Draft minutes of the meeting of Boughton Parish Council on Wednesday January 20th 2010.

 

Present: Frank Reid (chairman) Peter Agate, David Cooper, Paul Coulten, Mark Pogmore, Geoff Proctor and Pam Wakeling

 

Members of the public: Sue Pogmore, Mr and Mrs J Savage, Mrs R. Proctor, Mr and Mrs A Faherty, Mrs M. Payne, Mrs P Bliss, Mr P. Youel  Mr & Mrs K.Fisher

The Chairman made a brief statement before the meeting reminding everyone of the correct procedures for speaking ie ‘through the chair’.

 

  1. There were no apologies.
  2. Minutes of the meeting of 4.11.09 were accepted as an accurate record. Prop: P.Agate, Sec: M. Pogmore
  3. Matters arising: P. Agate reported that all but one word of the inscription on the War Memorial had been deciphered and the information passed to Mr. Bill Miller. The War Memorials Trust might be able to help funding for re- cutting the inscription.  The PCC agreed to purchase a wreath for the memorial in future, it having previously been privately funded.
  4. Chairman’s report Jan 2010:

Village Christmas tree - A 20ft. tree was again provided for the village to enjoy. My thanks to all involved in obtaining, positioning and decorating the tree. There is however an electrical problem with the lights causing the timer to fail. This will need correcting for next year.

Churchyard Grass Cutting.

John Adcock has quoted for the 2010 season and has made a very modest increase of £1.00 to £34.00 Per cut. In view of John’s excellent service and quality of work over 2008 and 2009 seasons I propose to continue with his services.  (Council have agreed by email.)

Cricket Pitch & Cricket Club.

A meeting was held in early December with Alan, Rosemary and Ben Wilkinson to discuss Alan’s proposed leasing of a parcel of land to be used by the village as a Cricket pitch. The village was represented by F.Reid,

Mr &Mrs A.Faherty, and G.Proctor. A leasing agreement is being legally drawn up and initially the leasing period would be 10 years. It was agreed that a peppercorn rent would be charged, the ground would be used only for cricket and that there would be a minimum of four matches per year.  The ground has already been over seeded using the funding obtained by Paul Coulten. The ground requires some additional work to remove stones. A formal Cricket Club is currently in the process of being constituted to put things on a proper footing and to facilitate further funding. We already have three people who have expressed a willingness to tend the wicket and the possibility of an Atco Cylinder mower. Enquiries are also being made to source side screens and a pavilion. The residents living on Wretton Road have been informed of our proposals and have expressed no objection.

Ice on roads.

Following the recent very harsh weather the roads in the village not gritted by the Highways agency were extremely hazardous.This prompts me to seek Council’s opinion on the provision of a supply of salt & grit so that we can treat the rest of our roads ourselves. M.Edmonds quotes a cost of £150 per grit bin.  This topic was referred for discussion at a later date

Roads ( David Cooper): village roads are not in good condition after the recent bad weather, particularly at the corner of Wretton Road.  . Another problem remains in the flooding of Stoke Road, particularly near the entrance to the Airfield.

Dykes ( G. Proctor ):  village dykes have coped well with the recent snow and are not causing problems.

Signs ( P. Agate ) : Cavenham corner sign is now back in place thanks to the hard work of Tim and Edwina Madgwick. (thanks to PA for the recent signs advertising the Jazz concert.)

Boughton Fen: ( Mark Pogmore )

BOUGHTON FEN REPORT TO PARISH COUNCIL MEETING – 20.01.2010

 

Despite the weather, work continues on the Fen with our scrub clearance contractor progressing with his work.

We still have the last of the reed to remove from the middle fen, having been defeated by the weather.  We hope to clear this soon, as the snow appears to have gone, for the moment at least.

Members of the committee explored some possible routes for a fen pathway and established the general areas for grazing on Sunday 8th November 2009.

The fencing submission is almost complete; hopefully we will be able to formally apply by the end of February.

We shall be holding further working parties on Sunday 21st February and Sunday 14th March, along with possible reed clearing sessions when the weather allows.

Mink have been seen in Stringside drain, which is not good news, but luck has gone along with us as, more recently, we have had definite sightings of otters in the drain.  This is very positive on two counts – firstly, we can say we have otters visiting the fen, and secondly, they are dominant over the mink, which now appear to have moved on.

For once, apart from the fencing submission, we are not troubled by too much paperwork at the moment.  Our next payment under the HLS scheme is due next month, and we will apply for more from the HLS capital budget after our scrub contractor has completed his work.

The fen committee IT department (namely  Kevin) is looking into the possibility of installing a webcam in a bird box as one of the projects suggested by our young parishioners, to be funded by their ‘Forward to the Future’ prize money.

It is with regret that I have to report the death of Ian Fox, one of the two butterfly and dragonfly surveyors, who had reported their findings to us for the past couple of years.

Finally, there have been a number of sightings of a big pussy cat – a melanistic leopard – or black panther to most of us.  Will anyone get a photo?

Mark Pogmore

20.01.2010            Fen Committee accounts ( available from A. Faherty) balance £5227, expenditure approx. £6000 – mostly scrub clearing.

 

  1. Treasurer’s Report: Reserve account £3363, which includes money set aside for the playground.  Current account £1077.   The Budget for 2010/2011 had been circulated. An increase in the precept of £150 per annum was agreed, to be supported by moving money from the reserve account so that a realistic increase would be staged over two years. (prop. FR sec. PA.) The Council is committed to raising the precept next year to a level which accurately covers the upkeep of the village, with  any improvements to come from the  Reserve account
  2. Parish Land: the issue has been to the adjudicator and the outcome is awaited.
  3. Phone Box: the Council had expressed its views to BT. It wishes to maintain the status quo. Outcome awaited.
  4. Community Speedwatch: All submitted applications had been approved and a date for training would be arranged.
  5. Planning: no applications had been submitted by the time of this meeting. The Clerk was to attend a seminar on planning on the 21st January and would report back.
  6. Church chairs and tables: So far the PC has   given£169 towards the cost and had agreed to donate up to £500 or 50% of total costs whichever is the smaller figure.
  7. Correspondence: BCKLWN had requested a copy of the parish magazine to monitor events.  Grass seed donation/ grant not yet received. Notices re planning and procedure for registering complaints.
  8. Date of the next meeting and AGM: Friday 7th May
  9. AGM agenda to include review of pond risk assessment notice
  10. Comments and questions: in response to a question from Kevin Fisher it was agreed that the Pond Risk Assessment should be published on the website.