MINUTES OF SIBLE HEDINGHAM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT THE VILLAGE HALL, PARKFIELDS, SIBLE HEDINGHAM ON MONDAY 13TH JULY 2009 AT 7.30 PM._______________________________________

In the chair: Mrs. J. Beavis
Present: Cllrs. C. Cannell, R. Falco, R. Green, E. Jones, A. Law, G. Massey, M. Rudge, J. Skittrall, E. Snarey A. Stewart & F. Swallow.
 Mr. A. Corder-Birch (Clerk)
Mrs. W. Scattergood (District Councillor)

80. Fire regulations
Details were given of the fire regulations relating to the Hall and in particular the whereabouts of the fire exits, the assembly point in Parkfields and that vehicles must not be removed from the Hall Car Park.
81. Apologies for absence
Cllrs. H. Johnson (family commitment) and D. Finch.

82 Declarations of interest
There were no declarations of interest.

83. Hedingham Twinning Association
Mrs. G. Massey resigned as a Parish Council representative of Hedingham Twinning Association. The Chairman thanked Mrs. Massey for her past service. No Councillors were able to fill the vacancy, which will remain.

84. To confirm minutes of previous meeting held 8th June 2009
The minutes of the previous Parish Council meeting held on 8th June 2009, having been circulated, were taken as read, were confirmed and duly signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

85. Matters arising from those minutes
Mr. A. Stewart enquired about Speed Watch and Mr. F. Swallow reported upon the phone calls and efforts he had made to contact the organizers to obtain equipment and arrange training. He confirmed that Mr. V. Mullender is still interested in helping. Mrs. W. Scattergood reported upon the inordinate delays with calibration of speed guns, which other speed watch groups had experienced. Mr. Swallow will continue to pursue the organizers and report back to a future meeting.

86. Public Comment
There was no public comment.

87. Chairman and Vice Chairman’s reports
Mrs. J. Beavis had nothing to report outside the agenda.
Mr. J. Skittrall reported that the ROSPA inspection had taken place and the report was very good. The only item, which requires attention, is the provision of a new sign for the MUGA, which is in hand.
Mr. Skittrall was concerned about an email from Inspector Pitcher and the lack of response from Police mobile numbers, which will be placed on the agenda for the next NAP meeting. Whilst there had been a good response from the Police with removing youths from the shelter in the Recreation Ground there had been no feedback from the Police about the damage to the shelter and the correct crime number was awaited. Mrs. G. Massey asked that thanks be recorded to Mr. B. Hoadley and Mr. K. Shears for making the shelter secure after the damage.

88. Youth Council Report
In the absence of Mr. J. Tame no report was given.

89. County Council Report
In the absence of Mr. D. Finch no report was given.

90. District Council Report
Mrs. W. Scattergood reported upon improvements to the quarterly enforcement reports and to the weekly application lists. Mr. Richard Parmee is now working full time for the Landscape Services Department of BDC and therefore continuing his work in the Hedingham area. Recycling figures have improved and from 1st September 2009 BDC will collect waste food for recycling at the same time as green waste.
Mr. F. Swallow reported that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of BDC would be visiting the recycling plant at Rainham in the near future.
Mrs. J. Beavis reported that residents of Alderford Street had concerns about wheelie bins, which were not required. A planting scheme had not been implemented at the rear of Forest Homes, which had been taken up with Mr. B. Taplin, Planning Enforcement Officer, BDC. The Sustainable Communities Act will allow Government to be lobbied to change policy and funding. Residents had already contacted District Councillors about this and Mrs. Beavis will be asking BDC to support the Act. More security at District Council level is being considered.

91. Planning
The minutes of the Planning Committee Meeting held on 26th June 2009 having been circulated, were accepted in lieu of a report.

92. Recreation and Amenities
The minutes of the Recreation and Amenities Committee meeting held on 19th June 2009 having been circulated, were accepted in lieu of a report.

93. Footpaths
Dr. R. Green reported upon a meeting of the Footpaths Advisory Group on 12th June, which had been attended by Lisa Cross of P3. The draft footpath map had been considered and P3 was very pleased with the design of the map and the progress made. An enlargement of the centre of the village is now being prepared and photographs are being taken to include. Dr. Green will be meeting Castle Hedingham PC again regarding their map so that both maps compliment each other. Thanks were recorded to Dr. Green for his input in the P3 newsletter. Simon Taylor, Footpaths Enforcement Officer is dealing with the blocked FP66 at Southey Green. The stile has been repaired on FP63 to Bakers Farm.
Mr. J. Skittrall reported upon complaints about part of FP34 at Oxford Meadow to Oxford Lane, which is overgrown. Mr. K. Shears quoted £200 to clear the footpath and it was agreed to ask P3 if they would pay.

94. Hedingham Riverside Walk Report
Dr. R. Green reported upon the good work of the HRW Working Party on 5th July and in particular young persons had been shown various tasks. Some hoggin had been laid to improve the path and the footbridge at the rear of Spring Way had been completed. A Bugs, Bats and Butterfly Day will be held on 5th September with bat detectors and moth traps. Liability Insurance for HRW had been approved. A dog bin will be provided at Summerfields and two more on the Wimpey part of the site when the land is transferred to BDC. HRW will consider ‘Dogs should be kept on leads’ signs. The cost of bins and signs will be met by ECC CIF grant. The next HRW meeting will take place on 27th July at PC Office.

95. VDS Report
Mrs. G. Massey reported that constructive comments had been received from Jan Cole of RCCE upon the draft VDS, which had been very helpful. The VDS Committee will be meeting with her on 5th August and in the meantime the Committee will meet again on 22nd July. The Chairman thanked Mrs. Massey and the VDS Committee for the good progress made.

96. To approve accounts for 2008-2009
The Clerk reported that the Parish Council Accounts for 2008-2009 had been audited by Mr. R. Fox, the internal auditor and found in order. The accounts were circulated to all Councillors. It was proposed by Mrs. G. Massey, seconded by Mr. R. Falco and carried that the accounts for the year 2008-2009 and the annual governance statement set out on page 3 of the annual return are approved. The accounts and annual return were then signed by the Chairman and Clerk and will be sent for external audit.

97. Report of SARA meeting
Mr. R. Falco reported upon the SARA meeting held on 10th June, which was poorly attended with three representatives from SHPC and one Police Officer. The crime statistics were very similar to previous figures. The youth problem in the Co-op car park had decreased but the Police will continue to patrol the car park regularly and Mrs. L. Burch will arrange visits by the CCTV van. A new PCSO namely Mark Barron had been appointed to SH. A new name had been proposed for SARA namely MAPS (Multi Agency Partnership for Sible). The next meeting will take place on 16th September.

98. Report of NAP meeting
Mr. J. Skittrall reported upon an extra-ordinary NAP meeting on 22nd June when the only item on the agenda was the lack of visible policing and the concern about inadequate policing in the village. There had been no feedback from the Police upon issues raised with them such as golf balls thrown at children using the Recreation Ground and the arson attack on the shelter. Mr. Skittrall had requested more patrols in SH to try and eliminate ASB. The Policing levels were very low with only one Police Officer covering the whole area when the trouble occurred at SH. Mr. Skittrall had arranged the next NAP meeting at the Village Hall, SH on Wednesday, 29th July 2009 at 7.30pm, which will be a public meeting. Mr. E. Snarey explained that the Police cannot be everywhere but in his opinion they need to develop a strategy to deal with the issues raised and that unfortunately those at the top lack the will to deal with these issues. Parish Councillors and the public keep hearing about more Police Officers being allocated but they are not seen. Mr. Skittrall confirmed that he would invite a senior Police Officer to attend the NAP meeting on 29th July.

99. Report of Village Agents Conference
Mr. A. Corder-Birch represented SHPC at the Village Agents Conference arranged by RCCE at Towerlands, Braintree on 17th June. He had previously circulated a written report to all Councillors, which was taken as read.

100. Report of EET Annual Review meeting
Mr. A. Corder-Birch gave a report of the Essex Environment Trust Annual Review evening, which he had attended on behalf of SHPC at County Hall, Chelmsford on 8th July, which was chaired by George Courtauld, DL. During the eleven years of the Trusts existence over seven million pounds had been awarded to 646 projects in Essex including 47 projects during the last year. The contributors were thanked and as one contributor had withdrawn the limit on future applications for grants will be £10,000. EET were clearly keen on Parish Plans, VDS and Parish Appraisals and the public and youth requirements in each community. Among the awards presented was a Certificate of Merit to SHPC for providing a Multi Use Games Area facility for the youth and other organizations. Mr. Rupert Gosling, the High Sheriff of Essex, presented the Certificate of Merit to Mr. A. Corder-Birch, who received it on behalf of SHPC.
Mr. E. Snarey stated that the presentation of this award reflected the direction of SHPC during the last five years and the improvements made during this time. A photo call was arranged for 18th July.

101. Report of RCCE AGM
Mrs. J. Beavis reported that she had attended the RCCE AGM on 9th July on behalf of SHPC at which Dave Monk of BBC Essex had been the guest speaker. Over three hundred people were present and the evening had included an Award Ceremony for the Best Kept Village, the Best Kept Churchyard and the Village of the Year Competitions. Villages in the Braintree District, including Helions Bumpstead, had been particularly successful. Although SH had not received an award this year it was agreed to seek a copy of the Judges comments in an endeavour to make some improvements for next year.

102. Overhanging hedges and shrubs in Swan Street
Mrs. G. Massey reported overhanging shrubs in Swan Street, which had been affected by the rain and were dangerous to pedestrians. Fortunately these were not so bad as a couple of weeks ago as it appeared that the owner had made some improvements but the Clerk was asked to speak to the owner.
Mr. J. Skittrall reported similar problems at the other end of Swan Street where he had spoken to the owners who had agreed to cut back the vegetation if they find that they are responsible.
The Parish Council had received a number of similar complaints of overhanging hedges and vegetation throughout the village and it was agreed to ask the Community Warden if he would deal with these in future.

103. To consider response from the Environment Agency
Mrs. J. Beavis referred to the response from the Environment Agency, which had been made available to all Councillors. It was agreed to give EA the opportunity to carry out all the improvement works along the river this month and to arrange another meeting with them on 10th or 11th September at PC Office for SHPC only. The EA should now be communicating direct with CHPC and GYPC as appropriate.

104. To consider applications for grants to ECC CIF and ECC CIF Highways
Mrs. G. Massey suggested (a) that the Youth Council make an application to ECC CIF for a grant for marquees and generators for Halloween and THF events, subject to suitable storage being found and (b) that a petanque course is constructed for use by elderly residents possibly at the rear of the toilets on the Recreation Ground. It was agreed to refer these suggestions to the Recreation and Amenities Committee for further consideration.
Mr. A. Stewart suggested applying for a grant for the provision of allotments, which is already under consideration in view of the demand in SH.

105. To consider annual dinner
It was agreed to make arrangements for the annual dinner on a Friday evening in January 2010 at the Moot House, Castle Hedingham. It was noted that Dr. Green would be 90 on 3rd January 2010.

106. Correspondence
The correspondence received and listed in appendix 1 was referred to relevant Councillors for information and action. Arising from the correspondence the following items were noted and agreed:
Mr. A. Stewart considered that the response from Inspector Pitcher was not helpful.
Dr. R. Green referred to the letter from ECC Highways regarding the 40mph speed limit in Halstead Road and the Clerk confirmed that the public notice of the draft order had been advertised so that progress is being made.
Arising from the two letters from Mrs. B. Robinson it was agreed (i) that Miss. C. Cannell would arrange a site visit of Councillors on the Planning Committee to the Workshop at Cobbs Fenn and (ii) the policing issues be referred to the next NAP meeting for consideration.

107. Accounts for payment
The accounts listed in appendix 2 were presented for payment together with the following additional accounts:
Mr. Richard Parmee – reimbursement of account paid to Turner Tool Hire Limited
for hire of compactor for Riverside Walk £35.06
Logmasters – posts and rails for Riverside Walk £118.16
Mrs. Sarah Pike – advance for THF £300.00
It was proposed by Mrs. G. Massey, seconded by Mr. A. Law and carried that the accounts are paid.

108. Any other business/exchange of information/agenda for next meeting
Mrs. E. Jones reported that she had seen Mr. B. Hoadley picking up litter in the village at 5am in the morning and was very impressed.
Mr. J. Skittrall reported that he is obtaining quotes for repairs to the shelter in the Recreation Ground, which is the subject of an insurance claim for which the correct crime number is still awaited. A lengthy discussion took place as to whether the shelter should be repaired as it was or to modify it to see through and stop youths climbing up it. Mr. E. Snarey suggested that non-combustible material is used in future. This matter will be referred to the Recreation and Amenities Committee for further consideration.
Miss. C. Cannell reported that the hole in the road opposite Uplands had been filled in but had opened up again and was larger than before. The Chairman advised reporting it to David Finch.
Mr. E. Snarey reported that the pavement outside Total Garage had been damaged by heavy vehicles and was beginning to cave in. It was a hazard to pedestrians and getting worse. It was agreed to report this to ECC Highways.
Mr. E. Snarey reported that repairs had been satisfactorily carried out on the highway at the junction of Prayors Hill and Wethersfield Road.

109. Confidential business
It was resolved that in view of the special or confidential nature of the business about to be transacted it is advisable in the public interest that the public and press be excluded from the remainder of the meeting and they are instructed to withdraw pursuant to the provisions of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960. The Parish Council Meeting then continued in private session (see confidential minutes for Parish Councillors only).