1

ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN

To ELECT the Chairman of the Council for the year 2015/16.

The Chairman will then execute the Declaration of Acceptance of Office as Chairman.

2

APPOINTMENT OF VICE CHAIRMAN

To APPOINT the Vice Chairman of the Council for the year 2015/16.

3

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

To RECEIVE any apologies for absence.

4

COUNCILLORS’ DECLARATIONS OF ACCEPTANCE OF OFFICE

If, following the election, some councillors have not yet executed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, to DECIDE the date by which those declarations must be made.

5

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

To APPROVE the minutes of the special meeting of the parish council held on 16 April 2015 as a correct record.

6

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

6.1

Councillors to DECLARE any disclosable or other pecuniary interest or other interest in any items on the agenda, in accordance with the adopted Code of Conduct.

Pecuniary or other interests should be declared at this time, or at any point in the meeting where they become apparent.

Councillors must inform the Monitoring Officer of Chelmsford City Council, via the Clerk, within 28 days of becoming aware of any change in their pecuniary or other interests. Members are reminded to check that the information contained on their Register of Interests forms remains up-to-date.

6.2

DISPENSATIONS

S31(4) states that a member may not participate in any discussion or vote upon a matter, at the meeting, in which he/she has a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Requests for dispensation must be made in writing to the Clerk.

6.2.1

To CONSIDER any requests for dispensation from the provisions of S31(4) of the Localism Act 2011.

6.2.2

GENERAL DISPENSATIONS

Agreement to general dispensations only lasts until the first meeting after an election. Therefore the general dispensations granted in the previous term of office need to be renewed.

The council is asked to AGREE the following general dispensations to save them being considered every time the topics come up. This will enable all councillors to participate in discussions and votes on these matters, without requesting a dispensation on every occasion.

1          Payments

            Where the matter relates to an allowance, payment or indemnity given to all councillors, including payments of expenses and Chairman’s allowance.

2          Precept

            Where the matter relates to the setting of the council’s precept

3          These general dispensations to last until the annual meeting of the council following the next ordinary elections.

7

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

To RECEIVE questions from members of the public.

In accordance with the agreed procedure public questions will be taken and shall be limited to a maximum of 15 minutes or such other period as may be determined by the Chairman of the meeting.

8

VACANCIES ON THE COUNCIL

Despite articles in the parish magazine encouraging people to stand for election to the parish council, there were insufficient candidates at the recent election to fill all seven seats on the council. There are now two vacancies. The council is permitted to fill the vacancies by co-option.

Applications for co-option were invited in the May parish magazine. Notices were also placed on the council’s noticeboards. Sadly no applications for co-option have been received. A further article inviting applications has been placed in the June magazine and notices will be put on the noticeboards again.

9

REPORTS

To RECEIVE brief reports on the following matters.

Chelmsford City Council

City Cllr N Chambers

Essex County Council

Cty Cllr J Aldridge

Community Agent

J Pike

Play park, Edney Common

Play park is currently closed.

Village Hall

To appoint a new representative

Footpaths/Public Rights of Way

D Taylor

10

REPORT OF THE CLERK

To RECEIVE the report of the clerk.

1

Annual Parish Assembly

The statutory agenda was placed in noticeboards and on the website, along with a small poster which included more information about the nature and purpose of the meeting. An advertisement was also placed in the parish magazine in two consecutive months.

2

Society of Local Council Clerks Essex Branch Training Day

I attended this on 19 March 2015, and heard some very interesting and useful presentations on topics including insurance, proposed audit/accountability requirements, and employment issues.

3

Notice of Audit

The statutory notices have been placed in the noticeboards in accordance with deadlines as is required.

4

HMRC annual returns for PAYE and VAT

These have been successfully submitted before the statutory deadline. Payroll for the new tax year has been started.

5

Elections 2015

Notices for all the elections as supplied by Chelmsford City Council were placed in the noticeboards.

The five elected parish councillors have been issued with a CD with useful information on it, and have been asked to complete various formalities.

6

Grass cutting contract

Invitations to quote were sent to ten companies. Five replied with quotes. The contract was awarded to D W Maintenance for an annual cost of £450 (ex VAT). This company carries out work for a number of parish councils, who have expressed satisfaction.

The first cut (of the play area at Edney Common and the grass area behind the village hall) was carried out on 7 May. As it was a late start to the season, the cut was difficult, but the next one will be easier and will improve over time.

7

Survey, play area at rear of village hall

Cllr Sargent drew up the first ideas for the survey. This has been incorporated in a questionnaire which will be distributed by the school, at the Annual Parish Assembly, at CatchUp Café in June, and in the June edition of the parish magazine.

A copy is attached for information.

8

New social rented housing at “The Nest”

The Housing Services Manager at CCC emailed me to ask about putting an article in the parish magazine explaining how to apply for one of these properties. I put him in touch with the editor and also saw the proposed article.

9

Automatic Pension Enrolment

Under the new regulations, all employers are required to enrol eligible employees into a pension scheme. Automatic enrolment depends on the employee’s age and earnings. In the case of Highwood Parish Council, the earnings of the clerk mean that automatic enrolment does not apply, but the council would be required to provide a pension scheme if the clerk requested it. It seems likely that the council is required to set up a pension scheme regardless of whether anyone wants to join it. Further advice is being sought from the Pensions Regulator. The most straightforward way to comply initially with the set date of 1 June 2015 is to join the national NEST (National Employment Savings Trust) scheme. Further consideration can then be given subsequently to alternative schemes, such as the Local Government Pension Scheme, which is administered by Essex County Council.

11

FINANCE

11.1

Accounts for payment

To APPROVE the accounts for payment (list will be available at the meeting).

11.2

To NOTE the account balances as at 4 May 2015.

11.3

To REVIEW the council’s risk assessment and management document. A copy has been circulated to councillors.

11.4

Annual Return 2014/15

The Annual Return comprises the council’s accounts for 2014/15. A copy of the blank form has been circulated; also Section 1, completed.

The council is asked to AGREE Section 1 for submission to the external auditor, PKF Littlejohn.

Section 2 is the Annual Governance Statement and the council is asked to CONSIDER and DECIDE its answers to the questions posed.

Section 4 is the report of the internal auditor. The accounts are currently with the internal auditor and it is hoped her report will be available in time for the meeting. If so, the council will be asked to NOTE this.

Notice of the public’s right to inspect the accounts has been given as is required.

As the Annual Return is very basic, additional information which is more useful to the council has also been circulated.

11.5

Internal audit report

It is hoped that this will be available and circulated before the meeting, with any recommendations from the internal auditor.

11.6

Review and renewal of council’s insurance

The invitation to renew the council’s insurance has been forwarded to councillors for information. The council has come to the end of the current long term agreement. The cost of renewal is £278.95, which is reduced to £265.00 if a further long term agreement is made to 31 May 2018. This maintains the premium at the same level as before.

For information, the council’s cover is as below:

Public Liability                         £10,000,000 Limit of Indemnity

Hirers’ Liability                         £5,000,000 Limit of Indemnity

Employer’s Liability                 £10,000,000 Limit of Indemnity

Officials’ Indemnity                  £500,000 Limit of Indemnity

Libel and Slander                    £250,000 Limit of Indemnity

Money                          Non-negotiable £250,000

                                                Negotiable Money – Premises £1,000

                                                Negotiable Money – Any Other Loss  £1,000

Fidelity Guarantee                   £150,000 Limit of Indemnity

Keyman Cover                        £400 per week up to a maximum of 26 weeks

Increased Cost of Working     £10,000 Limit of Indemnity

Loss of Revenue                     £10,000 Limit of Indemnity

Commercial Legal Protection £100,000 Limit of Indemnity

Office Equipment                    £5,000

Personal Accident (age 16-90) Capital Benefits £50,000

                                                Temporary Total Disablement £200pw

Motor Policy No Claims          No Claims Discount up to £250

Discount and Loss of Excess Loss of Excess up to £250

The council’s property, other than office equipment, is not insured for damage, theft etc. The question of insuring the garages is still not resolved.

I hope to have another quote for comparison by the time of the meeting.

11.7

Cheque signatories

To confirm cheque signatories/on-line banking authorisations for 2015/16.

2014/15 signatories were Cllrs Cameron, Horsnell, Latham and Pipkin. As A Pipkin is no longer a councillor, an additional signatory is required.

12

HIGHWAY MATTERS REPORTED BY COUNCILLORS

1          Speeding Traffic (standing item)

13

COMMUNICATIONS AND CORRESPONDENCE

To RECEIVE such communications and correspondence as the Clerk may place before the Council.

14

DISTRIBUTION BAG

None

15

DOCUMENTS ON DEPOSIT

To RECEIVE notice of the following documents received by or deposited with the Clerk.

None.

16

PLANNING APPLICATIONS

a)

To NOTE the parish council’s comments made on planning applications between meetings.

App. no.

15/00399/FUL

Location

Longfield, Cooksmill Green

Proposal

Replacement timber fence and entrance gates and new laurel hedge in front of fence to front boundary

Comment

No objection

App. no.

15/00389/FUL

Location

Wyses Cottage, Wyses Road

Proposal

Part first floor, part single storey side and rear extensions, and external alterations

Comment

No objection

App. no.

14/00806/MAT/1

Location

Fidlers Moat, Loves Green

Proposal

Material amendment to planning permission 14/00806/FUL (Ancillary building, stables and the conversion of garage roof space including two dormers and an external staircase & door) to re-site the ancillary building

Comment

No objection

App. no.

15/00604/FUL

Location

Oak Lodge, Loves Green

Proposal

Commercial use of site area for storage of vans for sale. Retention of new gates to existing entrance to site. Relocation of existing storage containers to within site curtilage & retention of container.

Comment

The council objects to this application for the following reasons:

This site is a domestic residence and should remain as such; it should not be used for commercial purposes. The site seems to be incorporating an ever-expanding business, which is inappropriate in the rural surroundings. The proposal is too extensive for a village setting. The increased traffic will have a significant adverse effect on the village, which already suffers from a surfeit of vehicles, including heavy lorries, passing through, often in excess of the speed limit. The proposal will diminish the quality of life of nearby residents.

b)

To CONSIDER the following planning application.

None

c)

To CONSIDER any other planning applications received since the agenda was prepared.

d)

DECISIONS BY CHELMSFORD CITY COUNCIL

To NOTE the following planning decisions by Chelmsford City Council.

GRANTED

App. no.

15/00012/FUL

Location

Ewsons Farm, Ongar Road

Proposal

Part two storey, part single storey front and side extension

App. no.

14/01968/FUL

Location

3 Kiln Cottages, Nathans Lane

Proposal

First floor rear extension

App. no.

15/00399/FUL

Location

Longfield, Cooksmill Green

Proposal

Replacement timber fence and entrance gates and new laurel hedge in front of fence to front boundary

App. no.

15/00389/FUL

Location

Wyses Cottage, Wyses Road

Proposal

Part first floor, part single storey side and rear extensions, and external alterations

e)

PLANNING CORRESPONDENCE

i           To NOTE any planning correspondence received and respond to             consultations as appropriate.

None.

17

OTHER URGENT BUSINESS – for information only

To NOTE any matter of an urgent nature which a Member or the Clerk may wish to draw to the attention of the Council, and/or request to be included on the agenda for the next meeting of the Council.

Note: no decisions may be taken during this item as the required statutory notice of the business will not have been given.

18

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

7.30 p.m. Wednesday 8 July 2015