Herongate and Ingrave Issue 18 Let’s make 2016 a special year for Herongate and Ingrave villages This edition of our newsletter holds lots of information about forthcoming events for this summer. What with our busy lives, the recent green belt consultations, a pending EU referendum, traffic irritations, tragic events around the world, and other pressures we have had to contend with, now is the time to join together in fun and celebration. High on the list of events is a STREET PARTY To celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday. On - 11th June – at Ingrave Johnstone School fields—– see details and booking form on page 20. HOG ROAST at St Nicholas Church-26th June Flower Show in September 28th May Craft Fair at St Andrews Methodist Church …and many more great things to do. Joining together in these activities helps to pull us back into a community. We’ve done it before: Olympic torch, Royal Wedding, planting trees and so on. So let’s do it again. Celebrate, relax and create memories. Herongate & Ingrave Parish Council Cllr. & Chairman. Alan Kingsford 1 www.herongateandingravepc.org.uk 2 www.herongateandingravepc.org.uk USING FACEBOOK TO VIEW PARISH COUNCIL INFORMATION You may be aware of 2 Facebook sites with similar names, currently active within Herongate and Ingrave. They are: ‘Herongate and Ingrave Parish News’, (HIPNews) web address https://www.facebook.com/ groups/823528831027428/ ‘Herongate and Ingrave- Save our Villages’. (HI-SOV) web address https://www.facebook.com/ groups/788394311197472/ It has come to our notice there has been some confusion about who is the administrator for both or either site, who can use them, what control is in place to monitor information for accuracy etc. Both sites have the interest of the neighbourhood and residents in mind. However, they do come from two entirely different sources. Herongate and Ingrave Parish Council is the source of HIPNews. This Facebook is a Closed Group. On its front page it states “This page has been set up by the members of the Herongate and Ingrave Parish Council, to help keep people up to date with local and wider issues and events. This is the link to HIPNews Facebook It was started as another method of communicating to residents on affairs and events that directly affect our neighbourhood. It links from HIPC website, providing information stemming from public meetings, or directly from Brentwood Borough Council, or Essex County Council, that needs to be shared with the residents. Public are, of course, entitled to respond to these items. It is not meant to be a debating platform, and for a valid reason. All debates and opinions that a Parish Council wish to have or make about council matters, should only be debated at public meetings, to be minuted and voice recorded, as per the regulations we operate under, ie local government legislation. Any statements have to be clarified via the Parish clerk. HI-SOV Facebook is entirely different. On its front page it states: “This group has been put together to inform local residents of any planned building proposals (Dunton Garden Suburb). Details of any consultations etc. which will affect Herongate/Ingrave residents & predominantly protect our Greenbelt”. It was created by a resident/s for the purposes of discussion, chatting, campaigns, and sharing information that may or may not be totally relevant to the neighbourhood. Like other Facebooks, HI-SOV can be very relaxed, open and vocal. It has led the Save Our Green belt issue, and a campaign to reduce traffic speed. Some of the comments have been informative or blunt, some of the expressions ‘fired from the hip’. But, ultimately, members of it are accountable only to themselves, though overseen by the administrator who manages it. The problem that has arisen for the Parish Council is, some residents believe that the comments on HI-SOV are coming from Parish Council, or that councillors should be engaging with HI-SOV Facebook in their official capacity. Of course, Parish Councillors who wish to participate on HI-SOV as a resident, have the same right to do so as anyone else. But it is important to understand that in a professional capacity a Parish Councillor’s comments would need to be restricted to repeating news items from our own Facebook, HIPNews. Monthly Parish Council meetings are the forum for public questions, debates and propositions. The Council welcomes all residents to our meetings; the dates, times and venues are listed on our website and in this newsletter. Cllr. Chair Alan Kingsford 3 www.herongateandingravepc.org.uk MARK KELLY - NEW COUNCILLOR CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 2016 APPOINTED TO H&I PARISH COUNCIL On February 24th I was co-opted The past year has seen a considerable amount of to join the Parish Council. As a concern over the threat to green belt by development newly appointed Councillor I within the boundaries of Brentwood. thought I might tell you all a Following Brentwood Borough elections and a change little about myself as an of administration, residents were invited to participate introduction to who I am, what in another local development plan consultation my aims are. process, to establish what we wanted or did not want, Now 58 years old I have lived in for the future of housing and development in Brentwood for 22 years and in Brentwood, especially Herongate and Ingrave. Herongate for 18 months. I am This consultation is an ongoing process and to date we a retired police officer having are no further forward in knowing what Brentwood served with the Metropolitan police for 30years. I work Borough Council’s decision will be regarding the part time now as a London Black Taxi driver and as a building of 5600 homes. Taxi Tour Guide Earlier this year we received notice of an intended I love the village and the community feel it has, and am passionate about our green belt and road Lower Thames Crossing. There were several routes safety. Since moving to Herongate I have supported suggested, and residents were consulted about the my wife Jane in the 20's Plenty Campaign to reduce viability of one route over another. traffic speed, and have been active in challenging the Needless to say many of us were against any crossing development at Hillcrest. that ran too close Herongate and Ingrave. As far as hobbies and interests go, I am interested in The Parish Council have responded to both the history of London, and you can also see me consultations, strongly objecting to green belt walking my dog Marley, a cocker spaniel, through the destruction, and a Lower Thames Crossing. village and its many green areas. Hillcrest’s planning application for flats and car- I am looking forward to working with the Parish Council parking at the school, was finally rejected by the promoting local matters whenever I can throughout government inspectorate. It was judged to have no the area. ‘special circumstances’ to warrant this development. As a Councillor I have been allocated the following Policing has been reduced in Brentwood, including the area of responsibility: removal of our PCSO. However, plans are afoot to Donovan Gdns, through Billericay Road, Herongate Tye house police contact points in the Town Hall and including Blind Lane and some of Dunton Road. library. I can be contacted by email: Parish Councillors have been allocated areas of [email protected],uk responsibility – see page 17. This means residents Or through the Parish Council website can contact their nominated councillor to discuss http://www.herongateandingravepc.org.uk/ using the concerns and issues. link ‘Contact Herongate and Ingrave Council’. The Parish Councillors are looking forward to an Or tel: 07835 925655 exciting year celebrating the Queen’s 90th birthday. We Cllr. Mark Kelly hope you can all make the street party – see page 20. Remember to look at our notice boards and Facebook - Herongate and Ingrave Parish News - as well as our website to keep up to date with local matters. http:// www.herongateandingravepc.org.uk/ Herongate and Ingrave Parish Council will continue to work with and for the interests of the villages and residents. Cllr and Chairman Alan Kingsford 4 www.herongateandingravepc.org.uk More Progress on the Broadband Front Since the last Newsletter was published there have that will become available very soon. The targets for been a number of announcements from Superfast the service are those businesses and homes that are Essex affecting our area. These include an updated unable to take advantage of the present fibre and schedule for the implementation of Superfast copper linked service being currently installed, due broadband in the various parts of our villages and usually, to the remoteness of the location. some details of possible approaches to the problems Fibre to the Premises: of the more remote areas. Essex Superfast has sponsored a pilot project in The Schedule: eastern Epping District to test the practicality of All parts of our two villages will be provided with a linking the broadband service directly to a business minimum broadband service of 2 Mbs (megabits per or home; the slow final copper links would be totally second) before 2020. removed using this approach. The broadband Herongate north and east, will have fibre broadband service resulting can be lightning fast with better available by June 2019. This is a major step forward reliability thrown in. The pilot is not so much testing because, until this announcement was made, there the technology involved, this is well understood, were no plans at all for Herongate to be upgraded. rather the economics and practicality of the Herongate south will be offered fibre broadband by approach is under examination.