From our Reporter at the Parish Council Meeting
Trevor Jones has resigned the Chairmanship of the P.C. on account of his
imminent departure from the village. So the meeting's first act was to
elect a new Chairman. Mr. John Covill was elected as chairman; so Trevor
vacated the chair and John Covill moved to the end of table and presided; and
Trevor took his place at the side of the table. Trevor thanked the members of
the P.C. for their help and support over the years, and hoped that John would
enjoy the same support from the group.
A matter arising from the minutes of the last meeting was a Housing Association's plan for "Affordable Housing in Lower End". The proposed sale of land by Dencora to the Housing Association for this development had fallen through, to the disappointment of the Housing Association and of all concerned.
An item for discussion was "Public Lighting Maintenance agreement", with the company Alfred McAlpine. The contractor's charge is to be increased and will become £500 p.a. plus VAT. This caused people to ask, "What do they DO? Replace dead light bulbs?" Karen promised to look in to the job, and when we had a proper job-description, we would find out whether there is any other company willing and able to take on the task. We felt sure that there was someone out there who would be prepared to change a street-lighting bulb for less that £500 per year.
We discussed the Village pound which is said to need some TLC. The County Council's Conservation Officer has left, and his successor Rosie Burton is not yet in office; but in the meantime somebody is going to discover exactly what needs to be done to the place.
The Burwell Tigers Football club is hoping to use our recreation ground as their football field, and with the help of the land-agent Bidwells had come up with an outline proposal. It involved a car-parking area and a pavilion. These were discussed, mainly in relation to the nearby sewage works.
Coopers Lane and the Barrier, now broken, were discussed at length. Mr. Redhead, who was present, undertook to make a temporary repair to the barrier. It was agreed that Cooper's Lane was available for vehicles ONLY as far as the barrier, which is close to the cemetery gate. The rest of Cooper's Lane is a County Council footpath. Karen is pressing the C.C. over maintenance and repair of the barrier but they are dithering.
There was much more. For instance we elected Mrs. Kent-Phillips as the Village Representative to the School's Governing Body. At times, Trevor muttered into his beard and Mr. Hardiment murmured wordlessly at the table. And after a few moments of silence, the Chairman would say; "Now let us turn to Item 8". From this, I deduced that the mutters and murmurs had produced a decision, and had determined what we were doing about Item 7. But I had not the least idea about what we had decided or what we would do. When the Chairman is really on top of the job, and has run himself in, he will be able to insist that speakers will face the Chair and address it at all times.