May 2022

The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council was held the Pool Room at The Royal Oak on Wednesday 18 May 2022 at 7. 50 pm

 

PRESENT:-   Cllr Vice-Chairman Cllr A Grist (In the Chair)

        Cllr Mrs H Poppleton

       Chairman Cllr M Graves (due to family emergency)

                    Also Present: Cllr Ms S Parkin & 1 Parishioner.

 

 

Cllr Graves had already indicated he would be happy to continue for another year. Nominations were invited for the position of Chairman:

 

               Cllr Mrs Poppleton     PROPOSED that Cllr Graves be elected Chairman

               Cllr Grist                    SECONDED and Cllr Graves was elected Chairman.

 

            Vice-Chairman took Chair, due to Cllr Graves situation.

 

Cllr Graves had indicated his support and his wish to second any proposal for Cllr Grist to be nominated for Vice-Chairman. Nominations were invited for the position of Vice-Chairman:

Cllr Mrs Poppleton     PROPOSED that Cllr Grist be elected Vice-Chairman

             Cllr Graves                 SECONDED and Cllr Grist was elected Vice-Chairman.

 

The Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 30 March 2022 were agreed and signed.

 

The Clerk reported that the grasscutting contractor had provided a copy of his insurance cover. The Vice-Chairman advised that he would stain the wooden fence either side of the gates.

Cllr Mrs Poppleton reported that the above group had held their AGM and that they were 3 members short of their Committee.They had held their first Car Boot Sale which had been most successful and would be holding a Platinum Jubilee event on 05/06/22.

The Committee noted that when main road at Burwell was closed, usually due to a traffic incident, then the re-routed traffic came through the village, and did not adhere to the speed restriction in the village, making the village through road very dangerous. The Vice-Chairman whilst there maybe a wish to participate in a community speed watch programme, the Parish Council did not have the funds or personnel itself to operate such a scheme. Cllr Ms Parkin (LCC) offered to re-visit the signage provision within the village and to chase progress on the Burwell situation. The Vice-Chairman updated Cllr Ms Parking (LCC) on the road repairs that had taken place within the village and advised that the road surface either side of the beck is the old surface and will require a “wet crew” because it is a very groovy surface on that part of Buston Lane.

 

6.         Clerk’s Report – Nothing to report.

 

The Committee noted Planning Permission N/102/01539/21 Hougoumount Farm, Top Road-Change of use, conversion of & alterations to existing out building to provide a holiday let & parking.

 

The Committee noted the discussion during the Open Forum regarding the re-visiting of the Local Plan and what criteria meets small village status. The Parishioner was concerned that a field within the village could be sold off for development and felt it should be protected. The Vice-Chairman did explain that, during the course of time, some small amount of development would be expected even in a small hamlet, such as Little Cawthorpe.

 

ELDC – electoral register update, LALC News, Clerks & Councils Mag & Open Spaces Mag - Noted.

 

The Clerk presented the year end accounting statements prepared according to proper accounting practices. The Council noted all receipts/payments for the year ending 31st March 2022 and verified the bank reconciliation. The Council considered the Annual Governance Statement and the Accounting Statements for audit for the financial period 1 April 2021 - 31 March 2022 and dates for the period of public rights. The Council expressed their appreciation to the Internal Auditor, who had completed the audit.

             It was

 

RESOLVED  a)         to approve the Annual Governance Statement (Minute 9a);

                     b)         to approve the Accounting Statements for the period (Minute 9b);

                     c)         dates for the Notice of Period of Exercise of Public Rights were agreed and to meet the Notice of Period of Exercise of Public Rights which commence 13/06/22 until 22/07/22, the appropriate documents were to be held by the Chairman for inspection;

                     d)        Insurance and Risks Reviews were made; no changes were required. Insurance renewal from BHIB was unchanged;

                     e)        Expenditure & Invoices for Payment

       R Taylor-Accountant   £    60.00         BHIB – Insurance       £328.66

      Clerk’s Salary              £  363.32         HMRC-PAYE             £    1.20

      Income Precept           £4250.00        

            All accounts were received and agreed for payment.

 

The Vice-Chairman reported that the Parish Council intended to join with Legbourne Parish Council to split the cost to resolve the issue of silt build-up at the beck. The cost is £500 and Little Cawthorpe Parish Councils’ contribution would be £250, it was hoped the work would be carried out at the mid-end of June. It was noted that the Parishioner considered it to be coming off of the road end (defused pollution). It was

 

             RESOLVED  to contribute £250 to remove the build-up of silt at the beck, together with Legbourne Parish Council.

 

The Parish Council had obtained some quotes to repair the storm damage, which were totally unacceptable for a small Parish Council. The Chairman would donate the wood and if it cannot be completed locally, the Parish Council would contact further contractors.

 

The Clerk is to email the Yellow Pages to query whether they wish for a donation and if they could put in a summary of our Minutes. Many village newsletters ceased production during covid, generally because Parish Councils could not carry out any works or activities within their villages.

 

Cllr Ms Parkin stated that this area looked much better and the Vice-Chairman confirmed that he had received a number of similar comments from Parishioners. He commented that it was never easy getting the balance with nature just right. It was expected that in September the Councillors would meet to deal with any summer growth issues.

 

The Vice-Chairman had been contacted by a member of the public, who advised that they had regularly used the seat near the beck when visiting with their son. They would like to donate a seat in memory of the son, to replace the current one at the beck. The Chairman queried if the Parish Council should relocate the current older seat or ask the person if they would be willing to donate a seat for another area within the village. There areas suggested were near grit bin, near footpath on Planting Side, on paved pond area or at John Lill Walk.

Item for July Agenda.

 

The Committee noted that some of the trees on John Lill Walk had red crosses on them. It was agreed that the Clerk would write to the landowner to request what works were required. Following the Meeting, the Forestry Commission emailed an application for a Felling Licence for the following at Church Walk:

 

“Standard Silvicultural thin to favour the better trees and increase light levels. Ash which is in decline will be removed as part of the intervention. Due to this being under 0.5ha in size, works will be outside of the bird nesting season”.

 

The Committee also noted a temporary footpath order from the County Council.

           

The next meetings would take place on:

 

WEDNESDAY 13 July, 14 September and 16 November 2022 at 7.30 pm.

 

Meeting closed 8.10pm.