ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 2017 PARISH COUNCIL

MEETING The Annual Parish Meeting of Sheering Parish Council took place in the Village Hall & Parish Centre on Wednesday 26 April 2017 at 7.30pm pursuant to notices issued previously. Residents of the Parish, Parish and a District Councillor were present.

WELCOME Chairman Cllr Northwood opened the meeting and welcomed everyone present. There were 18 members of the public present.

APOLOGIES Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Bedford, Christmas, Harrington, District Cllr Waller, County Cllr A. Jackson, Beryl Gurteen, Caroline Humphries, Heather Harding, John Harding, and MP Robert Halfon.

MINUTES The Minutes of the meeting held on 27th April 2016 were approved and signed by the Chairman Cllr Northwood as a true record. Please note Minutes are available on Parish Council website-www.essexinfo.net/sheering-parish- council

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Chairman Cllr Northwood reported on:

The Local Plan: The draft plan has now been published which outlines the requirements within Sheering to provide an additional 146 new homes - 120 in Sheering Village and 26 in Lower Sheering. Objections to the proposals in detail were discussed at a subsequent meeting with Council during the consultation period, the outcome of any considerations that may have been given to our objections are awaited, which it is anticipated may be in the Autumn.

Planning: Throughout the year the Parish Council has reviewed and commented on 42 planning applications which have included new developments, extensions and alterations together with works covered by tree preservation orders.

M11 Junction 7A: Final proposal for the new junction and its associated infrastructure was received in May. The Parish Council submitted their objections by the due date of 6 July, which as expected received a negative response from Essex County Council. Parish Councillors and representatives from Essex County Council met in August to discuss our objections in detail; the absence of traffic management in The Street and Sheering Lower Road, both roads being considered the main arteries feeding the proposed new roundabout on Sheering Road. The conclusion of that meeting was that the proposals as published are workable, would have the desired effects and once executed would be monitored. If the calculations are found to be incorrect, appropriate action would be taken as deemed necessary.

Sheering Village Playing Field: This year a new slide with safety surface has been installed.

Lower Sheering Playing Field: Following the successful application for funding and a contribution from the Parish Council, new Multiframe play equipment has been installed.

Lower Sheering Picnic Area: Delivery is awaited of new picnic benches which will be in position for the Summer.

In concluding, Cllr Northwood extended sincere thanks to his fellow councillors for their help, attendance and contributions throughout the year, and to Vice Chair Cllr Clare Steward for her support and assistance in chairing meetings in his absence; Thanks were also expressed to: The Parish Clerk, Mrs Debbie Tennant, for her continued hard work and commitment, for which the Parish Council are most grateful; to Handyman Laurie Gonzales who regrettably took the decision to leave at the end of March and we are actively looking to recruit a new handyman; to Neil Marsden, not only for organising new flags for the War Memorial and in Lower Sheering, but for his assistance in the provision of wreaths and arrangements for the Remembrance Day service at the War Memorial.

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS 2015/2016 The unaudited Accounts were circulated and no comments were made. The Parish Clerk commented that any queries could be emailed to her after the meeting-([email protected])

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REPORTS FROM REPRESENTATIVES OF PARISH ORGANISATIONS

SHEERING PRIMARY SCHOOL Mrs Lorna Bittaine (Head teacher) reported that standards have continued to rise. Last year the school celebrated the best end of Key Stage results for Reception, Year 2 and Year 6; according to the unofficial School’s League Tables 2016 Sheering school is the 5th best school in the local area, 57th best performing primary school in Essex out of 377 schools and is ranked 2143 out of 14,459 primary schools in the country. The school is busy preparing for their church inspection which should happen before the end of 2017.

In 2016 the school celebrated its 200th birthday with various activities, including celebrating with ex-pupils who attended the school many years ago. The children learnt a great deal about what Sheering school was like in times gone by.

Two new members of the Learning Support Team were welcomed at the beginning of the year and staffing has remained stable again this year. 4 new governors have made an impact on helping to raise standards in the school.

Developing links with the Sheering community remains high on the agenda; an Open Afternoon was held before Easter, parents, grandparents, church members, shop owners, past pupils and staff and members of the Parish Council were invited in to school to see the children and look at their work. It was a lovely occasion which will be repeated regularly throughout the year.

WI Sheering WI enjoyed another busy year with a good variety of speakers. Their annual lunch party was held in the summer, serenaded by St Mary’s Brass. The ladies have recently attended the Roothings group annual meeting at High Roding, where they learnt how the Giggly Pig co. founder, Tracy Mackness, learnt her trade whilst in prison and set up her business upon her release. They delivered over 30 filled wash bags to this meeting as part of a nationwide WI appeal to go to various homeless hostels, hospitals etc., along with dementia muffs which is an ongoing project. As it is the Essex Federation of WI’s Centenary this year, the group will be attending an afternoon tea with their fellow Roothing members in June. Unfortunately membership has reduced this year due to work commitments or ladies moving away, so it would be nice to see some new faces adding to the numbers.

SHEERING VILLAGE PRE-SCHOOL In September 2016 Angie Rivoire took over the position of Manager and Managing Director from Beryl Gurteen, who retired in July 2016 after 26 years. Caroline Humphreys continued as Financial Director and took on the role of Deputy Manager. With the introduction of the new website, numbers rapidly increased from those expected and 20 older children and 14 younger children started in September and the pre-school has gone from strength to strength. Another full time member of staff has been employed and there are two fully qualified relief helpers as well. With regard to staff, in their first term Angie and Caroline focused on making sure that everyone working in the setting had their DBS, safeguarding and paediatric first aid qualifications in place. They also attended termly cluster meetings with managers from other local settings, where their early years advisor would brief them on the latest up-to-date information including what Ofsted are looking for when inspecting pre-schools. In pre-school a new kiddiwash hand wash station was introduced and the children now wash up their own plates after snack. A new bookcase, soft sofas and an art station have been purchased. The children took part in Children in Need and raised £60. In the Spring Term they celebrated Australia Day, Chinese new year and Easter and ended the term with a concert and fundraising coffee morning. They also took part in ‘Silly Sock Day’ which raised money for Autism Anglia. The Parish Council have agreed that the pre-school can have the small piece of land directly behind the pre-school garden, so the children can grow fruit and vegetables. The garden was completed over the Easter break. This working garden has evolved into a sensory garden as well and will be officially opened on 29 April, when members of the Parish Council will be invited where they can see what has been accomplished due to their kind generosity. The Summer Term started with almost all the pre-school places filled. The family fun day to Paradise Wildlife Park and a trip to the Sealife Centre in Southend have already been booked, which links in with their topic of Under the Sea.

ST.MARY’S CHURCH Report from Rev’d Dawn Jewson, Priest in Charge of St Mary’s, Sheering: Andrew, Will and I arrived in the benefice in June 2016 and were absolutely thrilled by the magnificent licensing service at St Mary’s on July 5. Many, many thanks to all who were involved in putting it together and ensuring that everything ran smoothly on the night. Since then I have been spending time getting to know the congregations and the wider community in both villages (Sheering and Hatfield Heath, where we live). I am an ex-officio governor at Sheering School and have been taking weekly Collective Worship in school since I arrived.

2 As a ‘newbi’ school governor I have found some of the jargon quite a challenge (despite a brief former career as a primary school teacher!) and have very much appreciated the opportunity to attend training, both in-school and elsewhere. Our Chair of Governors, Pamela Gaines, has been a terrific encouragement to me and I am very grateful for her wisdom and support. St Mary’s also has an important role to play in the wider church, and I have been delighted to see St Mary’s, Holy Trinity Hatfield Heath and the United Reformed Church at the Heath joining forces on several occasions, notably on New Year’s Day 2017 which saw our three churches renew our commitment to one another. The clergy and PCCs of the Six Villages (Anglican) churches are currently discussing the possibility of becoming a Mission and Ministry Unit (MMU) which is an initiative of Bishop Stephen to encourage churches to share in outreach and to pool resources. I am firmly in favour of this proposal, as I see the benefits of the Six Villages working together already, and believe that becoming an MMU will strengthen us further. Here are a few of the plans we’re already exploring for the coming year at St Mary’s: - Marriage Preparation days - Encouraging more lay involvement - Finding ways to support local families - Aiming for our bronze (and beyond!) Eco Church award from A Rocha, the Christian environmental charity. I am so thrilled to have been called to be with you in this place, and I look forward with great excitement to what God has in store for us in the coming years.

PRESENTATION OF SHEERING CITIZEN’S AWARD AND YOUNG CITIZEN’S AWARD 2017 Young Citizen of the year is for up to and including18 year olds, and Citizen of the Year for over 18s. The Chairman congratulated Mr John Smith as the winner and read out details of why he was nominated. The Young Citizen of the Year was awarded to Oscar Payne, and a letter from the school outlined his achievements. A £100 cheque and a trophy were presented to each winner.

PRESENTATION BY EPPING FOREST DISTRICT COUNCIL’S COUNTRYCARE- KEVIN MASON Countrycare is an organisation operated by EFDC and has managed The Copse (woods near the play equipment at the rear of the village hall) for several years. Their aim is to ensure the area is a safe place for public enjoyment and to improve the area in general. There are now around 125 species of plants listed as growing and a great deal of practical work has been carried out by the many volunteers and staff to improve the site including hedging, paths, ditch improvement, tree felling, etc.

OPEN FORUM No comments were made.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.30pm.

………………………………………………….. Chairman 25.4.2018

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