Parish Council Meeting

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

Present

Those present were 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