Dedham
Parish Council

Minutes of meeting held on 9 July 2008

DEDHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of Meeting held on 9^th July, 2008,

In the Duchy Barn

Present: In the Chair Cllr. R. Laverick

Councillors R. Appleby, Mrs. A. Cannon, R. Cannon, M. Dempsey

B. Hindley, Mrs. K. Spencer, Mr. B. Stewart

Ward Councillor C. Garnett

Parish Clerk Mrs. J. Flewin

Electors 7

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE None. In the absence of Cllr. Moorhouse the Chair was taken by Cllr. Laverick.

2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING having been circulated were approved.

3, MATTERS ARISING

(a) Youth Shelter Our PCSO had asked for the views of the Youth Club on the siting of the shelter and they had suggested either adjacent to the children’s play area in the recreation ground or in the area of the Mill Lane car park. Cllr. Cannon will include this item in his discussions with CBC next week.

(b) Bus Shelter – Long Road West Some work had been carried out and materials were being obtained. It was hoped that this will be completed before the next meeting.

(c) Highway Rangers Cllr. Laverick had contacted the Rangers in respect of a bad pothole in East Lane. This had been repaired but the general idea was for parishes to suggest a list of items which might be included in a programme for consideration by the Rangers. It was felt that due to demand parishes would not be visited very frequently and Cllr. Laverick will initiate a “walkabout” with other councillors. Cllr. Garnett will obtain more information from CBC as to the work of the Rangers.

(d) 106 Agreement Mr. Bob Penny had agreed to attend the September meeting to advise on the 106 Agreement Grant scheme.

(e) Litter Bin for Playing Fields A new litter bin has been ordered to replace the inadequate small bin by the toilets in the playing fields.

(f) Other items Cllr. Appleby had found more information on BBC News website regarding the road signs mentioned in the previous minutes which were being trialled in Wales. The signs, which picture a lorry and a satellite with a red line through them, have been erected on roads in some parts of Wales. He is awaiting a response to further enquiries. It was reported that a “No Lorries – Do not use Satnav” sign exists on the approach road into Nunn’s Road Car Park, Colchester. Dedham’s local problem is mainly with lorries coming from the north on the A12 to the B1029 because of the limited signing allowed by the Highways Authority. Cllr. Garnett had been passing on all the data obtained via diaries, photographs, etc. and suggested the possibility of a review with Mr. Geoff Harris to see what is happening with this information. County Cllr. Clover was happy to have this put on the agenda of the Essex Forum if requested to do so. These suggestions had the unanimous approval of the meeting and Cllr. Laverick thanked both councillors for their continued support on this matter.

The Duchy Barn committee were obtaining a quote for the addition of a “Duchy Barn” sign on the fingerpost in Royal Square. Cllr. Dempsey agreed to undertake the monitoring of grants which were (or become) available and will consult with Mr. Osborn if necessary. So far as the O.S. Licence was concerned it was unanimously agreed that this should be funded for another year. This enabled parish use of O.S. maps for the notice boards and on the website. There was a possibility of a grant from PPP towards the cost of £55.81. Despite the generous offer of wine from Cllr. Stewart the meeting felt this was not appropriate for a parish council and there had been some objections. It was suggested that should he wish to do so Cllr. Stewart could discuss the matter with Mr. Weavers of CBC.

5. CORRESPONDENCE The Dedham Horticultural Society wrote asking if there could be a system whereby village organisations could achieve space for their stall once the Parish Council had given permission for them to be there. At the present time cars parking in the square made it very difficult. It was agreed that perhaps the use of cones would help if positioned overnight and Cllr. Stewart was able to provide these.

6. REPORT OF PCSO Following complaints about noisy motorbikes and cars an unmarked police car had spent some hours in the village with our PCSO. Unfortunately on the evening in question there were no incidents. Speed watches continued to take place at various points around the village.

7. FOOTPATHS/PLAY AREA Cllr. Appleby had some concerns about Footpath 13 which it was felt came into the category of “landowner’s responsibility”. However how the Parish Council spent the PPP money was their decision and if it was felt necessary Mr. Hodson should be asked to strim this path. If there was a problem with this then a different approach would be considered. A letter of complaint had been received regarding the footpath which ran past the new Dedham Business Centre to Flatford. Further enquiries about this path would be made.

There had been a small problem regarding the proposed machinery enclosure because the gates had proved to be too small. A new quotation of £3,950 plus VAT had been received. and accepted. A grant for this is being sought through the Parish and Town Council Grant Scheme. Cllr. Cannon will attend a site meeting in the near future

ROSPA had carried out their annual check and there was a short list of minor adjustments/repairs to be made. Cllr. Stewart had already repaired the gate to the play area. Two incidents of vandalism to the roundabout had been reported earlier. This involved fire and damage to the surrounding surface. Mr. Osborn is obtaining a repair kit for this.

8. DEDHAM SURGERY Minor problems which have arisen since the lease was signed are well in hand. The AGM will be held in the Assembly Rooms on 25^th July to which all are invited.

9. ACCOUNTS It was unanimously agreed that the following accounts be paid: £

Mr. A. Hodson – Hours worked in June – Maintenance 132.00

PPP 275.00

Mrs. O.M. Ruff – Litter 162.00

Mr. R. Cannon – Expenses re Planning 61.97

Essex Police Authority 3,375.00

Playsafety Ltd – ROSPA inspection 141.00

A. & J. Lighting Solutions – Annual Contract + repair 118.64

Smarty’s donation 170.00

10. PLANNING The Planning sub-committee has dealt with the following applications:

COL/08/1007 Lecture House Cottage, Colchester Road, Dedham.

Demolish existing dwelling and replace with new dwelling.

Comments: Recommend approval. No objections.

COL/08/0924 Glyncroft, Coggeshall Road, Dedham.

Single storey extension and conservatory at rear.

Comments: Over development of site. Conditions should be applied if approved

Regarding all site vehicles to be off road during building works.

COL/08/1109/ Marlborough Head Hotel (Listed Building), Mill Lane, Dedham.

1113 Re-arrangement of kitchen extract duct.

Comments: Unsuitable design. More information required.

CBC have approved the following applications:

COL/08/0788 16 Forge Street, Dedham.

Erect 2-storey side extension and single storey rear extension.

COL/80/0814 Barn Cottage, Long Road West, Dedham.

2-storey rear extension and additional side window.

COL/08/0841 Whitehorns, Ipswich Road, Dedham.

Single storey extension.

COL/08/1007 Lecture House, Colchester Road, Dedham.

Replacement dwelling.

COL/08/0924 Glyncroft, Coggeshall Road, Dedham.

Single storey extension and conservatory.

CBC has refused the following applications;

COL/08/0865 Shelley Glebe Barn, Grove Hill, Dedham.

Demolish existing buildings and erect new dwelling.

COL/08/0552 Coral Ville, Coggeshall Road, Dedham.

Second vehicular access.

11. REPORT OF BOROUGH COUNCILLOR Cllr. Garnett hoped that the new bottle banks will be installed shortly and the toilets sign for the car park should be erected very soon. A letter re overgrown hedges in Stratford Road was necessary for the National Trust and the Clerk will deal with this. The Gun Hill site is being sorted out and legal matters in hand. A “bund” is to be placed on the A12 boundary and lighting switched off at night. “Decent Homes” programme in Dedham should be completed by 2010 when all necessary repairs and replacements should have taken place. A meeting held to discuss parking at the primary school had taken place and Highways will look into having short lengths of yellow line in Crown Street to enable cars to pull in. Cllr. Dempsey was disappointed that the meeting had taken place without interested councillors having an input. Cllr. Garnett said that no decisions had been made and once suggestions had been received from Highways the matter will come before the Parish Council. EON had now placed the overhead cables through the Stour Valley underground and the poles will be removed shortly. Cllr. Clover asked that a letter of thanks be sent to them and will provide the correct address for the Clerk to do so.

12. PUBLIC REPRESENTATION A resident had taken photographs of the footpath approaching the Mill Lane bridge which was overgrown and in need of attention. CBC will be contacted. There was also comment that too many signs were being placed in the village with particular reference to the large sign at the junction of Stratford Road with Colchester Road – a pole carrying five different road signs. It was explained that this was to prevent one sign covering another and not being visible to the road user. It was agreed that a proliferation of signs was generally unacceptable. A resident reported that noisy vehicles and motorbikes were a nuisance, particularly by the war memorial and doing “the circuit” round the village. This was precisely what the PCSO and a police officer were hoping to witness during their nightwatch. It was agreed that if numbers of vehicles could be taken the PCSO would be grateful.

13. ANY OTHER BUSINESS The Youth Club had received information that grants were available through Essex Community Foundation for the planting of trees/hedges during the coming planting season and were keen to participate in this. The same information had come to the Parish Council via the Rural Community Council for Essex. It was agreed that Cllr. Laverick should advise the Youth Club that the Parish Council would be happy to accept trees/hedging for various sites, particularly in the playing field. Now that the anniversary of the tragedy has passed Mr. Gallifant will be writing to the families concerned in respect of the shrine in Jupes Hill.- Cllr. Mrs. Cannon wondered if the Parish Council would consider a one off donation of £170 to Smarty’s Pre-school to boost their fund raising activities which would enable them to purchase a piece of equipment. It was proposed by Cllr. Hindly, seconded by Cllr. Appleby, that on this occasion a donation should be made.

This proposal was carried with 6 votes for, l against and 1 abstention.

Mrs. Joan Hammond had decided to stand down as “reporter” for the Dedham column in the local newspapers. This post will also be advertised in the Parish Magazine. Cllr. Hindley stated that he understood grants were available towards the installation of permanent vehicle activated speed signs and that a survey could be carried out and information obtained from the Community Speedwatch to ascertain if a need existed in Dedham. All agreed that this should be investigated and Cllr. Hindley will progress the matter. The Neighbourhood Action Panel meeting will take place in the Assembly Rooms on 16^th July, 2008, at 6 p.m.

14. DATE & TIME OF NEXT MEETING There will be no meeting in August.

The next meeting will be on Wednesday, 10^th September, 2008, at 7 p.m. in the Assembly Rooms. Mr. Bob Penny, CBC, will attend.

There being no other business the meeting closed at 10 p.m.

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