GREAT & LITTLE GIDDING PARISH COUNCIL
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
Minutes of the meeting held at Great Gidding Village Hall on Tuesday 18th May 2021
Present: Cllrs Hodson, Hill, Cotton, Maciag and Pudney, District Councillor Alban and the Clerk
001.21 Apologies for absence were received from County Councillor Gardener who was in attendance at another meeting
002.21 Election of Chairman and signing of Declaration of Acceptance of office.
There were no nominations for the position of Chairman. Cllr Hodson agreed to continue as Chairman.
Proposed by Cllr Hill and seconded by Cllr Cotton
003.21 Election of Vice Chairman and signing of Declaration of Acceptance of office.
There were no nominations for the position of Vice Chairman. Cllr Pudney agreed to continue as Vice Chairman.
Proposed by Cllr Hodson and seconded by Cllr Hill
004.21 Adoption of Standing Orders – there were no changes made to the Standing Orders.
Cllr Hill proposed and Cllr Hodson seconded
005.21 Adoption of Financial Regulations – the following amendment has been made Financial Regulations
At the meeting held on 21st April 2020 (see item 008.20)
Cllr Pudney proposed the use of internet banking rather than cheques to make payments during lockdown period (and thereafter). This was seconded by Cllr Hodson.
Cllr Pudney proposed adoption of the Financial Regulations and Cllr Hodson seconded.
006.21 Declaration of Interests – annual review. There have been no changes to the Interests of Councillors in the last year.
007.21 There were no member of the Public and Press in attendance
008.21 Items raised at the Annual Parish Meeting – this was the Council Tax enquiry (see 011.21 District Councillor Alban’s comments). A letter of response has been sent to the resident who enquired about the increase in the parish percentage and no further correspondence has been received regarding this matter. An item will be added to the next issue of the Clarion (to be distributed in June).
009.21 To approve the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 20th April 2021
Cllr Pudney approved and Cllr Maciag seconded.
010.21 Matters arising from those Minutes that will not be discussed later in the meeting
Clerk was asked about the replacement bin at the crossroads opposite the shop. Clerk advised that the charge for a bin to be emptied weekly would be £252.64 and there is a recommended bin, price of £164.00 +VAT (£196.80)
Cllr Hodson proposed the purchase of the bin, Cllr Hill seconded.
011.21 Reports from Councillors:
District Councillor Alban – following the decision to recommence in person meetings, rather than online meetings, a request has been made to the Democratic Service Officer to request that County and District Councillors are permitted to attend meetings online as this enabled County and District Councillors to attend several meetings within a day/evening rather than being restricted to being present at one meeting.
The Annual meeting of the District Council will be held at the Burgess Hall in St Ives on 19th May, the venue allows for the require COVID distancing for Councillors and this is likely to remain the venue for the foreseeable future.
Pot holes along Milking Slade Lane and the Bullock Road have been reported and markings have appeared on these roads to identify areas to be repaired/resurfaced.
The Enforcement Officer has updated Councillor Alban regarding the land adjacent to 21 Mill Road and the Clerk confirmed that the Enforcement Officer has emailed the current position.
Following the Annual Parish Meeting, Councillor Alban had enquired of the Council Tax Team Leader if the District Council element of Council Tax was similarly affected (see attached document). It was agreed that an item will appear in the next issue of the Clarion to address the question around Council Tax that was posed at the Annual Parish Meeting as it was felt this the best way to inform all parishioners.
Huntingdon District Council leisure centres are now open again. There is no indication of when Sawtry Leisure Centre, now independent of Huntingdon Leisure Centre, will re-open as they are carrying out a refit and refurbishment programme.
*** District Councillor Alban left the meeting.
Cllr Maciaig advised that the Planning Application in respect of the MUGA was not yet registered on Huntingdon District Council’s planning list that appears on their website.
Cllr Hill – there have been no further developments regarding the LHI bid
Cllr Cotton and Cllr Hodson – nothing to report
Cllr Pudney – advised that there was another fly tipping incident in Back Lane, consisting of bags of grass clippings, which he has removed.
012.21 FINANCIAL MATTERS:
a) to note Barclays Bank statements
b) to note the Budget control statement and the cash flow forecast
c) PAYMENTS AND ACCOUNTS – to approve BACS online payments in respect of the following:
| Who | What for | Amount | VAT | Authorised | Authorised | |
| 6 | J R Trolove | Wages for March – 28 hours | £xxx | NONE | JRT | PH |
| 7 | CAPALC | Annual subscription | £208.87 or £258.87 | NONE | JRT | PH |
| 8 | Bradgate Fencing | Grass cutting | £199.32 | JRT | PH | |
| 9 | BHIB Insurance | Insurance for Parish Council | £490.33 | NONE | JRT | PH |
No 7 The Data Protection Officer option was discussed. Cllr Pudney offered to take on the role of Data Protection Officer for the Parish Council. Cllr Cotton forwarded the following link https://www.ukauthority.com/articles/relief-for-parish-councils-in-new-data-protection-law/ regarding Parish Council requirements. An amount of £208.87 will be paid to CAPALC.
No 8 incorrect amount shown on Agenda – £99.66 should be £199.32 for 2 cuts of grass.
No 9 It was proposed by Cllr Hodson to accept the renewal premium, seconded by Cllr Pudney
Cllr Hill advised that the Vodaphone contract was due for renewal (through his personalaccount). Vodaphone offered 18 months or 24 months contract
Cllr Hodson proposed renewal for 24 months and this was agreed by all.
Receipts:
PRECEPT for 2021-22 – £11052.00
VAT to end of 2020-21 financial year – £121.58
d) to approve Clerk’s hours worked between 1st and 30th April (36 hours) – these were agreed.
e) End of year accounts for 2019-20 – preparation for the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) – there were no additional comments or observations regarding the end of year accounts. A draft of the AGAR and Variances Report had also been forwarded to Councillors. Clerk and Cllr Hodson will meet to complete the required paperwork in readiness for approval and signature at the June meeting.
013.21 Planning matters:
Cllr Hodson observed that, in the light of the variety of planning matters that the Parish Council was receiving, some training on how a Parish Council can respond to planning applications and other planning issues was required to gain further understanding of the process and to ensure consistency in the future. (Clerk advised there were currently no training sessions arranged in respect of Planning – CAPALC/SLCC). He requested the Clerk to contact Councillor Dick Tuplin (Sawtry Parish Council), who had formerly served on the Planning Committee of the District Council, to ask him to deliver a training session to our Parish Council.
a) 65 Main Street:
Ref: 20/00243/ENTRÉE – removal of hedge – nothing new to report. This is being dealt with by the Planning Enforcement Officer and will no longer appear on the agenda.
Further Planning Application at this address for a 2 storey extension to provide a garden room and bedroom (Reference: 20/02564/HHFUL) *** Clerk has asked the Planning Department to extend the period in which the Parish Council may submit their comments on the application, the Planning Officer has agreed.
Following discussion regarding this application and the outstanding enforcement matter, it was proposed that an objection be made to the Planning Application, on the grounds that the hedge has not yet been replaced and the construction of the extension is of a size that precludes the re-instatement of the hedge.
Councillors voted on this proposal:
2 were against the motion and 3 were in favour.
Cllr Hill requested that it be recorded in the minutes that he did not support this refusal.
Huntingdonshire District Council will be advised of this refusal and the reasons.
b) Report no 34428 – Blocked public footpath (No 6) between Chapel End and Mill Road. Cllr Hodson advised that he has removed the rope from the gate again in recent weeks.
Clerk will contact the Footpath Officer to enquire what actions the Parish Council can take to ensure access along the length of a footpath.
c) land adjacent to 21 Mill Road – Update received from Enforcement Officer, due to the ongoing enforcement investigation, no details can be shared
014.21 Recreation Ground Update:
Cllr Hodson has removed 2 of the waste bins (stored in the container) and emptied 1 other bin.
An estimate to refurbish the “Huntingdon” bench from Wicksteed (Materials @ £935, labour @ £360 = £1295+VAT) was not accepted. Cllrs Pudney and Maciag will price up materials and assess the work required.
MUGA (see 011.21)
015.21 Request from parishioner for Clerk to act as “hub” for village WhatsApp groups.
The Clerk has sought advice and should not act as a hub for sharing such information.
Details of the WhatsApp groups and contact details will be included in the next issue of the Clarion.
016.21 Request to Parish Council from the Great Gidding Charity Trustees in respect of rental of village Allotments on an annual basis – this will be added to a future agenda.
017.21 Vacancies for Parish Councillors – notice to be displayed.
018.21 Parish Pound – resident’s proposal for the upkeep of this Parish asset.
Cllr Hodson confirmed that the Pound is an area in the ownership of the Parish Council, but not registered with the Land Registry. All present agreed that resident is welcome to maintain this area.
019.21 Review of Parish Council Asset Register – preparation for the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR). Items on the Asset Register were agreed by all.
020.21 Correspondence received since 20th April 2021 (other than that discussed in agenda items above). Due to COVID 19 restrictions emails have been shared almost immediately.
a) East Anglian Childrens Hospice – newsletter – this Parish Council does not make donations to charity.
021.21 Items for decisions at next meeting:
Completion of the Annual Governance Statement and Certificate for Audit
Councillor Training
Allotment agreement
Co-option of Parish Councillor, should no one come forward in response to the vacancy.
022.21 Date of next meeting – Tuesday 15th June 2021, starting at 1930 hours
At Great Gidding Village Hall (unless we return to ZOOM meetings).
The meeting closed at 9.27PM
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