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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Mr John Sladen
County Councillor Simon Walsh
District Councillor Simon Howell
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ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
Mr Sean McCarthy was unanimously elected Chairman and thanked the Council for their support.
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REPORTS OR CONTRIBUTIONS FROM DISTRICT AND COUNTY COUNCILLORS
Reports had been received from both Councillors in anticipation of the Annual Parish assembly on Friday May 19.
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MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING HELD April 20 2017
These were agreed as a correct record.
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MATTERS ARISING
Not covered elsewhere. There were none.
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PLANNING
Pollards Cross; the clerk had contacted Uttlesford Planning for an update and the enforcement team were pursuing this issue.
Brookmead, Anso Rd, UTT/17/1212/HHF. It was agreed that there were no comments necessary.
Newlands, Howe Lane: a copy of the application had just been received and the need for comments assessed in due course when the details had been circulated.
Chalkstones, Howe Lane had been approved with no reference to the Parish Council’s comments regarding the height of the building.
Hill House, Hill Rd. Pallets of concrete blocks were in evidence but no planning application had been seen. It was agreed that whilst the matter may be dealt with under planning regulations the clerk would check with Building Control at Uttlesford.
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CORRESPONDANCE
The instance of a sheep injured, possibly by a dog was noted. The sheep had now been moved to a field with no footpath access.
Sir Alan Haselhurst, the Saffron Walden MP had decided to step down after many year’s service. It was agreed the Clerk should write on behalf of the Parish Council wishing him well for the future.
It was also agreed that the Clerk should write to Uttlesford District Council regarding the lack of Secondary School places.
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HIGHWAYS AND PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY
Mr Drane reported that some repairs had taken place to Wincelow Hall Road by sub-contractors after the damage caused by diversions. No action had been taken on Boytons Lane which had suffered similar damage.
The road at Bridgefoot in Radwinter was again showing signs of deterioration. Mr Drane was still robustly pursuing these and other matters.
It was also noted that there seemed to be a policy of removing cats’ eyes which the Council regretted.
Road Safety Schemes – Mr Welbourn had written to County Councillor concerning the outcome of the Parish Council’s applications. Proposals to downgrade Anso Rd to a ‘C’ road had been rejected because it meant that the road would no longer be maintained to the same standard as ‘B’ roads.
The proposal to have a 40mph limit to Blagdens had been rejected as it did not meet the criteria.
The extension of the 30 mph limit to Boytons had gone into a re-validation process as the criteria had changed. The Council expressed their disappointment but agreed to continue to pursue these issues.
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ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
The approval criteria were read out by the Clerk and approved by the Parish Council.
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ANNUAL ACCOUNTING STATEMENT
was distributed by the Clerk and subsequently approved by the Parish Council.
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FINANCE
The Internal Auditor Report that had been circulated prior to the meeting was discussed. It was agreed that the matter of the transfer of the Village Hall account that had been transferred to the Village Hall Management Committee would be discussed with the internal Auditor and representatives of that committee.
The Clerk would contact EALC to discuss the anomalous spending of the Transparency Grant.
He would also contact Julian Basham to ensure invoices for grass cutting were presented in a manner that did not lead to the confusion experienced this year.
Mr Cockman the Internal Auditor had decided to retire after many years service. It was decided that various options would be explored.
Payments
The Council approved the monthly standing order of £80 to Mr Kitchen for his work on the website.
The Clerk had put details of payments of £28.25 to Mrs McNeill for catering expenses for the footway opening celebrations and £129.22 to EALC/NALC for the annual affiliation fee onto the Unity Trust website for authorisation by councillors.
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ENVIRONMENT
The long-standing issue of the fountain base was discussed. A liner needed to be installed and the traditional brickwork replaced. Mrs Scott and the Chairman agreed to try to find contractors.
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VILLAGE HALL
Planning permission for the Play Area had not yet been submitted and Mr Long agreed to chase the issue. It was also noted that Mr Russ Wide had been elected as Village Hall Management Committee Chairman.
