|
Dedham |
Minutes of meeting held on 8th April 2009
|
DEDHAM PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of Meeting held on 8th April, , 2009, In the Assembly Rooms Present: In the Chair Cllr. R. Moorhouse (part-time then Cllr. Laverick)Councillors Mrs. A. Cannon, R. Cannon, M. Dempsey , B. Hindley, R. Laverick, Mrs. K. Spencer, Mr. S. White Ward Councillor C. Garnett Parish Clerk Mrs. J. Flewin Electors 8 PCSO Natalie King 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE None. 2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING 3. MATTERS ARISING (a) 106 Agreement Suggestions/Allotments Since the last meeting the offer of land for allotments in the Ardleigh Road/Long Road area has been withdrawn and it will therefore be necessary to find another site. There had been objections and Cllr. Mrs. Spencer had personally spoken with residents who were anxious about the proposal. After some discussion it was felt that although there was no immediate prospect of finding a new site this should not delay the formation of an Allotment Association which would be a springboard for future plans. Cllr. Appleby had attended the previous meeting and felt that the situation would have been strengthened had there been support from an already formed Association. He therefore put forward a proposal that an Allotment Association should be formed even though no allotments existed at the present time. This proposal was seconded by Cllr. Cannon, with 6 in favour and 2 abstentions. Meanwhile a new site would be sought. Cllr. Cannon pointed out there would be fewer constraints if the land was outside the AONB. Information from CBC about a Grants Website has been passed to Cllr. Dempsey for information. The Grants sub-committee’s suggestions for use of 106 Agreement money were still to be discussed and it was agreed that a streamlined list would be brought to the next meeting. So far the Sports Club have intimated that they would like a “bowls winder” for the indoor Bowls Club. Cllrs. Moorhouse and Appleby, having looked at the High Street, suggested two “flower tanks”, one by the stream at the Craft Centre and one under the parish notice board in Royal Square. Further information would be brought to the next meeting. (b) Flooding – Long Road East There has been no response to the Parish Council’s letter to Highways regarding a letter written to them by a resident complaining of surface water on Long Road East which was a hazard to road users. Cllr. Moorhouse has visited the resident concerned and suggested the ditches be cleared and levels extended to enable the water to run away thus reducing the risk of flooding. (c) Parking at Sports Pavilion This will be looked at during the walkabout with Highways. (d) Items under AOB The missing “crossroads” sign on Castle Hill has been replaced. Cllr. Laverick has re-positioned three saplings on the sports field by the tennis pavilion which were interfering with grass cutting. These were originally planted by the Youth Club with the permission of the Parish Council. They have been advised of the move. Following an inspection of the Duchy Barn shed, Cllr. Laverick was very concerned that it was in a bad state of repair. In his opinion it was in a dangerous condition with the possibility of the roof collapsing posing a threat to anyone inside or passing by. The Clerk will make enquiries regarding responsibility for the building which is insured by the Parish Council. The VAS unit seemed to be working in Ardleigh Road. Cllr. Hindley explained that Highways carried out a survey after six months, and again after twelve months, to see if the unit was having the desired effect of reducing speeding. |
|
4. CORRESPONDENCE (a) Guide Dogs Walk Permission was sought for the annual Guide Dogs walk on Sunday, 7th June with the usual stall in Royal Square from 9 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. There were no objections to this. (b) Dedham Parish Churchyard A plea for financial help for the upkeep of the churchyard has been received and it was agreed that the 2008 donation of £1,350 be repeated this year. (c) Horkesley Park Heritage & Conservation Centre A newsletter from The Dedham Vale Society summarising the main objections to the Centre was circulated. A covering letter from Little Horkesley Parish Council asked for support in objecting to the proposal. Previous parish council’s had taken a view to object, but the Planning sub-Committee needed to know the views of the current parish council before making a response. Time is short and Cllr. Garnett suggested a copy of the presentation be circulated to all members who could then advise the Clerk of their personal opinion to be passed on to the Ward Councillor. Cllr. Garnett promised to ensure that this was placed before CBC before the closing date, which has been extended beyond the original date of 17th April. 5. REPORT OF PCSO Natalie King was happy to advise that there had been no serious crime in Dedham during the last six weeks. However she stressed that residents did need to be aware, particularly when leaving items in cars and locking up. 6. FOOTPATHS/PLAY AREA Cllr. Appleby reported that a plank across Footpath 38 had broken causing slight injury to Mr. Hodson. This had now been repaired. He asked that the Clerk write to the residents of Sleepy Hollow, Coopers Lane, (copy to Dan Freeman ) asking for the removal of the laurel branches on Footpath 38. The footpath opposite the Rose & Crown now had a new fence which was most welcome. Following the planting of potatoes the footpaths from Manningtree Road had needed to be reinstated. This has now been done. PPP Grant confirmation has been received for £2,500 for the upkeep of some parish footpaths. Cllr. Appleby was pleased to report several compliments received regarding the condition of the parish paths. ROSPA will carry out their inspection of the play area in May. A notice on the pavilion wall stating that parking by the pavilion was for Sports Club users only has been missing for some time. It has been suggested that a replacement notice be obtained as this will at least add some authority to asking car owners to move. Cllr. Laverick undertook to approach Charles Clover to see if he knew what had happened to the original notice. Following further complaints about bad language on the football pitch Cllr. Mrs. Cannon had attended a match and asked to speak to the referee in charge. Having made the point to him that bad language was unacceptable he had spoken to the teams and the match had been conducted without much trouble. The Sports Club suggested that the Parish Council should write to the Chairman of the Essex, Suffolk and Borders League about this problem. Our PCSO will endeavour to attend the game over the Easter weekend. |
|
7. DEDHAM SURGERY Directors had attended the N.E. Essex Health Board meeting when official approval was given to the use of the Dedham Health Centre by the Ardleigh practice and it was hoped that this would be up and running by the end of June or early July.. Cllr. Garnett said that the success of the surgery after more than 7 years was due in no small way to the constant support of residents both in Dedham and neighbouring villages. This had never wavered and had surely been a major factor in this success story. The Network practices will continue, but this had always been on the assumption that a doctor’s surgery would take precedence. 8. ACCOUNTS It was agreed that the following accounts be paid: £ Mr. a. Hodson – Hours worked in March 136.00 PPP 300.00 Back pay for 2008 78.00 Mrs. O.M. Ruff – Litter 141.75 Essex Police Authority 3,500.00 Assembly Rooms Hire 132.00 Dedham Sports Club – Grass cutting (half-year) 1,026.60 Duchy Barn – Hire 10.00 St. Mary’s Church 1,350.00
Income Parish Precept (half-year) £13,500.00
9. PLANNING The Planning sub-committee has dealt with the following applications: COL/09/0375 4 Bargate Lane, Dedham. First floor side extension over existing single storey side extension. Comments: No objections, recommend approval.
COL/09/0373 Woodburn, Ardleigh Road, Dedham. Insertion of dormer window to north elevation and variation of Condition 3 of F/COL/03/0764 to allow clear glazing to existing dormer to the north elevation. Comments: Approve in principle – but conditions regarding overview of adjacent property.
COL/08/0421 Hill Farm, Long Road East, Dedham. Demolish existing conservatory and replace with Day Room. Comments: No objections providing there is a letter of support from Listed Building Officer.
CBC has approved the following applications: COL/09/1931 6 Royal Square, Dedham. Sound insulation on ground floor party wall.
COL/09/0111 Dedham Car Park, Mill Lane, Dedham. Information Board.
COL/09/0041 Rusty Tiles, Coggeshall Road, Dedham. Single storey extension and loft conversion.
COL/08/0101 Winterflood House, Anchor Lane, Dedham. First floor alterations.
COL/09/0097 Beech House, High Street, Dedham. Demolition of garage.
COL/09/0119 The Octagon, Mill Lane, Dedham. Demolish existing dwarf wall and fence and replace with same to match existing.
CBC has refused the following application.: COL/09/1782 Beech House, High Street, Dedham Construction of new single storey dwelling. A letter from Mrs. Cathy Alexandrou (nee Sampson) asked for advice on planning issues regarding Sandilands, Gun Hill, which property she had inherited. Cllr. Cannon will reply. Discussion and investigation is ongoing in respect of building adjacent to Berryfields, Coggeshall Road, and land in Long Road West. |
|
10. REPORT OF BOROUGH COUNCILLOR Four temporary toilets have been installed in the Mill Lane car park whilst those in the recreation ground are being refurbished and likely to be out of order for some time. Cllr. Mrs. Cannon pointed out that these did not include a disabled toilet. Cllr. Garnett will try to rectify this. Certain businesses have agreed to allow the public to use their toilets, but the Parish Council has received no information about this scheme. The tenants meeting had been held with representatives of Colchester Borough Council which had been helpful. The Business Board for the car park had been approved and is now being made. Leaflets are also being prepared. The highways walkabout will take place on Wednesday, 15th April. Those members attending should meet at the war memorial at 2 p.m. 11. PUBLIC REPRESENTATIONS It was suggested that it would have been more appropriate to have temporary toilets alongside those being refurbished rather than some distance away. Although notices had been put up by CBC, and added to by those prepared by Cllr. Mrs. Cannon, the public would automatically go to the sports field. The children’s play area would also be better catered for. Cllr. Garnett will follow up this suggestion and if possible obtain another temporary toilet on the sports field. On the subject of allotments, a resident thanked Cllr. Mrs. Spencer for taking the trouble to visit them. Residents had become very anxious in view of the fact that the scheme seemed to be getting much bigger than was first anticipated involving a vast number of pitches (via CBC). This may or may not have been the case but residents had been extremely concerned over plans for the field in question. An idea from a resident interested in having an allotment involved possible “garden sharing” by registered members of the proposed Allotment Association. There were residents with too much garden to deal with who might be willing to “share” an area and benefit from the results. This will be considered once the association had been formed. Motorbikes were causing a nuisance around the village and the PCSO is aware of this. 12. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Unfortunately Mrs. Ruff, our very dedicated Litter Warden, has advised that due to family commitments she will not be able to put in the full six hours every week and has suggested we may like to advertise the job. It was agreed that a notice be placed in the parish magazine. Meantime Mrs. Ruff will continue to do the hours that she can manage. Dirty road signs would be reported to the Highways Rangers. Unfortunately, due to harassment by an unknown member of the public demanding the barrier key, The Essex Rose is not prepared to hold the emergency key in future. Cllr. Mrs. Cannon will approach The Marlborough Head to see if they would be prepared to be a holder. 13. DATE & TIME OF NEXT MEETING The next Ordinary Meeting will be be held on Wednesday, 13th May, 2009, at 7 p.m. in the Assembly Rooms. This will be followed by the Parish Assembly at 8 p.m. There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.40 p.m. |