On Tuesday 14th February meetings of Cheveley Parish Council and Cheveley Pavilion & Recreation Ground Charity were held in Cheveley Parish Hall.   Seven Councillors were present together with District and County Councillor Alan Sharp and members of the public.

Councillors were delighted that, following a probationary period of three months, Mrs Sally Hughes had agreed to remain in the position of Parish Clerk.

It was reported that three Councillors and the Clerk had met on 31st January to review financial arrangements.   Recommendations were made taking into account that no bank account should hold funds exceeding the FCFS guarantee limit.   Where possible funds would be placed in interest paying accounts and removed from providers that operated a monthly charge.  The clerk was investigating opening a new account with Cambridge and Counties bank.   The amounts earmarked for various projects were reviewed and recommendations made to adjust these where necessary in order to reduce the loan taken out to purchase the Parish Hall.   It was also felt that, in order to maintain the properties that were now owned by the Parish, an amount should be set aside annually for long term maintenance of the buildings.   It has become apparent that the pavilion building requires attention and the sensible option would be to incorporate this work into any planned changes that it was decided to make to it.

Despite efforts to contact the person concerned a debtor had still not settled their account for a booking of the Parish Hall and the matter would now proceed to the Small Claims Court.

A written report regarding the introduction of a Warm Hub had been received from Councillor Nutt who was unable to attend the meeting.   The event had been held on four occasions and at the most recent one the attendance had risen to its highest yet when 6 people came.   A request for the Parish Council to continue to provide the venue free of charge for this was considered and it was agreed to do so until the end of this March.

A plan for the future organisation of Parish Hall events would be submitted by former councillor Claire Elbrow at the next meeting on 14th March.

A fish and chip van was very popular at a Bingo evening in January and, following requests from local people, it was agreed that he would come to the Parish Hall one Saturday per month which was expected to commence on 25th February.   An annual food vendor licence would be purchased which would allow for other food vendors who had permission from the Parish Council to use the area.

Councillor Treanor updated the meeting on the latest position regarding the lease of the Car Park for the use of Cheveley School.  It was hoped that the two parties to the agreement could get together and arrive at the best possible outcome for Cheveley Parish.

Council representatives would meet with other local groups to align arrangements for celebrating the Coronation of King Charles III.

Various tree works had been carried out at the cemetery supervised by Councillor Hadlow.

At the meeting of Cheveley Pavilion and Recreation Ground Charity that followed it was reported that a replacement tulip tree had been purchased and planted at the Recreation Ground.

The climbing frame had been repaired and other minor repairs to equipment in the play area would be carried out.

Fortunately the burst pipe in the storage area of the Pavilion had only caused minimal damage.

There had been an issue near the Pavilion door when papers had been set alight which had been recorded on the CCTV system.   On this occasion, there had been no major consequences.   However members of the public should remember that the lighting of fires in the recreation ground was not permitted at any time and any future issues of this nature would be reported to the authorities.

Users of the Recreation Ground were also reminded that daffodils at the Recreation Ground that would be flowering soon had been purchased and planted for the enjoyment of all and therefore  should not be picked.

Following the annual safety checks the dishwasher at the pavilion would be replaced.

The next scheduled meetings will be held on Tuesday 14th March 2023 at 7.30 p.m. in Cheveley Parish Hall.   For information on this or any other matter please refer to the website (www.cheveley-pc.gov.uk) or contact via: clerk@cheveley-pc.gov.uk, or telephone 07483 107014.