Minutes 28 Jan 08
Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 28 January 2008 at the Church Room, Chapel Cut, Mistley at 7.30pm.
Present: - Cllrs Rose (Chair), Fairhall (Vice Chair),Forrester, Horlock, Peacock, Rayner, Thompson and Worsley
R Ling (Clerk to the Council)
Representative from Harwich and Manningtree Standard
9 Members of the Public
Apologies Cllrs G Carter, J Carter and French
01.08 Declarations of Interest
Cllrs Rose and Forrester declared a prejudicial interest in item 6c of the agenda but, as there was no discussion on the item, remained at the meeting but took no part in voting thereon.
02.08 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
The minutes of the previous meeting held on 17th December 2007 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
Proposed Cllr Horlock
03.08 Matters arising from the minutes
a. Housing Survey Three copies of the recent survey carried out by the Rural
Community Council of Essex, to ascertain whether there was a need for
affordable housing in the parish, had been received. One copy had been
given to the Chair and Vice Chair and the summary was made available to
all Members. The survey indicated that there was a need and the English
Rural Housing Association were now prepared to negotiate a scheme with
Tendring District Council.
It was agreed (i) that in principle the survey be accepted subject to a suitable
site being agreed and (ii) further meetings between the Working Party and
the ERHA be held and a representative of the ERHA be invited to address
the next Council meeting on 10th March.
Proposed Cllr Thompson
b. Feeding of birds along The Walls The Chairman gave a report on a meeting
held with representatives of TDC, Manningtree T.C. the R.S.P.B. and
District Councillors Dew and Guglielmi to discuss the problems being
caused by the continuous feeding of birds by Swan Watch and others, the
minutes of which were made available. It was felt that one possible solution
was to build a gabion wall from Hopping Bridge to the public shelter to
shore up the greensward, where it was being eroded, and to discourage the
birds from coming on to the greensward. The Chairman had obtained an
estimate of £24000 to carry out this work. He also stressed that Mistley was
very proud of its Swans and accepted that some damage was inevitable but
the over feeding was attracting hundreds of Canada Geese and these were
the main cause of the problem
It was agreed (i) to investigate what grants were available towards the cost
of the gabion wall (ii) the Clerk was asked to obtain legal advice on
whether the Council had any recourse in law to curtail the feeding and (iii)
the possibility of planting a quick growing hedge at the back of the
greensward be explored. Proposed Cllr Horlock
Proposed Cllr Horlock
c. Village Hall Cllr Peacock reported that quotations were being obtained for
various improvements to the Hall and hoped that a meeting could be held
before the end of March the aim of which would be to form a new
Management Committee.
d. Skate Board Site The Clerk reported that the skate board had now been
purchased from donations made by Mistley, Manningtree and Lawford
Councils and by grants received. It had also been added to the Council’s
insurance policy.
e. Waiting Restrictions The Clerk reported that the new waiting restrictions,
with the exception of the one at the junction with Harwich Road and Chapel
Cut, would come into force on 14th February. The exception had still to be
approved by the County Council’s highways Portfolio Holder and a
decision was expected shortly.
04.08 Public Voice
The meeting was adjourned between 8.00 p.m. and 8.10 p.m. to allow
members of the public to speak. Matters raised were (1) feeding of birds at
The Walls (2) report by Cllrs Rayner and Thompson on a training day
recently attended by them (3) request for a separate item to be placed on the
agenda to allow Councillors to report on any meetings, training sessions etc
that they have attended and (4) report by Cllr Thompson on a meeting he
attended with ECC and the bus company which agreed a new bus stop at the
junction with The Walls and Kiln Lane
05.08 Action on matters raised under Public Voice
Under (1) the Clerk will take action as agreed in item 03.08b (above
06.08 Finance
a. The following direct debits and standing orders were noted:
£653.00 (salaries) £81.99 (hire of photocopier)
b. The following payments were approved:-
B Forrester £177.50 PDS Services £158.63
Status Office Services E.A.L.C. £100.00
Essex Wildlife Trust £40.00 (S137) TDC £75.00
Tendring Water Services £552.56 May Gurney £118.78
May Gurney £128.94 R.C.C.E. £140.00
Proposed Cllr Horlock
c. The revised date for the Finance Committee was confirmed for 15th
February 2008 at Yaffles, School Lane commencing at 7.30 p.m
d. Quotations. The Clerk reported various quotations received for tree work in
the parish:-
Pollard Oak in Cemetery - £850.00, £1200.00 and £1620.00
The lowest quote from M J Green was accepted in the sum of £850
Clear dead wood and raise crown of trees at The Towers - £750.00,
£1200.00 and £2360.00
The lowest quote from Essex Woodland was accepted in the sum of £750.00
Remove Ash in Trinity Road Cemetery - £650.00, £1100.00 and £1160.00
The lowest quote from M J Green was accepted in the sum of £650.00
Balance Oak at Furze Hill - £200.00. In accordance with Financial Regulations only one quotation is required and this was accepted from Essex Woodland
Clear and crown raise in Green Lane – £250.00. In accordance with Financial Regulations only one quote is required and this was accepted from Essex Woodland.
Complete crown lift of trees at The Walls - £650.00. In accordance with Financial Regulations two quotes would normally be required but, as this work forms an extension of work already carried out by Essex Woodland it was agreed to suspend Financial Regulations for this item.
The quote from Essex Woodland was therefore accepted.
Proposed Cllr Rayner
e. The Clerk had requested a revised quotation from the Council’s grass
cutting Contractor, P Liverton Ltd, for the 2008/09 Contract. A quotation
raising the various rates by 2 _ % had been received and this was accepted.
In accordance with Financial Regulations three quotations would normally
be required. However P. Liverton had twice been awarded the contract by
competitive tender and has carried out the work in an efficient manner. It
was therefore agreed to suspend Financial Regulations in this instance.
Proposed Cllr Rayner
07.08 Planning
a. Recent planning decisions made by TDC since the last meeting were noted.
b. There were no new applications.
c. Village Design Statements. A letter had been received from TDC
encouraging Parish Councils to produce a Design Statement for their parish.
It was agreed to invite a representative from TDC and/or R.C.C.E. to
explain the benefits and work involved in producing such a document.
08.08 Police Community Support Officers
A letter had been received from Essex Police stating that the contribution from
Mistley, Manningtree and Lawford Councils towards the cost of two PCSOs
would be increased from £26000 to £27000 p.a. for 2008/09. The extra cost to
this Council would be approximately £350 p.a. and, as the other two Councils
had agreed to pay their share of the increase, the Clerk, in consultation with
the Chairman, had accepted the increase.
09.08 Correspondence
Recent correspondence was reported by the Clerk and is available from him.
Decisions made were (1) Parish Footpaths Report – Clerk to ensure that in future a copy is sent to ECC (2) speed of traffic along The Walls – to be brought to the attention of the Police (3) ECC consultation on the future direction of adult social care in Essex – meeting arranged for Tuesday 26th February at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester at 6.00 p.m. Members to inform Clerk if they wish to attend.
10.08 Date of next Meeting
Monday 10th March at the Church Room, Chapel Cut
Meeting closed at 8.50 p.m
