Environment & Highways – 11th June 2015

The Environment & Highways Sub-Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council met on 11th June 2015 when they elected officers & discussed a range of issues including handyman, traffic, beacon, field cutting, footways & scouts.

Environment & Highways Report

Sub-committee Meeting held on Thursday 11th June 2015 in John Lampon Hall

Councillors present	Harry Stone, John Gili-Ross, Rachel Howard, Jenny Church, Phil Walby, Murray Harlow, Rosemary James
Apologies

1	Welcome
	Harry welcomed all to the new environment sub-committee. Matters arising from last meeting:-
	a) Ditch at allotments has been cleared by Norhurst and should not cause further problems.
	b) Snow gritter has been replaced by the retailers as the old one did not work.	HS
	c) Beacon needs to be placed on pole at village sign site. Steve and Ivor to be asked to do.	HS
	d) Plan in future for this meeting to make recommendations on issues to send to the PC meeting.
	e) Terms of reference to be reviewed – to be sent to all members to be discussed at next meeting.	JC
2	Election of officers
	Chairperson:- John was nominated by Jenny and seconded by Phil and was elected as Chairman.
	Footpath Officer:- John volunteered as Footpath Officer, all agreed.	JGR
	Transport Representative – Harry agreed to continue in this role. There is a meeting on Thursday 2nd July 1pm-4pm in the Quaker meeting house – Harry would not be able to attend so Rachel volunteered to go.	HS, RH
	TPO officer – it was noted that TPOs were available on CBC Planning website and all members could have access to this information. Phil volunteered to be TPO officer.	PW
3	Traffic Safety Plan
	All proposed yellow lines have been put in place. 20mph limits have been signed off and possibly signage will be put in place in July. We wait for further confirmation. TSP group will be John, Rachel, Murray and Harry	JGR, RH, MH, HS
4	Handy man work schedule
	Harry has this in hand. John proposed that we need someone to work extra hours particularly in the spring and summer to supplement Steve’s work in strimming and litter picking. John to investigate this.	JGR
5	Field cutting and mowing surrounds
	The Football club is now mowing the Lorkin Daniell field (see Premises meeting notes for more info). Poors land is cut by Countrywide. There is a problem with the timing of this – Phil will deal with this problem and investigate the Athletics white line painting.	PW
6	Scouts
	Asbestos survey of Scout Hut has been carried out by Scouts. A letter from the Scouts has been received requesting that the PC should cut the grass surrounding the hut. Steve or Ivor could do this but we need more time to consider the request. Need to check with the Finance Committee	JGR
7	Letter from St Mary’s Church
	The Church Warden has requested help from PC with tidying the churchyard. The Church Warden will be asked for a specific proposal on this.	HS
8	Letter from CBC Zone Manager
	The letter raised concerns about too many posters on poles around the village. We need to monitor the situation and use sensibly by village organisations only. Removing posters when the date is passed.	All
9	Letter from resident in Queens Road.
	This is regarding road repairs. The Parish Clerk will need to deal with this.	HS
10	Purchase of a garden blower
	This would be for the use of the village handyman. Harry to investigate cost and take to Finance Committee.	HS
11	AOB
	a) Dog bin at Old Church is full – Phil to contact Zone Manager.	PW
	b) Surface of footway access across Heath could be a problem. John to investigate.	JGR
	c) “No dogs” signs at entrances to LD Field need cleaning and highlighting. John to investigate.	JGR
12	Date of next meeting – Thursday 9th July 2015 at 5pm in JL Hall,

July 14, 2015July 17, 2015

Premises & Recreation – 11th June 2015

The Premises & Recreation Sub-Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council met on 11th June when they discussed a range of issues affecting Orpen Hall & playing fields such as The Heath, locking chairs, play equipment, puppy training and football.

Premises & Recreation Report

Sub-committee meeting held on Thursday 11th June 2015 at the John Lampon Hall

Councillors present	Harry Stone, Rosemary James, Jenny Church, Murray Harlow, Phil Walby, Brian Butcher, Bob Tyrrell
Apologies	No Apologies

Victoria Beckwith Cole in attendance.

1.	Harry welcomed sub committee and proposed that Terms of Reference be sent to all committee members.
2	Election of Chair:
	Jenny proposed Phil who was seconded by Rosemary, agreed by all.
3	Election of Minute Taker:
	Brian proposed Rosemary who was seconded by Murray, agreed by all.
4	Responsibilities of Committee
	Brian asked for clarification of committee’s role. This will be covered by the issue of the Terms of Reference.
5	The Heath
	Bob raised concerns re mowing of the Heath as could be considered an area of SSSI. Brian to investigate and report back to committee at next meeting.	BB
6	John Lampon Hall
	Vicky reported back re installation of dado rail to be fitted in hall. Existing quotes were considered unsuitable. Recommendation new quotes be obtained from Scot and Ivor.	PW
7	Locking Chairs
	Bob raised concerns again re the need for locks on chairs in Orpen Hall. Bob to clarify Fire Regulations.	BT
8	Hire of Orpen Hall
	Elections of PCC and CBC next May, charge for hire of hall recommended as £250. Phil to take to Finance Committee.	PW
9	Play Equipment
	Health and Safety assessment still to be completed. Phil to report back when completed.	PW
10	Football Club
	Club have purchased mower for £2500.and have requested reimbursement from the PC. Committee discussed merits and benefits and recommended go to Finance Committee with proviso that a written agreement will be needed.	PW
11	Puppy Training in Hall
	Phil reported that hire tenure contract has been cancelled with effect from July.
12	Communication
	Murray volunteered to act as Co-op notice board officer.	MH
13	Orpen Hall signage
	Bob again brought the attention of the committee the messy signage on the Orpen Hall. Recommend Bob design integrated sign and submit to PC meeting.	BT Agenda
14	Health and Safety Issues
	HSE leaflets were distributed to all members for the use in the future engagement of on site contractors.
	Date of next meeting – Thursday 9th July at 6.00p.m. in JL Hall

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July 11, 2015October 30, 2015

Vehicle Show 2015

Once again over 500 historic vehicles will be making their way to West Bergholt for this great annual attraction. Taking place on Nayland Road, CO6 3DG the show starts at 10am on 25th & 26th July. The Vehicle Show 2015 has a great line-up of attractions on both days on top of trade stands, charity stalls, static exhibitions, funfair, licensed bar and high quality catering:

Attractions on Saturday 25th July

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight – just weeks after the 70th anniversary of the commencement of the BoB, a “must-see”;
Dakota Flypast – a workhorse with a long story to tell including the Berlin Airlift;
RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team – widely recognised as the UK’s premier military parachute display team; and
FREE Country & Western Concert on Saturday evening starting at 7:30pm.

Attractions on Sunday 26th July

Show opening by Richard Spendlove MBE, local BBC Broadcaster;
RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team;
Dakota Flypast;
Parachute Regiments Freefall Team “The Red Devils” who recently hit the news with the breathtaking save of a fellow when two ‘troopers became entangled;
Derby Midshipman Band – providing intricate music and marching displays in the main arena; and
Flyin Ryan Motorcycle Stunt Show – daredevil stunts, comedy routines, Fire stunts, Arena entertainment, are the norm for this motorcycle stunt team.

Admission & Enquiries

Admission is £6.00 or £5.00 for concessions, all enquiries to M.J. Culham on 01206 271253.

July 2, 2015

What’s On Summer 2015

Colchester Borough Council report on a number of activities throughout the upcoming Summer holidays ranging from comedy, activity workshops, events at country parks, doggy activities and more. They advise you check their websites (links below) to find out more:

Activities at Leisure World Colchester include animation workshops, swimming, arts, crafts, dance, tennis and much more! There’s also water fun for all the family – fly down flumes, travel along a crazy river of waves, plunge down drops in the crazy outside rapids, dodge the water cannons and more in the leisure pool! As they say:

We’ll take care of the kids!

Colchester Museums have lots of fantastic events the summer, including Go Live! Week, mediaeval medicine, Roman Food, Archery and much more. Don’t forget you can visit one of our three museums where history comes alive through displays, technology and hands on activities. Their site has a handy calendar so you can see what is on any day of the holidays.

Colchester’s Country Parks offer a host of activities and events for you and your family to enjoy at from learning about foraging and making your own den or dream-catcher to wildlife and health walks. Why not make the most of warmer weather by coming along to one of our wonderful parks to enjoy all the great outdoors has to offer!

Jimmy Carr – Funny Business at Charter Hall

On Friday 31 July Charter Hall, Colchester’s premier events venue, is excited to welcome back Jimmy Carr with his live show ‘Funny Business’. Tickets are £25, book now at www.charter-hall.co.uk.

Street Life! presented by School of Street (SOS) are performing on Sunday 5 July and tickets are now on sale for Robot Wars: The 2015 Live Show on Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 September.

Bark in the Park

Come and have fun with your pet pooch on Sunday 9 August, from 10am in Colchester’s Castle Park. K9 Aqua Sports UK, three show rings, dog agility and doggie trade stands. £5 adults, kids and dogs FREE.

Enter your dog into one of our shows, for FREE, Best Young Handler, Smiliest Dog, Handsomest Dog, Prettiest Bitch, Calmest Tail and Best Trick.

Book your dog into a show & book tickets.

Looking for something a little different?

Colchester’s Visitor Information Centre has a fantastic range of guided tours so you can find out more about Colchester’s fascinating history.
Listen to the lives and times of characters from Colchester’s past as they take you through the dread, drama and dismay of Colchester’s important history. Theme tours are great fun for all age groups! Visit their website for themes, dates and booking information.

July 1, 2015

Green Living – Food and Volunteering

Amongst other topics Food and Volunteering feature in Colchester Borough Council’s latest Green Living newsletter:

Save big on tasty food this summer

Are you planning tasty garden BBQs and picnics out? Make your money go further – get the most from the food you buy, store and cook. Find easy tips, recipes and more to help you Love Food and hate waste. Over the year it could save you £hundreds – perhaps enough to enjoy a family holiday! Visit the Love Food hate waste website to find out more.

Share your Green Home experiences

If you’ve already started greening your home through heating, lighting or power initiatives, big or small, why not show it off to others wanting to save £££ on energy bills? Register as a Green Open Home host for the forthcoming September event. A great way to share tips, techniques and experiences of green technologies, and discover new sustainable living ideas. You can see homes in the Colchester have already registered on the Green Open Homes website which also gives you the opportunity to register your own home.

Fresh air, new friends, feel great

This summer and year-round there are lots of ways to enjoy Colchester’s great outdoors, while giving a little back too. Whether you’re a budding gardener, enjoy walking or want to get stuck in to something practical there’s a volunteering opportunity for you! From the town to the countryside and however long you’d like to be involved including:

Volunteering as a Countryside Volunteer Ranger,
Health walk leader,
The Big Garden – organic community garden (pictured right),
Castle Park volunteers,
Conservation volunteers.

Find out more on the CBC website.

Go green – go online

Did you know? Going online for services is better for the environment and can save you money on travel, postage and through online discounts!

Switch to take up core Council services online – whether you need to find information, make a payment or provide us with your details, its easy and secure with an online account. Plus if you need to, enjoy free friendly help at events borough-wide to brush-up your internet skills for shopping, finding local events, services and more.

June 30, 2015June 30, 2015

Concert Band Goes 1940s

Concert Bands Goes 1940s

The band’s 2015 started with a 1940s concert at Clacton’s West Cliff Theatre, with the Cavender Singers helping us to raise over £1,300 for St Helena Hospice. The concert also marked exactly 25 years since we performed a memorial concert for the band’s founder at the West Cliff, so it was both a successful and emotional afternoon. As ever at the West Cliff the band received fabulous feedback for both the programme and the performance, and we enjoyed the always interactive audience.

A few weeks prior to the concert we held the first of this year’s schools workshops, this time at Bishop William Ward school in Great Horkesley, which resulted in a number of musicians from the school joining Training Band, showing how popular and successful these workshops continue to be.

Band Stand

After the success of last year’s band stand concert and the fabulous weather we were blessed with, this year’s summer concerts again start with an outdoor concert. Just like the band stand last year, we’ll be playing at a brand new venue for the band, Marks Hall Estate on Sunday June 14th. We’ve got a varied and family-friendly programme including music from Batman, Frozen, and the Lego Movie, as well as music by Mancini, John Williams and Bizet for the grown-ups. It’s going to be a beautifully sunny day in a gorgeous venue so please come along for a really enjoyable afternoon of great music.

Coggeshall

We’re then returning to a wonderful venue for our Summer Concert on Saturday July 11th at 7:30pm – Coggeshall’s beautiful Church of St Peter ad Vincula. The programme includes our usual eclectic mix of music, this year ranging from Luigini & Shostakovich through to Sinatra, Sousa, Gershwin, Bon Jovi and more. Hopefully this year’s programme won’t result in the thunder & lightning we were subjected to when we played The Stripper there last year!

Can you play?

As ever the band continues to welcome woodwind and brass players of all ages and abilities, so if you’re interested in joining, or know anyone who is, we’ll be very happy to see you at any of our Friday rehearsals. Everything you need to know about the band is on our website www.wbcb.org, or you can call or email Graham on 01206 824157 or [antibot mailto=”[email protected]”].

June 29, 2015

Latest News from Essex County Council

Burning questions

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service wants your views on how it keeps you safe in your home and community.

Residents are being urged to have their say in the future redesign of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS), through a 12 week consultation that starts today (Monday June 15) and ends on Sunday September 6.

The consultation process, the main element of the Fire Authority’s Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP), aims to address several key issues impacting on the fire service such as the declining number of call-outs and the need to increase the focus on preventing fires and emergencies from happening.

It will also look at major issues such as response times, and the ambitious target of having a working smoke alarm in every Essex home.

Have your say here.

If you’re happy and you know it

Baby and Toddler Rhymetime veteran volunteer Peter Cave is 91 and is living proof you are never too old to volunteer; Peter Cave has been volunteering at the Baby and Toddler Rhymetime session at Chelmsford Library since earlier in the year and intends to carry on his sterling singing and storytelling role after he turns 91 – why not get involved yourself?

Better service, same price

Frozen prices, more options and an improved Meals on Wheels service is coming your way. Essex County Council (ECC) took a decision that will see prices for Meals on Wheels frozen and the service improved, following today’s Cabinet meeting. As part of the decision, a one year extension has been agreed to the county’s existing Meals on Wheels service.

Get exploring!

Go on an adventure in one of our country parks and send us a picture from your trip to win free parking for six months!

Colchester Local Highways Panel funding

Colchester Local Highways Panel (LHP) is set to benefit from a £1million boost which will enable a variety of small highways schemes to get underway. Essex County Council is allocating the funding to Colchester LHP for 2015/16.

Projects will include upgrading the public footpath near Wivenhoe railway station to provide disabled access, building a new wooden bus shelter on St Ives Road in Peldon and pedestrian crossing improvements on Plume Avenue in Prettygate.

June 28, 2015June 28, 2015

Anyone for tennis?

Anyone for Tennis?

At the start of a new summer season the Parish Council is keen to see that its recreation facilities are used as fully as possible. In particular the tennis courts at the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) beside the Orpen Hall are not used as widely as possible. The MUGA is available mainly for tennis but can also be used for other sports such as football. It can be booked on a casual hourly basis through the booking system at the Co-op for £4 an hour.

For families a more economical way of ensuring access is through membership of the West Bergholt Sports Club costing just £45 for a family for a year from 1st June. Membership details are available from Gill Sims at [antibot mailto=”[email protected]”] or full information can be found on the Sports Club webpage on this site and on the noticeboard beside the courts.

With Wimbledon a few days away to enthuse us this is a great opportunity to begin to produce the next generation of champions from our village. All we need is a good summer to ensure a season of sporting pleasure at a bargain price from facilities on the doorstep.

June 28, 2015June 28, 2015

Essex Police & DogLost

Essex Police, in collaboration with DogLost, are running a campaign to help reunite dogs with their owners however, preventing their loss in the first place is a better outcome all around and so they also offer the following advice:

Don’t tie your dog up outside a shop.
Don’t leave your dog alone in the car.
Make sure your dog has been micro chipped (from April 2016, your dog MUST be chipped).
Your dog should always wear a collar and ID tag with your name and address on it. Avoid putting your dogs name on the disc.
Take clear photographs of your dog from various angles, and update them regularly. Make a note of any distinguishing features.
Vary your times of walks and routes; some dogs are actually targeted and snatched during walks.
Fit a bell to your garden gate so you hear if anyone opens it.
Keep your dog in view in the garden, don’t leave them unsupervised.

If the worst happens and you have a lost or stolen dog:

Report stolen dogs to the police as soon as possible by calling 101.
Register your lost or stolen dog free of charge with www.doglost.co.uk or call 0844 800 3220 and access their help page for advice.
Contact your local dog warden.

June 26, 2015

NHS seek views on service restrictions

Clinicians want to hear local views on plans to restrict services

Clinicians at North East Essex CCG are seeking local people’s views on their plans to restrict IVF services in the future – and they are inviting everyone to give their feedback. Under the plans, they are proposing restrictions to the current IVF service as it does not provide sufficient benefit to the overall health economy.

Certain groups of patients would still be able to access IVF: for instance, those patients who are undergoing medical treatment that would leave them infertile.

They also propose that couples experiencing difficulties in conceiving could still seek medical advice through their GP in the first instance.

Dr Hasan Chowhan, Clinical Director at the North East Essex CCG, said: We recognise that infertility is a very difficult issue for those affected by it and we have not taken this proposal lightly or without engagement with other clinical professionals. We fully intend to review this decision in the near future.

Between 2013/14, the CCG paid for 107 fertility procedures which amounted to £386k – the equivalent of:

25 drug treatment courses available for breast cancer;
15 community nurses;
104 hip replacements;
108 patients being admitted to an acute stroke unit at Colchester General Hospital.

Samantha Hepplewhite, Acting Chief Officer at the North East Essex CCG, said:

We have managed to achieve around £35m savings over recent years. However this challenge will continue as we need to find a further £14m savings each year for the next four years.

We have a requirement to stay within budget and if we do not implement these decisions and further proposals then we would have to select other services to restrict. Current local demands for healthcare services are costing more money than is currently available.

In addition, the CCG is also intending to restrict the following services:

Any Qualified Provider – Spinal Service – The CCG would control activity and expenditure for manual therapy and spinal services, ahead of these services moving to the lead provider arrangement in April 2016.
Clinical Priorities Policy – The purpose of this policy is to provide a mechanism for deciding whether referral of an individual patient for a specific assessment and treatment should be funded, based on clinical effectiveness.We are reviewing this policy to bring it in line with other NHS commissioners.
Continuing Healthcare – We believe that new patients requiring NHS continuing healthcare care at home, should be entitled to up to 10% above what it would cost for the same care in a residential or nursing home setting.
Gluten free – The CCG is restricting the prescribing of gluten free foods to young people, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers and stopping prescribing these products altogether to all other adults. These products are now available in shops and there is a variety of alternatives widely available.
Threshold for elective procedures – All patients being referred for non-urgent elective surgery and who are smokers should be referred to smoking cessation services at the initial referral/assessment/appointment. Meanwhile, overweight and obese patients should be strongly encouraged to lose weight before their operation. Failure to attend smoking cessation or weight loss programmes may have an impact on whether individuals could undergo their procedure.
Vasectomy and female sterilisation – The community vasectomy and female sterilisation services are being reviewed by the CCG as these services have no or limited clinical value – rather they are considered as one of many forms of contraception. Both vasectomy and female sterilisation will however be available in cases of complex health needs.

Please see our consultation document with further details at www.neessexccg.nhs.uk

The CCG is holding a number of engagement events over the coming weeks aimed allowing local people to find out more about its plans.

Date	Venue
Friday 26 June (3pm)	Clacton – Sam’s Hall, CVST, Rosemary Road, Clacton CO15 1NZ
Tuesday 7 July (6pm)	Colchester – Room 12a, Primary Care Centre, Turner Road, Colchester CO4 5JR
Friday 10 July (2pm)	Clacton – Princes Theatre, Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton CO15 1SE
Thursday 16 July (6.30pm)	Clacton – Princes Theatre, Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton CO15 1SE

Please email to confirm your attendance at any of the above events –

[antibot mailto=”[email protected]”]

The closing date for feedback on our IVF proposal is Monday 7 September 2015. If you have any feedback in relation to these changes, please email your comments to [antibot mailto=”[email protected]”] or write to PALS, North East Essex CCG, Primary Care Centre, Turner Road, Colchester CO4 5JR.