H.E.R.S. UPDATE
Mr John Selby, Conservation Officer, East Cambridgeshire District Council will attend for this item.

1st ANNUAL CCTV REVIEW

CORRESPONDENCE.

Mr J L Wignall
Clerk of the Council
31st October 2003 

County Councillor Mr J Powley.
District Councillor Mr CW Fordham

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES.

Policing Strategies (122/03)
NOTED that PC Mark Hobson had tendered his apologies for the meeting.
NOTED also that crime figures for September 2003 had been provided and also a report on the changing shift patterns being adopted by the Ely Sector beginning 20th October 2003.

Area Resource Centre - East Cambridgeshire (125/03)
NOTED that the official 'launch' day for the Area Resource Centre (ARC) was to take place on Saturday 25th October 2003, when everyone was invited.
RESOLVED that the Town Council, as a way of showing it's full support of the Centre, agree to pay the cost of the refreshments being provided on the day.

Soham Festival Up-date (126/03)
Councillors Mrs PA Tuite, Mr PG Beer, Mrs PL Gibbon, Mrs M Dwyer and Mr J Kirkham declared non-prejudicial interests in accordance with paragraph 9.2 of the Code of Conduct as members of Soham Town Forum.
Councillor Mr PG Beer stated that the programme for the Festival had been firmed up and the services of a ‘Fire Officer' were being sought.
A suggestion was made that maybe a member of the Fire Brigade could be approached.

Affordable Housing Development (129/03)
NOTED that East Cambridgeshire District Council had approached Cambridge Housing Society to investigate the development potential of a site at Fordham Road with a view to providing affordable housing.

Town Council Website and E-Mail (130/03)
RESOLVED that addresses and telephone numbers would be included on the Website and also E-Mail addresses of those Councillors who had them.

The Reading Maze (131/03)
The Chairman reported on the presentation day of The Reading Maze, at which herself and County Councillor Mr J Powley had been asked to present the awards to children who had successfully completed the project, which had taken place during the Summer holidays.

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 September 2003
Planning             - 8th September 2003

PAYMENTS AND SCHEDULE OF ACCOUNTS - SEPTEMBER 2003
RESOLVED that the schedule of payments and statement of balances, and Summary of Income and Expenditure as at 30th September 2003, which are printed and attached to these minutes as appendices, be confirmed and approved, and were in accordance with Council’s financial regulations.
NOTED that the Vice-Chairman proposed a vote of thanks to the Clerk for his superb explanation of the Income and Expenditure Summary.

REPORTS BY REPRESENTATIVES ON OUTSIDE BODIES
NOTED that there were no matters arising from the reports which required action by the Council.

ANNUAL RETURN YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2003
The external audit report conducted in accordance with regulation 5 of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 1996 was presented and it was noted that there were no matters arising to report, no errors were identified and that the reporting level was adequate.

PAVILION FLOOR
The Clerk reported on a further inspection of the Pavilion Hall Floor carried out by Crystal Cleaning Services.
It was noted that the task of bringing the floor to a more acceptable appearance will be considerable and will probably involve more than one treatment, the cost for this being estimated at approximately £3000 plus VAT.
RESOLVED therefore that the Clerk obtain quotations for the supply and fit of alternative flooring to replace the existing tiled floors, with specific details being requested on range of quality etc. and lifespan of materials available.

PROCEDURE FOR CCTV VIEWING REQUESTS
The Clerk reported on a letter received from Julie Buck, Corporate Strategy Officer (Community Safety) regarding procedures for viewing CCTV videos.
NOTED whilst following Procedural Documents (Parts I, II & III, Nov 2001) for Cambridge/City Council’s CCTV Scheme. which meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act. Martin Beaumont. Manager of the CCTV scheme states:
“If a crime has been committed it must be reported to the police. It is then for them to request a viewing of the tape and decide what action they wish to take.
We will normally view a tape on request of the council if it is a non-crime (i.e. police not involved) incident but which falls into your enforcement or antisocial behaviour responsibilities. Obviously on viewing if we detect a criminal offence, we will pass it onto the police.
Once the police have requested access to a tape or it is obviously a crime awaiting investigation, no one else will be permitted to view it or be given information about the image it contains”.

SOHAM HOLIDAY PLAYSCHEME
NOTED a letter of thanks was received from Soham Holiday Playscheme for the Councils donation towards it’s Summer activities. These included puppet making, trampolening and also a subsidised coach trip to The Butterfly and Wildlife Park at Long Sutton.

CAMBRIDGE INDEPENDENT ADVICE CENTRE
NOTED that a new telephone advice line, operated by Cambridge Independent Advice Service, for the residents of East Cambridgeshire is commencing this September.

FLOOD EVENT DATA GATHERING
NOTED that the Environment Agency requested assistance from the Town Council to provide flood information for areas within Soham if unfortunate enough to suffer flooding over the coming months.

SOHAM CRICKET CLUB
Councillors Mr P Lane and Mr CK Hempstead declared non-prejudicial interests in accordance with paragraph 9.2 of the Code of Conduct as members of Soham Cricket Club.
NOTED an invitation had been extended to the Town Council from Soham Cricket Club to attend it’s next committee meeting to be held on Friday 21st November 2003 at Soham Town Rangers Football Club.
It was hoped that the Town Council could assist in some way to secure the future of the Cricket Club, who were currently seeking more suitable facilities than its present shared arrangement with Soham United Football Club on Qua Fen Common.

DATE OF NEXT REGULAR MEETING
NOTED that the next regular meeting of the Council would be held at 7.30pm, Monday 10th November 2003.