Council Archives - Page 34 of 37

November 27, 2014November 27, 2014

Premises & Recreation – 13th November 2014

The Premises & Recreation Sub-Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council met on 13th November to consider a range of issues and decisions affecting the Premises and Recreational facilities under their jurisdiction. Updates on Play equipment, Practice Goal, Orpen Hall & Annual Fireworks display. The formal report to the Parish Council is as follows:

Premises & Recreation Report

Sub-committee meeting held on Thursday 13th November 2014 at the John Lampon Hall

Councillors present	Phil Walby, Jenny Church, Murray Harlow, Rosemary James, Andrew Savage
Apologies	Rachel Howard

Victoria Beckwith Cole in attendance.

1.	Budget for next year
	Andrew in attendance to discuss preparation for next year’s budget for Orpen Hall. He will forward the agreed budget to sub-committee.	AS
2	Orpen Hall
	a. Letting for New Year’s Eve agreed. Vicky is able to unlock and lock up after the event. Hirer is responsible person, it is a charitable function. Agreed to levy increased deposit of £200 to cover risk of damage.	VBC
	b. Cleaning problem appears to be resolved. Mike has now taken on a new cleaner. To be monitored for the next month to assess improvement or need to still have a meeting with Mike.	PW
	c. The problem with the locking chairs has been caused by the wrong clips being supplied. The company will attend and rectify the problem.	VBC
	d. “Snagging” problems following decoration of halls have been satisfactorily rectified by decorators.
	e. PAT testing has been completed.
3	Practice goal area on field
	Ivor has prepared the goal area and laid foundation work. The artificial turf will be laid when Ivor returns from Jury service.	PW
4	Film night
	To be put on hold until the New Year. Discussions to be arranged with Bernard.	PW
5	Play Equipment
	Inspection report has been read. Await talking to Ivor about what is required to make fully safe all equipment. The areas of concern are all low risk. The area is underused at this present time because of the weather.	PW
6	Heathlands Firework display
	The event went very smoothly, good liaison with PTA. Posts at entrance were removed to avoid damage on entry. Reinstated on Monday following display and are now secure. All rubbish was picked up and skip removed. Minimal damage to grass, replaced with new turf.
	Date of next meeting to be notified.

November 3, 2014November 3, 2014

Who’s been carping?

The latest Village News is now on-line along with all archive copies of both the Village Bulletin and News, one update was of particular interest & it seemed worth picking out for the news-feed:

Maintaining Open Spaces in the Village

The open areas in the village, Poors Land, the Heath, Orpen Hall Field and the allotments have had their annual hedge cutting and bracken clearing.

The ponds in the village at Queen’s Head, Lexden Road and Hall Road will have their autumn tidy-up in November. The Parish Council employs the services of The Conservation Volunteers from Essex.

We were surprised to see that someone had donated a large Koi carp to the Queen’s Head Pond. This is not ideal as the carp will make short work of a lot of the wild life in the pond.

Anyone who would like to have a Koi carp for an ornamental garden pond would be welcome to get in touch, please call Jenny on 240792.

October 10, 2014

Community Litter Pick

Volunteering Opportunity Picking Litter

The latest Village News features a community litter pick being organized by the Parish Council. Starting at 10am on Saturday 18th October, the Parish Council are asking for volunteers of all ages to come along and meet at the Orpen Hall.

All necessary equipment will be available including plastic bags, litter pickers and gloves. Refreshments will also be provided.

Together we can help to make our village a cleaner and tidier environment.

For more information contact Rachel Howard. Tel. 240360

October 10, 2014

Planning & Development Committee – 15th October 2014

Meeting of the Planning & Development Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council in the John Lampon Hall at 7.30pm on Wednesday 15th October 2014. The public and press are welcome to attend.

How Decisions are taken

For applications included on the published agenda the Committee is authorised by the Parish Council to take decisions. These will be submitted by the Clerk onto the Borough Council’s website.
If there is a Planning Application or correspondence received which post-dates the publishing of the agenda, and which cannot await the next meeting of the Committee, then such matters will be discussed at the meeting; where this occurs the committee will not take a decision but will make a recommendation to be considered by the next advertised appropriate meeting, which is likely to be the full Parish Council meeting. If this is the case the Planning applications concerned will appear on the Parish Council published agenda.

AGENDA – Matters to be taken in public

To receive any pre-application representations regarding proposed Planning Applications
To discuss the following applications:

Planning Application No.	Location	Consultation end date
145892 Resubmission of 144987	Delmont, Hall Road, West Bergholt Colchester CO6 3DU	22nd October 2014

October 9, 2014October 9, 2014

When is local, local?

Following the recent Crime Update on our website where the Chief Constable’s announcement about local police/community meetings was reported, it is interesting to note that Essex Police interpretation of local is somewhat different to that which a resident of West Bergholt would regard as local.

John Gili-Ross Chair of the Parish Council, attended a Rural Crime Forum meeting recently where the new Local Community Meetings was an item raised through the agenda, and where it was stated that all local meeting details now appear on the Essex Police web site to inform the public of specifics relating to their area and meeting dates. On checking this John raised this question by email:

I have accessed the site this morning to understand when and where these will be held for my village but failed to find this information. Can you advise me if there is an error with the site or was the meeting yesterday wrongly informed.

In response Essex Police have said:

The information provided to you at the rural crime forum was correct. I have accessed the website this morning to ensure there are no issues and it appears to be in order at this time. The West Bergholt local community meetings are listed under the Chappel and Copford neighbourhoods with some overlap in to the Dedham, Horkesley, Lexden, Pettygate and Stanway neighbourhoods. The following times, dates and locations are from the website –

Local Community MeetingDate: 11th October 2014 17:00 – 18:00
Where: Layer Village Hall

Extra Info: Venue to be confirmed. These meetings will be held throughout Colchester Borough please check other Neighbourhood areas for a meeting that is more convenient for you

Local Community MeetingDate: 1st November 2014 17:00 – 18:00
Where: Dedham Village Hall

Extra Info: Venue to be confirmed. These meetings will be held throughout Colchester Borough please check other Neighbourhood areas for a meeting that is more convenient for you

Local Community MeetingDate: 6th December 2014 17:00 – 18:00
Where: Parish Hall

Old London Road, Marks Tey, Colchester, CO6 1EN

Extra Info: These meetings will be held throughout Colchester Borough please check other Neighbourhood areas for a meeting that is more convenient for you

We are looking to simplify the local community meeting links on the website over the coming weeks. For ease at this time, the following link will take you directly to the Chappel neighbourhood page –

http://www.essex.police.uk/my_neighbourhood/colchester_district/chappel/chappel-2.aspx

It remains unclear as to whether the familiar police vehicle (with attending PCSO) will continue in New Church Road for residents to report issues to the Police directly. If so then perhaps West Bergholt residents do not need the new local police meetings anyway.

September 11, 2014September 11, 2014

Orpen Hall Car Park Finished

Resplendent in the evening sun today the Hall car park appears transformed from its former pot-holed and generally dishevelled appearance of late. Groupbridge our doughty and endlessly accommodating contractor has departed leaving only the portaloo as evidence of the workforce and equipment which has been a feature of the car park over the past 6 weeks.

Over the summer holidays the following work has been carried out:

Old surfacing scraped off and potholes filled in
Surface levelled and prepared to form the hidden (but essential) base-course of the parking area
New kerbing has been laid to the perimeter
Two new soakaways have been installed to take drained rainwater away out of harm’s way
French drains have been installed for water to percolate through to the edges
New drains installed and pipework fitted
New blacktop course laid to the entire car park
Planting areas prepared
Cycle stands installed
Ramps installed to some hall entrances
44 regular car parking spaces marked out together with4 disabled spaces and a loading bay
Access to adjacent areas of the Muga and football pitch created and protected from encroachment

Some of these features are shown in the slide show.

All this has been achieved with minimal inconvenience to hall and Lorkin Daniell field users. There are one or two “snagging areas” to revisit in the coming weeks and planting areas will be planned for landscaping activities (both hard and soft landscaping will be employed).

The Parish Council would like to reiterate its thanks to: Groupbridge (especially Chris Souter the Project Manager) our excellent contractor, to Doldens our designers and contract managers, to nearby residents and hall and Lorkin Daniell field users. Especial thanks also go to Essex County Council for their generous grant of £12,000.

As the lead for the Parish Council on this work I would like to thank the following for their assistance. Firstly my fellow Cllrs on the PC project team Bob Tyrell, Andrew Savage and Brian Butcher, as well as those who assisted with co-ordination, namely the Hall Administrator Vicky Beckwith-Cole, the Chair of the Environment Committee Phil Walby and last but by no means least our PC Chair John Gill-Ross whose almost daily inspections towards the end of the project ensured we picked up many of the users’ needs, using his long experience of the way the community interacts with the hall and environs.

I hope the community makes good use of the car park over the coming months and years. I hope readers will agree with me that the work has been transformative.

Chris Stevenson, Chair of Planning and Development Committee – 10th September 2014.

August 23, 2014September 11, 2014

Black-top on at Orpen Hall car park

The Orpen Hall Car Park resurfacing project is nearing completion and will be finished by the end of August, leaving the area spick and span and ready for the more intensive day to day usage which will resume in the autumn.

Over the past week a new black- top macadam surface has been laid which neatly complements the extensive repairs to the car park foundations, hall entrance treatments, kerbing and drainage work which has been going on since the end of July.

White-lining next step

The remaining work to be completed in the coming days includes white lining the car park area to show clearly where users may park and unload. It will also include disabled and cycle parking areas. There will be tidying up activities of course to remove excess debris, materials and the contractors plant and equipment.

Planting to follow

Following the completion of the works there will be a planting scheme drawn up for the new planting areas adjacent to the hall itself.

Parking Spaces

There have been some comments about the amount of parking that will be available after the works, and the access arrangements to the hall entrances. Approximately 40 marked spaces will be available together with a loading bay, 7 disabled spaces and parking for bicycles. Access to the MUGA area, hall entrances, emergency access points, have all been enhanced such that they are not blocked off in the future by parked cars while the hall is in use. This was a key feature of the design and indeed a fire and safety assessment pointed out the lack of ramps to some of the access points.

Thanks to residents & users

The Parish Council would like to thank hall users for their forbearance during these works. Most of the time at least some parking has been available, however it won’t be long until the whole car park is available once more. We won’t be doing this again for at least another 30 years so any inconvenience is over for a while!

August 14, 2014August 13, 2014

Planning & Development Committee – 20th August 2014

Meeting of the Planning & Development Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council in the John Lampon Hall at 7.30pm on Wednesday 20th August 2014. The public and press are welcome to attend.

If in the opinion of the Chairman there is a Planning Application or correspondence received which post-dates the publishing of the agenda, and which cannot await the next meeting, then such matters will be discussed at the meeting.

AGENDA – Matters to be taken in public

1. To receive any pre-application representations regarding proposed Planning Applications.

2. To discuss the following applications:

Planning Application No.	Location	Consultation end date
145373	124 Lexden Road, West Bergholt Colchester CO6 3BP	01 August 2014
145415	91 Chapel Road, West Bergholt Colchester CO6 3HB	13 August 2014
145501	2 Hall Farm Cottages, Hall Road, West Bergholt Colchester CO6 3DU	No dated stated (resubmission of 131694)
145620	Kinckhams Barns, Bures Road, West Bergholt Colchester CO6 3DN	29 August 2014
145642	9 Bradbrook Cottages, Armoury Road, West Bergholt Colchester CO6 3JW	2 September 2014

3. Other Matters: CBC consultation on Local Plan. Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report (The SA Scoping Report). Comments needed by end of August.

4. CBC Local Plan Call for Sites: Do you know of any land that you think may be suitable for development? (CBC Pro Forma). Ideas and suggestions needed by 5 October.

August 4, 2014

Orpen Hall Car Park starting to take shape

This picture update shows some progress made on the car park over the past week, with some photos taken by Doldens. We are beginning to see the benefit of separating the hall from the car park already, with the new kerbing redefining the relationship between the building and the tarmac. We sometimes don’t appreciate the aesthetics of the original hall design, and the revised car park treatment will bring this out. Life isn’t only about functionality and low maintenance!

July 22, 2014July 26, 2015

Orpen Hall Car Park resurfacing

Yesterday marked the start of works to renew the surface of the Orpen Hall Car Park. The Parish Council (PC) has appointed Groupbridge contractors to carry out the work following a tender exercise carried out in June and approved at June’s PC meeting.

Orpen Hall car park surface has deteriorated

Over the years the car park surface has gradually deteriorated and settlement over the last 10 years has resulted in ponding and puddles occurring after heavy rain. The surface is in fact very poor in places such that a lot of repairs will be needed prior to the new surface being applied. In addition to the new Tarmac surface some further drainage will be added to ensure that rainwater is collected and distributed either to new soakaways or to new French drains that will be installed along the longest edges of the car park.

After resurfacing the Orpen Hall car park will be re-lined and two sets of cycle parking stands installed near the entrances to the halls; disabled parking bays will be provided and ramps installed to ensure the hall is DDA compliant. A further feature will be to separate the car park surface from the main building to enhance the appearance of the hall. Planting will take place around the outside of the hall to soften the hard edges of the car park and building. A plan of the finished car park is shown below or you can click the following link for the most recent full size construction plan in PDF form – Orpen Hall car parking layout.

Co-ordination of the work is being undertaken by Doldens who are acting as agents to the PC and supervising the works. It is not anticipated that the work will unduly inconvenience the community since the work will coincide with the school holidays and at a time when the hall is not so heavily used. Access to the halls will not be affected and the repair work will be undertaken in two phases such that there is as much parking available at any one time as is possible. During this time one of the entrances will be out of action so as to isolate a portion of the car park for the works to take place safely. There will be a time in mid to late August when the whole surface will be re-paved meaning that the car park will be unavailable for up to three days. This will be well advertised in advance.

Timetable and contact

The timetable sees work being undertaken from yesterday (21st July) to the end of August, you can download an outline copy of the most recent timetable by clicking the link: Orpen Hall car park Programme. Regular hall users have been informed already as have those with single bookings over this period.

The work is being funded using PC earmarked funds of £50,000 and a grant from Essex County. Council for £12,000.

If any reader has concerns or queries they should contact the hall administrator ([antibot mailto=”[email protected]”]), or Parish Clerk (Parish Clerk ([email protected]), in the first instance who will either answer queries or obtain information from our agent and/or contractor.