Author: Clerk

The next Parish Council meeting is on 1st December 2021 and the agenda can be found here:

01122021DEC AGENDA

Major capital projects averaging £300m per annum included as part of the County Council’s Autumn Budget Statement

A new railway station for Chelmsford, along with new schools and roads are among infrastructure schemes averaging £300 million a year which will be initiated by the County Council over the next four years.

The announcement was made 12 October by Councillor Chris Whitbread, Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Corporate Affairs as part of the Council’s first Autumn Budget Statement.

Cllr Whitbread said: “I am pleased to be presenting our Autumn Budget Statement and how this will facilitate the ambition and drive of the new vision.

“Annually we spend in the region of £1.4bn, and our focus is to make sure that this money has a real positive impact on the lives of Essex residents and the local economy.”

Cllr Whitbread acknowledged the challenges posed to the local economy by Coronavirus over the past 18 months adding: “Despite these challenges, I am proud to say that since May 2021, we have been able to deliver over £30m directly through thousands of individual grants to support residents, businesses and community groups – helping them through the crisis. We provided over £10m of support for Essex businesses during the pandemic.”

Cllr Whitbread also addressed the uncertainty facing the local authority’s finances in the future: “The current inflation rate in the UK is 2.5%. It is expected to rise further – potentially up to 4% in the short term. This volatility impacts our financial planning, as we try to anticipate the effect on our day-to-day spending, from social care to waste disposal.”

He added: “The growing and aging population of the UK continues to place considerable pressure on councils and demand for our services. Over the next four years the Essex population over the age of 65 is forecast to increase by over 9%, compared to an increase of 4% of the total population of Essex.”

The capital projects planned for the next four years include major infrastructure schemes such as the work developing Beaulieu Park Train Station, Chelmsford North East Bypass, the A120-A133 Link Road as well as school expansion and maintenance programmes.

 

Cllr Peter Schwier | Deputy Cabinet Member to the Leader / Climate Csar

Hedingham Division, Essex County Council

Renewal, Equality and Ambition

 

For advice on Essex County Council’s response to the current Coronavirus situation please visit www.essex.gov.uk/coronavirus or our facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/essexcoronavirusactionsupport/

 

T: 01787 460473

E: cllr.peter.schwier@essex.gov.uk

W: www.essex.gov.uk

@SchwierPeter

Commitments on the Economy, Environment, Health and Family which will shape Essex for generations to come have been given the green light by Essex County Council.

Ambitious plans which promise to shape Essex for years to come have been approved by Essex County Council.

Everyone’s Essex is the Council’s plan for levelling up the county from now until 2025.

The new Cabinet at Essex County Council has placed levelling up at the heart of its agenda as the county recovers from the pandemic and builds for the future.

Everyone’s Essex sets out twenty commitments which aim to deliver this agenda and improve the lives of the people of Essex.

The plan develops the themes and key pillars of activity the Leader of Essex County Council, Cllr Kevin Bentley, set out during the first 100 days of office: Economy, Environment, Health and Family.

These include addressing unemployment in Essex, which is the highest it’s been for 30 years, by building people’s skills as well as working closer with Essex businesses to reduce the barriers for disadvantaged groups.

Health inequalities will also be tackled by addressing the conditions that create poor health such as inadequate housing, poverty, economic insecurity, and low skills.

Another goal is halving Essex’s greenhouse gas emissions over the next ten years, meaning the County can become carbon neutral by 2050, through speeding up the shift to greener housing, transport and energy.

Cllr Bentley said: “We have come through the most extraordinary eighteen months. We’ve been tested to the limit but have risen to the challenge. We’ve seen just what we’re capable of achieving if collectively we work together to support one another.

“The next challenges are clear – we must be bold in our ambition to renew parts of the county that have suffered through the pandemic, and ensure that no-one is left behind by being rigorous in our commitment to equality.

“I am determined that in Essex we can build a better future. The task is huge – but we shouldn’t be daunted by its scale. We are Essex, and we will build back better.”

 

 

Cllr Peter Schwier | Deputy Cabinet Member to the Leader / Climate Csar

Hedingham Division, Essex County Council

Renewal, Equality and Ambition

 

For advice on Essex County Council’s response to the current Coronavirus situation please visit www.essex.gov.uk/coronavirus or our facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/essexcoronavirusactionsupport/

 

T: 01787 460473

E: cllr.peter.schwier@essex.gov.uk

W: www.essex.gov.uk

@SchwierPeter

Walking should be the natural, everyday choice, whether for shorter trips or as part of longer journeys according to the Essex Walking Strategy published today (correct date here).

Short car trips are on the increase resulting in poorer air quality, more congestion, and a more sedentary population. County residents might assume that driving is always the most convenient choice, but studies have shown, it often isn’t.

The aim of the Essex County Council Walking Strategy is to reverse this trend and make us think about our trip and whether we really need to drive.

In addition, the strategy raises awareness of the many benefits of walking as well as spotlighting opportunities for ECC to encourage and facilitate more journeys on foot.

Full details of the Walking Strategy can be found here: https://www.essexhighways.org/safer-greener-healthier-walking

Cllr Sue Lissimore, Essex County Council Deputy Cabinet Member for Sustainable Travel, said: “Walking is the easiest type of travel and yet many of us don’t walk enough. It is so natural that we often don’t even consider it a form of transport. However, in our busy lives, we may have undervalued the most fundamental way of getting around.

“Leisure walking is a great way to start, then taking it further to walk to local shops. Once this has been achieved you can then think about every short journey, asking yourself: ‘Can I now walk it?’

“Our Walking Strategy is a plan to get more of us walking on our network of footways and paths in our rural areas, towns, cities and neighbourhoods and is a key component of our safer, greener, healthier campaign to encourage Essex residents to travel sustainably. Not only does this improve the environment but it helps us achieve our strategic priority to improve the health of people in Essex.”

The Strategy follows the recent publication of an active travel survey in which almost three quarters (74%) of respondents supported prioritising and increasing space for walking across the county with 31% stating that they would like to walk more for leisure now that Covid restrictions have been lifted.

The Walking Strategy sets out objectives and priorities to 2025 in order to provide a policy framework that will promote more walking and better walking networks. These include:

• Increasing walking for everyday trips – with the aim for 400 walking trips (for travel) per person per year by 2025 where the average trip is approximately 1km or 10 minutes duration.
• Improving road safety for pedestrians – so that pedestrian needs are prioritised in all infrastructure projects.
• Enabling physical activity and walking for health – with the aim that residents achieve two 10-minute sessions of physical activity per day via active travel.
• Enabling more walking to schools – by encouraging more walking to schools through behaviour change programmes.
• Promoting walking for leisure – by encouraging social walks in greenspace to link individuals and reduce isolation.

To accompany the launch of the Essex Walking Strategy, a new walking video has been launched and can be viewed here: https://www.essexhighways.org/safer-greener-healthier-walking

 

Cllr Peter Schwier | Deputy Cabinet Member to the Leader / Climate Csar

Hedingham Division, Essex County Council

Renewal, Equality and Ambition

Essex Explorer magazine brings together all the latest news and community initiatives being carried out by the Culture, Heritage and Green Spaces team within the Environmental and Climate Action directorate. The articles celebrate our county, our diverse communities, and landscapes, community projects and events and the abundance of unique flora, fauna and wildlife we have throughout Essex. The Autumn edition has all the usual content and high production values, with an emphasis on keeping active with special walking and Find Your Active features.

 

The printed version of Essex Explorer is free and will be available from w/c 11 October in 30 of the largest libraries throughout the county as well as supermarkets, such as Tesco’s, Asda and Sainsbury’s, and the Culture, Heritage and Green Spaces sites including the Essex Country Parks as well as County Hall reception.

 

The digital edition can be downloaded using this link:  https://issuu.com/exploreessex/docs/3158-ee_magazine_autumn-fa-300dpi-digital

 

 

Cllr Peter Schwier | Deputy Cabinet Member to the Leader / Climate Csar

Hedingham Division, Essex County Council

Renewal, Equality and Ambition

With the assistance of our County Councillor, Peter Schwier and our District Councillor George Courtauld, we are pleased to confirm that repairs to the crumbling footpath/pavement running beside the Church are now due to be carried out in late October 2021.

Pebmarsh Parish Council will be meeting on Wednesday 15th September 2021 at 7.30pm at Pebmarsh Village Hall. The agenda for this meeting can be found on the Parish Council website in the “agendas” section.

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Pebmarsh Parish Council will be meeting on Tuesday 20th July 2021 at 7.30pm at Pebmarsh Village Hall. The agenda for this meeting can be found on the Parish Council website in the “agendas” section. Please also find a link here: http://parishcouncil.pebmarsh.com/?attachment_id=1648