19th December 2005   Back to Index

A meeting of the Parish Council was held in the Village Hall on Monday 19th November 2005 at 8pm.

Present:  Miss Sach, Mrs Handley, Mr Ellis, Mr Bane, Mr Blatch, Mr Tebbit, Mr White, and, in the Chair, Mr Dalton. Cls. Mrs Heazell and Mr Kindersley also present.

Apologies. Mrs Clemmow and Ms Hayes.

Minutes of the meeting held on 14th November were agreed and signed (but see also under item 6).

Matters arising from the Minutes

1. Footpath 13. Ivett's Lane. The pole has not yet been removed. Discussions are taking place with the riparian owners about the ditch.

2. Verge cutting. The plan had been accepted with some amendments and it was believed that Miss Hayes had submitted it to the Highways Authority.

3. Emergency Water Supply. Miss Sach reported that the village had offered itself as the site for a rehearsal.

4. Footpath 20 gritting. Mr Ellis reported that this had been carried out and that some grit was left over.

5. Nixon's Hall Memorial Tablet. This tablet had fallen down and broken. Mr Blatch reported that he hoped to be able to reassemble it soon.

6. Fall out from Affordable Housing Discussion. The Chairman reported that he had received a petition signed by a number of residents of Great Eversden objecting to OSP 148 as a possible site for low-cost housing. It was agreed that this document be circulated to all members to study and then it would be an agenda item at the next meeting in January. Carried.

Councillor Mrs Heazell pointed out that she had undertaken to refer the PC's resolution of 14th November to the Housing Development Committee and not to the Planning Committee as stated in the Minutes.

7. Publication of Minutes on Village web-site. This was further discussed. It was agreed that the unconfirmed minutes could be published on the web-site after they had been circulated to members by email and any corrections had been received. This should be possible within about a week of the meeting.

8. Possible Club. Mr Frank O'Keefe had made enquiries about Clubs in other villages. His report would be circulated and the matter discussed at the next meeting.  Mr White outlined the problems associated with having a club in the Village Hall.

9. It was also agreed that a Certificate of Insurance should be displayed on the Notice Board in the Recreation Field Pavilion.

10. Village Hall.  The Chairman mentioned that a suggestion had been made that the Village Hall be sold and a purpose-built hall should be erected on the Recreation Ground. Nothing had been received in writing.

11. Kissing Gates. A proposal had been made by the Rural Group to remove kissing gates from the footpaths to allow for disabled access. Mr Ellis pointed out that these gates were his property and objected strongly to the proposal. It was agreed to seek further information from the Rural Group as to their authority in suggesting this change.

12. Footpaths moved. The proposed diversion of Footpaths 17, 18 and 23, and the conversion of 18 into a Bridleway was approved.

13. Barrington Cement. A very full discussion took place on this subject. The Chairman read a report written by Jochem Rudel from the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. Mr John Rudkin spoke of his research into chemical pollution. Ms Oosthuizen spoke of the damage that would be done to the archaeological environment and the other points were raised about the visual detriment of the proposed tower and the new road. It was generally agreed that the worst feature of the scheme for the Eversdens would be the enormous increase in HGV movements (490 a day is estimated, more than one every 2.5 minutes). This would make traffic on the A603 very much more dangerous, and the road-crossing from Eversden to Harlton would become almost impossible.
It was agreed that the Council should join SCAPE, which includes 14 other villages, in joint action objecting to this proposal. This resolution was carried with Mr Ellis disagreeing.
It was also agreed that a statement of the views of the Eversden PC would be prepared and circulated to members for comment and approval. It would then be circulated as required to those concerned.
A leaflet was being prepared by SCAPE and it was agreed that this would be circulated to all households in the Eversdens.
Clr Mrs Heazel said that CEMEX would now submit their proposals to the planners in February and that it would be discussed at a full meeting of the Planning Committee in early March.

14. Survey. Statement of Community Involvement. This questionnaire had been filled in and returned.

15. Finance. The draft Budget for 2006 would be circulated for discussion at the next meeting.
The following cheque agreed and signed. ACRE subscription £25.00.
Completion Certificate for the Village Hall had been received.

16. War Memorial. Miss Sach reported that the Eversden War Memorial had been listed in a recent booklet on War Memorials in England. Col. MacDonald had written to the editor thanking him and pointing out that no Second World War casualties had been included because there had been none in the Eversdens.

17. Correspondence.  This in circulation.

Date of Next Meeting. Agreed to change this from 30th January to 23rd January 2006.

Clr. Kindersley spoke briefly about the Budget proposals and the substantial cuts in rural bus-routes and the increased grant to buses in Cambridge City.
He also mentioned the appointment of a new Chief Constable and the proposed merger with other police forces.
He was concerned that the debts of Primary Health Care Trusts in the area had led them to cut services for mental health patients.