Wednesday 29 January 2020

Apologies Matt & Nicola Yorke, Elaine Haine

Minutes of last meeting were agreed and signed by the Chair. 

Treasurers Report  

Balance in the bank account on 31^st December £837.64 a further £12.00 is to be paid in. This will then make the total £849.64. The liability insurance was paid on 20^th December the amount was £220.97.  

Fundraising 

We raised £325.20 on the day and £229.00 for the tables at the Christmas Fair. The footfall was a little disappointing and some stalls cancelled at the last minute.  However, due to all the hard work that needs to be put in by the fundraising committee it has been decided not do a fair this Christmas. The URA would like to thank the fundraising committee especially Liz Tory for all her hard work in recruiting the stall holders.

Thanks also to the WPC for the loan of the marquees and Lorraine and David for providing the venue. Also to Father Christmas aka Clive Griffiths for attending with sweets for the children. The Quiz night in October raised £149.00 a future Quiz night will be held in the spring Date T.B.C. It has been decided that as there are sufficient funds in the URA bank account and until the community land is more forward that we do not need to do more any extra fundraising this year except for the Quiz nights.

New Planning Application for Plot 1 Upware Road

There was a concern on the size of the dwelling and a worry that it is not going to be a family home. However after a discussion at the meeting and the size of the houses on the other plots a decision was made not make a comment to the ECDC.

Planning Application to remove the path Upware Road

The URA committee made a decision by means of a vote before this meeting to make a comment to the ECDC on the removal of the path in front of plots 1-5 Upware Road. It was decided that a path is needed in the village due to more cars parking on the road. This comment from the URA was emailed on 21^st January to the ECDC. You can see it on line on the ECDC website.

Residents Social Event

There are three social events planned this year Picnic in the Park, Summer BBQ and Halloween Pumpkin Carving. Dates are to be confirmed. The URA will be providing funds for these events to help financially. Leaflets will be posted around the village with updates.

Community Land  

The WPC have had the land cleared and sprayed with weed killer. This will be actioned again in the spring. They have also cleared the boundary of the land. Our thanks to Peter Haine for removing the stumps on the entrance and providing a barrier so that cars cannot get onto the space. The WPC have also had a quote to rotavate and flatten the land this is a cost of £3,500 plus VAT. They have allocated funds to pay for this.

Gwynneth has managed to get a free donation from the Woodland Trust, 90 small hedge saplings and 105 all year colour saplings. These will arrive in November. We will need a working party to plant these. Volunteers? It was decided that we need to have a plan for the land!

A number of residents were in agreement of some kind of wildlife area and perhaps a wild flower section plus fruit trees. This will need a bigger discussion at the October meeting when the land will hopefully be ready to start adding these areas. Life on the Old West are very interested in helping us with this project.

WPC Update from Liz Tory  

At some stage between now and September you may see some road closure signs from Upware to Swaffham Prior this is due to the New Builds in the village getting services to the plots. The WPC are contacting the Environmental Agency to say that the car park in Upware needs some attention due to the large pot holes in the middle of the parking area.

Broadband 

No update yet. Unfortunately, Sarah Marsh from Connecting Cambridgeshire was unable to attend this month’s meeting, Liz will email her again to see if she can come to the next meeting in April. There has been activity on the road with cable coming in to the village. 

Speedwatch 

This has been put on hold until the spring when sessions will be held.

Rubbish 

There has been some rubbish moved by the council that was by the entrance of the community land. Can all residents please be mindful of the bin bags on rubbish day as cat’s foxes and rats are opening the bags and spreading the rubbish around. Also can we be mindful with the extra parking along Upware Road sometimes when the bins and black sacks are left on the verge, there is nowhere else to go for pedestrians except the road.

Anti-Social Behaviour 

A number of residents are concerned about the youths riding off road motor bikes along the path by the moored boats up over the bridge and along the lode to Wicken. This seems to be mainly at a weekend. The Secretary has emailed Wicken Fen they have replied asking if any residents see this happening please could you 1. See if you can spot any number plates or identifying marks 2. Make a note of the day/time so that we can keep a record 3. Take photos if possible. Pease do not put yourselves in a conflicting situation. They will also ask rangers on duty at weekends and holidays to be extra vigilant.

Highways

We can apply through the WPC for various highway projects in the village. Things like:- Activated speed signs, roads bumps, kerb stones, village gates. If any resident would like to know the cost implication I have a 13 page document and I can let you have a copy or go onto the Highways Initiative website.  A large number of residents at the meeting would like Upware Road to be complete with kerb stones especially, if the new path way is completed in front of the building plots. This will be the main discussion at the meeting in April as will need to put our proposal to the WPC.

Extra vigilant 

There were two men acting suspiciously around Old School Lane at approx. 3.30am a couple of weeks ago. They had parked a car in front of the green barn by Hill Farm and were walking around shining lights onto the houses. Please dial 999 if you see anyone walking around the village at an unusual time in the night.

Many Thanks and hopefully see you at the next meeting in April. The URA would like to wish all residents a Happy Easter. 

Please contact me on 07825999179 or gwynneth@fpandp.com if you would like any further information on these minutes.