Wicken Parish Council
These are draft minutes. They will be reviewed and approved at the next Council meeting.
WICKEN PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the monthly meeting held in the Mission Hall Wicken on Tuesday 9th August 2016.
Present:Councillors L Houghton (Chairman) J Fuller, C Bye, J Rogers, M Hawes, R Earl, and S Wilson.
In Attendance:District CouncillorH Ross and J Palmer.
Item 1. Public Question Time
There we no members of the public present at the meeting.
Item 1. Apologies for Absence and Declarations of Prejudicial Interest.
1.1Apologies were received fromCouncillorsJ Day and P Fuller and County Councillor J Schumann. There were no declarations of prejudicial interest.
Item 2. Minutes of the Last Meeting.
2.1The minutes of the meeting held on 12 July 2016 were accepted as a true record and signed by theChairman.
Item 3. Matters Arising from the Last Meeting.
3.1Soham Cycle Path.No further tenders had been received.
3.2Butts Lane Junction. The views of the Highways Engineers were still awaited.
3.3Speed Reduction Measures. The Chair had received an email from the Traffic Management Unit informing the Parish Council that the team had now disbanded. District Cllr Palmer advised the Parish Council that the bid for the 40mph buffer zone had been rejected and apologised that the council had not been advised of this. This will be put on the agenda for the September meeting.
3.4Cross Green Track. This matter is ongoing.
3.5Commissioners Pit. An email had been received from the County Property Asset Management Board informing the Parish Council that the ‘less than best offer’ for Commissioners Pit had been rejected.
3.6Village Hall Purchase.Action lay with the Church solicitors
3.7Wicken Warriors Booklet. Cllr Rogers advised that the final amendments of the bookletwere being made. It is envisaged that the booklet will be completed by the 4th September 2016 in time for the Picnic Around the Pond. Cllr Rogers will email details of the final costs to enable the Parish Council to make a decision on the amount of donation.
3.8Railway Crossing Soham. No further developments.
3.9Reconsideration of 16/00467/FUL. Mr Humbles has contacted ECDC informing them of an error in the sunlight report commissioned by the developer.
3.10Use of Green by Maid’s Head. Clear instructions on the use of the greens had been issued to all organisations that use them. The fete committee had written to acknowledge and agree with the instructions. The Maid’s Head had thanked the Parish Council for clarifying the situation and had requested future uses. This is item 7 on the agenda
Item 5. Financial Matters.
5.1Bills Payments.
Payments were agreed and cheques signed for the following:
TruelinkGrass cutting July 2016£575.22
Travis PerkinsTarmac for potholes£13.67
5.2Tree work (lime -corner of Chapel Lane, ash – drove behind 26 Lode Lane)
Eastern Landscapes had provided a detailed report in December 2015 advising the parish Council of all works required on the trees in the parish. According to the quote, the lime tree at the corner of Chapel Lane will cost £300.00 and the ash behind 26 Lode Lane will cost £650.00. The council would like to obtain further quotes for these works. This will be placed on the September agenda for further discussion.
Item 6. Planning Matters
6.1ECDC Local Plan – Development Envelope proposals.
The Chair has been in contact with ECDC and some of the anomalies had been resolved. She confirmed that the submissions made to ECDC are those from the Parish Council plus two additional submissions. The additional submissions are the field on the corner of Hawes Lane and Chapel Lane and the field behind Chapel Lane. It is believed that the possible development behind Chapel Lane is by Saville’s on behalf of a Housing Association. Due to the lack of consultation on the Development Envelope, the Parish Council have no formal way of commenting on this. District Cllr Ross will enquire as to how the Parish Council will go about letting their views known. Savilles would like to attend a meeting of the Parish Council to explain the development. All Councillors agreed that this would be beneficial.
6.216/00844/FUL.Construction of new 3 bed, two storey, detached dwelling following demolition of existing building to rear of 29 High Street. Submitted by Mr and Mrs Clements. The Council had no objections to this proposal.
6.316/00864/FUL.Erection of detached 2-storeydwelling with parking and stables on site west of 3 Lower Road, Wicken. Submitted by Mr and Mrs Henry martin and Miss Claire Martin. This was the full application following approval of the outline plans.
The Council had no objections to this proposal.
6.416/00911/FUL.Phased construction of 3 x 2 storey dwellings, with associated access; one house includes a stable and the 2 others have garages. This proposal incorporates as Phase 1 a house and stablealready consented under reference 15/01564/OUT. Submitted by Mr and Mrs Henry martin and Miss Claire Martin.
The Parish Council does not support the development of three dwellings due to the following reasons: Over development of a green field site, the Highway is narrow and unsuitable for additional vehicle access on to it, WPC supports one dwelling to keep a youngster in the village but feels this is exploitation of that premise by calling this application ‘infill’, it is a departure from the original reasoning for development outside the existing development envelope.
Item 7. Use of the Green by Maid’s Head (Christmas, Fete 2017, overspill parking).
Whilst emailing to respond to the use of the greens, the Landlord had requested permission for the use of the greens for the Christmas tree, the fete 2017 and for overspill carpark. The Parish Council agreed with the use for the Christmas tree for which there will be no charge. There is currently some doubt overwhether the fete will take place in 2017 due to the lack of committee members. The council asked that the request to hire the green on fete day be delayed until the future of the fete is known. The Parish Council does not support the use of the green for an overspill car park.
The bush on the edge of the car park at the Maid’s Head is causing difficulty for drivers to see if another car is approaching around the corner. The Chair will request that the Landlord address this.
Item 8. Councillor Training – 6.30pm Monday 10 October 2016, Fordham.
It had been agreed at the last meeting that training is required covering the code of conduct and prejudicial interests. The Clerk had researched training sessions and one sessionwill cost £350.00. Fordham is running a course on the 10th October 2016 covering these items. It was agreed that all councillors should attend the Fordham meeting.
Item 9. Devolution in the Region.
District Councillor J Palmer advised the Parish Council thatdevolution for Cambridgeshire is being discussed. Devolution will bring around £600m for infrastructure in the area and is money thatwill not be available if devolution does not take place. If devolution takes place, the money will be used for the A142/A14 junction, the Soham railway station, duelling the Soham railway line, upgrading the A10, the Ely North junction and the Newmarket curve. Although the money would not be able to be spent on the duelling of the A10, it can be used on surveys and preliminary work. Devolution would also mean there would be an elected Mayor for Cambridgeshire. The Parish Council would like this placed on the agenda again for the September meeting.
Item 10. Items for Information.
10.130 High Street.The owners of 30 High Street have agreed to the Parish Council’s terms for a Right of Access across the green. The clerk will action this.
10.2Transfer of ownership of land at Upware.Planning permission had now been granted for the land south of 1 to 7 Old School Lane in Upware. An email had been received from East Cambs Legal department concerning the transfer of the ownership of the land given to the parish by the developers.
10.3Development of land next to 20a Chapel Lane.Outline planning permission is being sought for the development of seven houses adjacent to 20a Chapel Lane. This will be on the agenda for September.
10.4Ely Bypass. District Cllr J Palmer advised that contractors had been appointed for the building of the Ely bypass. Work should commence December/January with an estimated build time of 12 months.
There was no further business and the meeting closed at 21.03 hrs.
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