Notes from the Parish Council August and September meetings
Meeting 14th August 2008: Chairman John Covill chaired the meeting with 8 Parish Councillors. No members of the public were present.
Meeting 11th September 2008: Vice-Chairman Andrew Camps chaired the meeting with 5 Parish Councillors and 2 members of the public.
Minutes of Meetings: These were agreed.
Reports:
- CCC - Cllr Hazel Williams
- ECDC - Cllr Allen Alderson
Correspondence Received:
CCC: Changes to Contracted Bus Services in Your Area (routes 10/10A). The proposed changes suggested were all services after 18.30 on weekdays, all services on a Sunday and all services on Bank Holidays. Service 10 remains the same otherwise.
Firstly, the PC considered the period of consultation ending 26th September 2008 was very badly advertised, allowing people little time to consider the proposals and respond by this date. The Parish Council's written response was as follows:
"It is appreciated that the County Council faces financial restraints particularly with the cutting of subsidies to such services and in a perfect world this would not be so but it must be stressed that bus services to the rural villages are not just a financial consideration for the County Council but also a very important social consideration for people who live in the villages and do not have adequate alternative means of transport. Those particularly affected are people who work in Cambridge and Newmarket, young people attending a number of colleges and schools in Cambridge and people travelling to and from Cambridge for entertainment, shopping, etc.
It is the opinion of the Parish Council that;
Services such as the Monday - Saturday 10A at 18.30 should be retained as this is essential for people returning from work in the evening and is currently very well used. It is essential that an adequate late night service is retained.
ECDC (Neighbourhood Panel) - Pilot scheme for use of Speedwatch equipment. Details of this scheme were discussed and it was noted that pilot arrangements (during April to June) for the use of Speedwatch equipment in the Soham and East panel area had been a great success. The PC agreed to support possible extension of this scheme across East Cambridgeshire. If anyone would like further details, please contact me.
Jointly Funded Minor Highways Improvements - Amended Proposals for Mill Hill- August meeting: Revised proposals and plans had been received from Andrew Carauna of CCC Highways. The majority of the PC agreed that the proposals did not go far enough to alleviate the problems on Mill Hill and were surprised that such relatively minor measures could cost £30,000. The outcome of lengthy discussion was to ask Andrew Carauna/John Richards/Kevin Hall of CCC Highways to attend the September PC meeting or a meeting on site with Councillors to discuss the proposals.
Following a meeting between Andrew Carauna and Parish Councillors, further revised plans were received. These were agreed at the September PC meeting. It is envisaged that the work will go ahead early next year. I summarise below the measures agreed:
- 2 adjacent kerb build-outs narrowing road to 6.5m and new wooden gates under existing 40mph/village name plate signs.
- 4 adjacent kerb build-outs narrowing road to 6.3m with wooden bollards (1 being a dropped crossing).
- White lining between build outs to continue narrowing effect.
- Renew 40mph roundel markings.
If anyone would like to see the scheme plans, please let me know.
Cemetery Maintenance: Martin Harris of the Probation Service confirmed that one of his teams could help with the cutting back of vegetation, etc. A meeting was to be arranged at the cemetery to discuss and agree timescales. An estimate was also to be sought from a local contractor.
Cutting of Verges - Measures to Protect Wildflowers: Awaiting replies from CCC.
Accounts for Payment: These were agreed.
Items for Next Agenda:
- Traffic-Calming Scheme - Mill Hill
- Cemetery Maintenance
- Asset Register - ongoing review
- The Lodes & Fens.
Open Question Time: There were no questions.
Should anyone require further information on any of the reported items above, please contact me.
The next meeting will take place on Thursday, 9th October 2008 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. All are welcome to attend.