Election of Chair: The Clerk explained that at short notice Mrs. Watkin was unable to chair this meeting. It was unanimously agreed that Mr. Vanbergen should stand in as Chair in her absence.

Open Forum:
Mrs. Key of 2, Great North Road complained about the behaviour of the children on the pathway leading from the Great North Road to the housing complex behind her property. The Clerk had already requested closure of this path and said she would contact Cambs. County Council again to see what progress had been made. She would also alert the PCSO’s of this problem area. Mr Deller enquired about the grass cutting in Field Close. Clerk explained that she had spoken to HDC and that this area was now on their rota. He remarked upon the improvement to the seat at the bottom of Field Close. Mr. Stock enquired about the progress of repair to the village sign. Clerk had again spoken to London House Signs who had inspected the damage and would be removing the sign in due course for renovation.1.

Mark Brown
Mark Brown, the newly appointed Parish Councillor, was welcomed to the Council and his Declaration of Acceptance of Office was duly signed.

1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from Mrs Watkin.

2. Minutes
The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 25th May 2004 were approved and signed.

3. Committee Reports
i. Infrastructure Report
Churchyard: The Churchyard was looking very tidy.

ii. Village Green: Fergusons have been requested to cut further along the green on both sides of the flyover approaching Lordsway Park.

iii. General: The Clerk reported that Polecat Lane had been patched and the signs replaced. Three seats in the village had been renovated and the site of the Old Memorial Hall and the path leading from Bell Lane had been sprayed for weeds. The hedge along the path behind Coulson Way had been trimmed. A tree had been felled along the Great North Road which looked to be in a dangerous condition after high winds. HDC are looking into the request for a new waste bin in Manor Lane. The footpaths in Manor Lane will be resurfaced during the school holidays; anticipated start date 2nd August. Mr Dawson reported holes in the fence outside numbers 20/22 the Paddock. Clerk to action. Clerk reported that she had received a quote for £450 + VAT for cleaning up the bus shelter which included re-galvanizing the seat. HDC were unable to do any more to help. However, through S.G.S. Welding Limited she had found a degreaser which would clean up the seat. It was agreed to employ someone to carry out this cleaning using this product.

iv. Planning:
New Applications:
0401602FUL – Change of use of part of car park, Alconbury Mill PH to part of garden, 3 Mill Road. This application was discussed at some length. Members of the public present were permitted to contribute to the discussion. It was agreed there was no reason to recommend refusal of this application, but the Parish Council wished to express their concern about the resulting creation of a land-locked area and whether the remaining P.H. car park would accommodate 20 vehicles as indicated.
0401677S73 – Renewal of permission for erection of garage and workshop – 7, the Maltings. No observations.
0401481FUL – Extension to Office Building – Admiral Conservatories. No observations.
0401763LBC – Erection of replacement garage/workshop 7, The Maltings. No observations.
0401709FUL – Change of use of land from agricultural to car part – Murketts Accident & Repair – Rusts Lane – No observations.
0401751FUL – Use of buildings for training purposes Alconbury Airfield – Police Shrievalty Trust – No observations.

v. Bramble End Playground
The Clerk together with Mr, Lane had inspected the playground as a result of the annual ROSPA inspection report. It had been agreed to arrange to cut back the hedge along the edge of the field and to arrange for the School to trim their fence. The Clerk had already requested that the waste bin be included on the collection rota with HDC. The play area was discussed at some length and it was agreed that it would shortly be in need of refurbishment/replacement but that no decision should be made regarding this until the results were known of the Parish Plan. In the meantime, Clerk to investigate any potential grants available for this type of project.

4. Matters Arising
i. Notices for ASSC Playing Field: Clerk reported that details had been received from the Sports & Social Club concerning the notices required for the playing field which the Parish Council had agreed to fund. She would source a supply and report back.

ii. The Village Fete: Clerk suggested that a working party be formed to co-ordinate the Parish Council display at the village fete on 17th July. Display would also include information on the Parish Plan and the Youth Group. It was agreed that Mr Dawson, Mrs Adams, Mrs Dyer Mr Brown and the Clerk should form the working party and the first meeting was arranged for 8th July. Clerk reported that Mrs Watkin would join the meeting if the date was convenient. Mr Vanbergen was willing to help but unable to attend the meeting.

5. Correspondence (A list of all correspondence had been circulated)
i. The Charity Commission – Old Memorial Hall: Mr Vanbergen reported that notification had been received from The Charity Commission to the effect that the proposed Scheme currently under consideration should be abandoned. Accordingly, all the newly appointed Trustees had been advised that their services would no longer be required. There was now no dispute that any potential funds should go to the New Memorial Hall. The remaining question was how this should be carried out legally. The Charity Commission had requested a resume of how the current situation had arisen, which had subsequently been supplied by Mrs. Watkin. A reply on the way forward was awaited from the Charity Commission.

ii Parking in Sharpes Lane: A complaint had been received about cars parking in Sharpes Lane. It was agreed that as there were no parking restrictions in this area, the Parish Council were unable to stop residents parking outside their homes. Clerk to check that the hedge on the opposite side of the road was not making the situation any worse.

iii Letter of Complaint – Noise from the New Memorial Hall. A letter of complaint had been received from a resident in The Paddock about noise from The New Memorial Hall. The letter had been acknowledged by the Clerk and copied to the New Memorial Hall Committee for action.

iv Teenage Party in the New Memorial Hall: Mr Dawson reported on problems that had arisen from an unsupervised teenage party in the New Memorial Hall on Friday 25th June when a huge amount of extra cleaning had been required before the Parish Plan exhibition the following day. Mr Vanbergen would bring this to the attention of the Committee at the next meeting.

v. Requests for Use of the Village Green: A request had been received from the Cubs to use the village green for a sponsored event on 12th July, and one from the Scouts to hold a camp fire evening on 19th July. The Parish Council agreed to both events. Clerk to respond accordingly.

vi. Map: A provisional map of open country and registered common land in the Parish had been received. Letter informing the public that they may inspect the map had been placed on the notice board. It was suggested the map might be framed/laminated.

v. Parish Plans Conference Day (7th July): Details passed to Mr. Scotney.

vi. Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Structure Plan: Passed to Mrs. Dix for information.

vii Cambridgeshire Police Authority Information had been circulated to Councillors. To be returned to Clerk for reply.

viii Winged Fellowship Trust: A request for financial aid to support breaks for disabled people and carers had been received. After some discussion it was agreed to donate £50. Clerk to action

ix Local Government Revenue Support Grant: Councillor Downes reported that information would shortly be circulated concerning CCC’s Support Grant for next year. He urged the Parish Council to support CCC by writing to the Minister of State For Local and Regional Government when they have had a chance to review the information.

6. Responsible Finance Officer’s Report
i. The Annual Report had been completed by the Clerk and the Internal Auditor and now had to be agreed by Councillors and sent to the External Auditors for 1st July. The report was inspected by Mr. Vanbergen and duly agreed by all Councillors. Clerk to send to Moore Stephens.

ii. Payment of Accounts:
The following cheques were presented for payment:
Clerk’s Salary June (32 hours) - £241.60
Methodist Chapel – room hire - £6.00
D. Scotney Parish Plan collection boxes - £104.58
University of Gloucester – Village Appraisal for Windows (Parish Plan) - £75.00
A.C. Green – Smallwork Services – benches/weed killing – £250
Grafton Projects – stationery - £3.73
D. Scotney – photocopying (Parish Plan) - £1.80
Lodge Printers – Parish Plan Flyers - £280.00
G. Dawson – refreshment costs Parish Plan Open Day - £44.63

The Clerk explained that with the above payments, the £333 which had been guaranteed to the Parish Plan Steering Group had now been exceeded by £173.01, but as the Grant had not yet been received, it was proposed that this money be paid by the Parish Council. This was agreed. The cheque account at the Nationwide Building Society could not be opened until the grant was received as there was a minimum of £5000 required. Payments were proposed by Mrs Adams and seconded by Mrs Dix.

iii. Free Balances: Clerk reported free balances at Deposit Acct. £21,410.47 and Current Acct. £7080.76.

7. Representative Reports
i. The New Memorial Hall
Mr Vanbergen reported that the last Committee Meeting had not been held on the planned date. Mr Robertson was asked for the latest situation and he informed the meeting that the next planned date was the 30th June 04. Mr Vanbergen had not been aware of this.

ii The Parish Plan
Mr Dawson reported on the very successful Open Day held on 26th June when approx. 100 people had attended. It was agreed there had been an excellent display. It was planned to use part of the display at the village fete on the Parish Council stand. The topics about which most people seemed to be concerned (at this early stage) were dog fouling and vandalism. People were generally pleased with the cleanliness of the village. Out of 720 flyers, so far 113 had been returned. A full analysis would be available at the next Parish Council meeting. The next meeting of the Steering Group was planned for 12th July. The Clerk said she had received an e-mail from the Countryside Agency asking for more details on the Grant Form. This had already been passed to the Treasurer and the Chair.

iii The Youth Group
Mrs Adams reported that no contact had yet been made by the youth workers. This was being pursued by Sharon McCrorie. It was expected that the Group would have to wait approx. 3 more weeks until they heard about their grant application. Mr. Murphy was to see the Headmistress at the school to keep her informed of the situation with youth workers visiting the village. They were trying to get some young people onto the Committee. Information on the Youth Group would be made available to the public at the village fete on the Parish Council stand. They hoped to get three new members onto the Committee. It was agreed that Mr Brown should attend the next meeting on 20th July as a Parish Council representative. It was hoped youth workers may also be able to give a short presentation to the Parish Council at their next meeting.

iv CALC
Mrs Dyer reported on the CALC Meeting held on 16th June when there had been a presentation by Derek Holley. Planning within the District/Parish had been discussed at some length and all were of the opinion that the planning process should remain under the jurisdiction of the District Council Potential planning for housing along the A1, M11, A14 could have implications for Alconbury and the Parish Council should be alert to any such developments. Quality Status for PC’s had been discussed and various responsibilities that may be taken over such as grass cutting. The AGM had also taken place when new officials had been appointed. It had been reported that the number of clients at Huntingdon’s Citizen Advice Bureau had risen by 7%. CCC has stopped its tree/hedge planting scheme but this facility was still available from HDC. Traffic calming was discussed and it was agreed that one of the best sources of funding was through the Safer Routes to School Scheme.

v. RAF Molesworth
Mrs Dyer reported that all new personnel and their families were now being briefed to use the Alconbury by-pass and this was also mentioned in the monthly bulletin sent out by the Community Relations Advisor. There seemed to be little else that could be done to improve the amount of American traffic passing through the village, but she would continue to monitor the problem.

8. Date of Next Meeting:
Due to holidays, the next meeting would be held on Tuesday 20th July 2004 at 7.45pm in The New Memorial Hall and it was proposed that the following meeting should then be held on 14th September 2004.

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