MORETON, BOBBINGWORTH & THE LAVERS PARISH COUNCIL Clerk : Mrs Adriana Jones, Ware Farm, The Street, High Roding, Essex, CM6 1NT Tel: 077 377 36365 Email: [email protected] 4th November 2015 You are hereby summoned to attend a Meeting of the Parish Council which will be held on Monday 9th November 2015, in the Moreton Village Hall, Moreton at 7.30pm to transact the business shown in the Agenda below. Adriana Jones Clerk to the Council Members of the public and press are invited to attend this meeting AGENDA 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE To RECEIVE any apologies for absence. 2. OTHER ABSENCES To NOTE any absences for which no apology has been received. 3. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES To APPROVE as a correct record the Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council held on 14th September 2015 and to discuss any matters arising from these minutes, and agree any outstanding actions. 4. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST To RECEIVE any Declarations of Interest by Members. A Member with a personal interest in a matter must consider whether it is a Disclosable Pecuniary, Non Pecuniary or Other Pecuniary Interest, and declare it accordingly. A Member who is unsure as to how to declare their interest should seek independent advice. 5. PARISHIONERS FORUM To RECEIVE questions from members of the public. In accordance with an agreed procedure, the time allocated for public questions shall be limited to 10 minutes or such other period determined by the Chairman of the Meeting. 6. NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING Members to RECEIVE an update. 7. POLICING CHANGES On 7th October 2015, the Chief Constable of Essex Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner made public announcements about the future of the police estate and on a new model of local policing in the county. A brief summary of the changes is listed below: Epping police station is proposed for closure and sale (already closed to members of the public) Ongar police station is being proposed for closure and sale. The front counter of the police station closed to the public in November 2011. The front counter of Waltham Abbey police station closed to the public in November 2011. The decision to formally close the station was taken in September 2014, and it is now being proposed for sale. Loughton police station will remain open however the front counter is proposed for closure to the public from April 2016. Loughton will continue to provide an operational base for local officers to work from, and will house local policing teams, CID, domestic abuse investigation teams, and public protection. It is also proposed that a new Community Policing Team for Epping Forest and Brentwood should be introduced. The Team would be made up of one local policing and partnership inspector, two Sergeants, 10 constables, one dedicated youth officer and seven PCSOs. The team will be locally based and will prioritise protecting people from harm, preventing and reducing crime, bringing criminals to justice, engaging with the public, and ensuring the public are satisfied with the service they receive. The team will work closely with partners to deal with all aspects of neighbourhood policing, from tackling night-time economy related violence to responding to emerging crime trends. They will not deal with low level non-policing matters such as long-term neighbourhood disputes, low level anti-social behaviour and parking issues, but will work alongside partners, for example the local authority and Community Safety Partnership, who will address these matters. Under proposals, currently under consultation with affected staff, 19 of the 26 PCSOS jobs in Epping Forest & Brentwood may be removed and the affected staff would be retained as PCSOs, redeployed elsewhere in the force or made redundant. It is proposed that the new Community Policing Team for Epping Forest & Brentwood would retain seven PCSO jobs. The Community Policing Teams will hold monthly Local Community Meetings where residents can raise their crime-related concerns. Street meets will be discontinued. A period of consultation with affect staff members is currently underway, together with public engagement. Councillor Gary Waller, Safer, Greener and Transport Portfolio Holder at Epping Forest District Council made an announcement on the future of policing in the Epping Forest district at cabinet on 8 October 2015 as follows: I am sure that that members are already aware of the announcements which the Chief Constable and the Police and Crime Commissioner made on Tuesday about the future of policing in Essex. In short, there are 2 reasons why the shape of policing in our county is changing. First, crime is evolving, with more emphasis on the need to prevent and deal with crimes like sexual exploitation and domestic abuse, as well as telephone and online fraud, the extent of which is in my view greatly underestimated. Second, there are unprecedented financial pressures on the police. The Essex force has already saved £40 million, but is still expected to save a further £60 million over the next 5 years. We cannot argue with these facts and those figures. We just have to ensure that adaptations are made to ensure that together the police and their community safety partners can work as effectively as possible to combat crime and disorder. As far as this district is concerned, the most visible changes will be the closure of Epping police station and the loss of the public counter at Loughton police station. In reality, the impacts will not be as great as some people fear. For instance, Epping is no longer an operational hub, and the operational base will continue at Loughton. Community policing is not coming to an end. On the contrary, new community policing teams are being established to protect people from harm and to prevent crime. Few people these days use police stations. Over 2 separate months, the records show that 744 people visited Loughton’s front counter, and only 381 at Epping – and only a handful were to report crime. Those numbers compare with 6,389 at Harlow. Going forward, it’s essential that alternatives must be provided, so that those things that could only be done by visiting a police station – reporting a crime, for instance – can be done in other ways. On Friday next week, I and officers concerned with community safety matters will be meeting with the divisional police commander. We want to explore, for instance, whether it might be possible to develop the idea of co-location – making a contact point available via the district council. We are fortunate to have one of the most effective community safety teams in the county, and that will undoubtedly be of benefit. I want to place emphasis on innovative and low- tech means of communicating with the public, bearing in mind that those who do not have access to broadband are often the most vulnerable in our society. The Police and Crime Commissioner has urged everyone to find solutions to the undoubted problems that change will bring. Everyone should be aware that the district council and the Community Safety Partnership are ready to participate in the engagement process in the most positive way possible. For 2015/2016 financial year, Nick Alston, Essex Police and Crime Commissioner, recommended a precept increase of 1.996%, equivalent to an increase of £2.88 a year from 2 £144.27 to £147.15 for a Band D property for 2015/2016, thus raising £1.7m of additional council tax receipts. This was subsequently agreed (please see attached publicity leaflet). Nick Alston will be present at the Local Councils' Liaison Committee meeting on Monday 16th November to address Local Councils regarding this issue. Councillors are asked to CONSIDER what these changes will be mean for the Parish, and what, if anything, the Council should/can do. 8. REPORTS To RECEIVE any questions emanating from any reports from Councillors who wish to give a report and/or who are representatives on Committees, Working Groups, Outside Bodies and other meetings that Councillors or the Clerk have attended and which, if available, will be reproduced if they have been submitted by Councillors for inclusion a) BOBBINGWORTH NATURE RESERVE b) DISTRICT / COUNTY COUNCILLOR REPORTS c) PARISH COUNCILLOR REPORTS 9. HIGHWAYS a) Councillors are asked to NOTE the following updates: Low kerb between Gould Close and White Hart, Moreton - Awaiting confirmation of scheduled date for works. b) Notice of Road Closures The planned road closures for November 2015 to January 2016 are attached to the agenda. c) Local Highways Panel At the 17th September 2015 meeting of the Local Highways Panel, the following updates were received: Watery Lane, Little Laver - Implement Quiet Lane - Following the feasibility study, the report stated that all the criteria is met for a Quiet Lane, however there were less than 1000 vehicles over 7days, only 1.9% of HGVs over 7days. Installing signage would be deemed street clutter on a road that is self enforced, and as such this was given a RED status, meaning it was against ECC Criteria. However, the minutes of the meeting state that this was changed to Green status with a delivery cost. LEPP132040 - Bobbingworth Mill - Feasibility Study for village gateways / speed signage for village -Following the feasibility study, the report stated that the gateway features can be installed but the speed limit reduction is against policy. The average daily speed was 31.2mph. The proposed section of road is approximately 240m long and therefore less than the recommended speed limit implementation minimum allowable length of 350m as detailed in the Essex Speed Management Strategy and Department for Transport’s circular 01/2013. This project has a GREEN status, meaning it remains on the list for consideration.