MINUTES OF THE HILTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING 02-06 HELD ON MONDAY
3 April 2006 IN THE VILLAGE HALL
Present: Cllrs Barradell (Chairman), Fleming, Randall, Shardlow, Stott, Ward and Wright.
In Attendance: Mr Thomas, Clerk to the Parish Council and one parishioner.
1. To note Apologies for Absence. Cllrs Ashby-Swain.
2. To Approve the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 6 February 2006.
Approved unanimously: RESOLVED
3. Parishioners Open Session (10 minutes).
There were no Parishioners Items.
4. Declarations of Interest.
During the meeting, Cllrs Randall and Wright declared interests against Items 6 and 17, and 16 and 19 respectively.
5. To Authorise the Payment of Accounts.
a. £10.00 Clerks Training course at CALC.
b. £400.00 Spectrum (see Item 9b below).
c. £13.00 CALC (purchase of 2005 Local Council Review).
d. £370.81 Clerks Salary expenses for March 2006.
e. £26.70 Handymans wages for March 2006.
Payment of the above accounts was proposed by Cllr Randall, seconded by Cllr Fleming and approved unanimously. RESOLVED
6. Review of A14 Consultation Process.
The Council agreed that the public meeting held on 10 March had met its objectives. The Council also agreed that until the Consultation Report had been published, there was little more that could be done. However, it was agreed that a meeting with the Chairman of Fenstanton PC would be beneficial and the CLERK was to action. It was also agreed that the CLERK would write a short note to the other villages involved in the Joint Initiative to keep them focused. The Council also agreed to nominate a second Councillor to be a member of the A14 Action Group. Cllr Wright advised that the A14 Action Group had set up a dedicated page on the new village web site.
7. Update on Village Web Site.
Cllr Ward advised that some fine tuning was still outstanding, but the web site was essentially complete. Data was currently being loaded and the full launch was imminent. The CLERK was to ensure that the village sign was used as the header sheet to the Council section.
8. Planning Matters
a. Report of Planning Meeting held on 15 March 06. The Council noted that the Planning Meeting held on 15 March 2006 had recommended approval of the application for flats at Roselea Church Lane, had provided adverse comments against the applications for 379 houses and for proposals to upgrade the sewage plant at Papworth. The draft minutes of the Planning Meeting were APPROVED unanimously. The Council noted that the application for 379 new houses had since been withdrawn in the light of comments made.
b. Windfarm Inquiry. The Council noted that The Planning Inspectorate intended to hold a Pre-Inquiry brief on 25 June 2006 and the CLERK was to place an item on the agenda of the May Parish Council meeting to decide whether representation from Hilton was required.
c. 48 New Houses at Papworth. The Council took note of the outline planning application and the CLERK was to provide comments to South Cambridgeshire District Council along the same lines as for the recent application for 379 houses.
d. CPRE Planning Workshop. Cllr Shardlow commented that the CPRE Workshop held on 11 March had been most informative and further stressed the benefits of relating Planning Applications to the Local Development Plan.
9. Section 137 Applications
a. Grant to Fenstanton Bowls Club The Chairman read the letter from the Fenstanton Bowls Club to the meeting and it was agreed unanimously not to make a grant believing that it would set an unsustainable precedent.
b. Grant to Spectrum It was proposed by Cllr Stott, seconded by Cllr Shardlow and agreed unanimously to approve a grant of £400 for Spectrum.
10. Election of Replacement Councillor.
The timetable for registration expires on 5 April. HDC will advise any follow-on action that is required.
11. Update on Parking, Ditches and Verges.
The clerk advised that Cambridgeshire County Council had agreed to advise on the repair of the verges and on how to limit further erosion. However, they have yet to make their promised on-site survey. Cllr Fleming agreed to obtain a price for anti-parking posts for The Green. The CLERK was to highlight to the Water Board the poor state of the hydrant signs along Graveley Road.
12. Section 106 Monies.
The CLERK was to ensure that this topic appeared on an early F&GPWG for further discussion.
13. P3 Grant.
The Council discussed a number of proposals but agreed to postpone a decision until the extent of this years P3 Grant was known.
14. Parish Electoral Review.
The Clerk explained that this review embraced fundamental aspects of Parish organisation. The Council asked that the matter be discussed in a F&GPWG and the CLERK was to add the matter to the agenda.
15. Town Trust Representation.
A number of potential candidates had been identified to represent the Council but it was agreed that no further action was required at this time.
16. Registration of The Green
Cllr Randall declared a personal interest but remained in the meeting. The Council debated the advantages of registration, noted the cost estimates from Messrs Copley and agreed in principle to proceed. The Clerk was to make Copleys aware of this decision. As a prerequisite to a final decision, the CLERK was to circulate the current ownership plans to the Council for comment and to add the topic to the next F&GPWG for discussion.
17. Update on Feast Week.
Cllr Wright declared a personal interest but remained within the meeting. She briefed the Council on the position of the Feast Week accounts, that fund-raising this year had been disappointing, and that costs had risen over recent years. The programme for 2006 could not be determined until the funding problems had been resolved. An extraordinary meeting of the Feast Week Committee was to be held on 13 April, and Cllr Wright would report the outcome to the Council.
18 The Clerks Report on Parish Matters.
a. Representation at Seminar on Core Strategy. Cllr Shardlow agreed to represent the Council.
b. Village Annual Meeting. The Council noted that the Village Annual Meeting would be held on 10 May 2006.
c. Crime Report. The police reported that the coin box of the telephone box had been broken into on 16 March 2006.
19. Councillors Items
a. Burning Straw. Cllr Randall declared a Prejudicial Interest and left the meeting for the whole of this item. Cllr Fleming advised that a number of residents had complained about the noxious smell of the burning straw coming from the field at the Eastern end of The Green and had advised that they formalise their complaints to HDC. The Council debated whether the problem could be resolved within the village and as a first step, the majority of the Council agreed that the CLERK was to speak with the owner of Monach Farm and report back to the Council.
b. PARC Project. The Council expressed their concern at the apparent lack of progress following the transfer of Ms Hyland to other work. Cllr Stott was to discuss the situation with a number of involved residents and agreed to report back to the Council.
c. Tree Planting. Cllr Randall proposed, and it was agreed unanimously to plant a number of replacement trees on The Green. Cllr Randall would advise his detailed proposals at a future meeting.
d. Conversion at South Meade. The CLERK was to investigate the reasons why the work differed so radically from the Planning Application previously seen by the Council.
G M Barradell
Chairman of Parish Council 1 May 2006