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MINUTES

OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD 8 FEBRUARY 2010

 

Present:           

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

Cllr J Fenner                                                       District Cllr A Shelton

Cllr S Rawlinson    

Cllr H Anderson                                                                   

Mrs P Potter (Clerk)

 

1. Apologies for Absence
   Apologies were received from Cllr Jim Holder and County Councillor David Finch.

 

1. Consideration of the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 14 December 2009 and Matters Arising
   The minutes were agreed as a true record and signed accordingly.  Cllr Burlo raised an issue from the last minutes with regard to the Overhead Power Line proposals.  The Parish Council agreed to send a letter of objection to the outlined proposals and state that the pylons should be routed underground.  A copy of this letter will be sent to neighbouring Parish Councils.   

3.     Declaration of Interests

None

 

4.   Public Forum

• A member of the public queried progress regarding the broadband initiative.  The Chairman advised that the company involved were in discussion regarding sources of funding and grants.
• A discussion took place regarding vehicles driving on the playing field, possibly to gain access to the churchyard, which is causing the ground to be cut up and rutted.  Cllr Fenner will look at the area and come up with some possible solutions to ease the problem.

5.   Village Agents
One of Pebmarsh’s local Village Agents, Jayne Larken, attended the meeting to introduce herself and the service to the Parish Council.  Jayne explained that the service is a link between residents of rural and/or remoter areas with services.  This includes making connections with the elderly and vulnerable families.  Jayne gave an overview of how the service was set up and how it is now expanding to include other rural villages, including Pebmarsh.  Details will be posted on the Parish Council website and residents are asked to get in touch with the agents if they know of anyone who could benefit from the service.

 

6.   District and County Items

District Councillor Report

Cllr Shelton attended the meeting and gave his update from BDC, highlighted as follows:

• Update on BDC budget proposals regarding cutting services.   It was confirmed that the Parish Support Grant has been retained for the next three years at its current level but there will be some redundancies.
• It is likely that the Council Tax will be increased at approximately 2.5%, against a background of budget and grant cuts from ECC and central government.
• Recycling has increased and exceeded targets since the roll out of wheelie bins last Autumn.
• A Task and Finish Group will be looking at local transport, especially shopper services to take residents from more remote areas into towns, which would not be possible otherwise. 

The Parish Council thanked Cllr Shelton for attending.

County Councillor Report

Cllr Finch was unable to attend the meeting, however, he had circulated a report, highlighted as follows:

• Potholes: details given of recent repairs undertaken locally.
• Details of Winter Fuel Payments that can be claimed.
• A report of the Fabulous at 50 exhibition that took place in January.
• Details of the boiler scrappage scheme.
• Information of the upcoming ECC Book Festival
• Information on saving with Credit Unions.

7.  BDC Planning Issues

 

7.1       Planning Application
10/00019/FUL: The Wildings, The Street – Erection of timber outbuilding to be used as general storage and home office.  Following discussion, it was Proposed Cllr Rawlinson, Seconded Cllr Anderson and agreed three votes for to one against, to support the application.

7.2       Planning Committee

Representations for the following applications were determined by consensus of the planning committee:

            7.2.1     09/01676/FUL: Rafe Hall, The Street – Change of use from storage/distribution

                        centre and office to residential use.  It had been agreed to support this application.

            7.2.2     10/00003/FUL: Toms Cottage, Cross End – Erection of single storey rear/side

                        extension. It had been agreed to support this application.

7.3       Planning Result
The following appeal was dismissed by the Planning Inspector:

            Appeal number: APP/Z1510/A/09/2108253 – Scotts Farm, Pebmarsh.  Two storey replacement 4 bedroom detached house, garage and outbuildings. 

 

8.    Reports from Representatives
       8.1       Playing Fields/Bus Shelters

• Cllr Rawlinson reported that Ian Rawlinson has started repairs to the roof of the bus shelter at Water Lane and has donated his time and materials to the Parish Council. 
• There were some items highlighted in the ROSPA inspection report which need to be attended to.  The weeds and fencing need looking at, which Cllr Rawlinson will pursue.  The climbing frame rope needs replacing and this is also being looked into.  There also needs to be a playground sign added to the school sign along the road outside the village hall.

8.2       Village Hall

            Cllr Holder was not in attendance at this meeting.

8.3       Street Lighting
All street lights are working.  Details of payments made to A&J Lighting were discussed and it was agreed that the Clerk write to the company outlining the outstanding amount due.

8.4       Legal

            Cllr Anderson reported that the Glebe land has been registered.

 

9.    Kings Head Pub
            The possible future of the pub once sold was discussed.  The Parish Council agreed to support any scheme that retains the amenity for the village.

10.   Damage to Fence – Stone Cottage
            It was reported that following a recent meeting, the Parish Council have agreed to replace four sections of the fence at Stone Cottage

 

11.   P3 – Footpath Maintenance Update

Following recent correspondence from ECC, it has been advised that each Parish Council’s claim for footpath maintenance will be assessed individually following a meeting with officers.

12.  Road Safety – Winter Weather
The Council discussed the possibilities of gritting the roads in the village during icy and snowy weather.  There are, however, issues regarding liability and insurance which the Clerk will look into and report back to the Council. 

 

13.  Financial Regulations
The Clerk is awaiting clarification regarding some of the clauses in the Regulations and will report back to the Council. 

 

14.  Finance
14.1      Finance Report
                        The finance reports for December 2009 and January 2010 were received by Councillors.

                        The following cheques were approved for payment:
14.2      £400.84            Clerk’s Salary (Jan 10 to Feb 10) 

                        14.3      £  51.59                        Clerk Expenses (Dec 09 to Jan 10)
14.4      £250.00                        Glebeland Rent – Strutt and Parker

To note payment made between meetings due to time constraints – agreed with Councillors prior to payment:

14.5      £178.25                        Audit Commission – External Audit Fee.

 

15.  Budget and Precept Consideration 2010/11
The budget and precept demand were unanimously agreed.

 

16.  Noticeboards
Cllrs Burlo and Fenner will up suitable areas for noticeboards and report back to the next meeting.

 

17.  Correspondence

       The Clerk went through items received since the last meeting.

18.   Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting was agreed to be scheduled for Monday 29 March.  The Annual Parish Assembly and Annual Parish Council Meeting are scheduled for Tuesday 18 May.  All meetings are subject to confirmation and will be held at 7.30pm.

 

19.   Closure

  The meeting closed at 10.25pm.

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 …………….

The next Parish Council meeting will be held at the Village Hall in the committe room on Monday 8th Feb 2010 at 7.30pm.

Public sessions are now being held at the beginning of each meeting rather than at the end so if there is anything that you would like to  discuss with your Parish Council you are welcome to attend any meeting and have your say. 

You will be pleased to know that  Braintree District Council has withdrawn it’s threat to abolish the annual Parish Support Grant to all Parish councils and has fixed it for the next 3 years.

Wishing you all a  Merry Christmas.

 

  

 Joe Burlo

Chairman

Joe@faze7.com

The next Parish Council meeting will be held at the Village hall in the committe room on Monday 14th December at 7.30pm.  We will be discussing, amongst other matters, the serious possibility that Braintree District Council will be withdrawing the annual Parish support grant to all Parish councils which is around £1770 for Pebmarsh.  So far, all Parish councils have objected to this proposal, however it seems that Braintree District Council are determined to do this and they will be discussing it at their meeting on 7th December.

I will put up a new post about other ways BDC are trying to save £1.5M  by reducing more services to us.

Joe Burlo

Chairman

Joe@faze7.com

The National Grid Event about erecting more Large Pylons AND a new Substation in our area is this Thursday between 12 and 9pm at Twinstead Village Hall. Please attend if you can so you know what is going on and express your opinion before it is all too late for us to do anything. Many in this area think that the National Grid should lay the new 400KV cables underground rather than spoil the countryside with another set of new Pylons from Bramford, near Ipswich all the way down to Twinstead which will also mean another large substation in our area which will be west of Twinstead and about the size of 4 football pitches and the height of a 3 story house.
The local campaign in favour of laying the cables underground is ‘Stour Valley Underground’ ( SVU). Please check their website for all the relavent info before you attend the National Grid Event on Thursday.

www.stourvalleyunderground.org.uk

Joe Burlo
Chairman  Pebmarsh Parish Council

The National Grid needs to build a new  400,000volt overhead line between Bramford, near Ipswich and Twinstead to connect a number of new generators in East Anglia and will be holding a public consulation  regarding the possible 4 ‘route corridors’  ( stretches of land in which an overhead line can be routed) that they have identified.

They are seeking feedback from local residents on these route corridor options and holding public exhibition programmes. The Twinstead public exhibition will be held on the 12th November  09 between 12 and 9pm at Twinstead Village Hall in Church Road, Twinstead CO10 7NA.

Joe Burlo

Chairman Pebmarsh Parish Council.

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.