Minutes of a meeting of Clifton Parish Council held on Thursday 8 th March 2007 in Clifton Community and Sports Centre, Whiston Crescent , Clifton at 7. 00 pm

Present: Mr B. Livesey (in the Chair)

Mr A . Burnage,

Mr T, Cobb

Mr D. Duff :

Mr M. Ephgrave

Mr B. Hudson

Mrs P. Livesey,

Mr I. Pacey,.

Mr J. Stevens

Mr J. Wall

, District Cllr P. Carne, Pc S. Busby and one member of the public

1. Public Forum: There was none.

2. Apologies: Apologies were received from Mr S. Fish, Dr. R. Puritz and Cllr. T. Rogers

3. Minutes The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 8 th February 2007 (a copy of which had been previously circulated to each member) were agreed to be a correct record and signed.

4. Matters arising

4. 1 War Memorial : It was reported that Mr Cobb had met first with Neil Best, the Loss Adjuster and then with Andrew Bussey a specialist engineer. The latter had made contact with Mid Beds Conservation Officer and the plan of campaign agreed. Dawsons have removed the tiles and guttering and will in due course remove the rest of the structure. The roof would be removed on Friday 9 th March.

4.2 Community Centre - Outside power supply: No reply had been received from the letter and reminder sent to Mr Manning.

4.3 BATPC: Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme with questionnaire. It was noted that this had been discussed at the meeting of the Highways Committee. The recommendation was that the Council should not proceed but should review the position at regular intervals. This recommendation was accepted.

4.4 “ Awards for All” The grant of £900.00 awarded to Parish Council for construction of ramps had now been paid into the BPA. An account at Brookers had been opened, materials purchased and the ramps had been constructed.. Mr Stevens was thanked for this and it was asked that the Council's thanks be given to Matthew Spalding for his assistance .

4.5 The spring elephant has now been installed. The account has been received

4.6 Horse chestnut tree outside Golden Lion It was reported that a letter had been sent to Greene King suggesting the planting of a mature tree and a copy of Ben Silvester's letter was also enclosed for their information.

4.7 Whitbread Wanderbus Timetables: These are still required on village noticeboards.

4.8 Churchyard . It was noted that the annual donation had been made to the PCC .

4.9 Mid Beds : Closer to Communities…..capacity to deliver. It was noted that a meeting would take place at Priory House, Chicksands on 14 th March at 7.00 pm for the District Council to present the joint proposal for unitary government.

4.10 Audit : It was reported that the Annual Return statement had been received. The auditors recommend that recommend that the Parish Council should increase its Fidelity Guarantee Insurance and also that Standing Orders and Financial Regulations reflecting current law and requirements are adopted. This was noted.

5. Outstanding Matters: The list of Outstanding Matters was circulated to be further discussed at the Playing Field and Highway Committees

6. Correspondence:

6.1 Clifton Gardens; The Chairman reported that he had been approached by residents in the village and since the Clifton Chronicles would shortly be printed before the next meeting took place he had agreed on behalf of the Parish Council that it should be involved in Clifton Gardens 2007. After he had explained what would be entailed the members present endorsed this commitment.

6.2 Mr M. Spalding Letter dated 15 th February 2007 giving notice of his resignation as Assistant to the Caretaker effective from March 31 st 2007 .

6.3 G . Brewer: Estimate to supply and fix one point of use Unvented water heater ( Heatrae Sadia hotflo 10 litre) in the cupboard in the ladies toilet to serve the basin in the Disabled toilet, install new mixer tap to basin and thermostatic mixing valve £629.75 + VAT. Mr Stevens further explained the necessity for this installation and it was agreed that the estimate be accepted and Mr Brewer asked to proceed.

6.4 Mrs Y. Gregson: 7 School Lane , Shefford. Letter containing a £35.00 donation towards the War Memorial repairs. It was agreed that a letter of thanks should be sent from the Parish Council .

6.5 Audit Commission: Letter of Appointment of Messrs Lubbock Fine as external auditors for 2007/ 2008

6.6 Bedfordshire Rural Affairs Forum Conference 30.3.07

6.7 Beds CC Outdoor Access Improvement Plan

6.8 Standards Board for England Bulletin 32

CPRE: Notice of Fundraising dinner to be held on 12 th May 2007

Mid Beds Forward Plan March – June 2007

Local Council Review Vol 8 no.6 March 2007

Village Halls Newsheet Feb/March 2007 Issue 6 No 1.

CPRE Countryside Voice Spring 20007

Clerk and Councils Direct March 2007 Issue 50

7. Management Committee: The report of the meeting held on Wednesday, 15 th February, a copy of which had been circulated to each member of the Council was presented and discussed. It was noted:-

7.1 The revised payment for hiring the pitch on an ad hoc basis would be £40.00.

7.2. Policy for Children . Policy has to be formulated.

7.3 Heating: It was noted that the switch had been replaced but had failed again. Mr Duff would look at it and advise the best course of action.

•  Alternative heating: This is still an on–going matter.

•  Investigation of nets to prevent balls going into neighbouring gardens was ongoing

•  Dog fouling Guidance on possible future measures had been received from Defra. The various options to control dogs on the playing field were outlined. It was proposed that an exclusion order should be sought. Mr Stevens undertook to set down the steps necessary to achieve this order and circulate them.

•  Notices asking users of the hall not to touch the shutters had been put up.

•  The fair uses an electricity supply from the centre during its stay. Mr Harvey had submitted a quotation to install a 32 amp socket for outside use in one of the changing rooms to reduce the safety hazard. This had been sent to Mr Manning for his consideration.

•  Toilet facilities for Under 10's/Supporters. Mr Harvey had also provided an estimate of £175.00 for the installation of a wash hand basin heater in the Home dressing room. This had been approved by the Parish Council. Mr Brewer would be asked to plumb it in.

•  Referees changing room . Mr Brewer had confirmed his verbal quotation of £225.00 + VAT in writing to supply and fit a new shower tray and make alteration to the basin waste and route the shower waste to the adjacent shower.

•  Damage to doors No further damage has been noted. The doors will be re-painted. Appropriate measures to avoid damage caused to the walls at a low level by chairs will be considered.

7.13 Willow Trees : Mrs Livesey has obtained two new willow trees free of charge to replace those which died. Volunteers to plant them will be required.

7.14 Availability Sheet . It was agreed that copies of the Availability Sheet accompanied by a list of current hire charges should be put on the village noticeboards .

7.15. AB Cleaning Services would be re-surfacing the hall floor in August. The dates when it would be unavailable for hire had been noted and regular users during that period would be notified.

7.16 Picnic Table More thought should be given to the proposal for a picnic table near the children's play equipment.

7.17 Private booking on 6.1.07 The Clerk reported that she had made a statement to the Police about the events occurring at a private family celebration on 6 th January. She had also spoken to Mr Lakin and would be presenting an account for the damage for which he had accepted responsibility.

7.18 Hot water supply to Disabled Toilets Mr Stevens and Mr Brewer would put together a quotation.

7.19 Gutters These require attention.

7.20 Water on path to entrance of Centre Remedial action should be taken sooner rather than later. After the meeting the offending area was surveyed and a possible solution suggested. Salt should be used to combat the slipperiness.

7.21 Object on football pitch Mr Stevens reported that he had been unable to locate any metal object embedded in the ground by the football pitch. No further action would be taken.

7.22 The fire extinguisher in the entrance had now been refilled.

7.23. Finance (a) Mrs Yarwood's , Mr Spalding's and Mr Ferguson's accounts had been authorised.

(b)The balance sheet showed a balance of income over expenditure of £1560.16.

(c)The Forward Planner for February was circulated and expenditure to date was noted.

7.24 Correspondence : (a) Clifton Residents Association: Letter from the Secretary nominating Mrs Ruby Bland as a representative in place of Mr Paul Beaumont

(b)Beds Rural Communities Charity: Offer to undertake PAT testing.

(c)The Playing Field

7.25 Any other matters . (a) Football Letting Agreement: Copies of a proposed application form and regulations for hiring sports facilities were circulated and discussed at length. Mr Stevens noted amendments and will circulate the revised draft

.(b) Letting Agreement A copy of “The New Model Hiring Agreement has been received. Mr Stevens undertook to look at this and produce a draft for discussion at the next meeting

(c) Cutlery for Community Centre The Clerk was asked to order 100 teaspoons for use in the Centre.

The report was then adopted.

8. Highways Committee The report of the meeting held on Wednesday, 15 th February, a copy of which had been circulated to each member of the Council was presented and discussed. It was noted:-

8.1 . War Memorial: The Chairman reported that a meeting had been fixed with the Loss Adjuster to survey the further damage on Friday 16 th February. In the meantime he had received a message from Keith Brown MBDC Building Control stating that damage to the memorial was such that it should be taken down immediately. Further discussion with Keith Brown elicited the information that the structure was not unsafe at the moment but if a further vehicle were to hit it the situation would be dangerous. Mr Harrower from Dawsons would also be attending the site meeting and would be able to advise on the technicalities of dismantling. It was agreed that the Parish Council should get in touch with the Conservation Officer at Mid Beds and ask him to liaise with Building Control . In further discussion it was noted that the well head would need sealing after the removal of the structure and agreed that the memorial stone would have to be replaced. This latter matter would be referred to Squires. Methods of protecting the memorial after reconstruction were considered and discussed.

8.2 Samuel Whitbread College . It was noted that Galliford Try have written acknowledging their planning condition to replace dead or damaged trees on the college's boundary..

8.3 Shefford Road – Drain . The Highways Helpdesk had been contacted about the blocked drain opposite lighting column number 17 Shefford Road

8.4 Church Street – Drain . The blocked drains outside the Clifton Bury Farm entrance have been attended to. It was determined to wait for the next heavy rainfall to see how effective this has been.

8.5 The Baulk The County Council has been contacted about attending to potholes, and to arrange for retagging the ‘grips', in the Baulk.

8.6 VAS sign : The matter is reported to be in hand. It was however determined that Latif Suddle should be contacted to find out when the sign is expected to be installed.

8.7 Drain by the War Memorial It was noted that it appears that this has been cleared. It was agreed to continue to monitor it.

8.8 Fairfax Close There is a long pothole at the junction of Fairfax Close and Shefford Road . .

8.9 Street lights within the Conservation Area. These had now been connected. The old columns will be removed in due course..

8.10 Dropped kerb A dropped kerb is required at the entrance to 43 Pedley Lane . Mid Beds Development Control should be informed.

8.11. 65 Shefford Road : It was noted that the E-mail correspondence recommending that the Council should consider applying for a Tree Preservation Order on the pollarded lime trees at No. 65 Shefford Road had been forwarded to Mr B. Morwood .

8.12 Bottle Banks It was noted that the Parish Council's suggestion of the carpark at the top of Bilberry Road had been forwarded to Mid Beds and it was currently being investigated.

8.13 Footpath to Cricket Club It was suggested that application should be made to County Highways to provide a footpath/cycleway to the cricket club. The Clerk and Mr Cobb would investigate.

8.14 Overgrown shrubs It was noted that the shrubs outside the White House were very overgrown and were forcing pedestrians to walk out in the road. Mr Wall undertook to speak to Mr and Mrs Cooper about this matter.

8.15 Grass verges; Grass verges in the village were being destroyed by people parking on them. 214 Shefford Road and 200 Shefford Road were noted in particular. The Clerk had written to the occupants of 200 Shefford Road asking them to park off the roadside. Mr Wall had undertaken to speak to the occupants of the former.

8.16 It was agreed that negotiations concerning split barriers should be resumed with the County Council.

8.17 Beds Assn. for Town and Parish Councils : Quality Parish Councils. The Chairman presented a report on the requirements for Quality status and the Committee considered them carefully. After discussion it was agreed to recommend that at present the efforts involved were not commensurate with the benefits of becoming a Quality Council. However the subject should be re-considered periodically.

•  Finance ; The Forward Planner for February 2007 was circulated and the expenditure noted.

•  Other matters (a) Overgrown trees in Broad Street : Mr Livesey undertook to raise the matter with the County Council

•  Bus stop sign The bus stop sign outside the “One Stop” shop is sited in the middle of the pavement. It is doubted whether mobility scooters would have sufficient space to negotiate this obstacle. The County Council should be consulted.

•  June meeting of Highways Committee. The date of this meeting was re-arranged for Tuesday, 19 th June.2007

•  T ree Matters Mrs Livesey reported that she had been in touch with Mr Alderman concerning the tidying of the damaged tree by the Village sign. She also noted that a tree on Broad Street damaged by an estate agent was not looking healthy and Mr Alderman was in correspondence with the firm.

The report was adopted. It was noted in addition that the fence around the pond requires attention

9. Planning

The under-mentioned plans has been returned to Mid Beds with no objection:-

07/00186/TPO: TPO Works to Trees at All Saints Lower School

Majority – No objection to 07/00100/FULL: Barns at Knolls Farm, Shefford Road , Clifton : Erection of stable block but comment made that there has been no provision made for the drainage of contaminated waste from stables or yard and no details given about the proposed disposal of waste.

By a majority decision the Committee objected to: -

07/00013/FULL Erection of 1no 3 bedroom detached bungalow on land off Hitchin Lane on the grounds that (a) the proposed site lies outside the village settlement area. (b) The access is only adequate for one home and(c) There have been flooding problems in this area and as such this proposal conflicts with Policy DPS17 (i) and (ii) of the Mid Beds Plan 2005.

07/00098/FULL: Demolition of existing dwelling at 198 Shefford Road and erection of 5 no 1 bedroom flats on the grounds that (a) the site would be over developed and therefor contrary to Policy DPS6 (b) Inadequate provision for parking has been made. (c) Insufficient secluded amenity space and thus is contrary to Policy DPS9

Mid Beds has approved the following application:-

06/01728/FULL 91 Broad Street : Full: Dropped kerb. (Batchelet)

For information Appeal Ref APP/JO215/A06/2021234: Detached single garage at 5 Church Street , Clifton . The appeal made by Mr J. Martin against the decision of Mid Beds District Council has been dismissed.

. 10. Reports (a) Clifton Lower School: Mrs Livesey made a short report

(b) Mid Beds District Council:. District Councillor P. Carne made a short report ending by thanking the Parish Council for its support during his first term of office.

(c) Beds CC: There was no report.

(d) Other: Police : Pc S. Busby presented the crime figures and commented on them. He also noted that there had been further complaints about the parking outside Samuel Whitbread Community College and the problem was discussed.

11 Finance :Current bank statements at 28.2.07. show

Community Account £ 538.21

Business Premium Account £ 8413.66

Business Reserve account £67781.03

*With the addition of £10k. from the ½ precept received in April and a further £10k from the current instalment the Village Improvement Fund stands at £54448.00( the cost of renovating the Festival of Britain sign and resurfacing of the car park being drawn from that fund.

Receipts: The following receipts were reported:-

Mrs T. Priestley: Hire of Community Centre 18.2.07 £36.00; Biggleswade and Sandy Lions: Jumble Sale on 24.2.07 £20.00: Ladies Social Hour: Hire of Hall in Jan. 2007 336.00; Beds County Council: Hire of Centre for Keep fit £99.00; Pearce Recycling: Sale of waste paper £12.24;Mrs B. Seamarks: Hire of Community Centre on 2.3.07 £54.00; HM Revenue and Customs: Repayment of VAT to 31.12.06 £1267.74;Awards for All: Grant for constructing fire safety ramps £900.00

Payment of the undermentioned accounts was authorised.:

Mrs Yarwood £.582.30 .(Ch10122423/244 )

M. Spalding £100.00 (Ch101245)

W. Jack Ferguson For litter picking in February 50.00 ( Ch101246)

Adrian Crawley: Playing Field maintenance in February £275.00 ( Ch101247 )

D. Harvey Balance of sum owing on provision of water heater for changing room £167.00 (Ch101248)

Wicksteeds: Elephant Spring Mobile +carriage and installation + VAT £1239.64 (Ch 101249)

Brookers Account for materials for ramps + VAT£658.79 (Ch 101250 )

Powergen: Electricity + VAT £237.67 (Ch101251)

Lubbock Fine: Audit fee 2005/2006 +VAT £411.25 (Ch101252)

Herts CC: Cleaning Materials + VAT £64.56 (Ch101253)

Bedford Borough Council: Refuse collection for ¼ £51.94( Ch101254)

J. C. Lanham: ¼ salary; Equipment allowance, approved expenses and postages for ¼ (Ch101255 )

Transfer The Clerk was authorised to transfer £4,400 from the Business Premium A/c to the Community A/c

Dates of next meetings : Thursday 12 th April 2007

Thursday, 10 th May 2007

Thursday, 14 th June 2007

_____________________________________ _____________________
Chairman