Parish Council Minutes 10th November 2005

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

• County Councillor Simon Walsh
• District Councillor Mrs Sue Schneider

• PC Ryan McNamara

74. MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 11 OCTOBER 2005

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

75. MATTERS ARISING

    from previous Minutes, not dealt with in the main agenda

    • Path at Pond
      Miss Frost had a quote from Bartram Services Ltd for an application of concrete and small stones pressed in the surface in the sum of £668. It was RESOLVED to authorise this work. Mr McCarthy thanked Miss Frost for her work in this matter.– Action DF

    • Ring of Trees
      Mr Haylock had received a quote of £240 for the pollarding of the limes in the Ring of Trees. It was RESOLVED to authorise this work. The clerk was asked to contact Mr Ben Smeedon at Uttlesford District Council as to the safety of the old elms in the Ring of Trees and to ask him to liaise directly with Mr Haylock. The costing of chains and posts was still outstanding.– Action CD/DH

    • Clearing of Stream
      Mr Sladen has investigated the stretch behind The Old Bakery and a further stretch near Moses Farm and is happy that both are clear.

    • Policing
      The Council discussed the report that PC Ryan McNamara had made before the meeting. Mr McCarthy reiterated PC McNamara’s request for prompt reporting of all incidents and requested increased vigilance.

      Mr McCarthy also reported on a meeting he had had with Mr Allan, Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator. Mr Allan was urged to review all volunteers, ensure a deputy was in place, guarantee the group is properly registered with the police and Uttlesford District Council Steering Group and to provide a note to go in the next issue of the newsletter.

    • Benches
      Mr Haylock confirmed that all the benches seemed to be in good repair.

    • Footpaths
      Mr Haylock reported that Gordon Hands would write to Mrs Grimster following a meeting he was having to discuss any objections and problems regarding Hempstead’s proposals. A sub committee meeting will then be held.

    • Insurance
      The Clerk was asked to obtain a copy of the file note made on the insurance policy for future reference.

76. ANNUAL ASSEMBLY REVIEW

    Mr McCarthy thanked Miss Frost for the extensive work she had already put in to create the initial document. It was agreed that as it stood it was too broad in content but it could be used as a base document to create/enhance other documents and the website as required. A considerable amount of the information could be included in the Newcomers Pack and the Clerk was asked to email the existing, poorly presented document to all so that an enhanced Newcomers Pack can be discussed at the next meeting.– Action CD

    The Council would reread Miss Frost’s report and email any comments to everyone before the next meeting, at which time further discussion will take place. Mr Weedon was asked to obtain relevant statistics.– Action ALL/AW

    The Annual Assembly next year is to be up beat and positive – the complete format is still to be agreed. The Clerk was asked to draft the Annual Report to be reviewed by all before the January meeting where it will be discussed.– Action CD

77. BUDGET REVIEW

    Carried forward to December meeting.

78. CORRESPONDENCE

    The letters to and from Orange regarding the siting of a base station by the village sign on the High Street were discussed. The Council remained totally opposed to the proposal.

79. WEBSITE/NEWSLETTER

    Miss Frost reported that Brian Kitchen stated that using Dreamweaver software to edit the website was a vast improvement and made redesigning pages easier. He did however state that content was urgently needed. Helen Philip feels that she needs training on the Dreamweaver software and has found a website design course using Dreamweaver by LearnDirect for a cost of £25. It was AGREED to pay for this course. Miss Frost will liaise accordingly.– Action DF

80. HIGHWAYS/ROAD SAFETY

    In giving her apologies, Cllr Schneider reported that she had copies of the letters between the Transport Committee and Cllr Bass regarding support of the Hempstead footway scheme and had requested that copies were sent to this Council. She has also chased a reply by the Transport Committee to the specific questions put at the end of our presentation at their September meeting.

    A list of works had been submitted to the Highways Department for the next Planned Parish Visit.

    Mr Thomas requested that an application be made for the installation of two “Beware of Wildlife” road signs along the stretch of the B1054 between Witchtree Lane and Bulls Bridge due to the high incidence of dead deer within the last six months.– Action CD

81. FINANCE

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

    The Sign & Graphics Company Ltd	Village Hall sign	£343.10
    The Royal British Legion	Remembrance Sunday poppy wreath	£20.00

82. PLANNING

    UTT/1721/05/LB – Cracknells – Mr Weedon expressed an interest and left the meeting during the discussions. No objections were raised.– Action CD

83. VILLAGE HALL

    Village Hall sign now installed.

84. STANSTED AIRPORT

    Nothing to report.

The dates of the next meetings are Wednesday 7 December 2005, 5 January and 9 February 2006

The meeting closed at 10.10pm.