Parish Council

Meldreth Parish Council

www.meldreth-pc.org.uk

Meeting held on Thursday 1st October 2020

This meeting was held through a video/audio link, in accordance with revised procedures provided by the Coronavirus Act 2020. The main points of this meeting are set out below in the usual summary format. The full formal minutes can be viewed in due course on the website at www.meldreth-pc.org.uk and on the Parish Council notice board; these will be presented for approval at the next Parish Council meeting.

Discussions and Decisions

Village Tree Planting

A resident attending the meeting suggested that the Council should collaborate with local residents to encourage a programme of tree and shrub planting, together with ecological measures to deal with waste.

It was noted that the Council has a tree warden but that there is no group within the Council with responsibility for trees. It was agreed that in today’s circumstances this subject should be handled by a group of Councillors working with local residents. This issue would be discussed between now and the next meeting and proposals would be brought forward.

District and County Councillors’ Report

Attention was drawn to the launch of a top-up grant by

Cambridgeshire County Council for the benefit of residents with the slowest internet speeds. This would augment the government funded top-up broadband vouchers for rural areas. Residents who would like to be considered for the scheme should contact the Cambridgeshire

County Council Connecting Cambridgeshire team. The internet link is shown in the Councillors’ Report on pages 23-25 of this magazine.

It was stressed that the recent exercise for the submissions of Sites did not include any for which planning consent had been granted. The planners will review each of the numerous schemes submitted; this will take considerable time.

COVID-19

MCCS is standing by to assist in any resurgence of the COVID virus. There are regular reports about the current activities of this important local support service.

The pavilion is now compliant with the necessary QR signs. The users of the pavilion – our local football clubs – are compliant with the requirements for using the toilet facilities there but the changing rooms and showers continue to be closed.

Pavilion Anti-Social Behaviour

The Council now has the warning notices and these and the antivandal paint will now be applied to deter those wishing to climb up onto the roof of the pavilion.

Village Infrastructure

Repairs to the bus shelters were agreed by the Council. Some further work needs to be carried out on some directional signposts and this will be taken forward.

It has been agreed that the commemorative VE day bench will be installed outside the Village Hall, facing the other commemorative bench on the other side of the road. An existing bench on the site will be repositioned on the Elin Way side of the Village Hall and the necessary permissions for doing this have now been obtained.

Recreation Ground

Kickwall: this will be re-established at the recreation ground to replace the wall that had to be removed on safety grounds. The Council agreed that the new wall would combine a kickwall and climbing wall. A quotation has been obtained for this and the work will be undertaken as soon as possible. Other equipment: it was noted that the witch’s hat will shortly be repaired. The old basketball post stumps will be removed as they represent a safety issue. The replacement of the slide matting is still to be resolved. A concrete block in the play area with a board games top is under active consideration.

Goal posts storage: the Football Club will continue to investigate possible locations for their storage. It was agreed that in the meantime, the nuisance caused by balls being kicked over residents’ fences needs to be addressed. The Council voted to require the football goals to be stored adjacent to the children’s play area fence on the other side of the pitch where they would cause no aggravation to residents. It was noted that in their present position there was no effective CCTV coverage.

Five a side: it was agreed to consider the placement of a single goal for youth activities somewhere on the ground as part of a plan for the recreation ground as a whole. In the meantime, the five a side goal nearer to the pavilion will be removed, leaving the far goal for use in the meantime. This will hopefully reduce the nuisance to local residents in Elin Way.

Recreation Ground Plan

A drawing has been produced to facilitate the planning of facilities for the recreation ground. A revised plan drawn to scale will be produced and this will help the Council to plan the location of additional recreation ground facilities. It was noted that the limited free space currently available would have an obvious impact on how funds granted under s106 could actually be invested in recreation ground facilities.

Traffic Working Group

The remaining 30mph speed limit signs have been delivered and will be installed by village volunteers. Work continues, in liaison with the Police, with a proposal for a 20 mph speed limit in the High Street and notices restricting HGV transits through the High Street. The issue of overhanging footway foliage was discussed and all Councillors were asked to report cases of this to the Parish Clerk.

Drainage

Some progress has been made on getting our drains cleared but there is still much to do and pressure on the local authority will be maintained. There are examples in the village of some drains never being cleared; everyone is to be encouraged to report such instances on the Highways website dealing with faults.

Archiving of Council Records

This remains under review in order to maximise the use of digital storage and archiving in local centres.

Street Name for New Development to the Rear of 79 High Street

The Local History Group has been invited to consider this and all Parish Councillors will also give this question their consideration before the next Council meeting..

Cemetery

The Council now has an acceptable quotation for repairing the very uneven state of the hard surface inside the gate and this will be put in

hand. A further report on the fencing issues is awaited. The Council will consult with SCDC officers for advice about the management of graves and memorials.

Rates Relief Grant

A grant of £10,000 has been received. There are no limits on how this money can be used and it will therefore form part of the general funding base of the Council. The Finance Working Group will give the Council its report on this issue.

Remembrance Sunday

The Church has indicated that the usual remembrance commemorations are unlikely to take place because of COVID. [This has now been confirmed. See page 17.—Ed] The Council agreed to make its usual donation to the Royal British Legion for the purchase of a wreath that could be laid at the War Memorial when conditions permit.

Women’s Institute

To commemorate 100 years of Meldreth WI, the present WI will donate a tree in commemoration. It was agreed that such a tree should be planted in a village location commensurate with that commemoration and the Council will consider this before the next meeting. Next meeting: Thursday 5 November 2020.

Meldreth Parish Council

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