with apologies to Monty Python!
The Good
As a Parish Council we are responsible for and own some of the public spaces in the village, the main one being the Recreation Ground. Those of you that use or cross the recreation ground will have noticed over recent months that we have had a major review of the equipment available for children and adults. We have serviced the existing equipment and added new items. The children’s play tower and the adult gym equipment are proving very popular and have been in the pipeline for quite some time. It is only recently and after a great deal of work by the PC members that we have been able to have it installed. Please feel free to use it, but look after it.
Some of you will have noticed over the last couple of years that two new benches have arrived at the village hall/school. These are commemorative benches for WW1 and WW2, something organised by the PC to remember our past residents.
The Repairs
We refurbished the pavilion inside and out with the intention that it can be used by all members of the community. In addition to the recreation ground we are also responsible for the management, maintenance and upkeep of the cemetery on Fenny Lane. This has recently been refenced and a full review of the graveyard policy has been carried out. The PC is also responsible, under the closed churchyards provisions, for the upkeep of and maintenance of the churchyard surrounding Holy Trinity Church. We also have a responsibility to maintain some of the verges in the village. This mainly involves a regular grass cutting scheme. However, there are some rules that we have to follow which are set by other government entities with regard to our legal responsibilities. This includes tree maintenance, providing public access to the land, footpath access and overall maintenance. The PC are not responsible for all the verges; it is a complicated system, some are owned by SCDC, some CCC and some Highways. Some of the maintenance responsibilities have been delegated by these organisations to us and some are maintained by the relevant authorities. We, as the PC, try and stay on top of it and if we feel another organisation is not pulling its weight, we will approach them and remind them of their duty.
We also maintain, repair and replace all the benches around the village. We are also responsible for the maintenance and repair of two wooden bus stops (North End and the High Street). Through a number of volunteer groups, the PC is also responsible for all the public footpaths in the village. These volunteer groups do a great job of keeping the paths clear and accessible. It needs to be added here that this does not include those footpaths that run beside the roads. Those are maintained by Highways, but we’ll come to that later.
The Support
Okay, so far, we have a lot of words but we haven’t even covered a fraction of what the PC actually do. Did you know that the PC has actively and financially supported a number of our local sports clubs including the village’s tennis, bowls and croquet clubs? In addition to sports clubs we have also supported other local organisations such as Royston Community District Transport, Melbourn Area Youth Group, Relate, Meldreth Food Bank, Meldreth Coronavirus Community Support, Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme, the Community Rail Partnership, Melwood Conservation Group and Meldreth Local History Group to name but a few.
The Parish Council have over recent years contributed generously to a number of big items including the refurbishment of the tennis courts and the Village Hall. We also purchased the telephone box on North End and installed a defibrillator there and one on the Village Hall. We have also pledged a significant sum to the purchase of the new swimming pool at Meldreth Primary School. We donated a sum of money to the Meldreth Traffic Working Group to enable them to purchase a Speed Indicator Device (SID) which has helped to reduce the average speed of vehicles travelling through our village.
The Unexpected
As well as donating both time and money to local organisations, the PC are also the first call for village crisis management. Fortunately, this is not a regular item for the PC but after the revolting sewage floods on the recreation ground, we pulled together to limit access, arrange emergency responses, chase those companies involved and ultimately win compensation for the repair and damage.
The PC are not just responsible for local groups and grounds. We also now have the street lights to manage in a way that is energy efficient, cost effective and cost efficient. Then there are the hundreds of planning applications to discuss and comment on to ensure the best interests of the village are served.
The Others
All of these items are just the tip of the iceberg. There are also the joint items we work on with our District and County Councillors to ensure that Meldreth is served as best it can be by South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council. This list is forever changing and seemingly non ending! It includes the village road drainage. Working with Susan van de Ven, we have had all our road drains cleared which, for the most part, has significantly reduced the flooding problems after heavy rain. However, Susan is very much aware that this is not a “fixed” problem and is constantly working with the PC to manage the situation and apply pressure where necessary to fix problems.
Our roads and pavements are, to be frank, a disgrace. Unfortunately, the PC has no financial responsibility or legal position to actively repair the potholes or resurface the roads and pavements. Again, working with our local councillors we are constantly applying pressure to prioritise our village. This has had some success, with limited repairs on our roads and pavements, but this is an ongoing battle which the PC are constantly fighting for. On the subject of roads, although we now have the SID, we are regularly pressing our local police contact to hold a speed awareness day on our streets.
The Few
This list of items is, as mentioned earlier, just the tip of the iceberg. The minutes of our meetings (www.meldreth-pc.org.uk) are full of matters that we discuss and action that may never really be seen by the majority of the village. This doesn’t mean they’re not important: it’s the stuff we do to keep our village a pleasant place to be. The PC consists of just nine people and we employ our Parish Clerk. All nine of us are unpaid volunteers and give up our time willingly to help make the village a better and safer place. However, we need your help and understanding as we can’t do it alone.
The Rest
So, people, you can help! Absolutely bin your rubbish and clear up your dog’s mess, but also watch your speed and report those potholes and pavements (https://highwaysreporting.cambridgeshire.gov.uk). Aside from that, if you think you can help the PC in any way - from standing as a Parish Councillor to volunteering just an hour or two of your time, then please contact our Clerk. If you feel that the PC can help your organisation (it must be local) then again just contact our Parish Clerk. If you have something you want raised, again just contact the Parish Clerk. She can be reached on (01763) 269928 or at parishclerk@meldreth-pc.org.uk. If there is an item on our monthly agendas that you want to contribute to in some way, please come to that meeting; you will always be given a chance to speak. The agendas are published in advance on our website and on the noticeboards at the Whitecroft Road end of Elin Way and opposite the shop. You are always welcome at any of our meetings. We meet in the Village Hall on the first Thursday of the month.
The Summary
So, in answer to the question “What has the Parish Council done for me?” the answer is in fact “a great deal”. Most of it is the stuff that you might not see or might not care about, or feel that it doesn’t affect you but it still happens and we, the PC, make it happen. We aim to make the village a better place in which to live and we hope and think that actually we’re doing alright.
Meldreth Parish Council (2021)
The original publish in Meldreth Matters (October 2021 - https://issuu.com/meldrethmatters/docs/mm_october_2021_issu) also contained two additional sections:-
The Whinge
The Parish Council often seem to receive criticism about what they do or don’t do for the village community. There are a number of misconceptions around; that we are responsible for everything in the village or we are responsible for just the litter and playgrounds. Neither of these is actually completely true so this article will, hopefully, set out some of the things that we do for you in the background.
The Bad
The Parish Council or PC aren’t here to just “persecute” dog owners with regard to the dog mess left around the village or to “harass” people about dropping litter in our village. We are here to try and help make our village a better place for everyone to live in. Yes, we are constantly complaining about the dog mess and the litter but there is only so much we can do to stop this. We employ Mick to collect the litter on a daily basis and he does a fine job. However, he can’t be out 24 hours a day. Take your rubbish home or use one of the bins provided. Additionally, the PC do not employ a dog mess warden/cleaner and there is no such thing (sorry to tell some of you) as a Dog Mess fairy. If your dog leaves a mess, it is down to you to clear it up but don’t decorate a tree with the delicate little bags; this is almost as unpleasant as leaving it on the ground. Please deposit it in the dog bins provided, these are emptied regularly. Bag it and bin it! It is the responsible, neighbourly thing to do. The PC provide the rubbish bins and the dog bins which are placed around the village. We pay for them to be installed, emptied and repaired. The location of these bins is a much-discussed item and we have installed a number over recent months and have more to come. Please use them.