Council Activities
VACANCY FOR PARISH COUNCILLOR
Following the resignation of a Councillor for personal reasons, there is now a vacancy on the Parish Council. Would you be interested in serving your community? Meetings are held usually on the last Thursday of the month, starting at 7 pm.
Should you wish to be considered for co-option, please write to the Clerk giving brief details of your background and reason for wishing to join the Council. Alternatively, if you would like further information, again please contact the Clerk, who would be happy to tell you what your commitment would be as a member of the Council, in this very interesting way to become involved in your community.
Your Council is planning major expenditure on playpark facilities.
The playpark to the rear of the Fire Station has had new equipment installed at a cost of c£16,000, £11,000 of which was provided by the Parish Council and £5000 by a grant from Awards For All (part of the National Lottery Fund). Pound Lane has also received equipment suitable for teenagers. The first stage is the provision of a 'goal end wall' which has been purchased at a cost of around £6000 and is now in situ.
It has long been the Council's intention to provide play facilities on the northern side of the B645 and this ambition is moving nearer to fulfillment with the transfer of land off Hunters Way from the District Council to this Council. The hope is to establish a small play area for younger children on this site.
Are you a teenager? Would you like to be involved in the selection of equipment and design of the play area? If so, please contact the Clerk on 861877 or by e mail.
.jpg)
Councillor Keith Hutchinson is shown with our Groundsman, Adam, and the Parish Council's vehicle - a Piaggio Ape 50
The Piaggio was bought to enable Adam to reach the outskirts of the village easily and to save him time in walking back and forth. This versatile little three-wheeler has proved its worth and is now a familiar sight around the village.
COMMUNITY ACTION SCHEME
Do you use oil for heating? If so, you may be interested in a scheme being organised by the Parish Council.
Oil users are banding together to order from one supplier only. This will enable the supplier to co-ordinate his deliveries and economise on carriage costs, thereby passing on the saving
a) you may expect savings of at least 2p to 3p per litre and
b) there is a twice -yearly raffle of free oil
THE WINNERS OF THE DRAW FOR 2010 WERE MR & MRS HAYES OF STOW LONGA; MRS ROSS OF PERRY AND MR WAKEFILED OF GT STAUGHTON. THEY EACH WIN OIL TO THE VALUE OF £200.
INTERESTED?
Then all you need to do is contact the Clerk or any Councillor and we will make the arrangements.
THE SCHEME IS NOW IN OPERATION AND THE SUPPLIER IS CONQUEST OIL. RESIDENTS OF TILBROOK, GT STAUGHTON,PERRY,PERTENHALL AND STOW LONGA ARE WELCOME TO JOIN THOSE IN KIMBOLTON AND STONELY WHO WILL BE REAPING THE BENEFITS.
CAR PARKING IN THE HIGH STREET
Concern has been raised by the Kimbolton Retailers' Association that parking problems in the High Street are driving away trade and Council has been asked to revise the parking restrictions currently in force, to provide additional area of restriction and attempt to force all day parkers to park elsewhere.
The major problem with this approach is that we do not in Kimbolton possess any off-street parking, despite many years of trying to find a suitable site. We had thought that we had gone some way to solving the problem by the proposal to provide additional parking to the rear of Mandeville Hall but, due to the access being below Highways standards, the traffic calming necessary to enable this scheme to progress proved to be prohibitively expensive. Without off-street parking,the fear is that displacement of cars from the High Street will result in them parking all day in other residential areas.
What do YOU think of the situation? Do you agree that there is a problem and, if so, how would you solve it.
HIGH STREET PAVING
Kimbolton High Street is a conservation area and the Parish Council has been concerned at the damage which has been caused to paving slabs and the poor quality 'temporary' repairs to the cobbles made by the utilities.
A major scheme is now complete and involved the total re-paving of the High Street footpaths and renewing of the cobbles. Where the cobbles extended to the roadside at the access ramps, these were replaced with paving, to make it easier for wheel chair users. The cost of this scheme was about £100,000, of which £20,000 was paid by the Parish Council.
District Councillor Jonathan Gray has been instrumental in obtaining Huntingdonshire District Council's agreement to undertake and fund the majority cost of the scheme.
The work started in January 2008 and continued for about 16 weeks.
WAR MEMORIAL
Thanks to a 75% grant from the District Council the fencing around the War Memorial has been replaced. The original fencing was erected in 1929 and had rotted. New oak fencing has been provided together with planters at a total cost of around £3000.
CEMETERY TREES
One of the four tall Wellingtonia fir trees in the cemetery was struck by lightning on Friday 18 August 2006 and the tree was split down the middle of the trunk for more than half of its height.
Sadly, there was no choice other than to fell it as a matter of urgency. A dead tree on the eastern boundary of the cemetery will also be felled and we ask that you keep clear of the area, both before and during the tree work.
Both trees will be replaced so that future generations may enjoy them. The Council has also commissioned a landscape architect to design the extension to our cemetery and it is indended that this will feature trees similar to those in the present cemetery.
Regrettably, a further conifer tree fell in the gales on 18 January 2007.
YOUTH CLUB
Our Youth Club had been operating from the Scout premises on a temporary basis since the County Council sold the community building. The County Council provided £65,000 towards new Youth premises and work to provide an extension to the Mandeville Hall which is primarily for the Youth Club, but is also available to other hirers, has now been completed.
A grant of a further £25,000 was received from Huntingdonshire District Council and the balance of funding was met by the Parish Council.
Building works commenced early in 2009 and were completed in November. Facilities include a hall, pool/games room and a full kitchen (see pictures below) and, with its own toilets, it is a self-contained unit, suitable for groups of up to 30 - 40 people. The Youth Club meets on Thursday evenings from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm and the hall is available for hire at other times. Contact the Mandeville Hall Committee on 01480 860518 or 861877 for bookings.
.jpg)
.jpg)
CEMETERY COTTAGE
The Council owns a 2 bedroom cottage built in 1858 situated within the walls of our cemetery. This was originally the Cemetery Superintendent's home but has been let to tenants for many years. The cottage became vacant in 2007 and the Council decided to make necessary improvements to make it a pleasant home for someone. Work started in December 2008 and was completed in September 2009 and the cottage is now let.
WINDFARM
A planning application for a windfarm in the area of the Bicton Industrial Estate has beeen submitted and responses are required by 17 September 2010. The application is for four turbines. A public meeting to hear the points of view put forward by Broadview Energy and the Stop Bicton Windfarm Group will be held on Thursday 16 September 2010, commencing at 8 pm in the Mandeville Hall. Following the meeting, at 9.45 pm, the Parish Council will convene to consider the application and determine their response.