Minutes 6 April 2004

Held in the Community Room on Tuesday, 5^th April 2005, after the Planning Meeting, at 8.30pm.

Cllrs. M. Barnes, M. Brar, P. Brockwell, M. Coker, G. Harris, M. Innes, R. Piercey,

In attendance: Andrew Streat (Maidenhead Advertiser); M. Cubley (RBWM); reporter from Bucks Free Press and one member of public.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs: Hay and Prichard. Cllr M. K. Brar declared a personal interest in item 8 on the agenda.

2. MINUTES AND MATTERS ARISING: The Minutes of the Council Meeting held on the 1^stMarch 2005 were agreed and signed as a correct record with one amendment. On Page 033, item 8, line 5 – should read “However the new Order showed 50mph” NOT 40mph. There were no Matters arising.

3. COMMITTEE REPORTS: The Minutes of the Footpaths & Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 15^th March 2005 were circulated and duly approved with no amendments. Cllr Ricardo did not agree with the Minutes because they did not record the Public Rights of Way Improvement Plan. However the Chairman refuted that the Minutes were incorrect because this item was on the previous Footpaths and Open Spaces Committee agenda when it was resolved to send their comments to the Clerk by the end of February.

1. Cllr G. Harris attended an Award-Ceremony at Windsor Guild Hall to celebrate a prize-winning development at Stony Lees in Cookham Dean.

2. Cllr M. Coker intended to report that he had attended a Governors meeting at Cookham Rise Primary School.

Cllr H. J. Woodbridge wanted to know why we still had a balance of £58,000 in the bank at the end of the financial year. The Finance Chairman said that this would be explained at the next meeting of the Finance Committee. Cllr Stretton mentioned the cost of the Pitney Bowes franking machine compared with the Royal Mail Smart Stamp that may be downloaded and used at a fraction of the price. This would be passed to the Finance Committee. Cllr Harris queried the bill for mowing and the bill for emptying the bins at the Cemetery. Cllr Brockwell said she would investigate. Cllr Innes queried the cost of installing the Xmas lights outside the Crown and in the Parade. With all these queries taken note of, it was proposed by Cllr Brockwell and seconded by Cllr Saintclair-Abbott to approve the cheques as listed on Page 056 for payment in the month of March.

Cllr Ricardo mentioned the Rural Parishes Area Forum and was told that this would be included in the Chairman’s Submissions. Cllr Brar mentioned a Borough-run scheme for free swimming for the over 60s. It was also noted that the new parking bays at Penling Close are now finished. Cllr Coker said it was fine if your car was curved in shape!

8. TO REPLY TO THE LATEST APPLICATION TO RENEW THE ENTERTAINMENT LICENCE INCLUDING KAROKE AND DISCOS AT THE BEL AND DRAGON: Cllr Brar said that most establishments have to apply for a Public Entertainment Licence through the local authorities. Cllr Harris said it was not the sort of premises for karoke. He was concerned that it would be noisy for neighbours. However as there had been no complaints received, Cllr Stretton proposed that we have No Objection to the licence renewal.

9. TO COMMENT ON A LETTER FROM CHRIS AUSTEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMUNITY RAIL DEVELOPMENT: Cllr Ricardo commented that a community railway could use a lower quality rolling stock as long as it does not go on the main line. The Clerk then read out a summary of the analysis of the Community Rail Development Strategy (CRDS) of November 2004 carried out by the Cookham Society. They said the most important issue is that our branch is being incorporated into a strategy in which it does not fit. The Maidenhead to Marlow line is a commuter route focused largely on moving the working population to London and Reading. It is also a lifeline for school children and the local workforce as well as carrying walkers and tourists at weekends. Although it is a short line it is also the third busiest route in the group of 56 potential Community Rail lines for the future. The Cookham Society stressed that if change was inevitable, it should be done with as much local input as possible. One strategy for change will not fit all 56 routes. The Society are concerned about the inconsistent messages coming from the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) and the fact that the SRA will not exist in eight months’ time. The Cookham Society then suggested some comments that could be asked by the Parish Council in response to Mr Austin’s letter.

Cllr Saintclair-Abbott then replied that he was deeply disappointed by the ignorance of the letter from The Cookham Society. He is a regular London commuter and recently travelled to town with Liz Motherwell, Senior Transportation Planner for Slough Borough Council. Cllr Saintclair-Abbott said that his discussions with her had assured him that the Community Railway venture had been dismissed by RBWM. The Cabinet had met twice to discuss the plans and the SRA could not force the changes through without the full support of the Borough Councils. The Cabinet had voted not to support Community Railways at this stage for both Maidenhead to Marlow and Slough to Windsor branch lines. Cllr Saintclair-Abbot said that faults in the Cookham Society’s letter had already been addressed by RBWM and that Peter Hitchen from RBWM had met with the lead member of SRA to indicate RBWM’s wish not to take the scheme any further. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would reply to the letter with a thanks for the information and Cookham Parish Council will reserve any further comments until there is a concrete proposal on the table.

The Chairman gave out some dates of forthcoming meetings for DALC 7^th April and 19^th May for the Maidenhead Rural Parishes Forum with a deadline of 10^th May for agenda items.

A list of correspondence and periodicals received during the month of March was circulated with the agenda. These were available in the Parish Office for Councillors’ perusal.