CHAIRMAN’S ACTION - Qua Fen Common.

STREET LIGHTING.

ANNUAL ACCOUNTS - Year Ended 31st March 2002.

J L Wignall
Clerk of the Council
5th June 2002 

County Councillor J Powley.

APPOINTMENTS TO STANDING COMMITTEES
RESOLVED that the constituent Standing Committees of the Council be comprised of the following members.

Allotments:
G Fisher, GR Ginn, D Bradley, CK Hempstead, LR Hart, B Houghton

Burials & Street Lighting:
Mrs J Hobbs, Mrs PL Gibbon, G Fisher, C Palmer, Mrs M Count, GR Ginn

Commons & Footways:
B Houghton, Mrs J Hobbs, RS Lane, LR Hart, GR Ginn, Mrs FE Ross

Finance and Policy
The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council and the Chairmen of the other Standing Committees

Planning
D Bradley, Mrs PL Gibbon, C Palmer, LR Hart, CK Hempstead, HJ Davies

Recreational Amenities
C Palmer, Mrs FE Ross, CK Hempstead, B Houghton, RS Lane, HJ Davies

NOTED that in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders that the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Council are ex-officio members of all the constituent standing committees.

ELECTION OF CHAIRMEN OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES
RESOLVED that the Chairman of the relevant committees for the ensuing year be as follows:

Allotments - G Fisher
Burials & St Lighting - Mrs J Hobbs
Commons, Footways & Trees - B Houghton
Planning - D Bradley
Recreational Amenities - C Palmer.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES.

Policing Strategies (48/02)
In the absence of PC Mark Hobson, the Clerk reported on the crime statistics for April.
There were a total of 65 reported crimes throughout the month, 21 of which have named suspects and have been dealt with or are being dealt with, the rest are obviously still being investigated.
As reported in local press, there have been a spate of distraction burglaries in the Ely area. The offenders have recently included young children who engage the elderly occupant in conversation whilst adults enter and search the house and in one incident the offenders actually mentioned knowing named friends of the aggrieved to gain access to their houses.
It was noted that PC Kevin Humble is to join PC Hobson as the second community officer. He is due to start in July. PC Humble has worked in the Ely/Soham area for the majority of his service and worked from the old Soham Police Station prior to its closure.
The Ely community officers are about to change shifts. This should mean that PC Humble and PC Hobson should be working opposite shifts and this should give community officer cover from 8.00am to 10.00pm most days. It is also planned that problem areas be hit en masse in attempts to resolve existing or developing problems.

Public Footpath Modification Orders (48/02)
NOTED that Cambridgeshire County Council had made an application to the Magistrate’s Court for a Stopping-up Order in respect of part of the Highway Land adjacent to Goose Fen Drove, Barway on the ground that it is unnecessary, subject to the retention of a bridleway.

Community Safety Partnership - The Way Forward (51/02)
Councillor Mrs RR Aitchison reported on the initial meeting of East Cambridgeshire Community Safety Partnership (CSP) which she had attended.
NOTED the next meeting is to be held at the Pavilion, Soham on Tuesday, 25th June 2002 at 5.3Opm. Anyone wishing to attend would be welcome.

Jubilee Celebrations 2002 (52/02)
The Clerk reported that the arrangements for the fireworks display to be held at the and of the days entertainment’s on June 3d have now been completed and the chosen display would be entitled “Thunder in the Night”.

Grazing Tenders 2002
NOTED that the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Commons Committee continue to negotiate the conditions for zero grazing of Qua Fen Common for the 2002 grazing season.

Mains Sewage - Barway (55/02)
The Clerk reported that an application by the Town Council on behalf of the residents of Barway had been made to Anglian Water for the extension of main drainage into the village.
NOTED that Anglian Water’s programme for this type of work currently extends to 2005, and it is hoped that provided funding is available from OFWAT, the economic regulator, to extend this programme to 201 0. It is therefore unlikely that future accepted schemes would not be constructed until after 2005, assuming appropriate funding is given.
RESOLVED that ECDC should be approached for involvement in the application process.

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 - 8th April 2002
Planning             - 8th April 2002

PAYMENTS AND SCHEDULE OF ACCOUNTS - APRIL 2002
RESOLVED that the schedule of payments and statement of balances, as at 30th April 2002 which are printed and attached to these minutes as appendices, be confirmed and approved.

ANNUAL AUDIT
NOTED that the audit of the accounts for the year 2000/2001 have been completed and an unqualified report issued. The members requested that their appreciation of the clarity and presentation of financial information to the Council by the staff be recorded.
NOTED also that a ‘lighter-touch” intermediate audit regime is being introduced from 1st April 2002 and that an independent internal auditor will need to be appointed to comply with this new audit regime.

PERIODIC ELECTORAL REVIEW
NOTED that the Boundary Committee for England had issued its final recommendations for future electoral arrangements and had confirmed the division of Soham into two wards for all future elections.

It is hereby resolved in accordance with Section 1(2) of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 that as publicity would be prejudiced to the public interest by reason of confidential or special nature of the business about to be transacted as Agenda Items 11, 12 and 13, namely CCTV Town Centre - Update, Children’s Play Area - Recreation Ground and Requests for Financial Assistance 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. Meeting was closed to press and public at 8.41pm.

CCTV TOWN CENTRE - UPDATE
NOTED that the CCTV Steering Group had approved the provision of an additional fibre transmission circuit to enable the system to operate more efficiently and to provide spare capacity for both public and private expansion in the future.
NOTED also that the additional cost could be met from within original approved expenditure.
The Clerk reported that ECDC had replied to the Town Council’s request for an explanation of the decision not to require a Section 1 06 obligation for Budgen’s site. The Chief Executive stated that “Section 1 06 obligations are not attached to planning applications unless there is an absolute requirement to secure certain matters. In this case, it was concluded by the
Planning Committee, as advised by officers, that all outstanding matters could be secured by conditions”.

CHILDREN'S PLAY AREA - RECREATION GROUND
The following quotations had been received for the replacement to safety surfacing on certain parts of the Children’s Play Area, Recreation Ground:

Absolutely Safe Surfaces Limited - £3,630.00 + VAT
Matta Products - £5,890.00 + VAT

RESOLVED that the quotation received from Absolutely Safe Surfaces be accepted.
NOTED that Waste Recycling Environmental Limited had in principle, approved a grant towards the project.

REQUEST FOR FINANCIAL ASS1STANCE
Consideration was given to applications for financial assistance from the East Anglian Air Ambulance toward its running costs and Soham Benevolent Association towards the days events to celebrate the Queens Golden Jubilee. RESOLVED that the Council in accordance with its powers under sections 1 37 and 1 39 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:-

East Anglian Air Ambulance - £100

RESOLVED also that as the Town Council had agreed to finance a family disco and firework display as part of the same days celebrations, no additional contribution towards additional costs incurred by the Benevolent Association should be made.

ROAD SAFETY - SOHAM BYPASS
A letter from lsleham Parish Council regarding Road Safety on the Soham Bypass was considered.
RESOLVED that the Town Council support all measures to increase road safety, but would leave Cambridgeshire County Council to decide upon appropriate measures, for example the review of rural roundabouts scheme, use of mobile speed cameras and others that are being continually reviewed for the safety of our roads by Cambridgeshire County Council.

RACE RELATIONS
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 was noted.
RESOLVED to accept the four basic principles and refer to the Finance and Policy Committee for implementation.

SOHAM BAPTIST CHURCH - FAMILY DAY
RESOLVED to accede to a request that the Soham Baptist Church, Family Day to be held on the Recreation Ground on Sunday, 14th July should be free of charge.

MOTORCYCLE CUSTOM SHOW
NOTED the temporary closure of Market Street on Saturday, 25th May 2002 between the hours of 12.00pm and 6.00pm for the holding of a Motorcycle Custom Show.

BUS SERVICES
NOTED that Stagecoach, the operator of local bus services X10/X11 - Cambridge, Newmarket and Burwell, X12 - Cambridge, Newmarket, Soham and Ely, 111 - Cambridge, Burwell and Newmarket and 122 - Cambridge, Burwell, Soham and Ely propose to make changes to the said routes from 1 0”June 2002. The main changes would result in a reduction to the evening services.

STAGE 3 OF THE CAMBRIDGE CORE TRAFFIC SCHEME
NOTED Public Consultation on Stage 3 of the Cambridge Core Traffic Scheme addressing problems in Silver Street and the Regent Street areas of Cambridge will run from May 20th until June 17th 2002.

THINK COUNTRY CHILD!
NOTED that a workshop is to be held at The Maltings, Ely on Wednesday 29th May for voluntary and community groups with an interest in the safety, security and welfare of young people in rural area of Cambridgeshire.

CALC BULLETIN - APRIL AND MAY 2002
NOTED that due to the need to bring to attention some important topics that Council should be aware of, supplementary editions of April and May 2002 CALC Bulletin were circulated.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE
Copies of leaflet “Your Safety Our Concern” produced by Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Services were tabled.
RESOLVED to accept the offer of a Fire Officer attending a future Town Council meeting to brief Council members and members of the public on the direction the Fire Service is taking.

DATE OF NEXT REGULAR MEETING
NOTED that the next regular meeting of the Council would be held at 7.30pm, Monday 10th June 2002.