|
Dedham |
Minutes of meeting held on 10 February 2010
|
DEDHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Meeting held on 10th February, 2010 in the Assembly Rooms Present: In the Chair Cllr. R. Laverick Councillors R. Appleby, Mrs. A. Cannon, R. Cannon, M. Dempsey, R. Hindley. Mrs. K. Spencer, S. White Parish Clerk Mrs. J. Flewin Local Electors 2 PCSO Mark Hibben The Chairman welcomed Chief Inspector Adrian Coombs and colleague to the meeting. He was in attendance to give a synopsis of current policing in and around Colchester, particularly with regard to Night Time Economy Policing and the benefits from this to rural areas. Colchester town centre is very large with 260 licensed premises now able to open seven days a week and which no longer have to close at a reasonable hour - in fact some are open until 5 a.m. This leads to excessive drinking by both men and women, aggression and violent crime. The number of police needed on the streets of Colchester to deal with this draws in those who would otherwise be patrolling rural areas. To help ease the manpower situation Chief Inspector Coombs outlined the various strategies which are in place. There are 65 Street Pastor schemes operating at the present time. They provide early intervention, calm down behaviour, give water and even replace lost footwear amongst other things. The Community SOS bus is invaluable, manned by volunteers and supported by local agencies such as the fire service, local drugs charities, etc. and provides a safe haven. It is equipped to deal with minor injuries, etc. which would otherwise have to go to A. & E. The bus is also used to visit colleges, schools, etc. advising on crime prevention, fire safety, dangerous driving, neighbourhood watch. There are Street Wardens and Special Constables who with the police work closely in conjunction with the Military Police. Night Time Economy with all the support involved does enable local Neighbourhood Specialist Officers to be released from Town Centre duty to carry out local neighbourhood policing which is of prime importance. Dedham is fortunate to have its own PCSO and Vicky Sanders is the Neighbourhood Specialist Officer. Chief Inspector Coombs said he would be happy to return if requested when the weather was less atrocious and the Chairman thanked him for coming along and giving such an informative presentation. |
|
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE received from C.Cllr. Mrs. Brown, Cllr. Garnett and Cllr. Stock. 2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING having been circulated were approved subject to the comment that under item 4. Parish Plan, first sentence, it should be noted that Mr. Anstutz had given a talk to the Steering Committee and not the full Parish Council. 3. MATTERS ARISING (a) Duchy Barn Shed An acknowledgement of Cllr. Laverick’s letter to Rev. Mitson had been received. The matter will be discussed at the next Duchy Barn Committee meeting. (b) High Street Smells Following Mr. Gale’s attendance at the previous meeting Cllr. Cannon felt it appropriate to confirm what had been suggested and agreed by Mr. Gale on behalf of Anglian Water. During February gas levels in two designated manholes would be monitored. Data would be collated as to when the pumps at the Pumping Station concerned would be operating, high wet well situations and any failures which may occur to the pumps or dosing equipment to enable any correlations to be established. Cllr. Cannon had also requested a plan showing the sewer system upstream of the High Street in order that Councillors are fully aware of the extent of this system. This has now been received. In addition Cllr. Appleby will monitor rainfall, etc. and Cllr. White will log data regarding awareness of bad odours. (c) Heath Crossroads In response to Cllr. Hindley’s enquiry regarding additional Give Way signs at The Heath crossroads, Highways advise that signs are only erected on the righthand side of the road if it is a one way street or there are multiple lane approaches to the give way line. The VAS unit is now up and running in Long Road East/West which it was hoped will reduce traffic speeds. (d) Salt Bins C.Cllr. Brown was making enquiries re cost and maintenance of new bins. In the meantime several extra yellow bins had appeared in the village and all bins appeared to have been filled. (e) Dog Signage for Sports Field Cllr. Laverick advised that three signs stating that dogs must be kept under control at all times would cost £103.11 It was agreed that these signs should be purchased and he would deal with this on his return from holiday. (f) Letters of thanks As agreed the Chairman had written to the postmen, dustmen and milkman to thank them for their excellent service during the recent spell of extreme weather. 4. PARISH PLAN Cllr. Dempsey reported that the Steering Committee had met on 5th January. A contribution of £860 had been received from the DVSV Project and RCCE have indicated they will help with workshops The Parish Plan Public Consultation day has been fixed for 24th April, 2010 in the Assembly Rooms. This will include an Exhibition of Historical Photos with a Photographic Competition of Dedham in the present day. Full details will be published in the parish magazine. 5. CORRESPONDENCE (a) Cross Border Children’s Centre Early details of this scheme have been advised. The Initial centre will be at East Bergholt Primary School but it is hoped it will spread out to neighbouring cross border centres. Further information is expected and this will be added to the agenda of the next meeting. (b) Plant Sale The Dedham Horticultural Society request permission to hold their annual plant sale in Royal Square on 8th May, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon.. There was no objection to this. The Society have sent a donation of £25 towards the upkeep of the flower tubs at the village pump site. (c) Dedham Allotment Association A letter of thanks for the help given by the Parish Council in the formation of the Association has been received. Now that the project has been passed by the National Trust Committee members are looking forward to the start of a successful venture which will be an asset to the village. (d) BT Payphone – Dedham High Street CBC have advised that they have supported the objections voiced by the Parish Council to the removal of the red kiosk in the High Street. It is understood that BT will retain this payphone until such time as a further review is carried out. 6. REPORT OF PCSO Mark Hibben has again spoken with residents regarding parking on the corner of Southfields. He will continue to monitor the situation. The building site on the corner of Coggeshall Road/Dedham Meade has been approached regarding the mud on the road and the parking of workers’ cars. They are aware of the situation and it should improve. During the icy conditions the Mill Lane car park has again become popular for “racing”. PCSO Hibben will increase patrols in that area. The dog bin in the Mill Lane car park has a broken lid and needs attention. Cllr. Mrs. Cannon will report this. Our PCSO has participated in Speed Watch and will include the vulnerable, elderly residents, empty premises in future patrols. He has now got a bicycle but must undergo training before its use. He is also following up the question of the Youth Bus. |
|
7. FOOTPATHS/PLAY AREA Two new kissing gates have been installed on F.26 with the help of PPP and several volunteers. Due to the changing policies of the PPP set up and requirements of ECC it was felt that the job of “footpath representative” was becoming too onerous for one person. Whilst there is no clear indication of new demands under the PPP scheme it was proposed that Cllr. White should become footpath representative, in conjunction with Cllr. Laverick and Mr. Osborn (Footpath Group Chairman) with the support of Cllr. Appleby’s extensive knowledge of footpaths in the area. The proposal by Cllr. Laverick, seconded by Cllr. Hindley, received a majority vote of 6 for and 1 against. The new equipment in the play area has been installed and is proving popular. The railings on the pavilions steps have been completed and the trees along The Drift trimmed. 8. ACCOUNTS It was unanimously agreed that the following accounts be paid. £ A. Hodson – Hours worked in January 144.00 Mrs. O.M. Ruff - Litter 161.00 Assembly Rooms – Hire for meetings 100.80 Armour Engineering – Railings 1,480.50 Park Leisure Ltd – Play equipment 2,828.23 R. Cannon – Planning expenses 68.03
Income: VAT Refund £749.98 PPP Grant £2,280.00 Following a meeting of the Finance Committee it was recommended that the Precept for 2010/2011 be set at £27,500, an increase of £500. Recommended increases from 1.4.10 are Mr. Hodson – 50p. per hr. to £12.50 per hr. i.e. £37.50 per week Mrs. O.M. Ruff – 25p. per hr. to £7.25 per hr. i.e. £43.50 per week. Clerk £100 per annum to £2,950 per annum. Essex Police have advised there would be no increase in parish match funding for the PCSO for the coming financial year. Members unanimously accepted all the recommendations. |
|
9. PLANNING The Planning sub-Committee has dealt with the following applications: COL/0022 Birchwood Hotel, Birchwood Road, Dedham. Four illuminated signs. Comments: Recommend approval but lighting must be as for Rural Area.
COL/1605 1 Threadneedle Street, Dedham. 1st floor bathroom foul vent and velux render to fire surround. Comments: Recommend approval.
COL/0044 Blomfields Farm, Long Road, East, Dedham. Swimming pool for use of the public. Comments: Recommend temporary approval with condition of no commercial signage outside gates – property in AONB.
COL/0047 Seasons, Monks Lane, Dedham. 1st floor extension and bedroom in roof space. Resubmission of 082034 Comments: Recommend refusal. Not in keeping.
The following applications have been approved by CBC.
COL/1500 Orwell, Long Road West, Dedham. Alterations to roof for additional rooms.
COL/1477 6 Dedham Meade, Dedham. Extension and alterations to existing dwelling.
COL/0766 1 Roman Place (Doctors’ Surgery), Manningtree Road, Dedham. Variation of opening hours.
COL1585 Park Farm Cottage, Coopers Lane, Dedham. Proposed rear extension.
The following applications have been refused by CBC. COL/1487 27 Forge Street, Dedham. Single storey front extension.
COL/1511 Silver Birches, Old Ipswich Road, Dedham. Single storey side extension.
10. REPORT OF BOROUGH COUNCILLOR In the absence of Cllr. Garnett there was nothing to report. 11. PUBLIC REPRESENTATION Nothing. |
|
12. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Cllr. Mrs Cannon asked if an application could be made for use of 106 money for rabbit fencing for the allotments. The Allotment Association has already raised £1,000 for the project (total cost £2,759.60) and after some discussion it was unanimously agreed that CBC should be approached with a view to obtaining the balance from 106 monies. There have been complaints about the condition of Royal Square particularly following the recent bad weather. This is a matter for discussion at a later date. At the present time no one has come forward to take up the reins relinquished by Judith Fowle in respect of the organisation of the August Bank Holiday event. Cllr. Laverick will again publish a notice in the parish magazine stating that if there is no volunteer the event will not take place. Cllr. Dempsey was pleased to report that Awards for All has given a grant of £3,775 towards the outdoor gym project. Details of “sandless sandbags” received by Cllr. Hindley will be passed to John Osborn. 13. DATE & TIME OF NEXT MEETING This will be held on Wednesday, 10th March, at 7.30 p.m. in the Assembly Rooms, Dedham. There being no other business the meeting closed at 9 p.m. |