On Tuesday 12th January meetings of Cheveley Parish Council and Cheveley Pavilion and Recreation Ground Charity were again held via an online meeting platform. Parish Councillors, County Councillor Mathew Shuter, District Councillor Alan Sharp and members of the public were in attendance.
The early part of the meeting was held with members of the public and the press excluded in respect of confidential information prejudicial to the public interest. This concerned a possible code of conduct violation in relation to an article in the Newmarket Journal.
Various planning applications were considered. Following correspondence from Lucy Frazer MP, East Cambridgeshire District Council’s planning department had confirmed that no planning breach had occurred when a property in Cheveley High Street had been partially demolished. The only remaining option would be for the Parish Council to ask the Police to investigate whether any active bird nests had been destroyed when the trees there were felled or whether the roof that was removed had been used by roosting bats. Proof would be required that either of these scenarios had occurred. In view of the unlikely possibility of a case being successful because of lack of evidence at this late stage it was decided by a majority of votes not to proceed with involving the Police. It was hoped that the owner of the property would now commence restoring it as it had become an eye sore.
The timetable for nominations in respect of this year’s McCalmont Cup and the new Young Volunteer of the Year award was considered. It had been hoped that these awards would be presented at the Annual Parish meeting which had been due to be held during April 2021 but other arrangements would now be made . In the meantime any nominations should be forwarded to the Clerk (clerk@cheveley-pc.gov.uk).
Work continues to progress on the renovation of the Parish Hall. Problems had been discovered with a retaining wall between the hall and an adjoining property and it appeared that additional expense would be incurred in order to fix this properly. Other refinements were being considered and it seemed that the most economical option would be to carry these out whilst the building work was being undertaken. However it seemed to do so would require additional funding which was proving difficult to find during the Covid-19 pandemic. The building work was slightly behind schedule but this would be unlikely to cause a problem as present regulations would seem to make it unlikely that the opening date would be as early as originally planned.
A request by a resident to install an additional defibrillator at the hall had been made. There was presently one at the Pavilion in the recreation ground but this was not readily accessible as it could only be reached by crossing a large grass expanse on foot. A majority of Councillors voted in favour of removing the one from the Pavilion and placing it at the Parish Hall.
Further investigations had been made into the purchase and erection of a sign at Oak Tree Corner. However, it had transpired that the land upon which the sign had been situated is owned by Cambridgeshire County Council over which the Parish Council has no jurisdiction. It was agreed that Councillor Fullerton would continue to liaise with East Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council to try to get a resolution.
A feasibility statement had been received from Cambridgeshire County Council regarding the reduction of the speed limit near Hobbs Warren. This would cost the Parish Council £665.96 which represents a 10% contribution to the overall costs.
A meeting of the Cheveley Pavilion & Recreation Ground Charity took place straight after the Parish Council meeting. It was reported that whilst lockdown restrictions were still in force many of the usual activities were unable to proceed. In the meantime various maintenance issues had to be undertaken. Recently PAT tests and inspection of fire extinguishers and emergency lighting had been carried out. It was agreed to replace an outside light on the southern end of the pavilion at a cost of £106 plus VAT. The Recreation Ground remained a wonderful green and open space for Parishioners to enjoy.
The next meetings will take place on Tuesday 9th February.at 7.30 p.m. again online. Any members of the public wishing to attend should contact the clerk for full information of how to do so.