Minutes of Main Council

Held in the Community Room on Tuesday, 8^th January 2008, after the Planning Meeting, at 7.30pm.

In attendance: Frank Smith (Marlow Free Press), Nick Meakin (Maidenhead Advertiser) and 8 members of the public.

OPEN FORUM: There were no comments in the Open Forum so the Chairman asked permission of the Council to bring items 8 and 9 forward ahead of the Planning Meeting. The Council agreed to change the order of the agenda on this occasion.

Apologies were received from Cllrs M. Barnes, P. Brockwell, J. Hewitt and Jean Stretton. There were no declarations of interest.

8. FORMAL RECEIPT OF THE COOKHAM PLAN FROM MR RICHARD SIMMONDS AND MEMBERS OF THE STEERING GROUP: The Chairman of the Cookham Plan, Mr Richard Simmonds handed over the final summary document of their 21 month project to Cookham Parish Council. Mr Simmonds introduced some of the Steering Group who were present at the meeting and he said that an enormous amount of supporting documents and research were available on www.cookham.com. Two “time bombs” were mentioned in his speech – the aging population in Cookham which was rising above the national average and the pressure on parking for the increasing number of cars on our roads. Councillors were then invited to make initial comments on the plan. Cllr Ricardo spoke of the Crossrail project and the problems of finding volunteers to work for the village. Cllr Coker pressed residents to take on board all the research and not just the summary document. Cllr Fry spoke of the idea of a park and ride for Cookham. The Clerk queried the number of projects that appeared to be built on Green Belt land. In response the importance of the Green Belt land was acknowledged but had to be balanced with the future needs of the Cookhams.

9. ADDITIONAL PCSO BASED IN COOKHAM FOR A GUARANTEED 50% OF THEIR TIME AT A COST OF £15,000 FOR TWO YEARS - £30,000 IN TOTAL: The Clerk read out a letter from Mrs Margretson who was sitting in the audience. Thames Valley Police had offered Cookham Parish Council the chance to part fund an extra PCSO who would be ring-fenced to Cookham for a guaranteed 50% of their working hours. The cost would be £15,000 each year for a maximum of two years. Cllr Wellman had some comments before the Council made their decision. He had two main concerns – the guaranteed hours and the annual cost. He said that he had been impressed by Inspector Macdonald who had verbally promised the Parish Council that in reality Cookham would have their PCSO for approx. 80% of their working hours. However, what would happen if Inspector Macdonald moved jobs and someone new filled the post. Cllr Wellman also queried the cost of £15,000 for each of the two years. He said that surely the cost would go down in the second year because the training would only need up-dating and uniforms and equipment would already be purchased. In summary, he felt that a guaranteed 50% of the working hours was not good value for money. Cllr Fry pointed out that Thames Valley were struggling to retain their police officers and it was unlikely that any more Police would be allocated to Cookham. The Chairman acknowledged that the people of Cookham wanted to see more police presence but did not want to pay for it. Cllr Stretton felt that the deal was good value for money, he said an extra PCSO at £15,000 per year would equate to as little as 10p per person per week. Cllr Fry proposed that the Council accept the deal subject to negotiating the hours spent in Cookham, Cllr Stretton seconded the proposal.

VOTE: IN FAVOUR = 4 (Cllrs Fry, Stretton, Piercey and Kellaway) AGAINST = 7 (Cllrs Ricardo, Innes, Brar, Wellman, Harris, Coker and Woodbridge).

The Chairman said that the item was now closed for at least six months before any Councillor could bring it back to the agenda.

The Full Council meeting was then adjourned at 8.30pm to allow the Planning meeting to continue.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Minutes of the Full Council Meeting held on the 4^th December 2007 were circulated and duly signed with no amendments.

3. COMMITTEE REPORTS: The meetings of the Adoptive Acts Committee and the Finance and General Purposes Committee were both cancelled in December.

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

6. FINANCE:: The list of cheques raised in the month of December as listed on Page 565 were approved on the proposition of Cllr Brar, seconded by Cllr Kellaway.

7. BOROUGH COUNCILLORS’ REPORT: Cllr Stretton said that Borough’s parking enforcement was due to start in the next week. He also mentioned that the Borough already had ideas that were being put into action for The Pound. Drawings would be available next month.

10. RBWM SIGNS IN BELL ROPE MEADOW AND THE LACK OF CONSULTATION: It was confirmed that the Borough did not need planning permission to put these signs up because they were public information signs. The Chairman did query the lack of consultation, especially as the signs were in such a sensitive area close to the Thames.

11. CHAIRMAN’S SUBMISSIONS: The Chairman spoke of a visit to Cemetery Cottage with Cllrs Fry and Wellman. He said that he had been embarrassed at the lack of attention the Council had shown to the upkeep of the Cottage over the last 12 years. It was clear that there was much maintenance work and decoration that would need to be done including refurbishing the kitchen. The Clerk informed the Cllrs of the public enquiry into the planning application at White Place Farm. This was due to be held at the Town Hall on 8^th, 9^th and 10^th April 2008. The Clerk also up-dated the Council on the situation concerning the trees at the school.

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