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Present: |
Councillors Mrs RR Aitchison (Chairman), Mrs
FE Ross (Vice-Chairman), Mr PG Beer, Mr GR Ginn, Mr CK
Hempstead, Mr AJA Hinsley, Mr J Kirkham, Mr PS Lane & Mr C Palmer and
Mesdames Mrs ME Dwyer & Mrs PA Tuite |
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In Attendance: |
County Councillors Mrs J Broadway & Mr J
Powley
District Councillors JM Palmer and CW Fordham
Mr Stan Reece, Cambridgeshire ACRE |
| Apologies: |
Councillors Mr H Davies, Mr G Fisher and
Mesdames M Count and PL Gibbon,
District Councillors Mr MJ Duckworth, Mr JH Humphreys & Mr AR Parramint
PC Kevin Humble, Cambridgeshire Constabulary |
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120/05 |
MINUTES OF
MEETING HELD 13TH JUNE 2005
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting be approved and signed as a true
record. |
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121/05 |
MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES.
Policing Strategies (99/05)
In the absence of PC Kevin Humble, the Clerk reported that during the month
of June 2005, 6 crimes were recorded for Soham.
These consisted of theft from private and commercial premises, criminal
damage and theft of diesel from parked vehicle.
Soham Life (99/05)
NOTED that no further information had been received from Soham Town Forum or
the Ely Standard as to what the 'pump priming' funds were for.
Public Relations (inc. Twinning) (102/05) Twinning
NOTED that a letter of thanks had been received by the Chairman from the
mayor of Andrézieux-Bouthéon, for the hospitality extended to himself and
his party on the occasion of their visit to Soham.
NOTED also that the outlay so far towards twinning was £1,100.
The Chairman proceeded to report on the events held at the Soham Lodge Hotel
to celebrate the end of World War Two, which included invited delegates from
the Prisoners of War Association of Andrézieux-Bouthéon, the Chairman of
which presented Councillor Mrs RR Aitchison with a Commemorative Medal
marking the occasion.
RESOLVED that the Town Council should offer the medal to the Soham Branch of
the Royal British Legion for display.
Fordham Bypass (109/05)
NOTED that the Fordham Bypass had officially opened to the public at 11.00am
Friday 8th July 2005. |
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122/05 |
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 - 13th June 2005
Planning
- 29th June 2005 |
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123/05 |
PAYMENTS AND SCHEDULE OF ACCOUNTS -
JUNE
2005
RESOLVED that the schedule of payments and statement of balances, and
Summary of Income and Expenditure as at 30th June 2005 which are printed and
attached to these minutes as appendices, be confirmed and approved, and are
in accordance with Council's financial regulations. |
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124/05 |
ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2004/2005
a) RESOLVED to adopt and accept Final Accounts for year ended 31st March
2005.
b) RESOLVED to approve the Statement of Accounts as presented in Section 1
of Annual Return.
c) RESOLVED to agree in the affirmative questions 1 to 8 as shown in the
Statement of Assurance in Section 2 of the Annual Return.
d) RESOLVED to adopt the Internal Audit report no. 2005/Parish 12 which
stated that the records were found to be well maintained and no errors were
identified.
The Chairman proposed a vote of thanks to be conveyed to Mr John Wignall,
the retired Clerk. |
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125/05 |
TOWN & PARISH PLANS
Mr Stan Reece, Cambridgeshire ACRE gave a presentation on the preparation of
Town and Parish Plans.
He stated that these were a community led process which started in 2000,
aimed at smaller parishes than Soham, who as a 'Market Town' would not
qualify for any funding, however the information gathered as part of the
Market Town Initiative recently carried out, would be the same as in a Town
Plan.
NOTED that should the Council wish to proceed with a Town Plan, then the
points to remember were:-
a) It needs to be as comprehensive as possible
(including all ages of the community)
b) Parish Plans cannot 'reverse' planning applications.
c) The Parish/Town Council only can make the decision to do a Parish Plan.
d) It must inform all stakeholders.
e) Only two Parish/Town Councillors can be on the Steering Group, the rest
should be made up of representatives from different member/groups within the
community.
f) Find out what the major issues are by talking to as many organisations as
possible to gather information.
g) Importantly an 'Action Plan' needs to be established, which highlights
the needs of the community, once this has been completed it must be brought
to the Town Council for ratification before publication and then circulated
to all stakeholders.
RESOLVED to consider the content of the recent Market Town 'Healthcheck' and
to assess whether this meets the same needs as a Parish Plan. |
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126/05 |
LAND SOUTH WEST OF 15
TOWNSEND (OFF THE BIRCHES) - PLANNING APPLICATION
Consideration was given to an application by Westbury Homes (Holding)
Limited, for the residential development of 56 dwellings on land South West
of 15 Townsend (off The Birches).
RESOLVED to Refuse - due to much increased traffic volume along The Birches
and risks associated with exit onto/entrance from Townsend. Note also:
concern at overdevelopment of site and marked contrast with development on
The Birches and: concern at arrangements for drainage of the site. Is
development supported by Middle Fen & Mere Internal Drainage Board? |
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127/05 |
JOINTLY FUNDED MINOR
HIGHWAYS IMPROVEMENTS - 2006/2007 BIDDING ROUND
NOTED that the community contribution remained at £1 per elector and that
the scoring criteria remained as in previous years.
RESOLVED to submit a proposal to provide an extension of the metalled
footpath from Broadpiece to the Cotes plus introduction of specific traffic
calming measures.
RESOLVED also to support in principle a suggestion from Wicken Parish
Council concerning a joint footpath/cycle route between Soham and Wicken. |
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128/05 |
SECTION 106 CONTRIBUTIONS
NOTED that Section 106 contribution agreements can only be for definite
planned schemes and not on a 'wish list' basis.
Suggestions made for proposals to be considered in the light of the new
developments planned for the town, were a new Skateboard facility;
improvements to street lighting in some areas and also highway lighting at
the junction Qua Fen Common/Hasse Road junction. |
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129/05 |
BT PAYPHONES IN SOHAM
Notification was received that BT proposed to convert three of the existing
nine payphones in Soham to cashless payment facilities.
RESOLVED that no objections be raised and BT be advised accordingly. |
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130/05 |
DEFRA - CLEAN
NEIGHBOURHOODS AND ENVIRONMENT ACT 2005
NOTED that the new Act extends the powers to issue fixed penalty notices for
litter, graffiti, fly-posting and dog fouling to Parish and Town Councils as
well as providing additional dog offences for which fixed penalty notices
can be issued.
RESOLVED that the Clerk consult with the CPSO's regarding the issuing of the
notices. |
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131/05 |
EAST CAMBRIDGESHIRE
DISTRICT COUNCIL - LAND ADJOINING 65 EAST FEN COMMON
NOTED that an appeal has been made to the Secretary of State in respect of
the above site. Any further comments should be addressed directly to the
Planning Inspector.
RESOLVED that the Clerk write to re-iterate the Town Council's objections to
this planning application. |
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132/05 |
CAMBRIDGESHIRE COUNTY
COUNCIL - COUNTRYSIDE RIGHTS OF WAY ACT
NOTED that the Countryside Agency is responsible for mapping open land,
progressing the appeals process and dealing with access restrictions.
English Nature is responsible for identifying possible conflicts between new
Open Access and SSSI's and working with Access Authorities to try to resolve
issues.
NOTED also that Cambs. CC is currently letting a contract to survey
significant Common Land before the new legislation comes into force, and
included in this survey are some Soham Commons i.e. Qua Fen, East Fen,
Angle, The Shade and Broadpiece.
RESOLVED that the Clerk inform the County Council that The Shade and
Broadpiece are not part of the Scheme of Regulation administered by the Town
Council. |
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133/05 |
STREET NAMING AND NUMBERING
Notification of revised street numbering for new dwelling 93a Clay Street
was received. |
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134/05 |
VILLAGE BENEFITS ADVICE
SERVICE
Details of The Village Benefits Advice Service which offers advice and
assistance with benefits to people living in villages of Cambridgeshire were
received. |
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135/05 |
CCTV STEERING GROUP
Minutes of the meeting of the CCTV Steering Group held on Thursday 16th June
2005 were received. |
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136/05 |
SOHAM TOWN FORUM
Minutes of the Soham Town Forum meeting held on 2nd June 2005 and Agenda for
the forthcoming meeting to be held at the Pavilion on Thursday, 14th July
2005 at 7.30pm were received. |
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137/05 |
SOHAM BAPTIST CHURCH
A letter of thanks was received from Soham Baptist Church for the use of the
Pavilion and Recreation Ground for its recent 'Praise in the Park' event.
Thanks also were to be conveyed to Mr Colin Bullman and Mr Mick Hobbs for
their assistance. |
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138/05 |
ELY TRANSPORT & PARKING STRATEGY
Details of proposed changes to car parking in Ely as part of its Transport
and Parking Strategy were received.
Any comments should be sent to East Cambridgeshire District Council by 15th
July 2005. |
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139/05 |
55TH BRITISH NATIONAL PLOUGHING CHAMPIONSHIPS
NOTED that the above event was to be held in Soham this year on Saturday &
Sunday the 8th & 9th October 2005.
As this is a major event and will be attracting a large number of
participants and visitors to the town it was proposed that the Town Council
should be involved in some way.
It was suggested that a free bus service (possibly Dial-a-Ride) could be
arranged to convey people between the event and the town centre and also to
offer the use of the Pavilion and arrange a 'Ploughman's Supper' following
the church service being held to 'Bless the Plough' on Friday 7th October
2005. |
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140/05 |
PAPERS TABLED
Councillor Jeremy Friend-Smith
- Highlights of the Week, 17th & 24th June 2005 and 1st & 8th July 2005.
East Cambs. Community Safety Partnership - Anti Social Behaviour Leaflet
Networking East
- Issue 8, June 2005-07-21
Business Update Bulletin
- East of England Tourist Board News Release
European Union Regional Policy
- Inforegio News, May 2005-07-21
Powergen
- Warm Front Annual Report 2005
Hereward Housing
- Home & Away, Issue 11 2005
Cambridgeshire. County Council
- Countryside Events Leaflet July - December 2005. |
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It is hereby resolved in
accordance with Section 1 (2) of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings)
Act 1960 that as publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by
reason of the confidential or special nature of the business about to be
transacted namely Application for Financial Assistance - Cambs. County
Council for The Reading Voyage and The Life Project, it is advisable in the
public interest that the public and press be temporarily excluded from this
meeting and they are herewith instructed to withdraw. |
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Press and Public left the meeting at 9.15pm. |
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141/05 |
APPLICATIONS FOR
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Consideration was given to applications for financial assistance from
Cambridgeshire County Council for its Summer Reading Challenge - The Reading
Voyage towards its running costs and The Life Project to assist with the
funding of a Community Activity Day.
RESOLVED that the Council in accordance with its powers under sections 137
and 139 of the Local Government Act, 1972 should incur the following
expenditure which, in the opinion of the Council, is in the interests of the
area or its inhabitants and will benefit them in a manner commensurate with
the expenditure:-
The Reading Voyage - £300
The Life Project - £250 |
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The Press and Public were re-admitted at 9.25pm. |
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142/05 |
DATE OF NEXT REGULAR MEETING
NOTED that the next regular meeting of the Council would be held at 7.15pm,
Monday 12th September 2005. |
