MARHOLM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 16 JANUARY 2025 IN THE VILLAGE HALL
Commenced at 19.00 and finished at 20.25pm
Present: Sue Welch ( Chair & Councillor) Pete Bone ( Councillor) Priya Karthikeyan ( Councillor) Mike Atkinson (Councillor)
APOLOGIES: Michelle Plant due to work commitments
DRAFT
1. Minutes of the last meeting
Minutes of the last meeting held on 3 January 2025 were agreed and signed by the chair as a true record of the meeting.
2.Outstanding Actions from meeting in November
Village sign- now complete and stands proud on the village Green
30 mph extended down Woodcroft Road- Chair to chase
Rubbish bin- new bin still not installed despite our Ward Councillor paying £500 out of his fund for base to be installed- Chair to chase
Bus Consultation- no update
NEW ISSUES:
PARISH CLERK- since Priya resigned as Clerk we have been trying to find a replacement. We have taken legal advice from CALPAC and we can have a voluntary Clerk who isn’t a Councillor but that person can not be the Financial Officer. Meanwhile the Chair and another councillor is managing day to day. This isn’t sustainable. The PC cannot afford to pay as the precept is too small. The council will provide training and membership to the Clerks’ organisation. Please contact the chair if you are interested. Incidental expenses will be paid.
AREA AT THE TOP OF WATEREND LANE:
3 councillors plus Tim Hawkins removed the slabs from around the Oak tree and planted bulbs. We will put in wild flower seeds in the spring. We had an offer to cut the grass for a villager so we talked to City Council about taking this out of Aragon’s contract. This costs the council as they must adjust their contract, so we decided to leave it to the council to cut.
CHRISTMAS TREE
Villagers liked having the tree on the Green but it needs to be bigger and better next year.
SPEEDWATCH
This is carried out regularly but more limited in Winter because of shorter day lengths. 2 people were caught last Saturday and will have been written to by the Police. New volunteers are always needed. Please contact the Chair if interested.
POLICE FUNDING SURVEY
This survey is on our website and needs to be completed by 20 January
PETERBOROUGH LOCAL PLAN
Marholm council have supported a letter to City Council from Glinton asking the Council to only take the plan up to 2041 rather than 2044. Adding an extra 3 years means another 3000 homes are needed.
LITTER PICKING
Next date 14 February organised by our village DofE students. They will be in touch.
MPC FINANCE
Balance at 7 November. £3243.29
Expenditure.
Silva Builders. £1400
Christmas Tree. £50
Bulbs. £32
Varnish for the sign. £20
Balance at 15 January. £1676.39
AOB
Discussion about asking for a weigh restriction on Woodcroft Road to avoid bridge damage. It was decided that most of the heavy traffic over the bridge is farm machinery so it would be impossible for them to carry out some of their business if that was put in place. No further action.
There was a complaint from a villager about the mess left by the cutting of the hedge at the corner of Woodcroft Road after the council approached Milton to reduce the width. We will monitor this in the future.
NEXT MEETING
13 March 2025
If any Marholm Resident has something they would like to raise with the council, please email: clerk@marholmparishcouncil.gov.uk