MINUTES OF MEETING

Present:                                                                      Apologies: Peter Jester (business)

John Arnell, Chair                                                                            Janice Loughlin (bereavement)

Kate Harrison                                                                                                                                                                      

Diana McConaghy

Jane McConnell                                                                               

Philip Scatchard, Vice Chair

David Williams                                                                                                        

Andrew Nelson, Clerk 

            John Arnell was re-elected Chairman (nem con)

            Philip Scatchard was re-elected Vice-Chairman (nem con)

            The areas of responsibility for members of the Council remain as under:

            John Arnell - Planning, Parish Paths Partnership, Trustee of the Village Hall

            Kate Harrison - Planning, Trees, Emergency Plan                                                                                             Peter Jester - Annual Accounts, VAT                                                                

            Diana McConaghy - Stansted Airport, Village Hall Committee

            Jane McConnell - Playground   , Youth Forum                                                         

            Philip Scatchard - Planning, Highways, Website

            David Williams - Playground

            Sue Fisher may be willing to take over Passenger Transport from Kate Harrison

                                                                                                                                    P 182

Kate Harrison proposed and David Williams seconded approval for the following:

Insurance Premium for year (due June 1^st)                                             £465.84

Payment for Website (NB VAT and other funding to be reclaimed) £352.50 inc VAT

Renewal of membership-CPRE                                                          £ 25.00

       "                "            -Open Spaces Society                                    £ 30.00

       "                "            -EALC                                                           £ 99.88

Clerk's Expenses for 2004/2005

Jane McConnell proposed and Diana McConaghy seconded a donation of £100.00 to the Buffy Bus. It was proposed that the Budget for donations of this nature should be formalised after discussion at the next meeting.

A Grant for £1000.00 has been received from Essex County Council. The Council will consider the best use for these funds.

The Clerk reported that the current Balances were:

Current Account     £3020.03

Deposit Account     £  221.90

The Playground finances should show a small surplus after all the final funds have been received and payments made; this will be used for the continued upkeep of the playground.

A suggestion was made that the Parish Council may be responsible for the cost of the recent National and County Council elections. The Clerk will investigate.

Planning Applications have been received for the following:

Front Porch at 2, The Rushes (Wilkinson) (UTT/0617/05/FUL

The following applications have been refused permission:

Conservatory at Field House (UTT/2178/04/FUL)

These were noted by the Council, and no objections were raised.

Philip Scatchard reported that the Website continued to be successful, and that the various changes discussed would be put in place.

            John Arnell and Andrew Nelson are the new e-mail points of contact for this, but as yet             no messages have been received.

Date of next meeting: Monday June 27^th 2005 at 8.15 p.m.
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BERDEN PARISH COUNCIL
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
Monday, April 25^th, 2005
Village Hall, 8.30 pm
MINUTES OF MEETING

Present:                                                                      Apologies:   Peter Jester (business trip)                       

John Arnell, Chairman                                                            Janice Loughlin, District Councillor

Kate Harrison                                                                                                                                      

Diana McConaghy

Jane McConnell

Philip Scatchard, Vice-Chairman          

David Williams            

Andrew Nelson, Clerk

Richard Wallace, County Councillor

Members of the Public

These were circulated to all those present, and were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman welcomed all those attending the meeting, and outlined the role of the Parish Council in local affairs, mentioning the particular responsibilities undertaken by each Councillor as follows:

John Arnell, Chairman: Planning: Footpaths: Village Hall Trustee                                                                   

Kate Harrison: Trees: Planning: Emergencies: Footpaths

Peter Jester: Annual Accounts and VAT                                                                                               

Diana McConaghy: Stansted Airport: Village Hall Committee

Jane McConnell: Playground

Philip Scatchard, Vice-Chairman: Highways: Planning: Website

David Williams: Playground

Andrew Nelson, Clerk

                                                                                                                                    P 2005/1

The main concerns of the Council during the last twelve months had been

(i)                  Planning. Some of the non-contentious Planning issues are dealt with by a small sub-Committee (see above); otherwise the whole Council considers applications. Most of the Planning Applications received during the year were approved by the Council, and passed at District Level. Various issues were raised concerning  Barn Conversions at Rooks Farm, Little London and at Potash Farm, and also with local worries about an extension and garage at Gawlers. The former two have been resolved but the Council have at present no powers to prevent blockage of light due to tall hedges at the latter site. However new legislation concerning this is in the pipeline.

(ii)                Footpaths. These continue to be cut by local farmers under the PPP plan, and in the coming year this arrangement will be extended to include part of the land belonging to Peyton Hall.

(iii)               Highways. The parking situation round the Triangle has been monitored, and the Council has issued warning notices to motorists who have parked very close to the junctions. At present it has been agreed that the matter of yellow lines here should be put on hold.

(iv)              Village Hall. This continues to be run by the Village Hall Committee;  the Council would like to express their appreciation for their hard work, and are pleased to note their decision that the Hall should be run as an amenity for the Village rather than as a commercial venture. The licensing arrangements are currently being changed, but following a meeting of all interested parties, the Council is confident that Clive Lane and Stephen Griffiths have this well in hand. A recent attempted break-in was averted by prompt action by a neighbour, and the perpetrator was apprehended by the Police.

(v)                Neighbourhood Watch. Brian Cochran has resigned as Organiser, and in the meantime John Arnell and Andrew Nelson are acting as first contacts for this.

(vi)              Local Issues. The Bus Service was under threat but this danger seems to have receded after representations from the Council.

The Council put in a response to the East of England Plan, pointing out the lack of infrastructure to support large-scale development along the M 11 Corridor.

A Conservation Group has been set up in the Village. For further details contact John Burton or visit the Website.

The Website has now been running for a year, and in general has been very successful. A few detailed changes are in hand to improve it in the light of this first year's experience, and Denis O'Regan and Philip Scatchard are continuing to manage it, and will take care of any necessary moderating. Denis O'Regan gave the meeting an overview of the growth of the website during the year.

The Youth Forum is still meeting from time to time, when there is a particular issue that needs addressing. Rob Talks gave a short address about its activities, which currently include helping to improve the Village Hall garden.

                                                                                                P 2005/2

The Fete.  John Burton, as outgoing Fete Committee Chairman, read a report about the 2004 Fete, which once again raised a large amount of money for the Church and the Village Hall, and as usual proved popular throughout the area.

(vii)             Finances. The Precept for the current year has been set at £6,500.00. This, together with payments of approximately £1,800.00 from the Parish Paths Partnership for cutting the footpaths, is the Council's total income.

                  Grass-cutting                £2000

                  Insurance                      £  400

Community Skip           £  300

Clerk's salary               £1500

Village Hall                   £  300

PCC                            £  300

Richard Wallace gave a report which covered in outline the concerns of the County Council for the year. He pointed out that Essex County Council has a Budget of  £1600 million a year. The Council Tax is set to increase by 2.9%, which is lower than last year's increase of 4.7%.

On Stansted Airport, the existing runway will apparently still be able to handle an increased number of passengers a year: the ECC is opposed to a second runway

Housing growth is still a major concern for the County, as the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is proposing a further 478,000 houses in Essex.

Planning changes are in the pipeline, which would give greater powers to Central Government.

The responsibility for Highways repairs is being decentralised, which should mean that Uttlesford will be able to target road repairs more efficiently.

The new Licensing Regulations are causing problems in many areas.

He also told the meeting that he would not be standing for re-election to the County Council in May due to family and other commitments.

The Chairman read a report from the District Councillor, who was unable to be present. This covered the areas of Stansted Airport, the East of England Plan, the level of Council Tax (an increase of 4.5% for the coming year), ASBO's, Parking, Minor Roads, and Licensing. The Clerk can provide copies of this report on request.

            Jane McConnell reported that about fifteen Berden children were currently attending Manuden   School, which appears to be thriving and successful. The post of Minor Authority Governor is at        present vacant, and the Clerk will investigate the situation regarding a new appointment.

                                                                                                                                                P 2005/3

.

The Chairman now invited questions from the Public.

Since no further issues were raised, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9.30 p.m.

                                                                                                                                    P 2005/4

The Parish Council of Berden consists of seven elected Councillors, and employs one Clerk. The Council meets eight times a year, normally on a Monday evening at 8.15 in the Village Hall, to discuss and decide on matters of immediate local interest: these include such things as Planning Applications, Footpath Maintenance, Highways issues, Grass-cutting, etc.

BERDEN PARISH COUNCIL
Monday March 7th 2005
Village Hall, 8.15 pm

MINUTES OF MEETING

Present:
John Arnell, Chair
Kate Harrison
Peter Jester
Diana McConaghy
Jane McConnell
Philip Scatchard, Vice Chair
David Williams
Andrew Nelson, Clerk
Richard Wallace, County Councillor

Apologies: Janice Loughlin (ill)

69.0 Apologies were received as above.

69.1 Declarations of interest
No interests were declared on Agenda items.

69.2 Minutes of meeting held on January 10th 2005
These were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

69.3 Matters arising needing further reports.
68.7 Newport Surgery. The Clerk reported that there was at present no Berden representative at Newport Surgery. It was agreed to ask Jenny Arnell if she would be willing to take on this role.

69.4 Finance
Peter Jester proposed and John Arnell seconded approval of the following payments:
Skip Supervision (April 2005) £ 75.00
Clerk's Salary, payable April 1st 2005 £749.32
The Chairman had prepared figures of the third quarter expenditure for 2004/5, which showed that the Council still had to exercise prudence to stay within the Budget figures for the year. David Williams and the Clerk will prepare an up-to-date balance of the Playground receipts and expenditure.
The Clerk reported the following balances:
Current account £4496.42
Deposit account £ 67.89

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69.5 Planning
Garage and extension at 4 Gawlers (Garrett) (UTT/2015/04/FUL) - permission has been granted for this, but the Chairman reported that various neighbours had objected to the District Council over the proposed Garage. Unfortunately the Parish Council were not told of these objections, and had thus raised no query to the original application. One neighbour in particular feels that the light in their house and garden, which is already restricted by a high hedge, will be even further reduced by the proposed garage. The owners of the hedge are unwilling to make it lower, as this would compromise their privacy. The District Council is aware of these concerns and is apparently sympathetic to the residents, but at present the situation is unresolved. Jane McConnell will investigate the laws concerning blocking of light.

69.6 Playground
David Williams reported that the hedge and Leylandii trees had been planted, and that a picnic table and shelter had been ordered. A small sum would be required to build a concrete base for the table, and allowance made for herbicide treatment of the new hedge area. Future projects, depending on funding, include a brick barbecue, goalposts and an improved Litter Bin. He hoped that "Living Spaces" would shortly carry out their final inspection of the project, and be able to release the last tranche of their grant to enable the latest invoices to be paid.

69.7 Licensing Laws Change
The Clerk reported that he had attended a UDC seminar on this. Broadly, the licensing system for the Village Hall and the Social Club will in future be run by the District Council rather than by the Magistrates Courts, and applications for new licences need to be made shortly. The Clerk will liaise with the Social Club and the Village Hall Committee on this. The Council would appreciate being kept aware of the proposals that are to be made.

69.8 AOB
Kate Harrison would like to stand down as Passenger Transport Representative, and will try to find a replacement.
She also reported that the grass round the Pillar Box had been mown in January, which had damaged the daffodils in that area.

Philip Scatchard reported that a complaint had been received about the mound of hedge-cuttings etc on the bank outside Gawlers. The Clerk will telephone the District Council about this.

David Williams reported a complaint about rat infestation in the ditch in the Street. He had contacted the District Council who had put down bait with some appearance of success.

Richard Wallace reported that East Herts District Council were apparently still reviewing their Bus Service provision. He will investigate this further.
P 179

The discussions about the second runway at Stansted, and about additional housing in Uttlesford, continue.

Diana McConaghy reminded the meeting about the Litter Pick weekend. She will also respond to the latest request from the Stop Stansted Expansion campaign.

The Chairman reminded the Council of the response sent to the East of England Plan (copy attached to these minutes). He also pointed that the next meeting would be the Annual Parish Meeting.


There being no other business, the meeting closed at 9.30 pm

Date of next meeting: Monday, April 25th 2005 at 8.15 pm.
(Annual Parish Meeting and Council AGM)

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