapel on 12 December to enable the Council and the A14 Action Group to assess the feelings of the village regarding the latest A14 proposals.  Residents were urged to attend.  The Council believes we can make a difference, especially to the environmental issues and urges residents to make the Highways Agency know of your concerns.   The closure date for comments to the Highways Agency is 9 March 2007.

Traffic . Following a meeting between the Parish Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, it was agreed that they would carry out a full speed and volume census of traffic trough the village in the New Year although funding for any major work was currently not available.  In addition, Mr Bill Halford had agreed to set up a group to look specifically at HGV issues and anyone interested in supporting this work is asked to contact either the Clerk or Mr Halford.

Planning Matters  The Council has had a relatively quiet period with only some amendments being made to existing approved applications at the land opposite Hilton Hall and at 20 Scotts Close.

Village Hall Car Park  The new car park at the Village Hall was completed on time and on cost.  Until the grass seed planted during construction has taken root, the surface is likely to remain a little muddy.  However this will improve over time.  In addition the holes in the gravel have been repaired.

Parking on the Green.  In an attempt to reduce the damage being done to the Green along Wraggs Row, the Council has embarked on a trial involving the erection of some anti parking posts and some raised earth verges.  The effectiveness of these measures will be evaluated in the Spring.

Cricket Nets.  The Parish Council have not agreed to proposals for the erection of a permanent cricket net on The Green believing that there would be problems from vandalism, long term maintenance concerns, the creation of an unsustainable precedence and the potential visual impact on The Green.

Finance.  The Council has requested a Precept of £18375 for the financial year starting April 2007 which represents an increase of 5% over last year.  This level of increase is in line with the expected level of Council Tax rise.

Crime.  There has been an increase in reported crime over the past month.  There was an attempted break on the Green on 8 Nov with an attempted distraction burglary in St Ives Road on the following day.  Over the period 15/16 Nov there were three vehicle crimes:  In Kidmans Close, rear seats of an insecure car were stolen.  In Chequers Croft, the door of a vehicle was forced and items of stereo equipment stolen.  In the High Street a car was forced open and a Radio/MP3 player stolen.  Finally on 28 Nov the brake pipes on a car in Potton Road were cut.