Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on

Wednesday, 11th January 2006

in the Village Hall at 8.00 p.m.

Present were:

Mrs Burton, Mrs Oliveira, Mr Perry, Mr Rixson & Mrs Clark (Clerk).

In Attendance:

Cllr Simon Walsh

1. Apologies for Absence

   These had been received from Miss Collinson, Mrs Kesterton, Mr Clark and Cllr Mrs Down (these latter two were attending the Area Panel meeting).

2. Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting

   The minutes of the meeting held on 9th November, 2005 were agreed and signed.

3. Matters Arising

   1. Speed Checks

      A letter had been received to advise that this matter would be assessed and prioritised with a view to including it on the Locally Determined Budget reserve list.

   2. Speed limits – Woodgates

      Cllr Walsh was reminded that he had agreed to chase Highways on this.

   3. Report of the Parish Liaison Meeting 6th December

      Mr Clark had sent a written report:

      • The arrangements for the Area Committees had been explained.

      • Nick Shuttleworth from RCCE had explained what funding was available for village projects.

      An interesting talk had been given by Cllr Mike Hibbs about Council Housing in Uttlesford, and the plans that they had for the future. Cllr Peter Wilcock, and a young man from Henham had talked about the Youth Initiative. The plan is to invite a couple of teenagers to sit in on Parish Council meetings to obtain a youth perspective on what we are doing, and to encourage them (and other youngsters) to play a full part in the life of the village.

      • Dog fouling – Parish Councils now have the right to issue fixed penalty notices to offenders. This is easier than enforcing a bye-law, and can apply to ‘any open space to which the public have access, with or without payment’.

4. Stansted Airport

   1. H.O.S.S.

      Takeley Parish Council's application for a further consideration of the rejection of its application for a judicial review of the H.O.S.S. scheme had failed. It was now considering a further appeal.

   2. Consultation on the Siting of Runway 2

      Mr Clark would co-ordinate the Council's response. Members were asked to pass their comments to him so that a draft could be discussed at the next meeting. It was noted that BAA's exhibition would be visiting Whitehall Hotel on 24th January. The meeting was reminded of the SSE public meeting on 12th January. Cllr Walsh commented that Essex County Council was going through the process of responding to the consultation, but he felt that it was unlikely that it would change its opposition to Runway 2. It was pointed out that the Parish Council and Essex had different views regarding the maximum use of the existing runway.

5. Correspondence

6. Planned Parish Visit

   The Clerk had passed our wish list to Highways for the visit. This had taken place in December and it was felt that once again the visit to the village had been useful, with a number of small remedial jobs completed.

7. UALC

   A letter had been received advising of a Meeting on 10th February. Mrs Oliveira hoped to attend. It was noted that the Essex County Council Community Initiatives Fund was an item on the agenda for that meeting.

8. Parish Paths Partnership

   A letter had been received from Highways inviting our membership of this scheme. It was noted that Stewart Walker is already the Five Parishes Representative.

9. Footpaths

   An email had been received complimenting the Council on the state of its footpaths but complaining about one between Easton Lodge and Brookend. This had been copied to Highways for action.

10. Finance, including Signing of Cheques

    1. Balances

       Balances as at 31st December, 2005 at Barclays Bank, Dunmow were reported as follows:

       Community Account (current)	£367.65
       Business Reserve Account (high rate deposit)	£7,950.98
       	£8,318.63	*

       * of which £1,000 is committed to the Village Hall, £1,000 is in the Professional Services Account, and £1,000 is in the ECC Grant Account.

    2. Signing of Cheques

       On 22nd December, 2005 a cheque for £184.33 had been issued to Uttlesford District Council for the supply of skips for half a day each on 14th May and 6th November, 2005.

       It was agreed to sign the following cheques:

       C.P.R.E.	Annual Subscription	£25.00
       Uttlesford Area Access Group	Annual Subscription	£10.00
       The Society of Local Government Clerks	Annual Subscription	£64.00

11. Planning

    The current situation on planning applications is:

    1. Clovelly, Brick End

       Outline permission for the erection of a replacement dwelling with all matters reserved except means of access

       We had made a representation to the appeal inspector that we now favoured this site, and the two adjacent, being included within the building ‘envelope’ of the village.

       Appeal Dismissed

    2. Brick House & Annexe, Church End

       Removal of Condition C.6.3 attached to planning consent UTT/0590/89/FUL (restricting occupancy of annexe to relatives of main dwelling) to permit use for holiday lets

       Conditional Approval

    3. Walnut Tree Cottage (formerly The Flying Rat), Brick End

       Replacement Windows

       Conditional Approval

    4. Wood Farm, Pledgdon Green

       Proposed triple garage block (x 2)

       Awaited

    5. Land adjacent to Leswins, Chapel End

       Detailed application for the erection of a bungalow

       Awaited

    6. Church Hall Farm, Church End

       Conversion of the barn to eight bed & breakfast rooms

       Awaited

12. Any Other Business

    1. Flowers for Chairman

       Mrs Oliveira thanked the members for the flowers she had recently received whilst recuperating from an operation. She had been greatly cheered by them.

    2. Gritting at the Maltings

       It had been noted that Daniel Mansworth (aged 9) had been seen gritting the road during the recent cold weather. It was agreed to write and thank him for doing this.

    3. County Councillor's Report

       Cllr Walsh apologised for missing previous meetings and gave a short report of the current work of the County Council.

13. Date of the Next Meeting

    The date of the next meeting was confirmed as Wednesday 8th February, 2006 in the Village Hall at 8.00 p.m.

Cllr Walsh was thanked for his attendance and the meeting closed at 8.45 p.m.