A rate of 10.5p was raised.
Peter Burton was re-elected as Chairman and James Anderson elected as Vice Chairman.
The Clerk reminded members of the need to declare interests in any relevant matters. The Board discussed legal developments affecting IDBs and particularly the Flood and Water Management Act and the Public Bodies Act, together with associated Defra consultations particularly concerning SUDS. The Board also expressed concerns at the proposal by the Environment Agency to review the Earith drawmark but understood that this matter had gone quiet for the time being. The Clerk advised that he still understood that this would be subject to further consultation. The Chairman felt that water storage was poorly provided for in Plans. The Chairman stressed the importance of retaining local knowledge.
The Clerk reported on the Water Framework Directive and spoil disposal.
The Chairman reported that progress with maintenance works for 2011/12 was well underway and that the low water levels had enabled more work to be done within the available budget. He hoped that most of the work planned for 2012/13 would be routine and confirmed that the repairs to the sluice at point 19 had now been dealt with. He outlined what was proposed and drew attention to problems with certain hedges adjacent to District Drains, which required to be trimmed back to enable maintenance works to be undertaken. He would approach the landowners initially.
The Board raised no objection to an application for an outfall to discharge water from Cambridge Water Company.
The Consulting Engineers' report was approved. A recommendation to install telemetry was not accepted as it was felt that the Board had sufficient presence "on the ground". The Chairman agreed to present proposals for an additional weedscreen to the next meeting.
The Board noted the position regarding the precept demanded by the Environment Agency which was likely to remain unchanged for 2012/13. The Board noted that ADA had considerably improved its performance over the last year or two. It was therefore resolved to remain within ADA for 2012 and to meet their subscription increase.
The payments made to December 2011 were approved.
The Chairman welcomed Mr Davison who was attending his first meeting of the Board as a representative of Holywell-cum-Needingworth Parish Council.
The Clerk reminded Board members of the need to declare interests in any relevant matters. Appropriate declarations were duly made.
The Board discussed the latest developments on the IDB Review and associated legal developments in particular the Public Bodies Bill. The Clerk referred to the continued need for vigilance, even though the most contentious elements of that Bill, so far as IDBs were concerned, had been removed. He referred to a Defra statement of £225,000 savings as regard IDBs due to the changes proposed under that Bill, without any supporting evidence yet published and to the implementation of the Flood and Water Management Act.
The update from the Cambridgeshire Flood Risk Management Partnership was noted.
The Clerk also reported on developments regarding the spreading/disposal of spoil, grant-in-aid and the Water Framework Directive.
The Environmental Officer's BAP update was noted and approved.
The Board received and approved the report of the Consulting Engineers and the Chairman referred to extensive weed growth in some of the District drains.
The Board noted the position regarding the unchanged precept figure.
The payments and accounts were approved and approval given to the Annual Governance Statement. The Board approved the report of their internal auditor, their Internal Audit Strategy and Plan and Risk Register and resolved that they were satisfied with the internal controls in place. The use of internet banking facilities was also authorised.