On Monday 26th April meetings of Cheveley Parish Council and Cheveley Pavilion and Recreation Ground Charity were again held via an online meeting platform. These meetings were held in place of the scheduled meetings that had been due to take place on Tuesday 13th April which sadly had to be cancelled as there was not a sufficient notice period outside of mourning days following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh Parish Councillors, County Councillor Mathew Shuter, District Councillor Alan Sharp and members of the public were in attendance.
It was reported that the McCalmont Cup and Young Volunteer of the Year Award had been engraved with the names of this year’s recipients and delivered ready to be presented at the Annual Parish Meeting.
A Fire Risk Assessment of the Parish Hall was due to be carried out on Tuesday 27th April.
The parts needed for the Meadow Lane notice boards had been received and the handy man would be installing these.
Councillor Fullerton had removed the traffic bollards on Saxon Street Road in order that cutting machinery could use the verges during the summer months. He had left one on the bend in Saxon Street to deter speeding traffic.
It was reported that the builders had finished their contracted work at the Parish Hall. Councillors Marvin and Gibson had been making enquiries regarding the purchase of units to replace those in the kitchen which had been removed due to their poor condition. It was agreed to accept the quotation that represented the best value for money. It was decided that, if possible, Councillors would view the inside of the hall prior to the next Council meeting.
A new notice board which would also act as a sign for the Cheveley Parish Hall would be purchased providing there were no adverse planning issues.
The Council and also the Cheveley Parish Hall Management Team had been investigating the necessary procedures to be followed to comply with Covid-19 regulations.
At the meeting of Cheveley Pavilion & Recreation Ground Charity that followed it was reported that Cheveley Sports Club had been able to recommence their activities and the pavilion had been re-opened for them. A toilet had also been re-opened.
The next meetings of the Parish Council, which would be the Annual meeting, and also of the Recreation Ground Charity would be held at an earlier date than originally planned on Thursday 6th May at 7.30.p.m via Zoom. It was anticipated that future meetings would be held in person at the Parish Hall.
The 2021 Cheveley Annual Parish Meeting was held via an on-line platform on Thursday 29th April. It had originally been scheduled for Tuesday 20th April but had to be postponed to fulfill the required notice period outside the mourning days following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. Several members of the public joined Parish Councillors.
The McCalmont Cup had been presented to Lynne Noble in recognition of her enthusiastic involvement in many aspects of Parish life over numerous years. These included acting as Chair to the local Women’s Institute. Sadly due largely to the recent unavoidable restrictions the group were unable to continue but had hoped to resume in a slightly different format shortly.
The inaugural Young Volunteer Award had been presented to Matilda Malagueira-Cockman. Matilda had been responsible for starting the placement of beautiful barrels of flowering plants throughout the Parish and for the placement of bat and bird boxes at suitable positions.
Council Chairman, Sallie Thomas, gave the annual report outlining the work carried out by the Council over the past year. This was dominated by the purchase and renovation of the Cheveley Parish Hall which was now almost complete and was expected to be fully open by the end of the summer. In the meantime the Council carried on with its work throughout the Parish including the instigation of various traffic calming measures, the production of the Neighbourhood Plan and maintenance of open areas including the wildflower meadow at the cemetery.
The report from the District Councillors of Woodditton Ward outlined how the work of the East Cambridgeshire District Council had been affected by the pandemic. Many of their officers had carried out administrative work providing support to residents whilst maintaining a full service in other areas.
Mrs Celia Bruce, Treasurer of St Mary’s Parochial Church Council, reported on a difficult year with the Annual Church Fete once again having to be cancelled due to Covid-19.
Ian Jackson, Secretary of Cheveley Sports Club, reported that they had finally been able to resume training sessions for juniors and had a good response at their opening afternoon. They anticipated being able to build on this and for the seniors to start again from 7 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays commencing shortly. In the absence of being able to hold regular sessions during the pandemic restrictions they had held a treasure hunt which had proved extremely popular with about 90 groups taking part.
The Chair of the School Governors, Rob Walden, sent a message thanking the Community Association for their willingness to allow the school to use the community room full time for the duration of the pandemic at no charge. This had allowed the school to operate safely at full capacity while meeting all the social distancing requirements.
Mr John Harvey, Chairman of the URC Lawn Tennis Club, reported on the many improvements to the courts that had been undertaken. They were hopeful that Parishioners from all parts of the Parish would consider joining them in the future.
Council audited Accounts for 2019/2020, unaudited accounts for 2020/2021 and Charity Annual Reports for both years were available for public information but there were no questions regarding these.
The public were thanked for attending the meeting and everyone looked forward to being able to meet in person once regulations permitted.
The June meeting of the Parish Council will be held in-person at Cheveley Parish Hall.