MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY HELD 16 JUNE 2009

MINUTES
OF THE ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY
HELD 16 JUNE 2009

Present: 
Cllr J Burlo (Chairman)     Visitors:   County Cllr David Finch
Cllr J Fenner        2 members of the public
Cllr J Holder      
Cllr S Rawlinson
Mrs P Potter (Clerk)
1. Apologies
Apologies were received from Cllr Tony Shelton.

2. Consideration of the Minutes of the last Annual Parish Assembly, held 29 May 2008
The minutes were agreed and signed as a true record of the meeting. 

3. Matters Arising
 There were no matters arising.

3. Declarations of Interest
 No declarations were made at this meeting.

4. Chair’s Report
 The Chair’s report is appended to the minutes, with highlights as follows:
· 7 Council meetings, 1 budget meeting and 12 planning applications were undertaken in the last 12 months.
· One new Parish Councillor, Julian Fenner, was co-opted following the resignation of Tom Newman from the Council.
· The new Vice-Chair Jim Holder was elected.
· Appointment of new Parish Clerk, Philippa Potter, was made following the resignation of the previous Clerk, Julia Race.
· Affordable Housing development is close to completion.
· The village is looking to re-open a Post Office, following the recent closure.
· The Chair has joined the Executive Committee of the Braintree Association of Local Councils.
The Chair thanked all existing and previous Parish Councillors for their continued hard work on behalf of the Parish.

5. District Report
 There was no District report available at the meeting.

6. ECC Report
County Cllr David Finch spoke to the meeting about the events and achievements over the past 12 months, highlighted as follows: 
· 19.% increase in Council Tax was the lowest ever.
· Adult Social Care awarded the highest star rating by the regulators.
· Telecare – a new service to offer support to all residents over the age of 85 has been launched.
· Transport and road safety schemes are being improved.
· Help for those affected by the economic downturn is being offered via various schemes.
· An overall reduction in the crime rate was reported.
· Recycling and waste is proving successful.
· ECC are helping to re-open Post Offices across the county.
The Council thanked Cllr Finch for his report and continued support of the village.

7. Reports by Representatives
Reports were given by:
· Parish Councillors
· Village Hall Committee
· Footpath Committee
These reports are appended to the minutes.

8. John Nott Charity Report
 The Chair read out the report from the Charity and this is also appended to the minutes.

9. Public Forum
· The issue of potholes on the village roads was raised as a continuing problem.
· The possibility of  a volunteer to take on the Parish Council website was raised.  Cllr Burlo will follow this up.
· It was suggested that the Parish Council put together an Annual Report next year.  The Clerk will take this forward.

10. Closure
 The meeting closed at 9.00pm.