Kingston Village
Parish Council News
As reported in the February village magazine:
2021/22 Budget and precept: The Parish Council has set its budget for the coming financial year at £9,683, slightly lower than the current year. The precept has been set to give zero increase to the parish council component of householders’ council tax.
East West Railway: if you haven’t already done so, you are encouraged to sign the petition set up by the Cambridge Approaches Group, campaigning for East West Rail to include the ‘Northern Route’ in their consideration of possible routes for the Cambourne – Cambridge part of the new railway. The petition can be accessed at https://cambridgeapproaches.org/?p=545
Dog owners: It has been reported that there is an increasing amount of dog waste being left along Kingston footpaths, particularly along and beyond Field Road. Please always remove your dog’s waste from the footpath. Either ‘flick it with a stick’ into a ditch or field, or bag it and take it with you. Please do not leave filled bags along footpaths. Although walkers no doubt have every intention to collect these bags on their return, they are often forgotten and are an eyesore to other walkers, a nuisance to landowners and a threat to wildlife. Please carry them with you and dispose of them in the waste bins around the village (bagged waste can be put in the normal litter bins in the village) or at home. We hope to soon have two new bins installed at the start of popular walk routes to help with this.
Grants available: some funding is available from Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service for families in need to help out with food, fuel or other essentials. There is a ‘pot’ available for South Cambridgeshire residents which will be awarded on a first come, first served basis until it is exhausted. Please contact Donal O’Donnell, Joan Reynolds or me in complete confidence.
New Parish Clerk: the closure of schools has meant that our new Parish Clerk- designate, Mimi Wheeler, has found herself fully occupied with the home education of her children, and it would not be fair to pile the new job on top of that. The Parish Council has agreed therefore to delay the start date (formerly set at 1 February 2021) at least until the children are back at school. In the meantime, I will continue in the role.
Peter Stokes, Parish Clerk
Playground
The goal nets at the playground are replaced from time to time by the Parish Council at some expense. It is disappointing to find the nets with large holes in them that cannot have happened in normal use. We can only conclude that the damage has occurred through abuse or vandalism. Please keep your eyes open for any such behaviour at the playground and if possible discourage it. If you are aware of misbehaviour and know the culprits, please let the Parish Clerk know.
Flooding
Fortunately flooding is not a major problem in the village, but there are some documents available from the County Council everyone should be aware of:
Blue bins
South Cambs District Council has changed its guidance regarding what to do with blue bin overflow. They now advise as follows:
If the blue bin is full, excess recyclable material will be collected if placed in one transparent sack next to the blue bin. Please put any glass in your blue bin, not in the sack for safety reasons. One bundle of cardboard may be left next to your bin if it is of a size which would fit inside the bin if there were space. Please tape or tie into a bundle to assist collection. Please do not use other colour wheeled bins for your excess recycling. You can get an additional blue bin free of charge. Contact: email refuse@scambs.gov.uk, tel 03450 450 063.
Noisy Neighbours
If noise from your neighbours becomes a regular nuisance, you should first approach the neighbours to try and reach a reasonable solution. If this fails, you need to contact South Cambs District Council Environmental Health department. There is some useful information on this page: https://www.scambs.gov.uk/environment/pollution/noise-nuisance/
They have a statutory duty to take action where appropriate, but will expect you to have approached the offending party first, and to keep a log of occurrences for a period of time.
Parking
We have had several complaints about inconsiderate parking in the village. We know that parking space is at a premium, but please consider your neighbours when you or your guests park. In particular we ask that vehicles are not parked on village greens, which are a pleasant visual feature of our village, intended as a public amenity. If you do not have space on your own premises, the village hall car park can be used as a temporary parking place.
For more parking advice, and an advisory map: click here
Audit of Accounts 2019-2020
Kingston Community Plan
To download a copy of the plan: click here
South Cambridgeshire Local Plan
The new Local Plan to cover the period up to 2031 has been found to be "sound" by the inspector and accordingly has been adopted. More information is available on the SCDC website https://www.scambs.gov.uk/localplan
What is a Local Plan?
A Local Plan is a statutory document that local planning authorities must prepare that sets out the Council's vision for its area and includes policies and proposals that set out a framework for new development, the use of land and conservation of key assets. It should look forward over a 15 year period from the date it is adopted.
Under the Government's new Localism approach that will see the abolition of regional plans, the District Council's plan making responsibilities have been enhanced and it is now, for the first time, for the Council to set the overall development strategy for the area, as well as sites for development, working with neighbouring authorities under the 'duty to cooperate'. - From SCDC Briefing Paper
Kingston Oil Club
A reminder that Kingston has a group purchasing scheme in operation to save hassle and achieve good prices for heating oil. We use our local broker Agricole Oil.
For more information: click here
Junction of Church Lane and the B1046
There have been complaints from time to time about long grass at this junction resulting in poor visibility for drivers turning towards Cambridge. The Highways Department is responsible for cutting grass verges, and has a programme to cut them. Unfortunately weather variations can result in growth of the grass between scheduled cuts.
The Highways people can carry out additional cuts, but they need to be requested to do so. Please therefore report to Peter Stokes any problems in this area, and he will pass on a request to the Highways Department.
Meeting Dates (subject to confirmation nearer the time)
Parish Council meetings in 2021 will be held on 12 January, 9 March, 11 May, 3 July, 14 September, 9 November
The Annual Parish Meeting is held in May (cancelled in 2020 because of covid-19 restrictions). The provisional date for 2021 is Thursday 20th May.
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