COOKHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of the

 COOKHAM PARISH COUNCIL

PRESENT:   Cllr M. Barnes (Vice Chairman);

Cllrs: M. Brar, G. Harris, F. Hewer, M. Innes, M-L. Kellaway, R. Piercey,

D. Ricardo, Jean Stretton, John Stretton, H. J. Woodbridge and M.Wellman.

1.                  APOLOGIES AND DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

Apologies were received from Cllrs D. Fry and M. Coker.

2.                  APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Minutes of the Full Council Meeting held on the 4^th August 2009 were circulated and duly signed with two amendments. On Page 849, the Chairman’s Submissions should be numbered 13 and on Page 850, the Correspondence should be numbered 14.

3.         COMMITTEE REPORTS: The Minutes of the Footpaths and Open Spaces Committee held on 18^th August 2009 were circulated and approved with no amendments.

4.         REPORTS FROM OUTSIDE BODIES:

1.         Cllr Hewer attended a meeting of the Maidenhead Development Panel and spoke against recent planning applications at Marden, Lower Road and Widbrook Cottage. Both applications were however passed at the panel and the concern for screening for the neighbours did appear to be included in the decision.

2.         Cllr Innes brought the Council up-to-date with the situation regarding Bank House which is a tied cottage to Pinder Hall.

3.         Cllr Kellaway mentioned the opening of a new Alzheimers Drop-in Centre. 

5.         QUESTIONS UNDER STANDING ORDERS 24/26:  Cllr Ricardo asked one questions of the Chairman.

i) Why was a site meeting to discuss the drainage on the bend at Whyteladyes Lane not been organised. Cllr Ricardo had been requesting this site meeting since January 2009.

A: The Clerk said that she had once again emailed Stephen Brown, Head of Highways at RBWM and he had replied that one of his team would organise a meeting.

6.         FINANCE: The list of cheques raised in the month of August as listed on Page 865 was approved on the proposition of Cllr John Stretton and seconded by Cllr Woodbridge. Cllr Innes queried why the sum of £25 had been approved to pay the Ual

McGowen and yet the sum of £60 had been paid. Cllr Harris said that Ual had not been paid for the last two years.

7.         BOROUGH COUNCILLORS’ REPORT: Cllr Stretton mentioned the addition of two bollards outside Cookham Nursery. The pavement slopes down to the road  but is not always seen by traffic. The bollards would define the crossing and make life easier for the lollipop lady. Cllr Harris said that the lollipop lady does a grand job.

8.         HEATHROW AIRPORT ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE DIRECTIVE: Cllr Ricardo had asked for this consultation to be discussed at the Parish Council meeting. This is a draft noise action plan out for public consultation 2010-2015. Cllr Ricardo said that the content was confusing because it only included the two existing runways and not the planned third runway. Cllr Ricardo stated that planning permission had been given for the third runway but it was later agreed that the body seemed in favour but had not been granted permission at this point in time. Cllr Ricardo said that the noise was not controlled by BAA but the Government and the Secretary of State had the power to disregard the quota for night flight restrictions. Cllr Woodbridge intervened to ask how many Councillors understood the report. It was agreed that although Councillors may not understand the detail, it was still valuable to have comment from the Parish Council, particularly as aircraft noise was a problem in Cookham. Cllr Ricardo said that 5% of the flights fly outside their zone thus affecting Cookham Rise and the Dean. Cllr John Stretton, an ex-pilot, explained the reason why flights often have no choice but to go beyond the beacon at Sainsburys, Taplow. He said that it is down to the Government to control the flight paths used by the airlines. After more discussion it was AGREED that a generic response would be submitted from the Parish Council.

9.         DRAFT SCOPING REPORT FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY APPRAISAL OF THE VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT: Cllr Jean Stretton felt that it was a worthwhile document. Cllr Hewer said that it was an essential part of the process to ensure that the Village Design Statement is assessed using the criteria defined in the Sustainability Appraisal. Cllr Hewer drew the Councillors’ attention to the list in section 3. The VDS Working Group had selected the criteria they felt was important to be included. Cllr Hewer felt that other criteria should be included such as sustainability/greenhouse gases. It was AGREED that Cllr Hewer would draft a response to this document and include the item on the agenda of the meeting on 22^nd September 2009.

10.       TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT SCHOOLS SECTION OF THE COOKHAM PLAN:  This report was considered in detail at the Council Meeting on 19^th May. Cllr Wellman had spoken to people in School Lane and the idea of the road at the back of Holy Trinity Primary School was not popular with the school or the residents due to concerns over security. Cllr John Stretton said the back entrance idea had been his idea some years ago and there would always be resistance from those affected – he maintained that it would solve the traffic problem. Cllr Woodbridge said that many parents parked in Sutton Road and there was always a time lapse while walking their children in to school.

A bus from the Ray Mill Road area was mentioned.  After much discussion it was AGREED that Cllr Hewer’s comments should be incorporated in to a response that would be written by the Clerk. Councillors had two weeks to get their personal comments in to the Parish Office. The Schools section would be put on the internet along with the Parish Council comments – in the same manner as the rest of the Working Group submissions. This then leaves the Housing and Development report to be considered before writing a new version of The Cookham Plan.

11.       CHAIRMANS SUBMISSIONS: The Clerk mentioned that the deadline for items for the Parish Conference is 9^th October 2009. Two letters had been passed to the Vice Chairman regarding the height of the hedge at the bottom of 149 and 145 Whyteladyes Lane. The hedge belongs to Geoffrey Copas and is estimated to be 14ft in height. It was AGREED that the Clerk would bring the hedge to the attention of Helen Leonard at the Town Hall. The Clerk also mentioned being included in the works associated with Dorney Lake in preparation for the Olympic Rowing Championships in 2012.

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

The Meeting closed at 9.05pm.