COOKHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of the

 COOKHAM PARISH COUNCIL

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

Cllrs: M. Brar, P. Brockwell, M. Coker, D. Fry, G. Harris, F. Hewer,

M. Innes, M-L. Kellaway, R. Piercey (part time), D. Ricardo, Jean Stretton, John Stretton and M.Wellman.

1.                  APOLOGIES AND DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

All Councillors were present at this meeting.  Cllr Coker declared a personal interest in item 10 of the agenda. Cllr Piercey declared a personal interest in item 8 on the agenda. Cllr Ricardo declared a personal interest in item 13.

2.                  APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Minutes of the Full Council Meeting held on the 2^nd December 2008 were circulated and duly signed with no amendments. On Page 737, item 4, Cllr Fry commented that the clearance work in Marsh Meadow was in the Schools Conservation section of the meadow. On Page 737, item 9, Cllr Harris commented that the reason he did not attend the Youth Club was because he received the paperwork too late for the meetings.

3.            COMMITTEE REPORTS: The Minutes of the Adoptive Acts Committee held on 9^th December 2008 were circulated and approved with no amendments. The Minutes of the Finance & General Purposes Committee held on 16^th December 2008 were circulated and approved with one amendment. Cllr Hewer pointed out on Page 745, the addition to the precept should state £2,000 for the 2009-2010 financial year.    

4.            REPORTS FROM OUTSIDE BODIES:

There were no reports from outside bodies.

5.             QUESTIONS UNDER STANDING ORDERS 24/26:  The Chairman had received several questions from Cllr Ricardo which was answered by a report from the Clerk, read out during the meeting and handed to Cllr Ricardo. The questions asked for an update on the Marlow flood relief scheme; site meeting on the icy bend of Whyteladyes Lane; ownership of the Causeway; and the completion date of the Schools section of the revised Traffic and Transport section of the Parish Plan.

6.            FINANCE: The list of cheques raised in the month of December as listed on Page 754 were approved on the proposition of Cllr Innes and seconded by Cllr Brockwell.

7.         BOROUGH COUNCILLORS’ REPORT: Cllr Stretton had little to report other than the Town Hall was back from the Christmas festivities and it was now business as usual.

8.            SATURDAY MORNING FITNESS CLASSES ON ALFRED MAJOR: The Clerk had received a request from Mr David Sheppard to hold fitness classes on the new Outdoor Fitness equipment. The Councillors had several concerns on how this business venture would affect the rules of the convenants on the Alfred Major Recreation Ground. Cllr Wellman was not sure that the developers contributions that had purchased the equipment should be used in a commercial manner. It was AGREED that the Clerk would seek more information.

Cllr Piercey left the meeting at this point.

9.            REVISED CYCLE OF MEETINGS:  Cllr Wellman and the Clerk had been looking at the cycle of meetings. There was concern that the second meeting of the evening often started at a very late time resulting in rushed decisions that had not been fully considered in the proper manner. A draft timetable had been set up to try to get just one meeting on an evening. The Planning and Full Council meetings on the first Tuesday however would not be affected. The Clerk had arranged certain Committee Meetings around key dates in the year such as the confirmation of the precept and the approval of the Annual Return. Cllr Brockwell was against reducing the number of Committee Meetings from six to three with one optional. She said that Councillors would lose interest if there were fewer Committee meetings. Other Councillors however thought that it worth giving the new timetable a trial. This was AGREED.

10.            APPROVAL OF PRECEPT REQUEST: Cllr Wellman said that the precept request was worked out on the Band D equivalent based on the number of properties in our parish @November 2008. Last year’s precept of £90,000 divided by the Band D equivalent set at 2848.05 left tax payers with a bill of £31.42 for the year. This year the Band D rate had been set at 2864.53, and with more homes built in Cookham, the Parish Council tax had dropped. However Cllr Woodbridge said that if the precept was left unchanged, this would only amount to a reduction of 18p per household. By raising the precept by £2,000 to £92,000 this would increase the bill by 52p per year or 1.65%. Cllr Wellman felt that the Council should cover the possible rise in staff salaries. Cllr Hewer however felt that the Parish Council should look to avoid any increase for this year due to the state of the economy. Cllr Woodbridge proposed an increase of £2,000 to £92,000 for the 2009-2010 financial year. This was seconded by Cllr Wellman.

VOTE: IN FAVOUR = 14, AGAINST = 1.

11.       NEW MODEL PUBLICATION SCHEME:  The Government has created a new scheme where Councils must produce a tariff of information in response to enquiries under the Freedom of Information Act. The scheme works primarily for Councils with their own web sites. However Cookham Parish Council can display a tariff on www.cookham.com and on their noticeboards. The Council is entitled to charge for requests for information. The Clerk would draft the tariff and the option to price for information would be considered at a later date. This new model publication scheme is compulsory.

12.       NEXT STEPS FOR DRAFT FLOOD PROPOSALS: Cllr Ricardo stated that it is up to individual householders to organise their emergency escape in times of flooding. The Parish Council’s only responsibility is to open the Causeway. The National Trust are currently looking into whether they own the Causeway. Cllr Stretton said the legal department at RBWM are investigating the issue of ownership. Cllr Barnes felt that the health and safety dictated that the Parish Council should not open the Causeway. Cllr Hewer suggested a meeting with the Emergency Planning Officer, Darren Firth. The Clerk said that Mr Firth stated that Cookham was next in line for a Community Flood Plan but this was 18 months ago and no help had been offered so far. The Clerk was asked to draft a letter to Ian Trenholm stating that whilst there was so much confusion on the ownership of the Causeway, it would be unfair to ask the Parish Council to take responsibility for opening the gates in the event of a flood. The letter would also formally complain about the lack of help from Darren Firth. This decision was AGREED unanimously.

13.             CHAIRMAN’S SUBMISSIONS: There were no submissions this evening.

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

The Meeting closed at 9.30pm.