July 2008 Parish Council Minutes

Minutes of Great Oakley Parish Council Meeting

Held at the Village Hall Tuesday 15th July 2008

Present: Mr S Huk, Chairman – Mr J Tierney – Mr N Daniels – Mr B Harrington – Mrs J Hylton – Mrs J Mason – Mr B Eaton

Chairman opened meeting with prayer at 7:30 pm.

Apologies: Cllr Ferguson

Declaration of Interest: None

Public Participation: There was one parishioner present. Mrs Ling reported that a number of dog walkers would like to know why some footpaths around the village haven't been cut. Chairman informed Mrs Ling that Landowners are paid for two cuts per year by Essex County Council of which the second is due in September. We have had exceptional growth this year. Clerk has contacted Essex County Council and the person who deals with this area was on holiday. We are waiting to hear answers to our questions: What happens in years when growth is exceptional such as this year? Do Essex County Council pay for extra cuts?

Minutes of meeting held on Tuesday 17th June 2008, after being circulated, proposed as a true record by Mr Tierney, seconded Mr Daniels, carried unanimously.

Police Report: PCSO Ray Aylott reported that in June there were 2 domestics, 1 distraction burglary, 1 hoax call, 2 RTCS, 2 suspicious people – asking about horses in fields in the Tendring area.

The police are trying to organise a football tournament during the summer holidays with not much response from the Harwich area. We were asked if we know of anyone aged 11-13 years who would be interested to get in touch.

It was reported to PCSO Ray Aylott that the person who is riding around the village on a trial bike was in Back Lane on Sunday afternoon, speeding.

August Meeting: We usually have a meeting break in August and after discussing this was agreed. Proposed Mrs Mason, seconded Mr Daniels, carried unanimously.

Progress Report

Dog Bin
As agreed at the last meeting, Mr Hiles will fit the dog bin as soon as possible.

Princes Trust
Princes Trust had contacted us requesting a meeting. Clerk has passed on Mrs Masons available days and times but has had no response to date. This has been followed up but still no response. Clerk will continue to contact them and arrange a meeting then inform all Councillors of the day and time.

Village Seat
After deciding which seat to have, we need to arrange a site meeting with Highways to discuss the final location. We will also have to sign their contract before work can progress. Clerk will arrange a meeting with Highways and inform all Councillors.

Sparrows Corner Sign
Clerk has collected and paid for the sign and after discussion, will ask Mr Hiles to put the sign in place.

Recycling
Clerk has met with Bill Smith from Tendring District Council who has said we can have the recycling facility at the village hall providing the neighbouring properties give their approval. We are still awaiting a response from Millview. Clerk to chase.

Wooden Oakley Sign
Carpenters have been contacted to repair the sign. One carpenter has suggested fabricating a steel reinforcing brace to be bolted to the back of the sign. We need two other quotes, therefore Mrs Hylton and Mr Tierney will pass on details of possible craftsmen to the Clerk.

Stile at Pesthouse Lane
Essex County Council have been contacted, and the area has been cleared but we would like to ask Mrs Hylton to check the stile to see if it has been repaired. The progress will be reported to Clerk.

Potholes/hedge - High Barn Farm
Clerk has contacted Essex County Council to report a large pot hole in the road and an overgrown hedge in this area. Essex County Council have said an inspection of the carriageway will be carried out and any defects will be repaired in accordance with their current Highways maintenance policy. The overgrown hedge will be cut back after the current bird nesting season, which ends in September.

Bus Shelter
At the previous meeting a bus shelter was chosen and Clerk has sent away an application form for funding.

War Memorial Dedication
Chairman updated those who were not present at the last meeting about the correction that is required to the inscription. Regarding the dedication, Chairman is attempting to arrange a meeting with the British Legion and the Vicar.

Printer
Council have agreed to fund the purchase of a printer for the use of parish council work only. Clerk is to investigate the cost of replacement ink cartridges and a suitable printer.

Village Design Statement
This needs to be updated over the next six months and re-submitted to Tendring District Council. This will wait until after the summer break.

Footpath Sign
At the last meeting it was reported that a footpath sign in Back Lane had been taken down. Upon investigating, Clerk found it was still in place.

Audit
Our internal auditor has had the accounts and the books have been available to view and will remain available until the end of next week, should anyone have a query. The paperwork will then be sent to the external auditor in London for inspection.

Play Area
Our play area is in need of updating and Cllr Ferguson arranged a site meeting with Pierre Oxley from Tendring District Council to discuss the possibilities at this location. He seems to think we can have a new play area and a multi sports area and up to £50,000 of funding could be available. He has arranged for a representative to visit on 31st July. Clerk will stay in contact with Cllr Ferguson.

Highways: Clerk has received a letter from Essex County Council informing us of "No Waiting At Any Time" restrictions. They are as follows:

High Street – Southeast side – From a point 15 metres southwest of its junction with Farm Road north eastwards for a distance of 37 metres.

Farm Road – Northeast side – From its junction with High Street south eastwards for a distance of 15 metres.

Farm Road – Southwest side – From a point 21 metres south east of its junction with High Street south eastwards for a distance of 26 metres.

The Soils: Cllr Ferguson has been trying to get answers from Highways as to why this road has been resurfaced when Wix Road seemed to be in more need and to comment on the poor surface of the road.

Highways Engineer, Steve Mason, came to the site and commented that he considered that the road surface was of a high spec and better than what would normally be done on such a road. When questioned as to why it was done, considering its relatively low priority, he said that we had got to the top of the list. He agreed that our main road and that leading to Wix were awful and promised to do what he could.

Red Barn Lane: Mr Daniels offered to send photos of the road in Red Barn Lane/The Avenue to Essex County Council with a letter from Mr Tierney. These are going to be sent with defect forms which are issued for this purpose.

It was reported that a sweeper has swept out the pot holes in Back Lane which had been filled in two weeks previously. There are now pot holes once again. Back Lane has been cleared by men with shovels.

Fingerposts: Clerk has received a letter from Essex County Council saying that the locations we wish to install the signs are acceptable. They are also prepared to arrange for their contractor to install the sign on our behalf, at no expense, but the cost of any future maintenance and replacements, if the need arises, will be met by the Parish Council.

Chairman thanked Mr Daniels for all the work he has done. Chairman suggests we finalise the details and place the order. Also suggests we write to Mr Knights thanking him, informing him of our progress and will let them know when the signs are ready for installations.

The tree surgeon will attend to the tree on the Triangle in Stones Green as soon as he is available. Mrs Mason will contact him.

New Village Hall: The application requesting advice that was sent to TDC has apparently been lost, so another letter has been sent by recorded delivery.

TDC have raised a number of questions relating to the rationale behind relocating the Village Hall and the suitability of the current site for renovation or expansion. We need to arrange a site meeting to allow them to see the condition and restrictions of the existing site.

Grass Cutting: Jobsihate have been battling with the weather this year to keep up with the grass cutting. Clerk has been in contact with them requesting them to re-attend a few missed areas. They have been very responsive in doing this. One of the main problems was the edges of the playing field being missed out during previous cuts. They have since returned and resolved the problem.

Street Lighting Contract: lerk has contacted A & J Lighting to seek clarification and ask the questions raised at the last meeting. Their response was as follows:

- The price for our annual maintenance (paid monthly) will remain fixed for the term of the contract.
- The prices "fixed for one year" are for the call out fee and for parts used.
- The agreement that they have had for the past 3 years was the same and they are glad to say that there was NO price increases for the whole contract term.
- Hopefully this one will be the same, however should diesel rise to even higher prices than they currently are or the cost of parts increase dramatically, it may be necessary to implement a price change next year.
- If there are to be any changes to any price we will be given a minimum of 3 months prior notice.

After discussion, it was decided to accept the 5 year contract. Proposed Mr Daniels, seconded Mr Tierney, carried unanimously.

Planning: There are no planning applications this month but there is one planning outcome. Permission has been granted for the erection of a first floor rear extension to Forge Cottage, High Street, Great Oakley.

Public Rights of Way: Clerk has received an e-mail following a conversation with a resident of Great Oakley who has brought to our attention a path across Mr Spurge’s land is very overgrown. Essex County Council and Mr Spurge have confirmed that this path has been cut to Essex County Councils standards, but due to the unusual weather it could benefit from an extra cut by Essex County Council. Clerk has contacted Essex County Council to see if another cuts could be carried out by themselves but the person we need to speak to was on leave. Clerk will contact again and update at the next meeting.

Clerk has received a letter from Essex County Council regarding the alleged footpaths from Footpath 25 to back Lane and from Queen Street to High Street. They are currently investigating the status of the paths as part of the review of public rights of way in the Tendring District. After discussion, agreed Clerk will ask for details of their correspondence on this matter and update then as necessary.

Oak Tree Saplings
There are lots of tiny oak trees growing at the recreation field. If they are left they will keep growing or will be cut down each month when the grass is cut, which would be a shame. After discussion, it was decided to contact Jobsihate and ask for the trees to be avoided and to contact the school to ask if they would like some, maybe use some of them at Sparrows Corner and ask children from the school if they would like to be included in planting some on land at Great Oakley Lodge.

Feedback of sub committees

Village Hall
Clerk has been through Parish Council records and can’t find anything that says we employ the village hall caretaker/cleaner. Mr Brooker doesn’t recall seeing anything relating to this either. After discussion, it was decided that if the caretaker is an employee of the Parish Council, then we need to have a formal contract, job description and details of duties and responsibilities. This will include details of how and by whom this position will be paid. Chairman suggested we adopt a variation of the standard local government contract as used for the Clerk and draft a job description.

There is a closed village hall committee meeting scheduled for 7:30 pm Friday 25th July to review village hall policies and procedures.

Clerk has reminded Chairman that the Parish Council paid for the gas tank fencing which the village hall committee has agreed to pay for half. This has still not been finalised so Mrs Ling will bring to the treasurers attention.

Crime Prevention Panel
The Crime Prevention Panel met on 10th July where it was announced that they have now received a grant of £500 towards the onwards grant they made to us for the basketball hoop.

The police sponsored 5-a-side football competition will run for 8 weeks over the summer, starting 20th July.

The schools gardening competition has been judged and Great Oakley school received two prizes.

Accounts for Payment

E-On	Street Lighting	D/D	£80.91
A & J	Lighting Street Light Maintenance	D/D	£37.94
E-On	Village Hall Lighting	D/D	£25.00
Jobsihate	Grass Cutting	700761	£1160.13
The Green Gardener	Old Burial Ground	700762	£70.00
Miss J Bootyman	Clerks Wages & Expenses	700763	£252.16
History Recorders	Donation	700751	£5.00
RCCE	Membership	700760	£55.00
Allianz	Insurance	700764	£1025.17
Miss J Bootyman	Office Equipment	700759	£128.99
Oakley Groundworks	Gas Tank Fencing	700752	£528.75
TOTAL			£3394.05

This total seems high due to another cheque being issued to Allianz due to the first being cancelled after being lost by Aon. The grass cutting is for May and June, with the invoices being received after the June meeting.

After being circulated, accounts proposed as correct by Mrs Mason, seconded Mr Eaton, carried unanimously.

Income
We have received £24.50 with an application for the installation of a grave kerb. Clerk believes this to be in the new burial ground, but will check. After discussion, it was felt that this sort of memorial was not appropriate in the new burial ground as it would cause problems with grounds maintenance. If the application is for the old burial ground we have no objections. We are currently reviewing our burial ground policies along these lines and Clerk to contact applicant accordingly.

We have received £300 for a burial in the new burial ground and £529.80 for amenity grass cutting.

Total income £854.30.

It would appear that the cheque from the Crime Prevention Panel towards the basketball hoop went astray in the banking system. Consequently the original cheque has been stopped and a new one issued. The Crime Prevention Panel incurred a £10.00 charge for stopping the original cheque which they have deducted from the replacement cheque.

Correspondence
RCCE – "Linking to the Statutory Planning System" – Saturday 2nd August 2008
This event will look at how Parish Plans and Village Design Statements link to statutory plans like the Local Development Framework and the Community Strategy. This costs £25. Mr Daniels may be able to attend and he has Councils support should he go.

Essex County Council - £1 Million bonanza for highways projects announced
Eligible projects can include speed indicator devices, village gateways, dropped kerbs at crossing points or junctions, hard standing at bus stops and other projects at the area highway manager’s discretion. Projects are limited to a maximum value of £25,000 for any application.

After discussion, it was agreed we would re-request a speed survey and ask for a update on when the speed limits are going to be done. We will request a SID for Stones Green as Great Oakley has one already.

EALC – A12 Enquiry Group, Proposals to reduce accidents
RCCE – Oyster Annual Review 2007-2008 Financial Statements
Tendring District Council – Summons & Agenda, Forward Plan 81
Essex County Council – Essex Works, Making the links, Bus Timetables June 2008, Changes to bus services June/July 2008, Bus and Train Maps – Summer 2008
Miscellaneous – Glasdon Brochure, Policing Essex
Local Works – Campaigning to implement the sustainable communities act

There being no other business, Chairman closed meeting at 21:40

None