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Dedham |
Minutes of meeting held on 24th October 2007
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DEDHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes
of Meeting held on 24th October, 2007 Present: In the Chair Cllr. Mrs. Guglielmi Councillors Mrs. A. Cannon, R. Cannon, R. Cort, R. Laverick, Mr. P. Moorhouse, Mrs. L. West, J. Osborn Ward Councillor C. Garnett Parish Clerk Mrs. J. Flewin Electors 9 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE received from Cllr. Marrison 2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING having been circulated were approved and signed.
3. MATTERS ARISING (a) Recycling Units To be reported on by Cllr. Garnett, Item 9. (b) Public Toilets To be reported on by Cllr. Garnett, Item 9. (c) Village Seats Work on three seats has been completed satisfactorily. Cllr. Mrs. Cannon requested that the three seats in the play area receive similar treatment and this was agreed. (d) Brown Signs To be reported on by Cllr. Garnett, Item 9. (e) Road Sweeping Cllr. Garnett had followed this up with CBC who were finding it difficult to suggest a date for this operation. In view of the Dickensian Evening planned for early December it was agreed that the organisers of the event will arrange for leaves to be bagged and subsequently Andrew Hodson will be asked to dispose of them. (f) Parish Gates The visbility display has been cleared with a view to siting the gates in their new location in Coggeshall Road. (g) PCSO In the absence of our PCSO Cllr. Osborn was happy to report that she was settling in well and has had some success with crime prevention and dealing with incidents. She now has a mobile telephone number which will be published on the new notice boards. It was suggested that this should also be published in the parish magazine. Cllr. Cort felt that a monthly “PCSO Report” item on the agenda would be helpful and this was agreed. |
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4. CORRESPONDENCE (a) Temporary Closure – Roadworks Notification of the re-surfacing work on Grove Hill and Ardleigh Road were advised. This was part of the ongoing programme of re-surfacing work on Dedham roads and footpaths. Members felt that an excellent job was being done and when all was complete a letter of thanks should be sent to ECC Highways. (b) Mobile Library Service Revised timetables were to be published for this Service which meant that the mobile library would visit Dedham on Tuesdays instead of Fridays as from 2nd January, 2008. Details of times and places will be published in the parish magazine. (c) Dedham Map – Castle House It has been pointed out that a “P” for parking at Castle House does not appear on the Dedham map and that it would be helpful for visitors if this could be rectified. Cllr. Garnett has taken this on board and is in discussion with the Dedham Vale & Stour Valley Project. However, some distinction would need to be made inasmuch as parking is only available for visitors to Castle House during opening times and not for general use. (d) Skateboard – Half-Pipe at Mistley Cllr. Michael Dew, Tendring District Council, has written to say that the Skateboarding Half-Pipe installed at Furze Hill, Mistley had been considered a success and that it was felt there was a desire for it to be made permanent. The Chairman had visited the site on occasions and expressed the view that it hadn’t been used that much and had been rather a long way for Dedham children to visit. Before commenting further it was agreed that the local children, including the Youth Club, be asked for their opinion of its worth, how many had attended and how often. 5. FOOTPATHS/PLAY AREA Playsafe Construction Ltd Mr. Dave Bower has advised that this company will be closing on the 30th November and will therefore no longer be available for maintenance of the children’s play area. Other avenues will need to be explored and Cllr. Osborn will progress this matter. As the season drew to a close Cllr. Osborn said that we had been well funded by PPP and the footpaths had been kept in good order. Kissing gates on the Essex Way behind Winterflood needed some work and someone who would do this work was being sought. There were problems also with kissing gates on Cllr. Moorhouse’s land which had been advised to the Dedham Vale & Stour Valley Project who had promised to investigate and repair. Cllr. Moorhouse said that their response was too slow and not good enough, particularly in view of the current problems with cattle and he had already carried out repairs to one gate. It was agreed that Cllr. Osborn’s approach should be followed by a letter from the Parish Council asking for urgent action in respect of two further gates. Cllr. Laverick has obtained an O.S. Licence which has enabled him to reproduce a map of local footpaths which will be posted on the new notice boards when they are erected. This is very clear and easy to follow. It was suggested that this should be made generally available to the public but in view of the Licence restrictions it was agreed that it would be better to see what interest was shown before taking the matter further. |
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6. DEDHAM SURGERY The footway in Manningtree Road has been completed and it was hoped that restrictions on the use of the surgery building would be removed soon. There was to be a meeting next week with the Dedham Vale Network to discuss this. One cause for concern was the telephone pole which had not been removed by BT and which was an obstruction on the footpath. It was agreed that an urgent letter be sent to BT requesting its removal, pointing out their legal responsibilities in the event of an accident on this unlit stretch of footpath. 7. ACCOUNTS It was agreed that the following accounts be paid: £ Mr. A. Hodson - Hours worked in September - Maintenance 130.00 PPP 275.00 Mrs. O.M. Ruff – Litter 195.00 Lubbock Fine – Auditors 334.88 CBC – Electricity charges 34.29 Dedham Sports Club – Grass cutting 2nd half 826.60 Essex Police – PCSO 2,663.00 St. Helena Hospice – Donation 50.00 G. Lane – Village seats 132.00 R. Laverick - O.S. Licence 55.81 Web Hosting 56.26 R. Cannon – Planning expenses 27.92 Mirage Display & Exhibitions Ltd. – Notice boards 2,673.13
Income Precept – 2nd Half - £13,500 CBC – Toilets – August Bank Holiday - £88.13 8. PLANNING The Planning sub-committee has dealt with the following applications: COL/07/2229 Rusty Tiles, Coggeshall Road, Dedham. Demolish garage and erect new bungalow. Comments: Recommend refusal. Access issues.
COL/07/2313 Park Farm, Coopers Lane, Dedham. Agricultural land for grazing and stabling. Comments: No objections
COL/07/2389 St. Margarets, High Street, Dedham. Single storey conservatory and loft conversion. Comments: No objections but front of property to be as original.
COL/072392 Shiloh, Long Road East, Dedham. Two storey front extension. Alterations and conservatory. Comments: No objections.
COL/07/2471 Hedgerows, Long Road East, Dedham. Change of use to domestic garden. Comments: No objections if conditions are adhered to.
COL/07/1664 Landsdown, Bargate Lane, Dedham. Revised plans for single storey annexe for elderly relative. Comments: Initial objections overcome. Recommend approval with conditions.
CBC has approved the following applications: COL/07/1879 Sunridge, Coles Oak Lane, Dedham. Insert three pitched roof dormers.
COL/07/2009 Riddings House, The Heath, Dedham. Construct carport and reposition access to highway.
COL/07/2107 Backwaters, Bargate Lane, Dedham. Demolish existing garage and erect single storey front and side extensions
COL/07/2147 White Cottage, Monks Lane, Dedham. Proposed alterations and extensions.
CBC has refused the following applications. COL/07/1362 Old Church House, The Heath, Dedham. 1359 New garage and convert existing into living accommodation.
COL/07/2209 Jays, East Lane, Dedham. Two storey side extension. |
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9. REPORT OF BOROUGH COUNCILLOR In view of a negative response from Mr. McManus to the Parish Council’s desire for a toilet block in the Mill Lane car park area, Cllr. Garnett will now take the matter up with the Portfolio Holder. The Parish Council is firmly of the opinion that toilets in the car park are needed, and Cllr. Garnett will be pressing for reasonable temporary toilets for the summer period at the very least. With regard to the inadequate bottle banks in the car park, Cllr. Garnett will investigate with the Portfolio Holder why the promised larger bottle banks have not materialised. Cllr. Garnett was asked to convene a meeting with the various organisations concerned to discuss the “brown signs” project. It is hoped that this project can move forward once all relevant parties have been consulted. The rail outside the Art Centre has been made secure and the Ardleigh Road fingerpost replaced. 10. PUBLIC REPRESENTATION The Clerk was asked to write to EEC for information as to the status of the bus stop on the Marlborough Head side of Royal Square in view of parking difficulties there. Following a discussion on kissing gates v. stiles Cllr. Osborn pointed out that it was EEC policy to replace all stiles with gates in order that elderly and disabled persons have freer access to the countryside. 11. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Cllr. Cannon will be meeting with a representative of CBC to discuss storm water run-off generally, and Coggeshall Road in particular. It is felt that this is because ditches are not being maintained satisfactorily. Cllr.Laverick hopes to attend the annual meeting for Emergency Plan co-ordinators on 13th November. Dedham Parish Church is to hold a Xmas Tree Festival during the weekend of 1st December. It was agreed that the Parish Council will take part and the Chairman asked for details. In view of the threat of closure for the Post Offices in Langham and Lawford it was agreed that a letter of support for their retention be sent to RCCE who are organising a countywide event to advise and support those parishes affected. Cllr. Cort had attended the Dedham VDS meeting when the statement was finalised. This has now gone forward to CBC for final approval. Following a renewed link with Dedham, Iowa, USA, the Parish Council had received a cook book produced by them to celebrate their 125th anniversary together with a request for a message from the Parish Council along the lines of that received by them to commemorate their 100th anniversary sent by the Dedham Parish Council of the day. Cllrs. Osborn and Laverick had produced an attractive greeting which all members signed and this will be sent to Iowa with the good wishes of all members. 12. DATE & TIME OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be on Wednesday, 13th November, at 7.30 p.m. in the Assembly Rooms, Dedham. There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.50 p.m. |