Parish Council Minutes 9th April 2015

• Mr Sean McCarthy (Chairman)
• Miss Diana Frost
• Mr John Sladen
• Mrs Sara Scott
• Mr Alan Weedon
• Mr David Drane
• The Clerk

• Mr Simon Howell (District Councillor)

Members of the Public

Before the meeting Councillor Howell discussed the footway and re-iterated that it was a significant achievement as it had been allocated the largest share of the Local Highways Panel budget. It was only when money had been delegated to the local Highways Panel that any progress had been made, particularly with the support of the Chairman Alistair Walters. Whilst there was still work to do on three properties, a significant step forward had been achieved.

The Chairman also wished to express his appreciation of the work done by Rissa Long of Essex Highways and Phil Hope the Highways Engineer.

The closure of The Bluebell was discussed but no new information was forthcoming.

The excessive speed of refuse lorries travelling through the village to the waste facility in Haverhill was discussed and Councillor Howell advised contacting Roger Harborough at Uttlesford District Council.

The Parish Council Meeting opened at 8.20 pm.

117. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

     Mr David Haylock
     County Councillor Simon Walsh

118. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

     Thursday March 12, 2014 minutes were approved.

119. MATTERS ARISING

     None arose not covered elsewhere.

120. PLANNING

     
     Excessive and obtrusive signage at Bulls Bridge Farm was discussed and it was agreed that the clerk would contact Planning Enforcement at Uttlesford District Council.

121. HIGHWAYS

     David Drane continued to pursue outstanding issues. Some areas had been patched prior to the comprehensive program of the re-surfacing.

     Hedges: Councillor Walsh had reported in an email on 26 Match that Highways considered the overgrown hedges that had been reported were not overgrowing the highway boundary.

     Footway Project: The project had made good progress with all but three of the property frontages complete.

     Gaps had been left between the pavement and ground behind on several properties. As the Parish Council had already agreed to possibly fund some of the completion work the Chairman asked the meeting to agree to the purchase of topsoil up to £200 to address the problem if the County Council did not undertake this task. The meeting agreed as it would give residents affected the chance to plant or seed the areas rather than wait until the next growing season.

     Local Highways Panel: The meeting of March 23rd was attended by local resident Mark Welbourn on behalf of the village. Unfortunately he was unable to speak and only two of Hempstead’s three proposed schemes had gone forward. Rissa Long later admitted that this was an oversight that would be corrected.

122. ENVIRONMENT

     Flooding: Mr Sladen reported that the wall on the bridge near Wash Cottage had been repaired but no further funds were available this year. Neither of his two referrals had changed status since he had reported them.

     Pond Refurbishment progress: As still no definite communication had been established with John Jossaume it was agreed to seek other contractors.

     Village Green: The long and complex letter that had been received from Essex Legal Services concerning the application to register land as a village green was being examined by Mark Welbourn to clarify the content of the letter. This would be discussed at the next meeting. The clerk would reply to Essex Legal Services to say that we would reply by the end of May

123. FINANCE

     The following cheques were signed:
     A cheque for UK 2 Website fees was signed for £171.31 to Brain Kitchen.
     VAT repayment of £156 had been received from HMRC.
     The clerk reported that the Current Account balance was currently £3,861 and the Reserve Account balance £11,101

124. PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY

     A work order for repairing the plank bridge on Footpath 46 had been raised.

125. COMMUNICATIONS

     It was agreed that the Annual Report and agenda for The Annual Parish Meeting would be distributed via email with some additional copies available in the church.

     It was agreed that the Chairman would send the council reports to Miss Frost for the Newsletter and the Clerk would, at least temporarily, assume responsibility for liaison with Mr Kitchen concerning the website.

126. RETIRING COUNCILLORS

     The Chairman thanked Miss Frost for her hard work and enthusiasm over many years. Her knowledge of the village and valuable support in many areas would be missed. She thanked the Chairman for his kind words.

     He also thanked Mr Haylock in his absence for his many contributions and active support over the years.

DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS – Thursdays May 14, June 11 and July 9 at 8pm in the Village Hall. The Annual Parish Meeting would be on Friday May 15 at 8pm.

Meeting ended at 9.35 pm