To be held 7.30pm on 4 August2016 at Great Bentley Village Hall
MINUTES
Present: Cllr B Herbert, Cllr P Drew, Cllr K Plummer, Cllr L Edwards and Cllr P Balbirnie.
Public questions:None.
08.16.082Apologies for absence: were received from CllrR. Adams, Cllr J. Hills, Cllr G. Wright and Cllr R. Taylor.
08.16.083Minutes of the last meeting:The minutes of the meetings held on 7 July 2016 were proposed by Cllr Plummer, seconded by Cllr Edwards and unanimously agreed as a true record of proceedings.
08.16.084Declarations of Interest:None.
08.16.085Information & Reports: None.
08.16.086Essex Police District Commander:Chief Inspector Russ Cole made a presentation about local policing. He summarized the priorities of Essex Police and provided an insight in to modern policing. He noted that Gt Bentley has a very low crime rate in comparison with some other parts of the District. He said that the partnership between the Police and the Parish Council to provide a shared PCSO remains important. C/Insp Cole fielded questions enthusiastically from residents on a variety of topics.
08.16.087County and District Councillors Reports:
a)District Councillor: Cllr L. McWilliams reported that she is spending most of her time on matters relating to the Local Plan at the moment. The meeting of the Locality Board she attended prior to Parish Council meeting had been very positive.
b)County Councillor: Cllr A. Gogginhad also attended Locality Board meeting.He noted that there are interesting developmentson the horizon with significant investment. Cllr Goggin referred to the very successful Speed Watch scheme in StOysth.
Cllr Goggin has pursued Highways regarding the flooding of Forge Lane. He noted that this is once more a live issue with ECC Highways.
08.16.088Other Reports:
a)TDALC:The minutes of the last meeting and the EALC Annual Report, attached as Appendix A had been previously circulated.
b)Transport: Mr Harry advised that there is nothing of note to report except noting the splendid job the painters are making of the railway footbridge.
c)Footpaths: Mr D. Gollifer reported that the footpaths have now received their annual cut but that there remain a number of areas that appear to have been overlooked and representation is being made to Highways. Mr Gollifer noted that the practice of cutting the footpaths in July is far too late. The Clerk agreed to write to Highways and ask them to schedule the cut in May/June.
d)Caretaker: Mr R. McWilliams report was noted.
08.16.089Correspondence:To consider correspondence.
a)Parking rear of Chapel Terrace – Mr C. Clark:It was agreed to ask Landscape Services to level this track when he undertakes the work on Southside.
b)Consultation on review of Essex Development Management Policies 2016 and associated Strategic Environmental Assessment:Noted.
c)Soil on Roads – Paynes Turf:Response noted.
d)Thank you letters from Lunch Club, Youth Club Parish Magazine and Churchyard: Noted.
e)Feral Cats: Mrs J Bishop was invited to explain the problem. The Clerk agreed write to the School to make representation on this matter.
f)Allotment Petition: having received a petition of 40+ signatures demanding action to repair the boundary fences to stop the rabbits destroying crops. It was noted that the Village Green Working Party is scheduled to discuss this issue at its next meeting. Further to that a meeting with allotment holders will be arranged.
08.16.090Parish Clerk Report: The Clerk invited questions relating to his previously circulated report, which is attached as Appendix B. None were forthcoming.
08.16.091Finance Report:
a)To approve the monthly expenditure report: Appendix C. The monthly expenditure report was proposed by Cllr Drew, seconded by Cllr Plummer and agreed.
b)To note the monthly bank reconciliation:Noted.
08.16.092Village Green Working Party: Cllr Herbert presented his report, which is attached as Appendix D.
Councillors considered a plan for Station Car Park Improvements. It wasproposed by Cllr Drew, seconded by Cllr Plummer and agreed to use it as a basis to prepare a Community Initiatives Fund (CIF) application and ask the Clerk to prepare funding applications to CIF.
The Clerk was asked to report the faulty ‘swing’ to Bruce Landscapes and ask for a repair to be made.
08.16.093Highways
a)Speed Watch:Agreed to await Cllr Taylors return before considering this matter.
b)20’s Plenty for Us campaign:Agreed to await Cllr Taylors return before considering this matter.
08.16.094Churchyard Vandalism: Councillors noted the situation.
08.16.095Village Projects: Cllr Edwards agreed to undertake a little work exploring possibilities and report back next month.
08.16.096Tendring District Local Plan - Preferred Options 2016: The Clerk noted that the map of Great Bentley in the ‘Preferred Options Consultation Document’ does not identify the new allotment site as safeguarded local green spaces. He agreed to report this. Councillors asked that this item is placed on the agenda for next month’s meeting.
08.16.097Electoral Review of Tendring District Council- Consultation Events: The dates of the consultation events have now passed.
08.16.098Wayleave Agreement (Consent No: SA219451):It was agreed not to give approval to place the box on the Village Green until all other options have been fully explored.
Public questions:
- TDC Cllr McWilliams reported that she has written to Mr B Jenkins MP regarding to proposed closure of the level crossings
- A damaged concrete bollard was reported?
- It was noted that TDC may be able to offer advice on the drainage issue on Forge Lane.
- Someone suggested that the housing developers may be encouraged to contribute towards the solution?
- Mr Harry reported that three additional first responders have been recruited.
- Mr Harry then reported that Highways assessment shows village is close to capacity.
- A 256 signature petition against level crossing closures has been submitted.
- Mrs Bishop noted that it will now be possible to use the new Essex Police website to report matters e.g. dangerous parking in Plough Road.
- Mrs Bishop reported hearing peculiar sounds during the night to the Police. The Police however, took no action and so she has written to her MP.
- Mrs Maskell provided clarification on the vandalism to the Church windows.
The meeting closed at 9.10pm
APPENDIX A
Tendring District Association of Local Councils
Minutes of the Meeting held at Beaumont Village Hall on Wednesday, 20thJuly2016, starting at 7.35p.m..
Members present: *
Also in attendance - John Gili-Ross (Chairman EALC) and Joy Darby (Chief Executive EALC).
Apologies for absence - those marked with “A” above and Cllr Lynda McWilliams, Tendring District Council.
The Vice-Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
The Minutes of the meeting held on 25th May were agreed and signed as a correct record of that meeting .
Matters Arising from those Minutes:
Waste Transfer Site. It was reported that vehicles from the waste transfer site were not permitted to use the lane leading to Slough Lane, Ardleigh, which was built as a condition of planning consent for the gravel extraction site and all traffic were to use it for access to Ardleigh Tip.
Responses from MPs - It was reported that both MPs had responded to the letter sent to them about the closure of police stations and courts and the Secretary was instructed to circulate copies.
Chairman’s Report - The Chairman being absent had not submitted a report.
Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2015 and 31stMarch 2016 - The accounts were available and would be circulated. Cllr Bucke was thanked for his help with communicating with the Honorary Examiner.
E.A.L.C. - The presentation from the Chief Executive and Chairman of EALC is attached at AppendixA to these Minutes.
A Vote of Thanks was proposed by Cllr Halsey and received with acclaim.
Members raised:
a)Funding from Government, County and District Councils was being cut so smaller councils were losing out when doing work, mostly on a voluntary basis.
Grass cutting, cleaning and maintenance of playground equipment, repair of fingerposts and erection of new information posts were all jobs which could be done by a local handyperson and paid for through the precept, some of these works were the responsibility of the County Council and grants for three years could be applied for from the Locality Budget.
b)Poor Broadband speeds.
It was hoped that the roll-out of countywide super broadband would address this problem.
c)Policing
It was pointed out that fifteen years ago fatalities on the roads cost £1 million per death and that human officers were more able to detect dangerous drivers as they could look into the boot to see what was there or could see the signs of drink driving and driving under the influence of drugs, a speed camera could not.
Also, that there was no way of making contact with the police other than using 101 which was not working as expected.
It was reported that the powers that be agreed that the 101 service did not work and they were looking into how it could be improved. The Police and Crime Commissioner held the purse strings and was responsible for strategy and the Chief Constable for day-to-day operation. It was agreed that the Police and Crime Commissioner be invited to the September meeting of TDALC. (Post meeting note: The PCC is already elsewhere in September but his office has suggested March - to be confirmed)
In addition, Special Constable recruitment was being stepped up in the hope that more volunteers would come forward - however, it was pointed out that several younger ‘specials’ had found they enjoyed the work so much that they had moved over to becoming fully-fledged police officers.
d)Planning
So many local planning decisions were overturned on Appeal by an Inspector who did not know the area. Could there be some forward funding for infrastructure prior to developments taking place as in many places roads and drains were overwhelmed already at times, the example of Manningtree Railway Bridge and the money allocated for an underpass having vanished from budgets was mentioned along with the fact that a large amount of Section 106 money would not be lodged until a development had commenced and there had been misinformation at all stages.
EALC would write to NALC about funding for infrastructure and, if there was no NALC policy in place already, to propose that a NALC policy be introduced.
e)Highways matters
The state of footways in some areas was very poor and had not been attended to for over three years from the first reports.
Members were told that the local Highways Panel was the body to approach about these local issues. It was suggested that TDALC should have a representative on the Local Highways Panel. It was agreed that Mick Page (Chairman of the Panel) be approached to this end.
The meeting was told that all contact with the County Council Portfolio Holder for Highways and the Highways Department was to be through the local County Councillor.
f)Communications
It was reported that there was a meeting between the Officers of TDALC and representatives of TDC approximately every six months and that the Chairman asked TDALC members for matters to be discussed prior to each of these liaison meetings.
EALC was very pleased to hear this.
Future Speakers - After a short discussion it was agreed that, in addition to the Police and Crime Commissioner being invited to the September meeting, approaches be made to: Gary Guiver to speak about Neighbourhood Plans and devolution; Leanne Thornton (Community Safety Partnership Manager, TDC); Mick Page (Chairman of the Local Highways Panel); and the two MPs.
There being no further business, the Vice-Chairman closed the meeting at 9.25p.m..
Next meeting – 21st September 2016, at 7.30 p.m, at Beaumont Village Hall.
APPENDIX B
PARISH CLERK REPORT
4 August 2016
- Holiday Absence; The Clerk will be on holiday 11-21 August and then 15-18 September. Clerk cover arrangements are being made for the monthly meeting on 1 September 2016. During these periods the Community Resource Centre will not be open.
- Planning Application Responses: A letter of objection to the application No. 16/00870 /OUT for the erection of up to 50 dwellings on land west of Heckford’s Road was submitted to TDC. Also, an extension to the consultation period was submitted and agreed by TDC for application No. 16/00950/ OUT for the erection of up to 50 dwellings on land off Plough Road.
- ECC Salt Bags: I took the opportunity after consulting Cllr Wright notify ECC that GBPC would participate in its Salt Bag Partnership in 2016/17 and ordered on tonne of salt for storage at Admirals Farm and use around the village.
- Carnival Donation: GBPC received a cheque for £100 donation from the Carnival Association.
- Soil on the Roads: A letter was sent to Paynes Turf as requested. The letter of response advises that the company regularly sweeps the roads in and around the fields that the company harvests and takes its takes its environmental and road safety responsibilities seriously.
- Rural Infrastructure Survey: A completed survey was submitted on 25 July with input from one Parish Councillor.
- Forge Lane Flooding:
a)A letter was sent to ECC Highways as requested seeking clarification and a response is yet to be received.
b)Quotations have been requested from three companies for kerbing and soakaway drain works. One of the companies has asked for clarification, which I am personally unable to provide. I have requested clarification from Parish Councillors and await a response.
- Petition to Reduce Suicides: The letter was posted on the website, forwarded to the Parish Magazine and a letter advising of actions taken sent to the originator.
- Highways Issues: All highway reports made by the Clerk can be viewed on the parish council website.
a)The faulty VAS sign on Heckford’s Road was reported (Ref. 2477134).
b)A letter was sent to Highways complaining about the poor quality repairs to potholes. No response received to date.
- Street Lighting Maintenance: A&J Lighting has been appointed to undertake the maintenance of the Parish Council’s street lights. The contract will commence on 1 August 2016.
- Parish Council Grass Cutting: The weather during the spring and early summer has created a challenge with regards to grass cutting. A number of issues have arisen and the Clerk has spent time liaising with the Parish Council’s contractors to try to maintain standards.
- Talbot Express Motor Home: An old (24 years) motor home has been parked in the Station Car Park for one month. I tried to contact the police and waited 50 minutes in automated queuing system. I spoke with three different people and eventually ended in the automated queue I had started in and gave up. I reported the vehicle to TDC Environmental Services on 26 July and await a response as to the process and timescale to have the vehicle removed.
APPENDIX C
APPENDIX D
Green Report 0816
Footpath At the last meeting I agreed to remove a tree on Footpath 8 for Mr. Gollifer but on arriving there I discovered the tree was too big for me and the footpath impassable because of a falling hedge and nettles so I enlisted the help of M.D. We cleared the path and also cut the lower branches from a tree, on our land, in Birch Avenue.
Spinney The new dog bin and waste bin have been placed and the old ones removed. The lower branches on the outside have been trimmed.
Fair site The grass has been rolled.
Play area The hole in the ground mentioned in the safety report has been filled and the grass cut. A crack in the plastic seat of one of the swings has been brought to my attention. This is not a structural part of the swing but The Clerk should mention it to Bruce Landscapes.
Trees at Chapel Terrace One new tree has been hit by a vehicle for the second time. M.D. has replaced the wooden support post.
Memorial seat Met Megan Whiteman re seat- happy that we restore seat near pond and place plaque- Mick
Allotments-site of our next meeting to discuss the rabbit fence and roll centre of track.
To do -The Hollies –front hedge- paint goalpost -paint bought- more low branches