Notes on the meeting of Reach Parish Council held on Wednesday 4th August 1999

Present                Chairman, Cllr Aves, V/Chairman Cllr Lambert, Cllrs Robinson, Harrison, Summers and Moseley; also C/Cllr Fitch and D/Cllr Cane.

Reports

County Council

Cllr Fitch spoke about the hydrotherapy pool (The Ascot Unit) in Bottisham and its proposed closure. The owner has agreed to review the situation in six months. Waste disposal costs about £25 a ton - Cambridgeshire generally is increasing the amount of waste produced but East Cambridgeshire District Council is 'bucking the trend' with the amount of rubbish down by 3% and recycling increased by 11%. The new area engineer for traffic is Philip Sharp who will deal with all relevant  matters except buses or road surfaces. County is spending £3 per person on bus transport, one third of which is on concessionary fares. There is to be a campaign on summer drink-driving in the County. Figures for road traffic accidents are getting worse; speed cameras are being used extensively and the speeding fines recycled into traffic improvements. The new Park and Ride bus station is opening on 25th August at Brabraham. Cambridge will served from all sides with the interchange points being at Emmanuel Street and the Grafton centre. The bus station at Drummer Street will be closed to ordinary traffic with rising bollards to control entry. Over loaded lorries are causing problems, Cllr Fitch cited some examples. Council workers in Cambridge are to be given a £100 bonus if they work from 5 pm on the 31st December 1999 through to 5 pm the following day.

District Council

Local Agenda 21 had been successfully launched at Ely. A video was being made to publicise community efforts; it was suggested the pub refurbishment could take part. District Council meetings were to be made open to the public with a right to present petitions. Council are looking to extend the amount of time given over to public question time. Some future meetings may be held out of Ely, possibly at Bottisham Village College, to give local people an opportunity to hear debates; there could be a presentation of the topic on interest before the meeting. Cllr Cane spoke about the Government's wish to modernize local government, encouraging a more open approach and even suggesting there be an elected Mayor of the council. This, Cllr Cane thought, could be seen to be  biased  in  favour  of  Ely as too  many  of the  district's electorate were concentrated there. The Government is reviewing how it allocates revenue grants across the country. ECDC is worried more money may be given to urban areas (the government is keen on urban deprivation) and less to rural areas. This would make things like public transport deprivation more e pensive per head. This area is a problem as our district has fewer passengers in a wide area. Cllr Cane explained that ECDC as a whole is wealthy but still has its problems.

Question

Cllr Robinson commented on the amount of 'paper' sent out from CCC and ECDC. Cllr Cane replied that she is aware of the situation, it may be discussed at the forthcoming District Forum in October. Cllr Fitch stressed that recycling was good and told the council about how trees were grown as a 'crop' in Scandinavia.

Swaffham Prior Primary School

Cllr Moseley spoke about a recent parent/governor meeting at which the governors had outlined an action plan to improve standards at the school. She felt anxiety following the OFSTED report had died down. HM Inspectors would be monitoring the situation. Cllr Fitch said CCC had a good reputation for 'turning around' schools.

Village Hall committee

The committee had held their AGM where it was reported a good discussion had taken place about the annual Reach fair.

Millennium committee

Grahame Miller has produced a 'dummy' of the book it is planned to publish about the village. He is also hosting an old photo display.

Councillors enquired about the proposed New Year's Eve party and whether or not this would conflict with pub celebrations.

Matters arising

Following the site visit to The Hythe, where parked cars are causing problems for visiting lorries to the sewage farm, Cllr Aves is to arrange for someone to cut back the hedge. When this is done a letter is to be sent requesting residents to park on the verges rather than the road.

Correspondence

The East Cambridgeshire District Local Plan Inspector's Report on Objections has been sent. An organisation known as The East Cambridgeshire Access Group has been set up, at the instigation of ECDC, to advise on matters related to the disabled.

Reach Matters

The table of fees for the burial ground was discussed and prices upgraded and agreed.