New Parish Councillor – Joel Fayers

Meet Joel Fayers – New Parish Councillor

The Parish Council co-opted Joel as a councillor in July 2021 & he has joined the Planning Committee. He has lived in West Bergholt with his wife and son since 2017.

He is a Director and Partner of a PR and consultation agency which specialises in the built environment. Prior to working in this sector, he spent several years working in Parliament in Westminster and similar work with District Councils.

May 26, 2021May 26, 2021

Seeing Red & Other Council News

Today the Parish Council resumes in-person meetings. You can find out what they’ll be talking about in detail on the Parish Council Agenda Page. In summary they will appoint Vice Chairs, Responsible Finance Officer and standing committees and other representatives. Committees & CBC Councillors will be giving updates, Audit report and other financial documents will be reviewed. Planning looks at 3 applications and receives an update on the NEEB appeal.

If a member of the public or press wishes to attend this meeting, please email the Clerk as soon as possible so that suitable Covid-secure arrangements can be made. A zoom link will also be made available for those who prefer to attend remotely.

Seeing Red with an Illegal & Problem Parking Blight

The Parish Council are seeing red about illegal parking around the Zebra Crossing on Chapel Road and have placed 2 huge red banners to remind illegal parkers not to do so.

June 17, 2020June 18, 2020

Day 86 of (stairway to) Lockdown – the ‘MC Escher’ edition

Day 86 of (stairway to) Lockdown

Day 86 starts off with an update from the Parish Council. It is also MC Escher‘s birthday who was famous mostly for his ‘Impossible Stairs’ – navigating the pandemic sometimes seems a bit like this!

A couple of mini-snippets:

Recycling back to normal apart from textiles on 22nd June,
Colchester Zoo opens tomorrow pre-booked entrance only,
If you are going into town, remember to keep left on pavements.

After all that we have:

Parish Council Work Continues During the Pandemic

Continue reading “Day 86 of (stairway to) Lockdown – the ‘MC Escher’ edition”

May 22, 2020June 18, 2020

Day 60 of (is it?) Lockdown – the Elementary edition

Day 60 of (is it?) Lockdown

Day 60 happens to fall on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthday. So we turn to Sherlock Holmes’ for some light relief at the end. First some Lockdown updates from the Environment Agency and Essex Council, then we have Parish Council updates and finally Sherlock – elementary.

Anyone for boating?

The latest Environment Agency update reports on progress made in preparing their waterways (including the Thames & Anglian waterways) for leisure activities: Continue reading “Day 60 of (is it?) Lockdown – the Elementary edition”

April 22, 2020April 22, 2020

Day 30 of Lockdown – the Hands Washing Hands edition

Day 30 of Lockdown

On day 30, Essex County Council turns its’ attention to the technology our children might be using during the lockdown. We have official confirmation that the NEEB Holdings appeal has been postponed. Finally Neil Diamond asks you to join him in song.

Every Family Matters – ECC Announcement

Technology can provide young people with a window to the world, offering them lots of different opportunities to learn new things, have fun and stay in touch with friends and family.

Staying connected is important right now and if your child is not currently at school, you might find they are spending more time online at home, playing games, scrolling through social media, or chatting to friends.

Hidden Dangers

Continue reading “Day 30 of Lockdown – the Hands Washing Hands edition”

April 2, 2020April 2, 2020

Day 10 of Lockdown – The Police Edition

If the Last Supper was taking place this year

Day 10 of Lockdown

Our day 10 report starts with an update on NEEB’s appeal. After that, we put together two reports found online yesterday. Essex Police had noted there had been an uptick in cars on roads and Essex County Council (coincidentally?) gave advice on how to avoid car use.

On the subject of Essex Police, they paid a surprise visit to the allotments yesterday. The last item is The Police offering advice about social distancing in a musical form. 🙂

Before we move on, a gentle reminder about NO BONFIRES please to protect kids with asthma; recycling collections will resume eventually so please hold your Green waste until then or use the CSH service for recyclables. So, on to the NEEB update:

Planning Inspectorate Update

It seems that the Planning Inspectorates enquiry into the NEEB Holdings application has Continue reading “Day 10 of Lockdown – The Police Edition”

October 18, 2019October 18, 2019

The Final Hurdle

The Final Hurdle

In March 2013 the Parish Council launched the Neighbourhood Plan project; we cleared the final hurdle on Wednesday night. Wednesday saw Colchester Borough Council approve the plan to make it official policy. We reached the “home straight” on 19th September when 862 electors gave a resounding thumbs up to the final plan; 59 voted against it and 1 voted to Stop Brexit! The record Continue reading “The Final Hurdle”

September 13, 2019November 24, 2022

West Bergholt goes to the polls early!

Poll card & flyer for Neighbourhood Plan Refrendum

West Bergholt goes to the polls early!

The residents of West Bergholt will go to the polls on Thursday 19th September to decide to adopt their local Neighbourhood Plan.

So far the presence of the emerging Neighbourhood Plan has been used by the Planning Inspectorate in four planning appeals, preventing some 250 additional houses. Chairman of the West Bergholt Neighbourhood Steering Group, Chris Stevenson, stated: Continue reading “West Bergholt goes to the polls early!”

August 19, 2019

Gladman Appeal – The Result Is In

We have now received the results of the Gladman Appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. The Inspector considered all contributions including those from the Borough and Parish Council – and of course yourselves. The main issues the Inspector (John Woodcock) took into account were:

The character & appearance of the area;
Heritage assets; and
The supply of housing.

He also took into account other issues such as: Continue reading “Gladman Appeal – The Result Is In”

August 14, 2019August 15, 2019

Decision Time for Neighbourhood Plan

Decision Time for Neighbourhood Plan

After nearly 7 years of planning and consultation, it is now decision time for the West Bergholt Neighbourhood Plan. The Statutory ‘Regulation 16’ Consultation has taken place and some changes recommended. Consequently, a final version of the plan will soon be available on the website.

The decision will be made by referendum of registered electors which will take place on Thursday 19th September 2019. The referendum will ask the following simple question: Continue reading “Decision Time for Neighbourhood Plan”