FELSTED PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the 1006Th Meeting Held on 4 June 2014 at 7:30 Pm in the URC Hall
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FELSTED PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the 1006th Meeting held on 4 June 2014 at 7:30 pm in the URC Hall. Pre sent: Councillors Graham Harvey (Chairman), Andy Bennett, Richard Freeman, Nicholas Hinde, Fiona Hitchcock, Kay Milford, John Moore, Caroline Scott-Bowden, Alan Thawley and Chris Woodhouse. District Councillor Felton and 19 members of the public were also present. 14/31 Apologies for Absence and Declarations of Interest. Apologies had been received from Councillor Peter Rose, District Councillor Stephanie Harris and County Councillor Simon Walsh. Cllr Harvey declared a non pecuniary interest in Item 14/35.7 (First Aid course). 14/32 Public Forum. 32.1 Proposal to construct 14 new Council houses on Ravens Crescent play area – A number of residents were in attendance and informed Councillors that a Ravens Crescent Action Group had been formed to object to this proposal by UDC. Councillors had received individual letters requesting their support for the campaign. The Chairman explained that, following normal procedures, the Clerk would be responding collectively on their behalf rather Clerk than each Councillor responding individually. The Chairman also assured the residents that their objections had been listened to and had not gone unnoticed. However, in accordance with established procedures, the Council would not be making any final decision/comment until a formal planning application was submitted. It was noted that UDC had informed the Clerk that they were reviewing their plans for the site. The Council were asked if they could provide assistance with photocopying to the Action Clerk Group (newsletter) but the Clerk explained that the Council did not have access to commercial scale copying facilities. 32.2 Cutting of grass verge outside 2/3 Ravens Crescent – The Council agreed to arrange for this area to be cut twice a year. Clerk 32.3 Flower tubs – David Dempsey informed the Council that the 4 additional flower tubs would not now be ready until the autumn (Item 14/25 refers). 14/33 Minutes of the Meeting held on 7 May 2014 The Minutes were approved and signed by the Chairman. 14/34 Matters arising from the last meeting 34.1 UDC Community Achievement Awards (Item 14/14.1) – The Clerk had received 7 nominations for this award and Councillors were voting on which 2 names should be submitted. 34.2 Future flooding – Offer from UDC to supply sand/sandbags (Item 14/14.2) - The Clerk had requested a supply of sand/sandbags and UDC were currently setting up a system for delivery. Cllr 34.3 EALC Councillors Training Course (Item 14/14.3) – Cllr Bennett would be attending Bennett the course on 11 June. 34 .4 Vandalism of Street Lights in Station Road (Item 14/14.6) – The Clerk had reported this problem to PC Tom Monroe and been advised to report any future incidents via ‘101’. th 34.5 Felsted School 450 Event (Item 14/26.4) – The Clerk reported that Councillors Moore and Thawley, the Assistant Clerk and herself ‘manned’ the stall and that it was a very successful afternoon with many local people visiting the stand for a chat and taking copies of the Parish Plan and Footpath Map. 34.6 Car ‘For Sale’ on Bannister Green (Item 14/30.2) – Members noted that the car had now been removed. Page 1 of 9 34 .7 Dog poo bags in Jollyboys Lane South (Item 14/ 30.3) – The Clerk had spoken to a local resident and been informed that the problem had recently improved somewhat so it was agreed to take no action at present but to continue to monitor the situation. 14/35 Correspondence The list of correspondence was circulated to Councillors (see p6). Cllr 35.1 Uttlesford Community Forum (10 June at Stansted) – Cllr Thawley agreed to attend Thawley this meeting. 35.2 UALC AGM (10 June at Stansted) – Cllr Hinde agreed to attend this meeting. Cllr Hinde 35.3 Loss of Bus Service 133 through Felsted at 9.10am Monday to Friday – The Clerk read out an e-mail from David Gregory (FPC Transport Representative) outlining the proposal to withdraw this particular bus for ‘operational funding reasons’. SXConnect had received many objections (including those from Mr Gregory and Cllr Hinde) and were reconsidering the situation. It was agreed that the Clerk should write objecting to the proposal and put notices at the bus stops encouraging residents to do the same. 35.4 EALC – Buckingham Palace Award – It was agreed to nominate the current Chairman Clerk for this award. 35.5 EALC – RTPI Neighbourhood Planning Conference on 4 July – It was agreed that Clerk the Clerk would forward full details of this to Cllr Woodhouse. 35.6 FKS Sports Day on 27 June – Permission sought for a Bar BQ on the playing field Clerk – It was agreed to give permission for the Bar BQ providing that no naked flames were involved, no damage was incurred to the field and everything was left clear and tidy. 35.7 First Aid Course on 30 June – It was suggested that the Clerk should attend this course so that the Council had basic First Aid cover at meetings etc. However it transpired that Cllrs Hitchcock, Scott-Bowden and Milford all held current First Aid qualifications so it was agreed not to persue this matter further. 14/36 Finance 36.1 Payments - The list of payments shown on p7 was approved. 36.2 Receipts - Members noted the following receipts: £3,948 LCTS Grant (Precept top up) from UDC for 2014-15 and £14 Allotment rents. 36.3 Approval of Year End Return for 2013-14 Accounts – The Finance Committee had met immediately prior to the meeting and studied the year end return in detail. Cllr Moore therefore formally proposed acceptance of the Accounting Statements, Governance Statement and Year End Return for 2013-14. This proposal was seconded by Cllr Freeman and agreed unanimously. The Chairman was pleased to note that the Council’s accounting position had improved considerably in recent years and he expressed his thanks to Peter Watson, Diane Smith and John Moore for all their work in this regard. 36.4 Register of Assets – Members discussed the status of the Crix Green Mission Hall and Clerk,Cllrs house whose combined value was estimated at £350,000. It was agreed that the Clerk would Harvey & study Council Minutes from the 1970’s, when it was believed that the matter was previously Woodhouse discussed. The Chairman reported that he had access to the original Trust document and he and Cllr Woodhouse agreed to carry out further investigations to try and clarify the situation. 14/37 37.1 Playing Field Car Park and Footpath repairs Members noted that work on the car park was progressing well and that the Asst Clerk would be meeting the contractors tomorrow (5 June) to discuss the provision of 2 speed humps along Jollyboys Lane North (near Abbeyfield and at the junction of the new surface with the Asst existing roadway). Clerk 37.2 Bannister Green Play Area – Repairs to gaps in rubber tiling under swings The Clerk reported that the test material had worked well and members agreed to the purchase of a further 20 tubes (at £5.25 each plus VAT and delivery charges) to complete the work. It was also agreed that the Clerk should obtain a quotation to install rubber tiles under the baby swings at the play area. Clerk Page 2 of 9 14/38 Pavilion improvements The Clerk opened the two sealed quotations which had been received for this project. The quote from Holmbuild Ltd totalled £11976 and, having added up the figures, the quote from Philip J Reeve totalled £12136. Members discussed the figures and it was proposed by Cllr Thawley, seconded by Cllr Freeman and unanimously agreed that, subject to the Clerk confirming that the quotation from Holmbuild Ltd included all the work specified, their quotation should be accepted. (CLERK’S NOTE: After the meeting the Clerk checked the quotations and because of options within the quote realised that the quotation from Philip J Reeve actually totalled either £9121 (featheredge boarding) or £9601 (shiplap boarding). Because members based the above decision on incorrect information, this item will need to be reconsidered at the next meeting.) 14/39 War Memorial Improvements The Asst Clerk had obtained a quotation for the building work involved in this project. The cost to remove the raised area and re-site the Memorial at ground level surrounded by a chain fence would be £1730. It would then be likely to cost approximately £400 to re-tarmac the area and £500 to clean the Memorial making a total spend in the region of £2630. A local resident had suggested that they might be willing to contribute to the cost of cleaning the Memorial and the Clerk was in discussions with them. The Asst Clerk agreed to investigate Asst Clerk grants which might be available from the War Memorial Trust and members again stressed the necessity to complete the project before Remembrance Sunday. Cllr Scott-Bowden Cllr Scott- agreed to approach a tarmac contractor she knew to provide a quote for this aspect of the Bowden work. 14/40 Notice Boards 40.1 Notice Board at Watch House Green - Members noted that the repairs should be completed by the middle of June. 40.2 New Notice Boards – Members noted that the new notice boards had been constructed and the Clerk was going to inspect them on Monday. It was agreed that the Village Attendant should go ahead and erect all 3 boards as soon as possible. 14/41 Allotments – Tenancy Agreement Clerk The Clerk apologised for not yet having circulated the amended Tenancy Agreement to members and it was agreed to re-consider this item at the next meeting.