From our Reporter at the Parish Council Meeting
PC Meetings vary - but this was a cracker. But just as official minutes are
selective in that they cannot report everything, so the Crier report does its
own cherry picking.
The closure of the Newmarket Tip has been the main public concern over the last few weeks. Last week the Crier reported that Suffolk CC had approached ECDC for a contribution. This was wrong. Other papers reported that Suffolk CC had in fact approached Cambridgeshire CC. David Brown reported that this was also wrong. It seems Suffolk CC approached no-one, not even its own district councils. Perhaps it had all been left to those expensive consultants we are told Suffolk employ. Following public protests David reported that there had been a very positive meeting between the two county councils and in the short term there has been a stay of execution until 31 July. Is this the "power of the people" or just a display of commonsense.
During this discussion many members expressed forceful views on the threatened closure. Allen Alderson needed to point out that ECDC only has a budget of £9 million compared to the hundreds of millions handled by Suffolk. He made the point also that he is always trying to make Ely aware that there is a "South of Ely district" . £70,000 has been granted for the Burwell pavilion.
While David Brown was still reporting Peter Hart said he had learned that in the Fire Service one manager is required to look after one fireman, and he wondered about the cost. John Covill commented that it seemed to be very top heavy and David said he will look into the matter. We look forward to the answer. Both CCC and ECDC are cutting their magazines. There will be no savings on the production costs as the advertising covers these but there will be savings on the cost of distribution (and editorial?).
Then came one of those cabaret type interludes. This time it was reported that John Norris had noticed a problem with moles in the cemetery. Geoffrey, always one for the wild life, shot up there but couldn't find any. "Neither could I" said Steve, and the matter was dropped -two against one.
This was then followed by a wonderful piece of commonsense which was like a flush of fresh air. Several years ago a number of restrictions were placed on parish councils such as that nothing could be discussed unless it was on the agenda, and that all items on the agenda had to be agreed at the previous meeting. At the end of each meeting the PC agonised over what they might wish to discuss at the following meeting. From whence these rules came I know not but they were insisted on by Hazel Williams, when she was our county councillor.
Two new planning applications had arrived too late to be included on the agenda but it was decided that "the Chairman can introduce a new item on the agenda" . "Can I?" asked John, "Yes" he was told, and so they were added, discussed, and settled without need for a separate meeting. Subsequently I noticed that "Items for the next agenda" had been removed from the agenda. Unless you attend Parish Council meetings or keep your ear very close to the ground you can have no idea what keeps a village going. We have a waste bin in the bus shelter. Some months ago the bin liner went missing and subsequently Veolia refused to empty it. Karen reported this, that it was impossible to buy a separate liner, and a new one would have to be bought.. "Who has been emptying it if Veolia doesn't" asked someone. "I have" said Karen, "with my own little hands" . The PC was shocked that the Clerk should be doing this and agreed to purchase a new one. It later transpired that it had been Veolia who had thrown the lining away.
Our new road warden is still waiting to discuss Mill Hill with someone from CCC, and this led on to the Lode traffic lights and the views of the Lode Community Harriers. David reported that there are very mixed feelings in Lode about the lights. They are deemed to have made that crossing a safe route to school and so the village has lost its school bus. And those at the crossroads are not at all pleased with the very bright green lights. Also I have been taken to task for comparing the chance of seeing the lights at red with a win on Premium Bonds which can be quite frequent; it was suggested the comparison should have been made with a win on the Lottery. The young people's hut in the play area had leant over and Steve, on examination, found that the screws used were rather modest and he fixed the sunken joint with a heavy duty bolt. He admitted that, if money had been available, the structure would have survived better on a hard surface rather than the ground into which it had sunk. So a bit of restoration will be required, and at this very same moment a bit of restoration is being carried out on the Trinity College great gate. Something has gone amiss with bolts and how they line up with the perpendicular and the craftsman from Devon employed to fix it maintains "It were not a very good design." "But" , remonstrated someone, "it's been there for 500 years" . "I don't know about that" , said the Devonian, "but it were not well designed in the first place." Maybe he should have a word to Steve about his hut.
For about the third or fourth election in a row the PC election was again uncontested and we haven't needed to vote. By depriving us of the vote the PC has saved the village several thousand pounds over the years and we all remain so happy. I bet Gaddafi, or that bloke masquerading as a dictator at the Street Party, would like to know the secret.