Agenda, decisions and minutes

None.

The Portfolio Holder is asked to sign the minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2012 as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2012 were agreed as a correct record.

Representatives from the Parish Council will be in attendance at the meeting.

A copy of the plan is attached to the electronic version of the agenda on the Council’s website and a paper copy will be available at the meeting.

The Leader ADOPTED the Stapleford Parish Plan.

Linda Browne, Community Liaison Support Officer, Geoff Hale, Clerk to Stapleford Parish Council and James Foreman, Vice-Chairman of Stapleford Parish Council were in attendance for this item.

Geoff Hale addressed the meeting stating that the parish plan process had commenced in 2009 with 8 volunteers. It began with the distribution to residents of a love/hate survey, followed by a questionnaire to gather suggestions and comments that culminated in the completion of the Parish Plan report and associated Action Plan. The recommendations contained in the Action Plan were as follows:

·         To preserve and enhance the country village feel

·         To improve access to the countryside around the village

·         To reduce traffic nuisance, improve traffic flow within and around the village, and enhance transport links

·         To strengthen community life and communication throughout the village

·         To improve community sports and recreation facilities

·         To enhance community services and employment opportunities within the village

·         To maintain confidence in Stapleford as a low crime area

Voluntary Action Groups had been created to take forward the recommendations and address the issues raised.

Following discussion on the lengthy bus journeys into Cambridge City, the route being via Addenbrookes, Hills Road and Station Road, it was suggested that linking to the services at Trumpington Park and Ride could help alleviate that problem. It was noted that the County Council was undertaking a review of routes as part of its Transport Strategy and that that suggestion could be submitted during the consultation process due to take place later in the year.

In conclusion, the Leader ADOPTED the Stapleford Parish Plan and thanked the representatives of the Parish Council for attending the meeting.

Linda Browne, James Foreman and Geoff Hale left the meeting following the conclusion of this item.

The Leader AGREED to the acquisition of a GRANTfinder licence for a trial period of up to one year, subject to:

(a)  Cross-service commitment to resourcing the multi-user licence facility in order to source funding for this authority (resources include a financial commitment to purchasing the licence and personnel to manage the system);

(b)  The development of an implementation plan, detailing timescales for launch, how the service will be used, managed and promoted;

(c)  A monitoring and evaluation plan, to enable this Council to assess the impact of purchasing the system in terms of external funding sourced as well as benefits and resource implications for individual service areas.

GRANTfinder is a database of EU and UK funding sources carrying over 6000 funding programmes. These can be searched using a number of criteria such as geographical location, applicant type, project value and purpose of funding.

Purchasing a GRANTfinder licence would enable all corporate service areas to search for funding for the Council itself, as well as supporting community groups to source funding for local projects.

It was noted that licences were currently held by a number of neighbouring authorities and there was the possibility of securing a reduced subscription fee for multiple licences if a consortium could be formed between the authorities.

The Leader was keen to hear how the councils that had already purchased GRANTfinder had benefited from its purchase and requested that officers provide a case study detailing the findings for consideration at his meeting in September 2013.

With that proviso, the Leader AGREED to the acquisition of a GRANTfinder licence for a trial period of up to one year, subject to:

(a)          Cross-service commitment to resourcing the multi-user licence facility in order to source funding for this authority (resources include a financial commitment to purchasing the licence and personnel to manage the system);

(b)          The development of an implementation plan, detailing timescales for launch, how the service will be used, managed and promoted;

(c)          A monitoring and evaluation plan, to enable this Council to assess the impact of purchasing the system in terms of external funding sourced as well as benefits and resource implications for individual service areas.

The Leader NOTED the information contained in the report.

To be arranged.

The Leader requested the future meetings be held on a quarterly basis, commencing in July 2012. (Post-meeting note: The next meeting will be held at 10am on 23 July 2012)