Parish Council Minutes 21st July 2005

• Mr S McCarthy (Chairman)
• Miss D Frost
• Mr D Haylock (arrived 8.35pm)
• Mrs A Midgley
• Mr J Sladen
• Parish Clerk

• Mr A Thomas – Holiday
• Mr A Weedon – Holiday
• County Councillor Simon Walsh
• District Councillor Sue Schneider

29. MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 14 JUNE 2005

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

30. MATTERS ARISING

    • Rights of Way
      It was reported that Gordon Hands had passed the matter to Chris Mann for review. Also Mrs Grimster had been sent the maps to mark up which side of the hedges/ditches the paths should go. The Clerk to ask Mrs Grimster if this had been completed and returned.– Action CD

    • Highway Matters
      Mrs Midgley reported on a reply from Cllr Bailey stating that she had passed the Parish Council’s letter to Cllr Sells with a request that the matters be looked into as a matter of urgency. Mrs Midgley had also written to Paul Hardy copying all recent correspondence and inviting him to attend a forthcoming parish council meeting. She had not received a reply and after a number of calls to his office established that the letter had been referred to Mr Hurwood, Senior Engineer. The Clerk will email Mr Hardy to record our disappointment at the lack of response, with a copy to Cllr Walsh. Mrs Midgley will establish what Mr Hurwood’s brief is in relation to these matters. It was decided to prepare the presentation for the LDP at the September meeting. – Action CD/AM

      Cllr Walsh reported that he had received a response from Paul Hardy, which indicated that the speed limit extensions are in the Locally Determined Plan (LDP) for 2006/07 and the footway, which was now estimated at £220,000, had no budget allocation. Cllr Walsh would now liaise with Cllr Bass to see if any of this can be progressed. The Clerk would write to Cllr Walsh to acknowledge his actions so far and ask for a progress report on identifying means of financing the footpath scheme from a future budget as a separate project, as it was obvious that the LDP did not currently have sufficient funds for this type of project.– Action CD

    • Police Matters
      The Clerk indicated that Acting Inspector A Seymour was willing to attend the Parish Council’s September meeting and had requested an indication of the particular concerns we wished to have addressed – this will be considered at the August meeting.

    • Dog Litter Bins
      The Clerk had requested a bin and the Animal Warden at UDC was actioning the request.

    • Footpath Sign
      Miss Frost reported that a resident had requested a footpath sign on the edge of his property to ensure the correct direction was used. The Clerk will contact Robin Wallbank.– Action CD

31. BEST KEPT VILLAGE COMPETITION 2005

    Hempstead won Best Kept Village in Class 4 and have received the Ruggles Brize trophy, a certificate and a cheque for £150.

    Hempstead came third in the Essex Village of the Year competition and the DEFRA Building Community Life Award and have received two certificates and a cheque for £100.

    The Chairman congratulated the Parish Council for all its work to achieve these incredible results. Miss Frost confirmed that the information was promptly included on the website in the form of a newsflash on the home page with links to further detail elsewhere on the site.

    The Best Kept Village sign has already been erected between the war memorial and the bus shelter. A decision as to where to display the bronze disc trophy (which will be kept) is still to be made. It was agreed that a note should be put in the newsletter stating the prizes won and asking for ideas for use of the prize money and/or displaying the trophy.– Action SM

    In line with the commitments made to the BKV judges it was decided that the Clerk would contact the RCCE for information regarding preparation of a Village Appraisal and would investigate the criteria necessary to be considered for Quality Council status.– Action CD

32. CORRESPONDENCE

    • Essex County Council
      Notification of road closures/diversions due to Sewards End sewage installation. The Clerk to write to Highways requesting temporary speed limits or road closed signs to prevent the B1055 becoming a ‘rat run’.– Action CD

    • Littlebury Parish Council
      Letter asking HPC to back request for ‘yellow bus’ scheme to take children to various schools in Saffron Walden. Mrs Midgley will contact Cllr Walsh and the West Area Forum to establish if there is any merit in the project. The Clerk to reply to Littlebury PC indicating we are looking into it.– Action AM/CD

    • Uttlesford District Council
      Charity dinner invitation or request for donation – £30 donation approved.

33. WEBSITE

    Miss Frost requested a presentation meeting to obtain approval for the purchase of Dreamweaver software. This has now been approved and Miss Frost will order the software in due course.– Action DF

    Mr Sladen showed the council some mock-ups of a possible village hall sign etched in colour on the rear of toughened glass displaying the web address. It was considered to be a good idea and Mr Sladen was asked to approach a local supplier for a quote. Mr Sladen would also check that planning permission was not needed for its placement.– Action JS

34. FINANCE

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

    UALC	2005/06 Subscription	£25.00
    RCCE	2005/06 Subscription	£35.00
    UDC	Donation to Chairman’s Fund	£30.00
    D Frost	July Newsletter postage	£3.60
    S. Basham	Grass cutting August	£180.00
    S McCarthy	Chairman’s Allowance	£30.00
    C Dyer	To be repaid by residents on arrival	£350.00
    Zurich Municipal	To be repaid by residents on arrival	£350.00
    Dreamweaver	Website Software	£TBA
    Receipts
    Donation	Current Account	£21.23

35. PLANNING

    There was nothing to report

36. VILLAGE HALL

    Mr Sladen confirmed there had been no meetings recently.

37. STANSTED AIRPORT

    Mr McCarthy reported that around 1,000 people attended the recent Runway Ramble which was considered very good. There is also an indication that BAA are not going to be able to meet the current timetable for obtaining funding for the new runway and that it would be deferred to somewhere between 2012-2015.

The dates of the next meetings are 18 August, 15 September and 12 October.

The meeting closed at 10.25pm.