GREAT & LITTLE GIDDING PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 16thth April 2024
Present: Councillors Hodson, Moody, Hargrave, Bolton, and Maciag and the Clerk.
001.24 Cllr Hodson, as Chairman, welcomed those present to the meeting
002.24 Apologies for absence:
County Councillor Gardener – at another meeting
District Councillor Alban – at another meeting
Councillor D’Altilia – work commitments
003.24 There were no declarations of interest regarding items on the agenda
004.24There were no members of Press or Public in attendance
005.24 Minutes of the meeting held on 19th March 2024 were declared as a correct record – proposed by Cllr Moody and seconded by Cllr Hargrave
006.24 Reports from Councillors and Clerk:
Clerk advised that the Parish Office will be closed on Friday 27th April as she is attending a funeral.
007.24 Financial Matters
a) to note Barclays Bank statements for Parish Council account.
- Parish Council (everyday) Account – balance as at 4/4/2024 £1660.18 (includes £500 bequest)
- Parish Council Deposit Account – balance as at 4/4/2024 £26,286.99 (1.85% interest applicable)
- Defibrillator account – balance as at 4/3/2023 – £248.84
b) PAYMENTS – the following online payments were approved – Cllr Hargrave confirmed
| Who | What for | TOTAL | Invoice includes this VAT amount | Authorised | Authorised |
| REFUND to J R Trolove for purchase of Microsoft | Purchase of Microsoft 365 annual subscription | £59.99 | NONE | ||
| J R Trolove | Wages February (30.5 hours) | *** | |||
| Huntingdon District Council | Rates for Rec Field | 5.49 | NONE | ||
| LGS Services | Payroll services | 79.20 | NONE | ||
| Groundworks UK (Dept of Levelling Up) | Refund of unspent monies for Neighbourhood Plan | 2217.97 | NONE |
c) Clerk’s working hours for March were approved as a total of 28
d) Clerk had provided a breakdown of spending for 2023/24 to the year end of 31st March 2024 and Cllr Hodson had updated the Bank Reconciliation/Cash Flow Forecast and Reserves spreadsheets. Discussion followed regarding various aspects.
Clerk confirmed that Section 137 budget was up to £9.93 per elector during 2023/24.
Cllr Hodson advised that allocated reserves should be equal to at least one year of precept and, in addition, this Parish Council has reserves for identified future costs within the Parish.
Cllr Moody recommended that the budget for wages be increased to £5500 for 2024/25.
008.24 Planning applications – no applications received since the last meeting.
009.24 School playground – the day after the March meeting an email was received from CambsCC, setting out their terms regarding the sale of the playground to the Parish Council, and giving 10 days to respond. The Clerk had then received a telephone call from CambsCC enquiring potential use by the village, and a further request for a written decision by 5PM on Friday 19th April.
CambsCC email appeared to indicate that the cost and responsibility of removing the portacabins would fall to the Parish Council, and clearance of the site was unclear. At present the Parish Council have not been able to view the site. Access to the site for construction/demolition is problematic and would have to involve Milton Estates. Also this did not reflect the indications that were given by Cambs CC representatives during meetings held regarding closure of the school.
An email will be sent to CambsCC advising that, as the offer would appear to have changed, and with many unknown factors, the Parish Council do not wish to proceed with the acquisition of the playground – this was a unanimous decision by all Councillors present at the meeting.
010.24 A copy of the current Parish Council asset register had been shared prior to the meeting and was agreed as a correct record.
011.24 CANALBS have carried out the internal audit in the past and will be appointed for the 2023/24 review.
012.24 Neighbourhood Plan – Cllr Maciag gave a resume of the Neighbourhood Plan. It has been presented to Hunts DC and recommendations for changes and additions are now being implemented. The plan will be returned to Hunts DC in the future. Whilst the remaining grant is to be refunded to Groundworks, a further application will be made for 2024/25 funding.
013.24 Green Waste bin collection – following the March meeting, clarification of aspects of the scheme to offer 10 green bins to smaller parishes had been asked of HuntsDC. Councillors felt this was an insufficient number (a total of 10 to be shared between Great and Little Gidding) but also the Parish Council does not own an area of land where these bins could be safely stored and collected.
014.24 Parish Council insurance policy is due for renewal on 1st June. The clerk will summarise the cover provided and advise Councillors at the next meeting.
015.24 Village Maintenance
- Benches in Main Street – Cllrs Moody and Hargrave approved the existing quote but requested Clerk will to obtain a comparative quote by the end of April.
- CambsCC have not yet responded about siting benches opposite the shop.
- The owner of the property in Gaines Lane will be asked to clear the building materials from the Gaines Lane/Chapel End junction.
- Clerk has been advised by the hedging contractor that partly due to the wet ground he will not be able to carry out work as requested. On his advice a request has been sent to a tree surgeon to provide a quote for work on the surround of the Pound and the Parish Pond.
016.24 Correspondence received since 19th March 2024:
a) NALC –
b) Cambridgeshire County Council –
*** an email was received hours before the meeting regarding the provision of electric vehicle charging stations, a survey to be completed with a deadline of 22nd April – this will be forwarded to Councillors but the discussion indicated that the Parish Council does not have land to site these devices.
The Library Presents events brochure, Cambridgeshire Matters – https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKCAMBSCC/bulletins/38e2858, 24th April 2024, 19:00-22:00 at Ely Maltings, Kempen Room, how the council can support communities to benefit from the transition to a clean energy system, TMC incident report for traffic in March – NONE for our parish,
c) Huntingdonshire District Council – Town and parish council newsletter, Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge 15-17 May – Wednesday 15 May 14.50-15.40 in Pathfinder House (with an option to join via Teams) – registration required, green waste project (see 013.24)
d) Cambs ACRE – March Newsletter
e) CAPALC – April news, training opportunities,
g) Parish Online – newsletter
h) Ecops/Neighbourhood Watch etc – election on 2nd May
i) Hemington, Luddington, Thurning Parish Council response to diversion of footpath around Mobile Phone Mast site.
j) North Northamptonshire Council – consultation regarding Kettering Energy Park and invitation to a public exhibition on Saturday 20th April 2024, 10.30 to 1.30 at Finedon Community Centre, NN9 5LG
188.23 The next meeting of the Parish Council:
This will be preceded by the Annual Parish Meeting at 7.00PM
Tuesday 21st May 2024 at Great Gidding Village Hall, starting at 7.30PM
The meeting will commence with the Annual Parish Council meeting, at which Officers will be appointed.
Preparation for the Annual Internal Audit and the Annual Governance and Accountability
Return – details will be shared with Councillors
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