John Arnell (Chair)                                                          Clive and Sheila Lane (holiday)

Stephen Griffiths

Kate Harrison

Peter Jester

Diana McConaghy

Philip Scatchard (Vice-Chair)

David Williams

Andrew Nelson, Clerk

Ray Gooding, County Councillor

Janice Loughlin, District Councillor

9 Parishioners

These were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the members of the

Council, indicating their various responsibilities as under;

Forum liaison

He went on to outline the areas where the council had been active during the year ;

appeal dismissed. The Council now has Planning Guidelines from the District Council

and will be happy to advise anyone starting a Planning Application.

2006/1

costs involved.

have to be converted to “cashless” operation due to running costs.

been able to retain the services of John Everett in this capacity, and would like to record

their thanks to him for his hard work

of garden waste, but the Health and Safety implications made this impossible. The

Village has been offered the chance of a weekly Compactor Lorry for this waste but there

appears to be no suitable site for this service.

vehicles using the lane and the by-way which continues it for recreational driving and

riding. Unfortunately the Parish Council has no power to act against this nuisance as

these are public areas. However the Police have been made aware of the situation.

removed by the District Council, and residents have been asked to ensure that this area

remains tidy.

The Council would like to thank Sheila Lane for all her work in organising this.

would like to thank Richard Earl of Brickhouse End for all he has done to keep the

Village tidy for many months.

very effective, except in producing a mountain of newsletters.

local farmers. These are distinct from the “cross-compliance strips”, which are intended

to protect wildlife and are not public rights of way. It is hoped to improve the footpath

signs in the Parish. As usual, people are requested to minimise the nuisance caused by

dog fouling.

meetings to ensure that Berden’s voice is heard at District Council level, and that they

keep up-to-date with developments that may affect the Village in the future.

£6,500.00. This figure is very much in line with the Precepts of other Parishes of a

similar size. Apart from paying for such things as grass-cutting and general Village

maintenance, the Council also helps to fund the Village Hall, the Parochial Church

Council, Mothers’ Union, the Buffy Bus, as well as organisations such as the Citizens

Advice Bureau, the CPRE etc. There is also a “ring-fenced” sum of money held by the

Council which is directly allocated to the maintenance of the Playground.

involve Parish Councils more closely in the work of the District Council. Berden Parish

Council is very keen to attend these meetings.

2006/2

This year has seen the usual maintenance of the Highways, including clearing of

footways, mending potholes, and the eventual fixing of a water leak at Dewes Green

Road. The County has a new system of locally determined budgets and an annual visit

by a small works gang which should improve local maintenance issues. The Council has

also had a meeting with the Highways Dept to discuss potential traffic calming measures

in the Village.

The final additions were made to the new equipment during the year; these include the

Timber Shelter, Picnic Table, Litter Bins and 5-a-side goals (at Simon’s Field). There

was a Village Picnic to mark the official opening, and the Playground is well used and

popular. The weekly equipment inspections continue, as does the annual Safety check

carried out by RoSPA. The Council would like to thank Ernie Feasy for his many years

of carrying out the former task, which is now being done by Brian Cockram.

Mrs Loughlin gave out a written report to all present, which covered the areas of Stansted

Airport, the Annual Budget, the introduction of “wheelie bins” to increase recycling,

Area Panels, and the new licensing arrangements. (Copies of this report available from

the Clerk)

Stephen Griffiths asked why the new Licensing system resulted in the cost of the Social

Club license rising from £16 for 5 years to £70 p.a., plus an initial fee of £100. These

rates are apparently set by Central Government, and UDC, which has to administer the

scheme, has no power to vary the fees.

A question was asked from the floor about the publishing of Planning Applications.

These are always displayed on the main Village Notice Board, and immediate neighbours

are notified individually. Janice Loughlin will check with UDC as to the requirements for

posting notices on the actual property concerned.

Mr Gooding reported that the Council Tax in Uttlesford had risen by 4.5% compared

with 4.6% over the whole of Essex, while Central Government funding had increased by

2%. Landfill tax now accounts for £14 million p.a.

A major budgetary factor is the increasing age of the population in Essex due to

improved health-care etc, with the resultant inevitable increase in care provision for the

elderly, and also in care for the handicapped and those with learning difficulties.

The County Council is implementing a policy of Localism, and £880 million is going

towards devolvement.

2006/3

The Parish Council had asked all the Village Organisations to prepare a brief report on

the year’s activities.

The Hall’s finances are in a sound state, and once again the Committee have agreed to

take a smaller proportion of Fete proceeds. A new yard broom and V-sweeper have been

bought, and the floor has been resealed. A new shrub bed is being made, and a Rose Bed

to mark the Anniversary of the WI is planned. The new License for the Hall has finally

been achieved.

Berden Mothers’ Union had a variety of interesting talks at their monthly meetings,

ranging from hearing about the Prism Project in Little London and Uttlesford Respite

Care to an illustrated talk on Essex Churches. In Holy Week, a service was held in St

Nicholas Church and in July a garden tea was enjoyed by all. They journeyed to Great

Chesterford for a meeting in September and, in December, joined with other MU

members in the Deanery for an Advent Service and lunch at St Mark’s College, Audley

End. Support was given to the Make Poverty History campaign and the relief fund for

Romanian children. Mothers’ Union members are most grateful to the Parish Council for

help in enabling them to continue to hold their meetings in the Village Hall.

(iii) Social Club.

A busy year again for the Club. Organised events included the Chinese New Year,

Progressive Supper, Barn Dance, Post-Fete Lunch, Quiz Night, Bonfire Night, Carol

Singing, New Year Party, and Pantomime Trip, as well as running the Bar for events

such as the visit of Sir Alan Haselhurst MP, the Antique Road Show, and the Drama

Group 1-Act Plays evening. Naturally the Club was open at the usual Friday times as

well.

Another successful year for the fete despite competition from events in Clavering and

Saffron Walden. Proceeds were divided as follows: PCC £6400.00, Village Hall

££1500.00, and Berden Charities £250.00, with the balance of £1085.74 carried over to

the 2006 Fete Committee, which will be chaired by Stephen Griffiths. Grateful thanks to

Bob and Thelma Howells for the use of their gardens for the Fete and the Lunch, and also

to all who contributed time and effort to make such an enjoyable event happen.

(v) Drama Club.

The main event of the year was an evening of 1-Act plays which played to a full house

and raised about £300, which will go towards new Lighting and Sound equipment for the

Village Hall.

(vi) Choir.

The Choir provided the Interval entertainment for the above evening of plays, and also as

usual sang in the Church for the Carol Service at Christmas. They were now in their

Summer break before starting rehearsals later in the year.

This has now been organising an Annual Croquet Competition, which is open to anyone

in the Village, for the last 13 years. Last year 23 couples entered, and the standard of play

continues to improve. As an experiment a handicapping system was introduced,

2006/4

which was successful in levelling the playing field between the more experienced players

and those who were just beginning.

The Line Dancers, now in their seventh year, are an informal group who enjoy dancing

and keeping fit every Wednesday evening for two hours in the Village Hall. They

endeavour to learn a variety of new dances and keep up with old favourites.

Meetings were held on an informal basis during the year. Contact was made with

Manuden with a view to joint activities but although interest has been expressed no

progress has yet been made on this. They would welcome any suggestion for events.

Cash in hand was currently £178.38.

It was suggested that formal meetings should be held from time to time to ensure the

recruitment and participation of younger members.

The aim is to improve the environment of the parish, learn more about the flora and

fauna and record the natural history of the village. During the past year work has been

done on Easingwell Pond and the pond at the Crump, and two substantial wildlife

habitats have been made. Improvements have been made to some footpaths, and ten

small bird boxes have been installed through the village.

Links have been established with other similar organisations locally.

Funds, though small, have been generated through two nature walks: some of the

proceeds were shared with the Pelham Nature Reserve, much of which lies within the

parish.

Stephen Griffiths reported on the proposal for a new Village Appraisal, as the last one

was conducted in 1995. Many of the suggestions arising from that survey, to which about

60% of parishioners responded, have in fact been implemented by the Parish Council

during the last ten years, and the intention is now to repeat the exercise to establish both a

picture of the Village as it is at present and to find out what the inhabitants’ wishes and

needs are for the future. A working group will be set up representing as wide a range of

interests as possible to create a new questionnaire for distribution throughout the village.

It is hoped that the results from this will be available early in 2007, in time for the

election for a new Parish Council which will be due that year.

There was some discussion about the subject of Affordable Housing. When this matter

came up a few years ago, there appeared to be insufficient demand for such a project to

succeed, but there was a feeling that the issue might usefully be readdressed. Whether

Berden would meet the criteria for such a scheme was questioned.

It was requested that the Parish Council, through Brian Blackwell, should take over the

cutting of the grass on the Triangle as this has been done for several years on a voluntary

basis. This was agreed.

There being no other business arising, the Chairman thanked those attending and the

meeting closed at 10.05 pm.

2006/5