Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting

Minutes of Meeting held on Wednesday 11th May 2005

At 7.30pm at the Village Hall, Parkfields off Alexandra Road

Present: G. Massey J. Skittrall, C. Cannell, P. Day, Dr. N. Edwards, J. Ferrando, J. Hatfield,

E. Snarey, I. Smith (Clerk).

In attendance: District Councillors Jo Beavis, Wendy Scattergood and S. Bolter, and 26 members of the public.

Apologies for Absence received from: C. Chapman, D. Holmes, A. Law, Mrs. S. Cooper, Rev. Kelly, Mr. Panayi, and County Councillor D. Finch

Minutes of the 2004 Annual Parish Meeting

Agreed to be a true record and duly signed.

Gillian Massey suggested bringing forward the report from Essex Police, in case they were called away.

Essex Police

Sgt. Bernie Tompsett and P.c. Mel Mullender were in attendance.

Sgt. Tompsett gave a very detailed report on specific areas of crime within the locality   He covered Robbery, Burglaries, motor vehicle theft and theft from cars, assaults and wounding, criminal damage, nuisance gatherings and nuisance in public places, and road traffic collisions and the resulting types of injuries sustained.   Principle location for serious injury collisions was Wethersfield Road (2), and minor collisions or damage occurred in Swan Street (9).

Chairman's Address

Gillian Massey read out the Annual Report and advised that each household would be receiving a copy through their letter-box very shortly.   She then went on to read County Cllr. Finch's report due to his absence.

The main points of Cllr. Finch's report were:

County finances are in excellent shape, with the second year of low Council Tax increases in a row; 4.7% in 2004 and 2.9% this year.

Major improvement had been seen in Children's Services, which resulted in Beacon Status being awarded.  

Community Care was again improving its service delivery to the elderly as part of the independent living objective.

Education received a good OFSTED Report.

Highways - major investment to deliver £15million per year for the next 3 years to address road defects.

Closer to home Cllr. Finch advised that land acquisition for the Sugar Loaves flood defence scheme continues and plans will be submitted to the regulation and planning committee of Essex CC in the next month or two.

District Councillors' Reports

District Cllr. Wendy Scattergood presented a very wide ranging report, reflecting the many areas of improvement seen during the last two years.   This is the first year that BDC has a Rural budget and she said she was sure that by the end of the civic year many improvements will be seen across the whole district.   There will also be funding for a Village Ranger, one for each cluster of villages, the aim is to reduce petty vandalism, litter etc.   Cllr. Scattergood is involved with planning issues, visiting all planning application sites and finding time to listen and advise when appropriate.   Green waste collection has now been put in place in each village at approximately 4 weekly intervals; collection taking place from a central point.

Her Cabinet colleague Wendy Schmitt has kindly provided some funding from her budget to enable the purchase of two Smart cars, these cars will be used the by the Community Police Support Officers to enable them to visit and patrol the villages.

As a Council there have been many challenges during the past year with new Acts being put in place and having to be adhered to.

District Cllr. Scattergood spoke of her duties or the new civic year, which are as follows:

Cabinet Member for Planning and Rural Issues

Chairman of the District Development Committee

Member of Halstead Area Committee

Member of the Rural Commission

Member of the Essex Rural Partnership

The Historic Environment Champion

The Design Champion

Trustee of the Mid-Essex Historic Building Trust

Deputy to Cllr. Walters on the West Area Waste Management Working Group.

District Cllr. Joanne Beavis advised that she too was heavily involved in all areas of local issues, working alongside Cllr. Wendy Scattergood.   Cllr. Beavis said that involvement and liaison with the community was paramount as a ward Councillor.   She mentioned the Decent Homes issue and the need for BDC to fulfil the criteria, adding that a deficit of £50 million had to be found by 2010.

District Councillor Stephen Bolter    The local elections last week were for greater Hedingham County seat. I congratulate David Finch on retaining his County seat with an overall majority.   It was not a District election. I remain one of your three District Councillors, one of the four Liberal Democrats on Braintree District Council.

This ward is strongly represented by Wendy, Cabinet Member for Planning and Rural Affairs, Joanne, newly promoted to Lead Member for Customer Services, and me, a member outside the ruling coalition.

District Cllr. Bolter then went on to report on matters in which he had been involved or had a special interest in:

•  Modernisation.   The Modernisation Group has been looking at how the system is working and ways in which the decision making process can be improved so that the views of the public and councillors outside the Cabinet can be most effectively heard.

•  Council.   The rural north of the District has featured strongly in the Council over the past year.   In the centre of Braintree, many services, which in rural areas are funded by parish councils, are funded by the District. Although the Support Grants, from the District to the parishes, are supposed to compensate for this, there had been no increase for eight years.   This year the District announced a 10% increase. This (plus the one off County grant) should help ease the financial pressures parishes were feeling.

•  Opposition confirmed to the overexpansion of Stansted Airport, although perhaps not in as unequivocal a way as I would have liked. It will review its position when BAA puts in its next planning application.

•  The Council Leader opposed the Government's call for even more house building in the East of England, without Government finance for the necessary infrastructure improvement.

•  Environment.   The Environment and Enterprise Policy Review Group put forward a list of 38 measures to help Braintree more than meet the energy-saving/CO 2 -reduction targets set by Government. It is hoped that many will be put into action in 2005, but those requiring large amounts of officer time or expenditure will have to wait until 2006/7. The measures will produce considerable future savings. (I am pleased to note that Sible Hedingham Parish Council will be looking for measures such as solar capture when considering applications for new developments.) We are also looking at recycling, waste disposal and the "Street Scene" service, which keeps our streets tidy.

•  Planning. We have to try to balance the needs and aspirations of our population, but we also have to remain within the policies of the Local Plan, which has to meet with approval of Government. Some residents are disappointed with our decisions, but we do our best. I recently joined officers on an (exterior) inspection of Council owned housing in the Parish. Parking was a major problem; I believe that some of our current decisions will produce the parking problems of the future.   I am on the new District Development Committee and will see if we can modify our standards for parking in rural areas, within what Government will allow.

•  Roads.   The proposed improvement plan for the A120 between Braintree and the A12 at Marks Tey fails to take note of the needs of traffic to or from the north and adds almost 1 km and 2 roundabouts to the journey from Hedingham to Chelmsford or Stansted. We need a proper long term plan for the Braintree Notley Gap, which should include easy transfer between road and rail, as well as improved north south and east west traffic flows.

•  Youth.   In December over 50% of the 4 620 13 to 19 year olds in the Braintree District voted to elect their eight representatives on the Young Essex Assembly. Two of the successful candidates were from Hedingham. One is in the Hall tonight. The Leader of Braintree District Council said he hoped to see some of them joining the Council in years to come and urged them not to wait until they were 55. Let's hope they don't. Your own Parish Council is also encouraging a local youth council. I hope it is successful, not just as a discussion group for youth problems, but as a way of introducing young people to the whole decision making process.

Auxiliary Fire Station

A.D.O. W. Seccombe was in attendance and spoke about recent innovations, such as the "Message in a Bottle", which he explained was to help medics called to the scene of an emergency.   Details of any medication being taken by the person they have been called to aid are kept in this bottle and thus informs any decision as to what medication may be given to the patient.   He also had the assistance of some youngsters to pass round smoke alarms and stressed the importance of installing them in the home, and of the necessity to check the batteries at weekly intervals.   He then gave a Powerpoint presentation showing graphic illustrations depicting the necessity of awareness in dealing with fires of all types.   After a recent traffic death of an elderly person, the Fire Service advised elderly people and safety issues and fitted smoke alarms in potentially dangerous situations, or made them available.   There is a Home Fire Safety Visit scheme in place which visits over-60s or vulnerable members of society.   Householders have only to telephone the Fire Service and request a visit when 2 officers will visits and assess the situation, fitting smoke detectors free of charge.   ADO Seccombe will ensure that the Parish Council has information on how to organise such visits.  

He also reported on a new initiative at Newport, a Young Fire Fighters scheme which is aimed at 14-16 year olds.   This is a 37-week training course which gives youngsters an idea of what working with the Fire Service is all about.   There is also a Fire Break scheme in operation at Halstead which is aimed at children who have been served with an ASBO, and children who have been excluded from school etc.   They are put onto a training course to build their confidence and self-esteem, working as a team and listening to and obeying instructions.   This has proved to be very beneficial to all attendees.

A question was raised as to the viability of the fire engine stationed at Sible Hedingham.   ADO Seccombe advised that appliances at Auxiliary stations are manned by retained personnel, volunteers who have a day job.   There has to be a minimum of 4 personnel to operate an appliance and he said it was becoming increasingly difficult to recruit local people to the service; this is a nationwide problem.

Several of the young people present showed interest in the Young Fire Fighters scheme, and asked how they could join a course.   They were informed by ADO Seccombe that all applicants attended an Open Day at a fire station and 18 people were then selected.   He also advised that a presentation would be mounted at local schools where application forms for the course could be obtained.

There were plans to put the Young Fire Fighters scheme and the Fire Break scheme in operation in both localities.

Tree Warden's Report

Mr. Hylton Johnson said he was pleased to be asked to participate in the Annual Parish Meeting and reported as follows:

With a lifetime's interest in timber and all things wooden, the position of Tree Warden was very appealing.

I did not receive a detailed brief as I do not think that one exists, having spent a working life travelling around the World and meeting people generally at Government level and above, the position offered no major problems. 

A major bonus for me is to see so much more of our magnificent countryside and to meet so many nice people. From a purely personal position I do not like to see any trees felled, preferring to see sensible lopping, reshaping etc talking to people who have problems with trees, and they are problems, most are pleased to accept friendly advice given without any authority in this position.

There have been improvements on replanting schemes over the past few years; I would like to see many more hardwoods also planted. Historically during the heady days of our power as a sea-faring nation, our forebears were far sighted planting forests of Oak for use in building warships; I call that long-term planning at the highest levels with all the associated benefits.

I will end with a short story. I was lucky enough to spend a great deal of time visiting and working in Israel. There is a region where trees are planted with plaques on them, this funds the project. Passing by one day I noticed that above the forest clouds had formed as a direct result of watering etc. The Israelis have developed simple and cheap forms of irrigation making the Desert productive. Their immediate neighbours do nothing in this respect and this is very apparent.   Sadly in the name of terrorism via these same countries this forest was set on fire frequently.

An anomaly I heard about was that of a developer in Saudi Arabia ordering thousands of artificial palm trees for a site there.   When asked why he hadn't chosen to plant real trees, he replied that they took too long to grow!

I am pleased to have been given the opportunity to speak to you today and look forward to continuing in the position of Tree Warden and to putting something back into the community.

Youth Council Representative and Essex Young Assembly

Robert Carter was in attendance, saying that firstly he would like to thank the Parish Council for inviting him to talk to the meeting about the Essex Young Assembly.  

The assembly was set up in 2003 by Essex County Council.   It mirrors Essex County Council and has 79 members across Essex.   The most recent elections were held in December 2004 and over twenty seven thousand young people voted (70% of those eligible) which makes this the Young Assembly with the largest number of votes in England.   The main aim of the YEA is to speak on behalf of young people and get the issues they want heard by Essex County Council and to advise Essex County Council and other locals councils on issues affecting young people.  

In the last year the YEA has:

•  Developed the 'Bite Card' scheme, in partnership with the Young Parliament, which is a proof of age card scheme for all young people.  

•  Got involved in the decision making process on new dates for school terms.

•  Has planned and delivered training workshops for young people, covering sensitive          subjects such as sexual health, drugs and staff selection.

•  Has produced operating guidelines for the YEA making it easier for people to understand how the YEA works and how changes can be made.

•  It has worked with Connections Staff to improve their services for young people.

•  And finally has changed the YEA term of office to two years to enable members to have more time to see their projects through.

Over the next the YEA has several projects including opposing the expansion of Stansted Airport and arranging more training for young people and politicians throughout Eastern Europe as part of an EU project to set up Youth Councils in those countries.   It is worth noting that Essex was invited to take part in this project as the YEA is seen as a model of 'best practice' for Youth Councils.

As part of this project I was fortunate to join a group of young people representing the YEA at week long International Youth Conference in Slovenia with members of Bulgarian, Romanian, Lithuanian and Slovenian youth parliaments.   We shared experiences and helped to train the young people in the rights of the child as well as training their youth workers how to more effectively listen to young people's opinions.

Finally I am also involved in setting up the newly formed Braintree District Youth Council.   This has received backing, and a £6 thousand grant, from Braintree District Council.   One of our main aims is to encourage the setting up of more Youth Councils within the district and I am excited that Hedingham will possible be the first to do this.

Thank you once again for inviting me to your meeting.   If you have any questions I will be happy to try to answer them.

A question was asked whether any language problems had arisen during his trip to Slovenia, to which Robert replied that the non-English people in the group all spoke very good English.   He had managed to learn some words and phrases.

Robert was also asked about the elections and he advised that the YEA organise their own.   They speak to schools, explaining how the non-political group works, and seeking support.   However, some members have strong private preferences concerning the political party of their choice.

Hedingham Hawks Youth Football Club

Fergus Ranson presented the report on behalf of the club.   He spoke about the increased success of the club this year, which has teams for the under-10s and under-18s.   There are about 120 children and the more skilled players are coaxed away by other teams.   There is also a Girls' team, which had done very well this year.

He went on to say that the HHFYC had now taken on the administration of Oxford Meadow.   The May Fair was a great success, having made £1600 last year and something like £4,000 this year; funding has been spectacular this year.   He thanked everyone who attended the Fair and contributed by patronising the many stalls and giving donations to the raffle.   He also thanked the Parish Council for their donation to the May Fair this year, which had greatly helped running costs.   Mr. Ranson went on to say that three boys in particular had been members o the club since the age of 10 (7 years) and had been awarded a Long Service Medal.   He said he was trying to build loyalty to the club and hoped that many players would progress on to Hedingham United.

Hedingham Heritage Society

Mr. Rob Worley reported that the society had been running for 15 years and covered both the Hedinghams.   There were now 77+ members and 2004/2005 had proved to be a very busy year.   They were awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant of £47,000 which had enabled the society to mount a very impressive and much acclaimed exhibition to mark the 400 th anniversary of Edward de Vere, 17 th Earl of Oxford.   A local company had been engaged to mount this exhibition on behalf of the Society.   He said this had been the venture of the year for the Society, which had a website and could be accessed via www.devere2005.com   The exhibition had involved the participation of the membership, community, schools, and children and it was something that was educational, informative and enjoyable.   He particularly thanked the local schools for their input. The sixth formers at Hedingham School were instrumental in setting up the website, whilst St. Peter's School helped with making models.

An event was held in May in co-operation with the Castle Players when The Merry Wives of Windsor had been performed for 4 nights. The Castle Players had received some of the grant to aid the production costs.

A local group had put on a Tudor banquet where food and entertainment pertaining to the period were enjoyed.   Visits had been made to several locations, including Hatfield House and St. John's College, Oxford.   There was also the launch of the De Vere trail which was initiated by a walk along the trail.   The exhibition is set to tour East Anglia; Harlow and Chelmsford are   among the proposed venues.

A Ravilious day was also held and talks were given about his life and work, and other events included a visit to Borley Rectory and bird watching sessions.

The Society's interests cover many aspects, such as Ecology and Natural History; conservation is also undertaken.   A programme of events is available to parishioners.

A Village Guide is also being produced which will cover Sible and Castle Hedingham and should be ready within 6 weeks.

Hedingham Baptist Fellowship

Minister Paul Corson spoke most interestingly about all the aspects of the Baptist Fellowship and advised that they will be celebrating their bi-centenary in 2007.   He described the many activities are carried out in the building, which is rather tucked away beside The Sugar Loaves and looks like a dwelling rather than a place of worship.  

There is a full programme of events, starting with Monday morning with 'Cygnets', the parent and toddler group, which enjoys an average attendance of around 60 parents, carers and pre-school children.   The same group are invited once a month to come to 'Sing, Pray and Play', an attempt to provide a simple introduction to Christian stories and values.

Monday evening sees the meeting of the 'Revive' group from 7.30pm until about 9.30pm.   This caters for 15-17 year olds and has seen remarkable growth in the last 6 months.   Started 20 months ago in response to the death of Simeon Jones, aged 15, his older brother wanted to provide some space and input or those youngsters who struggled with Simeon's death.   The initial 6 weeks were well attended, and then attendance dropped to 4 young Christians; by the end of 2004 the attendance was about 6 Christians and 6 non-Christian youngsters.   As of this week the attendance is over 30 and our involvement with Christian Youth Outreach from Braintree means that the evening stops at 8.45pm when youngsters have the choice of heading off home or staying or what is called the 'God Slot', during which we hope to teach about Christian values and morals in a form that youngsters can engage with.

On Thursday morning we hold a Coffee and scone morning from 10 'til 12 noon and the number of people passing through averages around 20.   I recommend the scones, as they are freshly baked.   This is a drop-in and is open to everyone.

Friday, from 10.00am until 2.00pm, and old folks day centre is held.   We are linked with De Vere primary school in Castle Hedingham and provide a hot lunch and there are craft activities, games and some visitors speak to entertain the group.   The average attendance is about 25 people and many of the helpers find it to be of value in what might otherwise be a quiet life.

At the present time the church is undergoing a major review of itself and its activities.   One subject that has arisen is the sense that Sible Hedingham doesn't seem to have a very strong community spirit and we are considering how we, as a church, may help build this up as well as raising our own profile in the village.

St. Peter's School

Amy Donovan, Vice-chair St. Peter's Primary Governors, gave a very interesting talk about the school's activities and achievements.   She went on to say that this week is SATS week and although only Years 2 and 6 undertake external examination, all years are involved in internal assessments.   OFSTED will inspect the school next week.   The SATS results have shown steady improvement over the last 4 years, in line with or above the national average.   There are 213 pupils on roll and teaching is delivered in 7 classes.

Exceptional achievements in sport have been enjoyed over the past year, the school taking several titles in the Halstead District, including the District Sports and Rounders Rally.

They continue to have strong links with St. Peter's Church, with regular visits and services.   They also support the Baptist Church.

Strong links have been forged with other schools in the area.   The school hosted the Infant Music Festival recently which involved all local primary schools and was extremely successful.   Links with Hedingham School continue to flourish, the children in year 6, and most of year 5, attended a Multi-skills Summer Sports afternoon at Hedingham recently which they really enjoyed and St. Peter's continues to host students from Hedingham in practical learning.

St. Peter's Nursery, a not for profit organisation, operates on our site and has very close links with the school, receiving an outstanding OFSTED report last year.   Its excellent reputation continues and we currently have over 90 children attending.   The transition arrangements from the Nursery to our Foundation Stage, and from St. Peter's to Hedingham, are excellent and allow children to settle quickly and continue to achieve.

A recent questionnaire, completed by over 90% of parents, confirmed that parents are very happy with the school, their children's level of achievement, the ethos of the school and the teaching team.   St. Peter's has been selected by the LEA to be the Essex Early Adopter of the Workload Agreement.   This recognises the high standards of teaching and support within the school.

We have just completed a major remodelling project which has provided three new teaching areas for group work, improved access for visitors with disabilities, improved changing facilities, office facilities and a toilet for those with disabilities.

We continue to raise funds to bring the old schoolhouse back into use as part of the school and the community.   Plans are currently being prepared and funding opportunities continue to be investigated.   It is hoped that as well as valuable teaching areas, the building can be used to develop "extended school" initiatives.

The Governing body still has two vacancies for Parent Governors.   The Parish Council representative resigned last year and has not been replaced.

Gillian Massey picked up the point that the Parish Council is no longer represented on the Board of Governors and advised Amy that the Members had only recently discussed promoting closer links with St. Peter's School, so watch this space!

Thursday Club

Mrs. Jean Jelley, Secretary, gave a brief summary of her full report, which is available on request from the Parish Clerk.   She spoke about activities during the monthly meetings, mentioning games played and guest speakers, which have included Michael Bentinck, Reverend John Robinson and F.W. Pawsey.

Christmas celebrations saw some of the talented members taking part in an informal programme of poetry readings and singing.   A festive tea was enjoyed which ended with carol singing, accompanied by local organist and pianist Mark King.

Monthly lunches take place in the village and surrounding villages and members who do not drive are taken by other members.   Many trips have been undertaken to wide-ranging locations, including Clacton, Southend saw a visit to the Cliffs Pavilion to see the Moscow State Circus, and a visit to Leeds Castle in Kent is planned for May.   A visit to Thursford Carol Concert has been planned for December.

Other activities include walks around Sible Hedingham during summer months, approximately 3 miles in length.   Each November empty shoeboxes are prepared and filled with knitted and crocheted hats, gloves and scarves for deprived children in Eastern Europe and blankets are also sent to needy areas.

Fund raising has included Essex Air Ambulance in 2002, Halstead Hospital League of Friends in 2003, and this year money was raised to provide a defibrillator for the surgery in Sible Hedingham.

The Thursday Club now boasts over 100 members and interest is still flourishing.   The main aim is to provide companionship, friendship and enjoyment for the 55+ age group.

Village Hall

This report was read by John Skittrall in the absence of Chairman Owen Hawkes.

The report detailed improvements that had been made to the hall, such as security shutters, new windows along the south side of the main hall, old cast iron guttering replaced with plastic guttering.   Unused windows have been bricked up and two of the main hall heaters have been replaced, indications are that the rest will also need replacing.   The main hall floor has been repaired, sanded, sealed and repolished.

Lettings continue to see the hall in full use with bookings every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, A Salsa class has replaced the Weight Watchers on Wednesdays.   Mondays are shared between the Parish Council and the W.I.   There are also regular daytime lettings for Wednesday mornings and Friday afternoons.   The Thursday club also has a booking once a month in the afternoon.   Weekend lettings vary, but have included dog training classes, weddings and dances.   There has been no change in charges in the last year.

Vandalism has cost an enormous amount of money and general maintenance is carried out by Members of the Committee.

Problems continue to be vandalism, and cars parked in such a way which blocks the entrance road to the hall.   Since the new licensing laws came into force a Management Committee member has had to gain a British Institute of Innkeeper's qualification to hold a personal licence in order that the hall can continue to supply alcohol for functions.

Finances remain healthy, although some works need to be put in hand this year.   These works include replacing the balcony outside the hall which is suffering from concrete cancer, replacement of curtains and provision of black out blinds, drains need constant attention and may have to be replaced.

In conclusion the Management Committee has worked very hard at their prime function, which is to provide a Village Hall for the use of the community.

Women's Institute

Mrs. Erna Jennings, President, gave a very informative and interesting speech about the founding of the Women's Institute over 100 years ago in 1897 at Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada.   Adelaide Hoodless, the daughter of a farmer and wife of a manufacturer and dealer in furniture, was the founding force.   Her fourth child died at 18 months old, probably through drinking contaminated milk.   Shocked at this, and discovering that one in five children were dying of careless or ignorant hygiene, she campaigned energetically against the selling of impure milk and for the teaching of domestic science in schools.

She travelled widely giving speeches and even prepared a "little red book" which was ahead of its time, with Calorie charts, chemical analysis and emphasis on the importance of meat and fruit in the diet.

Ridiculed as a "new woman" with wild ideas who should "stay at home and look after her children" Adelaide persevered as many others wanted to hear what she had to say.

Invited to an agricultural conference of the Farmers' Institute, she told an almost entirely male audience that they were more concerned about the health of their animals than about the health of their children.   However she was then invited to speak at a ladies night of the Saltfleet Township Farmers' Institute on 12 th February 1897 where she told the men that if they needed an organisation to help them with their work, then perhaps women also needed one to help them in their work.   Thirty-five of the women present agreed to meet and the Women's Institute was formed.

The first W.I.'s in Britain began in 1915 and took a slightly different tack.   Rather than concentrating solely on improving the home and creating homemakers, the British W.I.'s eventually had the responsibility of improving conditions, not only throughout the village, but in the countryside as well.

The aims and objectives of the W.I. these days are to promote education and friendship to help women who live in villages and towns improve the quality of life in that community.   The W.I. also lobbies for change and is not bound by political or religious affiliations, which enables it to speak out freely on any issues that concern it as a whole.

There is something for everyone in the W.I. - apart from the monthly meeting, there are conferences, courses, social events and we care about the society in which we live, finding fun and friendship in the things we do.   The W.I. meets in Sible Hedingham on the first Monday in the month at the Village Hall at 7.45pm.   Why not pay us a visit?

The part of the meeting closed at 9.25pm and public comment was invited from the audience.

Q: How often is the village cleaned?

A: John Skittrall - Once a week in the central areas, the outskirts a little less.   There is a green waste collection approximately every 4 weeks from a central point.   The collection dates are to be placed on the Parish Council's website.

The cleaning route is to be looked at and perhaps revised.   The Recreation ground is to be targeted for cleaning every Saturday morning.

Q: Recycling of items is limited to a few types.   Will the types of items be increased in the future?

A: District Cllr. Wendy Scattergood - not at the moment as it would prove too expensive.   Uptake of this service   in rural areas has been overwhelming.

Q: The Skate Park has not proved too much of a problem and the May Fair was reasonably quiet this year, the noise level being tolerable.   However, from around 11.30pm/midnight it is very noisy on the Recreation Ground due to youths drinking.   What can be done about this problem?

A: John Skittrall - all residents are advised to report any problems directly to the police and to ask for an incident number.   The incident numbers pertaining to a particular location have to be taken into account in order to provide patrols.   Even if there doesn't appear to be a threat of any kind, if something is happening which is causing you to feel uncomfortable or unsafe - please report it then, not the next day when the problem has disappeared!

Q: Amy Donovan - the dog fouling problem continues to be particularly bad along Church Street and School Hill.   What can be done to alleviate this problem?   There is also a notice on the Recreation ground which states "All dogs must be kept on a lead", but dogs are allowed to run wild there.   How can this problem be solved?

A: John Skittrall - dog fouling bins are provided, but the Parish Council cannot, at the moment, force people to use them.   The same applies to the notice on the Recreation ground.   It is anti-social behaviour by adults who should know better.

Q: Robert Carter - Would it be a good idea to go and talk to children in local schools and ask what they would like to do in the village, what facilities are lacking?   Then perhaps some sort of agreement to could be reached which would result in better social behaviour.

A: The Parish Council Members present thought this was an excellent idea and congratulated Robert on his foresight.   This idea will be taken up and discussed to find the best way forward.

There being no further questions, Gillian Massey thanked everyone for attending the meeting and presenting their interesting and detailed reports.   The meeting was then officially closed at 9.40pm.

Several fuller reports are available on request from the Parish Clerk on 01787 462568.