Holme Parish Council News
Annual Parish Meeting
The Annual Parish Meeting took place at the village hall on 9 May. The Annual Parish Meeting is not a Council meeting but is a statutory meeting which is facilitated here in Holme, as in many other parishes, by the Clerk and Chairman of the Parish Council.
36 members of the village attended the meeting. Whilst this is a consistent turnout with previous years, it represents only about 7% of residents which is really disappointing given that this was also an opportunity to talk about things generally and with all the planning applications we have seen this year I have to say I was expecting more people to attend. If you didn’t come, I would be interested to find out why not. In the meantime we have to assume you are content with the hard work your County, District and Parish Councillors put in. May I add that they are all volunteers and do not get paid – thank you to them all. The Chairman of the Council reported on Council activities for the year and representatives of most of the village organisations gave their reports. The Editor of the Holme Parish News would like to invite those who do not contribute an article regularly to do so – email address on the back page.
One suggestion was received concerning trying to get a foot/cycle path along the B660 from Holme to Ratcliffe’s garage to join up with the one along the B1043 and this will proceed to the next Council meeting.
Planning Comments have been put forward to Huntingdonshire District Council concerning the proposed development at Laws Yard covering density, number of dwellings, sewerage and ecology.
Speakers Stewart Howe and Dr Alison Graham told us about the new Annabelle Davis centre in Yaxley. This was a very interesting and relevant presentation. The centre provides early intervention family support and is available for people in Holme to use but sadly some people will never know as, embarrassingly for the Chairman and me, almost half the audience left just as they began to speak. I have needed to apologise to Stewart and Alison for this rudeness.
Finally – the Holme Parish News can now be read online – on the new Council website www.holmecambsparish.org The formatting is not perfect yet but I am working on it when time allows.
Next full Council meeting: Tuesday 16 July 2019 at 7.00pm at the Village Hall. All welcome to listen, please let me know ahead if you wish to address the Council.
Mrs J Osborn – Parish Clerk 01487 831559 holmeparishclerk@gmail.com
Holme Community Speedwatch
With the lighter nights coming back we are running our sessions later so hitting the commuter or rush hour traffic With over 100 vehicles per hour and between 25% and 30% of them exceeding the 30 mph speed limit its no wonder we con tinue with our campaign. Sadly several of them are repeat offenders and will be receiving visits from the police as the polite request hasn’t worked.
Surprisingly enough we also notice that during school holidays the speeding incidences are reduced too. Is this because so many people are on holiday or is it the school run parents who are doing all the speeding. I am sure their children may have something to say about that as we had a “junior” session of speedwatch one afternoon and they were surprised at how many people were speeding or talking on their mobile phones plus how difficult it was to get the required information. Initiate them early and hopefully we will get through to the older generations.
Speedwatch has an amazing group of volunteers who give up their spare time to try and educate motorists. If you think you would like to contribute and could spare the odd hour here and there please contact csw.holme@gmail.com and we will get your training organised with Cambridgeshire Constabulary and add you to our team.
New Council Year – New Council Ward
In May 2018 I was elected as one of two District Councillors to represent the new Stilton, Folksworth & Washingley ward and I have been busier during the past twelve months than at any time in the preceding 3 years. The ward is about 11 miles from north to south and even with my fellow ward councillor, Marge Beuttell and I splitting the ward in half (Marge looking after the North and me the South), I am still the first point of contact for residents in 6 villages and 3 hamlets.
Getting to all the Parish Councils continues to be a challenge, especially as a number of them meet on the same evening but I have visited them all and enjoy working with the various Parish Councillors and Parish Clerks.
Marge and I work well with our County Councillor Simon Bywater, especially when our areas of responsibility overlap.
I am fortunate to be the Chairman of the Council’s Customers & Partnerships – Overview & Scrutiny Panel, which covers some of the areas I am most interested in such as leisure and the environment.
Planning
The most time-consuming issue this year has been planning – something I had very little to do with in my first 3 years as a District Councillor. I have made representations and/or had involvement in a number of planning applications in Holme this year, the most significant of which was for up to 25 dwellings on land off Pingle Bank. I worked with the Parish Council and Simon Bywater to represent residents’ objections and am disappointed that it was approved; however, now that it has, Marge and I will continue to work with Simon and the Parish Council to get the best outcome possible for the village.
There have been also two larger scale developments proposed in Stilton – both with implications for Holme and to a lesser extent Conington; the application for 90 dwellings off North Street was refused but the application for 70 dwellings off the High Street was approved.
Other Issues
Over the last year I’ve worked to tackle fly-posting, dog fouling, dangerous and illegal parking, faulty and damaged signs, fly-tipping, pot holes, litter as well as issues for individual residents. Sometimes I’ve worked on my own, other times I have worked with Marge, Simon and some of our excellent Parish Councillors.
District Wide
This year the District Council part of the Council Tax went up by 2.66%, a new parking regime has been introduced so that charges better reflect the time used and changes were made to way the Council handles enquiries from residents who prefer to access more information online.
If you need to contact me please call me on 07193 101145 or email tim.alban@huntingdonshire.gov.uk you can also find me on Facebook and Twitter.
Kind regards Tim
District Councillor for Stilton, Folksworth & Washingley Ward
(First contact for residents in Stilton, Folksworth &
Washingley, Holme, Denton & Caldecote, Great & Little Gidding, Glatton and Connington).
Tel: 07913 101145
www.facebook.com/TimAlbanForStiltonWard
(If you are a resident of Sibson-cum-Stibbington, Elton, Alwalton, Morborne, Haddon, Water Newton or Chesterton, please contact my fellow ward councillor Marge Beuttell in the first instance via marge.beuttell@huntingdonshire.gov.uk)
Holme WI Chin Chin Pass the Gin
James from The Ely Gin Company was our guest speaker at our May meeting. Wisely he brought along a lovely gin called Afternoon Tea for us to sample along with a refreshing Elderflower and Lemon tonic. After 20 years working as a computer programmer, James took a completely different career path and switched to making flavoured gin. He set up his first stall in March 2012 at Ely Market with a selection of flavoured sloe gins and The Ely Gin Company was born.
Using his knowledge of making hedgerow wine as a hobby he soon branched out into a variety of flavours, some of which he admitted worked really well and the odd one that didn’t. Opening a shop in and with such flavours as chocolate orange gin and breakfast marmalade, along with the usual rhubarb, raspberry and his very own special dry gin, he has since become a great success, you may see him at food and drink festivals around the Fens.
He explained to us how gin is made, getting technical after a tipple makes you concentrate. How it is fermented and distilled, and the London Dry Gin or his own Special Dry Gin, are the best gins because they go through the most rigorous distilling process. However, each brand will have its own unique signature flavour, which is why you may prefer some gins to others. James was a great speaker, very passionate about his product and it was very interesting to hear his story and his success, what a change of career.
Also at our May meeting, and luckily discussed before the gin tasting, we voted on this year’s Resolutions. Two Resolutions were chosen, Don’t Fear the Smear and The Decline in Local Bus Services. Both worthwhile causes that we ignore at our peril.
Anyone interested in joining, please do come along. We meet on the first Thursday of every month at Holme Village Hall, Short Drove, Holme PE7 3PA at 7.30pm. Please contact holmewi2015@gmail.com for further details. All ladies will receive a warm and friendly welcome.
Alison McGuinness President
Guides
This is a busy term with a County-wide trip to Wicksteed Park already having taken place. Almost 200 Guides and their Leaders invaded. Linda, who is taking on the Unit as leader soon, took 6 girls for a sleepover in the pavilion and then an action packed day at the park. A good time was had by all and everyone slept well the next night!
We have awarded our first badge in the new programme. Well done Eve for the fabulous baking!
We are helping run the tearoom at the YAXLEY VINTAGE FESTIVAL. This is on 15 and 16 June at the Scout and Guide HQ in Yaxley. The whole District is supporting this event not just Yaxley Units. There will be steam engines, classic and sports cars, stalls and all sorts of things so as it’s Father’s day on the Sunday, why not give him a day out for a treat and come and see us for yummy cakes. There’s a bar too. What Dad would not like this combination?!
We are on the lookout for a new Unit helper or Young leader to replace the 3 of us who are leaving in July. Any takers? A couple of hours a week and a smile is what we need. We also have space for new girls or ex Brownies from age 10 to 14, or 14+ we can take a few more at Rangers.
Janice Osborn 01487 831451 janiceo.girlguiding@gmail.com
Holme Youth Club
With the lighter nights and nice weather we are able to utilise the wonderful facility of the school field (many thanks to Holme C of E School for this courtesy) and the members have a wonderful time playing football or just hanging out in the open air. When the weather is not so kind we still have a great time in the village hall with lots of equipment to keep everyone occupied.
Our annual outing this year is going to Battlefield in Thorney and Play2day in Guyhirn. Surprisingly there are still 3 spaces left on the
coach so if you are interested and free on 23rd June please see our Facebook page or contact Renee on reneeross@btinternet.com.
Membership of Holme Youth Club is open to members of school years 5-10 who live in Holme or attend or have attended Holme Primary School. Members guests are offered guest membership but we are sorry we are not able to extend membership beyond this as we do not have sufficient volunteer helpers to cover excessive attendance. We also have to stress that young people must not be dropped off without first checking there is the capacity to include them for the evening. Our numbers are limited and if we have to turn them away they need to be able to get home straight away.
If you meet the above criteria and would like to find out more please call in on a Friday evening between 6.30 and 8.30 or email reneeross@btinternet.com.
Village Hall Committee
Would you like to get involved with helping to look after your Village Hall?We are a small Committee of 7 people that hasn’t had any new members for the past few years and we are looking for some local people to come and join us.
We meet about 4 times a year, with email communication between meetings. Meetings usually last no longer than an hour and are now accompanied by a cuppa and a biscuit!
As well as looking after the general care of the building, hall bookings and managing the local cleaners, we make decisions regarding the Village Hall and how it is used to benefit our village. If you would like to find out a little more please contact either Richard or Victoria at info@holmecambsvillagehall.org.uk or victorialunan@yahoo.co.uk.
