MINUTES
MINUTES of a meeting of the FULL COUNCIL held at 7.30pm on Wednesday 30th June 2021 in The Mountfitchet Exchange, Crafton Green, 72 Chapel Hill, Stansted, Essex
PRESENT Cllr M Caton (Chairman), Cllrs A Barnes, D Brett, P Davies, A Guney, J Hogg,
M Jessup, J Kavanagh, F Richards, G Sell, T Smith and D Wallace-Jarvis
ATTENDING
Mrs R Clifford – Clerk
Mrs E Philbrick – Trainee Deputy Clerk
District Cllr Melvin Caton
County Cllr Ray Gooding
1 member of the press
3 members of the public
107 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from the following Parish Councillors:
Cllr A Khan – Attending a UDC meeting, Cllr J Hudson – Attending a family funeral and
Cllr O’Brien – Holiday
Having been proposed by Cllr Kavanagh and seconded by Cllr Richards it was:
RESOLVED to accept all three apologies.
This was unanimously agreed
Apologies for lateness were also received from Cty Cllr Gooding
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PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
One member of the public spoke on behalf of Speedwatch to advise that two Parish Councillors had joined them whilst on Speedwatch duty on 11th June on High Lane and hoped they had learned a lot.
He also asked if his question at the last Full Council meeting regarding the Neighbourhood Development Plan and why this had been changed could be answered.
The Chairman advised that this had not been re-written but instead re-structured and the layout changed after being modelled on other NDP’s which had been praised as best practice. In addition, the Chairman read a statement from Cllr Khan in response to a point raised by this member of the public at the previous meeting. This related to a comment regarding a reference to flooding and the B1383 which had been published in an election document and the information had been correct.
The Chairman also advised that she had received a written report from Cty Cllr Gooding with updates on Highways issues raised during the previous meeting. She would wait to read this out as Cty Cllr Gooding was hoping to join the meeting late after another meeting and give the updates himself.
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108 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – None
109 TO RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE FULL COUNCIL MEETIG HELD ON 9TH JUNE 2021
RESOLVED To accept the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 9th June 2021 as a true and accurate account.
110 TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON PROGRESS SINCE THE LAST MEETING
Nothing to update since the last meeting but the Clerk advised that the action point to change to Unity Bank would be done over the course of the summer.
111 TO RECEIVE THE CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Welcome to our new Councillors – Anne Guney and Thomas Smith. They have been briefed on the range of work being undertaken at the present and are registered for their new Councillor training.
All Councillors, apart from those with District Council email addresses, will communicate via a stansted.net email address in future for all communication on Parish matters. These will be published in the Link and on our website.
It has been agreed with the Chairs of Committees and my vice chairman that we:
- Hold surgeries on specific topics for discussion as well as drop-ins to assist parishioner issue/query resolution. These are likely to be held quarterly.
- To publish a yearly development/action plan following consultation on proposed objectives.
These meetings will sit alongside regular meetings with Committee Chairman.
A very big thank you goes to Peter Jones, who has collated and re-drafted the Neighbourhood Development Plan on our behalf, with all the chapters being shared with you via social media. We are collating the responses to the different chapters/areas of work and also expect to consult Parishioners on the Regulation 14 draft sometime in September. We will need to review and ensure that the plan assists us to have the right type of developments in the right place and to fight inappropriate development – such as the current Bloor appeal on the Land west of Pennington Lane – which will be before the Inspectorate from the 13th – 20th July.
You can register to speak/listen to the inquiry via the link distributed by the Clerk to Councillors or via the Planning Inspectorate website.
The Parish Council has also reviewed its position with regard to taking ownership of the open space and play area as proposed in the Draft S106 for the proposal by Bloor. We have pointed out that there is no ongoing financial provision for ongoing maintenance and that this needs to be addressed by UDC planners.
In relation to the cemetery extension, no underground water has been detected and we have received the completed tier 2 risk assessment. Subject to clarification of an adjustment to the boundaries of the proposed area, the next stage is to seek pre application advice from the environment agency for any planning issues that may be encountered.
Finally, the Parish Council proactively commissioned a drain survey and clearance along Lower Street and Chapel Hill to minimise the potential of any flash flooding being exacerbated by blocked drains in these areas. This exercise will be recharged to ECC Highways. Essex Highways have been made aware where drains could not be accessed. We hope the County Councillor Gooding has promoted the issues we have raised and would support our pursuit of a recharge for the work undertaken. CHAIR REPORT ENDS
Cllr Sell advised that he didn’t think the plan to hold surgeries by the Chairman and Chair of Committees had been well thought-out. He believes that all Councillors should be involved and that a rota system as in Bishop’s Stortford was a good idea. He also would like to see District and County members involved.
It was explained by various other members that this was just a starting point to engage more with the community and target those who may not necessarily use social media and those who would like to speak to members in person.
112 TO RECEIVE A DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
No report received prior to the meeting. The Chairman stressed that this needs to happen to give members a chance to process the information and raise any questions they may have.
District Cllr Sell reported the following:
A vote of no confidence in the Administration at UDC on Monday. The motion had been proposed by a cross party group and was held under Part 2 of the meeting. Cllr Sell considered this to be a farce, but it was said that the officers had sought legal opinion and this was the advice given. On a vote the motion was lost and since the meeting a video of Parts 1 and 2 have been posted on You Tube having been screened by the Monitoring Officer.
The first meeting of the Essex Highways Panel since the elections is taking place on Monday 5th July 2021 and Grove Hill is expected to be on the agenda.
Cllr Sell had been in discussions with Adrian Webb regarding the office building at Walpole Meadows. It is going to be a hub for UDC staff, but they are also hoping to resent the ground floor for its original purpose for start up businesses. They may already have a tenant for some of it which is good news.
Cllr Khan had attended a Community Services meeting where Day Centres were on the agenda. He has been trying to secure funding for the Stansted Day Centre. The Chairman advised that it was actually the Parish Council who had submitted the funding proposal and Cllr Khan was supporting the proposal on our behalf.
At a recent Scrutiny meeting the results of the footfall were discussed as after some analysis it was evident that numbers have reduced since August. This was raising concerns and it seemed that a number of businesses had not applied for the Covid Support Grants. The Clerk advised that herself and the Chairman had maintained a regular communication throughout the pandemic and had shared information with the Business Forum and business who were not part of that.
District Cllr M Caton reported the following:
Papers for the latest Local Plan Group have been published. The one on housing numbers for Uttlesford indicate 706 per year and this has been agreed to put forward to Cabinet fo adoption. A first iteration of the Sustainability Appraisal is also now available including an “edge of Bishop’s Stortford” option. This includes Birchanger and part of Foresthall Park and the Green Belt around to Farnham. The details relating to Stansted need closer examination as there appear to be some errors. The link to the documents has been sent to the Chairman and Clerk as well as the Chair of the NDP working group.
113 TO RECEIVE THE COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
This was deferred to the end of the meeting pending the arrival of Cty Cllr Gooding pending his arrival. If he does not arrive by the end of the meeting then she would read his report out.
114 FINANCE – TO APPROVE THE LIST OF PAYMENTS
The list of payments was circulated to members ahead of the meeting
RESOLVED to approve the list of payments for 30th June 2021
115 PLANNING APPLICATIONS
1 UTT/21/1839/LB – 47 BENTFIELD GREEN
Proposed two storey rear extension, carport and alterations
No objection
2 UTT/21/1838/HHF – 47 BENTFIELD GREEN
Proposed two storey rear extension, carport and alterations
No objections
3 UTT/21/1837/HHF – 7 QUEENS CLOSE
Erection of single storey front infill extension. Conversion of garage to habitable space and driveway extension to create additional off-street parking.
No objection
4 UTT/21/1887/HHF – SAVAGES, 9 LOWER STREET
Replacement of boundary wall
No objections
5 UTT/21/2050/FUL – BEALINGS, CHURCH ROAD
Variation of Condition numbers 2 (archaeological investigations), 5 (external finishes), 6 (landscaping), and 8 (noise) attached to UTT/20/2612/FUL all to be completed in accordance with the revised plans and reports submitted in the application.
Condition(s) Removal:
To regularise minor alternations and provide additional information. Please refer to list of conditions document and materials schedule for details.
No comment
116 TO CONSIDER THE COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE REVIEW
This was circulated to members ahead of the meeting. After discussions it was agreed that everyone was happy to stay the same.
Cllr Sell asked for it to be flagged up that based on the Councillors the North was under- represented and the South over-represented although he isn’t suggesting any changes as the numbers were not significant.
117 TO CONSIDER DETAILS OF THE LEASE FOR THE DELIVERY OF COMMUNITY SERVICES FROM DAY CENTRE
The Chairman stated that there were no details available yet regarding a lease with Touchpoint/Enterprise East and she sought members’ consent to delegate to the Clerk, in liaison with herself, the Vice Chairman and Chair and Vice Chair of F&GP to hold discussions with TP/EE and report back with a proposal for the Council to consider.
Cllr Sell aired his concerns about granting a lease in case this removed control of the site from the Parish Council and he wanted to be assured that the provision of services for the benefit of the older members of the community were safe. The Clerk reported that without a lease in place TP/EE would be unable to secure grant funding. Cllr Hogg confirmed this and stated that safeguards could be incorporated into a Service Level Agreement or similar document – the Clerk confirmed that a draft document was in place. There were further comments from members confirming that the presentation received from TP, and unanimously backed by the Council, had referred to a lease being agreed. Cllr Brett confirmed that the delegated authority requested was to discuss the lease terms with TP/EE and report back to the Council.
Having been proposed by Cllr Richards and seconded by Cllr Brett, it was then unanimously
RESOLVED to authorise the Clerk, in conjunction with Cllrs Caton, Richards, O’Brien and Jessup, to hold detailed discussions with TouchPoint/Enterprise East and report back to Council with details prior to any lease being agreed.
118 COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
Cty Cllr Gooding read his report (attached) relating to matters on Grove Hill.
In addition, he referred to flooding and stated that there have been a number of the “1 in 100” events occurring recently. He is arranging for a senior Highways officer to visit Stansted soon for a walkabout and it would be helpful to have a representative of the Parish Council present also.
Referring back to Grove Hill, the Chairman asked what action might be expected out of the Uttlesford Local Highway Panel meeting on Monday? Cty Cllr Gooding stated that the issues on Grove Hill are strategic and, as such, likely to be beyond the remit and financial capability of the ULHP. Cllr Sell confirmed that he has been in communication with Cty Cllr Gooding over this and both are awaiting a date for a visit from the new Highways Portfolio Holder. Cllr Sell had recently raised similar issues relating to Chapel Hill. Cty Cllr Gooding confirmed that the two roads face similar issues and the highway infrastructure of the village requires review. Once a date is known, he would invite a PC representative along to that meeting also.
Meeting closed at 8.53pm