A brief summary of key elements of the PC meeting on 23rd April 2025. At this meeting they:

Noted:
- three planning applications which were supported, and
- a response made to the National Grid consultation,
Agreed:
- a number of payments and heard the final accounts for 2024/25, and
- a recommendation to repair the Practice Goal on the LD Field,
Approved the final accounts for 2024/25 including the Asset Register

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting

Held on Wed 23rd April 2025 at 6.15pm in the John Lampon Hall, CO6 3BW

Chair:	Cllr Brian Butcher
Parish Councillors:	Cllrs Harry Stone, Andrew Savage, David Short, Paul Chamberlain, Bill Pigeon, Veronique Tyler, Bob Tyrrell, Manya Barrow and Katie Pulford.
Also in attendance:	Laura Walkingshaw (Parish Clerk)
City & County Cllrs:	None
Members of the public:	No members of the public present.

25/58 Receive /accept apologies and welcome to the public.

Apologies were received from Cllr Gili-Ross. City Councillors Naylor, Willetts and Barber also sent their apologies.

25/59 Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest made.

25/60 Previous Minutes & Actions

To approve and sign the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wed 26th March 2025 and note any outstanding actions.

RESOLVED – the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wed 26th March 2025 were approved and signed by the Chairman, with no amendments. (See link to PC Minutes P12 Mar 2025)

25/61 Questions from registered electors

There were no questions from registered electors.

25/62 Report from Colchester City & Essex County Councillors

There was no report received from the City or County Councillors.

25/63 Planning

To note the following agreed comments made by the WBPC Planning Committee to CCC at their meeting on 14th April 2025 (See link to Planning Minutes P1 Apr 2025):

250564 – 2 Valley Crescent, West Bergholt CO6 3ED

Single storey side extension and new vehicular access for off street parking

Comment: Having considered all the details of this application, the Parish Council has decided to support the application subject to the applicant and Colchester City Council Planning department taking into consideration the comments made by Highways.

Decision: Support

250407 – Priors Cottage, Hall Road, West Bergholt CO6 3DX

Two-storey front extension and internal alteration of staircase.

Comment: Having considered all the details of this application, the Parish Council has decided to support this application.

Decision: Support

250709 – 130 Colchester Road, West Bergholt CO6 3JS

Proposed first floor rear extension

Comment: Having considered all the details of this application, the Parish Council has decided to support this application subject to the removal of the Juliet Balcony from the proposed rear (Northeast) elevation.

Decision: Support

25/64 Environment & Highways

To note the minutes of the WBPC Environment Committee from their meeting of 10th April 2025. (See link to Environment Mins P1 Apr 2025)

The minutes of the 10th April 2025 meeting were noted. It was also noted that the Committee had decided not to plant the replacement mayoral tree at this time in the year, but will wait until the end of the growing season.

25/65 Finance

a) Statement of accounts for Mar 2025

The final accounts for Feb 2025 (100% through the financial year) were presented as follows: (See link to PC Accounts P12 Mar 2025)

Receipts at 103%, General Expenditure 90%, Environment Expenditure 95%, Overall Expenditure 91%

Bank Rec at £ 84,345.27.

The Reserves and Projects sheet shows the money spent on the Climate Change initiative Project for the SC radiator flushing and Energy Event refreshments. It also shows the monies spent from the Ringfenced Office Equipment for the three cables for the free monitors which the Clerk’s Assistant sourced for the new office. Finally, £1,169.37 was paid from the Reserves (Community Hub) towards the latest Oliva invoice for the WB Hub (the rest of the money was paid from the Rural England Prosperity Fund grant).

b) Payments

RESOLVED – to approve the Apr 2025 payments list in accordance with the 2025-26 budget (and one late Mar payment from 2024-25 budget) as detailed below. Proposed by Cllr Savage, seconded by Cllr Short. All in favour.

March Payments List:

PC24202

Laura Walkingshaw

3 x bollards for Heath

238.77

April Payments List:

DD	Barclays	Bank charges	9.70
DD	Octopus Energy	Floodlight electricity – Mar 25	33.68
SO	J & M Payroll Services	Apr – wages, tax & NI	6,000.00
PC25001	J & M Payroll Services	Apr – wages tax & NI	1,436.40
PC25002	J & M Payroll Services	Payroll services – Apr	48.00
PC25003	WBFC	Grass cutting Apr – LD Field	50.00
PC25004	Countrywide	Grass cutting Apr – Poor’s Land	219.50
PC25005	Laura Walkingshaw	Web server monthly, APM refreshments	95.98
PC25006	Petty Cash	Petrol & Diesel	40.73
PC25007	TBS Hygiene	Litter & dog bin emptying 29/03/25 – 25/04/25	216.00
PC25008	EALC	2025 Annual Fees EALC (532.06), NALC (226.68)	758.74
PC25009	Sibbons	Stihl strimmer harness	11.95
PC25010	Tree & Lawn Co.	Green clearance – New Allotments	544.80
PC25011	McLean Architectural	WB Comm. Hub – professional services	1800.00
PC25012	Zurich Municipal	Annual insurance 2025-26	2774.98
PC25013	Anglian Water	Poor’s Land project investigation	495.60
PC25014	KingServ	Website services May – July 2025	450.00
PC25015	Ian Coleman	B & Q – concrete for Scout Hut bollards	22.90
PC25016	HSS ProService	Tripod lights x 4, transformer x 4 – VE Day inc. deposit	94.13
PC25017	Oliva Contracts	Invoice 3*	19,469.58

*Maximum payment listed – payment subject to receipt of Payment Certificate from project manager.

c) To update and agree the WBPC section 106 projects list for submission to CCC.

Addition of Lorkin Daniell Field practice goal work and minor amendments to the Orpen Hall proposed projects listed on the section 106 projects list for submission to CCC.

RESOLVED – to approve the updated 2025 version of the WBPC section 106 projects list for CCC. Proposed by Cllr Savage, seconded by Cllr Butcher. All in favour.

ACTION – Clerk to notify the CCC Section 106 team of these updates.

d) To agree to the recommendation from the Finance Advisory Committee of the Outdoor Places quote of £12,270 for repairs to the Lorkin Daniell Field practice goal area, which will subsequently be paid from section 106 monies

There is approximately £16,000 available in Leisure Services, which the PC agreed last month could be used to pay towards the replacement artificial turf needed in the LD Field practice goal area. 4 quotes have been sought from different contractors and the Finance Committee recommend Outdoor Places as the preferred contractor, having received clarification on a couple of matters prior to the meeting.

RESOLVED – to agree to the recommendation from the Finance Advisory Committee of the Outdoor Places quote of £12,270 for repairs to the Lorkin Daniell Field practice goal area, which will subsequently be paid from section 106 monies. Proposed by Cllr Savage, seconded by Cllr Chamberlain. All in favour.

ACTION – Cllr Short and Clerk to notify the contractor and unsuccessful companies of this approval.

e) To agree and sign the West Bergholt Parish Council’s Annual Accounts 2024-25

The Parish Council Annual Accounts 2024-25 reflect a total income of £181,648.36 and total expenditure of £212,879.66. There is a document to explain the variances compared to last year, but, in summary, the PC simply spent more in staff costs, projects and from reserves and grants/donations received than last year.

The report on the recent internal audit is expected shortly and will be circulated on receipt. The Parish Council’s expenditure amount now being more than £200,000 has meant that the PC will now be under more scrutiny from the external auditors, PKF Littlejohn, and it will now require an “Intermediate Level Review” as opposed to a basic one. However, in practice, this simply means that the PC will need to provide more evidence of its risk management arrangements, i.e. the policy that WBPC already has in place, which is reviewed and agreed annually, so this is not really a concern.

RESOLVED – Cllr Savage proposed to approve the WBPC Annual Accounts 2024-25. Cllr Butcher seconded. All in favour. Cllrs Butcher and Savage then signed the 2024-25 accounts.

f) To approve the updated 2024-25 Asset Register.

The WBPC Asset Register has been updated by the Clerk, with just four items being added this year and no items removed. The addition of the defibrillator (which was donated by WB Football Club), inclusive roundabout, flagpole and the new MUGA noticeboard have brought the value of the total assets to £165,089.85.

RESOLVED – To approve the updated 2024-25 Asset Register. Proposed by Cllr Savage, seconded by Cllr Short. All in favour.

g) To note the 2024-25 end of year accounts for the MUGA/tennis courts

The MUGA/Tennis Courts end of year accounts show receipts of £ 2,438.62, payments of £ 2,231.29 meaning a profit of £ 207.33, this will be set aside in the PC’s reserves for 2025-26 for any future work needed to the site.

h) To note the 2024-25 end of year accounts for the Village Bulletin magazine

The Village Bulletin end of year accounts show receipts of £ 2,884.50, payments of £ 3,336.40 meaning a loss of £ 451.90. The printing costs have been scaled back as much as possible this year, so unless there is an increase in advertising this scale of loss is likely to continue in 2025-26. The loss will be covered by the £1,000 currently held in the Reserves for “Earmarked Village Bulletin Magazine Contingency”, which will reduce that amount to £548.10 for 2025-26

i) To note the signing of the amended contract with TBS Hygiene Ltd for waste disposal

TBS Hygiene, which whom the Parish Council has an annual contract for the collection and disposal of waste in West Bergholt, for its one dog bin and eight litter bins, has informed the Clerk of an unexpected increase in 2025-26. Their collection costs will now go up to £5.50 per receptacle, rather than the £5.25 they had previously advised, and which the PC’s budget was based on. The cost will only result in a £117 increase, but it will move the annual cost over the £2,500 expected budget for 2025-26. The signed copy of the amended contract with TBS Hygiene Ltd was noted by the council.

25/66 Governance

To note the final updates to the WBPC Action Plan 2024-25

Prior to changing the WBPC Action Plan to the 2025-26 version in May, the final updates were noted on the 2024-25 version.

25/67 Items of Note

To note the response sent by WBPC on 16th Apr 25 to National Grid’s statutory consultation

Cllr Short drafted a response to the National Grid’s targeted statutory consultation as agreed at the March Parish Council meeting. This was then submitted to the National Grid website on the 16th April 2025. Cllr Butcher expressed the Council’s thanks to Cllr Short for continuing to respond on behalf of the Parish Council in this matter.

ACTION – Clerk and webmaster to update the Pylons page on the website to reflect the latest responses.

To note the minutes of the Youth Engagement meeting of the 25th Mar 25

Cllr Short reported that it was a very positive meeting, with the Drop In Café to now be rebranded as the Wednesday Youth Group (WYG). The group will continue as it is until the summer break, but will be relaunched in September.

To note the Risk Assessment for the VE Day 80th Anniversary event of 8th May 25

The Parish Council noted the risk assessment for the VE Day 80th Anniversary event on the 8th May which had been completed and signed by Cllr Short.

25/68 Items for Next Agenda (28th May 2025)

Elect a Chair and Vice Chair
Appoint an RFO
Reaffirm Committees memberships
Renew Standing Orders (need amending), Financial Regulations, Committee’s Terms of Reference etc.
Renew General Power of Competence
Approval of Sections 1 and 2 of AGAR

25/69 In Committee

No matters were discussed in committee.

25/70 Date of Next Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Wed 28th May 2024 at 7.30pm in the John Lampon Hall, Orpen Memorial Hall, Lexden Rd, CO6 3BW.

The meeting closed at 6.48pm.

Signed: Date: