From our Reporter at the Parish Council Meeting
The meeting opened with a highly professional presentation by Mr Simon
Drummond-Hay of Northern Affordable Homes Ltd, a private company, who made a
proposal regarding affordable homes in the village While this proposal is being
considered by the PC a short record of the presentation is:- two possible sites
- the land near the Deal Hole and that next to Ivy Farm, to which was added the
Dencora field; 2 bedroom houses at £89,000 and 3 bedroom houses at £99,000;
shared ownership with 999 year lease; no right to buy but can sell on at 60-
70% of the market value; rent of £20 a week; only available to people following
guidelines agreed with the village; a suggestion for about 12 houses; willing
to put on for the village with PC involvement an exhibition from 8.00am to
8.00pm.
Our "listening"Government is at its best! The Audit Commission has specified that next year all the PC end of year account audits, both internal and external, have to be completed by the end of May! "Impossible", "Stupid", "Ridiculous" - such were the comments.
One feature of the evening was Alex Kirby's letter about the Bee Orchid which appears in the letters section. It seems that neither the CCC Environment Support Officer nor the Bio Diversity Officer gives a fig about the poor Bee Orchid. And yet at the same time the CCC is alleged to be selling off good farm land to the National Trust for its "Vision". And one justification for the land grab is the Crucifix Ground Beetle known as Panagaeus cruxmajor. The NT has issued a press release on the discovery and a "beetle expert", after being amazed at this "fantastic" find, concluded by saying that it shows "the importance of this nature reserve and why it is important to make the reserve larger." This appears to be a rather unsubtle push. Geoffrey Woollard produced his own press release which reported that a friend had brought him not one, but six specimens of this "rare"crucifix ground beetle, which he had picked off his asparagus bed. Geoffrey's conclusion was that "it is very evident that the Trust is all too ready to embroider reality for the sake of a silly publicity stunt!" And what about the declining numbers of moths, already badly suffering from last year's wet summer, and expected to plunge to an all time low this year. Flooding the fens isn't going to help this important pollinator of fruit crops.
Okay, we all know about the National Trust's "Vision". But why is the CCC being so hostile to our Bee Orchids, let alone the "vulnerable"Yellow Vetchling?
The Mill Hill traffic improvement scheme was discussed but I suspect all thoughts will be redirected towards the traffic calming in Quy's 40mph throughroad. This should stir up the honey pot.
The Parish Plan was also discussed briefly and it was decided to defer a judgement until John Jordan could attend a meeting. Peter Hart however did surprise the meeting by claiming that the reaction to a Parish Plan at the AVA was "evenly balanced". Geoffrey's eyes opened as wide as I've ever seen them and he quietly said "I don't think so"while Sandra Ginn just vigorously shook her head.
BUT we do now have far more information about Parish Plans than ever previously supplied. By using the Haddenham and Aldreth Parish Plan as an example I shall this month expose the limited value of the plans. Next month I shall look at the wider context and value of Parish Plans by referring to the independent report "Integration of Parish Plans into the wider systems of local government" which was commissioned by Defra, researched by SQW Consulting, and published in July 2007. Anyone wishing to make any comment on Parish Plans MUST read this report - the full report of about 204 pages and not just the Summary. It is not easy to find but you should be successful with www.defra.gov.uk/rural/pdfs/communities/pplan-execsumm072007pdf. (no, you can't I now discover). So, via Google go to SQW Consulting, then Latest News etc, scroll to July 2007, find the above report and continue clicking until it comes up. Enjoy!!