Minutes of the meeting held at Great Gidding Village Hall on Tuesday 18th January 2022
Present: Cllrs Pudney, Bolton and Macaig, and the Clerk. District Councillor Alban joined later in the meeting.
139.21 Cllr Pudney, Vice Chairman, welcomed those present to the meeting.
140.21 To receive apologies and reasons for absence
Cllr Hodson – ill health
141.21 There were no declarations of Disclosable Interests for items on the Agenda
142.21 No members of the Public & Press were present
143.21 Minutes of the meeting held on 21st December 2021 were confirmed as a true and correct record by Cllr Pudney and seconded by Cllr Macaig
144.21 Matters arising from those Minutes that will not be discussed as an agenda item.
145.21 To receive reports from Councillors and Clerk:
Clerk – Gidding Parochial Church Council plan to hold a service to commemorate the Queens Jubilee and had offered to attend a meeting to discuss plans for other events.
Cllr Macaig proposed a Queen’s Jubilee event based on 1952, he suggested involving the Pub in plans too.
Clerk – an email had been received from the Enforcement Officer from HuntsDC Planning Department regarding 65 Main Street, Councillors expressed their disappointment at this decision and asked that this be fed back to Planning Department. This was mentioned to District Councillor Alban when he joined the meeting, he requested sight of all correspondence on this matter.
Clerk – volunteer gritters required for footpaths – an item will be added to Gidding News.
Cllr Pudney advised, in recent days a Parishioner has slipped on ice in Chapel End, resulting in a badly broken leg, another Parishioner had broken her arm last year as a result of slipping nearby. Cllr Pudney suggested a further salt bin, to be sited near the crossroads or on the green to enable residents to grit this area, the existing salt bin is on the bend, necessitating a climb up the icy road – Clerk will make enquiries. There is a constant water leak/spring leak that makes an area of Chapel End wet and icy, Anglian Water have dug up the road to investigate and/or repair, but the problem remains. Clerk was requested to report to Anglian Water.
Cllr Pudney added details of the forthcoming closure of Luddington Road (between 15 – 17 February) to Facebook.
No further Councillor reports.
146.21 FINANCIAL MATTERS:
a) Bank statements for Parish Council account were viewed – no comments
b) to note the Cashflow spreadsheet and Budget Forecast – Councillors requested an item on the February agenda to discuss Finance.
c) the following payments were approved for payment by Cllrs Pudney and Macaig:
| Who | What for | TOTAL | VAT | Authorised | Authorised | |
| 48 | Viking | Stationery and office supplies | 153.73 | 25.62 | JRT | |
| 47 | J R Trolove | Wages for November (24.5 hours) | Xxx | ~ | JRT |
d) Clerk’s working hours between 1st and 31st December (18 hours) – approved by Cllrs Pudney and Macaig
*** District Councillor Alban joined the meeting at this point and gave his report. He advised that District Council will set the annual budget in February.
The District Council are likely to introduce Civil Parking Enforcement to alleviate problems with parking on yellow lines in urban areas and around schools etc.
Proposed plans for another distribution park at Junction 17 (Haddon Services) off the A1/A605 and a solar park at Morborne are causes for concern for many parishes in the vicinity.
District Councillor Alban will follow up the enforcement issue for Mill Road, in addition to enquiring about 65 Main Street (See 145.21)
District Councillor Alban left the meeting.
147.21 Planning Applications and Planning matters:
a) Proposal: Ash T1 – Crown lift to 5.4m above ground level. crown reduce to be in line with pavement and give a minimum 50cm gap to adjacent lamppost.
Site Address: 6 Dells Close Great Gidding Huntingdon
Reference: 21/02777/TREE
There were no observations for or against this application.
b) CambsCC email dated 12/1/2022 outlining 40 MPH limits around village, connected with LHI bid – it was felt that as this Parish Council proposed the changes, we could not comment.
148.21 Recreation Field Update
Grass cutting contract – Councillors agreed to continue with Bradgate as the contractor, for 12 cuts a year, with additional cuts as and when requested.
Cllr Macaig requested Planning Department of HuntsDC to update him on the MUGA planning application and was advised that further contact would be made by the end of January.
Cllr Macaig will collect oak to make replacement bench slats.
149.21 Training opportunities for Councillors and Clerk
January 29th Councillor training 9AM to 3.30PM
February 16th – Councillor Training, split session – 6.30 to 9PM
23rd – Councillor training, split session – 6.30 to 9PM
More online training options are now being offered by CAPALC and details are shared on their monthly newssheet, a copy of which is forwarded to Councillors.
150.21 Gidding News – Cllr Bolton had made some amendments to the draft and offered to resolve the layout on “Publisher”.
Clerk is awaiting prices for a 4 page issue
Cllr Macaig requested further detail be added to the Neighbourhood Plan item, with an indication that this process will start in Summer 2022.
151.21 Correspondence received since 21st December 2021 (other than that discussed in agenda items above). There were no comments or observations on the following items.
a) email dated 4/1/2022 from CAPALC – introducing Nimble e-learning
b) email dated 5/1/2022 from CambsCC – flood risk information – 15 page document, please ask Clerk if you wish to see a copy
c) email dated 6/1/2022 from Police & Crime Commissioner – increase precept to cover policing costs also email from CambsCC dated 13/1/2022
d) email dated 6/1/2022 – ACRE briefing on COVID requirements for community buildings
e) email dated 6/1/2022 from Economic Development Huntingdonshire.gov.uk weekly briefing
f) email dated 11/1/2022 from Road Victims Trust – outline of their charity and support available – 15 pages of articles and photographs, please ask Clerk if you wish to see a copy
g) email dated 12/1/2022 from NALC – update
h) email dated 13/1/2022 from North Northamptonshire Council re.Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) – seeking sites for development
i) email dated 12/1/2022 from Think Communities Huntingdonshire – latest news, 12 page document, please ask Clerk if you wish to see a copy
152.21 Items for decisions at next meeting:
Finance review
Prepare for Co-option of Parish Councillor
Queens Jubilee 2022 – discussion of ideas
153.21 The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 15 February 2022
starting at 1930 hours in the Village Hall, Great Gidding.
The meeting closed at 20.40
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