GO ONLINE
The Parish Council together with the Mandeville Hall Committee and following the generous donation of three computers by Luminus, has established a Learning Centre to teach basic computing. This follows the government's "Go On-Line" initiative and is intended to give opportunities to anyone wishing to learn how to operate a computer. The course is entirely free and we intend to supplement it by starting an Internet Cafe in the Mandeville Hall on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 10 am to 1 pm, commencing 10 January 2012.

Do you know anyone who might benefit from this course? If so, please contact the Clerk at 01480 861877 or clerk@kimboltonandstonely-pc.gov.uk

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. Council has also agreed in principle to site a Skate Park at Pound Lane. The provision of this is, of course, subject to obtaining the necessary funding.

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 Skate Park? If so, please contact the Clerk on 861877 or by e mail.

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 2011 WERE MRS KAREN PURSER OF SPALDWICK AND MR BLAIR OF KIMBOLTON. 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.

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.

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 were required by 17 September 2010. The application is for four turbines. This Council recommended refusal of the application and Huntingdonshire District Council resolved to refuse the application in January 2011. The applicants have appealed and the Hearing started in August 2011, was adjourned and will complete just before Christmas.