Minutes of Main Council

Held in the Community Room on Tuesday, 6^th March 2007, after the Planning Meeting, at 7.30pm.

In attendance: Lucinda Adams (Bucks Free Press), Nick Meakin (Maidenhead Advertiser), Dominic Bareham (Maidenhead Express) and two members of the public.

Apologies were received from Cllrs Brar, Fry and Prichard. There were no Declarations of Interest.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Minutes of the Council Meeting held on the 6^th February 2007 were circulated and duly signed with no amendments.

3. COMMITTEE REPORTS: The Minutes of the Adoptive Acts Committee Meeting held on 20^th February 2007 were circulated and approved with no amendments.

1. Cllr Fairlie announced that the Patients Participation Group would be holding a Health Evening on 7^th April.

2. Cllr Coker has attended various meetings for the Parish Plan and passed on some information from the Housing and Development Committee. Cllr Coker also attended the Flood Forum along with Cllrs Wellman and Ricardo.

3. Cllr Wellman spoke to Dave Perkins at the Flood Forum about the special problems that Cookham experiences when the river floods. He said that the Parish Council will need to work with the villagers to get agreed procedures in place and to agree the safest use of the Causeway as the only route of entry in to the village during severe flooding. There will be minutes of this meeting available and a film broadcast by the EA at this meeting would be useful for all Councillors to view. Cllr Wellman also said that the Council needs to bear in mind that in 5-10 years time, the option of the Causeway may not be available. It was AGREED to put the topic of Flooding on the agenda of the next meeting. The Clerk was also asked to call Dave Perkins for an assurance that the lights would be available should Cookham have an urgent need – the floods can come up in a matter of hours.

5. TO RECEIVE QUESTIONS UNDER STANDING ORDERS 24/26: No questions were received.

6. FINANCE:: The list of cheques raised in the months of February as listed on Page 422 were circulated to Councillors. On the proposal of Cllr Woodbridge, seconded by Cllr Stretton, it was AGREED to approve these payments.

7. BOROUGH COUNCILLORS’ REPORT: Cllr Ricardo reported on a presentation that the EA made to the RBWM cabinet on the next Cookham Flood Alleviation Scheme. Cllr Ricardo said that Cookham Parish Council would see a planning application in the spring. The Clerk informed Cllr Ricardo that she had been in touch with Nathan Fahy of the EA and an Open Day for the residents of Cookham will be held first and their comments taken on board before any planning application is made.

8. TO APPOINT A SUB-COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURES LAID DOWN FOR THE COUNCIL: Cllr Woodbridge proposed that as he had compiled the existing complaints procedure, he would like to be on the Sub-Committee to review these documents. He also requested that Cllrs Fisher and Wellman should also be on this Sub-Committee. This was seconded by Cllr Fairlie and AGREED by all present.

9. TO DISCUSS ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING ON 20^TH MARCH 2007: The Clerk gave a preview of the poster advertising the theme of the Annual Parish Meeting of “Cookham is changing …”. Posters would be displayed around the village and an advertisement had been placed for the next two weeks in the Maidenhead Advertiser. The three speakers were confirmed as: Mr Richard Simmonds to give an up-date on the Parish Plan; PC Val de Haan to talk about his new role as Cookham’s Neighbourhood Specialist; and Cookham’s First Community Responder, Mr Chris Brown. The Clerk also said that there would be some publicity supplied by NALC to encourage any member of the public to think about standing at the forthcoming local elections. Cllr Woodbridge requested that all Councillors wear their identity badges for this meeting and also asked as many Councillors as possible to arrive by 7.15pm to meet members of the public before the meeting begins.

10. CHAIRMANS SUBMISSIONS: The Clerk mentioned two planning applications due to be decided at the coming Borough Planning Meeting – Willow Cottage, Berries Lane and the ménage at September Grange. Cllr Stretton said that he would speak for Willow Cottage. The next Stakeholders Meeting would be held at RBWM on 30^th April – this concerns reviewing RBWM’s performance in planning matters over the last quarter. The next Committee meeting of the Footpaths and Open Spaces Committee on 13^th March would be cancelled due to the absence of any pressing items to go on the agenda. The Clerk also informed the Council that her assistant, Shirley Warren had sustained a nasty fall and had fractured her shoulder. She would be away from work for the next 6-8 weeks. The Clerk had contacted the previous Clerk, Mr David Armstrong who would be able to cover the two weeks’ Annual Leave that the Clerk had booked from 23^rd March to 6^th April 2007. There may, however, be some days when the office would have to close.

13. CORRESPONDENCE: A list of correspondence and periodicals received during the months of February was circulated with the agenda. Cllr Ricardo commented that several items required responses from the Council. The Clerk advised Cllr Ricardo to put his comments on an email and she would gladly incorporate them into a reply from the Council. Cllr Ricardo then mentioned the amount of time wasted in replying to the Land Registry regarding multiple plots of land around the parish. The Clerk said that with Shirley Warren off sick for 6-8 weeks she would have even less time than normal. A sub-committee was suggested to take on this work of Cllrs Harris, Wellman, Barnes and Ricardo. To make this Sub-Committee lawful, this suggestion will have to be formally approved at the next Council Meeting because the item “Correspondence” is not an agenda item where decisions should be made. Cllr Ricardo then started working his way down the Action List supplied by the Clerk. The Clerk said that this list was not minuted and was not a lawful document. She also said that the use of the “Correspondence” list to mention specific items at Full Council was not a correct use of this list. The Chairman asked for the structure of the agenda itself to become an agenda item at the next Full Council meeting. Cllr Wellman suggested that everyone should read the revised proposals for the Code of Conduct which mentions bullying and harassment amongst others.