Parish Council Minutes 12th March 2015

• Mr Sean McCarthy (Chairman)
• Miss Diana Frost
• Mr John Sladen
• Mr Alan Weedon
• Mr David Drane
• The Clerk

• District Councillor Simon Howell

Members of the Public

• Mr Mark Welbourn
• Mrs Colleen Buckland

Prior to the Parish Council Meeting Mrs Buckland raised the issue of the hedge at Harvey Way which again is in need of cutting. It was agreed to contact Simon Howell and Mr Drane said that he would chase this issue.

Mr Welbourn discussed the Parish Council’s submissions to the Local Highways Panel. Some of his comments, based on his correspondence with Essex County Council concerning speed limits, have been incorporated into the submissions which would be discussed at the next Local Highways Panel meeting. The Chairman had discussed the submissions when he met Rissa Long (Essex Highways) concerning the footway project. She was not optimistic about the applications for 40 mph limits.

The Parish Council Meeting opened at 8.22 pm.

104. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

     Mr David Haylock
     Mrs Sara Scott
     County Councillor Simon Walsh

105. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

     Wednesday February 11, 2014 were approved.

106. MATTERS ARISING

     None arose not covered elsewhere.

107. CORRESPONDANCE

     The previously circulated report from County Councillor Simon Walsh was briefly discussed. The initiative of ‘Quiet Lane’ designations for some country lanes, banning HGVs and imposing 20mph speed limits was discussed but it was decided not to pursue this issue until the other submissions had been discussed by the panel.

108. HIGHWAYS

     David Drane continued to pursue outstanding issues. Some repairs had been done in on the road towards Steeple Bumpstead and it was hoped that others would soon follow.

     Hedges: The clerk informed the Council that he had asked Councillor Walsh to chase up the two properties that had been reported to Essex Highways as having overgrown hedges.

     Footway Project: Only one of the residents involved had still to complete the necessary land transfer but this was imminent. It was agreed that it was good to see that the project was actually underway. The contractors had been obliging and supportive to those most affected. Issues such as the school bus and transport links had all eventually been resolved. The re-routing of traffic had naturally caused some confusion but drivers were getting used to the situation.

     It was hoped that the project would finish on time and there should be a small local celebration. It was unanimously agreed that a ribbon cutting ceremony should be performed by the Chairman, who had put in so much effort and persistence over many years. This would be followed by refreshments in the Village Hall. The provisional date set was April 11th in the afternoon. Mr Weedon agreed to organise the drinks and Miss Frost would publicize the event in the Newsletter and contact Police and Press.

     Local Highways Panel: the next meeting was scheduled for March 23rd when hopefully the three submissions by the council would be discussed.

109. ENVIRONMENT

     Mr Sladen had received an email reply from Essex County Council regarding flooding issues and they had agreed to inspect the sites but no action was imminent.

     Pond Refurbishment progress: Still no definite communication had been established with John Jossaume and the Chairman agreed to try to contact him.

     Miss Frost reported on a property in the village that had fallen vacant and was in poor condition and causing flooding difficulties to neighbours. She is currently chasing Essex County Council to support the work that needs to done to make the building safe. There are no supportive immediate relatives which is causing difficulties. The meeting thanked Miss Frost for her efforts.

     A reply had been received from Essex Legal Services concerning the application to register the Village Green. It was a long and complex letter that seemed to indicate that the land belonged to Essex Highways who were reluctant to change that situation. It was agreed to seek clarification of the content of the letter and discuss it at the next meeting.

     It was confirmed that the trees in Boytons Lane were not subject to tree preservation orders. Miss Frost had contacted the builders concerned about the lengthy display of advertising boards and they had agreed to remove them. The Bluebell Inn: no more definite information had been forthcoming so its future is still unsure.

110. POLICING

     It was agreed that the clerk would only circulate the weekly crime list from the police where relevant.

111. FINANCE

     The following cheques were signed:
     A final cheque for the year to HMRC for £53.75 for PAYE.
     Clerk’s overtime and expenses for the year £508.80
     It was agreed to discuss the issue of grants to the Radwinter Preschool Group at the next council meeting.
     It was noted that next year’s contribution to Radwinter for the Green Waste Skip would again be £322.96
     A letter updating the standing order for the clerk’s salary was signed.

112. PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY

     It was confirmed Essex County Council will take over the cutting of footpaths. They had only offered 5p a metre and the contractor had declined to work for that rate. Unfortunately this will only mean one cut per year.

113. COMMUNICATIONS

     The Clerk had researched the issue of how the minutes can be stored and ascertained that it is in order for them to be stored in a loose leaf format provided the pages are numbered sequentially. This will be more convenient than the present method of pasting into a minute book. The meeting agreed that this format could be adopted.

114. VILLAGE HALL

     After the Village Hall Management meeting on 25th February it was agreed that there should be a Maintenance Day on 12th April.

115. AFFORDABLE HOUSING

     As all sites previously considered had all been now withdrawn, it was agreed to contact Tim Sills to discuss the possibility of using land to the right of the B1054 going towards Steeple Bumpstead. The Chairman agreed to contact him.

116. PARISH COUNCIL ELECTIONS

     Nomination Packs were distributed and further packs would be available from Uttlesford District Council Offices.

DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS – Thursdays April 9, May 14 and June 11 at 8pm in the Village Hall. The Annual Parish Meeting would be on Friday May 15.

Meeting ended at 9.55 pm