Soham Town Council - Minutes of Meeting

Notice is hereby given that a meeting of the Soham Town Council will be held in Hall One, The Walter Gidney Pavilion, Recreation Ground, Fountain Lane, Soham on Monday 14th January 2008 commencing at 7.15pm with up to 15 minutes of public comment time on Agenda Items, followed by the formal business, and you are summoned to attend for the transaction of the following business:-

Minutes of a meeting of the Soham Town Council held at The Walter Gidney Pavilion, Recreation Ground Fountain Lane, Soham on Monday 17th December 2007.

Present:	Councillors Mr CM Palmer (Chairman), Mr T Brown, Mr G Fisher, Mr GR Ginn, Mr AJA Hinsley, Mr GM Hobbs, Mr PS Lane & Mr D Schunmann and Mesdames Mrs RR Aitchison, Mrs PL Gibbon, Mrs PA Tuite & Mrs JA Webb
In Attendance:	District Councillors Mr T Cornell, Mr M Duckworth, Mr J Humphreys & Mr J Palmer
Apologies:	County Councillor Mr JA Powley & Mrs J Broadway District Councillors Mr T Parramint Councillors Mr N Driver, Mrs J Gipp & Mrs AEY Pallett
206/07	PUBLIC COMMENT TIME Mr Peter Beer, Chairman, Soham Festival Committee commented on Agenda Item 11.
207/07	CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS The Chairman announced that during the Christmas and New Year period the Council office would be closed from 1.00pm Friday 21st December 2007 until 9.00am Wednesday 2nd January 2008. Closing also at 12.00pm on Thursday 20th December 2007 for the staff Christmas Lunch.
208/07	DECLARATION OF INTERESTS Councillor Mr T Brown declared a prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 9 Financial Review 2007/2008, Budget 2008/2009 and Precept 2008/2009 regarding Cemetery Fees in accordance with paragraph 9.2 of the Code of Conduct.
209/07	MINUTES OF MEETING HELD 12TH NOVEMBER 2007 RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting be approved and signed as a true record.
210/07	MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES Neighbourhood Panels - To Appoint Representatives (192/07) NOTED that a reply had been received from the Chief Executive, East Cambridgeshire District Council stated reasons why Ely and Littleport were given their own Neighbourhood Panels. RESOLVED that Council felt the explanation still unacceptable and that the Clerk reply to the Chief Executive and strongly object to the situation and again state that it was felt that Soham, as the second largest settlement in East Cambridgeshire be considered for its own panel..
211/07	MINUTES OF MEETINGS OF STANDARD COMMITTEES RESOLVED that the minutes of the following committees which are printed and attached to these minutes be confirmed and approved and the recommendations contained therein be adopted:- Finance & Policy - 12th November 2007 Planning - 28th November 2007 Matters arising There were no matters arising from the above minutes of Standing Committees..
212/07	PAYMENTS AND SCHEDULE OF ACCOUNTS - NOVEMBER 2007 RESOLVED that the schedule of payments and statement of balances as at 30th November 2007, attached to these minutes as appendices, be confirmed and approved, and are in accordance with Council's financial regulations.
213/07	FINANCIAL REVIEW 2007/2008. BUDGET 2008/2009 AND PRECEPT 2008/2009 Consideration was given to the anticipated financial out-turn for 2006/2007 and a review of charges and financial estimates for 2007/2008 details of which are printed and attached to these minutes as appendices. RESOLVED:- 1) Anticipated financial out-turn for 2007/2008 be noted. 2) Approve revised charges for the Cemetery and Pavilion as set-out in Appendices B & C. 3) Set a precept of £126,000 for the 2008/2009 financial year. 4) Authorise the use of approximately £18,000 from reserves in 2008/2009. 5) Adopt the budget as set out on the Appendix A..
214/07	SOHAM - A VISION OF THE FUTURE District Councillors Mr M Duckworth and Mr JPalmer presented their vision for the future development of Soham. Although the vision was at a formative stage the Town Councillors welcomed this pro-active attempt by District Councillors to help rejuvenate the employment, social, residential and cultural life of the town. RESOLVED to wholeheartedly support this initiative and ask that Council be kept fully informed and consulted as more detailed proposals are formulated.
215/07	COMMUNITY FACILITIES IN SOHAM WORKING PARTY Minutes of the Community Facilities in Soham Working Party meeting, held on 22nd November 2007 were noted. Councillor Mrs PA Tuite gave a brief report on the progress so far.
216/07	REPORT OF THE PARISH REMUNERATION PANEL FOR MEMBERS ALLOWANCES NOTED the report of the Parish Remuneration Panel for Members Allowances recommending levels of payment of Parish Basic Allowance and travel and subsistence allowances for parish councillors was received. RESOLVED that Soham Town Councillors would not receive basic allowances but that actual expenses incurred on Council duties outside the town could be claimed. Expense claims should be accompanied by receipts and should not exceed the levels recommended for travel subsistence as set out in Appendix 2 of the report.
217/07	ELY SOHAM DIAL-A-RIDE A letter of thanks was received from Ely Soham Dial-a-Ride (ESDAR) for the donation of £1,000 towards its running costs.
218/07	CAMBRIDGESHIRE LOCAL ACCESS FORUM NOTED a Mission Statement and dates of forthcoming meetings of the Cambridgeshire Local Access Forum were received.
219/07	REFUSE & RECYCLING SCHEDULE NOTED the Christmas 2007 and New Year 2008 refuse and recycling dates were received.
220/07	CAMBRIDGESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL - TACKLING CONGESTION IN CAMBRIDGE NOTED a meeting to discuss the proposals for tackling congestion in Cambridge and to gather feedback, will be held at 6.30pm-8.30pm on Wednesday 30th January 2008 in the Kreis Viersen Room at Shire Hall, Castle Hill, Cambridge.
221/07	CAMBRIDGESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL - ELY MARKET TOWN TRANSPORT STRATEGY NOTED that the consultation period for the revised Ely Market Town Transport Strategy will run for a six week period from late November 2007 to January 2008, in which time they would hope to hear from as many individuals, Councils, businesses and other organisations as possible.The strategy will eventually contain a number of transport schemes to be implemented in and around Ely over the next five years.
222/07	EAST CAMBRIDGESHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL (OFF-STREET PARKING PLACES) ORDER 2008 NOTED proposed amendments to the current East Cambridgeshire District Council (Off-Street Parking Places) Order were received. The proposals will be considered the Environment and Transport Committee on 15th January 2008 and if passed will become the East Cambridgeshire District Council (Off-Street Parking Places) Order 2008.
223/07	CAMBRIDGESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL - PARKING POLICY REVIEW NOTED the Cambridgeshire County Council's approved parking policy is now available on the internet at: www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/parkingpolicy/.
224/07	PAPERS TABLED Andrézieux-Bouthéon - No. 103, December 2007 East Cambridgeshire District Council - Highlights of the Week, 30 November 2007 - 14 December 2007 CCTV Steering Group - Minutes, Meeting 5th November 2007 European Union - Inforegio News, September 2007 Cambridgeshire ACRE - Community Action, Winter 2007 East Cambridgeshire Domestic Violence Forum - Domestic Violence Awareness Day - 20/2/08
225/07	DATE OF NEXT REGULAR MEETING NOTED that the next regular meeting of the Council would be held at 7.15pm on Monday 14th January 2008.