The following were amongst items discussed at Parish Council meetings and information received by the Clerk. The full minutes may be found here.

1. Annual Parish Meeting
More than sixty villagers attended the Meeting on 1 June. Reports were presented on the Parish, District and County Councils' activities and from the Town Charity, the Youth Worker, and Neighbourhood Watch. All these reports are available in the Parish Office and we shall endeavour to put them on the Parish website. The major focus of the meeting was a presentation on the Parish Plan which is nearing completion, and this led into a discussion on priorities for the new Council. To this end the Chairman has asked the editors to include a questionnaire (see page 15) which was circulated to the meeting and which we hope villagers will complete and return to the Parish Office. The Council agreed to continue its pattern of meeting on the third Wednesday of each month. Meetings will usually be in the St Vincent's Close Community room and start at 7.30pm.

The new Parish Council which was elected on 27 May had its first meeting on 9 June. The full list of Councillors is on page 4. After Douglas de Lacey was re-elected as Chairman of the Parish Council the main business of this meeting was to appoint the Council's various Committees and their Chairmen. Cllr Ron Martin was elected as the new Chairman of the Planning Committee, and Cllr Brian Bromwich of the Environment Committee. Cllrs Michael Wilson and Robin Hiley were re-elected as Chairman of the Sports & Recreation, and Finance Committees, respectively. Michael also takes on the important role of chairing the new Planning & Resources Committee.

Various other appointments were made which can be seen from the minutes and on the website. The Council also approved a contingency fund to obtain expert advice for our objections to the A14 Draft Orders.

2. A14 Public Inquiry
Pending the new Government's spending review the development of the A14 has been put on hold, but Girton Parish Council has put in a Statement of Case against the current plans, which the Council believes fall far short of what is necessary to guarantee residents of Girton adequate protection against noise and air pollution. All the details will be posted on the Highways Agency website.

3. Wellbrook Way
No date for the handover of the public land can yet be agreed, but in the interim Wimpey has allowed us to install drainage, water and power. This will prevent us having to excavate the newly-laid road surface when the land is handed over.

We now have quotations for almost all the works necessary to construct a bowling green. The sum involved is much greater than the sum available from the developers so the Parish Council will now be approaching various funding bodies to make up the shortfall.

Various problems have been noted in the installation of the fenced play area which we shall be taking up with Wimpey. We are glad though that the area is now available for children's enjoyment.

4. Smithy Green and Hibbert-Ware Garden
The border is now planted on Smithy Green and is flourishing. The Hibbert-Ware has been much improved by volunteer labour organised by Penny de Lacey and George Thorpe. To prevent the long-standing problem of cars illicitly parking on the green we plan to install posts round the edge this month.

5. Trees and Hedges
This is the time of most growth on your hedges and trees. It is still the nesting season, but please make sure that growth which invades the footpath (especially brambles) or obscures street lights is carefully trimmed away.

6. Is your grass verge wider than your driveway?
The Highways Department of Cambridgeshire County Council is prepared to consider widening driveways across Highway verges if they are too narrow. This particularly applies in Thornton Road where the end of a number of verges have been damaged. If this is the case for your drive and you would like to express an interest in improving the entrance to your property at an economic price by an approved contractor please contact Keith Faunch on Cambridge 08450 455212, or email him at: Keith.Faunch@cambridgeshire.gov.uk