Parish Council Minutes 23rd November 2006

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

• Mr A Thomas
• Cllr Sue Schneider (Uttlesford District Councillor)

Before the meeting opened, Cllr Simon Walsh (Essex County Councillor) updated the Parish Council with particular reference to highways issues and the proposals with regard to the mobile library.

Subsequently Sgt Ashley Seymour and PCSO Mike O’Donnell-Smith (Saffron Walden Neighbourhood Policing Team) briefed the Council regarding our qualms with Neighbourhood Policing following the resignation of PC Ryan McNamara. Sgt Seymour gave an honest appraisal of the situation and outlined new arrangements for our area including the appointment of PC Tanya Tokarczyk. The Chairman also expressed our gratitude for the quick response to a recent problem and welcomed the honest appraisal of the current position given by Sgt Seymour.

Cllr Walsh, Sgt Seymour and PCSO O’Donnell-Smith left and the Chairman opened the meeting at 8.55pm.

91. MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 24 OCTOBER 2006

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

92. MATTERS ARISING

    from previous Minutes, not dealt with in the main agenda.

    • Trees Obscuring View Of Church Tower
      Mr Haylock reported that Ben Smeedon (Uttlesford District Council) had carried out an inspection of the locality and considered that there was nothing to be gained by cutting the trees, as views of the church tower could be gained and the trees add significant value to the church setting. It was stated that what was requested was a topping of the trees by say 10/15 feet and not felling. Mr Haylock will discuss further with Mr Smeedon.– Action DH
    • Hedge Cutting
      Mr McCarthy had been approached by Mr Malt with regard to the thinning of hedges on the northeast edge of The Glebe and a section at Campions End. Mr McCarthy will investigate the latter,before confirming future action.– Action SM

93. CORRESPONDENCE

    ECC	Mobile Library Service – consultation to alter from a weekly to fortnightly visit. Clerk to reply – weekly service preferred but fortnightly acceptable, however bear in mind bank holidays when we have no service.– Action CD

94. BEST KEPT VILLAGE

    Mr Weedon provided everyone with a copy of the points awarded which indicated a very good overall result.

95. VILLAGE BENCHES

    The bench inside the bus shelter is currently very unstable. A replacement bench for the concrete plinth to the side of the bus shelter was required along with a seating shelf for inside the bus shelter. All were requested to look out prices for discussion at the next meeting. Mr Haylock offered to remove the bench from the bus shelter and in time repair and reinstate it elsewhere in the village.– Action ALL/DH

96. FINANCE

    A summary of expenditure to date together with anticipated expenditure had been prepared by the Clerk. It was requested that this be emailed to all for consideration before the next meeting, when the budget for 2007/08 will be decided.– Action CD

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

    Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal	Remembrance Day wreath	£20.00
    Mrs A Midgley	Copying and postage for questionnaire	£57.08
    SLCC	2007 subscription	£65.00
    Miss D Frost	Business cards and newsletter postage	£11.91
    Lubbock Fine	2006 audit fee	£141.00

97. ESTABLISHMENT OF VILLAGE DEMOGRAPHIC DATABASE

    The need for a demographic make up of the village has been identified. The Clerk was asked to start to prepare this using the information collected for the Village Review and bringing it up to date.– Action CD

98. PLAY EQUIPMENT

    Mrs Midgley had prepared a questionnaire that was to be distributed with the December Diary and Newsletter together with a stamped addressed envelope for the replies to be sent to the Clerk.

99. P3 / CUTTING PROGRAMME

    Robin Wallbank (Essex County Council) had acknowledged receipt of the spreadsheets indicating cutting priorities etc, stating that this “should help ensure that all rights of way which require cutting are carried out”. He will contact the relevant engineer for the depositing of the plannings on the Chase. However, he stated that ECC will not be repairing or renewing the gate at the bottom of the Chase. Miss Frost has subsequently submitted a P3 application for £250 for a replacement gate.

    Mr McCarthy reported that the ECC Rights of Way Dept has now given permission to Uttlesford District Council to advertise our proposed changes. This should happen within the next few weeks and will allow the Parish Council to make a claim against the grant awarded to us. Providing there are no objections to the scheme, the project will proceed to the next stage, although staffing difficulties at County Hall may continue to delay the project.

100. WEBSITE

     Miss Frost reported that Helions Bumpstead have won the NALC Website of the Year award. Discussion ensued around some of the things that could be improved on our site (like drop down menus) although the overall opinion was that the Hempstead site projected a thriving, friendly village. The Clerk from Hatfield Heath PC had contacted Mr Kitchen for advice on setting up and this was felt to be a great endorsement.

101. PLANNING

     Land adj Anser Gallows Farm – UTT/1385/06/FUL – planning permission was refused on the grounds that the scheme would not maintain or enhance the amenity values of the surrounding area and there were traffic/highway concerns.

102. HIGHWAYS

     Mr McCarthy reviewed the comments made by Cllr Walsh and was pleased to hear that he was still pressing the case for the footway up the High Street – LTP2 was still not decided. The need for this footpath has recently increased with a number of disabled people in the village and two families who regularly walk their young children along the High Street to the school bus. Mr McCarthy had again contacted Mr Felgate seeking early completion of the outstanding matters. The drinking fountain is in a poor state of repair; Mr Haylock will investigate whether it was possible to obtain a grant from Essex Heritage Trust for refurbishment.– Action DH

103. VILLAGE HALL

     Mr Sladen confirmed the receipt of a second quote for noise reduction in the hall but the solution is considerably different from the first. A management committee meeting will discuss further.

     Following the issue of wheelie bins to the village there has been issue regarding the collection of the waste from Pre-School. Mr Sladen and Mrs McNeill (Preschool’s Chair) are liaising with UDC. The wheelie bins for Trevor House are currently being left on the edge of the drive into the Village Hall, which causes difficulty for vehicles entering and exiting. The Clerk was asked to contact UDC and ask for the bins to be collected from the edge of Trevor House property.– Action CD

104. STANSTED AIRPORT

     There was nothing to report.

     The dates of the next meetings are 19 December 2006, 18 January and 15 February 2007.

     The meeting closed at 10.20pm.