Minutes of Main Council

Held in the Community Room on Tuesday, 2^nd May 2006, after the Planning Meeting, at 7.30pm.

In attendance: Cllr M. Cubley (RBWM), Andrew Streat (Maidenhead Advertiser) and Dominic Bareham (Maidenhead Express).

Apologies were received from Cllrs Fry, Piercey, Fairlie, Saintclair-Abbott and Stretton. There were no Declarations of Interest.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Minutes of the Council Meeting held on the 4^th April 2006 were circulated and duly signed with one amendment. One page 251, Chairman’s Submissions, Cllr Wellman asked for it to be noted that the 1.4 million was pounds from 106 contributions.

3. COMMITTEE REPORTS: The Minutes of the Adoptive Acts Committee held on 12^th April 2006 were approved with no amendment. The Minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Committee held on 18^th April 2006 were approved with two amendments. On page 258, item 5, line 6 should read ‘£2,000 per annum’; also on Page 258, item 7, line 3 should read ‘£1,000 per month’.

1. Cllr Coker had attended several meetings on the Steering Group of the Parish Plan – copies of relevant paperwork to be distributed to all Councillors.

2. Cllrs Brar attended the Parish Conference as a Borough Cllr. She mentioned the Wolfson Trust that encourages grants to repair war memorials and also the website: www.warmemorial.org .

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

6. FINANCE:: The list of cheques raised in the month of April as listed on Page 266 were approved on the proposition of Cllr Wellman and seconded by Cllr Barnes.

7. BOROUGH COUNCILLORS’ REPORT: Cllr Ricardo said that he was attending a flood meeting on 17^th May.

8. “TREES IN PARISHES” – TO DECIDE WHETHER THE COUNCIL WISHES TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS SCHEME AND TO RECOMMEND OUR CHOICE OF TREE AND LOCATION: This is a new scheme which plants a good specimen on Parish Council land. It was AGREED that Cookham Parish Council would request to be included in this scheme. Cllr Harris proposed four choices of tree:1^st Horse Chestnut; 2^nd Lime, 3^rd Ash and 4^th Oak. Cllr Fry seconded this choice and the Parish Council AGREED to this order of preference. Cllr Woodbridge proposed locating the tree in the corner of Broom Hill on the Alfred Major Recreation Ground. This was seconded by Cllr Harris. Vote: IN FAVOUR = 9, OBJECTION = 2.

9. TO FORMALLY APPROVE A 3-YEAR FIXED SUM CONTRIBUTION OF £2,000 PER ANNUM TOWARDS THE EXTENDED OPENING HOURS AT COOKHAM LIBRARY: Cllr Coker queried whether the Parish Council was invoiced for this contribution. The Clerk confirmed that an invoice is only sent when the contribution has been approved by the Finance Committee and endorsed at Full Council. Cllr Wellman proposed supporting this fixed sum for three years, this was seconded by Cllr Fry and AGREED unanimously.

10. TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO STANDING ORDER 77: Cllr Wellman said that the figure on the newly adopted Standing Orders give the approval of quotes up to the value of £50,000. Previously the Clerk has had to get three quotes for all work valued at over £1,000. It was proposed by Cllr Wellman and seconded by Cllr Brockwell to set the value at £5,000 for Cookham Parish Council. This was AGREED unanimously.

11. TO APPROVE THE INSTALLATION OF A FEEDER PILLAR FOR THE CHRISTMAS TREE AT STATION PARADE: This was approved and agreed at the Finance Meeting subject to the permission of the landowner. On the proposal of Cllr Wellman, seconded by Cllr Coker it was AGREED to go ahead with this installation as it will make the supply to the Christmas tree in the Rise safer and more attractive. VOTE: IN FAVOUR = 9, ABSTENTION = 1.

12. TO APPROVE A SIX MONTH CONTRACT WITH MR KEITH HEYBOURN: The Clerk explained that with an ashes burial the coming Thursday, formal approval for a new Sexton was sought before the next Adoptive Acts meeting in June. It was AGREED to offer a six month contract in the first case. This was proposed by Cllr Brockwell, seconded by Cllr Wellman and AGREED unanimously.

13. CHAIRMAN’S SUBMISSIONS: The Clerk had received a call from Richard Simmonds asking that the Parish Council consider appointing a substitute Cllr to remain on call should Cllr Saintclair-Abbott not be able to make future meetings on the Parish Plan. It was AGREED that Cllr Barnes would cover for Cllr Saintclair-Abbott.

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