Minutes of a meeting of Sawtry Parish Council held on July 12th 2017

Present: Cllrs Riddle (Chairman), Tuplin (Vice-Chairman), Custance, Mulcrone, Parkes, Gadsby, Brown, Ashley, Dickinson, Mynott, Alexander, Laxton, Scott, District Cllr Tysoe, and 12 members of the public. Cllr Whittaker joined the meeting after item 108/17.

No-one was recording the meeting.

104/17 Apologies For Absence – Cllr Elliott. 105/17 To Sign And Approve Minutes Dated June 14th 2017 – approved, Signed by Cllr Riddle 106/17 Matters Arising From Previous Minutes (for information only) 107/17 Members’ Declaration Of Interest for items on the Agenda 108/17 Co-option to fill vacancies – There were two applicants. David Whittaker was co-opted. Public forum – meeting suspended. Three members of the youth committee of the Sawtry Youth Project addressed the meeting regarding the provision of an all wheeled facility in the village. 109/17 To Receive Reports From Representatives Of Outside Bodies Sawtry Sports and Leisure Association – Cllrs Tuplin/Scott:  The drains have been inspected and there are no blockages.

Sawtry Show – Cllr Tuplin:  Schedules are now available

Sawtry Internal Drainage Board – Cllrs Riddle, Custance, Tuplin, Laxton:  Cllr Riddle has been elected onto the board for another year.

District Council – Cllr Tysoe:  Apologies for not attending as many Parish Council meetings as clash with a panel meeting at HDC of which he is chairman  HDC are looking at the commercialisation of some aspects of their operation eg. CCTV, document centre  There is a review taking place of all the leisure centres in the district which will include Sawtry  Local Plan – differing views on whether or not the District is meeting it’s target for a 5 year housing supply – HDC say yes, Developers say no. Cllr Tuplin clarified that the District are meeting the target and have over 5 year supply at present

District Council – Cllr Tuplin:  Confirmation of housing supply – see above  A lot of development at Alconbury Weald, worth a visit

Combined Authority – Cllr Tuplin:  Currently putting forward a business case for a university in Peterborough  Hoping to be able to support 7,000 new homes and 3,000 new jobs as identified in the local plans. Cllr Tysoe advised that Sawtry had already taken more housing than any other identified key settlement area in Huntingdonshire.

County Council – Cllr Bywater – not present:  By email – nothing significant to report

110/17 To Receive The Chairman’s Report:  World War 1 commemorations – 3 wreaths were laid on June 18th  The next Chairman’s Challenge is planned for September and will be held in conjunction with Sawtry Fire Service – more details to follow. 111/17 To Receive And In So Far As Required, Ratify Recommendations Contained In The Minutes Of The Following Committees:

Amenities June 21st – report approved. Appendix 1

St Andrews Drainage – a verbal report was given by those who carried out a site visit. It was agreed that the tree planting programme should continue. Nothing further could be done to mitigate the potential flooding in wet weather.

A verbal report was given from those councillors who visited the Greenfields Site. An expert report on the drainage system was noted. It was agreed that a working party should be set up to look at the issues regarding the drainage and the condition of the building. Members of the working party are Cllrs Scott, Mulcrone, Gadsby, Brown, Tuplin and Parkes.

It was agreed that following a further site visit to check current conditions a letter would be sent to the Sports and Leisure Association requiring them to clear up the outside area within 28 days.

Request from Loopy Lou’s nursery to site their business at Greenfields – it was agreed to refuse as it was not practical to have a business combined with a sports facility. Greenfields is registered as a Field in Trust for play, sport and relaxation. Community July 5th – report approved. Appendix 2

It was agreed that the Parish Council would support the installation of an all wheeled facility at St Judith’s field in principal. The agreed site was Site 1 (laid out at the site visit on July 5th – adjacent to the Youth Shelter). Various concerns were raised and it was agreed that the way forward would be:  SYP get the actual design prepared  The design to be presented to the Parish Council together with as many answers as possible regarding the points raised which were: o Who would be responsible for insurance o Who would be responsible for maintenance checks o Who would pay for maintenance/repairs o If it was damaged how could it be isolated – one suggestion is to have a fence around the area that could be locked if required o Emergency access – the gates at St Judith’s are kept locked o Supervision – some information from other facilities on whether or not there is any supervision regarding the users and safety wear of users  Once the Parish Council are happy with the overall proposals a Parish Council/SYP joint consultation with the whole village would take place

Cllr Tysoe and 10 members of the public left the meetig. Finance and June 28th – meeting not quorate. General Purposes Agenda items included in this agenda: 1. To consider renewal of LCPAS (Local Council Public Advisory Service) annual membership - £100 – agreed 2. Cost of new ‘Sawtry’ road signs – information not available deferred to next meeting 3. To consider using CCLA to hold reserves in their public sector deposit fund (following presentation by Mark Davies to the committee on June 28th): It was agreed to put the maximum amount that is protected £75,000/£85,000 (Clerk to confirm current level) into the CCLA Deposit Fund, this is subject to the Clerk obtaining confirmation that the money is guaranteed secure. The Clerk is authorised to proceed following confirmation to the Chairman that this is the case. If this is not confirmed then it is agreed that the Clerk is authorised to spread the risk by keeping the protected amount in the Co-op current bank and putting half of the remainder in each of two further banks – it was agreed to use Lloyds and HSBC. 4. From previous meeting – cost of dishwasher for installation in Old School House - £198 – BEKO 122 Economy, A+AA rating, from ESPO – purchase agreed.

Agenda Items Deferred to September meeting: 1. Draft Lead Councillor – External Property 2. Comments raised by Internal Auditor 3. Use of electronic gadgets 4. To consider provision of training for staff in dealing with difficult people/people with mental health issues

Parish Van: To note settlement cheque received via solicitor for van that was written off in an accident last summer - £2078.62 It was agreed to accept the amount but to write to the insurance company that the Council are disgusted that they chose to settle this at trade value, a price which could not have replaced the vehicle. The letter to also include the question, why is the final figure less than the original offer. Planning July 12th – report approved. Appendix 3 112/17 1. To Report Any Changes To Committee Membership – none 2. To consider amendment to standing orders to increase the membership of the Finance and General purposes committee. It was agreed to include members of the staffing committee on this committee. 113/17 Financial Report: 1. To note summary of Receipts and Payments as at June 30th 2017 – noted. No questions. Filed separately. 2. To note bank reconciliation at June 30th 2017 – noted. No questions. Filed separately.

114/17 To Approve Payment And Signing Of Cheques: Approved. Cheques were signed by Cllrs Riddle and Laxton. Cheque Invo Budget Heading To Amount NET VAT ice No No

306376 106 Salaries/Wages Admin 4147.15 4147.15 0.00 - – for 5 members of staff 306380 110

306381 111 Grass Cutting The CGM 5150.10 4291.75 858.35 Group (East Anglia) Ltd

306382 112 Play Park R H Dodson 786.00 655.00 131.00 repairs

306383 113 Office Expenses Walters Ltd 69.07 57.56 11.51

306384 114 Hall Hire – ESPO 743.67 619.73 123.94 projector - £669.60

Property Maint - £74.07

306385 115 Sawtry Eye - CARESCO 496.72 496.72 0.00 £104.18

Sawtry Show Schedule in Sawtry Eye - £104.18

Village Christmas Card - £80.00

Sawtry Eye – Parish Council Annual Report - £208.36

306386 116 St Andrews AYR Nurseries 59.28 49.40 9.88 Cemetery Maint and Landscapes

306387 117 Subscription Local Council 100.00 100.00 0.00 Public Advisory Service

TOTAL 11551.99 10417.31 1134.68

115/17 To Note Direct Debit Payments – noted CCC Pension Fund – Pension Contributions – £1799.15

HMRC – Tax & NI Payments – £1323.26

HDC – St Andrews Rates - £69

Eclipse Internet - £17.94 (£14.95 net)

Anglian Water – Allotments - £42.96 Anglian Water – Old School Hall/House - £320.04

BT - £79.89 (£66.58 net)

British Gas – Gas 37 Green End Rd - £2.298.87 (£19156.73 net) – NB estimated, being challenged. At the meeting the Clerk advised that the actual bill was £119 and the difference has been refunded to the Parish Council bank account.

British Gas – Electricity 37 Green End Rd - £90.94 (£86.61 net)

British Gas – Gas Old School Hall - £155.35 (£147.98 net)

British Gas – Electricity Old School Hall - £116.77 (£111.21 net)

116/17 To consider request from HDC to site a Planet UK textile bin in Sawtry – refused 117/17 Correspondence – noted

For Information: 1. Carnival Committee minutes – 4th July 2. Cambs CC response to complaint re condition of footpath – High Street/Glatton Road 3. Minutes of Town and Parish Council Stakeholder Group Meeting 4. Introduction to Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 5. HDC response re over grown grass Alwin Close/St Judith’s Field 6. Campaign to Protect Rural England – Understanding Planning Applications – Workshop on November 2nd 7. From Mr and Mrs Lane – comments on accounts/councillor membership

Newsletters: 1. Local Councils Update July 2. LCAS Bulletin June 2017 3. A P Partnership June 2017 4. LCR Summer 2017

118/17 Staffing Matters – noted Notes of Cambridgeshire Clerk’s meeting June 16th – attached To note the following training events have been booked:  Safe Use of Hedge Cutters at Shuttleworth College – both caretakers, November 10th – cost £228 each  Society of Local Clerks Regional Conference in Peterborough on September 6th – Clerk – cost £69 + VAT 119/17 Next Meeting – September 13th 2017 at 7.30pm

Appendix 1 Minutes of a meeting of the Amenities Committee held on June 21st 2017

Present: Cllrs Mrs Riddle, Laxton, Custance, Mulcrone, Gadsby, Ashley and Assistant Clerk (note taker) Cllr Mrs Riddle asked anyone was recording the meeting – all present confirmed they were not. 1 Election of Chairman - Cllr Mrs Riddle was elected Chairman 2 Apologies For Absence – were received from Cllr Tuplin (at a School Governors Meeting) 3 Minutes of Meeting held on April 19th were agreed 4 Matters Arising From Previous Minutes (for information only) 5 Members’ Declaration Of Interest for items on the Agenda - none 6 Sawtry Sports and Leisure Association (SSLA): 6.1 Update from Cllr Tuplin – no update received 6.2 Consideration of a request from Loopy Lou’s nursery to re-site the mobile classroom currently at the Old Telephone Exchange, Old Great North Road to Greenfield on a permanent basis – to be connected to mains services and rent to go to SSLA – It was agreed to check the Sports & Leisure agreement with the PC as this would be a sub-let. It was also agreed to visit the site on Tuesday 27th June at 7.30pm – All Cllrs to be invited to attend. 7 Allotments – update attached and one plot has since become vacant 8 Village – Green Spaces, Play areas and Maintenance 8.1 Green Spaces  Risk assessments received from grass cutting contractor - noted  Request from resident to hold an open garden event – this was discussed and agreed to be a good idea. Resident to be encouraged to take it forward perhaps with the help of the Sawtry Gardening Club.  To consider purchase of planters for wall of Old School – it was agreed to purchase 2 planters from the same supplier as those at the village signs. Cost of £89 each + VAT and £15 delivery charge. To be situated by the two entrance doors.  Costings for new noticeboards – Cllr Mynott who had put this proposal forward had been asked for more details on what exactly was required. Cllr Mulcrone was also looking into the use of a Red Telephone Box as a noticeboard. It was agreed to discuss further at the next meeting 8.2 Play Areas  Costs of emergency repairs to multi play unit in play park, Green End Road of £655.00 + VAT were noted  Quotation for replacement of multi play unit – this item moved to strategic planning/future projects 8.3 Cemeteries  St Andrews – update on drainage. It was noted that this now came under the Amenities Committee.  Risk assessments received from Co-op England regarding burials - noted  Request for a memorial bench at St Andrews – it was agreed to visit the cemetery on 27th June following the visit to Greenfields to look at the current benches and report to full council with a recommendation. 9 Tree Warden Report – no report received 10 Strategic Planning/Future Projects – It was agreed to review all PC owned equipment to consider long term improvement. It was agreed to draw up a list of all equipment in the village and age range for next meeting.

Chairman’s Challenge – money continues to be raised with the aim of purchasing a multi- purpose piece of equipment for siting near the kick wall at St Judith’s field. To be included in the strategic plan/future project.

The provision of a Christmas Tree on the green is still being looked into - Cllr Mulcrone to report to next meeting.

Item for next agenda – look at purchase of more community land – Cllr Laxton

(For information members then took the opportunity to look at the equipment in the play park) 11 Financial Report – will be included in Full Council paperwork 12 Date of next meeting – September 20th 2017 at 7.00pm Appendix 2 Minutes of the Community Committee Meeting Held on July 5th 2017 Present: Cllrs Tuplin, Alexander, Custance, Laxton, Ashley, Mynott, Mulcrone, Gadsby, Riddle, Scott, Parkes Representatives from – Village Academy (Sara Wilson), Junior Academy (Sara Flack), Sawtry Youth Project (Terri Epton, Natalie Gadsby), Carnival (Julia Keighley), CARESCO (Liz Coates, Tony Stefanelli), St Benedicts (Tony Stefanelli), Methodist Church (Alan Taylor, Liz Coates, Matt Coates)

No-one was recording the meeting.

1 ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN – Cllr Mynott was elected unopposed 2 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE – Cllr Dickinson, Rev’d McFadyen 3 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING – May 3rd previously circulated – noted 4 MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES (for information only) – none 5 MEMBERS’ DECLARATION OF INTEREST for items on the Agenda – Cllr Gadsby agenda item 6.5 6 COMMUNITY GROUPS UPDATE: 6.1 Infant School – no representative 6.2 Junior Academy:  Had a DFE visit and it was agreed that the school is making great progress  200 pupils on roll  Had a Fun Afternoon that was well supported by the community  Links are being forged with the Village Academy – currently working on an arts project 6.3 Village Academy:  Had DFE visit – positive report which shows how far they have come since the last visit in January  OFSTED inspection due in the Autumn term  Concerns regarding numbers of students for year 7 – reducing from 180 to 109. Students from Yaxley and Farcet will be going to Hampton. The reduction in numbers has a significant impact on finance.  Longer term it looks as if numbers will increase to 140/150 over the next three years.  The first student from Alconbury Weald had joined.  Campaigning for funding for capital investment  In discussion with One Leisure on the level of charges for using their facilities  Students have been involved in many community projects including helping at the carnival, CARESCO and the churches.  The library will remain on site for another academic year and will then be moving to the Community Centre. 6.4 Youth Service/Youth Club:  Cllr Gadsby reported that he has a meeting planned with the Connexions Bus team on July 24th with a view to them taking over the running of the youth club.

Cllr Gadsby left the meeting. 6.5 Sawtry Youth Project:  Councillors were thanked for attending a site visit at St Judith’s to view the potential site for the all wheeled facility  A stalemate has been reached regarding moving forward with the design  Questions raised at the last Parish Council meeting have been answered – they will be e mailed to the Clerk

Councillors response:  It was good to get an overview of the proposed site  Responses to questions raised to be sent out with Full Council paperwork on Friday  Pictures of Irthlingborough skate park to be sent out to Councillors by the Clerk  It was recommended that Councillors visit Irthlingborough prior to next week’s Full Council meeting in order to see the design and how it looks in the landscape  It was agreed that the proposal for an all wheeled facility at St Judith’s be moved forward and Full Council next week will consider whether they will support the project

Natalie Gadsby and Terri Epton left the meeting.

Cllr Gadsby returned to the meeting.

6.6 All Saints – no-one present

6.7 Methodist:  Rev’d Taylor advised that he has been appointed to Sawtry until August 2018  Working hard to raise funds to replace the complete heating system  The parent and toddler group will be stopping due to lack of support from parents  The Combined Service on The Green went well, all who attended had a great time. The Parish Council were thanked for giving their permission for The Green to be used.  Village Carol Service – there are two points of view on this: 1. The present form needs reviewing and viewed with a different sense of direction. There was disappointing support from some directions. 2. Generally going well, continue with the same format  There are a diminishing number of people on the planning group  There was no access to the kitchen at the Academy

Village Academy – happy to work with the planning group

Junior Academy – it is a good opportunity for students to perform in public

Parish Council – propose an initial meeting with interested parties led by the churches, to include feedback on previous events, with a view to forming a smaller working party.

6.8 St Benedicts:  There are an increasing number of drivers willing to bring Father Jeffrey to Sawtry services as he does not drive  Took part in the St Luke’s fair and raised £150 from the cake stall and £88 from the bowling  Communion is still being given at Hill View  Food Bank – information on changes that will be happening will be given at the next meeting. On a recent weekend at the Co-op 350 kilos of food and £85 was donated. Youngsters from the Academy helped with this event. The Post Office held an event where all food bought for the food bank received a 10% discount. This raised 32 kilos of food in one week.

6.9 Sawtry Show – Cllr Tuplin:  Schedules are now printed and will be available from the library, CARESCO, the Village Academy, Junior Academy, and Parish Council

6.10 Sawtry Carnival:  Thanks to Parish Council and Village Academy for their facilities and support  Very successful day, actual numbers attending were not counted but it is thought there were more than the 3,000 people who came last year  The accounts are in profit so the committee can make a donation to a local good cause, to be agreed at the next meeting  Feedback was very positive – people enjoyed the community spirited day  The Court have been going to other events around the area  There has been a large change in committee members  Have a template to follow to make the organisation for future years easier

The carnival committee were thanked for all their hard work for a very successful and well organised event.

6.11 CARESCO:  Looking into running a ‘tool shed’ workshop for gentlemen  Year 12 students will be helping at the shop, food bank and day centre 7 POLICE: 7.1 Update/Crime Figures – no figures available 7.2 Bike marking – it was agreed that the police would be contacted and a day arranged for residents including children from the Junior Academy. Cllr Tuplin will look into the possibility of combining this with the Sawtry Show. 8 FINANCIAL REPORT – the Youth Club continues to be funded 9 NOTICES & CORRESPONDENCE – the village scarecrow trail is on 8 – 16 July. 10 NEXT MEETING – October 4th 2017 at 7.00pm

Appendix 3 Minutes of the Planning Committee Meeting Held on July 12th 2017

Present: Cllrs Scott, Laxton, Alexander, Mynott, Tuplin, Custance, Parkes, Dickinson, Brown, Riddle and 1 member of the public.

No-one was recording the meeting.

1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Cllr Elliott 2 MINUTES OF THE LAST June 14th – noted MEETING 3 MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES (for information only) 4 MEMBERS ‘DECLARATION OF INTEREST for Agenda items: Cllr Custance item 7 – pecuniary interest – tenant of area of land ‘North of Black Horse Industrial Estate’. 5 PLANNING APPLICATIONS (can be viewed online at www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk) 5.1 17/01327/S73 – 56 Green End Road – request to extend planning permission Original Application Reference Number: 16/01089/FUL Date of Decision: 30/11/2016 – recommend approval – can see no adverse impact on the village if it is extended. 5.2 17/01194/FUL – Unit 3 Brookside Sawtry – Change of use from B1 to D1 – recommend approval – no significant impact. 6 PLANNING DECISIONS – noted Application Address Proposal Parish District Council Council 17/00946/HHFUL 30 Church Proposed new single storey App App Street garden room extension

7 CONSULTATION: Huntingdonshire District Council Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment 2017. Comments agreed:

General comments:  No indication what is industrial and what is residential  All industrial sites should be to the east of the A1 to prevent traffic going through the village – the route in to Brookside involves going past nurseries, schools, doctor’s surgery and old people’s home 1. East of Brookside: a. In flood risk area b. Route through the village not suitable for HGVs c. Recommend any further industrial area be the east side of the A1 so traffic need not come into the village d. Access through the village to the industrial site is past nurseries, schools, doctor’s surgery and an old people’s home e. Would need a service road to take traffic away from the High Street 2. West of St Andrews Way – already approved for planning 3. South of St Andrews Way: a. Serious concerns already expressed regarding vehicular access to the approved site West of St Andrews Way. There is no safe place to access the site. St Andrews Way would be even more dangerous if access was onto that.

Cllr Custance did not take part in the discussion for item 4.

4. North of Black Horse Industrial Estate: a. The Parish Council wholeheartedly supports this site for industrial use. b. It would keep HGVs away from the village 5. Bill Hall Way: a. Where would the access be b. Would only support if there was an additional road to ease the congestion in the village 6. South of Gidding Road – already approved for planning 7. East of Glebe Farm – already approved for planning

All councillors were encouraged to go online and take part in the consultation.

THE REMAINING ITEMS WERE DEFERRED TO THE NEXT MEETING ON JULY 26th 8 Request from resident for Parish Council support to stop a footpath from the new development at Glebe Farm, Gidding Road to Glebe Road going ahead – attached 9 Proposed narrowing of Green End Road using Jointly Funded Minor Improvement Grant – letter of objection from resident – attached 10 To consider holding the Understanding Planning Course (Parts 1 and 2) provided by LCPAS at a cost of £300 plus tutor mileage. 11 NOTICES & CORRESPONDENCE: 11.1 Notice of application to temporary close public footpaths 23 and 26 from 1/9/2017 to 1/9/2019 during construction of new development. The proposed diversion route will be along Gidding Road. 11.2 HDC re: land between St Andrews Way and Chapel End – confirmation that the details in the Soft Landscape management plan received on 30th March 2017 and 17th May 2017 are acceptable. The condition can be considered discharged. 12 NEXT MEETING July 26th at 7.00pm (if plans received)