Great Gransden is a parish in Cambridgeshire, in the Huntingdonshire District. This web site includes information about the Parish Council, the village facilities it manages, the date and agenda for the next meetings, the minutes of previous meetings and the policies under which it operates - please see the links below, in the menu bar above, and in the sidebar on the left. (Note: the sidebar might be hidden if you are viewing this device on a mobile device.)
Great Gransden has 7 Parish Councillors
- Andrew Pett, Giles Scott, Nick Ginn, Michael Capps,
Nigel Day and Peter King, who were returned following an uncontested
election in 2018; and James Catmur, who was co-opted later that year.
Your Parish Council always welcomes your questions, comments and suggestions. See our contact page for info on how to get in touch. And you can attend our meetings via Zoom - see below - and join in the Open Forum section of the meeting.
The Parish Council takes care to safeguard the privacy of personal data supplied to us, in whatever form. A copy of our current privacy notice can be viewed on our privacy page. Apart from formatting changes (to improve accessibility) and a change to the contact details in December 2019, the current version was last edited in May 2018, to ensure conformance with the newly-introduced GDPR legislation.
In order to improve accessibility, the site appearance was changed in December 2019, and several pages revamped. A new Accessibility Policy is being developed, and will be announced here when it has been adopted by the Parish Council.
Parish Council meetings
Meetings are normally held in the Reading Rooms. However, to comply with the rules on social distancing - and to allow those self-isolating to participate - we held our meetings online during the Covid-19 pandemic. (During the pandemic, Government regulations permitted online meetings, but the rules reverted to normal in May 2021. We used Zoom (https://zoom.us/, meeting ID 313 378 5045, passcode 941083), which allowed the Councillors and the Parish Clerk to be online together, and also allowed interested parties to watch and listen in. During open forum sessions, members of the public were able to participate.)
The agenda for a PC meeting is published at least 3 clear days in advance. For the regular monthly meetings, the clerk's report is also available to download before the meeting, with a link to it on the agenda page. Meetings are normally the 1st Monday of each month (unless that is a bank holiday, in which case the meeting is normally the following day or on the 2nd Monday); extra meetings are sometimes held to allow the parish Council to discuss an urgent matter, such as a planning application where we have to give our input before our next scheduled meeting. Gransden 2020 VisionGreat Gransden is in the process of establishing a Neighbourhood Plan (also known as a Neighbourhood Development Plan), which is an opportunity for the community to have more say in the way the village develops over the next years. The Parish Council has delegated authority to a Steering Group to oversee this work, and there is a separate website giving information about progress, and details of steering group and other meetings - see 2020vision.gransdens.org/, and their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GreatGransdenNDP
What follows is a number of posts containing information that might be of interests to parishioners, along with announcements by the Parish Council. If there are a lot of posts, they may continue onto other pages, with a link to them at the bottom of this page. Old posts about parish council meetings will be moved to the meetings page; other posts will be moved to the old posts archive before being eventually deleted - though if they are very temporary notices, for example about road closures, they may be just deleted once they are no longer of relevance.
(Some posts may contain links to other sites, but the Parish Council has no control over the contents of the referenced sites, nor their privacy and accessibility policies; please exercise reasonable caution when visiting them. Indeed, the owners of those sites may make changes that invalidate the links we have supplied, so please let us know of any problems! Likewise, any attachments to or images or quoted texts (indicated by colour and indentation) within the posts are as supplied to us and are provided here for your convenience, but the Parish Council cannot speak for the accuracy and accessibility of this information.)
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PC meeting, July 2021
Agenda for the Parish Council meeting on May 4, 2021click here to get a copy of the agenda in PDF form, and the Clerk's notes are available via this link. From Catherine Fox, Parish Clerk:
The
Next Meeting of the Parish Council will be held at 7:30 on Monday 5 July 2021 in the Reading Room with Giles Scott in the chair. Please note: To ensure that the meeting remains compliant with the current regulations, all members of the public wishing to attend are asked to confirm with the Clerk prior to the meeting. In the event of more people wishing to attend than can safely be accommodated, the meeting will be held outside. All social distancing measures will be observed. All members of the Council are hereby summoned to attend for the purposes of considering and resolving the business to be transacted at the meeting as set out below. 1. Silent Prayer. 2. Apologies for absence.
3. Declarations of Interest. (a) Councillors to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest in any items on the agenda;
(b) Councillors to declare any other interest in any items on the agenda. 4. Minutes. Consideration of the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council on 1st June 2021 and also of the Planning Committee Meeting(s) on 1st June 2021 and 21st June 2021. 5. Open Forum for 15 minutes to enable members of the public to bring any matters to the attention of the Parish Council. 6. Matters Arising. 1. Neighbourhood Plan – presentation by David Prest. 2. Bench on Caxton Road. 3. Bench on the playing field. 4. Update on co-opted vacancy.
7. Reading Room Extension. Update from Peter King. 8. Public footpath (Gransden Woods, north of sewage works). N Ginn. 9. Play Equipment and MUGA Inspections – To consider reports from ROSPA. 10. Audit of the Accounts for the y/e 31st March 2021. To consider Internal Auditor’s Report. 11. Parish Council Policies. To consider adoption of revised/edited policies. 12. Clerk’s Financial Statement. For June 2021 and Budget Review. 13. Cheques for Approval. 14. Highways. Any repairs or maintenance needed. 1. Advanced notification of Start/Stop signs in use on Eltisley Road (Highfields) for Gransden Show – Saturday 25th September 2021 15. Correspondence. 1. St Neots Museum Contribution Request. 2. Contribution Request for Bluebell-19 Benefice publication. 3. Elderberry Tree at the Bowls Club. 16. Planning. At the time of publication of the agenda, there were no planning applications requiring comment. 17. Review of Clerk’s working arrangements. (To be considered in closed session.) 18. Next Meeting Monday 5th August 2019 at 7:30pm. |
Minutes for June meetings
This post contains the minute for two meetings held on 1st June 2021. Links to PDF versions of these minutes can be found at the bottom of this post. Minutes are draft until approved at a subsequent PC meeting. Those present were: and 0 members of the public
1. The meeting was opened at 7.:30 pm with a silent prayer 2. Apologies. Due to the ongoing restrictions and the limitations on numbers allowable in the Reading Room at this time, and to avoid the need for holding the meeting outdoors or in different premises, the agenda was restricted to items needing timely consideration, and all Councillors other than the three listed above sent in their apologies in advance. 3. Declarations of Interest. There were no declarations of interest. 4. Minutes of the previous monthly meeting held on 4th May 2021 which had been circulated, were approved and will be signed accordingly by the Chairman. 5. OPEN FORUM. No members of the public had wished to attend and therefore there was no open forum session. 6. Financial Statement for May 2021. The sheet filed as Appendix No. 1 had been circulated. The statement was unanimously approved and will be signed by the chairman. Councillors also noted the budget review as at the end of May 2021. 7. Cheques for approval. The following payments were approved: Proposed Giles Scott, seconded Andrew Pett. 1. Clerk’s expenses for May 2021 £26.08 2. Buchans Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance (May) £505.27 3. Buchans Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance (June) £505.27 4. HMRC - PAYE (period ending 5th July 21) £55.40 5. The Mower Shed £120.00 6. SSE (April 2021) £115.50 7. Balfour Beatty (2019-22 Yr 2 Qtr 4) £124.20 8. Mr R McIntosh (Garden of Remembrance) £7.50 Automated Payments payable June 2021: 1. DD BT – Broadband Reading Rooms £30.16 (11th June 2021) 2. SO Caretaker Salary –June 2021 £653.58 (28th June 2021) 3. SO Clerk’s Salary – June 2021 £704.25 (28th June 2021) 8. Delegation of Power to the Planning Committee and election of Committee Chairman. In light of COVID restrictions, under section 4 of the Model Standing Orders, a planning sub-committee was convened for the purpose of considering planning applications requiring comment between Full Council Meetings. It was unanimously agreed that Giles Scott would Chair this committee. All meetings of the Sub-Committee will be conducted via remote conference unless otherwise agreed, with members of the public invited to attend. 9. Date of Next Meeting. At the time of the meeting, it was anticipated that the restrictions around COVID would have been lifted by the next meeting. This is subject to the planned change in restrictions still going ahead on the 21st June 2021. Therefore, it is planned that the Full Parish Council will return to face to face meetings for consideration of a full Agenda as of Monday 5th July 2021. The Next Meeting has been arranged for Monday 5th July 2021. This meeting closed at 19:44pm. Those present were: Giles Scott, Chairman; Andrew Pett; Parish Councillor; Nick Ginn, Vice Chairman; James Catmur, Parish Councillor; Nigel Day, Parish Councillor; Michael Capps, Parish Councillor; Peter King, Parish Councillor; Catherine Fox, Clerk; District Councillor Richard West; and 0 members of the public. 1. The meeting was opened at 8:30 pm with a silent prayer. 2. Apologies. No apologies were received. 3. Declarations of Interest. There were no declarations of interest. 4. Open Forum. There were no members of the public who wished to make comment on the planning applications for discussion. 5. Planning. 5.1. PARISH COUNCIL CONSULTATION – APPLICATION REF. 21/00964/FUL. General purpose agricultural building. 104 Meadow Road Great Gransden Sandy SG19 3BB. Councillors unanimously agreed to approve the application with no further comment noting that the proposed building was appropriate and entirely in keeping. (Proposed by Giles Scott seconded Andrew Pett) 5.2. PARISH COUNCIL CONSULTATION – APPLICATION REF. 21/01067/HHFUL. Attached car-port to dwelling. 104 Meadow Road Great Gransden Sandy SG19 3BB. Councillors unanimously agreed that the proposed car port was in keeping with the design of the premises at the existing residence and therefore recommended ‘Approval’. (Proposed Giles Scott seconded Andrew Pett) 5.3. PARISH COUNCIL CONSULTATION – APPLICATION REF. 21/01039/HHFUL. Two storey rear extension, with additional single storey rear infill extension and associated external works. 8 Middle Street Great Gransden Sandy SG19 3AD. Councillors noted the plans and the proposed movement of the gates forward. Councillors unanimously agreed to recommend ‘Approval’ of the proposed extension on the grounds that it did not significantly increase the footprint of the house within its existing plot nor did it detrimentally affect the neighbouring properties or the overall street scene. However, Councillors requested that further consideration be given to the proposed positioning of the gates; highlighting the importance of sufficient space for a car to pull in without obstructing the pavement or the Highway. 6. Next Meeting. The next ordinary meeting of the Parish Council has been arranged for Monday 5th July 2021 at 7:30 pm. |
Planning subcommittee meeting, 21 June
The following meeting announcements (from Catherine Fox, Clerk, on 25/05/2021) are also available in PDF forms using this link: Catherine Fox is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
AgendaAll members of the Planning Committee, under powers duly delegated by the full Parish Council, are hereby summoned to attend for the purposes of considering and resolving the business to be transacted at the meeting as set out below. MEMBERS: 7 QUORUM: 3 1. Silent Prayer. 2. Apologies for absence. 3. Declarations of Interest. (a) Councillors to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest in any items on the agenda; (b) Councillors to declare any other interest in any items on the agenda. 4. Open Forum for 15 minutes to enable members of the public to bring any matters to the attention of the Parish Council in relation to the planning matters below. 5. Planning. PARISH COUNCIL CONSULTATION – APPLICATION REF. 21/00850/LBC Replacement of plastic rainwater goods and soil pipe to house with cast iron, with minor alterations (two additional cast iron hoppers) to improve rainwater dispersal. 6 Church Street Great Gransden SG19 3AF 6. Next Meeting The next ordinary meeting of the Parish Council has been arranged for Monday 5th July 2021 at 7.30 pm. |
PC meeting and planning subcommittee meeting, June 2021
The following two meeting announcements (from Catherine Fox, Clerk, on 25/05/2021) are also available in PDF forms using these links: The agendas below have embedded links to the minutes and accounts that need approval, to the Zoom session for the subcommittee meeting, and to the pages on the HDC planning portal for the planning applications due for consideration at the subcommittee meeting. (amended to add:the minutes of both meetings are available in a separate post, along with links to PDF versions of the two minutes.) Parish Council MeetingThe Next Meeting of the Parish Council will be held in The Reading Room on Tuesday 1st June 2021 at 7:30pm with Giles Scott in the chair. All members of the Council are hereby summoned to attend for the purposes of considering and resolving the business to be transacted at the meeting as set out below. Please note, in order that the meeting can be conducted in line with current social distancing regulations, the agenda has been reduced to cover essential business only. Any members of the public wishing to attend are politely asked to notify the Clerk prior to the meeting. MEMBERS: 8 QUORUM: 3 1. Silent Prayer. 2. Apologies for absence. 3. Declarations of Interest. (a) Councillors to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest in any items on the agenda; (b) Councillors to declare any other interest in any items on the agenda. 4. Minutes. Consideration of the minutes of the meeting on 4th May 2021. 5. Open Forum for 15 minutes to enable members of the public to bring any matters to the attention of the Parish Council. 6. Clerk’s Financial Statement. For May 2021 and Budget Review. 7. Payments for Approval. 8. Delegation of Power to the Planning Committee and election of Committee Chairman In light of COVID restrictions, Under section 4 of the Model Standing Orders, a planning sub-committee shall be convened for the purpose of considering planning applications requiring comment between Full Council Meetings. These meetings will be conducted via remote conference with members of the public invited to attend. 9. Next Meeting: Monday 5th July 2021 at 7:30 pm. Planning subcommittee meetingThe Next Meeting of the Planning Sub Committee will be held on Tuesday 1st June 2021 at 8:30pm via remote conferencing on Zoom: Giles Scott, Chairman Please Note: Due to restrictions currently in place around COVID-19, there will be no physical meeting. Those who wish to comment on any item on the agenda are invited to join the Sub-Committee via the ‘Zoom’ App. (Meeting ID 313 378 5045. Password 941083). Councillors will not be making decisions about items not on the agenda. Any personal information given will be dealt with in line with the Parish Council's General Privacy Notice. AgendaAll members of the Planning Committee, under powers duly delegated by the full Parish Council, are hereby summoned to attend for the purposes of considering and resolving the business to be transacted at the meeting as set out below.MEMBERS: 8 QUORUM: 3 1. Silent Prayer. 2. Apologies for absence. 3. Declarations of Interest. (a) Councillors to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest in any items on the agenda; (b) Councillors to declare any other interest in any items on the agenda. 4. Open Forum for 15 minutes to enable members of the public to bring any matters to the attention of the Parish Council. 5. Planning. 1. PARISH COUNCIL CONSULTATION – APPLICATION REF. 21/00964/FUL General purpose agricultural building 104 Meadow Road Great Gransden Sandy SG19 3BB 2. PARISH COUNCIL CONSULTATION – APPLICATION REF. 21/01067/HHFUL Attached car-port to dwelling 104 Meadow Road Great Gransden Sandy SG19 3BB 3. PARISH COUNCIL CONSULTATION – APPLICATION REF. 21/01039/HHFUL Two storey rear extension, with additional single storey rear infill extension and associated external works. 8 Middle Street Great Gransden Sandy SG19 3AD 6. Next Meeting. The next ordinary meeting of the Parish Council has been arranged for Monday 5th July 2021 at 7:30 pm. |
Neighbourhood plan Steering Group meeting, May 2021
The May meeting of the NP steering group is tonight, at 7pm. You can join in via Zoom: Topic: Neighbourhood PlanTime: May 12, 2021 19:00 LondonJoin Zoom Meetinghttps://zoom.us/j/97213053449?pwd=Ty9IK0VMSytRaDMyWUNGU2ZlY3J3Zz09Meeting ID: 972 1305 3449Passcode: 0342741. Apologies 2. Declarations of Interest in the agenda of the meeting 3. Minutes of previous meeting of 31 March for approval 4. Open forum - 15 minutes for members of the public to ask questions 5. East-West Rail Link consultation James Catmur/ALL 6. Update on actions from previous minutes
10. AOB |
Vacant slot on the Parish Council
Notice of Vacancy in office of Parish Councillor on the Great Gransden Parish CouncilNotice is hereby given pursuant to section 87(2) of the Local Government Act 1972 that due to the resignation of Councillor Jeffrey Gorton there is a vacancy on the Great Gransden Parish Council. If, within 14 statutory days after the date of this notice, a request for an election to fill the vacancy is made in writing to the Returning Officer, Huntingdonshire District Council, Pathfinder House, Huntingdon PE29 3TN by ten electors of the Parish an election will be held. If no such notice is given the Parish Council will fill the vacancy by co-option.If any member of the Parish would like to be considered for co-option please contact the Parish Clerk. Dated: 10th May 2021 Signed by the Parish Clerk Address: 37 West Street, Great Gransden, Sandy, Beds, SG19 3AU |
Minutes of Annual Meeting, 2021
The minutes of the meeting follow below, and are also available in PDF form. There are also some appendices (listed below, and referenced in the text of the minutes) that are available in PDF form:
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 22nd April 2021Those present were:
1. The meeting was opened at 7.30pm with a silent prayer. 2. Apologies. There were apologies from Parish Councillors Nigel Day and Lisbeth Ricciardi. 3. Minutes of the previous Annual Parish Meeting, held on 19th April 2019 had been circulated to councillors soon afterwards and were considered at the Parish Council meeting on 13th May 2019. The minutes were then approved and accordingly initialled. At this meeting the initialled minutes of 19th April 2019 were approved and accordingly signed by the chairman. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, there was no Annual Parish meeting in 2020. However, all reports from that year are available on the website. At the invitation of the Parish Council, Rebecca Neal joined the meeting to introduce herself and her role within the Wildlife Trust at Gransden and Waresley Woods. Primarily, Ms Neal’s role will be focused on people engagement not access and management. However, it is hoped that having a named point of contact will help to alleviate communication breakdowns that have happened in the past. 4. Chairman’s Report. The Chairman spoke about the unprecedented challenges of the past year. At the start of the year in May 2020 it was agreed that all Officers of the Parish Council remain in their current roles, to ensure continuity until such time as face-to-face meetings could be resumed. With Lockdown in place at the beginning of the year, the Bluebell-19 Group were given great assistance by Councillor Catmur in setting up a database to render support to the village. During the year there have been numerous notices on Touchbase offering help and assistance to parishioners. Special thanks were made to the Basra’s and all their staff at the Village Shop for the way in which they have provided for village needs during this time The Neighbourhood Development Plan Steering Group has continued working hard throughout with monthly meetings, updates to the Parish Council and now most of the written sections of the report are available to read on the website. There is hope that by the fourth quarter of 2021 the plan should be ready to go to consultation. David Prest, the Chair of the group and Anne Constantine, the Secretary have been the driving forces but the whole group has worked hard towards its goal. A survey undertaken by the NDP Group had shown that residents were keen to see improvements to road safety within the village, improved sports and leisure facilities and better access to open spaces. It has become vital to improve road safety and to that end Councillor Scott produced a compelling application for Local Highways Improvement Funding this year. The bid made the case for priority narrowing measures for both Ladies Hill and on Middle Street. The Council is still pushing for safety signs along Meadow Road to moderate speeds. This year the Parish Council decided to raise the precept by £10,000 to allow for similar improvement measures to cope with an anticipated increase in traffic generated by the A428 upgrade and also greater usage of village facilities generated by the changes in working habits. Flooding has been a popular theme at meetings due to one of the wettest winters in the recent past and some progress has been made on drains in Middle Street, East Street and Church Street although drains in general around the village still remain a problem, with many being completely blocked. The Parish Council continues to press for a ‘village-wide’ clearing on a regular basis. During the year the long-time caretakers of the Reading Room retired necessitating the appointment of a new tenant for the cottage. Georgia Yarrow accepted the role of Caretaker at the Reading Room, effective 1st November, and signed a new tenancy agreement. The Reading Room Committee requested that the Parish Council consider resurfacing the car park to the rear of the Reading Room. However,the overall cost is outside the Parish budget at this point, although low level lighting is being considered for the future. Other improvements noted this year have been:
The number of Consultations seems to have proliferated this year, all of which are of vital importance for Great Gransden. These are:
Finally, Councillor Julie Wisson was thanked for always been extremely informative and helpful in opening doors for the Parish Council on County matters such as Highways & Drains. Councillor Richard West was thanked for attending all the Parish Council meetings and for fielding a tide of complaints about the Planning at HDC with great forbearance. His wholehearted support for this village is well documented and very much appreciated. The Chairman expressed thanks to all his fellow Parish Councillors, especially Councillor Gorton who is due to retire this year after 27 years’ service to the Parish Council. Finally, thanks were given to all other Councillors who have worked hard all year to maintain the very high standards of this Council and village, and to the Clerk for her hard work and assistance. Councillor Capps expressed his confidence and thanks to the Chairman on behalf of his fellow councillors. 5. County Councillor Julie Wisson reported that during the last 12 months, officers at all councils were deployed to pick up roles in areas that were needed in the emergency, such as contacting residents that were shielding and distributing food parcels. The service director for Education Jonathan Lewis has been praised for his role in keeping communication open with all schools in the county and interpreting government guidance for schools whilst education settings came to grips with Covid lockdowns and providing an educational setting for key workers children. The preferred route for the A428 has now been submitted in detail with plans for junctions, borrow pits and compounds to the Planning Inspectorate and is available to be seen on the PINS website. a decision from the government is expected later this year with a construction start date in 2022. There is now further clarity on the 5 route options for an east West rail link between Oxford and Cambridge and the 6 possible stations. The preferred routes are the most northern routes keeping the infrastructure in one travel corridor with the railway and the new A428, to be named A421 once opened. Later this year the county council will be moving to their new hub at Alconbury Weald named New Shire Hall away from Shire Hall in Cambridge; making the building more accessible to residents. Finally, Cllr Wisson thanked Parish councillors and District Councillor West for their continued support 6. District Councillor Richard West spoke about his roles at the district council have the role of (Chairman of the Employment Committee, and Chairman of Hinchingbrooke Country Park Joint Group working with Cambridgeshire County Council). Councillor West is also a member of the Corporate Governance Committee and member of Licensing Committee / Licensing Protection Committee. Councillor West felt that service levels at district level had been a cause for concern. However, the district council are investing in equipment and staff to reduce and improve waiting times for the telephone to be answered. The planning service have had a change of leadership and senior management. This is expected to further improve service delivery to meet the expectations of both applicants and residents. Councillor West passed on his sincere thanks to Cambridgeshire County Councillor Julie Wisson for her dedicated and balanced support during her time on the council, wishing her a very happy retirement, Similarly, Councillor West thanked Councillor Gorton for his tireless service in the best interests of village residents – also wishing him a very happy retirement. His report is filed hereafter as Appendix No. 2. 7. Financial Statement. The clerk’s summary for the year had been circulated. The summary is filed hereafter as Appendix No. 3. 8. The Poor’s Land Charity. The Chairman reported that there had been one new request this year for financial assistance with 5 villagers now receiving 5 payments per annum at a total overall cost to the Charity of £3375. Various grants had also been made to village organisations including the Tennis Club, Gransden Foxes, the PCC at the Parish Church and other Great Gransden activities. The trustees are the Chairman, Councillor Scott and Councillor Gorton who had met on 3 occasions discussing the objects of the charity and its income which is available for the benefit of Great Gransden residents. The charity has a moderate risk strategy and the trustees are guided by the charity’s financial advisor. The aim in the long term is to grow capital and maintain income. The strategy and active ongoing daily management has helped to protect the portfolio in what are unprecedented times and the recovery to date further demonstrates the necessity to remain invested through difficult times rather than to try and time the markets. Trustees have analysed the performance of the investments over the last 6 and 12 months. The portfolio has shown a strong recovery from the lows experienced immediately after the COVID 19 lockdowns in 2020 and, pleasingly, is now standing above the levels at the end of December 2019 (£455,723) prior to the pandemic. Over the 6 and 12 months to 1st April 2021, net of fees and all underlying portfolios costs, the investments increased in value by 7.1% and 21.9% respectively. The target Income yield for Poor’s Land is c2.5% with Capital Growth in addition to this, albeit the income yield has fallen somewhat below 2% given the pandemic and economic uncertainty this year. 9. The Parish Council Cemetery. Jeff Gorton presented the report that is filed as Appendix No. 4. The grass cutting within the cemetery was excellent last year. This year, the Parish Council have decided to use an alternative contractor who also services Abbotsley cemetery to a good standard. The first cut has now taken place, and all seems well. The Memorial Garden continues to be well maintained, but it will be necessary to look to replace the boundary dwarf privet hedging around the garden since numerous shrubs have succumbed to privet blight and a more sustainable shrub type may have to be substituted. The heavy rain during winter has caused flooding on the banks of the brook that divides the cemetery and the graveyard, and flotsam had blocked the watercourse in a number of places. A work party successfully cleared the obstructions so that water flow is now satisfactory. However. the rear fencing to Rectory Farm has collapsed towards the brook, and a tree on their land has also fallen and is bridging the brook. The retaining wall at the side of the brook (cemetery side) near the bridge is showing signs of breaking up, and is starting to lean. Should this collapse, it will cause a major blockage. During the next 12 months this retaining wall needs to be examined by a structural engineer, and remedial action taken. The agreement between the Parish Council and the owners of the Dole Field, to acquire a strip of land adjacent to the cemetery for a cemetery extension, has now been finalised although the additional land will not be required for a number of years. 10. Reading Room Management Committee. Peter King read out the report prepared by Anne Constantine on behalf of the Reading Room Management Committee. The report is filed as Appendix No. 5 together with the accounts. The pandemic has had a devastating effect on activity in the Reading Room. Full closure was required in the first lockdown and only childcare activity allowed in subsequent lockdowns. A full COVID risk assessment was drawn up and approved by the Management Committee in July to enable limited re-opening for Barneys Club. The Club made use of the Reading Room and the school (for different ‘bubbles’) for a short while when parents went back to their workplaces but subsequent restrictions led to a drop in numbers which made continuation unviable. In theory lettings were possible in the early autumn but numbers were limited to 14 because of the distancing rules and only one small letting took place in addition to Barneys. Hirers were obliged to sign an addendum to the hiring agreement confirming adherence to the COVID measures set out in the risk assessment. The Management Committee will consider how something similar needs to be explicit in the hire agreement itself in future. Lettings income was £4968.70 in 2020 compared to £9,236 in 2019 and £7,837 in 2018 (affected by summer closure for re-thatching). This substantial loss of lettings income was entirely due to COVID and the enforced closure of village halls and will continue into 2021. It is not known when village halls will be able to re-open or return to normal or whether the experience of COVID will have a longer-term effect on hiring. The Management Committee will devise a marketing strategy for the Reading Room and ensure that the highest standards of hygiene remain in place permanently to reassure potential users. Huntingdonshire District Council has been providing businesses forced to close with financial support for loss of income and village halls have been included in this. The Reading Room received £11,334 in support from HDC in 2020 and has already been notified of further support for 2021. 11. The Gransden Sportsfield and Recreational Association. Councillor Ginn summarised the main points taken from the minutes of the AGM of the GSRA held on 31st March 2021. These minutes along with the unaudited accounts are filed as Appendix No. 6. Currently, there is approximately £46,000 in the bank. The Committee wants to keep a reserve fund to cover 2 years’ expenditure (approx. £20,000). £10,000 has been committed to the tennis club to support the installation of a new toilet block. Approximately £5000.00 is needed for new security gate, pending finalisation of details. The remaining amount (circa £15,000) is available for other projects. Options include car park repair, field drainage, outdoor gym etc. 12. The Gransdens Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Society. In Deb Greenland’s absence, Jeff Gorton presented the report that is filed as Appendix No 7. There have been some changes to plot assignment this year as some people moved on, and new members joined. All plots are allocated at this time, and there are few people on the waiting list. It is expected that some plots (or half plots) will become available in the Summer. The Autumn 2020 Risk Assessment was conducted and, apart from the need to keep abreast of compost bin turning to disrupt vermin, things have improved. The Pest Controller from HDC was called out twice last year. There being no other business this meeting was closed at 8.19pm. |
PC Meeting, May 2021
Agenda for the Parish Council meeting on May 4, 2021click here to get a copy of the agenda in PDF form, and the Clerk's notes are available via this link. A copy of the minutes follow the agenda, or you can download a copy of the the minutes in PDF form. From Catherine Fox, Parish Clerk:
The
Next Meeting of the Parish Council will be held at 7:30 on TUESDAY 4th May 2021 via remote conferencing on Zoom (Meeting ID 313 378
5045, Password 941083 or via this link) with Andrew Pett in the chair.
Please Note: Due to restrictions currently in place around COVID-19, there will be no physical meeting. Those who wish to comment on any item on the agenda are invited to join the Parish Council via ‘Zoom’. Councillors will not be making decisions about items not on the agenda. Any personal information given will be dealt with in line with the Parish Councils General Privacy Notice, full details of which can be found on the website. All members of the Council are
hereby summoned to attend for the purposes of considering and resolving
the business to be transacted at the meeting as set out below.
1. Silent Prayer.
2. Election of Chairman. 3. Apologies for absence.
4. Declarations of Interest. (a) Councillors to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest in any items on the agenda;
(b) Councillors to declare any other interest in any items on the agenda. 5. Election of Officers.
6. Minutes. Consideration of the minutes of the meeting on 12th April 2021. and of the APM on 22 April. 7. Open Forum for 15 minutes to enable members of the public to bring any matters to the attention of the Parish Council. 8. Matters Arising.
9. Reading Room Cottage fence replacement 10. Reading Room Cottage. Insurance renewal for 2021/22 11. Parish Council Insurance for 2021/22. To consider the renewal premium and sums assured. 12. Clerk’s Financial Statement. For April 2021 and Budget Review. 13. Payments for Approval. 14. Audit of our Accounts for y/e 31st March 2021 15. Approval of the Annual Governance Statement – Section 2 2020/21. 16. Highways.
17. Correspondence. 1. Sand Road 2. Tennis Club Grant Application 18. Planning At the time of publication of the agenda, there were no planning matters for consideration. 19. Next Meeting Monday 7th June 2021 at 7.30 pm (To be confirmed)
Minutes of the Parish Meeting held on 4th May 2021Those present were:
1. The meeting was opened at 7.30 pm with a silent prayer 2. Election of
Chairman. It was proposed by Andrew Pett, seconded by Peter King and carried unanimously that Giles Scott be elected chairman. It was agreed that Giles Scott sign the appropriate Declaration of Acceptance of Office at the next meeting on 1st June. 3. Apologies. Apologies were received from Parish Councillor Michael Capps who will join the meeting later, and County Councillor Julie Wisson. 4. Declarations of Interest. There were no declarations of interest. 5. Election of Officers. 5.1. Vice Chairman. It was proposed by Nick Ginn, seconded by James Catmur and carried unanimously that Nick Ginn be elected vice chairman. The remaining officer elections were taken and unanimously agreed so that: 5.2. Nigel Day elected Cemetery Manager. (proposed Nigel Day, seconded Giles Scott). 5.3. Andrew Pett elected Playing Field Manager. (proposed Andrew Pett, seconded Jeff Gorton). 5.4. Peter King elected to the Reading Room Management Committee. (proposed Peter King, seconded Andrew Pett). 5.5. Michael Capps elected representative to the Gransden Society.(proposed Michael Capps, seconded Giles Scott). 5.6. Nick Ginn and Andrew Pett elected Sportsfield Representatives. (proposed Giles Scott, seconded James Catmur). 5.7. Michael Capps appointed Tree Warden. (proposed Michael Capps, seconded Giles Scott). 5.8. Nick Ginn elected representative to the Little Gransden Airfield Consultative Committee and also to the Gliding Club Consultative Committee. (proposed Nick Ginn, seconded Andrew Pett). 5.9. Nigel Day elected Communications Officer. (proposed Nigel Day, seconded Jeff Gorton). Councillor Gorton confirmed that he would be stepping down as a Parish Councillor following this meeting, having served 27 years. Councillors wished to thank Councillor Gorton for his contribution to the work of the Parish Council and for his dedication and tireless commitment during his time in office. 6. Minutes of the
previous monthly meeting held on 12th April 2021 had been circulated.
These minutes were approved and will be signed accordingly by the Chairman. The
minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 22nd April 2021 were
approved for recommendation to the next year’s Annual Parish Meeting and
initialled by the Chairman. 7. OPEN FORUM. The meeting was closed for twenty-one minutes. Councillor Richard West reported his ongoing frustrations with HDCs Enforcement Team’s responses to the numerous breaches of condition by the Sand Road developer. In particular, around the light pollution, blocked drain and incomplete works around the Sand Road/East Street Junction. Councillor West regretfully acknowledged that the deadline of 28 days for the developer to rectify the breach of condition 20 had passed. Councillor West has written to Ian Winfield to suggest that the drains be cleared and any costs should be charged back to the developer. At the time of the meeting, no response had been received. Councillor West reported that unfortunately, despite continuing pressure and correspondence with Andrea Dollard, there is no definitive answer as to how HDC are taking adequate enforcement action in the best interests of the residents. Councillor West reported on the East West Rail proposal, commenting that the district council were in support of Route E. A representative from County Broadband commented on the positive response from residents around the County Broadband initiative. The feedback already received had been good; with 50 per cent of the target number required to make installation viable already achieved in the first three weeks. A full presentation will be made to the village in the near future; a representative from the Parish Council will be invited to attend. 8. Matters Arising: 8.1 Neighbourhood Development Plan. Councillor Pett reported on the progress of the NDP. The steering group is now in a position to apply for the Locality grant for 21/22. Cambridgeshire ACRE support has been discussed with Rachel Hogger. COVID restrictions last year meant that only the first part of last year’s planned work was able to be carried out. The intention is to base this year’s proposal on completion of the planned support to be taken to consultation by December 2021 so that the referendum can be held in early 2022. The ACRE day rate has increased by £50 to £450, meaning that some of the input will be reduced and more of the work will be carried out by members of the steering group wherever possible. Hunts Planning will also be approached for support and advice as appropriate. 8.2 Risk Assessments. Councillor Pett confirmed that he and Councillor Scott had undertaken risk assessments on the street lights and also the seats around the village. It was noted that some of the lamp posts are leaning and some are attached to telegraph poles. Pictures will be taken at each inspection to monitor this and the Clerk will make enquiries around who is responsible should they become unsafe. The bench on Caxton Road remains in a poor state of repair, Councillor King is in the process of obtaining quotations for the replacement of 4 new slats that can be fitted to the concrete base. Once received, this quotation will be presented to the Parish Council for their consideration. It was noted that one of the metal benches in the playing field has corroded and requires attention. Clerk to make enquiries around the costs of removal and replacement. 8.3 EWR Consultation. Further to the Parish Councils request for any comments around the EWR proposal to be submitted, one has been received. It was agreed that the Clerk should draft a document that incorporates the points raised at the previous Parish Council Meeting and also those in the correspondence received. This document would then be reviewed, amended and submitted by a working group convened for this purpose only, consisting of Councillor Scott, Councillor Catmur, Councillor Ricciardi, Councillor Day and District Councillor West. 9. Reading Room Cottage Fence Replacement. The fence surrounding the tiny garden area has become dangerous. In line with requirements, attempts had been made by the Caretaker to obtain 3 quotations to replace the fence on a like-for-like basis. The one quote that was received was from Huntree Fencing for £665.00 ex VAT. In light of the concerns raised by the immediate neighbour to the property and the urgency of repair work required, Councillors unanimously agreed to approve the quotation provided agreeing that approval could be justified under section 11.1 of the financial regulations. 10. Reading Room Cottage Insurance 2021/22. Councillors considered the renewal premium and sums assured. Due to the specialist nature of the insurance policy required and in line with previous years, only one quote has been sought. The renewal premium is £495.05. This is an increase of £50.32 on last year’s premium of £444.73 and includes a mutual bonus saving of £87.35. Approval was proposed by Councillor Gorton, seconded by Councillor Scott and unanimously agreed. 11. Parish Council Insurance 2021/22. The renewal quote from Parish Protect had been circulated. This year, Parish Protect have re-tendered the Parish Protect scheme to the UK insurance market and as a result, The Military Mutual have been selected as the new Parish Service provider. Parish Protect were not able to offer a single policy that would cover the Reading room and the remainder of the Parish assets. Instead, two policies were required, one exclusively for the Reading Room (underwritten by Zurich) and a separate policy covering the remainder of the assets. The combined cost for these policies was £1784.76. A second quote had been obtained from BHIB. The premium here being £1548.15 or £1473.68 on the long-term agreement of 3 years. As in previous years, this was for one policy covering the Parish assets as well as the Reading Room. At the underwriter’s request, due to the thatched roof on the property, additional and detailed information had been provided. After due consideration, it was proposed by Councillor Pett, seconded by Councillor Scott and carried unanimously that the quote from BHIB for £1,473.68 on the 3-year undertaking be accepted. 12. Financial Statement for April 2021. The sheet filed as Appendix No. 1 had been circulated. The statement was unanimously approved and will be signed by the chairman. Councillors also noted the budget review as at the end of April 2021. 13. Cheques for approval. The following payments were approved: Proposed James Catmur, seconded Peter King.
Automated Payments payable May 2021
14. Audit of accounts for y/e 31st March 2021. The accounts for audit had been circulated to councillors and were unanimously approved (proposed by Councillor Scott and seconded by Councillor Pett). 15. Approval of the Annual Governance Statement – Section 2 2020/21. Councillors considered the Accounting Statements in Section 2, page 5 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2020/21. Approval was proposed by Councillor Gorton, seconded by Councillor Scott and unanimously agreed.Councillor Capps joined the meeting. 16. Highways. 16.1. Councillor King had met with Ian Winfield from Highways regarding the installation of additional signage on Meadow Road. A second site meeting will take place between Ian Winfield, a road safety engineer and Councillor King on May 12th where any further actions will be discussed. 16.2. The drain outside 1 Meadow Road despite being marked is still sunken and appears to be worsening. Clerk to look into this. 16.3. Concerns have been raised around the increase in the number of speeding vehicles along Caxton Road. Councillor Catmur confirmed that the Speedwatch team would be out again from Wednesday 5th May and that Caxton road was an area to be covered. 17. Correspondence. 17.1 Sand Road. Several residents had copied the Parish Council into correspondence with the HDC enforcement team around various and ongoing breaches of the planning conditions. In particular, concerns had been raised around the works on the pavement on the junction of Sand Road and East Street which appears to be less than the minimum 1.2m width stipulated in the planning conditions. The pavement is at its narrowest width at the most dangerous point despite repeated assurances that the developer would take remedial and definitive action. Councillors felt that the Parish Council should write again to the Enforcement team to express its dissatisfaction with the pavement to support and the echo the comments made by individual residents. It was sadly noted that a limited response is expected from HDC who Councillors believe have not made full and adequate use of their enforcement powers from the start. Photographs of the blocked drain caused by works undertaken by the developer had been sent to the Clerk and circulated to Councillors. It was agreed that the clerk would write to Highways to highlight the problems that this could cause to an already struggling drainage network and ask for action to be taken. 17.2 Tennis Club Grant Application. A request had been received from David Prest as representative of the Tennis Club. The letter of support from the Parish Council previously agreed needs to be slightly amended to meet the requirements of the full application. The changes required are confirmation of the right of use agreement, consent for the work to go ahead and a statement of safeguarding arrangements. Councillors unanimously agreed the proposed changes with no further comments. 18. Planning. There were no planning applications on which the Parish Council had been asked to comment. 19. Date of Next Meeting. In light of the removal of the ability to meet remotely from May 7th, and also the restrictions on meeting face to face. It was agreed that for the purpose of approving payments, the next ordinary meeting of the Parish Council would be held in the outdoor area of the Reading Room. The agenda will be reduced and all other items will be carried to the July meeting when it is anticipated that all restrictions will have been lifted. The Next Meeting has been arranged for Tuesday 1st June 2021. This meeting closed at 8:39pm. |
Annual Parish Meeting
The Annual Parish Meeting of Great Gransden Parish Council will be held online on Apr 22, 2021 at &:30pm. Zoom details are: Meeting ID: 313 378 5045 Passcode: 941083https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3133785045?pwd=MFB3UjJ6blZ6UU40ckhGbFNmOVlPZz09The agenda follows, and is also available in PDF form. - as is the financial statement up for consideration in item 7, and the minutes of the last APM (for item 3). Agenda:(Due to COVID, there was no Annual Parish Meeting in 2020) 4. Chairman’s Report. 5. County Councillor Julie Wisson 6. District Councillor Richard West. 7. Financial Statement of income and expenditure last year. 8. The Poor’s Land Charity – report by the Chairman. 9. Parish Council Cemetery – report by Jeff Gorton. 10. Reading Room Management Committee. 11. The Gransdens Sports field and Recreational Association. 12. The Gransdens Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Society. 13. Any other business. |
EAST WEST RAIL CONSULTATION
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