Stansted Mountfitchet Parish Council Annual Council
Minutes of the ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETING held on Wednesday 14th May 2025 at 7.30pm in the Mountfitchet Exchange, Crafton Green, 72 Chapel Hill, Stansted, Essex
ATTENDING Cllrs M Caton (Chair), Cllrs A Barnes, A Guney, J Hardy, P Jones, J Kavanagh, A Khan, A Love, J O’Brien, G Sell and t van de Bilt.
PRESENT Mrs Emma Philbrick – Deputy Clerk
1 to Elect a Chair and Receive the Declaration of Acceptance of Office
Cllr Jones proposed Cllr Caton for the position of Chair, having been seconded by Cllr Sell and with no other nominations, it was unanimously
RESOLVED that Cllr Maureen Caton be elected as Chair for the Civic Year 2025/26
2 To Receive and Approve Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Braeckman – University
RESOLVED to approve the apologies for absence from Cllr Braeckman
3 To Receive Declarations of Interest
– None
4 To Elect a Vice-chair and Receive the Declaration of Acceptance of Office
Cllr O’Brien proposed Cllr Khan for the position of Vice-Chair, having been seconded by Cllr Caton, and with no other nominations, it was unanimously
RESOLVED that Cllr Khan be elected as Vice-Chair for the Civic Year 2025/26
5 To Review the Terms of Reference & Schemes of Delegation
The Deputy Clerk advised that the document had been reviewed and there were no suggested changes.
Having been proposed by Cllr Jones and seconded by Cllr Hardy, it was unanimously
RESOLVED to re-adopt the Terms of Reference and Schemes of Delegation
6 To Appoint Membership to the Following Standing Committees and Sub-committees
(a) OPEN SPACES COMMITTEE
(b) FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE
(c) EMERGENCY PLANNING SUB-COMMITTEE
(d) HIGHWAYS SUB-COMMITTEE
(e) WINDMILL SUB-COMMITTEE
(f) PERSONNEL SUB-COMMITTEE
Details of the appointments can be found on the attached list.
7 To Consider Establishment and Membership of Working Group
Details can be found on the attached list.
8 To Appoint Representatives on the Following Outside Bodies
(a) PUBLIC TRANSPORT REPRESENTATIVE – Cllr Jones
(b) LINK COMMITTEE – Cllr Sell
(c) STANSTED AIRPORT WATCH – Cllr van de Bilt
9 To Appoint the Council’s Internal Auditor – Currently Heelis & Lodge
Having been proposed by Cllr Jones and seconded by Cllr O’Brien, it was unanimously
RESOLVED To appoint Heelis & Lodge as our Internal Auditor for the year 2025/26
10 To Review Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and Assets Register
These were all circulated to members with the agenda.
Proposed changes to Standing Orders and Financial Regulations were highlighted in red. Members were advised that these changes had been issued by the National Association of Local Councils and were mandatory.
The Assets Register was reviewed by the Clerk on 31st March 2025
Having been proposed by Cllr O’Brien and seconded by Cllr Kavanagh, it was unanimously
RESOLVED to adopt the Standing Orders and Financial Regulations with the highlighted changes and to approve the Assets Register dated 31st March 2025.
Meeting closed at 7.36pm
Summons
Members of the Council are summoned, and members of the public and press invited, to attend the ANNUAL COUNCIL meeting to be held at 7.30pm, on Wednesday 14th May 2025 in the Mountfitchet Exchange, Crafton Green, 72 Chapel Hill, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex when the following business will be transacted:
Agenda
1 To elect a Chair and receive the Declaration of Acceptance of Office
2 To receive and approve apologies for absence
3 To receive declarations of interest
4 To elect a Vice-Chair and receive the Declaration of Acceptance of Office
5 To review the Terms of Reference & Schemes of Delegation – attached
6 To appoint membership to the following standing committees and sub-committees
- (a) Open Spaces Committee
- (b) Finance & General Purposes Committee
- (c) Emergency Planning sub-committee
- (d) Highways sub-committee
- (e) Windmill sub-committee
- (f) Personnel sub-committee
7 To consider establishment and membership of Working Groups
8 To appoint representatives on the following outside bodies:
- (a) Public Transport Representative
- (b) Link Committee
- (c) Stansted Airport Watch (formerly Stop Stansted Expansion)
9 To appoint the Council’s Internal Auditor – currently Heelis & Lodge
10 To review Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, and Assets Register
Parish Clerk: 8th May 2025
The press and public are welcome to attend in person all meetings of the Parish Council and its committees. Any intention to record, film or take photographs during a meeting must be notified to the Clerk prior to the start of the meeting.