MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD IN THE VILLAGE HALL ON MONDAY 4TH JULY 2011 AT 8.00PM

Present: Parish Councillors: Hayden Garrood (Chairman), Lindsey Squire, Sandra Nunn District Councillors: John Archer, Sue White Parish Clerk: Christine Wakeling 0 members of the public

33. Apologies for absence: Cllr Ray Perrins

34. Declaration of Interest: None

35. Minutes of the Parish Council AGM held on 9th May 2011 approved and signed.

36. Visitor Talk Time: No speaker at this meeting

37. Clerk's Report • The Dart bus scheme is now up and running successfully and has had a good response. Arrow Taxis see potential for expansion and have applied to the Big Society Fund at ECC for funding. Several villages, including North Fambridge have applied to be included in that expanded scheme. • A doctor and practice manager from the Burnham Surgery have visited The School House with a view to opening an outreach surgery there. They have to approach the PCT as the next step. • Terry Wisbey has now moved away from the village. In the absence of a new volunteer to be the civil emergency coordinator, the role will be carried out jointly by all Parish Councillors. • A letter has been received from Police regarding the Community Speedwatch Programme. North Fambridge has been included within 120 schemes currently registered for training and it has been agreed that there will be no fee for the first year of operation. Dates for training have not yet been received. • The Parish Council has been notified that there are proposed engineering works at the station to extend the passing loop to accommodate longer trains. It is planned to do all the work in one week from 1-9th August, working 24 hours a day during this time. The environmental health team at MDC are negotiating the consent to do this to minimise the noise nuisance caused. The contractor will be contacting all potentially affected residents and the Parish Council directly about this.

38. No members of the public attended to ask questions.

39. Village Matters / Information

39.1 Highways Clerk reported that ECC Highways team had inspected the footway along The Avenue on 9th June. They have said there is no funding for this work at present. A report was requested and they have re-opened the file. It was agreed to now write to the Health and Safety Executive in Baddow Road, to ask for their professional opinion. The Parish Council has now been reporting the deteriorating condition of this footway for over 10 years; it has now reached a state whereby wheelchair users and pushchairs must travel on the road. This situation is both dangerous and unacceptable. It was also agreed to send a letter to the government minister responsible for the disabled and to send a copy to John Whittingdale MP and to Penny Channer at ECC.

It was reported that the pothole outside Northside on The Avenue has not yet been repaired and the white lining has still not been reinstated at the junction in Church Road. The clerk will chase these actions.

There has been a recent fatality at the bottom of Kitt Hill. A note is to be sent to ECC Highways regarding this and the frequent reminders issued by the Parish Council about the danger of the bends at the entrance to the village.

39.ii Recreation Ground The new play equipment has been well used and MDC have made regular safety checks. The waste bin is moved quite frequently by children so Parish Councillors are reluctant to install the new one at the present time. Mr. Nunn will look at the bin to see if it can be secured more permanently to the ground. The discussion of an opening ceremony for the play equipment will be deferred until the August meeting. As the play equipment is hardly visible from the road, it was agreed that a quote for cutting down the vegetation, including the trees on the right hand side should be obtained from Bradley Faulkner, the grass cutting contractor.

39.iii Village Design Statement The completed written form of the VDS is now available to view on the village website. It was agreed not to proceed with a printed version until photographs were available and also until more details about the Government's Localism Bill were available as this may necessitate further amendments.

39.iv District Councillor's Report John Archer reported on the success of the Dengie Dart bus scheme and that Arrow Taxis in conjunction with RCCE were planning to expand to include more villages. North Fambridge's interest has been registered in this regard. Parish Councillors agreed that the Parish Council will make a contribution but in proportion to the population of the village. The clerk was asked to convey this to the organisers.

A meeting has been held with the Primary Care Trust and several developers regarding the new hospital planned for . Until the new local plan is out nothing will happen but the PCT are keen to have action by 2012.

40. Planning Matters

40.i New Applications: None received

40.ii Decisions made by MDC: FUL/MAL/11/00144. Extend time limit for implementation of approval FUL/MAL/08/002789 for 5 bedroom house and garage @ Sunnyview, Franklin Road. MDC approved. HOUSE/MAL/11/00224. Infill front extension between house and detached garage @ 12 Rectory Road. MDC approved.

40.iii MDC response regarding breaches of planning: deferred until next meeting.

40.iv FUL/MAL/11/00509 PP-01509517. Land at Road and Junction Road, . Change of use to the siting of 5 caravans for occupation by Gypsy families. Several residents had approached the Parish Council with concerns about this planning application in Cold Norton. The Parish Council will write to MDC planning with the following objections: • Pressure on local schools that are already full • The site lies outside the village development envelope • The Latchingdon Road is a dangerous setting for all users • There are no amenities in Cold Norton; doctors, dentists etc • It is out of character with a rural setting • Refer to Planning Application FUL/MAL/11/00322 in North Fambridge where planning permission was refused for the retention of and stationing of a static caravan for the purposes of use as a single dwelling. This was a change of use from agricultural to C3.

41. Financial Matters

41.i Bank Balances Community Account as @ 2/6/11 £7928.74 Bus Res Account as @ 31/3/11 £2303.57 Total £10,232.31

41.ii Payments to be made and agreed by Councillors: £55 to MDC for annual play area inspection £35.40 to ASAP Office Services for internal audit £55.00 to RCCE - annual subscription £3.00 to EALC - post and packaging £240.00 to BF Ground Maintenance for grass cutting in June

41.iii Payments received: £87.32 from North Fambridge Parish Plan Group following its dissolution.

42.i A response was agreed to the Government's consultation document on planning for Traveller Sites. The general consensus was accepted. In the House of Commons debate reference was made to people living on boats. The Parish Council would request that planning requirements of people living on boats in the UK on rivers and canals be included in new documentation. It was also agreed that there should be no rural exception sites i.e. sites should be available for everyone who is homeless. Although it is a desirable aim to have sites for travellers, in reality it is unlikely that communities would be prepared to agree.

42.ii It was unanimously agreed to invite Heidi Cook to be co-opted onto the Parish Council.

43. Councillor's Question Time: No questions

44. Village Hall Management Committee Report Cllr Nunn reported that the new flooring in the village hall is raising in some areas as a result of rotten joists. The contractors will return to repair.

45. Media Contact. None

46. Next Meeting. The next meeting of North Fambridge Parish Council is on Monday 8th August 2011 at 8.00pm in the Village Hall.

47. Exclusion of Press and Public for confidential items. Clerk's Salary:

Lottery Winners, June 2011 1st No. 214 Jeffrey Kershaw, The Boardwalk, Blue House Chase 2nd No. 93 Pauline & Mark Nicholl, The Brambles, Franklin Road