4th July 2006 - DRAFT MINUTES

 

 

 

 

Minutes of the MEETING of the BIRDBROOK PARISH COUNCIL which was  held on Tuesday,  4th July 2006,  in the  Community House, Birdbrook at 7.30pm.

 


PRESENT                  Cllr Mrs H Hodge      Chairman

Cllrs:  D Hoye, R Kirby

 

Public                          Nil

 

In attendance             Susan De Luca – Clerk

                                   

 

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

There were no public present

 

 

06.18   APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

 

Apologies were RECEIVED  from Cllrs R Walker, R Bolton, T Fenner and W Rook.

 

06.19   ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN  FOR THIS MEETING

 

Nomination:  Cllr Mrs H Hodge PROPOSED by Cllr R D Hoye and SECONDED by Cllr R Kirby.

 

 

06.20   DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 

 

There were no declarations of interest.

 

 

06.21   CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 

        The Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on 2nd May 2006 had been circulated,  they were declared a true record of the meeting and were signed by the Chairman.

 

06.22   REPORT OF THE CLERK

Members RECEIVED the oral report of the Clerk on the following matters

 

a)    Highway Matters

(i)   Responses from ECC Highways regarding a Speed Survey

Members NOTED the continuing correspondence it was AGREED that the Clerk would confirm to Essex County Council that the best site for the speed loop survey was outside Parkers Garden Centre

 

(ii)  Vehicle Activated Signs & Speed

       Indicator Devices (SIDs)

It was AGREED that this would be placed on the next Agenda

 

 

(iii) Winter Service Review

Members NOTED the documentation from Essex County Council, it was AGREED that the Clerk contact ECC Highways and ask if the Yellow Salt Bin on the triangle of grass by Fell Road could be moved to a less conspicuous location.

 

(iv)  ECC Local Transport Plan

Members NOTED receipt of this document

 

b) BDC Activity Day in Birdbrook –

Members NOTED that the14th August – was the date agreed that the BDC would hold the Activity in the Community House.  Cllr D Hoye would open and close the Community House.  The Clerk would confirm these times with him as soon as they had been received from BDC.

c)     Play Area Equipment Funding

The Clerk confirmed receipt of a further grant, this was for £300 and had been received from the Halstead Youth Initiative Fund.

 

The Clerk had compiled and submitted a grant application to the Braintree Rural Initiatives Fund.  Details of who had been successful would be released after the 12th July.

d) Grass and Verge Cutting

Two quotations had been received.  It was AGREED that Mr S Price of Yew Tree Farm would be the Councils contractor for the verge cutting for the year 2006-7.

 

The Council would contact the contractor who had been unsuccessful and ask him to meet Cllr R Walker on his return to discuss a further quote for the next Council year.

 

 

 

06.23     FINANCIAL MATTERS

 

a)  Members APPROVED the Cheque List and  Accounts which the Clerk had circulated and   which had been compiled up to 30 June 06 .

 

06.24       COMMUNICATIONS & CORREPONDENCE

 

Members NOTED the following correspondence and communications which had been 2received by the Clerk.

 

Parish Cluster Meeting – A report was given by Cllr D Hoye who had attended the meeting as the Council ‘s representative.  It was NOTED that Birdbrook would be hosting the October Meeting of the Cluster.  The Clerk confirmed that she would organise the Transport Survey Forms and copies of the Analysis.  These would then be made available for Councils who attend the Cluster and who would be interested in undertaking the Survey.  The Clerk would liaise with Cllr R Walker on his return.

 

EALC County Updates &  Associated Information

- These were tabled

BDC Agendas & Minutes – These were tabled

RCCE – AGM – This was tabled

RCCE - Notice of Grant for Noticeboards – £700 had been received

 

ECC Making the Links: May & June – These were tabled

University of Aberystwyth – Quality Councils

The Clerk would complete the questionnaire which had been recognised by other Quality Councils as being very lengthy and time consuming.

St Augustine’s Church – The Clerk read out a Thank You Letter

 

BDC – Talking Transfer (Housing) {CDs}

These were tabled

EON Energy – Price Increase Street Lighting – this was being increased by £4.98 per month

Contact Road Show – The ECC Contact Road Show Bus will be in attendance on the 10th August from 7.15pm, outside the Community House.

 

6.25     REPORTS

 

Members RECEIVED brief reports on the following matters:

 

 

Essex Police -  A copy of a report from PC Bernie Tompsett had been circulated and was NOTED

 

Passenger Transport Meeting – The Clerk reported on the meeting that she had attended in Cllr R Walkers absence

 

Play Parks –Members agreed that the Monitoring Sheets for the Play Areas were extremely beneficial.

 

 

Pond – Members noted the email that had been received from a resident regarding oil and dumping of rubbish in the pond.  The residue on the bond was not oil but a culmulation of weather conditions which seemed to give the appearance of oil. It was agreed that the pond needed to dragged to remove any media which had been deposited.  In this regard it was agreed that two sets of Waders would be purchased.

 

Overall the condition of the pond was very healthy and thanks were given to Councillors Hoye, Fenner and Kirby for all their hard work.

 

 

Bus Shelter The repairs had now been completed, the Clerk would shortly receive a bill for the materials

 

6.26     DOCUMENTS ON DEPOSIT

Members NOTED that the following documents had been received by the Clerk

 

Standards of Conduct in English Local Government – The Future

NOTED

Commissioning a Patient Led NHS

NOTED – The Clerk would ask that the Council was kept apprised of the situation on a regular basis

 

 

6.27     PLANNING APPLICATIONS 

 

a)         Members NOTED   the following planning application which had been received and noted the comments made

 

App No                06/00830/out

Location                Baythorne Hall Offices, Baythorne End

Proposal                Conversion of Vacant Offices to Residential Unit

COMMENTS       The Parish Council Supports this application

 

(The Clerk has delegated powers to respond to planning applications between meetings)  

.

 

b)         No other applications had been received for the Council to consider.

 

c)         DECISIONS BY BRAINTREE DISTRICT COUNCIL

 

            Members NOTED the following planning decisions:

 

GRANTED

App No                06/00617/ful

Location                4 Chadwells, Fell Road

Proposal                Replacement of existing garage with a garage of increased height and width

                            

6.28         PLANNING CORRESPONDENCE

           

Members NOTED a letter from BDC regarding comments on planning applications. In order to assist the District Council, local councils were being asked to ensure that the narrative reflected a simple No Objection rather than A Support this would then ensure that applications could be decided by officer delegation rather than going to a planning committee.  Obviously if the Council had concerns then these should be reported in the normal manner.

 

6.29      OTHER URGENT BUSINESS

 

Play Park at Birdbrook Village

 

a)    The grass needs to be cut at Birdbrook.

     

b)      Concern had been expressed at the lack of safety measures regarding access over the play area by vehicles during a recent function which had been held at an adjacent property.  The Clerk would contact Liz Filbey and voice the Councils concern and also ask for a copy of the lease that the Council has with the Community House

END