From our Reporter at the Parish Council Meeting
BEING EIGHT MINUTES LATE I was delighted to find the meeting had already
reached 4b - report from Cllr Allen Alderson. Yippeee, should be away by 9.30
tonight. O silly man to have had such a stupid thought.
Both the Chairman and Vice-Chairman had some garbage collection grievances which gave the meeting a very rural flavour, especially when Allen described what will be the workings of the new Landbeach Recycling Plant when it opens. The end product appears to have few attractions. And neither does the sewer problem with blockages and overflows in Tothill, Greenhead and Adams Roads with the problems all coming together under one house. Martin Meade is exploring it and the PC sympathised without being able to help apart from offering the suggestion that ECDC may have some responsibility.
At 8.27 we moved back from 5c to 4a as Cllr Hazel Williams had been delayed at a Bottisham Village College Governors'meeting. She arrived with sad news from the College but do read Hazel's report for an account of it. The traffic calming at Quy continues to cause wonder and dismay. What are the odds of it surviving in its present form?
The now famous Bee Orchid poked up its head and Hazel reported that Paul Butcher, the chief verger, had not been told not to cut and that as the verge is on a bend two swathes needed to be cropped for safety reasons. This caused one of those deliciously light touches of humour for which the SP PC has long been famous. John Covill wondered whether the grass could be cut to just twelve inches "because not many cars are that low." This was matched later when the state of the Pound was discussed. A working party was proposed and Sandra Gynn said they would need a stepladder for some of the weeds, at which Peter Hart, an avid gardener, asked "Why, are the weeds that high?" I may have been the only person who laughed but I thought it very funny.
Time had rolled on and at 8.50 we had only reached item 7 out of 18. No chance of getting away at 9.30 now. Item 7 concerned the PC's response to the four fairly simple questions asked by Northern Affordable Homes following their presentation last month. The first question was "Is there a need for a small scheme of affordable housing?" Normally a quick and simple "yes"would have been sufficient, especially as the PC had long indicated there was a need. John Jordan (JJ), who was not at the last meeting, wanted more debate, wanted a 20 year plan, thought that an hour was needed to discuss it fully, and what ought to have been fairly quick - at this stage of discussions on the four questions - was not finally completed until 9.20. Someone whispered to me that old French proverb "He who misses a meeting is always in the wrong." However it was agreed to include in the agenda of the next meeting a "debate on whether an hour long debate on affordable housing is desirable." - or something along those lines. Steve asked to be informed when such a meeting is to take place as he will certainly miss it.
One of the questions concerned possible sites and the Deal Hole was rejected because it would commit the sin of shunting low cost housing to the edge of the village (people without a home may not mind). And next to Ivy Farm (or rather next to the old police house) was also rejected. Many - nay, most - at the meeting learned for the first time that this land used to be called Gutteridge Close, and I later learned that Ruth Stinton, when a young gal, used to lead the cows from Corona Dairy down the path past Home Farm twice a day, and that because of the cows in the Dairy her family used to dry their washing on Gutteridge Close, which used to have a moat in the middle.
Andrew Camps reported on the recent Neighbourhood Panel Meeting and Geoffrey Woollard, having attended several, had doubts about the value and wondered if it was just "only another talking shop."Hazel thought it was the fault of the parishes and the public as she herself was disappointed in the range of subjects raised, Geoffrey had noticed that there always appeared to be about 10 policemen present (better than filling up forms?) and Allen advised that the Neighbourhood Panels in East Cambs are the only ones in the whole country not to be chaired by a policeman. Make of that what you will.
Everything now rattled along and we reached item 14 - "Parish Plan". It was agreed to shelve all thought of a parish plan and JJ said he was putting up a white flag - "at least for the time being". He also noted that at the Village Assembly the people of the village had said they had voted in the PC to make decisions and he said that this is what the PC would now do. Maybe I just look under too many stones but there was the possible hint that if the village doesn't want to be actively involved then they will have to put up with whatever the PC decides - whether the village likes it or not.
The discussion seamlessly slipped into a discussion about the village's "infill only"status and Geoffrey regretted this and thought it restricted development in the village. Of course this is exactly why people come to the village and why residents like it. Geoffrey of course lives four miles out of town and would not be affected. However, just as very child knows about Bob the Builder so residents twenty years ago knew Geoffrey as a keen Developer. After all he was a leading light behind the substantial proposed development at Nine Mile Hill, and also once owned the Dencora Field which he wanted to develop. We all have our weaknesses and Geoffrey's only one is that he likes to fill empty spaces with buildings.
A new member of the public attended the last meeting. This was a fine young man from Melbourne, Australia, who now lives in Joan Rest's old house opposite Gutteridge Close. He was naturally interested in the PC decision and left the meeting a happy man. He sat through the whole meeting and occasionally I think I heard him mutter something like "unbelievable", "tragic", "weird". Before he left he asked, in "Open Question Time", why so many of our councillors live so far out of the village. It was explained that there are only three out of the nine who do not live in the village. Is this an indication of who talk the most?