COOKHAM PARISH COUNCIL         

Minutes of a Meeting of the

 FOOTPATHS & OPEN SPACES COMMITTEE

PRESENT:            Cllr G. Harris (Chairman)  Cllrs: A. Prichard, S. Sainclair-Abbott and

M. Wellman.

1.      APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND DECLARATIONS:

Apologies were received from Cllrs: M. Barnes, A. Hay and H.J. Woodbridge.

2.      ALFRED MAJOR GROUND:

a):        On-going care and upkeep of recreation field: The Chairman said that he would still like Steve and Peter Taylor to leave the grass a little longer between cuts on the Alfred Major. The weeds and moss were causing concern and it was suggested that a rolling programme of feeding and fertilising may help the grass to recover from the dry summer last year. The Chairman also said that he felt he should be able to discuss work that needed doing with the contractor without having to go through the Clerk. 

b):        Up-date dropped kerb on the Broom Hill entrance: The Clerk had received an e-mail from Nick Clark at RBWM stating that the dropped kerb would be in place soon. Cllr Wellman said he would check this.

c):        To agree a date to meet Cookham Dean Football Club at the Parish Office: Cllr Wellman said that the football club had already started training on the re-seeded area even though the new grass has barely had time to establish firm roots. The Clerk would send a letter to Dave Wheeler asking that the new grass is not played on until the season properly starts. The Clerk would also try to set up a meeting with the football club at the Parish Office to update records and discuss other matters of concern.

3.      FOOTPATHS:

a):        To review any footpaths or stiles in need of urgent maintenance: The Chairman said that most of the dangerous stiles mentioned at the last meeting had not been attended to. It was also mentioned that the sign post at the southern end of the new Footpath across the Alfred Major should be three way and not two.

4.      BOROUGH IN BLOOM:

(a)        To confirm dates of judging and appoint hosts: The dates for the judging of the Cookham Villages had now been confirmed and Councillors were appointed to act as hosts to the judges: Cllrs Harris and Prichard for Cookham Rise on 16^th July, Cllrs Harris and Saintclair-Abbott for Cookham Village on 24^th July and Cllrs Harris and Wellman for Cookham Dean on 27^th July. The Chairman thanked the Cllrs who volunteered to help with the judging. It was noted that there was graffiti on the gate posts at the entrance to the Alfred Major and on the post box on Westwood Green which would need to be removed prior to judging.

(b)        Review of RBWM hanging baskets and whether to charge: After a poor start the RBWM hanging baskets had flourished well considering how little was actually in them to start with! Invoices would go ahead as planned. However, it was agreed that Cookham Parish Council would source and distribute their own hanging baskets for next year. The Councillors felt they could get better baskets for less money even allowing for distribution costs. Cllr Prichard proposed asking a company, Davis Brothers, for a quote, this was seconded by Cllr Harris.

5.      SECTION 106 FUNDING FOR OPEN SPACE PROVISION AND IMPROVEMENT:

a)                  To review letter of 7^th July re: Fund status and accuracy of description of the open spaces of Cookham:

Several observations were made on the accuracy of the description of Cookham’s open spaces:

*          There is no Teenscene on the Alfred Major Recreation Ground – only a basketball court.

*            Bellrope Meadow is under the care of RBWM and our funding should not be used.

*          We will ask advice on exactly what sort of qualitative improvements could be made on the Alfred Major without spoiling the natural, undeveloped feature of this open space.

*            Councillors would like to know what is wrong with the children’s play area.

The Committee would like RBWM to define in more detail the improvements that should be made to Cookham’s open spaces and leisure facilities. Various ideas were suggested as potential improvements from buying pieces of land to introducing new facilities. The Clerk would ask RBWM to provide more details about purchase of land for new facilities and just how much the fund would let us have in order to do this.

The Meeting closed at 8.50pm.