Parish Council Reports July 2010
Southorpe Parish Council
The AGM and Annual meeting of the Southorpe Parish Council took place on Monday 17 May following a Parish Council meeting. All Councillors, the Clerk and one members of the public were present.
Mrs Sue Joy had kindly volunteered to stand as a Parish Councillor and was co-opted during the Parish Council meeting.
The Chairman, Nick Lodge, gave a report on the year. The year had been relatively quiet with fewer planning applications than in recent years, the one topic that had kept the council busy this year was the continuing issue of cars speeding in the villages. Having had several speed surveys, it was now clear that the main area of concern was the southern end of the village; this has been acknowledged by PCC. After numerous discussions with the Road and Traffic Department in Peterborough it has finally been agreed to reinstate the red 30mph bands at the ends of the village and also to look into installing warning rumble strips, both these measures should reinforce to drivers that they are entering a 30 mph zone. With regard to the future consideration of vehicle activated signs, PCC were shortly to commence on drafting a policy on their future use as to where they were likely to achieve a positive outcome. Any consideration of such signs for Southorpe would be considered by PCC in line with that policy.
A further £500 had been received from PCC’s Community Fund for environmental projects; Councillors had in the latter half of the year pursued the possibility of funding a pond in the village, this was still being discussed.
Helene Carr had to resign as a Councillor during the year due to work pressures and the Chairman took the opportunity to thank her for all her hard work. He also thanked his fellow councillors for their hard work and commitment and the Clerk for keeping the council running smoothly.
The Entertainments Secretary gave a report; the bonfire party had been a great success again. The Financial Officer presented the financial statement for the year.
A resident raised the issue of fly tipping around the village, the Chairman agreed that there did now seem to be more general littering and fly tipping; he noted that the problem may continue to increase as he understood that Peterborough City Council were no longer providing a free collection for bulk household rubbish. Any incidents noted would be reported to the Fix-it-Van team.
The next meeting is Mon 13 Sept at 7.30 pm at Rosemead. All residents are welcome.
Report on Ufford Parish Council meetings on 8.6.10 and 18.6 10
1. Dog Mess Further complaints have been received about this problem and Ufford was described, by one resident, as the worst village in the district for dog mess. Dog owners are again reminded that it is their responsibility to clean up after their dogs. It is an offence to allow dogs to foul village verges, footways and roads. There are reminders all over the village that the City Council will not hesitate to fine offenders. Dog mess carries a health risk especially to children, it looks unsightly and none of like to walk in it, so dog owners are also asked to remove it from rural footpaths as well. Whenever and wherever you are out with your dog, remember to put a plastic bag in your pocket. The rule is BAG IT AND BIN IT.
2. Village Walls Our hopes were raised last year when we were invited to take part in a programme for training young unemployed people in rural skills, stone wall building in particular. We identified the walls on Walcot Road and Bainton Road but unfortunately the young people have been trained, the stone from the walls in question have been used in the village but out of public view, and our roadside walls have been left in a worse condition than they were before. We are informed that there will probably be another similar scheme next year!
3. Barnack Ward Fund £500 has again been transferred into the UPC bank account for us to plant more trees, hedges and bulbs in 2010-11. Let us know if you have any suggestions.
4. Speed activated lights A contribution of £4000 towards the cost of lights has been agreed with the Barnack Ward fund and UPC hopes to carry this proposal forward.
5. The next meeting is Tuesday July 13th at 7.30 at Ufford village Hall. All welcome.
Barnack Parish Council
Barnack Parish Council met on Mon 14 June when Mr Simon Machin, head of Planning at Peterborough C C was the guest speaker.
Mr Machen explained his role within the City Council and the many changes that have taken place to re-structure the planning department. Mr Machen explained the brown field land issues, which will take approximately 2 years to fully implement, with new policies having to be written. He confirmed that Parish Councils do not have any weight with the planning department, but their views are important. A conservation team will be creating a Supplementary Planning Document, and will use the Village Design Statements as one of the documents to create it. The Community Leadership Report was presented. Stan Pywell from the Welland Drainage Board has been consulted to discuss the ditches for which they were responsible, so that these could become environmental areas providing a rich habitat for wildlife. Bee Hotels are available and would be on display at Barnack Church Fete, the Bainton Family Day and the Horticultural Show. A minimum donation of £3 would be requested.
eter Tebb has reaffirmed that the B1443 Weight Limit would become a permanent..Andy Totten from Bainton would be asked to contact all the volunteers in every village to allocate a week per village in turn for the Speed Watch board. David Over reported that each of the five villages in his ward should have received an application form from the treasurer’s department for a £500 environmental grant for 2010/11 from the Community Leadership budget. Projects for 2010/11 included speed signs for Ufford, Helpston, Southorpe and Barnack. A suggestion was made to rename the group, which could become the Barnack Ward Group. This will discussed at the next meeting. The next meeting of the Community Leadership Group would be held at 7.00 pm on Thursday 22 July at The Old Mill House, Barnack when the agenda would include: Renaming of the Community Leadership Group to the Barnack Ward Group, Conservation Aims and Objectives and Finger post signs.
PC McCallum then reported that the Chief Constable, Julie Spence will be leave in September 2010 and will be replaced by Simon Parr. Inspector Glazebrook has been relocated to Bridge Street, and Inspector Louise Angel has commenced at Bretton. The streetlight outside 2 Kingsley Close will be reported for repair. Trees overhanging on the corner of Bishops Walk and Canon Drive and in the Rectory garden overhanging the footpath and an overhanging rose bush on Main Street with be addressed by highways. The meeting was closed so that the parish council could discuss informally the progress of work on the Airey House site. Next meeting of Barnack Parish Council will be at 7.30 pm Mon 12 July..