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March 2007 Parish Council Minutes
Minutes of Great Oakley Parish CouncilHeld at the Village Hall 07:30pm Tuesday 20th March 2007
Present: Mr S Huk, Chairman – Mr B Harrington, Vice-Chairman – Mr T Spurge – Mr N Daniels – Mrs J Mason – Ms K Schooling – Mrs Hylton
Apologies: Cllr David Lines
There were 2 parishioners present who were invited to ask questions if they so wished.
There being none, Chairman opened meeting at 8:07pm.
Election of Officers: Mr Huk was proposed as Chairman by Mrs Mason, seconded Mr Spurge. There being no other nominations, carried unanimously. Mr Huk signed acceptance of office form.
Mr Harrington proposed as Vice-Chairman by Mrs Mason, seconded Mr Spurge. There being no other nominations, carried unanimously.
All council officers indicated they were prepared to continue in their current sub-committee posts, as follows:
Planning: Mr Huk
Mr Harrington
Mr Spurge
Finance Committee: Mr Huk
Mr Harrington
Mr Daniels
Mrs Hylton
The Clerk
Village Hall Committee: Mr Huk
Mr Harrington
Mr Spurge
Ms Schooling
Website Development: Mr Huk
Mr Daniels
Mrs Hylton
Crime Prevention Panel: Mr Harrington
Footpaths/Trees: Mrs Hylton
The block election to these positions was proposed Mrs Mason, seconded Mr Spurge, carried unanimously.
Declaration of Interests:
None
Minutes of the meeting held on 20th February 2007:
The minutes having been circulated, there was one amendment. This being accepted, they were proposed as correct by Mr Spurge, seconded by Ms Schooling, carried unanimously.
Police Report: As our police representative was not in attendance there was no report.
Chairman advised that the broken window in the phone box has been reported to BT and will be repaired soon.
Clerks Report:
Basketball Hoop:
Playground Facilities have contacted the Clerk and they are still waiting for dry weather.
Disabled Toilet:
The work is due to start on 25th March; duration one week.
War Memorial:
Chairman is to contact the stonemasons to agree a start date and confirm the work to be carried out.
Back Lane:
Previous reports to Council stated that the drains needed clearing in Back Lane. This has now been completed.
Pot Holes in road near the Soils:
Still awaiting a reply from Highways.
Accidents in Queen Street/Back Lane:
Priority lines are to be reinstated by the end of March.
Electricity prices for the Village Hall:
Clerk has contacted British Gas and has new prices which will be discussed later under “accounts for payment”.
Litter Working Party:
Clerk has now researched how much grabbers are and the cheapest are £16.00 each. It is possible some may be donated; therefore a decision will be deferred until the next meeting.
Complaints about the new bus stop:
Clerk contacted Highways explaining parishioners concerns over the safety of the bus stop. We are still awaiting a reply. Mr Spurge informed Council that he intends to relocate the hedge near the bus stop back from the road by 5 metres which could resolve the visibility issues.
Horse Rider signs:
Clerk has received a reply from Highways saying they will arrange a site visit to investigate our request and reply in due course.
School warning sign:
Clerk contacted Highways to find out when the new school warning sign will be erected and was informed that they are going to attend to it soon.
Dog owners:
Clerk has contacted the dog warden and he would like to know if there is a particular time, day or person and the exact area. A parishioner reported that there hasn’t been any mess lately and they will let the dog warden know if there is any further information.
Restoration of wooden signs:
Clerk needed more names and addresses of anyone interested in the work of restoring the village signs. The finger boards and village signs need repairing or replacing. At sometime in the future we will also potentially need someone to make a village sign for Stones Green.
One possible candidate is Martin Clift, Micraft, Frinton, 677084, 07971475241.
Grass Cutting: Clerk has been contacted by someone from Layer de la Haye asking if they can tender for the grass cutting. They have been asked for proof of experience, insurance, and details of what equipment they use.
At the next meeting we will finalise all details of who to approach and put the grass cutting out to tender.
A local volunteer who has his own insurance would like to cut the burial ground and has offered to cut it free of charge to show the quality of his work. Council discussed this offer and decided to pay the same as we had last year for the trial cut of the burial ground. Proposed Mr Daniels, seconded Mr Harrington, carried unanimously.
Triangle – Stones Green: Mrs Mason would like to restore the triangle area at Stones Green as it is overgrown with brambles and shrubs. It is believed it is common land and Mrs Mason is happy to tend this area. After discussion Council deemed this a good idea and will be included on the next agenda.
Website:
Mr Daniels reported at the annual assembly that the website is nearing completion. Contact details for the groups that use the village hall will be passed to Mr Daniels for inclusion on the website.
The costs for the establishment of the web site have increased slightly to £400. Council agreed this was acceptable, provided training will be given to 2 or 3 people so that we can update the website ourselves. Proposed Mr Harrington, seconded Mr Spurge, carried unanimously.
Planning: There was a planning meeting on 13th March to discuss the following applications:-
Application No: 06/01812/FUL
Proposal: Woodstore extension to existing barn
Location: Crooked Acres High Street Great Oakley Harwich
The outcome was No Objection.
Application No: 07/00193/FUL
Proposal: Erection of 3 bay carriage house to garage cars
Location: Fourwinds Colchester Road Great Oakley Harwich
The outcome was No Objection.
Planning Appeal: 06/01184/OUT
Proposal: Two Bedroom Detached Cottage
Location: Land Adjacent 1, Sunnyside Cottage, Stones Green
The primary grounds for refusal were based on the forthcoming Replacement Local Plan in which Tendring District Council have arbitrarily deleted Stones Green and effectively now consider the village not to exist and as being the same as the “greenbelt”.
The Parish Council have previously made representations to TDC regarding the contents of the Replacement Local Plan and the potentially detrimental impact on the sustainability of the village. On this basis, it was agreed we should write to the Planning Inspectorate, reiterating our general concerns over the future sustainability of the village and the primary grounds for the refusal of this application.
Footpaths/Trees: A parishioner reports that the trees from “Mandalay” on Harwich Road are overhanging the village hall and need to be cut back. Clerk to contact owners.
We were awaiting fine weather for the hedge to be cut back at the recreation field. Mr Spurge will contact the person concerned.
Mrs Hylton reported that part of the bridge on F17 has been removed. This could have been due to flooding. Mr Spurge has the planks and kindly offered to reinstate them.
Feedback of sub committees:
Village Hall: A special village hall meeting was held of 1st March 2007 to discuss the replacement of the heating system. Quotes have been requested from three contractors to allow a decision to be made.
A separate site meeting is being held on Friday 23rd March 2007 to review the practicality of having a bulk gas tank installed which will need to be located 3 metres from any boundary or building.
The issue of the removal of a couple of the hall strip lights which are completely ineffective was also discussed and the village hall committee are going to obtain an estimate for this work.
Crime Prevention Panel: Nothing to report.
Fun Day: This was reported at the Annual Assembly. Progressing well.
Accounts for Payment:
Powergen Village Hall Lighting March D/D £ 43.00
Just Lamps (UK) Ltd Street Light Maintenance D/D £ 37.94
E-On Street Lighting February D/D £ 80.91
Frinton & Walton Town Council Bus Escorts 700677 £100.00
Coast to Coast Donation 700678 £ 50.00
Shaw & Sons Limited Account Book 700680 £ 57.45
Miss J Bootyman Clerks Wages & Expenses 700681 £247.61
TOTAL £616.91
Accounts proposed as correct by Mr Spurge, seconded Mr Harrington, carried unanimously.
End of year finance report:
Due to the grants we received very late in the year, it is anticipated that we will end the financial year with a small surplus which will help replenish our depleted reserves. After looking at the financial report the anticipated balance, after taking into account all actual, committed and predicted expenditure, leaves a surplus of approximately £3,500.00.
£500.00 is earmarked for transfer into the war memorial fund account and £2,168.76 has been raised or donated towards the memorial restoration.
It is therefore proposed to transfer a total of £2.700.00 into the war memorial account, to be used to supplement the grant we have received and the residue to be used for other appropriate projects within the parish. Proposed Mr Daniels, seconded Mrs Hylton, carried unanimously.
Village Hall electricity charges:
We have reviewed the electricity charges we are paying for the village hall. Currently British Gas is able to offer a significantly better rate as follows:
Current Rate British Gas Rate Percentage reduction
Primary Units 15.24 p/kwh 8.27 p/kwh 45.73%
Weekend Units 7.06 p/kwh 5.73 p/kwh 26.61%
¼ Standing Charge £28.88 £19.00 34.21%
After reviewing the account we are £390.45 in credit, so it is suggested we request an immediate refund and change our energy supplier. Proposed Ms Schooling, seconded Mrs Mason, carried unanimously. Clerk to action.
Clerk has received a letter from the “Oakstones”. In previous years we have donated £60, would we like to donate again this year? Proposed Mrs Mason, seconded Ms Schooling, carried unanimously.
Essex Playing Fields have asked if we would like to become members and after discussion it was decided we would not.
Correspondence:
EALC County Update
Tendring District Council Summons & Agenda
Forward Plan 65
Essex County Council East Essex Area Forum Future Meetings
Society of Local Council Clerks The Clerk
Miscellaneous Enjoy England Celebrate St Georges Day
EEAPTC News
There being no further business, Chairman closed the meeting at 9:25pm.
None
