Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 18 th May 2010 at the Village Hall, Stondon Massey. The meeting began at 7.30pm. Present: Cllr Pratt (Chairman), Cllr Mann (Vice-Chairman), Cllr Woodburn, Cllr West, Cllr Paul Bonnett Cllr Blackmore, Also present were the Clerk, Mrs Heidi Angove, ECC Councillor Dr A Naylor, Borough Councillor M Henwood, PCSO Moira Kennedy 01/10. Apologies for Absence Apologies were received from Councillor Keeble 02/10 Voting in of Chair and Vice Chair The Chairman and Vice Chair were re-elected and both signed a Declaration of Office. A Personnel Committee was voted in comprising of Councillor Woodburn, Councillor Bonnett and Councillor Blackmore. Councillor Woodburn stated that the Committee needed to put forward its mandate. 03/10. Approval of Minutes of Meeting held on 20 th April 2010 These were agreed by all and signed by the Chairman. 04/10. Declarations of Interest None declared 05/10. Public Participation/Open Meeting PCSO Moira Kennedy reported on problems with non-local youths causing disturbances in Chivers Road. PCSO Kennedy informed the Council of the laws regarding nuisance dogs following complaints from parishioners. Councillor Pratt asked PCSO Kennedy about parking for the village fete, PCSO Kennedy stated she would be able to supply the Council with Police Cones and signage. Councillor Blackmore requested PCSO Kennedy s e mail address regarding security for marquee at fete. 06/10. County and Borough Councillor s Report Nothing to report 1
07/10. Clerk s Report Planning Update Plans Approved These plans were approved by Stondon Massey Parish Council BRW/269/2010 Crawfords, Nine Ashes Road First Floor Rear extension BRW/286/2010 2 Vehicular Crossovers to create in-out driveway Refused by BBC Plans Received by BBC BRW/298/2010 Two storey side extension and extension and single storey rear extension 8, Soames Mead, Enforcements from BBC NONE Appeals received by BBC NONE Other Planning Information: Proposed Doctors Surgery The Clerk confirmed she had written to Caroline Matthews, Brentwood Borough Council stating Stondon Massy Parish Council has no objection to the proposed outline plans as long as the car park entrance is sited as far from the Deal Tree crossroads as possible. Additionally, we are aware that the proposed site is within the green Belt and trust that BBC will ensure that this development is not allowed to set a precedent for any further development on Green Belt land. Correspondence Letter from Bruce Hopkin from St Peter and St Paul Church requesting financial help towards retiling of the Nave Roof at St Peter & St Paul Church, Stondon Massey. The Council considered this request favourably and a decision would be reached at the next meeting. 2
Letter from Friends of Wallace Kennels asking for financial help. The Council agreed to try and help all local causes and a decision would be reached at the next meeting. County update No. 76 Letter from Brentwood Borough Council regarding Annual Meeting of Council of Borough of Brentwood dated 11 th May, sent 14 th May requesting presence at meeting on 19 th May. Clerk confirmed she had phoned Brentwood Borough Council. Clerk to give apologies. Draft sustainability appraisal scoping report from Epping Forest District Council. Councillor Pratt to look at the report. The Clerk confirmed she had received a quote from Morgan signs for signage for the pond Deep Water. A3 and A4 and requested help to put them up. The Council asked the Clerk to obtain the A3 signage. Update on Road Repairs The Clerk confirmed that she had spoken to Joanne Woolford from Highways and Transportation regarding an update on Ongar Road and the road will be resurfaced from Blackmore Road to Nine Ashes Road from 30 th June 2010. The Highways Department will be keeping an eye on the patches near Blackmore Road to check for any dangerous defects but are reluctant to spend money on it when shortly it will be resurfaced. The Clerk confirmed she had also reminded the Highways about new signage but had been told although they were on order, they were not a priority. Update on Village Posts The Clerk confirmed the posts had been repaired by R Oliver. The Clerk had written to the lady responsible for the damage to the posts requesting payment directly to Mr Oliver. To date the Mr Oliver had not received payment and the Clerk would be writing again the lady concerned.. Update on new Councillor The Clerk confirmed that she had spoken to Carol Davis from Brentwood Borough Council regarding the procedure for co-opting a new Councillor. No one had applied to Brentwood Borough Council for the position therefore the Council could now co-opt. Carol Davis was sending a letter to the Clerk to confirm this. Minute Book The Clerk confirmed that the minute book was nearly full and another book would need to be purchased. The Council agreed that the Clerk would be permitted to purchase a minute book. 3
Annual Meeting The Clerk advised the Council an Annual Parish Meeting needs to be arranged before 1 st June 2010. The Council agreed not the have the annual meeting. Councillor Mann stated this was not a requirement of the Council and all agreed to look into holding one later in the year. Internal Audit The Clerk advised the Council that the audit had taken place. The clerk had completed the risk assessment and asset register for the Council. The auditor had reviewed all procedures and had confirmed that the Council should increase its Fidelity Guarantee Insurance. The Clerk advised that the renewal for the insurance premium was agreed to be paid at the last meeting and suggested that amendments to the schedule could be looked at after this had been paid. The Clerk discussed the cover for the Council s assets. The Clerk presented the audit to be signed by the Chairman, the Chairman took the audit for analysis and signature. Frequency of Playground Inspections The Clerk confirmed she is still looking into how frequently the playground needs to be inspected. The Clerk stated that as she is trying to obtain grants for replacement of equipment so was going to wait until that outcome before investigating further into playground inspections. 08/10. Playground Update The Clerk confirmed that she had spoken to Yvonne Whetton from Essex County Council regarding Stondon Parish Council s bid for a grant for replacement playground equipment and she could find no record of the bid being placed in November last year. The Clerk confirmed that she had copied the bid and sent it to Yvonne Whetton and had spoken to the previous Clerk who confirmed it had been sent to Essex County Council. The Clerk stated she had spoken to Brentwood Borough Council regarding the corrosion on the support posts at the bottom of the slide. The Clerk confirmed she had spoken to Ingatestone Forge for a quote on replacement of the support posts and had sent off photographs of the posts. She has contacted Beverly Davies from the Community Initiatives Fund programme to see if there would be any funding available to begin the work and use as match funding against a CIF bid. 09/10. Decision on Quality Council Following the Councillor training from Joy Sheppard EALC, the Council needs to make a decision on whether they would like to become a Quality Council. Councillor Bonnett suggested that the Council should continue the way it had been run. Councillor Woodburn suggested the matter be reviewed in one year. 4
10/10. Decision on trimming bushes and trees on playing field The Clerk had spoken to M&D regarding strimming back nettles over millennium bridge and asked if there were any other jobs that M&D were needed to do. The Clerk had spoken to M&D landscapes regarding the hedge at the burial ground. The hedge was hanging over, M&D had quoted approximately 100.00 to trim and clear. The Chairman would investigate and report back to the Clerk. M&D expressed their concerns regarding the amount of rubbish and stones in the newly seeded area. The Council asked the Clerk to obtain quotes for tidying up the trees between Nine Ashes Road and the playing field. 11/10. Decision on Painting of Railings Pond The Clerk noted that the railings and the area around the pond was looking untidy. The Clerk asked the Council if the railings could be repainted and the nettles cut down. Councillor Mann told the Clerk that Brentwood Borough Council were responsible for the railings. Councillor Henwood would give the Clerk a contact at Brentwood Borough Council. 12/10. Ideas for next year s project Councillor Pratt asked the Council for ideas for next year s projects. Councillor Mann and Councillor Bonnett stated the entrance to the playing field and a gate restriction would be beneficial. Councillor Blackmore suggested a duck house for the pond. Councillor Bonnett commented on the need for a mobile shop. Councillor Pratt asked the Council to continue thinking of ideas which could be discussed at next months meeting. 13/10. Presentation of Accounts The following accounts were presented for payment: 1. Morgan Signs, Brentwood Burial Ground & Pond 64.70 2. M&D Landscaping 250.28 3. Stondon Computer Services Ltd - 2 years new domain and rebuild wesite 198.00 4. Heidi Angove expenses (key cutting for playing fields) 9.49 5. EALC Short 2 hour councillor course 161.60 5. G Mann expenses petrol and can for rotavator 19.07 9. H Angove Salary April 386.59 10. H Angove Tax and NI 98.47 5
11. Acumen Wages 20.56 12. HMRC Vat reclaim 1104.51 14/10. Matters for the Next Meeting Land adjacent to 3 Stondon Cottages, date of expiry of enforcement. Pathway between playing field and Reeves Close. Next Meeting 15 th June 2010 at 7.30pm The meeting closed at 9.40 p.m. Signed Date 6