14th
November 2005
Mr
Ellis had declared an interest in the first item and did not attend
It was agreed that the first part of the meeting be
set aside to discuss the provision of affordable housing in the villages and to
consider suitable sites. After full discussion the following resolution was
agreed:-
The Council, recognising the need for some 21 affordable houses in the
Eversdens, proposes that in the interests of existing residents no more than 10
houses should be built on any one site. They therefore resolved to recommend
that 10 should be built on OSP 148 in Great Eversden and 10 on the site between
52 and 54 Harlton Road in Little Eversden, with the proviso that the layout must
avoid the difficulty with cars which plagues the earlier such development at 34
to 40 High Street Great Eversden.
Carried,
with Mr Blatch voting against. Cl. Mrs Heazell agreed to take this decision back
to the planning section.
(For
a note of the main points raised see attached Appendix)
Minutes of the meeting held on 4th July 2005
were agreed and signed
Matters arising from the
Minutes
1
Footpath 13. Ivett's Lane
Work on
clearance is being carried out by the County Council Rural Group. They will
contact BT about the removal of the poles.
2
Verge cutting The
plan was accepted with the following amendments.
(a)
The broad verges between Leete's Lane and Church Lane, Little Eversden should
continue to be cut according to the present scheme.
(b)
The verge on the Recreation Field side going towards the Church should be cut,
to increase visibility on exit.
A
questionnaire on verge cutting had been received from the County Council. Ms
Hayes agreed to complete it.
3
Emergency Water Supply..
A detailed reply had been received from Cambridge Water on action to be taken in
an emergency affecting the water supply. This had been circulated to all members
by email. Miss Sach proposed that the village might offer itself as the site for
a rehearsal. Carried.
4
Footpath 20 gritting.
Mr Tebbit reported that the gritting would be carried out shortly by YFC.
5
Coffee mornings at the Pavilion Mrs Handley reported that the meetings continued
to be appreciated and were attended by about 30 people. It was planned to make a
regular donation to the Recreation Field Committee to cover the cost of the
electricity and the use of the premises.
6
Post Office. No
volunteers have come forward to run a Post Office.
7
Posts at 46 High Street
These had been replaced by two wooden posts with red reflectors, which were
visually much more satisfactory.
8
Nixon's Hall Memorial Tablet This tablet had fallen down and broken. Mr Blatch
agreed to attempt to put it together again.
9
Prescription Delivery Scheme for Bourne Surgery. This will be re-started in its original form.
Prescription slips can be left at the School. They will be collected on
Wednesdays and the prescriptions delivered on the following Wednesday. Details
of the scheme have been posted on all the Notice Boards.
10
Trafalgar weekend
Oct 21 This had
been a great success. Mr Bane reported that they had budgeted £250 for the
costs, but had been able to return £241 of that to the Recreation Field funds.
It was noted that the village now had a beacon, and the Clerk was asked to write
to Mr Ellis to thank him for constructing it.
11
Barrington Cement
Cemex propose to rebuild and enlarge this plant. An exhibition of their plans
had been held in the village on 20 October. The main concerns were the height of
the tower, and especially the increase in traffic and the siting of the new
access road. Some 400 movements of heavy lorries were expected. The junction of
the A603 with Harlton Road is already dangerous, and would become impossible
without traffic controls. The
junction of the new access road and the A603 would require a roundabout, and
must divert lorries from travelling slowly up the hill and thus risking
dangerous overtaking.
Cl.
Mrs Heazell mentioned that SCDC was considering setting up a public meeting at
Comberton Village College to meet representatives of Cemex with the
Environmental officers and other officers concerned to discuss the matter
further. She will keep us informed and will report our views to relevant
parties.
12
Tennis Courts on Recreation Ground The project had been agreed, and fund raising was
being organised.
13
Possible Club.
Now that the village no longer has a pub, Mr O'Keefe is looking into the
feasibility of setting up a bar. He is taking advice from neighbouring villages.
14
Vandalism of Telephone Box, Little Eversden. Miss Sach reported that this box had been
vandalised recently, but BT had repaired it very promptly. It was agreed to ask
Mr Sutton if he would clean the windows at the expense of the Parish Council, in
the hope that it would be less likely to be attacked if it looked cleaner.
15
Footpaths
The footpath walk carried out the previous weekend had been
well-organised and successful. The Rural Group will carry out improvements to
Footpath 4 and will also attend to the style on Footpath 27 at Manor Farm Gate.
Footpath 14: A request had been made by Mr Terence Wheeler for approval for his
application to divert this path. After discussion it was agreed to accept this
proposal. Carried.
16
Finance. A
completion certificate for the Village Hall work had not yet been received from
SCDC.
The
following cheques agreed and signed
Village
Hall, Final Disabled Toilet Grant £1750.00
Cambridge
Insitu, Photocopying £12.10
Handbell
Insurance £82.32
17
New Ruling on Minuting Expenditure. As outlined in the CALC Bulletin, it is now
required that each item of expenditure is identified under the correct statutory
power when agreed.
18
New Notice Board near Pillar Box in Great Eversden. This will be discussed further at the next
meeting.
19
Standards Board Questionnaire. The Chairman agreed to complete this.
20
22 High Street Great Eversden. SCDC
owned a piece of land adjoining the garden of this house. The resident wished to
rent or buy this land. Since the land has no external access SCDC could not use
it for building and asked the Council which of several options they would
recommend. The Council recommended Option 2- sale with a covenant not to
develop, but with a requirement to re-value if the site ever became eligible for
development.
21
Planning
Applications
Mr and Mrs D Claridge, 21 Harlton Road Extension.
No recommendation
Mr and Mrs M Ward, 65 Harlton Road. Extension. No
recommendation
The Wheatsheaf Extension and
refurbishment. Approved.
22
Gritting It
was agreed that a box of grit should be provided for use in Lowfields. Site to
be settled between chairman and Mr Bane.
23
Correspondence.
In circulation, including Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005
Date of next meeting
Monday 19th December in the Village Hall at 8pm.
Appendix to Minutes of 14th November
2005
Affordable
Housing.
Principle:
Everyone agreed that there was a need.
Everyone agreed that it was in the interests of existing residents that
the number of houses built on any one site should be limited to ten, or a very
few more.
Possible
OSP 148 was clearly the first choice, since it was already owned by
Sites
SCDC.
Some
felt that all other potential sites in the two villages should be examined
before a second site was proposed.
Others pointed out that the site on Harlton Road between Nos 52 and 54
was available now and, since this might not be the case in future, the present
opportunity should not be lost.
There was some discussion about Watson's Close, opposite Wheeler's Way.
Residents who overlooked this land felt it would be a severe loss of amenity if
it were built on. It was thought that the planners would share this view and
that this was not a suitable site.
Detailed
There were firm plans at present, but points to be noted were:
Plans
New
developments should not be 'over the fence' from present houses and gardens.
Terraces or groups of semi-detached small houses were more acceptable
than blocks of flats.
Existing trees and hedges should be preserved as far as possible
Careful consideration should be given to providing adequate parking for
cars. This should not endanger children playing in the gardens or destroy a
rural view.