Present:
Mrs Aylott (Chair), Mrs Adams, Mrs Elphick, Mr Hardy, Mrs Hathaway, Mr Lay, Mr Pickering and Mr Sale and Mr Watson, County Councillor Peter Brown, District Councillor Keith Baker, Mrs Lancey (Clerk), 1 member of the public.

Public Forum
Mr Hodgson asked the Parish Council to record that in the minutes of the meeting held on 26th May it had been stated that he 'had complained that an event held by his daughter's company had not been advertised in the recent Newsletter' when in fact he had only enquired why this had happened. Clerk agreed to record this change.

Mr Hodgson complained that the July Newsletter had been delivered too late and many of the events published in it had already taken place. The Parish Council apologised for the late delivery which had been partly due to printing problems.

Mr Hodgson asked why other flood alleviation schemes in the country, especially in London, could apparently receive funding for measures such as spillways, when Alconbury was receiving no funding at all, and he considered that the local MP should be asked to put pressure on the Environment Agency to rectify this problem. Mr Pickering explained that the benefits in Alconbury did not out-weigh the costs of the preferred main scheme and this was why it was not going ahead. Jonathan Djanogly MP had already been copied with all correspondence relating to flood matters in the village. The funding for individual properties was independent of the main scheme and HDC had applied for this funding from DEFRA on behalf of Alconbury. Unfortunately they had not been successful in the first bidding round but would be making a further application in the second bidding round later this year.

Mr Hodgson was concerned that the new chicane traffic calming measure in Little Stukeley, which he considered were a condition of the original planning application for the airbase, would increase the amount of HGVs coming into Alconbury. He thought that automatic barriers were also part of the original application and wanted to know when they might be installed. District Councillor Keith Baker agreed to look into any further traffic calming measures that might be planned for The Stukeleys.

44. Apologies for Absence
Apologies received from Mr Senior, Mrs Williams and County Councillor Laine Kadic.

45. Councillors' Declaration of Interest for items on the Agenda
None declared.

46. To sign and approve minutes of previous meeting held on 30th June 2009.
Minutes proposed by Mrs Hathaway and seconded by Mr Lay. Minutes duly approved and signed.

47. Truckstop - update from Clerk
PCSO Gemma Clark had visited Truckstop. As much as possible was being done to stop vehicles parking off site. Highways had also been contacted to see if they could help. She would report back. More facilities were due to open within the next month which included a Subway sandwich shop, two restaurants and a further shop. Councillor Baker reported that the owners had wanted to open a hotel on the site but that the present building was not suitable. As requested the Clerk had supplied the owners with various suggestions for other facilities on the site. Directional road signs would be re-instated.

48. Provision of Allotments - Mr Sale/Mrs Aylott
Mrs Aylott reported that an offer had been received from Mr and Mrs Ayres to lease three and a half acres of land for the use of allotments. Councillors had been made aware of the details. The lease would be for 15 years and the rent would be reviewed every 3 years. It was unanimously agreed to accept the offer from Mr & Mrs Ayres. A basic draft rental agreement had been obtained from Karen Kenny. Initially, the Parish Council would hold the head lease and would rent the plots to the tenants. After a year, a devolved management agreement could be negotiated and the site could be leased by the Parish Council to the Alconbury Allotment Association, who would manage the site. Clerk to contact Mr & Mrs Ayres accepting their offer, and a Solicitor with a view to drawing up the required leasing documents. Clerk reported that a meeting was planned for 29th July (on site) with CCC Definitive Map Officer to discuss the re-routing of the public footpath which crossed the allotment site. A representative from the Association would also attend.

49. The Horse Chestnut Tree - Village Green
The large tree on the corner of the village green between the heritage bridge and the bus stop had been felled on 24th July. There had been some concern that distributing logs to residents might help to spread the bleeding canker disease, but the advice from the tree surgeon was to go ahead with these plans and that the risk was minimal. The logs had been collected by residents within a matter of hours of the tree being felled. The tree would be replaced in the Autumn, possibly with a plane tree.

50. The Youth Group
Door money from the June and July meetings (£192.65) had been banked. The next meeting would be held on 7th August. Funds for the ball park had been collected at a car wash and at the village fete.

51. The Bi-monthly Newsletter
The first draft for the September issue was due on 10th August. Ideas for the next issue were the allotments, the Eagle Scout project, the Village Affair and the Jointly Funded Minor Improvement Scheme bid.

52. Neighbourhood Watch - The Village Affair
Mrs Aylott reported that the Village Affair had been very successful with a sum of approx. £800 raised by Neighbourhood Watch. The attendance had increased from last year. Ideas on what the funds could be spent on were discussed; a map of the village placed in Maypole Square was considered a possibility. Mrs Aylott to discuss with Neighbourhood Watch.

53. The Alconbury Sports & Social Club - Mr Watson
The Charity Cricket Match had been very successful. Mr Senior had declared his attendance to HDC as a registration of gifts and hospitality. There had been an accident on the play equipment on the day of the match. The Eagle Scout community project carried out by Zach Perdomo at the bottom of the sports field was complete. The perimeter fence had been cleared and three benches erected with some plants. The ASSC were very pleased with the project and the Clerk had written a letter of thanks to Zach on behalf of both the ASSC and the Parish Council. Mrs Elphick enquired what would be done with the rough area alongside the brook at the bottom of the field which had originally been intended as a Community Orchard. Mr Watson to report back. Community Orchard to be an agenda item for August. Mr Watson to contact HDC re. provision of trees around the new facilities.

54. Jointly Funded Minor Improvement Scheme - 2010/2011
Mr Lay would have a draft copy by the end of July which would be circulated to all. Submission date was 21st August 2009.

55. The Clerk's Annual Appraisal and Salary (Clerk left the meeting)
The Clerk’s appraisal had taken place earlier in the month and was discussed. It was unanimously agreed that the Clerk performed her duties conscientiously and professionally and therefore it was appropriate to increase her salary by one increment to Spinal Column Point 26. The Council was concerned that the Clerk regularly exceeded her 48 hours per month and after discussion it was unanimously agreed that these should be increased to 56 per month. On her return to the meeting, the Clerk was thanked for her services to the Council.

56. Committee Reports
(a) Clerk's Infrastructure Report
Churchyard: nothing to report

Village Green: It was noted that there were no 'kick boards' on the bottom of the footbridge at the ford end of the village. Clerk to make enquiries.

General: Hedge was still in need of cutting outside empty property at the bottom of The Maltings. Clerk to organise. Maintenance of the footpath running behind Coulson Way continued to be a problem. Clerk to inspect with the Definitive Map Officer on 29th July and report back.

The area at the bottom of Polecat Lane/The Maltings was very unkempt. Clerk to contact HDC and the Environment Agency. The overflow channel along this area was also completely overgrown and blocked. Clerk to contact the Environment Agency. The hedge along the High Street opposite the bus shelter needed to be straightened up as the path was very narrow at this point. Clerk to contact resident. Mr Pickering complained of branches obstructing the footpath in Manor Lane. Clerk to contact resident.

(b) Planning Applications Received
0900484FUL - Erection of single storey extension - 20 Maple End - No observations.

Planning Applications Determined by HDC Planning: None

(c) Bramble End - Monthly inspection: Carried out by Mr Watson. Nothing to report. A quotation to fill in the gaps at the edges of the wet pour had been received in the sum of £735. Clerk to investigate whether temporary repairs could be effected with a view to adding these permanent repair costs to the grant being applied for to enhance the whole area.

Bramble End - Re-development:
Mr Watson reported that the allotted case officer for the bid was in general terms happy with the submission but had some concerns about the level of consultation undertaken with children. It was agreed that the Youth Group meeting on 4th September and the Family Fun Day on 30th August might be used to carry out further consultation. If this could be done, the application would go before the Board in November. The case officer had also requested that the Parish Council should look to the District Council for some funding. Clerk to contact John Craig accordingly.

57. Correspondence
Information of training for Orchard Courses - not considered relevant at this point in time.
The Publications Scheme - suggested costs had been received from HDC and the Scheme had been forwarded for publication on the Parish Council website.
Information from Cambridgeshire County Council concerning swine flu - A number of Antivirul Collection Centres are to be set up and volunteers are required to work in these centres alongside staff from the County Council.

58. Responsible Finance Officer's Report
Cheques for signature:
Pipex Internet June 09 (paid by D/D) - £14.67
Demon Webhosting July 09 (paid by D/D) - £11.50
Grafton Projects - Newsletter - £119.07
Alan Summerfield - grass cutting £3,105.00
Mrs Aylott ‚Äì plants for Maypole Square - £19.47
H M Revenue & Customs - NI/PAYE £257.35
Clerk's Salary July 09 - £419.21
Petty Cash Top Up - £25.77

Payments were proposed by Mr Lay and seconded by Mr Sale.

Cleared Balances:
C/A £1269.42 D/A £37,438.36 Youth Group C/A £846.19

59. Date of Next Meeting
25th August 2009 at 7.30pm in the Memorial Hall

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