PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
held on Wednesday
15th March, 2022 in the Village Hall, High St.
Present: Councillors; J Holdich, OBE (Chairman), D Batty, Mrs C Bysshe, G Kirt, R Randall, and Mr JV Haste (Clerk). Two members of the public were also present.
MINUTES OF MEETING
601. Apologies for Absence – Cllr. E Spendelow Cllr. P Skinner absent through recovering from Hospital treatment. Apologies for absence also received from Cllrs D. Lane and R. Johnson (unwell).
602. Members Declarations of Interest – None declared.
603. Public Participation – Mrs Jill Cowcill spoke of the concerns, about aerial fireworks, of those residents of Thatched dwellings in the village. Use of fireworks is becoming more and more prevalent and can now be seen and heard on virtually any day of the year. Parliament had debated the introduction of regulating their use but regulations had failed to reach the statute book. There are four thatched properties within the conservation area and the concerns of those residents is that at any time they could lose their homes. When fireworks are anticipated such as at new year and other established festivities those residents are forced to stay at home with hosepipes and fire extinguishers at the ready. Jill urged the parish council to take what ever measures were available to the parish council to kerb the use of aerial fireworks – see minute 607b below
604. Minutes of the previous meeting –
Cllr Kirt felt that the minutes omitted reference to discussions on an offer to operate a community fridge and other possibilities to assist the less well-off and vulnerable residents in the village. The Clerk undertook to add a note of that discussion in the minutes of this meeting. With that undertaking we RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 15th February, 2022
Proposed Cllr. Kirt Seconded Cllr. Randall
605. Matters Arising from Minutes of Previous Meeting – For information only – the person offering to operate the community fridge will be invited to attend a future meeting to elaborate on the proposal. In addition, an officer of the city council has offered to give training on Fuel poverty and the measures that can be taken to address that. The training event can last up to an hour and is conducted on line. This will be arranged and it is intended to publicise the event, thus enabling a wider audience to benefit.
606. Planning
a. Status of current planning applications – An update report on applications previously considered by the parish council had been circulated with the agenda and the content was noted. We were also advised that since the preparation and publication of that report the planning authority had approved the extension at 16 High Street.
b. 22/00233/CTR – 24 North Fen Road – T.3 Lime – Reduce & reshape crown by approx. 2.5m and raise crown to 3m, above ground level – we have no objections to this application
c. 22/00243/FUL – AMVC Helpston Road – Erection of a timber canopy with fabric roof to create external covered space for students. We considered that the surface area of the proposed canopy was extremely large and whilst we have no objection to the structure, consider that advantage could be taken to adopt some environmentally friendly aspects such as water capture or even solar panels.
d. 22/00232/CLE – Pasture Farm, Waterworks Lane – Existing use creation of a dwelling. We were advised that planning had confirmed that the decision on this matter was a purely legal matter based on facts and that the parish council are not statutory consultees. With that advice in mind the application was noted.
e. 22/00266/HHFUL – 22 Helpston Road – Two Storey rear extension – We have no objection to this application provided the materials used match the existing dwelling.
f. 22/00285/CLP – 28 Elm Crescent – Garage conversion under permitted development rights. We noted this application as permitted development and have no objection to make.
g. 22/00306/CTR – 8a Welmore Road – Prunus Nigra (Ornamental Plum) in rear garden. Remove epicormic growth, prune and reshape the tree to produce a balanced crown. Approximate reduction 20-30%. we have no objections to this application and will support the decision of the Tree officer.
607. Community Matters
a. Climate Change – Cllr Kirt reported that there was nothing to add to the previous minutes but that there would be another meeting on Monday 21st March and monthly meetings thereafter on the 3rd Monday of the month. Further developments will be reported to the parish council.
b. Aerial Fireworks – This matter had been largely dealt with under the public forum part of the meeting. We had been advised that our ability to create a byelaw was severely in doubt, and even if possible would need enforcement. The chairman stated that this would be a problem for other parishes with conservation areas and thatched properties and undertook to seek advice, initially from CAPALC
608. Reports of Councillors attending meetings with other bodies. –
a. Parish Liaison meetings – The clerk informed us that these were being revived and reformatted to major on issues of interest to parish councils and that all parish councillors would be receiving an invite to attend on Zoom.
b. Peterborough Parish Councils Conference – The clerk reported that this would be held on 8th June, at Nene Park, with environmental issues being the theme. The event will be chaired by Richard Astle of Langdyke trust, with speakers from PECT and Sarah Lambert as well as from the city council.
609. Governance Matters –
a. Banking Arrangements – The clerk reported that he had completed forms for himself as Clerk and the form for the Parish council as the entity for whom the account is to be opened. It remains for signatories to attend the bank for ID checks to enable the matter to be finalised.
610. Official Notices and Correspondence –
a. Jubilee celebrations – The Clerk reported that he had received details of official Jubilee celebrations for HM The Queen and the extended bank holiday. We asked the clerk to write to the community association asking if they had any plans for events within the village and if so did they need any financial support from the parish council.
b. Beacon Project – The notification included details of the Beacon project and all parish councils were invited to take part. There is a short deadline to place orders to guarantee delivery in May of this year. The cost of the official beacon is £495 +VAT and we have £1500 in the budget for jubilee celebrations. We RESOLVED to instruct the clerk to place an order for the official Gas Beacon from the suppliers 21CC Group. The intention being to light this on the village green at the time of the national Beacon Project
Proposed Cllr. Denis Batty seconded Cllr. Gerry Kirt
611. Highways Matters –
a. Parking issues Helpston Road and Beech Road – The chairman and Cllr Batty had met on site and photographs had been taken which were in the possession of the Ward Councillor.
b. Peakirk Road, Footpath on North side as you leave the village is overgrown and now very narrow and unusable in a mobility scooter or by pushchair
c. White line denoting the footpath in North Fen Road is still, missing as are the other issues raised at our earlier meetings. We were advised that the lack of action on these matters was down to the lack of financial resources by the city council, and that they may receive attention in the new financial year.
612. Item for next agenda –
a. Further consideration of the jubilee celebrations
b. Annual governance & Accountability return
613. Date of Next Meeting – The next scheduled meeting of the parish council is Tuesday 15th March 2022. This will be the final meeting before the elections to be held in May.
Meeting closed at 8.29pm
Clerk/Proper Officer,
18th March 2022