From our Reporter at the Parish Council Meeting
ALLEN ALDERSON ANNOUNCED THE GOOD NEWS that ECDC is continuing with weekly
garbage collections and from 1st April will be collecting plastic bottles for
recycling. Allen has also been doing sterling work collecting up left-over
travellers' rubbish for ECDC lorries to collect. Allen was modesty itself
and said that walking his two dogs made it easy to collect the rubbish. Please
note all you dog owners. Meanwhile the PC was filled with much admiration and
it is writing to the Chief Executive about Allen's remarkable behaviour.
The good news from Hazel Williams about Gordon Brown's free bus passes is that everything is on track and the aged should receive the new passes before 1st April. The bad news is that (according to a post office) the new passes are unlikely to be sent out before June.
The meeting had been relatively quiet except that Geoffrey continues to be incensed about the travellers, not fully appreciating that they are an ethnic minority and deserve everyone's respect. He still remains convinced that writing to the man at the very top will produce results and refused to accept the assurances of Hazel and Allen that everything possible is being done in what is a very difficult situation - human rights and all that.
The Play Area has been refurbished and only a little re-painting is required. A wonderful opportunity to involve the scouts the PC thought. Alas this cannot be because for health and safety reasons scouts are not allowed to climb ladders. Who produced this H&S ruling? Was it the scouts themselves, is it a national ruling, or just some local enthusiast throwing his/her weight about? We ought to know who is controlling our lives..
Matters arising (for information only) raises another curiosity. A topic was discussed from last month's minutes and at one time it was proposed to have a vote. Because the topic was not on the Agenda no vote was possible though they did agree to send a letter. I'm not sure they are even allowed to do this. Someone really must explain why a topic featured in the previous month's minutes cannot be taken forward if it is not on the Agenda. What a way to carry on a business.
All had been relatively peaceful until the 'Parish Plan' came up. This is quite a hot potato with some members holding diametrically opposing views. A Parish Plan was strongly supported by new PC member John Jordan who asked how the PC knows what people think about property, traffic etc unless there is a survey. He thought it essential the PC had a strategy. Geoffrey thought it unnecessary while Steve Kent-Phillips considered it a good thing we have nothing in stone, that parish plans go out of date, that the PC is very effective as it is and that the result is not worth the £3,000-3,500 cost (Steve was right about the cost as this is the figure given by Jo of ACRE in January 2007).
Hazel Williams is the greatest supporter of Parish Plans and almost appeared to be aiming at a government target for parish councils in her patch. She maintained that people must be involved, opinions must be garnered, and again made the implied threat that fund availability may depend on having a parish plan. She raised traffic calming in Mill Hill and asked the PC 'What evidence do you have that people support you?' if there isn't a questionnaire.
Hazel then produced what she considered to be her ace by quoting the Haddenham and Aldreth Parish Plan. This is a lavish 24 page A4 four coloured publication. Because of this Parish Plan (taking up to anything from 2-4 years to produce) a bus stop was moved to make it more convenient for passengers. Yes, that was Hazel's triumphant justification for this expensive operation. This was the only, and therefore the best, benefit she mentioned and I thought to myself that if all this work was needed to move a bus stop then Haddenham must indeed be a very dysfunctional village.
The debate continued until it was agreed to put it before the village at the Annual Village Assembly in May when a copy of a typical Parish Plan will be provided for people to see, discuss and take away. The biggest problem acknowledged by all old-timers is how to persuade folks to turn up. An effort will be made to publicise the 'Parish Plan Discussion', especially through the Crier though David Almond (a supporter of a plan) wondered how objective this would be achieved when the Editors (known as the Rupert Murdoch of the Fens) wrote in the last Crier 'We have more things to do in life than sit on working parties for Gratuitous Government Initiatives.)
Also on the agenda of the Annual Village Assembly will be the Wicken Fen Vision which is of serious concern for some in the community. Six PC members from about 55 people attended the recent meeting with the National Trust in the Village Hall. Geoffrey's description of a 'rowdy' meeting was corrected to 'very lively'. Geoffrey said that John Harrison had asked the most pertinent question and the answer exposed the weakness of the NT's position. Geoffrey had also attended (this being his thing) other meetings and reported that at Wicken, with about 29 attending, the 'very rowdy' meeting ended early because the NT would not allow a vote on the 'Vision'. At Fen Ditton, with about 25 people attending, it appeared from the nature of the questions that most people 'had no idea what was involved'.
I am quoting Geoffrey's account and though Geoffrey is a good man, nay, a very good man with some integrity, I cannot guarantee that his account has the same honesty and accuracy as the usual Crier reporting. But what is important is that our village should be aware of the consequences of the Wicken Vision, and the Annual Village Assembly will be an ideal opportunity to learn more and to speak your mind. Of course some people don't give a hoot about anything in the village and won't turn up.
This and other matters took up time, but one of the last items concerned the Clerk's Holiday Allowances. According to the hefty regulations Karen is allowed "56 hours per year holiday." I know she has to take this holiday but not whether it is paid or unpaid.
Incidentally the date of the Annual Village Assembly will not be decided until the PC Meeting on 10th April - probably because it wasn't on the March Agenda