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FOXTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Monday 20th April 2015 at 7.30 pm

Note: These are DRAFT minutes and have not yet been approved by the Parish Council

Present – Dr Nigel Oakley, Colin Grindley, Geoffrey Barnes, Rachael Macintyre, Ron McCreery, Christine McFadzean, Liam Elliott, Malcolm Bore, Peter Sutton, District Councillor Deborah Roberts and County Councillor Susan van de Ven. There were thirteen members of the public present.

1 Chairman’s Introduction – by Nigel Oakley

Welcome to the Annual Parish Meeting. The Parish Council continues to work on your behalf to keep our village a safe, pleasant and desirable place to live. The last half of the year has been dominated by the application by Gladman for a development of land off Shepreth Road. This will be reported on separately but it is fair to say it has overshadowed other village issues lately.

In better news, contracts have been exchanged as regards the purchase of land by the District Council at the end of Fowlmere Road to enable the construction of social housing. Work should begin on the site very soon. Also the iconic telephone box in Fowlmere Road has been removed, restored and re-sited in the High Street by David Salmons. What a splendid job he has done and it is planned that the box will be used as a village information point for residents and visitors alike. This work was made possible by grants not only from the Parish Council but also from individuals and the Gardens Association. The Gardens Association is also responsible for the improved look of the War Memorial and of course the splendid display of daffodils which grow year by year. We are very much blessed in this village by such voluntary bodies, which work alongside the Parish Council to make the village such a wonderful place to live.

The reports that follow are an overview of the activities of the Parish Council over the year along with those from other village groups and our District and County councillors. Please feel free to ask questions at the end of each report.

2 Apologies for absence – None

3 Minutes of the Meeting held on 29th April 2014 – Approved and signed. Proposed NO, seconded CG.

4 Report on the Proposed Development off Shepreth Road – Nigel Oakley reported:

In November of last year we were stunned to receive notice that an application was in the process of being out forward to put 140 houses on land off Shepreth Road owned by Mr Tony Shelford. The developers, Gladman, well known for their speculative planning application, were behind the application. The Council reacted very quickly and within 2 weeks had called a public meeting, undertaken a survey of all households and employed a planning consultant. It was obvious from the survey and the public meeting that the vast majority of Foxton residents were against the proposed development. Subsequent to this the actual application from Gladman was put

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forward to South Cambs District Council with a reduced housing number of 95. That this was still unacceptable to residents was borne out by a second survey where over 96% of residents were against the development on a greater than 50% turnout. This gave the Parish Council the mandate it needed to oppose the application. Therefore, following discussions and expert advice from our consultant objections were raised to the application based on the environmental impact, the effect on the village setting and local infrastructure and health and educational services as well as the effect on the setting of Foxton House which is a listed building.

The application will be considered at the District Council’s planning committee meeting on May 13th and it is encouraging that the DIstrict Council planning officers are recommending rejection on the same grounds raised by the Parish Council. It is unlikely, although it cannot be ruled out, that the District Council Planning Committee will vote against the advice of its officers.

What happens after May 13th? If, as we hope and expect, the planning application is turned down by South Cambs then it is likely, although not necessarily a given, that Gladman will appeal the decision. This appeal will likely to be based on primarily the lack of South Cambs not having a clear 5 year housing supply outlined in its Local Plan. This Local Plan is itself under review by a planning inspector who is likely to report by the end of the year. If she decides that either South Cambs local plan alone or combined with Cambridge City’s plan can show a 5 year housing supply any appeal by Gladman will fail. If any appeal by Gladman is heard before this report is issued then it will be decided under existing planning regulations and the National Planning Policy Framework and there will be a less definite outcome. The Parish Council have already done all it can to oppose this application and, with the aid of our planning consultant to represent us a both the initial application hearing and at any subsequent appeal hearing, will continue to do so.

A member of the public asked if any action could be taken against these plans. Nigel Oakley said he would encourage the owners of Foxton House and any available members of the public to attend the meeting. Deborah Roberts said she had contacted Philip Kratz, who was ideally placed to help support their case, as he used to be a senior legal officer for the Planning Committee. Peter Sutton asked if the application would definitely be heard on 13th May 2015, and was told that it is now on the website. Members of the public can turn up on the day and sit in the public place in the Council Chamber or on the mezzanine floor.

5 District Councillors Report – Deborah Roberts said she had been on four committees and the full council and had a100% attendance record. She had been asked to participate as a panel leader on the Licensing Committee, where any decision could be challenged in the courts, so it was important to get it right. She said she found the Planning Committee particularly challenging and has to do a lot of work. She is legally obliged to retrain every year on planning criteria.

Councillor Roberts said money is getting very tight in South Cambridgeshire and each application has to be looked at very carefully. The District Council is run in a different manner to the City Council, which appears to be taking money from people and giving little in return apart from refuse collection, and even that is being reduced.

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She thanked members of the Parish Council for all their help and support over the years and wished them all the best for the future. She was particularly sorry to see the Chairman, Nigel Oakley go, whom she said had done an excellent job. Councillor Roberts said the application for 95 houses from Gladman had been recommended for refusal and that the Parish Council’s views had been taken very seriously on board. The Station Road application has still not been decided. If the Local Plan could be completed by the end of the year there could be more refusals, and the waiting time for appeals could get longer.

The new housing at Hill Farm was on an exception site outside the village envelope. 15 houses will be built and all rented out by SCDC. They will be primarily for Foxton residents and people who work in the village, or have close family members living in the village. The site is very attractive to look at and anyone interested should get in touch with South Cambs to go on the housing waiting list.

6 County Councillors Report – see appendices attached

Susan van de Ven said that the number of County Councillors had been reduced from 69 to 63, to take effect by 2017. There is to be a reduction in grass cutting to twice a year, rather than 3 times a year. Higher Park & Ride charges have caused a 12% decrease in usage, causing gridlock in the city. The congestion on Hills Road has increased by 30%. Education transport appeals have increased. The Foxton to Cambridge cycle path has been successful and on May 17th there is an annual awareness ride starting at Trumpington Park & Ride.

A question was asked by a member of the public about why some perfectly good street lights were being replaced. Susan Van de Ven said that they had come to the end of their useful lives in some places and were now a possible danger. The County Council will not be turning off lights in Foxton as they can’t afford the central management system.

She was then asked if she was involved in looking after the NHS. She said the County Council now plays a role in scrutinizing Health services and helping to deliver the Public Health agenda. She said there is a mega contract in place, called UnitingCare Partnership, to unite in care with Cambridge University hospitals. The whole process will be scrutinised by the Cambridge Health Committee. She said it was a huge responsibility and would cover health, mental health and social services. Public health has a good budget but functions are statutory so there is not much wriggle room.

A member of the public asked if, with so much development going on and associated pressures on infrastructure, councillors could reassure them that they are employing good quality planning officers.

Deborah Roberts replied that the Council used to have many older, more experienced officers. Now none of the original team is left and there are younger, very enthusiastic officers, who are a little lacking in experience. However, all are well qualified to do the job. She said big and complex speculative applications are coming in week by week and the real worry is the appeal process that appears to supply only one officer to fight a barrage of officers from the applicants. This is clearly not a level playing field.

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A member of the public asked if there were any statutory requirements for dealing with applications within a time limit. Deborah Roberts replied yes, and the Gladman application is now out of time. However, such a large amount of work was required to be undertaken that it was understood this would take longer than the recommended timescale. Councillor Roberts was asked if there were increased costs to such a large scale application. She replied that larger applications do pay increased costs. All applications are gauged on how much work is involved.

7 Infrastructure Report - Nigel Oakley reported as follows:

Railways

The railway service up and down the line from Foxton continues to be well used. There has been no progress beyond the acceptance of the Feasibility Study on the proposed closing of the level crossing, so I am afraid there is nothing to report. The pedestrian gates are still out of action at times but theses occasions do seem to be fewer.

Roads

With the developments already approved and those possibly in the offing there will be increased pressure on the A10 over the next few years which will serious impact on local communities and infrastructure. Along with other communities along the A10 corridor the Parish Council is pushing for a coherent approach to planning and allied infrastructure which it is hoped will be heeded.

As regards the village, our second successive application to reduce the speed limit at the end of Shepreth road from 60 to 40 mph is unlikely to go forward as it did not get enough support from the County Council to be funded. Once again it is on the reserve list.

The state of the roads and pavements within the village leave a lot to be desired and the HIgh Street particularly has been adversely affected by the vehicles involved in the building of the houses in Church View. This development is now virtually finished and County Highways should repair the High Street within the next few months. Station Road has had some preliminary repairs done in advance of resurfacing which will take place later this year. Caxton Lane has had its numerous potholes filled in earlier in the year.

As always parking remains a problem in the village and there has been an increase in cars and vans being parked part on the pavements often associated with building works. Residents are reminded that this practice makes life difficult for pedestrians especially those with limited mobility and those with young children. Please ask all visitors to park wholly in the road if at all possible.

Footways

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The state of some of the pavements in the village remains very poor and we have made yet again another request to the County Council for them to be resurfaced although of course there is a very limited budget for such work.

Drainage

Poor drainage is still a concern in the village particularly at the junction of St Laurence Road and the High Street (Vicarage Corner), War Memorial corner and on the roadway through the Green. Yet again the County Council have jetted the the drains to help clear them, but this seems to have a limited effect.

Buses and Cycle paths

The 26 Bus continues to run through the village and is well used. It is still the aim to get a full cycle path between Royston and Cambridge although it was not successful in getting a funding grant from the City Deal.

A member of the public said that cars are also parked on High Street opposite Station Road and asked what could be done about it. Cllr Oakley replied that police have been called and asked to give an official ticket, but there is no funding so they won’t do it. Notices can, however, be put on parked cars. Buses sometimes can’t get down Station Road due to the amount of cars blocking the road.

A member of the public asked if there could be restricted parking for two hours at a time and suggested the council put notices up to this effect.

Councillor Oakley said that parkers come and go. The gravel car park is too far to walk for some people who may be elderly or disabled or who have young children.

8 Parish Council Website reported by Liam Elliott

Activity on the web site has increased somewhat this year, and it is a useful reference point for the village to find out about Parish Council matters. At present it’s not possible to tell how many people are actually using the web site.

Planning applications have been added on a regular basis, together with agendas and minutes for all our meetings. This year has also seen the web site being used for a significant amount of extra information, particularly for the Level Crossing closure, Gladman planning application on Shepreth Road, and for details of the forthcoming election.

Work is currently under way in conjunction with SCDC to get an interactive mapping system integrated into our web site. This will allow users to view a map of the area, with selectable ‘overlays’ showing extra information such as planning applications, green belt, conservation area, and parish boundaries. New ‘layers’ can subsequently be created and uploaded, to add extra information.

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Caroline Ilott congratulated Liam Elliott on an outstanding website for information and ease of use. She suggested putting a photograph of each election applicant with a 50 word resume on the website. Liam Elliott said the deadline was midnight on Wednesday, but he would put a link to show any information submitted by applicants.

Someone asked if minutes could be put on the website before approval, as people read recent submissions more readily. Nigel Oakley said this probably wouldn’t be possible in case of mistakes, but would be investigated further.

9 Report from the Recreation and Amenities Working Party – Ron McCreery gave the following report:

During the year the members of the working party have been Ron McCreery, Rachael Macintyre, Christine McFadzean and Geoff Barnes.

Grass Cutting

The first 2015 cut has taken place and the cricket club have already taken over the maintenance of the recreation ground for the summer months.

Recreation Ground

The recreation ground was reseeded in May. In October herbicide was applied. The training area was used mainly by Dynamo Foxton during the winter months. Dynamo Foxton have used two pitches on either side of the cricket square as well as the main football pitch. This level of usage is expected to continue for the 2015/16 season. Fertiliser was again spread on the Recreation Ground this month and re-seeding and herbicide application is scheduled for May.The new benches on the picnic bank were concreted in last spring.

Play Area The new Play Area has continued to be well used with a satisfactory inspection carried out in September. The shrubbery beside the play area was cut back and tidied up.

Sports ClubsDuring the year we have had two meetings with representatives from the sports clubs using the main area of the Recreation Ground i.e. the Football Club, the Cricket Club and Dynamo Foxton. These continue to be a useful forum to keep the clubs and the Parish Council in touch with each other’s’ requirements. The possibility of installing a defibrillator was first discussed at one of these meetings. The defibrillator was finally installed this year with the village sports clubs paying 50% of the cost, the balance being paid by the Parish Council.The sports compound has been sprayed and generally tidied.

Skatepark Project

The skatepark formally opened in May, after its safety inspection, with demonstrations from some semi-professional scooter riders. The reinstatement work on the pathway from the road to the skatepark has been successful, matting has been

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laid at the entrance to the skatepark and the somewhat unsightly bunding removed. A seat was installed, courtesy of the Women’s Institute, and two refuse bins were also installed. After inspection last month, the retention payment has been paid to the supplier. Further fund raising is planned to assist with the maintenance of the facility.

Trees

Further to the 2013 report on the condition of the trees that are the responsibility of the Parish Council, a number of trees identified as requiring removal were taken down. An updated survey will be carried out later this year.

Other Matters

Three work parties were organised to clear the area at the corner of Baron’s Lane and St Laurence road. The area has subsequently had shrubs planted and it is hoped that the residents will look after this site.

The Cambridge Ramblers Association has provided a new seat which has been positioned on the path from Caxton Lane to Fowlmere.

Block paving repairs were carried out around the Village Hall and school and a new bin compound has been created, courtesy of the Recreation Ground Trust.

The telephone box has been re-sited in the middle of the village and will soon be brought into use for displaying local information and notices.

At Vicarage Corner the laurel has been removed. As this did little to improve the visibility, it has been agreed to remove the existing hedge and fence and replace with a simple single rail fence.

My thanks go to all the working party members and in particular to David Salmons, the Village Warden, for all their hard work during the year.

A member of the public commented that the work of the Recreation & Amenities Working Party has been very noticeable, particularly the work done in St Laurence’s Road.

10 Finance Working Party Report by Peter Sutton

Members of the Finance Working Party remained unchanged during the year. They were Dr Oakley, Dr Grindley, Mr McCreery and Mr Sutton as Chairman.

The Precept for the year was £24,250. The contribution from Cambridgeshire County Council towards grass cutting was unchanged at £743.

Insurance continues to be one of our largest liabilities each year. This year the premium was originally quoted by our brokers at £2,345 but with an alternative quotation being offered at £1,495 our brokers were able to match that quotation. We

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have opted to accept a three year fixed contract. The total value of the buildings and equipment in the Village now covered under the policy is £151,709.

Grass cutting and spraying costs were broadly similar at £3,084 apportioned as to £2,184 for CGM (Cambridge) Ltd and £900 for Foxton Cricket Club. Tree surgery at £1,962 was less than 2013/14 but still a significant expense. Village Warden costs at £3,522 included work in connection with installing matting and signs at the Skatepark. Re-instatement of the Recreation Ground following the construction of the Skatepark cost of £2,500. A significant item in the year was the removal and renovation of the telephone box at cost of £870 against which we received donations of £500.

The excess of receipts over payments was £19,202 as compared with a deficit in the previous year of £9,986. Most of this excess related to the recovery of VAT of £13,101 on the Skatepark expenditure incurred in the previous year.

In 2010/11 we received a Section 106 receipt of £8,498 which was applied against the Play Area equipment. This equipment cost £43,000, net of VAT, towards which we received grants and donations of £34,350 - a difference of £8,650. In the year just ended we again received a S106 receipt of £3,814 and we have applied that towards the Skatepark expenditure. Grants and fundraising amounted to £70,345 and total costs were £72,362 consisting of original structural cost together with bins, signs, ground reinstatement, rails and matting. We have invested the balance of the S 106 monies in tree surgery work and equipment to improve the quality and amenity value of the Recreation Ground.

Our unrestricted cash reserves at the year-end were £45,326. All funds are invested at Barclays Bank with £23,157 on 10 Day Notice Account earning interest of 1.0% per year and the balance on instant access Business Saver and Current Account.

In our forward forecasts we have provided for our planning consultant at £3,500 to cover advice already given on the Gladman development and representation at the SCDC meeting scheduled for 13 May. None of this has yet been paid. If the developers are refused permission at that meeting we must be prepared for them to lodge an appeal. Normally appeals are heard within 6 months so this appeal could fall in the current year. We are fortunate that we have those reserves. Again in terms of exceptional expenditure we are proposing to prepare a Neighbourhood Plan in the next 2 years and have so far provided £3,500 for the first of those years.

In conclusion, I wish to thank our Parish Clerk, Joan Burns recently retired after 21 years, for the accounting records she has kept so ably and Mike Matthews for carrying out the duties of Internal Auditor for another year.

Nigel Oakley thanked Peter Sutton, Mike Matthews and Joan Burns for their excellent work over the year. He explained that the Parish Council has to have at least a years’ worth of reserves in place for exceptional circumstances. There were no questions asked on the Finance Report.

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11 Report from the Planning Committee by Malcolm Bore

The planning committee held 11 formal public meetings during the last 12 months to consider 19 applications together with related planning matters.

The major applications that will affect the village are:

Moores Farm 15 houses – application for approval of reserved matters following outline approval.

Hill Farm – Application for the construction of 15 houses by SCDC

Shepreth Road – Outline application for up to 95 houses

FPC were pleased to support the applications for Moores Farm and Hill Farm as both applications are in accordance with the current SCDC Local Plan (Moores Farm within the village development boundary and Hill Farm an exception site specifically for affordable housing for rent) These developments together with the affordable housing provided at Church View fulfil the requirement of the 2009 housing survey.

Following the result of 2 whole village questionnaires FPC have a clear mandate to strenuously object to the proposal to develop up to 95 houses on land off Shepreth Road, outside the current village development boundary. In the opinion of FPC the proposed development is unsustainable and will have a serious detrimental effect on the village. The PC have appointed a planning consultant for support and advice in dealing with the application and possible appeal process The application is to be heard by SCDC on 13th May.

FPC have been notified of a further proposal, not yet a formal application, for 23 houses on land off Station Road, outside the village development. Following the result of a questionnaire in which the residents of Station Road and Hall Close indicated a strong objection the PC are resolved to object to this proposal and will call upon the services of the planning consultant for support if required.

The creation of a Neighbourhood Plan is now becoming a priority Colin Grindley has confirmed his willingness to lead this project

We attended a meeting with County, District and Parish Councillors from Melbourn , Barrington and Gamlingay to discuss the current spate of development proposals outside the current Local Plan. This lead to a meeting with the leader of SCDC and planning colleagues, when it was agreed to create an A10 corridor group of PCs to take an overview of development in the area. Next meeting planned for July.

A question was asked about extending the conservation zone. Colin Grindley replied that the work on the Conservation Area is still ongoing. There had been a long delay as South Cambs had needed to do some work on it and the entire conservation team had been disbanded. He is working hard to finish the report for processing in the New Year.

12 Police Liaison Report – Geoff Barnes reported that people want to see more uniformed officers around the village. All officers now have tags so they don’t need

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to return to the office during their shift, and all uniformed Police can be approached by the public. Operation Oaklands will be continuing over the next few months, where officers will visit houses and put notices through doors making recommendations on how to keep crime at bay.

Susan van de Ven commented that in the last few years a quarterly meeting called the Neighbourhood Panel was held in the Bassingbourn/Melbourn area, and they had started a local Speedwatch scheme.

13 Neighbourhood Watch Report by Geoff Barnes.

There are now 12 Neighbourhood Watch signs in and around the village. If anyone sees anything suspicious they should not hesitate to contact the police. Last month there was a zero crime rate report for Foxton.

14 Melbourn Area Youth Development Report (MAYD) by Christine McFadzean

MAYD was set up in response to the County Council’s withdrawal of funding for youth clubs. MAYD now runs as a subcommittee of Melbourn Parish Council which took effect in November 2014. Representatives from 5 parish councils (Melbourn, Meldreth, Foxton, Fowlmere and Shepreth) together with Susan van de Ven work together to support positive activities for their collective community of young people. Geoff Barnes and Christine McFadzean represent Foxton Parish Council.

MAYD facilitates a number of programmes for young people and supports ideas for new ones. It encourages an ethos of community support for young people. Programmes include:

MAYD’s launch project in May 2011 was to maintain the long-established weekly County-run open access youth club held on the premises of Melbourn Village College. The youth club is the main financial cost to MAYD and is borne by the participating parishes. Melbourn is overwhelmingly the largest village and bears the lion’s share of MAYD costs. The club is open to all young people from these parishes. The youth club, temporarily closed in January 2014 when the youth club leader / administrative support moved on. This gave MAYD the opportunity to look at outsourcing the management of the club to a professional group and the club reopened in September 2014 under the management of Groundwork Hertfordshire at a cost of £8744 per annum. Foxton Parish Council’s share is £300 per annum. Groundwork are a well-established community development charity that run youth clubs and other associated community projects. The youth club moved into the newly refurbished Pavilion at Melbourn Recreation Ground. These premises are impressive and an ideal venue for the youth club. Groundwork have increased attendance at the Tuesday evening sessions with an average of 20 young people attending each week including young people from Foxton. The youth club is now looking to expand to cover more evenings per week, bring more volunteers on board to enable more young people to attend and looking at expanding the reach to include more neighbouring villages.

Additional funding obtained by MAYD from Cambridgeshire Community Foundation has enabled outreach sessions to be held in the community during February half term.

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MAYD continued to sponsor the Bike Bank project, a bicycle maintenance course teaching employable skills and providing participants with a free, refurbished second-hand bicycle upon course completion. Cambridgeshire Police are committed to supplying free bicycles from their stock of unclaimed stolen bikes. The course is aimed at young people at risk of becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). Courses were delivered by Outspoken and funded with a grant by Young Lives and the Lottery.

The existence of MAYD as an organization dedicated to youth development facilitates access to county council support for the personal development of young people and a range of positive activities that may be available through partnership programmes. MAYD is also dedicated to addressing anti-social behaviour problems that occur from time to time throughout the Parishes.

Nigel Oakley commented that this was a very well run and valuable resource.

15 Report from the Recreation Ground Trust – Christine McFadzean read the Recreation Ground Trust report as follows, and reminded everyone that the AGM was to be held on 27th May 2015:

All Parish Councillors are Trustees of the Foxton Recreation Ground Trust (RGT) and are charged with maintaining the properties and facilities of the Recreation Ground, the Village Hall and Pavilion in good order for the benefit of residents. The Village Hall and Pavilion are operated by the Village Hall Trust on behalf of the RGT and a Facilities Manager is employed to ensure the smooth operation of the buildings, equipment and fixtures.

Income for the year to 31 March 2015 was £21,554 including a contribution of £10,871 from Cambridgeshire County Council to the Provision for Future Maintenance of Fixed Assets in recognition of the school’s use of the facilities. During the year a 2 year bond investment with Investec Bank matured and these funds were re-invested with Cambridge & Counties Bank on a 95 Day Notice Account.

Expenditure for the year included installation of new velux blinds at £1,272, replacement of the kitchen oven and hob at £1,587, a sound system for the main hall costing £3,914, a bin compound costing £2,020, gardening work at the hall at a cost of £550 and an external light at £340. In addition the Facilities Manager’s salary was £2,696 and recurring insurance premium costs were £400. This was a year of average expenditure.

A member of the public asked about the capital balance. Peter Sutton said the Recreation Ground Trust fund was going very well and the income had gone down from £30,000 to £20,000. The Recreation Ground Trust was thanked for their invaluable contribution to the village amenities.

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16 Report of Dovecote/Meadow Project by Rachael Macintyre

Once again the committee decided to cut the entire meadow twice this year, in May and September, but because of the wet spring there was a much larger amount of arisings from the first cut.

However, numerous bee orchids were found in the meadow during June and it seems likely that they are now well established and we shall probably continue with the 2 cut policy. Other wild flowers such as Scabious, Knapweed and Cowslips are also flourishing in the meadow.

After the September cut we again organised a group of volunteers to help rake and stack the arisings with a barbecue and beer for those that helped as a gesture of thanks. This is likely to become an annual event.

The Mulberry tree which was planted in November 2012 has now died and is unlikely to be replaced as this was the second attempt to get one established. It appears that the conditions are just not suitable for Mulberries to survive.

The hedges bordering the school playing field were not cut again last autumn and we now have huge extension growth to take off. It will not be left for a 3rd year. The High Street hedge was cut again on both sides.

We have a large pile of bark chippings within the triangular section of the meadow in readiness for spreading on the path to the car park. So far this winter has been relatively dry and it remains unused.

As far as I am aware there are still no inhabitants in the various bird boxes in the Dovecote.

Caroline Ilott asked who owned the land that the dovecote sits on and was told that CCC own it and have no plans to sell it. Ron McCreery believes they won’t sell due to land rights issues. Colin Grindley said this is currently in the District Council’s local plan and it is identified as a protected green space.

17 Foxton Townlands Trustees’ Report – Nigel Oakley said this was originally a fund set up for the old and poor people of Foxton. He was asked what the money could be used for and whether he had any examples of things done. He said that over the years the fund had done many small and useful things in the community, and it was originally used, amongst other things, to distribute coal. He reported as follows:

Income for the year was £563.85 made up of £450 rent on the farm land owned in Fowlmere Road and £13.85 bank interest. There was no expenditure so the total reserves now amount to £2271.65. The Charity is always looking to contribute to worthy village causes so please let the trustees Don Challis, David Boreham or Nigel Oakley know if anything springs to mind.

18 Foxton Help Group Report – Nigel Oakley thanked the Help Group for doing a wonderful job in running the car scheme and generally contributing to the needs of the community.

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19 Concluding Remarks – Nigel Oakley concluded the meeting by saying:

As always I would like to thank all the councillors for giving up their free time so willingly and for all their efforts over the past year. We are also very grateful to our District Councillor Deb Roberts and County Councillor Susan van de Ven who both work tirelessly for the good of Foxton.

In March we saw the retirement of our long-serving clerk Joan Burns. Joan has work tirelessly behind the scenes for the Council for 21 years and in that capacity her contribution to village like cannot be overstated.

On a personal note this is my final meeting as Parish Council chairman, and although initially intending to stay on, change in personal circumstances have prevented this. I would like to take this opportunity to thanks all the Councillors and Deborah and Susan and of course Joan for their tremendous support over the last 8 years. It was a privilege and a pleasure to work with you all. A new Council will be elected next month and I wish it well in the firm knowledge that the village will be in good hands.

Peter Sutton said Nigel Oakley had conducted meetings with great skill and authority, for which the Parish Council sincerely thank him, and that he would be much missed. He was presented with a crystal glass engraved with a picture of the village sign.

The meeting closed at 9.15 pm.

Frances LavilleFoxton Parish Clerk27/07/2015

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Foxton Parish Council

Annual Parish Meeting April 2015

Appendices

County Councillor’s Report by Susan van de Ven

Cross party committee system: The committee system of governance has been operating for coming up to 12 months and the general impression is that it has worked well. It is certainly resulting in a more collaborative approach to running the council. The system was made possible because the council is in no-overall control. Would it survive if a single party were to find itself with an overall majority?

Council tax and funding cuts: Government has significantly reduced its revenue grant to local authorities (28% over four years) and has capped the capacity of councils to increase tax levels. This has required the County Council to make severe reductions in its expenditure.

The result is some services being eliminated completely, and inevitable trend is for the council to confine itself to statutory services only. Increasingly, we will see charges attached to services. Parish councils are doing more and sometimes collaborating to gaining economies of scale.

The County Council has set its tax increase for 2015-16 at 1.99% (=48p per week for a Band D householder). Although the government would have preferred the Council to freeze tax, doing so now could create even greater problems in the future. Independent consultations indicate that a majority would sooner pay a little more in tax than see much-needed services reduced.

CCC's debt is estimated to be £463.5m during the 2015-16 financial year and we've budgeted £35.5m to service it. Of that amount, £17.8m is for interest and £18.6m is for repayment of the principal. The gross non-schools budget is £549.1m so £35.5m is about 6.5%.

Boundary review: The Council recommended and the Boundaries Commission has agreed that the number of county councillors be reduced from 69 to 63. The official lines have still to be drawn.

Education: All Cambridgeshire secondary schools except one have converted to academy status. Only 37 primaries out of 230 have become academies. The County Council retains responsibility for the ‘well-being’ of children in academies though it has no formal role in intervening when things go wrong. It also retains responsibility for home to school transport.

Cambridgeshire’s grant to schools from central government was the lowest in the country in 2014-15. After vigorous efforts to persuade the government to revise its formula, Cambridgeshire has received a better settlement for 2015-16 amounting to

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about 11% more per pupil. This raises Cambridgeshire from bottom to 136th out of 151.

Government has been providing free school meals since September 2014 to all infant school pupils irrespective of financial need. Those who qualify for and claim Free School Meals also attract to the school a Pupil Premium which is currently £935 for secondary and £1,300 for primary pupils. This is spent on ‘narrowing the gap’ in academic attainment between the well-off and the poor and early indications are that it is having the desired effect.

A major reduction will take place in the services provided through the Children’s Centres (£1.3 million reduction in a £6.5 million budget). The intention is to target resources more accurately at those who need them and make less provision of ‘universal services’.

Aging population: More and more people are living longer and, in the main, healthier lives. When they do lose their independence, the cost to the Council is very considerable. The Council’s aim is to enable more people to live longer at home and be supported there rather than going into sheltered accommodation. ‘Reablement’ is the term now being used. Self-directed budgets will give older people more choice but at a lower level of funding.

Healthcare: The County Council now plays a role in scrutinizing Health services, and helping to deliver the Public Health agenda. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group announced the award of a mega-contract to UnitingCare Partnership, a consortium of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. This will cover a range of older people’s and other health (including mental health) and social services. UnitingCare made lots of claims about improved service and lower costs.

Programme of economic expansion: In spite of revenue pressures and funding reductions, the county is growing and the council is involved in the creation of new infrastructure, funded by central government but delivered by the council. Superfast broadband is being implemented across the county; work will start shortly on a new rail station in Cambridge, a new by-pass for Ely. Cambridge and South Cambs benefit from a special grant from government called the ‘City Deal’ designed to help cope with population growth driven by the economic potential of the high tech industry.

Transport: Hopefully, scare resources will be spent more effectively in terms of extending the life of our roads, however pavements remain in a terrible state of repair and we all know the potholes in our area. We will see a reduction in Highways grass cutting to just twice per year, except for visibility splays. Winter gritting has not yet seen a change, but this is inevitable.

Park and Ride charges – This was not well handled, resulting in higher than expected decrease in usage (about 12%) and an increase in gridlock congestion events around the A10 approach.

My role at CCC: I serve on the Highways and Community Infrastructure committee; Cambridgeshire Future Transport steering group which deals with transport subsidies and new ideas around integrated transport; Economy and Transport committee dealing

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with new infrastructure; and Education Transport Appeals, mainly in Fenland with far more difficult economic challenges.

Coordinating local groups: I coordinate three local groups which I’ve found very useful (and fun).

The A10 Corridor Cycling Campaign has worked very hard to facilitate successful funding from the Dept for Transport for a path connecting Foxton to Harston, and also connecting through Harston to Hauxton – and work should commence very soon. Our Annual Awareness Ride is on 17 May.

Rail: The Foxton Level Crossing feasibility study has gone quiet and I have sensed that Foxton has enough on its plate at the moment, but I am ready to make a concerted effort to push this project when the parish council is happy for me to do so. Continuing faults on the pedestrian gates, and further reports of people being caught in the middle when the barriers go down, underscore the problematic local conditions that will only get worse with increasing rail and vehicular traffic.

The Rail User Group spends a good deal of energy cultivating and maintaining useful relationships within the rail industry. The Department for Transport has recently confirmed and approved our unique 50% student rail discount as a revenue generating scheme. Given that the council probably will no longer be able to afford subsidizing post 16 bus transport, this is welcome.

I also coordinate the Oil Club, which is about bulk buying household heating oil at lower prices. A bonus is directing our modest annual rebate to a local community group – this £140 is going to Mind in Cambridgeshire for initiating a new mental health support work in our area.