Present: Councillors Maciag, Moody, Hargrave, Bolton and Hodson, District Councillor Alban and the Clerk.
0137.24 Cllr Maciag, as Chairman, welcomed those present to the meeting.
0138.24 Apologies for absence were received from County Cllr Gardener due to ill health.
0139.24 There were no declarations of Disclosable Interests.
0140.24 No members of the Press or Public were present.
0141.24 Minutes of the meeting held on 19th November 2024 were confirmed as a correct record by Cllr Moody, seconded by Cllr Hargrave
0142.24 To receive reports from Councillors and Clerk.
District Councillor Alban:
The district-wide Parish Council meeting was attended by the Operations Team – it would appear that few Councils have taken up the offer of 10 “communal” green bins and the use of the Saturday freighters is to be assessed
He had advised full Council of the District Council that the Local Plan portal was difficult to use and therefore many may not have submitted comments. The Call for Sites exercise continues until mid 2025.
Following the recent Government announcement proposing changes to the set up of Councils, there are likely to be changes ahead which may affect local elections in 2025.
Cllr Moody had carried out considerable research of the Autospeed watch device and recommended that this was not installed in our village at this time (see https://bringtonmolesworth-pc.gov.uk for further details)
Cllr Moody also requested an amendment to the village website, to make Parish Council pages easier to find. Clerk will discuss with website designers.
Cllr Hargrave gave an update of Village Hall matters:
The Quiz night was successful, a spreadsheet of income and expenditure was provided.
Photo competition is planned for January 2025. Picture rails or similar are to be installed for this event, and for future use.
All Cllrs supported the application for “greening” the village hall, the possibility of replacing the roof, thereby enabling further insulation to be installed was discussed – Cllrs Hargrave and Maciag to complete the expression of interest form – deadline 26th January.
Clerk – closure of Main Street on 2nd December did not happen, no future date has been received for works to be carried out.
We have received the go-ahead to co-opt persons to Parish Councillor roles.
0143.24FINANCIAL MATTERS:
a) November bank statements from Barclays Bank were shared prior to the meeting.
Interest rates decreasing from 1.4% to 1.35% with effect from 11 March 2025
- Parish Council (everyday) Account – balance as at 4/12/2024 £2565.27 (includes £500 bequest)
- Parish Council Deposit Account – balance as at 4/12/2024 £26,583.01
- Defibrillator account – balance as at 4/12/2024 – £251.64
b) PAYMENTS – Cllrs Moody and Hargrave approved the following payments:
| Who | What for | TOTAL | Invoice includes this VAT amount | Authorised | Authorised |
| J R Trolove | Wages for October (32 hours) +backdated to April | Xxx | NIL | JRT | |
| M Allgood | Hedge cutting around Recreation Ground | 114.00 | 19.00 | ||
| Cambs ACRE | Annual subscription | 65.00 | Invoice awaited |
- Clerk’s working hours for November, a total of 26, were approved by all
0144.24 PLANNING applications and matters:
- Planning application amendment requested to existing approval in respect of 65-67 Main Street (extension of time for response granted) – Councillors had no comments to make regarding the amendments.
- CIL notice and payment in respect of approval of 65-67 Main Street. Clerk will make enquiries about the process to claim this and when is it is due to Parish Council.
0145.24 Recreation Field – note that the Planning permission for MUGA will expire in 26 May 2025. Due to the costs involved, it was agreed that this project should lapse
Hedge behind swing frames and alongside cycle track will need cutting by hand – a working party will be arranged for early in 2025 but this will be weather dependent.
0146.24 Village Maintenance – the Clerk had compiled list of outstanding jobs. It is hoped to find a company to carry out most of these tasks, one or two may require specialist trades.
Chapel End dyke – Milton Estates had visited and cleared a small section. Water was still being held back by debris and it was felt that clearance using a digger and back to the junction with the culvert from Gaines Lane is required to be successful.
Quote for tree work at Pound and Village Pond forwarded to Councillors prior to the meeting. Due to the cost of the quote, further contractors will be asked to submit their figures. Also, concerns were expressed that the quote was not reflective of work that needs doing, may include Milton Estates owned trees, should include the scrubby area opposite the Parish Pond (CambsCC Highways owned verge). Cllr Maciag will liaise with Clerk to move this forward.
0147.24 Correspondence received since 15th November 2024:
a) NALC newsletters – dated Chief Executives Bulletin NALC events,
b) Cambridgeshire County Council –Cambridgeshire Matters monthly edition, Traffic Management Centre incident report for roads, Stay Well this Winter information packs available,
c) Huntingdonshire District Council – Town and Parish Council newsletter, press release regarding Park, Town and Parish Forum notes and documents from the meeting are shared, Community Health and Wealth Building Strategy for rural Huntingdonshire, St Neots skate park upgrade, Civil Injunction order for St Neots town centre, details of Band D Council Tax will not be confirmed until after Friday 17th January (our precept return has already been submitted, but there may be some slight changes), electric vehicle charging Infrastructure – offers withdrawn, Civil Parking Enforcement taking place throughout Huntingdonshire, Net Zero villages grants available, the WorkWell programme to assist individuals back to work or to stay in work,
d) Cambs ACRE – Rural Affordable Housing letter and document, Staying in Touch newsletter,
e) CAPALC –newsletter, future training dates, f) Cambs Acre – Staying in Touch newsletter for November.
f) Combined Authority Cambridgeshire and Peterborough/Greater Cambridge Partnership –
g) UKCE – cycling event on Saturday 8th March 2025 – it is believed this will not entail the closure of Main Street
h) Tagmaster Ltd – road safety and sustainable traffic monitoring – forwarded to Cllr Moody – see report above
i) SLCC email dated 10 December regarding the growing number of consultation documents, lengthly paperwork etc that Parish Councils are being requested to consider/read/complete – Clerk will continue to complete surveys that affect/impact/involve our rural area and will forward consultation documents to Councillors on the same basis.
0148.24 Items for next meeting:
Ideas for a speaker/event for Annual Meeting
0`49.24 The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 21st January, starting at 7.30pm
in the Village Hall, Main Street, Great Gidding.
Village Hall payments for co-authorisation were approved.
Meeting closed as 21.12
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