From our Reporter at the Parish Council Meeting
MAYBE IT IS THE MILD JANUARY but the PC appeared to be in a particularly
relaxed, confident and jovial mood which took the meeting through to 10.00pm.
After the initial formalities Jo Fitzpatrick from ACRE addressed the meeting about "Parish Plans" - an initiative (gosh, how that word sends shivers down the spine) controlled by DEFRA (does this give any confidence) which "gives everyone a chance to say what they think about the social, economic and environmental issues affecting their community." Even better. "Parish Plans are holistic in scope." Well, that's alright then. There was a long discussion and while no report can give the full details, here goes.
A rural white paper was printed in November 2000 to help create "a vibrant countryside". Initially, so Hazel Williams said, many completed Parish Plans were just left on the shelf - well, that's a surprise. But all this has changed and there is now a big drive to complete as many as possible. It seems that just over a third in East Cambridgeshire have either completed or are completing the Plan. Lode and Bulbeck are just starting while the Burwell has had 80% of its completed Plan approved or actioned. Hazel was not asked what the items were.
DEFRA is going to hand out £1,500 to every participating village. Initially a village working party would be set up comprising a maximum of 2 PC members and representatives from a variety of organisations in the village. Hazel stressed that this would have to be a real working party and a lot of work and application was required. For £75 we would buy software containing up to 300 questions which would form a basis for a questionnaire circulated to the whole village.
Steve asked why the PC needed a Parish Plan if it is happy it represents village views. Hazel asked "how do you know this for certain?" She explained that the Plan would give an opportunity for those who never go to any event, who never take part in anything, who never read the local magazine, who are shy, or who just commute into Cambridge or elsewhere, drive home and never come out - it would give all these good people a chance to express an opinion. One example she gave was that 60% of Coton knew nothing about the Parish Council. Geoffrey jumped up at this point and said the difference between Coton and Swaffham Prior is that "the Crier rams information about the PC down people's throats."
It transpires that the Plan will include all personal details such as the number of people living in each house, how many cars, age, and possibly such details as eating habits, sex, sporting activities - at which point a noticeable caution began to creep into the PC. We know the government would like an electronic tab on everyone and is this just a backdoor entrance? "So it's a kind of census?" asked Sandra Ginn. "Sort of" came the answer.
Steve asked what the £1,500 was for and would it cover all the costs. It was intended to cover the printing costs and the approximate £1,000 for the analysis which was strongly recommended should be carried out by one of a number of professional companies. It was suggested that this would make the analysis impartial and make it much easier to obtain grants. I could not follow the argument here as we could well have someone in the village with the skills to do this. Probably DEFRA wanted the information in a format suitable for merging with all the other information the Government is amassing about us. Or was it just a gentle warning/threat - "Do as we say or you won't get any funding."
And so it went on. The PC would only be liable for 5% of the cost which under examination from Steve could be £3,000 -3,500. Geoffrey suggested leaving the decision until after the May election as it would give the new PC four years to reach a decision. Jo said the PC had only until March 2008 by which time any money from DEFRA will have had to be paid out.
After the meeting I read a handout provided by ACRE. As often with an offer there is a sting in the tail. There is probably enough money to fund 1,000 parish councils throughout the country and it is "first come first served". Also it is a maximum of £1,500 and could be less. £1,500 multiplied by 1,000 could amount to one and a half million pounds and our Gordon could trumpet that the government had spent this amount on creating local "visions" for rural communities. Of this sum two thirds, or £1 million, would go to the information analysts which convinces me the whole scheme was drawn up by management consultants some of whom have been ripping off our public services for years.
The final sting is that:-
"Working with the community in the preparation of a 'Parish or Town Plan' is also one of the criteria needed to meet the new Quality Parish Council status developed to strengthen the most local tier of government." Does our Parish Council know this?
Hastoe Housing Association has asked the PC if we have any need for social housing and it may be asked to address the village at the Village Assembly. Some points of procedure were tidied up on the Agenda and "Matters arising" is being moved from No 6 to No 3. Now that we are aiming at Quality Status we are not allowed to have "Any other Business" on the agenda. Most thought this ridiculous as it's essential there is some slot to raise last minute concerns. To get round the problem it was agreed to include it in 'Open Question Time' after the meeting has closed. Someone insisted the PC should have its say before "that lot in the Public Gallery"
The new rules about addresses requires everyone to have a street name and number (including Chatsworth House or a cottage on a Welsh hillside ?) though the name of the house can be included. Michael Marshall is concerned that the address of Swaffham Prior House is 86 High Street. It certainly is an anomaly but the PC thought it did not have the power to make any change. Geoffrey produced copies of the 1891 Census which is inconclusive as none of the High Street houses were given numbers. Perhaps Geoffrey could continue his research and tell us exactly when the High Street numbers were added and if there were any major changes during the twentieth century. The PC was sympathetic but could not go beyond that.
In the Report of the December Meeting I mentioned Saville's sketch of the seven houses they wish to have on the Water Tower Site. At this meeting they submitted a more detailed Outline Planning Application. The discussion went exactly the same way as the December meeting. Geoffrey observed that "The site is so obvious for development". "Why is it obvious?" asked Steve. Rarely is Geoffrey short of a word but after a splutter or two he suggested they should have a vote. Only Geoffrey was in favour. At the moment the proposed development history is:-
- Applied for 13 houses. ECDC granted 2 houses.
- Application to ECDC for 7 houses. Opposed by the PC.
Sandra Ginn noticed that since the edge of the Dencora field had been tidied up a mass of litter had been uncovered and she wondered who would be picking it up. Before this happens we must hope this historical litter is surveyed by Mark Lewinski who has cornered the market for this type of garbage survey. If he would also list out the sell- by-dates at the bottom of cans and on the packets of crisps the village would acquire an interesting overview which might even be "holistic in scope".