Hempstead in Essex
Resting place of William Harvey and Sir Eliab Harvey and birthplace of Dick Turpin

Parish Council Minutes 10th February 2005

10th February 2005

CONFIRMED MINUTES OF A PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON
THURSDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2005
The Council met in the Village Hall on Thursday 10 February 2005 at 8.15pm

Present:

  • Mr S McCarthy (Chairman)
  • Miss D Frost
  • Mr D Haylock
  • Mrs A Midgley
  • Mr J Sladen
  • Mr A Weedon
  • Parish Clerk
  • Parish Clerk Designate
Apologies:

  • Mr A Thomas (Holiday)
County Councillor John Whitehead attended for 30 minutes and discussed County matters with members of the Council.

 

  1. MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 4 JANUARY 2005

    These were taken as read and signed as a correct record by the Chairman.
     

  2. MATTERS ARISING

    • Rights of Way
      Mr McCarthy and the Clerk will draw a new map to include the proposals. Mr Haylock will take this along to a meeting with Mr Hands in due course. The Clerk will ask both Essex County Council (ECC) and Uttlesford District Council (UDC) if there were any grants available for this sort of work.

    • Car Parking
      The Clerk had contacted the Ambassador at UDC who was very sympathetic but whose only suggestion was the issue of an ASBO. Information has been received from DEFRA about the forthcoming Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill which contains details that may be of interest with regard to this matter – the information has been circulated for perusal by the councillors.

    • Highway Matters
      A reply from Mr Felgate had been received stating that he would revisit Howe Lane with the contractor to ensure that further work was carried out to correct the problem. Mrs Midgley said that some new grips had been cut in the verges but since the weather had been wet recently it was impossible to determine if these were sufficient to alleviate the problem completely. Mr Felgate also stated that he had instructed the contractors to resurface Wincelow Hall Road and the surface at Parsonage Farm/Boytons Lane was to be reviewed. It was noted that the Council had received a prompt and positive response from Mr Felgate, following Mr Whitehead’s visit to the Highways Department.

      Mr Haylock reported on a number of serious accidents and near misses on the B1054 and felt that something should be done before a fatality occurred. Mr Whitehead would discuss this with Highways and ask if they could bring forward the implementation of the extension of the speed limit both sides of the village in the light of the recent accidents.

  3. CORRESPONDENCE

    Information regarding community travel within Uttlesford was given to Miss Frost for a note to be included in the next newsletter.

    The Clerk had received a formal complaint regarding the owners at Chaseside filling in a pond on their property which was in the conservation area. UDC have been informed and it transpires that the property is outside of the conservation area but permission should still have been sought.

    A request for a donation had been received from the Buffy Bus Appeal but since it no longer visits the village the Council felt it was not able to authorise a donation.

    Mr McCarthy had received a letter from Chris and Michelle Wilkins shortly to more into South View. They advised that they were changing the name of the property to Little Orchard. The Clerk would ensure that they receive a Newcomers Pack.

  4. WEBSITE

    Miss Frost had distributed a draft brief for discussion. Miss Frost would discuss usage, running costs etc with Judith Thompson in Wimbish and try to get a more precise idea of costs from Mr Goff (who had provided some advice regarding the set up of a simple site). The Clerk will approach EALC, UDC and West Area Forum to see if there were any grants available to cover set up costs.

  5. EAST OF ENGLAND PLAN

    Miss Frost and Mr Haylock had attended the recent meeting of the West Area Forum and Miss Frost circulated brief notes of the matters covered – copy attached. A suggested reply to be draft by Miss Frost to be submitted by the relevant due date.

  6. WASTE RECYCLING

    Forwarded to next meeting.

  7. ARCHIVE ROOM

    Forwarded to next meeting.

  8. FINANCE

    The following accounts were presented for payment and cheques drawn up:

    English Heritage annual subscription £15.00
    Local Council Review annual subscription £13.00
    Redview Computers accounting software package £135.13
    Miss Frost postage costs re newsletter £3.36

    It was decided to appoint Mrs Grimster to be the Internal Auditor for the forthcoming year. The Clerk would write and thank Mr Ray for his work in the past.

  9. PLANNING

    • Plans for South View had been approved.
    • UDC have adopted the Local Plan with effect from 20 January 2005.
    • Miss Frost would contact the Planning Department to establish the conditions for agricultural tie on residential properties to ascertain the position regarding The Russets.
  10. VILLAGE HALL

    Mr Sladen reported on the vandalised windows, which had been reported to the police by Mr McCarthy. However, despite information being supplied to the police, it appeared that they had taken no action. The Clerk would contact PC Webb to report that the Council was perturbed by no follow up being undertaken.

    Mr Sladen reported that a member of the management committee would be attending a licensing meeting on 24 February to establish how the new licensing laws would affect the village hall and its users. He also reported that an extensive Health and Safety document had been received which was under review by the management committee.

  11. STANSTED AIRPORT

    Forwarded to next meeting.

  12. CLERK’S SALARY AND CONDITIONS

    The clerk designate returned a signed contract of employment. The relevant standing orders had been set up in respect of salary and gratuity account.

  13. RETIREMENT OF CLERK

    The Clerk wished to thank the Council for arranging a farewell reception on her retirement.

The dates of the next meetings were arranged for 17 March, 19 April (ALTERED) and 19 May (ALTERED) and 14 June

The meeting closed at 9.40pm.