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ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
The Council unanimously re-elected Mr McCarthy as Chairman of the Council for 2010/11 and he duly signed the Acceptance Of Office Register. Mr McCarthy thanked his fellow Councillors for their continued support and congratulated them on a very successful year just past.
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REVIEW OF REGISTER OF INTERESTS
The Clerk duly provided all the councillors with a copy of the most recently submitted declaration of interests for review. Various amendments were made and the Clerk will advise Uttlesford District Council accordingly. – Action CD
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ALLOCATION OF SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
Discussion at previous meetings was confirmed and the responsibilities of the councillors are as follows:
| Sean McCarthy |
Police Liaison, Footway |
| Diana Frost |
Newsletter/Website, P3/Footpaths |
| David Haylock |
Tree Warden |
| David Drane |
Highways |
| John Sladen |
Emergency Plan, Village Hall Representative |
| Alan Weedon |
Environmental Issues |
| Sara Scott |
Neighbourhood Watch Liaison |
The Clerk was asked to ensure that the current list was on the website and the notice board. The details also need to be sent to Ambo. The 2010/11 Plans and Objectives schedule was reviewed and the Clerk will circulate an up to date version. – Action CD
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NOMINATION OF PROPER OFFICER & RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL OFFICER
The Clerk was unanimously confirmed as both Proper Officer and Responsible Financial Officer to the Parish Council.
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MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 23 APRIL 2010
were taken as read and signed as a correct record by the Chairman.
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MATTERS ARISING
There was none.
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CORRESPONDENCE
- BT Open Reach
notice of claim for repair of underground cable damaged during re-installation of dog mess bin – Clerk to advise insurers – Action CD
- Email from Brian Ray
had borrowed litter picking tools from UDC but had to take 20 sets when only 3/4 were needed. Mr Ray now requests the possibility of the PC purchasing 3 high visibility jackets and 3 pairs of littler picking tongs, for convenient usage throughout the year. Mrs Scott was asked to investigate this. – Action SS
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MEETING REPORTS
- North Uttlesford Community Forum
no meeting since last report
- Parish Planning Workshop
no meeting since last report.
- West Essex Area Forum
no meeting since last report
- Walden in Transition
no meeting attended since last report
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ANNUAL MEETING
The Clerk had prepared the minutes of last year’s meeting and the finance report which would be copied for distribution at the Annual Meeting. – Action CD
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ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Contact had been made with the police and PC Dawn Bamford’s replacement, PC Nicola Lark had made contact. She apologised for not being able to attend the PC meeting but suggested a meeting with Mr McCarthy and the Clerk to enable her to establish the issues in the village. This duly took place and PC Lark has shown no tolerance of the vandalism and anti social behaviour being inflicted on the village. She has visited a number of residents in the village to establish her position as well as some of the older residents to reassure them of her presence. PC Lark has subsequently kept Mr McCarthy up to date with developments and reiterated that all incidents need to be reported to the police so they are fully aware of the problems. PC Lark was unable to attend the Annual Meeting due to annual leave but has offered to come to the village for a separate meeting with residents. Mr McCarthy will offer this at the Annual Meeting to see how much interest there would be to such a public meeting. – Action SM
Mr Haylock had spoken to the Glebe insurers regarding an area for skateboards/bikes on the Glebe itself and had been told that there should be no problem. He will now obtain something in writing. – Action DH
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ENVIRONMENT
Village Green Issues
Mr Haylock will report at next meeting. Mr Weedon reported that BT are cutting back a number of trees around poles and cables. – Action DH
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FINANCE
The following accounts were approved for payment and cheques drawn up:
| J Basham |
Grass Cutting |
£300.00 |
| S McCarthy |
Clean Up Day expenses |
£29.00 |
End of year review of the accounts has brought to light that not all grass cutting in 2009 was invoiced. The budget for 2010/11 has therefore been understated.
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HIGHWAYS
Mr Drane was continuing to liaise with Ray Curtis (ECC Highways) with regard to the poor condition of the roads – Witchtree Lane is to be repaired but unfortunately this work can not be swapped with Bumpstead Road as the finance comes from different budgets! The local Highways Inspector will visit Bumpstead Road to assess the present condition of the road surface and make recommendations for any interim patching. However the potholes between Hempstead and Radwinter were repaired before the end of April as promised. Repair of the railings, which were damaged by vandals, is progressing. – Action DD
PC Nicola Lark had carried out a mid-morning speed check where a number of people were warned. Mr McCarthy requested further checks to take place in the village during the busy periods.
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FOOTPATHS
P3
Miss Frost had received a query from Shirley Clayton-Anglin regarding the length of cutting required. Miss Frost has sent her a copy of her map of the realigned paths to help resolve this issue. The first cut was anticipated in the first week of June.
Mr Haylock is due to talk to Tim Sills regarding the Headland Management Scheme. His full review will be reported back at the June meeting. – Action DH
Saffron Walden Tourist Information office has expressed interest in selling the leaflet for Walk 1 alongside those from other villages. Miss Frost will liaise accordingly. – Action DF
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MAINTENANCE PROJECTS
- Drinking Fountain
Mr Sladen was thanked for erecting the Essex Heritage Trust plaque.
- War Memorial Surround
Mr Haylock has completed the Community Project Grant application which was reviewed by Mr McCarthy. This will now be submitted by the deadline of 22 May. – Action DH
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COMMUNICATIONS
Website – Clerk to check Parish Council section up to date. – Action CD
Newsletter – next newsletter deadline 20 June 2010.
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EMERGENCY PLAN
updated plan to be finalised shortly. – Action JS
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PLANNING
- UTT/1803/08/FUL – Lakehouse Farm
no decision to date
- Enforcement Notice ENF/170/09/B – Anso Corner
tyres dumped in ditch
- Enforcement Notice ENF/264/09/B – Harvey House, Hempstead Hall
business being run without planning permission
- Enforcement Notice ENF/93/08/B – Barn at Hempstead Hall, Finchingfield Road
Possible breach of condition C.6.2 of planning permission UTT/1604/04/FUL – case closed – Not expedient to enforce – limited impact on character of barn
- UTT/0702/10/FUL – Barn opposite Wincelow Hall Wincelow Hall Road Hempstead
Change of use of barn from storage to B1 (office) use – submitted reply with no objections
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VILLAGE HALL
Mr Sladen reported that some teenagers had been seen on the roof of the village hall and he had subsequently gone onto the roof to investigate. A number of roof tiles have been broken and Mr Sladen will now report the incident to the police with the intention of prosecution.
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STANSTED AIRPORT
the recently elected Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition has stated its intention to refuse additional runways at Gatwick and Stansted.
Future meeting dates – Thursday 10 June, Thursday 8 July and Thursday 5 August 2010.
The meeting closed at 9.25pm.
