THE ANNUAL REPORT 2008-9

ANNUAL REPORT 2008 -2009

REPORT OF CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL 2008- 2009

The year beginning April 2008 was one of great change for Ongar Town Council.

Mrs Shirley Haynes commenced her duties as Town Clerk in March but decided to take up the post of Deputy Town Clerk to Loughton Town Council and left Ongar at the end of December 2008.

The council found itself, after only a few months, once again needing to recruit its senior member of staff.  The quality and quantity of candidates for the post was high. Seven were initially interviewed with four going through to the second round of the recruitment exercise.

The final decision was a difficult one since all of the candidates were of a high quality.  Mr Mark Squire was the unanimous choice of the interview panel and  joined the staff team in January 2009.  Mark hit the ground running and very quickly made an impressive contribution to the Council.  The Council is grateful to the Deputy Town Clerk, Mrs Judith Cook, and the Mrs Marie Hatch, Admin Assistant, for their support and dedication during the difficult time of change.

Simultaneously the Council was moving from its inadequate premises in Love Lane to the newly extended and refurbished accommodation “Bansons” in Bansons Way.  Five years of hard, but satisfying, work culminated in the completion and occupation of the building in October.

The Council was pleased that the recently elected Mayor of Ongar’s twin town Cerizay was able to join me in the official opening of the building during the 25^th anniversary visit of our French friends.

The last elections to the Council resulted in fewer people being prepared to stand for election in the Marden Ash Ward than the number of councillors required.  The Council invited applications for the three vacancies and interviewed ten residents who wish to serve the council and the local community. After the interviews voting took place using an alternative vote process which resulted in Jeff Haywood, David Solomons and Marion Vanovitch becoming  co-opted Town Councillors for the Marden Ash Ward.

It is a great tribute to all the team, Councillors, Office Staff and the staff who look after our building, play areas, bus shelters, minibus  that the work of the Council went on during this rather turbulent and hectic time.

I would like to pay particular tribute to Councillor Brian Surtees, my Vice-Chairman, for the tremendous commitment in time, effort and intellect which he made during the year and also to  Councillor Dianna Roberts who, as Chair of the newly created Staffing Committee, led us through the recruitment process.  My making special mention of those two colleagues in no way diminishes my thanks to other Committee Chairmen and all councillors and staff for their contributions to Ongar through its Town Council.

Keith Tait

Chairman, Ongar Town Council

The Annual Town Meeting

The Annual Town Meeting took place on Monday 27 April 2009 at the Budworth Hall, Ongar, open to all residents and local organizations. From 7pm a number of displays from various local groups were exhibited with  refreshments and snacks prepared by Marie Hatch and Judith Cook of Ongar Town Council, enjoyed and appreciated by all. Organisations that provided table displays included :- Essex Police (Ongar Neighbourhood Policing Team), Ongar & District Twinning Association, Royal British Legion, Ongar Town Council, Ongar Youth Club. Ongar Millennium History Society, Ongar Tree Wardens, Ongar Allotments & Gardening Society, Ongar Town Forum, Ongar Wildlife Society, Ongar & Villages Voluntary Care, Theatre Resource, Ongar Photographic Club and the Budworth Hall Community Association.

A presentation was made by the Chairman, Keith Tait on behalf of Ongar Town Council to Theodora Paynia of Ongar Youth Club, donating £1000 to buy additional computer software to assist with the Youth Club magazine.

The Town Meeting started at 7.30pm with an update on the lorry park at the Borough, presented by Councillor Tait, providing a brief background and possible future options for this site. A public consultation would follow, where residents would be asked to give their views and suggestions for the future use of this site. A draft copy of the consultation paper was available for inspection.

The formal business meeting stated at 8pm with the introduction of the new Town Clerk, Mark Squire and the newer Councillors Jeff Haywood, David Solomons and Marian Vanovitch.

 Highlights of the year

Chairman of the Council -. Councillor Keith Tait,

A brief resume of the events of the past year included :-

·        meeting with Essex County Council to discuss the future of local bus routes including the need  to retain the no 46 bus route for the community  and an adequate bus service to stop at the proposed new Health Centre at the site of the Ongar War Memorial Hospital.

·        strategic support by the council to Theatre Resource at Great Stony.

·        move to the new premises in Bansons Way. ‘Bansons’ is to be used by the local community and the rooms can be booked by commercial and voluntary groups alike.

·        ‘Bansons’ was officially opened by the Mayor of Cerizay on the 10^th April 2009 as part of the 25^th anniversary celebrations of the twinning with the French town.

After the Chairman’s speech each Committee Chairman provided a summary of the work or their committee carried out throughout the year on behalf of the residents of Ongar and invited questions from local residents. Full minutes of the meeting are available on request. Please note that the next Annual Town Meeting is on 26^th April 2010.

Community Affairs – Chairman, Councillor Sheila Jackman MBE

·        a new seventeen seater minibus will be available for community use in June 2009.

·        the old minibus will be sold by means of sealed bids and the money raised ring fenced to start a fund to enable the purchase of a new vehicle in the future.

·        successful partnership with the local police and the ongoing Neighbourhood Action Panel.

·        the hosting of a buffet reception at Great Stony as part of the 25^th Anniversary celebrations of the twinning with Cerizay.

·        working with the local young people with the objective of setting up a Youth Forum.

·        The Council agreed to fund four days of Play Ranger schemes aimed at young people between the ages of 5 and 13.

Environment  – Chairman, Councillor Blane Judd  

·        continued progress made at the Cripsey Brook Nature Reserve. The clearance of brambles and ‘environmentally –friendly’ grass cutting has already seen the return of wild flowers. A new litter bin and dog bins have been installed.  

·        preliminary work to improve the fenced area between St Peters Avenue and the Fyfield Road.

·         continued pressure on the Essex County Council Highways division for an additional zebra crossing .

·         tree wardens have been invited to join future Environment meetings.

Open Spaces – Chairman, Councillor Terry Williams

·        the Council is looking to put up fencing (subject to planning permission) to solve problems of balls entering neighbours’ gardens at the Shelley Pocket park.

·        the Boodle grave in St Martin’s Churchyard has now been successfully dismantled and rebuilt with the aid of a generous donation from the Boodle Club.

·        Consultation exercise on improvement of the Greensted Road childrens play area.

·        new boules pitch at Cerizay gardens.

·        Steve Adcock stepped down as Open Spaces Supervisor and was thanked for his good work on behalf of the Council.

Staffing – Chairman, Councillor Diana Roberts

·        the importance of the new staffing committee was explained and the subsequent  recruitment of the caretaker, David Sweeting and the new  Clerk, Mark Squire.

·        ongoing process of providing up to date  policies, guidelines and risk assessments

Planning - Chairman, Councillor  Brian Surtees

·        meetings are arranged flexibly to be able to respond to applications requiring comment or decision quickly and within the time frame required to enable a good service to be given to people making planning applications.

·        planning applications are now displayed electronically at Planning Committee meetings.

Policy Overview and Finance (POF) - Chairman, Councillor Brian Surtees

·        thanks were given to Ron Laurie the temporary Responsible Financial Officer for his work on the Council’s computerised finance package and clarity of the budget position.

·        the 2009/10 precept was set at £155,815 a little lower than the 2008/09 level of £157,150.

·        a Members’ Allowance scheme was finalised allowing individual elected councillors to claim should they so wish, an annual taxable sum of £300.

Public Relations Committee- Chairman, Councillor Alison Wingfield- Halm

·        regular press releases , quarterly newsletter and website development.

·        the Council  invited other neighbouring councils to a meeting to provide unified support to the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), which is facing financial difficulties. The Council also offered  ‘Bansons’ to CAB as a meeting place free of charge.

  Council Expenditure 2008-09

Council Income 2008-09                              

Grants made to local groups and organizations.

Ongar Town Council gave grants totaling £2984 to the following:    

Contacting the Council

Mark Squire, Clerk to the Council

Council Chamber

'Bansons',

Bansons Way,

Ongar,

Essex CM5 9AS

Telephone 01277 365348

Email: clerk@ongartowncouncil.gov.uk

Office hours Monday – Friday 9.30am to 1pm    

Contacting Your Councillors

Greensted Ward

Robert Prosser 15A High Street, Ongar, CM5 9DS                                  362526

Diana Roberts 36 Millbank Avenue, Ongar, CM5 9HL                              364006 

Shelley Ward

Peter Gode    109 Queensway, Shelley, Ongar, CM5 0BS                       366302

Blane Judd     14 Bansons Way, Ongar, CM5 9AS                                   363584

Stephanie Southouse 119 Queensway, Shelley, Ongar, CM5 0BS          363583

Keith Tait       23 Great Lawn, Ongar, CM5 0AA                                       363521

Alison Wingfield – Halm 70 Queensway, Ongar, CM5 0BN                      364783 

Chipping Ongar Ward

Sheila Jackman MBE 5 Shakletons, Ongar, CM5 9AT                             363740          

Nigel Main      11 Bowes Drive, Ongar, CM5 9AU                                     362684

Brian Surtees 13 Bowes Drive, Ongar, CM5 9AU                                     363607

Keith Wright   50 Onslow Gardens, Ongar, CM5 9BQ                              362451 

Marden Ash Ward

Jeff Hayward  19 St James Avenue, Marden Ash, Ongar, CM5 9EL          366511

David Solomons   3 Orchard End, Ongar, CM5 0DA                                  363733

Terrence Williams 14 The Spinney, Marden Ash, Ongar, CM5 9HP         363884

Marion Vanovitch 30 Fairbank Close, Greensted, Ongar, CM5 9HX        07778 286982