Notes on the REACH PARISH MEETING held on Wednesday 2nd June 1999.

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

Chairman's report

Cllr Aves reported the completion of the playing field and its opening on the 6th September, followed by a rounders match. A small amount of money is still owing but otherwise finances are up-to-date. The PC had purchased a mower, Cllr Aves thanked the volunteers who cut the grass. The verges in The Hythe have been eroded by lorries, they have now been re-instated and hopefully residents will now find alternative parking. A lorry from the Swan Lake grain store had knocked down a street light and demolished a wall - Cllr Aves said the general situation of lorries going through the village must be monitored; County are to erect a sign at Barston Bridge to try to step this happening again. The Sports Club was reformed and a committee formed to or anise the Millennium celebrations, consisting of parish councillors, village hall committee members, the Vicar and interested members of the public. Parish councillors had tidied up the cemetery and purchased a notice board (although the design of this caused problems for the Clerk) The pub had applied for change of use to be changed back into a house. PC opposed the application and spoke at the ECDC planning meeting where permission for the change of use was refused. Hopefully the pub will soon reopen. It had been agreed to adopt ECDC's policy of allowing applicants and opposition to put their case to the Parish Council regarding planning applications. PC agreed with the Village Hall to accept a minimum of 25% of the profit from Reach Fair to be used for the benefit of the village; it is not to be used for things usually provided under the PC precept. John Reed and Gareth Davies retired at the end of their term of office. As there were only two new applicants at the time of the election in May no election was needed. Cllr Aves thanked County Councillor James Fitch and District Councillor Charlotte Cane for their hard work and support, the Parish Councillors and the Clerk.

County Council report

C/Cllr James Fitch began by saying he was amazed at how much went on in Reach. It had been a challenging year as CCC was short of money. Cambridge is one of the fastest growing cities in Britain and the County Council actually needs £12-13m more than the government thinks it needs. Waste disposal was an increasingly  expensive problem -it now costs £53  ton to dispose of waste. Given a choice of whether to have a 10% increase in council tax plus cuts or a 14% increase and no cuts the CCC have opted for the former (Cllr Fitch said he had voted for the latter). Education had suffered - teachers had received inflation-related salary increases and there had been cuts, particularly in community education. At secondary level Bottisham Village College had been held up as a leader and had been picked as one of the out standing 60 schools in the country. Their swimming pool had been closed following a serious fire, the first £250,000 of which would be met by CCC. Social services cov red from 'the cradle to the grave' and care of the elderly had been severely cut back. 'Meals on Wheels' had been replaced by 'Choices' and several old people's homes had been sold. It had been a rocky year for social services, especially in children's services; progress had been made but there was much more to do.

In transport the A14 study had been a priority this year thanks to pressure from various sources. The Park and Ride at Newmarket Road was to be increased and services such as the route to Addenbrookes hospital needed better publicity; Cllr Fitch spoke about improvements in bus services generally. The A142 Fordham by-pass is now unlikely to be upgraded. In the Police sector, Neighbourhood Watch in the Reach area was attempting to emulate a programme in operation in Bottisham. Burwell Fire Station is to be handed over (free of charge) to the Cambridge Fire Service. Cllr Fitch spoke about the need for 45,000 more houses by the year 2016 population in Cambridgeshire is rising by 8-12%. The most favourable sites are at Waterbeach, Oakington and Whitton with Six Mile Bottom as a possibility as the A11 is underused at this point  County farms, with 280 tenants, had given the Council £6.5m in the last year which was much needed.

Questions

Cllr Robinson asked Cllr Fitch why the footpaths and fen roads in Reach were in such a poor state. In reply Cllr Fitch agreed that they were not a priority unlike the cycle path linking Longmeadow and Swaffham Bulbeck. Cllr Pearson asked when it would be decided the 45,000 new houses would be built. Cllr Fitch said it would be 'as long as it takes' as it took two years to put through a structure plan
Cllr Moseley commented that it was not helpful doubling up the area of land used for a Park and Ride at Newmarket Road as the problem was the build-up at the Quy roundabout during rush hours.

District Council Report

D/Cllr Cane said the Local Plan is still waiting for the Inspector's report, it is unlikely appeals will get through, the next one is already underway. Boundaries agreed for the present Local Plan may be pushed back to accommodate the 45,000 houses needed. Villages like Reach would not come under threat as a large number of houses were required. The District Council has taken advice on the viability of shops when making planning decisions about new ones. The Local Agenda 21 has a strategy to improve the environment. However, this is not yet in place and cannot be done quickly. Cllr Cane commented on the expense of waste management and said that people must agree on the best treatment. The new Chairman at ECDC is Cllr Sheila Fenn-Smith, the Vice-Chairman is Cllr Valerie Leake and Cllr Fitch is the Chairman of Recreation and Tourism. All meetings may soon be open to the public, except those dealing with confidential matters, possibly with the public being offered time to speak. There would be a right to present a petition at a full meeting with a five-minute speaking time. This may be at the beginning of the meeting,
if the subject was not on the agenda, or at the beginning of the item to be discussed if it was

Reach matters

Cllr Pearson reported the successful negotiation of the purchase of The Kings public house with completion in the near future. Highways had agreed a possible deterrent to heavy lorries driving through the village may be a 7.5 ton weight limit on the bridge at Blackberry Drove.