MINUTES OF THE HILTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING 08-07 HELD ON MONDAY 1 October 2007 IN THE VILLAGE HALL   

Present:  Cllrs Wright (Chairman), Barradell, Randall, Stott and Ward. 

In Attendance:  DC Bates, Mr Thomas, Clerk to the Parish Council, and nine parishioners.   

1.            To note Apologies for Absence. Cllrs:  Fleming, Robinson and Shardlow.

2.         Declarations of Interest 

The Chairman reminded the Council that the meeting was subject to the revised Model Code including the provisions of para 12(2) which had amended the procedure for dealing with Councilors’ declaration of interests.  No Interests regarding the agenda were highlighted by Councilors. 

3.         To Approve the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 3 September 2007 

Approved unanimously:   

4.         Parishioners Open Session (10 minutes). 

Mr Garnett advised that he was concerned about the state of some of the ditches within the village and the growth of excessive vegetation on verges and banks.  He presented a dossier on what he saw as problem areas and suggested that these matters should be reviewed through a standing agenda item.  He further suggested that in the past, maintenance of verges and ditches had been successfully undertaken by residents’ working parties.  Mr Dyke-Price endorsed Mr Garnet’s observations about the invasion of brambles and nettles, particularly where they diminished the pasture.  Cllr Stott explained that the Council planned to undertake some maintenance work in the New Year. 

Mr Bush explained that he wanted to set up a Hilton archive on the village web site with copies of photographs, maps and documents.  He recommended that the Parish Council should own these copies.  He further suggested that the copies should be backed up and recommended that the Council buy and keep a hard-drive storage device for this purpose. 

DC Bates asked the Council to look again at the issue of parking in Church Lane and to contact residents accordingly. 

5.            To Authorise the Payment of Accounts.

a.            £24.00                   CALC: Model Code Advert.
b.            £580.00                 JSC Services: Grass Cutting in August.
c.             £10.30                   J A Thomas: Reimbursement of postage costs.
d.            £1088.0                 Kimbolton Fireworks Ltd.
e.            £45.67                   Aline Office Products: Stationery.
f.              £ 75.00                  Hilton Cricket Club: Grass Cutting. 

 The Clerk explained that the cheque for the purchase of fireworks had already been dispatched due to the need to place an early order to secure a price discount.  The payment of the above accounts was proposed by Cllr Ward, seconded by Cllr Stott and unanimously agreed. 

6.            Review of A14 Consultation Process.     

The Chairman advised that the Highways Agency’s announcement of the preferred route for the A14 upgrade was still awaited.  She further advised that the report from the acoustic expert was imminent.  She also announced that a most successful fund raising quiz had been held in the village which was expected to go a long way towards meeting the cost of the acoustic expert. 

7.            Budget: Year to 31 Mar 09.   

The Clerk outlined the revised process for the preparation, presentation and approval of the budget for the coming year and invited Cllrs to advise any new items of expenditure so as to meet this timetable. 

8.            Village Archive.   

The Council thanked Mr Bush and his colleague Mr Fraser for their enthusiasm and hard work in setting up the archive and wished the project well.  Cllr Randall proposed, Cllr Barradell seconded and the Council unanimously approved that a hard-drive be purchased at a cost of up to £75 and that the Clerk was to be the custodian of this device. 

9.            Purchase of Wreaths.   

Cllr Shardlow had asked for funding to purchase the usual wreaths for Armistice Day.  Cllr Ward proposed, Cllr Randall seconded and the Council approved a sum of up to £60 be spend on the purchase of wreaths and accoutrements. 

10.       Fishing in Village Ponds.   

Following the Council’s earlier agreement to ban fishing in the village ponds, a large number of residents had voiced their concerns that fishing should continue to be available, especially for youngsters.  However, there was concern regarding those people from outside the village especially those who fished for food and usually parked vehicles on the Green.  There were other issues regarding enforcement and health and safety and the matter was referred to the next F&GPWG to make a recommendation. 

11.          PARC    

Cllr Stott was unable to give a full report on progress but had been advised that the PARC group had secured the funding needed to mount their next project.  Cllr Stott agreed to advise whether the group would look for further funding from the Parish Council. 

12.       Lorry Watch.   

In the absence of Cllr Shardlow, this agenda item was deferred. 

13.       Shaping Huntingdonshire Environment.   

Cllr Randall briefed the Council on the content of a recent symposium hosted by Huntingdonshire District Council on the likely impact of climate change on this area.  He explained that whilst most of the amelioration measures could only be achieved at the higher levels of Government, the Parish Council had a responsibility to help support Government initiatives and to promote ideas within the community.  The Parish Council agreed to include climate change considerations into future projects 

14.       S137 Request.   

The Council had received a request for financial support from Fenstanton Youth Football Club.  Currently five youngsters from Hilton were members of the Club.  For reasons of precedence and sustainability, the Council agreed not to give any financial support to the Club but agreed to offer the use of the village football pitch and to pass the funding request to the Town Trust for consideration. 

15.       Bonfire Night.   

Cllr Barradell advised that the fireworks had been ordered and planned to hold this year’s bonfire on Saturday 3 November.  Food would be provided by volunteers from the village and entry charges were expected to remain unchanged from last year. 

16.       Parish Council Vacancy.       

Following the recent resignation of Cllr Adams, a casual vacancy had arisen on the Council and the Clerk was to advertise the situation on the notice board and place an entry in Spectrum.  The Clerk was also to challenge Huntingdonshire District Council on their projected charges of £700 for holding elections next May. 

17.       Clerk’s Report on Parish Matters.   

The Clerk advised that there had been four crimes reported to the Police over the past month.  There had been two reports of lead being stolen from the roof of the church as well as two burglaries in Graveley Way. 

18.          Councillors’ Items     

Cllr Barradell suggested that the Council should consider whether additional trees should be planted on the Green and the Clerk was to add this matter to the next F&GPWG.      

F J Wright
Chairman of Parish Council  5 November 2007