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Dedham |
Minutes of meeting held on 9th September 2009
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DEDHAM PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES
of meeting held on
9th
September, 2009, in
Present: In the Chair Cllr. R. Laverick
Councillors R. Appleby, Mrs. A. Cannon, R. Cannon,
M. Dempsey, Ward Councillor C. Garnett Parish Clerk Mrs. J. Flewin Electors 13 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE received from Cllr. White. 2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING having been circulated were approved subject to the following amendments: Minute 3 (g) line 3 should read “Mill Hill” not “Jupes Hill”, Minute 6, page 109, para. 3 should read “plastic tube” not “metal”. 3. MATTERS ARISING (a) 106 Agreement Funds Cllr. Dempsey has prepared a questionnaire for public consultation and has received a good response from those already distributed. The fitness trail will be publicised in the parish magazine and Cllr. Dempsey will speak with Mr. Clover, Chairman DVS. Cllr. Garnett confirmed that the 106 Agreement funds will benefit from the construction of the Hotel at Birchwood and the Parish Council should seriously consider using this money for the benefit of the village. (b) Parish Plan Cllr. Stock has established a Steering Committee of five and their first meeting will be on 21st September. (c) Duchy Barn Shed An application for listing this building was turned down in 2002 so funding under this heading will not be available. It was agreed that the request for more information from the Duchy of Lancaster should be followed up and the vicar will be provided with photographs of the building. Meanwhile it was agreed that quotes for making the building safe would be sought. (d) Dedham Village Day Bank Holiday Monday event had been a great success with excellent weather and large crowds. There had been no complaints about loud music and no particular problems. It was agreed that a letter of thanks be sent to Judith Fowle as principal organiser who has indicated that she did not wish to co-ordinate the event next year. The Chairman hoped that someone would come forward to take up the reins. It was reported that the toilets had not been opened at the correct time as stated on the notice and also toilet rolls had needed replacing. Cllr. Garnett would look into the matter of timings which he understood were under review. (e) VAS Unit Following the Parish Council’s decision at the last meeting Cllr. Hindley has again consulted with Jennifer Gudka of Highways regarding the placement of a VAS unit in Long Road. The preferred siting of a unit in the vicinity of Church View, Long Road West, has been considered and turned down due to the fact that it would be too close to the start of the 30 mph speed limit. The Unit needs to be a minimum of 60 m. from the start of the speed limit. Other sites would be outside houses which it was felt would not be popular. It was proposed that if no other site was available the original suggestion, i.e. in the layby beside Old Church House would be approved. This proposal was carried by a vote of 4 for, 1 against and 3 abstentions. |
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(f) Blackbrook In response to a letter regarding the maintenance of the Blackbrook the Environment Agency had replied that their maintenance programme was now managed by their Operations Delivery teams from Chelmsford. The Stour field team continued to carry out annual maintenance on this watercourse and now that crops are being harvested the upper Main River reach will be visited in a few weeks. Further downstream only hand clearance is possible and this is planned for later in the autumn. They point out that the playing field and surrounding areas are in the flood plain and will be at flood risk regardless of any maintenance programme. Local riparian landowners are responsible for the day to day maintenance of the watercourse. Keeping culverts clear is the prime responsibility of the landowner or County Council if forming part of a highway. (g) Sports Field The hedge at the School Lane end of the field has been cut. A quote of £304.75 (incl. VAT) for the trimming of the trees along The Drift has been received from Bland Landscapes. The Chairman will obtain a further quotation from another tree specialist. More information is required as to the whereabouts of the metal posts reported to be in the ground. Mr. Clark will provide this. The ground spiker is now in the machinery enclosure. Following complaints regarding dog fouling and dogs off leads and the visit of a Roving Community Street Warden (Dog Warden) to the playing field lengthy discussions took place on how best to deal with the problem. In the vast majority of cases responsible dog owners picked up after their animals and to our knowledge in the past there had never been a problem with dogs running off the lead. It was unanimously agreed that new notices were required which would specifically request that dogs be “kept under control at all time” and that owners should “clear up” after their animals. Cllr. Garnett would look into a request for a dog poo bin in the Mill Lane car park (h) Other Matters (under AOB) Cllr. Dempsey felt that consideration should be given to applying for a CIF Highways Grant which had been mentioned by Beverley Davies at the August meeting. He would like to see a form of priority lane for traffic in Mill Lane which would improve the safety of pedestrians and cars on this narrow stretch of road. It was suggested that C.Cllr. Ann Brown be approached about this idea. Cllr. Mrs. Spencer would like to see a safe walkway in Long Road East but other residents in the area felt there was sufficient cut verge available, albeit on one side only, where pedestrians could safely walk. Again it was suggested that C.Cllr. Ann Brown be approached to see if the verge in question could be flailed. Cllr. Hindley reported that a replacement Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator had not come forward. It was hoped that this important resource would somehow be able to carry on for the immediate future. The Marlborough Head had removed the flower basket which had blocked the road sign. There was nothing further to report on the bad smells in the High Street. Skanska Civil Engineering were at present carrying our upgrade work on the Dedham Sewage Treatment Works which will continue until March 2010. Cllr. Garnett suggested that although this work was not responsible for the long standing bad smells about which complaints had been made to Anglian Water, Mr. Hugh McGlinchey, Site Manager, may be prepared to attend a parish council meeting to talk with members and residents and perhaps give advice. He will endeavour to make contact with Mr. McGlinchey. Cllr. Garnett also advised that the residents who signed the petition would be better served writing letters to the Environment Agency and CBC as they were more personal and more likely to elicit a reply. |
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4. CORRESPONDENCE (a) Temporary Public Toilets CBC have advised that due to the fact that Dedham is supplemented by the Community Toilet Scheme they can no longer contribute towards the costs of extra toilets. Because the refurbishment of the public toilets overran they had significantly over spent against budget in supplying temporary toilets in Mill Lane car park. It was unlikely that CBC will contribute to toilets in the future. (b) BT Exchange at Dedham An apology has been received for the fact that some unsightly trees were removed from the BT Exchange area in Dedham without prior consultation. It is understood that these will be replaced. (c) Essex Way Walk RCCE have advised that the Essex Way Walk will be coming through Dedham at about 9 a.m. on 4th October. Anyone wishing to join them will be welcome. Further details from Roy Laverick. 5. REPORT OF PCSO In the absence of Natalie King (on holiday) PCSO Mark Hibben introduced himself as her permanent replacement. Natalie will be moving on to the Police Force in the near future following an introductory period with Mark. We will be sorry to lose her as she has become a familiar sight on our streets and has done an excellent job during her time in Dedham. It was agreed that a letter of thanks with flowers be sent to her. PCSO Hibben will report on any outstanding items at the next meeting. 6. FOOTPATHS/PLAY AREA A problem with non-reinstated footpaths has again arisen over Mr.Moorhouse’s land. This is in hand. Mr. Jason Botelho is the new Public Rights of Way Officer and Cllr. Laverick will be meeting with him to look at Footpaths 12 and 26. The play tunnel in the play area has been repaired to a satisfactory standard and is able to be used. The rocking animals need attention. The seat of one has split and it was agreed that this should be removed. New bark is required in the play area and Cllr. Mrs. Cannon will look into this. 7. ACCOUNTS It was unanimously agreed that the following accounts be paid: £ A.Hodson Hours worked in August Maintenance 140.00 PPP 300.00 Mrs. O.M. Ruff – Litter 210.00 R. Laverick - for O.S. Map/Key for barrier 68.00 Clerk Quarterly Account July/Sept. 858.31 R. Appleby – for Protec disposable clothing 12.48
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8. PLANNING The Planning sub-Committee has dealt with the following applications: COL/0965 Blackbrook House, Gun Hill, Dedham. Single storey and internal alterations. Comments: Recommend approval.
COL/1021 Park Farm, Coopers Lane, Dedham. Renewal of application. Comments: Recommend approval.
CO/0992 Heathfield, Long Road East, Dedham. Renewal of application. Comments: Recommend approval. Dedham Allotment Association – Planning Following negotiations with The National Trust they are prepared to offer a plot of land to the Allotment Association for their use. This is situated at Bridge Farm. Veolia Water have advised that they have no objections in principle to the proposed vehicular access with the proviso that the storage of fuel or potentially harmful chemicals or the parking of vehicles should be at least 50 m. from the boreholes. They also accept no liability for cars using this access track.. All these comments have been taken on board. Cllr. Cannon advised it is proposed that the land nearest the High Street shall become a community fruit orchard with seating. There will be a structure inside the farm barn for the storage of members’ equipment and a water meter will be installed. Cllr. Cannon said there were no planning issues with the proposal which was a flagship operation for The National Trust and the first of its kind in the AONB.. A meeting will be held at the beginning of October to finalise details. The Chairman asked that the Parish Council be consulted when the Allotment Association Rules were drawn up. 9. REPORT OF BOROUGH COUNCILLOR Cllr. White has provided photographs of Princel Lane to be forwarded to Highways. 10. PUBLIC REPRESENTATION The owner of a piece of land at the rear of The Limes, Brook Street, was seeking advice and permission to tidy it up and create a small holding. This land had in the past been the subject of applications and there was a query as to the access track which was shown as Footpath 18 on the definitive map. As the matter was rather involved, it was agreed that it could be better discussed in more detail after the meeting closed. Mr. Osborn asked if an application was going forward for the Parish & Town Council Grant Scheme. Cllr. Dempsey has this in hand. 11. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Mrs. Canham has contacted Cllr. Cannon regarding the gap by the gate to her field in Brook Street and is looking for ways to resolve the problem. The Clerk will speak to Tracy Woods about Smarty’s desire to be able to leave equipment out in the Reading Room. It was felt that whilst small items would not be a hindrance there would not be room for large pieces of equipment. Cllr. Dempsey enquired about the responsibility for cutting the hedge around the bus shelter on The Heath. This particular shelter was the responsibility of the Parish Council and the landowner should be asked to trim the hedge. The Chairman thought the landowner was abroad but would make enquiries. The next NAP meeting will be held at Langham Community Centre on 15th September. 12. DATE & TIME OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be on Wednesday, 14th October, 2009, at 7.30 p.m. There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.40 p.m. |