Kings Ripton Parish Council Meeting
M6
A Meeting of Kings Ripton Parish Council was held at Kings Ripton Village Hall, School Lane, Kings Ripton, PE28 2NL, on Tuesday 6th November 2012 at 7.00pm.
Present: Councillors Mick Toates (Chairman); Brian Petre; Ros Townsend; Joan Evans, Zelda Barter-Rayner
In attendance: Cambridgeshire County Councillor Victor Lucas DL, Huntingdonshire District Councillor Robin Howe;Rebecca Britton of Urban & Civic & Claire Tunnicliffe, Parish Clerk.
43. APOLOGIES
None were received.
44. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
None was declared.
45. MINUTES
Copies of the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 25th September (M5) had been circulated following their informal approval by the Chairman. It was
RESOLVED that the minutes were a correct record and they were duly signed by the Chairman.
46. PUBLIC FORUM
No public address was made to the Council.
47. ALCONBURY WEALD
The Chairman welcomed Rebecca Britton of Urban & Civic who gave a presentation on the redevelopment of the former Alconbury airfield site for up to 5,000 new houses and up to 290,000 square metres of a mix of office or industrial employment floor space. The development would also include shops, community facilities, schools, sports facilities and open spaces.
Ms Britton explained how the site had been identified on the central spine of the County with close links to the A1(M) ANF East Coast Mainline. The site also sat between two strong economies of Peterborough and Cambridge. Had a range of resources and infrastructure which could be reused and recycled to create a low impact, low carbon development. The development would bring infrastructure investment in public transport and strategic road networks which would improve the current infrastructure deficit. It was planned that the site would link into the St Ives / Cambridge guided bus link and a railway station planned for development in 2018 would also encourage residents to use alternative transport methods.
Members expressed concern at the effect that the development could have in the village such as increase in traffic and were advised that public transport provision would be incorporated within development areas to ensure that at least 70% of homes were within easy walking distance (400m) of public transport and at least 80% of homes would be within 800m of schools, shops and cultural or social activities. Footpath/cycleway/bridleway connections would also link in with the existing footpath and bridleway network around the site and the historic Public Rights Of Way.
Ms Britton also advised Members that Urban and Civic would be working with partners to agree and provided appropriate improvements to junctions and roads across the areas after assessing the impact of the development against the existing road layouts.
Further details were given to Members on designating the site as an enterprise zone and the benefits it would bring to businesses and investments to the local area.
It was then
RESOLVED to thank Ms Britton for her presentation.
48. CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Chairman informed Members that he had attended a Code of Conduct training session at Pathfinder House on 23rd October presented by Colin Meadowcroft, Head of Legal & Democratic Services, Huntingdonshire District Council.
The Chairman reminded Members that they had been asked to consider for adoption a suitable Code of Conduct for Kings Ripton Parish Council. Copies of both Huntingdonshire District Council’s Code of Conduct and the Code of Conduct recommended by the National Association of Local Councils had been circulated in advance of the meeting.
The Chairman reminded those present that under the Localism Act 2011 the Council must adopt a new Code of Conduct which complies with the requirement of the Act. The Code would apply to all Councillors when they act in their role as Councillors of Kings Ripton Parish Council.
The Chairman then went through the requirements of the Code and highlighted the differences between the two codes.
After a short discussion it was unanimously
RESOLVED to adopt Huntingdon District Council’s Code of Conduct.
49. REPORTS FROM COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS
Councillor V Lucas informed Members he had sent a letter to the Ripton News reminding parishioners to register their support for ‘Connecting Cambridgeshire’ campaign and a volunteer form the village was required for the role of Community Broadband Champion.
Members were informed of the 2013/14 submissions for the Local Highway Improvement Scheme were due by December 21st December 2012.
Councillor Lucas then reminded Members of an e-mail that had been sent by Inspector Mark Greenhalgh which had included a schedule of PSCO visits to Parish Council meetings that had timetabled a PSCO to attend a meeting in December.
The Chairman responded there would be no meeting in December but the Clerk would contact Inspector Greenhalgh to advise of the January date.
Members were told that in the absence of the Local Joint Committees to ensure that the Police maintained face to face contact with the public, a rolling programme of surgeries had been published on the Cambridgeshire Police website. This would give the opportunity for residents to meet with Officers and discuss local issues and express their concerns.
Following a complaint of noise disturbance at Jubilee Fields on 29th September, Councillor Howe had contacted the Licencing Department at Huntingdonshire District Council who had confirmed that the event had not been licensed.
Councillor Howe was informed that the Parish Clerk had contacted the landlord of Jubilee Fields, Huntingdon Town Council, to report the complaint who in turn responded that they would contact Huntingdon FA. Councillor Howe responded that he would contact Karen Cameron, Town Clerk, Huntingdon Town Council to advise that a licence had not been issued by Huntingdonshire District Council.
With regards to the three day music festival reported to Members at the last meeting, Councillor Howe advised that the organisers still required a large amount of funding for the event to take place and no date had yet been set. District Councillor & Huntingdon Town Councillor, Patrick Kadewere (North Ward) would be contacting HDC Licensing Department to investigate the matter further.
Clerks note – Councillor Barter-Rayner left the meeting at 8.45pm.
Members heard that Councillor Howe had obtained data from Huntingdonshire District Council and organisers of the Secret Garden Party. Although the data showed that the sound levels had dropped after midnight the sound levels had been exceeded every night, in particular the base noise which showed clear evidence of nuisance noise.
Councillor Howe advised Members that residents must make their complaints via the advertised phone number during the festival period. The small number of official number of complaints received had been viewed that although there was a noise disturbance it was not enough of an irritant to warrant complaining by residents on large scale.
Councillor Howe reiterated that if residents did not come forward to protest via the official complaint number the organisers and licencing authority would consider there to be no problems.
Members were advised that had a meeting had been arranged with the SGP organisers, representatives of Huntingdonshire District Council and the local Parish Councils of the surrounding areas on December 5th 2012.
A Member stated that the Council needed to be involved in the early part of the application process with representatives from the surrounding local Parish Councils attending. It had been very clear that the sound limits had been broken and the question was asked why these limits were put into place when they were continuously broken each year and yet nothing had been done by the licencing authority.
The Chairman thanked Councillor Howe for organising the meeting and stated that he looked forward to discussing the matter in more detail which he would report back at the next meeting.
It was then
RESOLVED to thank Councillor Lucas and Howe for their reports.
Clerk’s note – The meeting with SGP organisers has been re-arranged for January 16th 2013.
50. PLANNING
50.1 Member considered the following planning application 1210139FUL:
2 Manor Farm Cottage, Ramsey Road, – Revised plan, the access to the garage and highway has now been included in the revised site area and certificate B has been supplied / served on the owners. The revised plan is in place of the original 12/49/03 rev A.
Members noted that the applicant would have to use the neighbouring land to turn their vehicles and should seek permission from the land owner. It was
RESOLVED to recommend APPROVAL but the applicant must seek permission from the land owner to use the neighbouring land to turn their vehicles.
50.2 Alconbury Weald 1201158OUT:
The Council recognised that the provision of 5000 new residential properties would present challenges for the development team, the prospect of 6000 new jobs to the local area is a factor which considerably outweighs any adverse impact. It was
RESOLVED to recommend APPROVAL
51. CORRESPONDENCE
51.1 Complaint regarding noise disturbance from Jubilee Fields on 29th September 2012.
This was discussed under item 49.
52.2 Members had before them a letter from Mrs Di Jenkins, former Parish Clerk and organiser of the Village Jubilee Celebrations. The letter stated the Village Hall Committee and St Peters Church Restoration Fund had each received a contribution of £1,011.00 from money raised from the Village Jubilee Event. It was recommended to send a letter of thanks and congratulations to Mrs Jenkins for all her hard work for a successful event.
It was RESOLVED to do so.
53. LOCAL HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT SCHEME
53.1 Members had before them a report from Cambridgeshire County Council’s Safety Audit concerning the proposal to install a single set of speed cushions plus additional lighting. The report’s recommendation stated a sufficient width of 750mm should be made available to allow two wheeled vehicles to safely negotiate to straddle the cushions. Additional vertical features were needed or omit the single feature.
Members acknowledged the recommendations but agreed the installation of one set of speed cushions would be an acceptable risk if that risk reduced the speed on the corner which it was believed the most dangerous area in the village. A discussion then followed regarding the inner and outer spacing and felt that current spacing of 600mm was sufficient for a cycle to pass through.
The Chairman requested that the Clerk pass on the Council’s comments to Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways department and it was
RESOLVED to do so.
53.2 Members next discussed possible 2013/14 submissions for the Local Improvement Scheme and the following items were suggested;
- Warning Sign of Pedestrians Crossing close to the bridge on Ramsey Road.
- Complete footpath through the village.
- Cycle route from the B1090 cross roads to Jubilee Fields.
- Preparation of layby for a bus stop on the B1090.
The Chairman asked Members to consider each proposal for further consideration and requested that comments should be sent to the Clerk who would request an extension on the deadline for applications to January 9th.
Clerk’s note – An extension has been approved for applications to January 9th by Sharon Piper, Cambridgeshire County Council.
54. CODE OF CONDUCT
This item was considered under item 48.
55. FINANCE
55.1 Members had before them the Parish Council’s financial accounts for November. It was requested that this item be postponed to the next Council meeting and it was
RESOLVED to do so.
55.2 The following accounts were considered for payment;
Cheque No 000429: Payment to Parish Clerk for wages July & August, £240 also includes reimbursement for payment to R Bielby for work to the Parish notice board.
Cheque No 000430: Payment to Parish Clerk for travel expenses for July & August. £27.00
Cheque No 000431: Payment to RBL Poppy Appeal for Remembrance Sunday Wreath . £17.00
It was RESOLVED to approve payment and the cheques were duly signed by the Chairman and Vice Chairman.
55.3 Members were next asked to consider the estimates and incomes for 2013/14 for services which are the responsibility of the Council with a view to accepting a final version at the December meeting and agreeing the Precept for the new financial year.
The Chairman requested to Members that they consider the budgetary figures and make recommendations to the Clerk which would be discussed at the next Parish Council meeting.
55.4 Members were informed of a change of appointment of External Auditors from Moore Stephens to Littlejohn LLP to audit the annual return of the Parish Council for five years from 2012/13. This had been made under section 3 of the Audit Commission Act 1998.
It was
RESOLVED to note with thanks.
14. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
January 8th 2013, Village Hall, School Lane, Kings Ripton, 7.00pm