Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on

Wednesday 11th October, 2006

in the Village Hall at 8.00 p.m.

Present were:

Mrs Burton, Mr Clark, Miss Collinson, Mrs Kesterton, Mrs Oliveira, Mr Perry & Mrs Clark (Clerk).

1. Apologies for Absence

   Cllr Mrs C. Down had apologised for her absence. Mr Rixson had apologised for arriving late at the meeting.

2. Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting

   The minutes of the meeting held on 20th September, 2006 were agreed and signed.

3. Matters Arising

   1. Parish Liaison Meeting, 3rd October

      Mrs Oliveira and Mr Clark had attended the meeting. The topics covered included Essex County Council's plan to turn some street lights off at about midnight; UDC Customer Services Centre; Play Strategy; Planning Enforcement and the Licensing Act, 2003. It was agreed that, if we were consulted about ‘part-night’ lighting, we would respond by saying that we were in favour of it in principle, subject to certain safeguards.

   2. Gambling Act Meeting, 5th October

      Neither Mrs Oliveira or Mr Clark had managed to attend the meeting. Mr Clark will ask for a copy of the presentation notes.

4. Stansted Airport

   1. Stansted Generation 1 Planning Application

      Mrs Oliveira had attended the Development Control Committee meeting on 27th September, when a decision on the application was deferred to 29th November as responses from the Highways Agency and DfT Rail together with those of Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils had not arrived in time for the original timetable to be kept to.

   2. ERM Seminar Regarding Health Impact Assessment

      Mrs Oliveira had not been able to contact ERM to ascertain whether or not the meeting was going ahead, and had therefore not attended it. It had taken place on the afternoon of 3rd October. Mrs Oliveira would try and attend the meeting on 7th November.

5. Footpaths

   1. Fallen Way-Marker at Moor End

      The fallen way-marker had not yet been attended to.

6. Village Hall

   Mrs Oliveira had arranged the public meeting for Wednesday, 1st November in the Village Hall at 8.00 pm, and had written an article for the Five Parishes Magazine. There was some concern that this did not give people enough notice of the meeting. Mr Clark undertook to produce some posters and Mr Rixson undertook to put the details on the Council's website. It was agreed that personal invitations were probably the best way to ensure a decent attendance and all undertook to spread the word.

   Mrs Oliveira confirmed that Great Easton Parish Council had taken over the running of its village hall, and was happy to meet with us to explain how it had been done.

7. Brick End Bus Shelter

   This had been demolished by a hit-and-run motorist on 21st September. The Clerk confirmed that she had obtained a claim form from the Council's Insurers, and that we were to obtain two estimates of the cost to rebuild the shelter. She had enquired of two local builders who were not interested in the work, and had written to three others. No replies had been received to date. Mrs Kesterton and Mrs Burton offered to supply names of builders that they had used. The Clerk had ascertained that planning permission would not be required for the rebuilding of the shelter, but the approval of the Highway Authority might be needed. She had contacted it and had been promised a response within ten days.

8. Correspondence

   A note had been received from U.A.L.C. concerning a meeting that had been held on 28th September, and giving notice of the next to be held on 23rd November. The speaker would be a representative from the East of England Regional Assembly talking about the East of England Regional Plan.

9. Finance, including Signing of Cheques and Verification of Cashbook

   1. Balances

      Balances as at 30th September, 2006 at Barclays Bank, Dunmow were reported as follows:

      Community Account (current)	£3,887.57
      Business Reserve Account (high rate deposit)	£5,337.40
      	£9,224.97	*

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

      The Community Account was unusually high as the second half-year precept of £3,500 had recently arrived. This had since been transferred to the deposit account.

   2. Signing of Cheques

      It was agreed to sign the following cheque:

      P. Freeman

      Grass and hedge cutting, 2nd instalment

      £97.50

   3. Verification of Cashbook

      Mr Perry had performed the necessary verification.

10. Planning

    The current situation on planning applications is:

    1. Old School House, Cherry Green

       2 storey rear extension

       Refused

    2. Peartree Cottage, Cherry Green

       single storey rear extension

       Awaited

11. Any Other Business

    There was no other business.

12. Date of the Next Meeting

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

The meeting closed at 8.50 p.m.