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April 2022 Parish Council Minutes Meeting Two

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Barrington Parish Council Barrington Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on April 14th, 2022

 Present Cllrs Bird, Day, Kemp, McBride, Rhodes-Kemp, Walker (arrived late), CCCllr Kindersley, SCDCllr Van de Weyer, the Clerk and two members of the public.

1.Apologies welcomes and introductions.  Apologie were received and accepted from Cllrs Hopewell and Bedford both for personal reasons.

The two members of the public who have both stood for office were welcomed to the meeting.

  1. Declarations of Interest and dispensations – there were no declarations of interest made.
  2. Public Forum
    No one wished to bring anything before the Council.
  3. To approve the Minutes of the last Parish Council meeting held on Thursday 10th March 2022 and to ratify the decisions of the meeting held on the 7th of April 2022 the draft Minutes of both these meetings are attached.

It was proposed by Cllr Day that the Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 10th March are a true and accurate record.  This was seconded by Cllr Kemp and agreed by all.

It was proposed by Cllr Rhodes-Kemp that the decisions made at the meeting on the 7th of April be ratified this was seconded by Cllr Bird and agreed with all in favour.

  1. To take CCC (Cambridge County Council), SCDC (south Cambs District Council) and Clerk reports

SCDCllr Van de Weyer gave a verbal report. The main points of which were
Enforcement has been informed and action taken to ensure access to the footpath by Dumpling Cottages.
The planning application for 7 West Green has been deferred to the next planning committee in June.
There is no further update on the S106.

Rosamund asked if Foxton Travel Hub will be decided anytime soon. The decision has been has been differed by CCC as it was a tied vote.

Cllr Rhodes-Kemp highlighted the lack of joined up thinking. South Cambs villages are paying price for the bio medical campus expansion.

CCCllr Kindersley gave a written report. The main points of which were:
Bin Collections. Covid is still making it very challenging to run all the bin collections. As we write over 40 of the workforces of 150 are away
Council Tax Rebate Scheme. The government’s council tax rebate scheme goes live on 1st April.
Fitness and Wellbeing Grants. SCDC is urging instructors to apply for up to £300 to lead fitness and wellbeing activities in their communities.

Better Connected Communities. The Councils are urging residents and community groups to use a new personalised advice service which will identify free tools and funding to tackle local problems and create safer communities in South Cambridgeshire. More on www.scambs.gov.uk
Zero Carbon Communities Grants South Cambridgeshire’s community groups can now bid for a share of more than £120,000 from the District Council’s popular Zero Carbon Communities Grant scheme. www.scambs.gov.uk/zerocarbongrant
Ukraine. The Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme, which asks people to offer space in their homes for those fleeing the war, has been launched (https://homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk). FAQs are available here on the Homes for Ukraine scheme – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-scheme-frequently-asked-questions and also on the SCDC, website.
County Underspend Amazingly the County Council has a forecast end of year underspend of £15.7m
Family Support Although Government-backed schemes set up to help struggling families during the pandemic ended  on March 31, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Joint Administration has agreed to earmark £3.6m to extend the Holiday Voucher Scheme for a further year. More at www.cambridgshire.gov.uk.
Over 7.5T Lorry Ban? A neighbouring authority Councillor has asked us to enquire if our Parishes and residents would support a 7.5T weight limit covering a square bounded by the A505, A1198, A428 and the A1M. Such a limit is intended to be aimed only at vehicles trying to take a short cut through the area. Once satnavs are updated, they would need to do this against the advice of such a satnav.

The Cemex liaison meeting will be at 6.30pm on 12th May.

A new white paper published by the Government on education says all schools will need to belong to multipurpose academies by 2030. Local Authorities will be able to set up multi academy trust.

It appears the OXCAM Arc proposal will not go ahead as there is no government support and no local councils are invested in it. No business case has been disclosed EWR although a new chief executive has been appointed.

Matters Arising

The Clerk has been collating the Annual Parish Meeting (APM) reports and will investigate the cost of printing copies for each household.

The Planning application for 7 West Green was not discussed at the Planning Committee yesterday but has been deferred until the 15th of June. Cllr Kemp cannot attend that day and therefore the assistance of another Cllr is sought.

Items for consideration

  1. Finance

    a. To approve the payments listed below. It was proposed to approve the payments listed by Cllr Walker, seconded by Cllr Bird, and agreed with all in favour.

 

234 Electricity Charges Southern Electric 181.07
233 UTB – Precept account Service Charge Q4 Unity Trust Bank 7.00
223- 225 Pay, HMRC, NI, Pension & home allowance Staff 2,939.36
222 Materials for the new bridge over West Green Pond. Whippletree Hardwoods 1,324.86
231 UTB – Precept account Service Charge Q4 Unity Trust Bank 18.00
232 UTB – Precept account Service Charge Q4 Unity Trust Bank 18.55
1 Street Light Energy for 01/10/18 to 30/09/19. Cambs County Council 3,384.22
2 Remove dangerous tree from Woodland Herts & Cambs Ground Maintenance Ltd 384.00
3 Playground Inspection March 22 Herts & Cambs Ground Maintenance Ltd 114.00
4 Roll cricket field, spike cricket field Herts & Cambs Ground Maintenance Ltd 552.00
5 Re-fit sign under 5’s and reinstate ground at bottom of slide on multiplay Herts & Cambs Ground Maintenance Ltd 204.00
6 Cut main green, sports field, Glebe Rd April 22 Herts & Cambs Ground Maintenance Ltd 468.00
7 Website – hosting NetWiseUK 360.00
8 Reimbursement Paint 15.44
9 Mileage allowance 86.4 miles Clerk 38.88
10 Harston & District Village Warden, they requested £1000 Harston & District Village Warden 1,000.00
11 Building Report for future development. Whitworth Co-Partnership LLP 607.50
12 To payroll services for the quarter ended Mar 22 Red Shoes Accounting Services 59.40
13 Affiliation 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023 CAPALC 447.71
14 Reimbursement for open day expenses Clerk 48.58
15 Traffic survey 2020 Consultancy 8,244.0
  Total   20,416.57

 b. Balances and Bank Reconciliation.

Total in reconciled accounts

Unity Trust Bank                  63,788.72
Lloyds 166,930.40
CBS 1,500.00
Unity Trust S106 -31.10
Total 232,188.02

 

c. Review of the 2020/21 end of year Figures and Asset Register – these were not sent But Cllr Walker gave a brief overview. The yearend bank balance (precept monies in UTB) is £63778. This included £7179 contributions for the Challis Pond but there are £17570 of unpaid invoices for ‘one off’ items (the large historic electricity bill of £3384 and the A Frame of £14186). This leaves a carry forward of £39029. The precept is £79k this year so we are ahead of the reserves target of 50% of the precept.
d. To consider the Annual Governance Statement: To Approve the Accounting Statements. The Accounting Statements were reviewed and approved.
e. To consider the Annual Governance Statement: To Sign the Annual Accounting Statements It was proposed By Cllr Walker, seconded by Cllr Kemp, and agreed that both The Annual Governance Statements and The Accounting Statements for 2021/22 were correct and that the AGAR form can be signed by the Clerk and the Chair.
f. To consider supporting the Warden Scheme.  Details have been circulated. It was proposed by Cllr Kemp to support the Warden Scheme with £700 seconded by Cllr McBride and agreed with all in favour.                                                                                                                                                   Action RFO
g. To consider the swing quotes. It was proposed by Cllr Day to ask AKRefurbs to carry the swing refurbishment, seconded by Cllr McBride and agreed by all.  
h. To review the financial regulations. The references to Finance Committee have been changed to Finance Working Group and the amount the Chair and Council can agree between meetings increased from £500 to £750.

7.Policies to review
The Public Accessibility Statement these are generally required for funding applications. It was requested that a sentence be added regarding age-appropriate access.
Complaints Procedure – a sentence will be added about appropriate action being taken according to working policies of Council.
Lone worker – monitored at annual review and risk assessment taken out add it in.
These will be brought back to the next meeting.                                                                                Action the Clerk.

The following policies were agreed without amendment
Training and Development
Retention of Documents
Accident Book Record – all cllrs should have access to it and be able to pass on, if necessary, all filled in forms will be held by the clerk.

  1. Open Day (26th March) Review. It was felt the event was well attended especially with current Covid numbers. There were some draw backs there was no questionnaire from the sports groups and the Village Hall Trustee put up some previous drawings as ideas, but this did cause some confusion. Council wishes to thank all the groups who attended including the site foreman of All Saints Garden (Redrow) and 2020 Consultancy, all who helped and all the residents who took the time to come and visit.

No feedback has yet been received from 2020 Consultancy or the Village Hall Trustee. Once this has been received further meetings can be held with the user group and then the working group.

  1. Jubilee Events and consideration of bookmark. The bookmark has been agreed, the order placed, and the invoice sent to the RFO.

Cllr Rhodes- Kemp has enquired about the Social Club providing a bar for the tea and music event and Cllrs help run it. There has been no response.

It was agreed to hold the tea and opening of the bridge on different days.

  1. Succession Planning and Cllr handover Cllr Rhodes -Kemp and the Clerk will put together a pack for the new councillors, email addresses set up and any specific interests discussed, and a buddy system put together.

Cllr Bird and Day have offered to continue to help with the ditches and Green Charity respectively.

  1. S106 Updates –The Council were asked one last time if it had any comments to make by SCDC. One last response was therefore sent asking for someone to get back to us. As yet no one has. The whole purpose of the S106 is to mitigate the impact of the development on the village. It is a disappointment that most of these measures are now going to be in the iconic central area of the village.

The liaison meeting is another chance to petition again for an area on the Open Space with Redrow, SCDC and CCC representatives at the meeting.

  1. Footpath by Dumpling Cottage. There have been several complaints that access to the footpath has been blocked. This has been escalated to the County Council as it is responsible for footpaths.
  2. Grass Cutting. There has been a complaint about the verge being cut on Malthouse Way that is owned by a resident. After some consultation with the maps the Clerk has it was resolved as ask the Groundsman just to cut the verges on the left not the right. Action The Clerk.
  3. Reports: The following reports have already been circulated and taken as read.
    a.QE11 woodland and Community Orchard. The big trees have come down today
    b. Footpaths– Cllr Day. Bark chippings are needed on Back Lane. Some indigenous species will be planted along the cleared part of the hedgerow. Footpath 10 someone slipped there recently, and Cllr Day offered to ask Herts and Cambs Ground Maintenance to put some bark chippings there.
    c. Ditches– The ditch along Back Lane near no 9 could do with being cleared.
    d.  Play areas –The Rospa inspection is due shortly.
    e. Challis Green Pond – Fish and tadpoles have been seen in the pond. There is still a question of what to do with the fence on the road. Volunteers and attempt to reduce the stump on the island a bit but a nest was recently found.
    f. Traffic Management – Cllr Rhodes- Kemp waiting for questionnaire analysis from the Open Day. The second tranche of money will be paid on 50th occupation.
    g. Green Charity –EWR doing survey, County Broadband have agreed to management plan
    new house 8a access to access spur that are too wide the usual contractor will do the work to GC specification.
    h. Website – nothing to report
  4. Highway Issues – there was nothing further to report.

 

The meeting was closed at 10.05pm