Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting
Held in the John Lampon Hall on 28th May 2014 at 7.30p.m
1. Election of Chairman
Mr John Gili-Ross was re-elected as Chair – proposed by Mr Walby, seconded by Mr Harlow. 9 votes for the proposal.
2. Election of Vice-Chairman
Harry Stone was re-elected Vice Chair – proposed by Mr Short, seconded by Mrs Church.
9 votes for the proposal.
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
Held in the John Lampon Hall on 28th May 2014 at 7.30p.m.
| Chair | John Gili-Ross |
| Parish Councillors Present | Jenny Church, Murray Harlow, Rosemary James, Andrew Savage, Chris Stevenson, Harry Stone and Bob Tyrrell, |
| Parish Clerk | Val Walsom |
| Borough Councillors | Councillor Harrington, Councillor Willetts |
| Present: | Brian Butcher and 1 Member of the Public |
Part I – Public
1. Receive Apologies
Apologies were received from Rachel Howard.
2. Questions from registered electors
No questions were received.
3. Receive items for information not on the agenda, which in the opinion of the Chairman should be brought to the attention of the Council
No items were received.
4. Declarations of Interest
Chris Stevenson declared an interest in Items 8 and 12 relating to Highways and item 11 relating to a Planning issue.
Bob Tyrrell declared an interest in a Planning Issue in item 11.
5. Minutes
Minutes of the Council meeting held on Wednesday 23rd April 2014 were approved and signed.
6. Report for Colchester Borough Councillors
Councillor Harrington gave the following report:
Planning Application 142481 – Kebab Stall which was called into the Planning Committee. The Officers’ recommendation was for refusal. The committee was minded to overturn the recommendation for refusal. A second meeting was held which included a report from an Environmental Officer. The Planning committee has now accepted the recommendation for refusal.
The Queen’s Head Landlord has since retired. Following refurbishment the pub will reopen this week and be serving food. Therefore it is unlikely that the need for a kebab outlet will be required at the location of the Queen’s Head.
Councillor Harrington has received threatening emails following his involvement with this process. However, he feels that the democratic process has been fulfilled. The proprietor of the Kebab Stall has the option to appeal.
Prior to this meeting JGR and HS discussed, with the owner of the Kebab Stall, the best way forward. It was suggested that he could follow the business plan of the Fish and Chip van, moving around the local villages. However, this does not seem a feasible option for him. He asked, if he did go mobile, would he be able to operate daily from the Orpen Hall Car Park. He would not open on Thursday, when the Fish and Chip Van is in West Bergholt, or Sunday. JGR has carried out some background checks on the owner with satisfactory results.
It was agreed that Chairs from the Planning, Environment and Recreation working parties would meet to discuss this and bring back their recommendations to the full Parish Council.
Councillor Harrington advised that the Parish Council would have to consider an electrical supply, disposal of foul water and whether he is able to go mobile.
Litter bins on Colchester Road and on the footbath from the Scout Hut to the school – The zone warden can install and maintain them at a one off cost of £380 per bin but the PC would have to cover the ongoing cost to empty them. The PC agreed that funding is available for the installation of the bins.
CBC Election – Councillor Dennis Willetts was re-elected for a further 2 years.
Councillor Willetts gave the following report:
He advised that he received 62% of the vote.
Sonia Church, ECC Highways, had asked for any comments with regard to the Traffic Safety Plan by 3rd June. There have, so far, been no adverse comments.
7. Finance
a) Statement of Accounts for April 2014
The accounts for April 2014 (end of the financial year) were presented as follows:
The General Account showed 46% income, 4% general expenditure, 3% environment expenditure and 4% expenditure overall.
The Hall Account showed 12% income and 12% expenditure.
b) Draw cheques
It was proposed by AS and seconded by CS to make the following payments:
| Payment Details | Expense Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| General Account | ||
| Collier and Catchpole | Macadam | 47.04 |
| EALC | Training | 67.00 |
| Countrywide | 2 months grass cutting | 440.00 |
| I Beckwith | Work on play equipment and LD field | 307.80 |
| CALC | Annual subscription | 35.00 |
| Anglian Water | Water bill – Poors Land | 10.678 |
| Inland Revenue | Tax | 176.20 |
| V Walsom | Refreshments for APM | 60.10 |
| CBC | Dog bins | 1372.80 |
| Orpen Hall Account | ||
| Mike’s Cleaning | Cleaning | 594.00 |
| RCCE | Annual Subscription | 48.00 |
| Elanar Technical Service | Boiler repairs | 106.85 |
| EALC | Training | 150.00 |
| AtoZ Supplies | Cleaning materials | 136.00 |
| I Beckwith | Installing wall mounted ashtray | 54.44 |
| P Walby | Travel expenses | 28.35 |
| S J Andrews | Electrical work | 142.28 |
Salary payments were made to Val Walsom and Stephen Cook from the General Account and Vicky Beckwith-Cole and Joanna Tawell from the Hall Account.
[Click to view Summary Accounts – Summary Accounts April 2014]
c) To approve the 2013/2014 Annual Accounts
The Annual Accounts for 2013/2014 were presented and approved by all present.
d) County Broadband update
Still awaiting information from County Broadband. County Broadband are turning new customers away as they are currently unable to increase the service.
We will be applying for a CIF grant to upgrade internet access with County Broadband which has been quoted at a cost of £10,000.
Superfast Essex Broadband project is not expected to provide high-speed services into West Bergholt until 2016 as a minimum.
e) Scout Hut Licence and rent update
The Scouts period of 3 months’ notice is coming to the end of its second month. The Scouts are having a Licence drawn up by their solicitors, to be presented to the Parish Council for agreement. Notification has been received that there is a delay in drawing up the document and the Scout group has asked for a delay and an extension to the notice period.
It was agreed that the notice period would remain and this would be discussed at the next PC meeting in June. The Scouts will be asked to send a copy of the Licence to the PC immediately upon its receipt to speed up the process.
f) Parish Council insurance provider
Zurich has provided a quote for the Parish Council’s insurance which is more cost effective than the quote from AON. The Clerk has made checks to ensure the cover is based on the cover already received by AON. It was agreed to use Zurich for the coming year.
g) Social Club
An invoice and covering letter has been sent to the Social Club. They are currently up to date with rent payments. However, they owe £4005 for gas, rates, water rates and insurance. The letter invited comments from the Social Club at this meeting but no representation was made.
It was agreed to write to the Social Club to give them notice that the total debt must be cleared within 30 days of the date of the letter otherwise the Parish Council will move to closure.
Other Issues
Web manager, Dave Kingaby has advised that there has still been no decision to his annual payment. The Parish Council has agreed Option 3 being an annual fee of £1056 to provide the service at the current level.
8. Traffic Safety Plan
Chris Stevenson declared an interest in this item.
The 20mph survey – The results of this are currently unknown. Sonia Church will be asked for the outcome to be made known and what if any action the PC must take to implement the revised speed limit.
There has been no information about the proposed patches on New Church Road.
The Parish Council has agreed to ask Sonia Church to proceed with the full consultation process as no adverse comments have been received by them and Heathlands Primary School’s Governing Body has given its approval to the scheme.
9. Update on Orpen Memorial car park project
A meeting with G Dolden and Associates has been held to assess precise drainage needs of the car park. The Specification for the works has been drawn up and will go out to 3 companies to tender. It is still hoped to get the work carried out during the summer holiday.
10. Clerk’s Items to Note
a) RCCE – Risk Assessment and Fire Risk Assessment – 18th June 2014
11. Planning
a) To approve comments and decisions for Planning Applications (Reports from the Planning Committee’s meetings on 16th April 2014 were received):
Bob Tyrrell declared an interest in Planning Application 144658.
Chris Stevenson declared an interest in Planning Application 144678
To approve comments for Planning Applications:
- 144658 – 43 Albany Road – Application supported with no comments
- 144678 – The Cherries, 74 Mumford Road – Application supported with no comments
- 144681 – Wickhams, Bures Road – Application supported with no comments
- 144737 – Ramblers, 2 Armoury Bungalows – Application objected – The flat roofed design is considered a poor design solution for this extension and a pitched roof solution is preferable. We are of the view that a flat roof is not permitted development as it is different to the existing material.
- 144809 – 14 Church Close – Application supported with no comments
b) Neighbourhood Plan – Report
There was no report.
12. Environment and Highways
Chris Stevenson declared an interest in any items relating to Highways
a) Gift Aid for the Allotments
Consideration to be given about whether or not it would be possible to Gift Aid the Allotment rents.
b) Resurfacing of pavements along Chapel Road
The PC is concerned about who makes the recommendations about which pavements are resurfaced. CS advised that this kind of work would not go to the Highways Panel. This would have been a planned maintenance project instigated by a Highways inspector.
Other issues
A footpath created by individuals walking from the footpath on Poors Land to the footpath on the Village Green was discussed. This will be discussed further.
13. Premises and Recreation
a) Health and Safety
PW and Vicky Beckwith-Cole will be responsible for Health and Safety under the Clerk’s jurisdiction. They have both attended a relevant training course.
b) Proposed fitness trail
It was proposed to explore installing a fitness trail on the Lorkin Daniell Field. The Awards for All Grant will be explored to fund this.
c) Proposed film nights
It was proposed to hold a regular film night in the Orpen Hall. This will be investigated further and moved forward.
14. Communications
West Bergholt Residents Group represented the objectors to the Kebab Stand. It is unclear who the West Bergholt Residents Group are and what they represent. The Chair gave an explanation of the group based upon knowledge gained during the kebab unit planning application.
15. War Memorial
Report from Working Party
The Environment and Highways working party agreed that there should be a memorial stone for the village commemorating, but not naming, all who served during any conflicts since 1914. The village sign upright support needs repair and it was felt that the memorial could be incorporated with the sign which would be repaired at the same time. A design was presented for discussion. Grants may be available.
We have still not received a response from O&M Management Services representing half the Brewery Site with regard to the war memorial sited there. It was suggested that should the memorial stone go ahead the PC would be unable to provide financial support for the Truman’s site war memorial.
16. Emergency Planning
We are awaiting a response from an article in the next Village Bulletin and the list of vulnerable residents will be drawn up.
Items to Note
- Clerks and Councils Direct
- RCCE Village Halls and Community Buildings Update
Part II – In Committee
Matters taken in the absence of Press and Public (Public (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960) as the item contains exempt information as defined by the Local Government Act 1972 Sch. 12a Pt (1).
There were no matters discussed.
Date of Next Meeting
Wednesday 25th June 2014 at 7.30p.m. – Parish Council Meeting
The meeting closed at 9:35p.m.
| Signed:Position on Parish Council: | Date: |