COOKHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of the

 COOKHAM PARISH COUNCIL

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

Cllrs. P. Brockwell, M. Coker, S. Fairlie, G. Harris, A. Hay,

R. Piercey and A. Prichard.

1.      APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs: Barnes, Innes, Saintclair-Abbott and Stretton. Cllrs Brar and Ricardo were attending a RBWM Cabinet Meeting and would attend later if possible. There were no Declarations of Interest.

2.                  MINUTES AND MATTERS ARISING: The Minutes of the Council Meeting held on the 1^st February 2005 were agreed and signed as a correct record with no amendments. There were no Matters arising.

3.                  COMMITTEE REPORTS: The Minutes of the Adoptive Acts Committee meeting held on 15^th February 2005 were circulated and duly approved with no amendments. There were no Matters Arising.

4.  REPORTS FROM OUTSIDE BODIES:

1.         Cllrs Wellman and Prichard attended a Stakeholders Planning Meeting which was full of useful information. The Clerk was asked to copy the Minutes of this meeting to all Councillors as soon as they were available. Mr David Trigwell also spoke briefly about the 106 monies to say that smaller projects were more likely to be successful. The monies would not be forthcoming until the new development starts and the project must be finished within five years. Cllr Prichard asked Cllr Howes to inform the Clerk as to where the money is going and suggested a weekly up-date on the website.

2.                  Cllr S. Fairlie attended a meeting of the Patients Participation Group and confirmed that Dr Joe Santos was leaving.

3.                  Cllr M. Coker attended a Governors Meeting at Cookham Rise Primary School.

4.                  Cllr G. Harris attended a RBWM meeting on Anti-Social Behaviour.

5. QUESTIONS UNDER STANDING ORDERS 24/26:

There were two questions, however, Cllr Ricardo’s question was cancelled because he was not present. Cllr Wellman asked the Clerk to find out the status of the Station Hill Project.

6.            FINANCE:

Cllr Wellman mentioned the two invoices from SEC for installing and taking down the lights on the two Christmas trees. He said that unless an alternative arrangement can be found the Parish Council could not afford lights on the trees in future. On the proposition of Cllr A. Prichard, seconded by Cllr M. Wellman, the cheques as listed on Page 036 were passed for payment in the month of February.

7.            BOROUGH COUNCILLORS’ REPORT:

There were no Borough Councillors present to give a report.

8.         TO COMMENT ON THE SPEED RESTRICTION ORDER FOR MAIDENHEAD ROAD: The Clerk informed the Council that Cllr Barnes was taking action to try to get the speed among the houses down from 40mph to 30mph. It was noted that the current Speed Restriction Order had errors as far as Maidenhead Road was concerned. However the new Order showed 50mph for the entire stretch of road. The limit was currently 40mph among the houses and 50mph on the rest of the road. Cllr Wellman said that there had been repeated requests from the residents of Halfway Houses to reduce the speed limit to 30mph outside their houses. It was RESOLVED that the Parish Council would write to RBWM  to ask for a Speed Restriction Order for 40mph slowing to 30mph after Long Lane among the houses.

9.         TO APPROVE THE DRAFT COMMITTEE STRUCTURE AND TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR IMPLEMENTATION AT AGM IN MAY:  The Chairman worked through the various up-dates and changes on the draft Committee Structure and Terms of Reference document. A copy of the agreed version can be seen on Pages 036,037,038, 039 in the Minutes. The main changes were to incorporate the new Emergency Committee; appoint an extra member to the Footpath and Open Spaces and the Adoptive Acts Committees, and to move the Allotments from Adoptive Acts to the Footpaths Committee. This was mainly due to the extra work that the Cemetery will need to bring it in line with ICCM and Government guidelines. On the proposition of Cllr Wellman, seconded by Cllr Brockwell, it was AGREED to pass the draft document.

10.       TO DISCUSS GRAFFITI, VANDALISM AND GENERAL CRIME IN COOKHAM: The Chairman said that this was an ongoing battle with no simple answer. The contents of the letter received from Mr Tilbury were noted but the Chairman said that vandalism was committed by all age groups and not just youths. Cllr Harris reminded the Council of his wish to implement a drinking ban on the Alfred Major. The Chairman said that if CCTV cameras could cover the play area, allotments and the football club, the police would stand a better chance of catching the offenders. Cllr Coker suggested a dialogue with the railways to raise their interest in these problems. It was AGREED that

the Clerk should acknowledge Mr Tilbury’s letter and continue to work with the police force and RBWM.

11.              Item 11 should have been discussed under Section 66 of the Terms of Reference. See Page 035 in the Minutes.

12.            CHAIRMAN’S SUBMISSIONS: 

The Chairman reminded the members of the Footpaths and Open Spaces Committee that comments on RBWM’s Rights of Way report were needed by the next meeting. There was also news that the bus service in Cookham Dean had been reinstated for a further year until the end of March 2006.

13.            CORRESPONDENCE:

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

The Meeting closed at 9.45 pm.