289

WIMPOLE PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held remotely on Monday 29th March 2021 Present: Councillors Mr I Hack –Chairman (IH), Mr J Lindsay (JL), Mrs A Herdman (AH), Mrs A Williams (AW) County Cllr Kindersley (SK) part, District Cllr Van De Weyer (AVW) part. Mrs S Walmesley (Clerk) with one Member of the Public

7.30pm PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

1 Co-option of Councillor There had been no applications to date. The vacancy would continue to be advertised. All Councillors were in attendance. There were no interests declared.

2 PUBLIC QUESTIONS ON AGENDA ITEMS AND FOR DISCUSSION AT FUTURE MEETINGS David Hassall, Wimpole Estate Manager, was in attendance. He was invited to give an update under Item 5.1.

3 TO APPROVE MINUTES OF 3.1 The Parish Council Meeting held on 25th January 2021 On a proposition by Cllr Lindsay, seconded by Cllr Herdman, the minutes as circulated were taken as read and then approved as a true record and would be signed by the Chairman when able to do so. 3.2 The Parish Council Planning Meeting held on 10th March 2021 It was noted that these minutes needed to be finalised and so would be approved at the next meeting. The Chairman referred to the meeting and planning application 21/00058/HFUL. He asked Cllr Van De Weyer to ensure the planning officers were aware of the submissions from the neighbours. Cllr Van De Weyer confirmed that the planning application had now been withdrawn.

4 MATTERS ARISING 4.1 Wimpole Estate 4.1.1 Update on letter to National Trust Mr Hassall, the Estate Manager, was invited to update Councillors on the parking situation. Mr Hassall advised that he had seen the letter sent to the regional Manager, and Head of the National Trust, and was aware that a reply was being compiled. He stated that historically vehicles had parked around the edges of the estate, and on the A603, which had steadily increased over the year. This was common across the National Trust properties in the country. He added that as lockdown lifted the parking could ease or people may now be used to walking. In relation to the parking charges Mr Hassall advised that he would be concerned over the waiving of charges due to the number of visitors to the estate and damage. The Chairman suggested that the limiting of the amount of people allowed on the estate at one time had escalated the parking problem. A discussion took place on the pre-booking arrangement which had now ceased. Mr Hassall stated that when the house and farm re- opened the capacity on the site would increase. A discussion then took place on the damage to the grass verges on the roads around the estate which were not the responsibility of the National Trust. Cllr Kindersley reported that a meeting had been held earlier in the day with Mr Hassall and the Local Highway Officer to discuss options. Signage appeared to be the best solution and examples had been forwarded to Councillors. The Local Highway Officer was to forward an estimate for the signage and Traffic Regulation Order. The Chairman suggested that a community led repair could take place on the verges. Mr Hassall offered to send his tractor driver along to see if he could help compact the soil.

Wimpole Parish Council Monday 30th March 2021

290

4.1.2 Closure of the Woodland Belts Mr Hassall was asked about the closure. He explained that the tree protection had the highest level of designation due to the roosting population of protected bats who liked to live in dead areas of trees. No tree work could take place without the permission of Natural England and this was a long process. The path was temporarily closed while this process took place. Cllr Herdman and the Chairman complimented the multi use track which had excellent feedback. Mr Hassall expressed his thanks for this as there had been a lot of negative comments before being installed. Cllr Lindsay asked for clarification on the opening times of the car park. Mr Hassall confirmed these adding that there had been an incident with a barrier which was now being redesigned. To conclude the discussion Mr Hassall was congratulated on his new job as a Farm and Countryside Manager. 4.2 Funding for Open Burial Ground -Feedback from MP Anthony Browne Following a reminder sent by the Clerk to Anthony Browne MP she had been asked to forward the details of the NALC directive to him again and he would consider raising the issue with the relevant Minister. -Clerk 4.3 Coronavirus Volunteer Group Update The Chairman reported that there were still some people receiving help in the village. He was also aware that some were still nervous about going out. 4.4 Newsletter/Bulletin As the restrictions begin to ease there should be more content available for a newsletter. 4.5 Update on Community Warden Scheme There was nothing to report. 4.6 Parish Council website –Regulations for disabled access and cessation of BTCK as host The Clerk advised that the current host BTCK was to close on the 21st May 2021. She was trying to follow up an offer from the company Chess to take over the hosting at a charge of £5.00 per month. To date she had not received a response from them. The current site did not comply with the disabled access regulations so the Clerk was meeting with a developer to find out if a new generic website could be set up and then the costs shared by multiple councils, as happens in some schools. Councillors agreed that they would prefer to keep the current website if possible as this would be the simplest option at this time. The accessibility statement on the website pointed out how the existing site could be used. The Clerk would keep Councillors updated.

5 COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REPORTS 5.1 District Council Cllr Van De Weyer had earlier advised that the owners had now submitted a planning application which was currently being validated. He had emphasised to officers how important it was to get the application dealt with as soon as possible so that the next stage could be moved to. The existence of an outstanding planning application made it harder to either obtain an injunction or enforce it. Officers though felt that once there was a planning refusal there would be a very strong case to move for an injunction, without having to wait for the outcome of any appeal, because the chances of getting consent were so low. Cllr Van De Weyer agreed that this was extremely frustrating as it was damaging residents confidence in the councils effectiveness. The level of concern by residents was completely justified. Cllr Van De Weyer then reported that South Cambridgeshire District Council had agreed their budget which would increase a band D property by £5.00 per year. There was continuing activity by the action group relating to the Thakeham proposal who were still talking about their plans now being submitted later in the year. Anthony Browne MP was very involved. There was to be public update by the action group on the 7th April 2021. 5.2 County Council Cllr Kindersley had circulated a report and contributed to the discussion on the verge parking.

Wimpole Parish Council Monday 30th March 2021

291

He advised that Councillors were to receive a briefing the following day on the East/West rail. He was pretty sure that an announcement on the options would be made later in the week. The Chairman thanked Cllr Van De Weyer and Cllr Kindersley for their reports.

6 FINANCES 6.1 To receive the financial statement and to approve the payment of bills The following invoices had been received and details circulated. On a proposition by Cllr Lindsay, seconded by Cllr Williams, the payments were agreed. HAVEN POWER Direct Debit Street light electricity January 2021(inc £0.81VAT) £17.07 HAVEN POWER Direct Debit Street light electricity February 2021(inc £0.75VAT) £15.62 INFORMATION COMMISSIONER Renewal of data protection registration £ 40.00 ORWELL PARISH COUNCIL Contribution towards Newsletter 2020/21 £696.00 MRS S WALMESLEY Clerks salary & expenses January–March 2021 £ 679.58 HMRC PAYE January –March 2021 £135.20 TOTAL £1583.47 6.2 Appointment of Internal Auditor 2020/21 It was agreed that Mrs Linda Neaves be asked to carry out the internal audit as in previous years. Clerk to arrange. -Clerk

7 HIGHWAY ISSUES 7.1 A603 Cambridge Road 7.2 Planting around gates Cllr Herdman reported that she had been investigating planters and suggested 4ft x 2ft wooden ones. Plants would be easier to maintain if kept contained in this way. The Chairman suggested that it would be a good idea to attach them to the gates for security. He offered his help making the planters if a suitable size could not be purchased. Cllr Herdman agreed to continue with her investigations. -AH 7.3 Update on Community Speedwatch Due to the current restrictions there were no checks being carried out. 7.4 LHI 2021/22 Panel Recommendation The Chairman reported that the bid submitted, for a mobile vehicle activated sign, had been successful following the recent County Council panel meeting. 7.5 Feedback from resident on Cambridge Road overgrown shrubbery Councillors were advised that the land and hedge bordering the reported property was under the ownership of the County Council. They were also advised that the environment agency was supposed to maintain the ditch. The residents expressed concern over the number of vehicles parked on the grass verges accessing the Wimpole estate, some on a dangerous bend and blocking driveways. The Clerk to report the overgrown shrubbery on the County Council website. She would also update the resident on the agreed action. -Clerk

8 VILLAGE HALL 8.1 Update on Village Hall There was nothing to report. The hall was still being used by Pre-School with French lessons being held during the school holidays. 8.2 Car Park Resurfacing The Clerk had received a response from the contractor who would be meeting with the Chairman to discuss the requirements for a quotation. The Chairman added that once the surface had been levelled with more stones the speed ramps would be installed to try and reduce the excessive movements of vehicles in the car park.

Wimpole Parish Council Monday 30th March 2021

292

9 PLANNING ISSUES 9.1 Update on 146 Cambridge Road An update was made by Cllr Van De Weyer in his report under Item 5.1. 9.2 To consider Planning Applications There were no applications for consideration.

10 AGM/ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 2021 It was still unknown when face to face meetings would resume. The current legislation to allow remote meetings expired on the 6th May 2021 but due to the restrictions still in place there were still questions which CAPALC and NALC were pursuing with the Government. It was agreed that to comply with current legislation the Parish Council AGM would be held on Tuesday 4th May 2021. Hopefully by that date further guidance would be available to help plan future meetings.

11 TO CONSIDER CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED INCLUDING; 11.1 CAPALC Membership 2021/22 Councillors agreed to continue with their membership for the next year.

12 COUNCILLORS ITEMS FOR INFORMATION AND REQUIRING THE URGENT ATTENTION OF THE CLERK 12.1 SCDC Call for Sites Survey Cllr Lindsay asked about the survey which was discussed at the January meeting. The Clerk advised that the closing date for submission of comments was the 1st March 2021. She would forward the questions again to Councillors for their information. -Clerk 12.2 Don Hollands The Chairman reported the passing of Don Hollands in January 2021. Mr Hollands was a very committed resident of Wimpole and Orwell and spent over 50 years dedicated to the village. He was Chairman of the Parish Council before Cllr Hack. A lot of residents had given some really good examples of Mr Hollands commitment. He would be greatly missed.

13 DATE OF NEXT MEETING – AGM Tuesday 4th May 2021 7pm

14 Close of Meeting There was no further business and the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9.00 pm

Signed……………………… (Chairman) on………………………..(Date)

Wimpole Parish Council Monday 30th March 2021