Parish Council Parish Council Minutes - 13 March 2006 | Parish Council Minutes - 13 March 2006 |
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See "Read more" for minutes of the Parish Council meeting BERDEN PARISH COUNCIL Monday 2006 Village Hall MINUTES OF MEETING Present: John Arnell (Chair) Stephen Griffiths Kate Harrison Peter Jester Philip Scatchard (Vice-Chair)Diana McConaghy David Williams Andrew Nelson, Clerk Apologies: Janice Loughlin Ray Gooding 76.0 Apologies were received as above. 76.1 No Interests were declared in items on the Agenda. 76.2 Minutes of meeting held on January 23rd 2006 The following amendments were made to the minutes: (i) In 75.5, the last sentence to read “The Council supported this decision” (ii) In 75.9, line one, change “manage” to “permit” (iii) In 75.9, add “Diana McConaghy to write article for Parish Magazine on Stansted Development.” Once these changes had been made the minutes were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman (Philip Scatchard). John Arnell thanked Philip Scatchard for chairing the meeting in his absence. 76.3 Matters arising needing further reports The water leak at the bottom of Dewes Green Road is still not mended. The Clerk will pursue this yet again with the Water company. 76.4 Finance Kate Harrison proposed and David Williams seconded approval of the following: Purchase of software for Village Appraisal Project £75.00 Purchase of grass seed for Gawlers bank – minimal – per Philip Scatchard Payment for Skip supervision, 3X £75.00 £225.00 Current balances: Current Account - £1785.29 Deposit Account -£6221.90 Of these figures, the amount held for the Playground is £ 3009.87 After some discussion it was agreed that the level of balances held was appropriate. P 197 76.5 Planning It was noted that the application for a new Garage and conversion of Games Room at Durwards Barn (UTT/0021 & 0022/06/FUL) has been granted permission. It was pointed out that although the circulation of plans for the redevelopment of Sunnymead Court, Park Green (UTT/0052/06/FUL) (Small) had been minuted (75.5), the fact that the Council had no objections to the plans had not been. This minute is to rectify that omission. In addition, the Clerk reported that the District Council had now given their consent to this application. The application for extensions etc at Harrolds Farm, Dewes Green (UTT/2113/05/FUL) (Palmer) has apparently been withdrawn. The reason is not known. 76.6 Footpaths John Arnell reported that the cost of cutting the footpaths would rise to 12 pence/metre for this year which would take the overall cost to almost £3,000.00. It was suggested that the farmers be asked to do their cuts at the end of May and the end of August, though obviously these would be dependent on weather, harvest commitments etc. In addition it would be necessary to ensure that all cutting was done to the required 2-metre width, which has not always been the case previously. Signposts. A budget for these needs to be worked out by the end of March. Kate Harrison will do a count of the numbers required. The precise wording can be decided at a later stage. Maps. Philip Scatchard asked what maps were available showing footpaths. Kate Harrison and John Arnell can provide the appropriate O.S. map numbers. Dog fouling. John Burton has been active in clearing a great deal of dog mess, and is due to publish an article on this in the Parish magazine. Cross-compliance strips. John Arnell has been in touch with Defra about this issue, with a view to publishing information for the general public in the Parish magazine. 76.7 Annual Parish Meeting John Arnell repeated that he would like reports from all Village organisations at this. The Clerk will contact those concerned. Stephen Griffiths and John Arnell will speak about the 1995 Village Appraisal, and how many of the objectives identified in it have so far been met. Stephen will also talk about this year’s Appraisal (see 76.9, below) 76.8 Rubbish Collection John Arnell reported that he and the Clerk had attended a Parish Liaison meeting at UDC during which a presentation was given about the introduction of “Wheelie Bins” in the Uttlesford area. These are apparently needed to improve the rate of recycling and reduce the need for landfill, in order to meet national guidelines. The District Council will be organising Roadshows and doordrops locally, and Janice Loughlin will attend the APM prepared to explain the new system. P 198 76.9 Village Appraisal Stephen Griffiths explained that the purpose of this was twofold: first, to get a picture of Berden as it is at the moment, and secondly to elicit responses as to what the inhabitants would like to see in the village in the future. He would be building a team of volunteers (independent of the Parish Council) to produce, distribute and analyse a Questionnaire (based on work done by the University of Gloucester) in order to produce a report, as had been done in 1995. Some discussion followed relating to funding of this project. It was finally agreed that every attempt should be made to obtain as much funding as possible from sources such as the District Council etc. Nevertheless, John Arnell proposed and Peter Jester seconded that up to £500.00 should be allocated from Parish Council funds, bearing in mind that a Grant of £1000.00 had been received from the County Council which as yet remained unspent. This sum was agreed. 76.10 AOB Philip Scatchard reported that he had attended a Local Councils meeting concerning Highways. There is now a new e-mail address for contacting the Highways Dept., which has an annual Community Budget of £150,000. Seven Councils (not including Berden) have voting rights on this. It is hoped that this will lead to better communications with regard to locally determined programmes; meanwhile the working gangs will continue to come round to the villages as before to carry out minor works. No action has yet been taken concerning salting of roads in icy weather. It was reported that there was a hole in the road where the Electricity Board had put in an underground cable, and that they had left an empty cable reel on the verge. Kate Harrison asked about the possibility of obtaining a Speed Warning sign, and Diana McConaghy suggested the option of buying one for the Village. Philip Scatchard will investigate the possibilities. It was requested that the Annual Litter Pick be advertised on the Social Club Board. It was also reported that some large pieces of what looked like parts of a car had been left on the verges of the Pelham road. The Clerk will contact the District Council to get these removed. The Clerk reported two requests for Donations: (i) from the Bishop’s Stortford Citizens Advice Bureau, and (ii) from Stop Stansted Expansion. After some discussion, Peter Jester proposed and Kate Harrison seconded that £50.00 should go to the CAB and £10.00 to SSE. These sums were agreed. John Arnell reported that the residents of Benskins Close were unhappy about the proposed introduction of Wheelie bins. Richard Earle of Brickhouse End has been assiduous in picking up litter: the Clerk will write to thank him for this. John Arnell also reported that an Internet Forum for Parish Councillors had been set up in Selby, Yorkshire, and wondered whether a similar scheme in this area might be useful, for instance as a way of discussing the sharing of a Litter Warden among several Parishes. He will also be discussing the litter problem with Janice Loughlin. In addition, he spoke about the response by the District Council to BAA’s Planning P 199 Application for a second runway at Stansted. The Public are to be much more involved in this process than previously. It is anticipated that BAA may well appeal if the Planning decision is delayed beyond the statutory period, or if the decision is unfavourable to them. There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.40 p.m. Date of next meeting: Monday April 24th 2006 NB This is the AGM of the Parish Council, and is also the date of the Annual Parish Meeting P200 |
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