Parish Council Minutes June 2010

Little Bentley Parish Council Meeting June 2010

 A Parish Council Meeting was held in the Church Hall on Wednesday 30 June 2010.  Councillors Evans, Dyson, Palmer-Tomkinson and Crittenden were present along with seven members of the public. District Councillors Guglielmi and Dew sent their apologies, and Cllr. Guglielmi sent in a written report.

 Minutes and Matters Arising

 1.1     The minutes of the previous meeting (1/10/11) were approved and signed.

 1.2     It was noted that no further progress had been made on the playground due to the number of outstanding issues to resolve. The matter was deferred for discussion at the next meeting.

 1.3     It was noted that the Tendring DC tree officer would be coming to assess the appropriateness of Tree Preservation Orders for trees on Ravens Green road.

 1.4     Arrangements for the adoption of the telephone kiosk were underway with BT.

 1.5     Arrangements for the installation of the fingerpost sign had been confirmed with Highways following agreement that the direction to the A120 on the sign pointing to Great Bromley would be painted out as the

route was the preferred route.

 Co-option of Councillor to fill vacancy

 2.1     Tendring District Council had confirmed that no one had called for an election following advertisement of the vacancy on the Parish Council.  Two statements of interest had been received and distributed for the vacant post from Trevor Goldsmith and David Spence.  As David Spence was unable to attend the meeting as he was out of the country, it was agreed to postpone a decision on the vacancy until the next meeting when both candidates could attend.

 3.      Planning

3.1     Planning Application to note (now approved) – 10/00410/LBC, Listed Building Consent -Replacement of 13 no. windows and stable entrance door, Bramble Cottage, Tendring Road

3.2     New application – 10/00659/FUL, Construction of new single storey garage with link to existing workshop, The Cottage, Ravens Green.  The plans were not available at the meeting so councillors agreed that the opinion of ‘no objections’ only be submitted once the plans had been circulated.

 3.3     Discussion of Parish Council planning application procedures- Members of the public present indicated they wished to see wider notification of planning applications.  It was noted that the District Council sent out consultation letters at its discretion and in most cases this was limited to adjacent occupiers.  After discussion, it was agreed that the Clerk would post receipt of planning applications on the Parish notice board, and that they would also be sent for inclusion in the Parish Magazine.

 3.4     Concerns were raised about temporary fencing for the polo ground and the extent to which it should be replaced by permanent fencing in accordance with the planning permission.  The Clerk and the Chairman agreed to discuss the issue with the owner.

 3.5     Questions were also raised about fencing at Bentley Manor Barns, which was thought to be a condition of the planning permission but had not been installed.  The Clerk agreed to forward information on the decision to Cllr. Dyson.

 4.      Highways and Maintenance

4.1     It was noted that the County Council had repaired the bridge on

.4.2     The Clerk agreed to contact Highways concerning outstanding pothole repairs.

4.3     The Chairman agreed to check an overgrown hedge on

and contact the owner to trim it if it wasn’t on Highways land.

4.4     Cllr. Dyson agreed to contact Graham Simpson to carry out a temporary repair of the notice board pending adoption of the telephone kiosk.

4.5     The Gardens and Waterways Show had received a grant from the District Council toward purchase of temporary road mats.  It was now proposed to install the mats on the unpaved parking area by the Church Hall.  Further mats would be required to complete the job.  The Council agreed to fund the mats at the cost of approximately £1500 on the basis that the cost would be split with the Parochial Church Council.

 5.      Approval of Accounts for 2009/10

The Council approved and the Chairman signed the accounts and statement of governance for 2009/10 following their approval by the internal auditor, Jenny Willson.

 6.      Meeting Report

6.1     Cllr. Guglielmi submitted the following written report on Tendring District Council:

 Political situation

 At the annual meeting held on Tuesday 4^th May, the current Conservative led Administration held on to power with the Chairman's casting vote, as Members voted 30/30; the executive leader remains Cllr. Neil Stock, with no change to the Cabinet, and I still currently hold the Portfolio for Technical and Procurement Services.

 The two strategies, Regeneration and Tourism, that the current Administration has worked on during last year, were both adopted by Full Council on Tuesday 25^th May.

 Members unanimously voted for a cut in Basic and Special Responsibilities Allowances by 2.5% and 10% respectively; this very much reflects the up and coming cuts which are fast approaching.

 Austerity Strategy

 On this worrying note we have instructed Officers to draw up an Austerity Strategy, in preparation of the expected huge cut in subsidies from Central Government that will be announced later in the year, all indications point to a 25% cut, and I personally think not many people realize just how bad thing will be; however, good housekeeping during last financial year will give us the luxury of easing the burden when i will arrive.

   Change in top Management

 One major event that I report to you is the forthcoming retirement of our top three Officers: the Chief Executive John Hawkins will retire in January 2011, Deputy Chief Executive Roy Coulter will retire at the end of August 2010, and Assistant Chief Executive Roger Stewart will retire at the end of July, arrangements are currently being put in place for their replacements.

 Planning

 Eric Pickles MP announced last month that the Spatial Strategy currently in place is to be torn up and something much simpler would replace it; the main issue to come out of this decision is the need to provide Gypsy site is no longer a requirement, so we can all breathe a sight of relief.

 There have been some developments on Clip Hedge Barn, where the owner had entered in a deal with a family of traveller; we immediately stepped in stop that from happening, and as reached a compromise to allow Mr. Barber to operate some controlled activities from the site. I will update you all with some more concrete news.

 7.      Cheques

The following cheques were approved:

£22.00 to Jenny Willson for the internal audit.

£5.00 subscription to the Tendring Association of Local Councils

 8.      Date of next meeting:

7:30 pm, 28 September 2010 in the Church Hall.