Disclaimer: These observations are not the ‘official’ minutes of the meeting, these are supplied by Whittlesey Town Council, normally (1) month following the meeting and can be viewed on their website.
Agenda to this meeting was published on this site – 10th March
10 Councillors in attendance – absent Cllrs Mrs Mayor, Jolly, Curtis and Garratt.
6 Members of the Public and 2 PCSO’s
Points of Interest:
Police & CCTV Report : PCSO Michael Froment attended and gave a report the same as reported to the NHW meeting on Tuesday evening. (See previous post NHW)
PCSO Froment informed us that he would be transferring to re- train as a fully fledged PC and would hope to return to Fenland
in the future – A new partner would be found for PCSO Green
Presentation by Mr Steve Bass FDC Senior Environmental Protection Officer
Air Pollution in Whittlesey.
This subject has been mainly driven along by Peter Baxter who has been championing the issues in/around Whittlesey on Air Quality for a considerable time.
Mr Bass unfortunately was suffering from cold/flu and we couldn’t hear him very well.
The main thrust of ‘measurement’- was that of diffusion tubes – in essence giving ‘very basic’ results – Mr Bass stated that from records and monitoring there were no concerns in or around the Whittlesey area. (Mr Baxter disagrees with this).
To measure more accurately – more expensive equipment is required (He quoted £10K -£15K) or to hire – however he said there was no budget or justification to have this equipment.
Some questioning about EV Chargers (Electric Vehicles)
None supported by FDC – although a few private installations. (See below)
Questions from Councillors were few – mainly to do with pm 2.5 (particulate matter 2.5mm) which can affect peoples health. Mr Bass said that he thought there to be little or no concerns about pm 2.5 (Although no conclusive measurements made)
Public Forum: Mr Gary Hook gave a short insight on the traffic issues, that the closing of the A605 last week due to a burst water main caused to residents on Snoots Road.
The amount of HGV’s using Snoots Road during the period the A605 was closed.
R.G. – Highlighted that ‘some paint’ was required on all of our ‘Zebra Crossings’
I also highlighted that the Government has £££M millions available to local authorities to install EV Chargers and there is no excuses that Fenland is lagging behind many other authorities.
I also covered research into Air Quality monitors and how Peterborough has better than basic equipment.
Air Quality on the news today + Peterborough parkway has illegal level of pollution says government see article on this weeks…. Peterborough Telegraph
Town Council Finances: A healthy surplus (underspend) for the year gives the Council a buffer for future finances. Kudos given on the -2.7% precept for 2018/19 – and that ‘Social Media’ in Whittlesey had got their maths wrong (again).
Must Farm: Scoping for a state of art visitor centre is moving forward – application for Lottery Funding will go ahead (£9M) – in conjunction with P’boro Museum & Flag Fen.
Straw Bear: Again rumours are incorrect – Straw Bear will be going ahead – there is much work being undertaken in respect of future ‘funding’
New Council Offices/Chambers: Councillors and we public were shown outline plans for the ‘The Old Police Station/New Council Offices’ – looking very impressive and an excellent asset to the town. Councillors were mindful about keeping the project to their budget.
CRP: Community Rail Partnership – with meetings scheduled for
20th & 28th March with the AGM on 26th March – more on this to follow. The recent clear-up undertaken at the Railway Station.
Still much more to do.
Syrian Refugees: The Council voted unanimously to allocate the (2) x 3 bedroom flats above the ‘New’ Town Council Offices to (2) Syrian Refugee Families. This they said would be financed Central Government funding to the sum of £75,000 over a 5 year period.
This also made good financial argument.
Water Tower Play Equipment: Progressing forward and Councillors voted unanimously to support this with a £4,000 donation.
A605 Closure: Council will be writing a letter to Anglian Water – that their contractors had left a ‘A’ road closed for 3 days – when more urgency should have been given to get the road re-opened ASAP after the repair work.
Here are documents in relation to Air Quality results – In Whittlesey.
You will find it interesting – that by these readings – Pollution levels have decreased by a large margin over the 7 year period measured.
Want to know more about Air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in UK (2017)
Visit Government Website Click Here
Date of next meeting: Wednesday 11th April 2018
