Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on the 14th December 2009.

MINUTES

OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD 14 DECEMBER 2009

 

Present:           

Cllr J Burlo (Chairman)                                                  Visitors:  5 members of the public          

Cllr J Fenner                                                                                        

Cllr J Holder                                                                 

Mrs P Potter (Clerk)

 

1. Apologies for Absence
   Apologies were received from Cllr Sue Rawlinson.

 

1. Consideration of the Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on 12 October 2009 and Matters Arising
   The minutes were agreed as a true record and signed accordingly.

3.     Declaration of Interests

-        Cllr Joe Burlo declared a personal and prejudicial interest in an item to be discussed in the public forum regarding revised plans for Tom’s Cottage before being submitted to BDC as a planning application, as the neighbour of the property under discussion.

-        Cllr Julian Fenner declared a personal and prejudicial interest in an item to be discussed in the public forum regarding revised plans for Tom’s Cottage before being submitted to BDC as a planning application, as the neighbour of the property under discussion.

 

4.   Public Forum

The Parish Council were shown the revised plans for a proposed extension to Tom’s Cottage, prior to a planning application being submitted to BDC.   The owners of one of the neighbouring houses also commented on the plans.  The Parish Council found the revised plans acceptable.  The applicant will submit the plans to BDC with a formal planning application.  Cllrs Burlo and Fenner had left the meeting during this discussion. 

 

5.   District and County Items

There were no District or County representatives present at the meeting.  The Clerk reported that a letter had been sent to Cllr Shelton to ask for his assistance regarding the fact that the monies due from BDC from the Street Scene Agreement for 2008/9 had not been paid.  The Clerk will report on progress.

 

6.   BDC Planning Issues
Planning Results

            The following result was noted by the Council:

            6.1       09/01104/FUL: 4 Street Farm Cottages, The Street – Erection of rear extension.  This application was granted.

 

7.    Reports from Representatives
       7.1       Playing Fields/Bus Shelters

Cllr Rawlinson was absent from this meeting, however,  the Clerk briefly went through the RoSPA safety inspection report that has been received for the playground.  Items picked up were either medium or low risk and the Clerk will pass this to Cllr Rawlinson to look through and decide what work needs to be undertaken.

 

The bus shelter roof has now been fixed.

7.2       Village Hall

            Cllr Holder reported that the finances of the Village Hall were healthy and that the inside of the hall had been recently decorated.

 

7.3       Street Lighting
All street lights are working.  The details of the contract with A&J Lighting will be reviewed before the renewal date next year to ensure that it still meets the parish’s needs and to ensure that correct payments have been made.  The Clerk will collate the information and pass it to Cllr Anderson to check the details.

7.4       Legal

            Cllr Anderson is dealing with the registering Parish Council land.

 

8.  Damage to Fence – Stone Cottage

It was agreed to arrange a meeting between the Parish Council, Essex County Council’s Public Rights of Way Officer and the owner of Stone Cottage to look at the issue and agree a way forward.  The Clerk will arrange this.

 

9.  New Overhead Power Line

It was agreed to offer support to those parishes who are mainly affected by this proposal.  Cllr Burlo has been in contact with the Chair of Twinstead Parish Council and has put all the information on the parish website and noticeboards.

 

10.   BT Phone Box

It was agreed to look into the details of adopting the village red phone box, once BT remove the telephone.  The Clerk will pass the details on so a decision can be made.         

 

11.   Financial Regulations

       It was agreed that the following questions be asked of EALC before the regulations are adopted:

• Clarification of Clerk’s emergency powers, as against clause 3.4.
• Clarify risk assessment requirements as in 15.1.

12. Finance
12.1      Finance Report
                        The finance reports for October and November 2009 were received by the Councillors.

                        The following cheques were approved for payment:
12.2      £607.38            Clerk’s Salary (Nov-Dec 09, plus owed amount from Jul-Oct 09)

12.3      £  23.21                        Clerk’s backdated pay (Apr 09 – Dec 09)

            12.4      £106.95                        Playsafety Ltd – annual inspection of play equipment

            12.5      £  35.00                        Information Comissioner’s Office – Data Protection Registration

12.6      2008/09 Accounts and Audit Documentation

            The amendments and extra information requested by the Audit Commission were agreed and signed as appropriate.

 

12.7      A&J Lighting Contract

            The contract and payments will be reviewed as discussed under item 7.3 above.

13.  Budget and Precept Consideration 2010/11
The Council went through the items on the budget and made various adjustments.  It was decided to earmark some funds for a project to provide hard standing at the playground.  The Clerk will adjust the figures accordingly and agree the precept demand with Councillors to be submitted to BDC by 15 January 2010.

 

14.  Correspondence

       The Clerk went through items received since the last meeting.

15.    Items for the Next Meeting
Items have been marked in discussions above.
         

16.    Date of Next Meeting
               The next meeting was agreed to be scheduled for Monday 8 February 2010 at 7.30pm.

 

17.   Closure

  The meeting closed at 10.00pm.

 

 

 

Signed …………………………………………………….

Chairman

 

Date …………….