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

Parish Council Minutes 15th March 2018

15th March 2018

MINUTES OF THE HEMPSTEAD PARISH COUNCIL

Thursday 15 March 2018 in the Village Hall

Present:

Part Time:

Members of the Public:

  • Ms Laura Saxell
  • Ms Diana Frost
  • Visiting Guest Mr Mike Young from the 100 Parishes Society

The meeting started at 8.00 pm

  1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

    Mrs Sara Scott
    County Councillor Simon Walsh
    District Councillor Simon Howell

  2. REPORTS OR CONTRIBUTIONS FROM DISTRICT AND COUNTY COUNCILLORS

    Councillor Walsh had sent a report that had been circulated to councillors. There were no matters arising

  3. REPORT ON 100 PARISHES SOCIETY FROM MIKE YOUNG

    Mr Young explained that the purpose of the society was to promote the area as an attractive place to live and visit. Many new visitors are struck by the variety buildings and open countryside. It has over 6000 listed buildings with a high density of pre-1700 properties. The area has never been industrialised to any extent owing to its agricultural past.

    The object of the Society is to promote and protect the area for the benefit of both inhabitants and visitors by supporting the conservation and improvement of the features of historic, architectural and wildlife interest. It seeks to spread information, support renovations and organise walks and talks. It is in the process of producing a guidebook and has already established an effective website.

    It is a registered charity and was modelled on The Chilterns Society.

    The Chairman thanked him for his contribution and it was agreed that the Parish Council would become a member of the society.

  4. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING HELD February 15,2018

    These were agreed to be an accurate account of the meeting and signed

  5. MATTERS ARISING

    There were none not covered elsewhere

  6. PLANNING

    Bullsbridge Farm Cottage: it was agreed that there was no problem with this application

    Land at Thyme Cottage: it was agreed that the Council should object to this application. It is outside the development area envelope. It would set a precedent that could lead to five or six more similar applications and would ruin the historic nature of this area of the village. Additionally, it would cause infrastructure problems of increased traffic on a narrow section of road and also put pressure on the drainage system where there are already a cluster of problems.

    It was also noted and regretted that Turpin’s Cottage application for a cart lodge had been approved on the basis of amended plans that the council had not seen.

    The application by Mr and Mrs Vickery for a shed had been approved but because it was deemed agricultural land the application was passed by officers without being seen by the Parish council for comment. The shed was quite large and not sited sensitively in relation to neighbouring residential property.

  7. CORRESPONDANCE

    A letter from Uttlesford informed councillors that if their declaration of interests were likely to lead to intimidation or abuse they could apply to have their entries partially redacted at the discretion of the local authority. The Clerk also reminded them of the need to update their declarations if there were any relevant changes.

    Application forms for Village of the Year contest were passed to Mr Weedon who agreed to submit them.

    Defibrillators: The Clerk had done some research into this issue. It had been raised due to the isolated nature of the village and the distance of emergency services. It could be a life-saving resource. It would be a substantial investment, the cabinet housing the equipment would require an electrical supply and regular servicing of the equipment would be an ongoing expenditure. The device itself is quite expensive. The Council decided that though it would be a definite asset it may mean raising the precept. It was therefore decided to discuss the matter more widely at the annual Parish Assembly on 1st June to gauge interest and appetite for possible precept increase.

  8. HIGHWAYS AND PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY

    David Drane reported that repairs to Witchtree and Wincelow Roads were imminent. The leak at Bridgefoot continued to be an ongoing problem.

    Road Safety schemes: Local Highway Panel Meeting 3rd April was a now a closed affair and despite pressure from Mr Welbourn only the minimal changes already agreed were likely to receive consideration.

    Bin Stickers: a sample given out to Community Speed Watch that would reinforce speeding issues proved to be very expensive so purchase would not be pursued.

  9. ENVIRONMENT

    Flooding: High Street problems continued. Miss Frost Explained her difficulty with water coming up from her driveway and damaging it so that it required urgent action, ideally this would be a meeting with County Councillor Simon Walsh, the county engineer and Mr Sladen.

    Mr Sladen had been trying to address problems in this area for some time as it appeared that with the installation of the footway more problems has occurred. Some had been inspected and passed as non-problematic which clearly was not the case.

    He was pressing Highways and Councillor Walsh on this matter to explain this and problems on Anso Rd. Though some problems outside the village itself may be the responsibility of adjacent land owners.

    Some mapping survey work had been done on the smaller watercourses in the parish and this project would continue.

    Village Sign: Mr Simmons had quoted a price of £220 to remove the rotten oak from the bottom of the sign, replace it and seal it. This was accepted and the Clerk would ask him to go ahead. He had not quoted for the top of the sign and the Clerk would ask him to do so.

    Litter Pick: This had taken place on the re-scheduled date. Nine volunteers had turned up and nine bags of rubbish had been collected. A surprising number of bottles had been collected but overall it had been a successful exercise.

  10. FINANCE

    A payment previously authorised to Mr McCarthy needed to be re-authorised. Also, there were some transactions to transfer £2000 for the play area grant from the deposit to the current account and the annual subscription to Essex Heritage had been paid.

  11. COMMUNICATIONS

    Annual Report contributions were invited from councillors for their areas of responsibility.

  12. VILLAGE HALL

    Construction of the play area would commence on 23 April and an official opening was being planned.

FUTURE MEETINGS – Thursdays April 26, May 31 and 28th June 8pm in the Village Hall. The Annual Village Assembly is on Friday 1st of June 2018 in the Village hall.

The meeting ended at 9.28pm