COOKHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of the

COOKHAM PARISH COUNCIL

PRESENT:            Cllr H. J. Woodbridge (Chairman); M. Wellman (Vice Chairman).

Cllrs. M.Brar, M. Coker, G. Harris, A. Hay, M. Innes, R. Piercey, D. Ricardo

and J. Stretton.

1.      APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

Apologies were received from Cllrs Barnes, Brockwell, Prichard, Fairlie and Saintclair-Abbott. There were no Declarations of Interest.

2.                  APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Minutes of the Council Meeting held on the 5^th July 2005 were circulated and duly signed as a correct record with no amendments. The Minutes of the Extra-Ordinary Council Meeting held on 26^th July were circulated and signed as a correct record with no amendments.

3.                  COMMITTEE REPORTS: The Minutes of the Footpaths and Open Spaces Committee Meeting held on 12^th July 2005 were approved with one amendment. On Page 109, para 3b, Cllr Harris wished to remove the words “to gather rain water” from the sentence. The Minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Committee held on 26^th July 2005 were circulated and approved with no amendments. The Minutes of the Adoptive Acts Committee Meeting held on 23^rd August 2005 were circulated and approved with no amendments.

4.  REPORTS FROM OUTSIDE BODIES:

1.   Cllr Hay and Cllr Brar attended the Parish Conference on 5^th July. Minutes of the meeting were distributed to all.

2.      Cllr Innes attended a meeting of the Pinder Hall Management Committee.

3.   Cllr Harris attended the opening of the Cookham Dean Bridleway Circuit and also the Prize-Giving Ceremony for the Village in Bloom Awards with Cookham Village and Cookham Dean receiving Silver Awards and congratulations extended to Cookham Rise.

4.   Cllr Brar attended a meeting with the Clerk to gather ideas on promoting the Parish Plan.

5. QUESTIONS UNDER STANDING ORDERS 24/26:

There were no questions asked.

6.            FINANCE:

The list of cheques raised in the month of July and August as listed on Pages 134 and 135 were approved on the proposition of Cllr Ricardo and seconded by Cllr Brar. Cllr Wellman queried the two bills for Hemsley Miller – one was for Barrie Dancer’s accountancy services and the other for the internal audit.

7.            BOROUGH COUNCILLORS’ REPORT:

Cllr Ricardo commented that RBWM has told Borough Councillors not to get involved with applications to extend licencing hours. The public houses have to display a blue notice and the public have the right to comment or complain. Parish Offices will only be informed if there is a change of licence. Cllr Brar said that there was some movement on Station Hill. Chris Wheeler had written to the Social Club and negotiations were nearly complete. The Chairman expressed his desire to see this project finally carried out.

8.         TO DECIDE RE-LOCATIONS FOR RE-SITING PARISH NOTICE BOARD IN COOKHAM VILLAGE: The noticeboard in Cookham Village had recently been removed due to renovations on the outside of East Flint. It was made clear by the cottage owners that the noticeboard would not be welcome once renovations were complete. Therefore another location was required. After much debate, the Councillors suggested four locations: 1. By the Causeway junction with School Lane (Permission would be sought from the National Trust); 2. Outside the Stanley Spencer Gallery (Permission would be sought); 3. Outside the public toilets (Permission would be sought from RBWM); and 4. East of the War Memorial (Again permission would be sought from the National Trust). The Clerk was asked to gather the necessary permissions and if any other Councillors had other ideas to contact the Clerk.

9.         TO DISCUSS USING SID TO STOP LORRIES GOING UNDER CANNONDOWN RAILWAY BRIDGE: Cllr Coker said there had been a number of near misses with lorries approaching the railway bridge and several get stuck every year causing major congestion. His suggestion was to enter a three way partnership with Highways Agency and RBWM to install a Low Bridge Warning System. The sensors would be positioned at strategic points either side of the bridge and would flash if the lorry was too high giving the lorry time to try an alternative route. Other versions of this Warning System could be used to stop over-weight lorries using Cookham Bridge. It was agreed that the Clerk would write to Highways at RBWM to try to generate some interest in tackling and solving this problem.

10.       TO DISCUSS COUNCIL SUPPORT FOR THE CAMPAIGN FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES BILL:  This Bill has been drafted with cross-party support with the remit to stop rural villages becoming ghost villages. After much discussion it was AGREED to give copies to all Councillors and then decide at the next meeting whether Cookham Parish Council wishes to add their support.

11.       TO REPLY TO BT’S PROPOSALS TO RATIONALISE THE PAYPHONES IN COOKHAM: The Clerk was asked to check whether the red phone box in Dean Lane had listed status. Cllr Coker said that BT had a duty to provide phone boxes prior to privatisation. He was totally opposed to removal of our payphones. Cllr Stretton said that this was part of a larger commercial plan and it would be difficult to change their minds. It was AGREED to try to get Dean Lane and the Worster Road red boxes listed and to write asking BT to retain the service because not everyone has access to mobiles or land lines at all times and there are always emergency situations where the payphones would be useful.

12.            CHAIRMAN’S SUBMISSIONS: The Chairman spoke about the busy August he had experienced particularly when the Clerk was ill and he was helping Shirley to cover. He also spoke of a conversation with Peter Bennett, the Crime Reduction Officer with Thames Police. Suggestions were being made to improve the lighting in the High Street in order to improve the service of the CCTV cameras. Extra low wattage lighting was also discussed in Sutton Road Car Park along with the offer of a room in East Gate House for the positioning of another camera. The Chairman commented that these schemes would all cost money without any proof that they would work. A full report would follow from the Chairman.

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

The Meeting closed at 9.15pm.