|
|
|
|
HENHAM PARISH COUNCIL Minutes (Unadopted) of Meeting Held on: 2nd September 2010 At: OSCA, Henham Present: Cllrs. Mr N. Baker (Chairman), Mrs K. George-Lafferty, Ms. M.Pennino, Mr D. Sturgeon, Mrs M. Lohmeyer, Mr O. Griffiths, Dist. Cllr. Mrs C. Dean, Dist. Cllr Mr D. Morson, Dr P. Dondi (Clerk) 1. Apologies for Absence Cllrs. Mr D. Bishop, Mr J. Pimblett, Mr S. Lee, County Cllr Mr R. Gooding, 2. Approval of the Minutes of the Last Meeting Minutes of the July 2010 meeting were approved and signed. 3. Matters Arising a) Cllr. Griffiths has sent details of the land requirement for the new bus shelter to the owner of land on the west side of Old Mead Lane. Response received from owner, Mrs Goldman, who is sympathetic to the request. She is taking advice from her solicitor and will respond in due course. Update from Cllr Griffiths – Mrs Goldman has responded and is happy to lease a suitable plot of land; Cllr Griffiths has contacted Highways Dept. regarding funding, but the response was somewhat negative, with the current economic environment cited as the reason for funding being difficult. Cllr Giffiths will continue to push for funding. b) Parking and yellow line extension on the bend at the top of Crow Street and the junction with School Lane. Cllr Griffiths will investigate the possibility of having the lines extended beyond their current limits. Update – Cllr Griffiths still awaiting response from Highways on this matter. c) Bus Park near Elsenham Station. Cllr Dean subsequently clarified the situation in an email on 10 May 2010, advising that this site is currently subject to enforcement action. Cllr Dean will check on latest situation regarding the enforcement order. Update from Cllr Dean (17 August 2010) - the enforcement team has set in motion the serving of a notice on the landowner to clear the site. Whilst this is good news, the process can be a long one, so we will keep the site under observation. d) Cllr Bishop - details received from UDC – request for comments on application by 24 June 2010 – The Barn Pledgdon Green – change of use of existing offices in barn to one dwelling. Ref UTT/0851/10/FUL. Cllr Lohmeyer advised that she thought the changes looked acceptable, and had not received any comments from other residents. Update from Cllr Lohmeyer (17 August 2010) – planning application refused. However, the reasoning behind this refusal was based on the owner’s apparent lack of activity in trying to let the offices; there is now a “To Let” sign on display at the site. e) Letter received from “architecture & design services ltd.” Re: proposed development at Land adjacent Grind Hall, Woodend Green, Henham and planning permission application by Mr Lee Bowden for sheltered housing 12nr 1 bed bungalows and 8nr 2 bed bungalows. Scan of letter emailed to HPC councillors on 8 June 2010. Henham Parish Council (HPC) have lodged an objection to this development. The details of the objection have been submitted to Uttlesford DC Planning department by HPC’s retained consultant. f) Correspondence from Vernon Muskett re speed limits in Old Mead Road through to B1383. Cllr Gooding advised that Ugley are trying to have speed limits applied at North Hall Road. Cllr Griffiths will contact Highways to get their reaction and input to this request. Update – Cllr Griffiths has not received a response from the Highways dept. The Chairman will discuss this with colleagues from Ugley PC to understand their experiences in trying to address this issue. g) Cllr Pennino had sent an email advising that it had been reported to her that the grass opposite Woodend Green is not being cut – this will be investigated further. Update – investigation by Cllr Pennino and the Chairman indicates that the grass is being cut effectively in this area. h) Cllr. George-Lafferty enquired whether a flagpole erected in a resident’s garden required planning permission. Cllr Dean will investigate. Update – Cllr Dean confirmed that erecting a flagpole does not require planning permission. i) Cllr Pimblett advised that the round bench outside the pub needs painting and possible repair. He also asked whether the pub could use the green opposite for siting tables and chairs for use by customers. It was agreed that he should investigate the insurance issues and whether the pub owner would cover all insurance eventualities under their policy, before any further consideration could be given to this request. Update – the round bench has been refurbished. The owner of the Cock has advised that seating on the green opposite is not currently required. 4. Reports and Recommendations (i) Greens and Village Estate Report submitted by Nick Baker
· The allotment rentals have been sent out. There is a request from one allotment owner to keep bees. The allotment owner who sought and was given permission to keep chickens has identified a suitable area. Another allotment owner has made a similar request and identified a suitable area. All allotments are rented and there is no waiting list at present. It was agreed that bee keeping was a potential benefit and no objections were raised; the Chairman will advise the relevant allotment tenant accordingly. (ii) Finance Cheques received – Henham Cemetery £40, £77, £36 Accounts for Payment August 2010 Mower Services £ 893.00 Clerk’s fee (July 2010) £ 208.33 P. Doughty £ 330.00 September 2010 Clerk’s fee (August 2010) £ 208.33 Mower Services (grass cutting 18/8 and 31/8) £ 893.00 P. Doughty £ 105.00 (iii) Liaison Cllr Lohmeyer (17 August 2010) - now has the salt bin (kindly donated by Viridor), and it should be in position by late August, ready to be filled. The Chairman will progress the supply of the bin to be sited near the White (iv) Planning Application received for Dormer Windows, 9 Mill Road (details distributed to relevant councilors). No objections raised by HPC 5. Proposed Housing Development at Elsenham Report of the meeting of the JPCSG held at the Memorial Hall, Elsenham on 1st Sept 2010, given by Cllr Sturgeon:- 1. The consultation results are now publish and can be viewed on the Save our Village website. The results show 64% against an Option 4 development at Elsenham. 2. There is an Environment Committee meeting at The UDC Council Chambers on Tuesday the 7th September at 19.30 hours where the results will be presented. Since the start of the consultation the Local Government Minister has written to all District Councils asking them to ignore all top down housing figures passed down from the last Government 3. This means the UDC are now free to set their own housing figures based on District needs. UDC planning officers are recommending that the whole LDF process is now parked whilst an appraisal of housing needs is carried out. This is likely to be completed in the autumn of 2011. 4. Whilst the JPCSG think this is a sensible approach they would prefer that the existing discredited LDF is scrapped and a new LDF is started once the figures for housing needs across Uttlesford are agreed by UDC. (Cllrs Dean and Morson will be pushing in favour of this proposal). 5. We would also like to see co-operation between the political parties on UDC to resolve the issues and work in harmony with the Town and Parish Councils to find a satisfactory conclusion to the housing issue. 6. Nick Baker, Chair of JPCSG will address the Environment Committee at the meeting on the 7th. 6. Correspondence and Notices Correspondence Letters sent a) To Theresa Villiers MP, Minister of State for Transport, in support of on-going Stop Stansted Expansion Never Again campaign. b) To Allotment Tenants for annual rents. Letters received:- a) From Sir Alan Hazelhurst acknowledging that he is aware of the content of the letter sent to Theresa Villiers regarding the SSE Never Again campaign. b) From Chris Swain – advising that the new UDC Planning requirements, relating to paving or paths, impose a need to seek planning permission for any area laid with impenetrable material, greater than 5 square meters (e.g. 2 x 3 metres). Notifications a) From UDC Enforcement Officer – Alledged Breach of Planning Control – Airport Related Parking, The Depot, Old Mead Road, Henham – allegation investigated, no evidence found, no further action, file closed. b) From Uttlesford District Council regarding Community Governance Review (see below) c) Intermediate Audit Return – correction of “date box” in Section 2, with subsequent re-approval by the Council. (This was duly corrected and will be re-submitted by 7th September 2010). d) Uttlesford CAB Energy Project – ideas to attract a suitable volunteer for Energy awareness project. Details distributed to Dragon and Website. 7. Community Governance Review Formerly known as a parish review –details had been distributed to councilors for their views prior to the meeting. The main thrust of the review related to boundary changes, which would not impact upon Henham. Also, the recommended number of councilors for HPC is 9, which is the current establishment of the council. Thus, it was decided that HPC should maintain the status quo and this would be communicated to the UDC Democratic and Electoral Services Manager for the Chief Executive before 30 September 2010. 8. Governance Documents The Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, Risk Assessment and Policy Objectives documents are now under review and any proposals for change will be discussed and considered for adoption in the next few months. 9. Any other business Cllr Lohmeyer – speed issues on the road into Elsenham (near gravel pit). There have been a number of crashes recently and parishioners have asked if something can be done. Cllrs Dean and Morson have tried to get something done about this in the past and will follow-up on the issue again. Cllr Lohmeyer – intends to attend the EALC AGM presentation on Minerals and Waste policy (29 September). Cllr Pennino – reported that some dog owners are leaving “litter” bags (plus contents) hanging on some trees on village footpaths. At this point, it is difficult for HPC to know how to police this deviant behaviour. Cllr Lee (submitted via email prior to meeting) - It has been reported to me that the balance beams outside Osca are in need of some maintenance, apparently the footings are loose and so the beams move. Could we get the guy who is maintaining the benches to take a look and take remedial action The Chairman will follow this up. Emergency Plan – Henham Parish Councillors wish to express their thanks to Bill Bates for his time and expertise in producing the latest issue of the Emergency Plan (a detailed document of some 59 pages) and to Trevor Judd for the production of the numerous copies at no charge to HPC. 10. Date of Next Meeting Annual Parish meeting Thursday 7 October, 7.00pm at OSCA, followed by Council meeting. Philip Dondi, Clerk |
Click on the
button to send an e-mail with your comments and contributions Site Manager |
