Stansted Mountfitchet Parish Council Full Council Minutes
Minutes of a meeting of the FULL COUNCIL held at 7.30pm on Wednesday 19th March 2025 in The Mountfitchet Exchange, Crafton Green, 72 Chapel Hill, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex
PRESENT Cllr M Caton (Chair), Cllrs A Barnes, J Hardy, P Jones, J Kavanagh, A Khan, A Love, J O’Brien and T van de Bilt
ATTENDING Mrs Ruth Clifford – Parish Clerk
1 member of the public via Zoom
343 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Braeckman – University and
Cllr Sell – UDC meeting
RESOLVED to accept the apologies for absence from Cllrs Braeckman and Sell
Cllr Gooding also gave his apologies as he is also at the UDC meeting.
Emailed apologies for absence were received from Cllr Ghosh and Cllr Guney just -before the meeting but these were not seen by staff until the following morning.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – None
344 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – None
345 TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE FULL COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 26TH FEBRUARY 2025
RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 26th February 2025 as a true and accurate account.
346 TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON ACTION POINTS FROM THE LAST MEETING
314 Cllr van de Bilt to call a meeting of the Airport Working Group – done and the Council’s comments on the airport consultation have been submitted
315 Cllr Gooding to send details of his objection to the UDC Budget – Cllr Gooding answered this in his County Councillor’s report – attached.
315 Cllr Sell to look into the issues of the Garden Waste Service in Mill Hill/Brook Road – Cllr Sell not present so will be added back to the action points
316 Cllr Gooding to send further information received regarding the yellow box on Grove Hill – Cllr Gooding not present so will be added back to the action points
347 TO RECEIVE A REPORT FROM THE CHAIR, CLLR MAUREEN CATON
Cllr Caton confirmed she will be doing some research on Annual Parish Meetings as there is no requirement to hold them and the attendance to ours is low:
This is a relatively short update following the successful – but poorly attended – Annual Parish meeting last week – where a number of items were covered in my update.
Peter Holt , UDC CEO confirmed to me following the meeting – that the outstanding work on the Manor Road flats will be completed by August/September this year via the newly commissioned contractor Axis (replacing Norse), who will commence work in April/May. The balconies over block 52, and those remaining over blocks 54 and 56; the roofs over block 52 and the remaining work block 54 will be completed. Also, internally all flats will be surveyed for up- to- date reports on damp and mould remediation work necessary.
It would also appear that Parking Matters are organising a survey using camera cars at different times of the day to get an insight into who is actually parking in Stansted – e.g. fly parking. Perhaps Cllr Sell may have more information on this?
An informative meeting has been held with the police, who still await confirmation of the level of funding and the requirements from government that will result from the payment of additional funds, that will allow the retention of Essex PCSO’s. It was confirmed Elsenham are considering rejoining Henham and ourselves to part fund the PCSO post. It was also clarified that we are able to direct specific tasks we consider important for follow up by the PCSO, through his line manager – so if you are aware of issues please pass these on, as appropriate to the Clerk. We agreed we will apply for a road closure licence for the parade on Remembrance Sunday.
A resident of Foresthall Park has contacted us in relation to the Taylor Wimpey land adjacent to St Mary’s School – the current planning application has been called in by Cllr Gooding; although, he is concerned that this will be labelled as redundant land and the application may well be supported. I raised the issue of the Diocese involvement in purchasing the land, as the resident suggested county could purchase it, but county would not support as they have not identified a need. We agreed the Head Teacher at the school should be advised to follow up with the Diocese if he is interested in the purchase of the land for the school to extend.
A meeting is being held at UDC tonight to discuss Devolution and reorganisation – hence Cllr Sell and Cllr Gooding’s absence. UDC are due to notify the government on their position on this by Friday. We will request an update to circulate from the councillors following their attendance at the meeting. Prior to this meeting the working group met again to follow up post our discussion with Henham and Elsenham – who have not contacted or feedback any further thoughts on the reorganisation/ devolution agenda than shared at the meeting Likewise, Birchanger , having spoken again with their Chairman, feel that they do not have any large enough areas of delivery to warrant them partnering any service delivery arrangements in the future.
An update on our discussions this evening is an agenda item and is for all councillors to participate.
Finally, to let you all know that Cllr Prior has resigned from the Parish Council.
348 TO RECEIVE WRITTEN DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REPORTS
Written report from District Councillor Ray Gooding:
Firstly, as you know I have to give my apologies for this evening’s meeting because I will be attending the UDC Meeting. As requested, I will offer the following reports for the District and County issues.
District Council Report
As a result of my request at the last UDC Full Council Meeting I attended a virtual meeting on Monday 17th March with Cllr Coote and several of his officers to discuss the issues surrounding Manor Road Flats. Cllr Church also attended the meeting. The second block has now undergone a complete refurbishment of the roof, and it is fortunate that this work has been benefited by the extremely dry weather that has been the case over the last few weeks. On those grounds it is again fortunate that none of the residents have been disadvantaged by the significant ingress of water and attendant damage to residents’ possessions that was the case for the previous block. However, I have again had to report a serious breach of health and safety by the contractor whose operatives were not wearing sufficient PPE, no hard hats or safety boots and most importantly were observed hoisting tiles to the roof by means of a single pulley with the tiles precariously held in noose in some cases on the cusp of slipping out and falling onto the operative below. Standards of work that are this poor are unacceptable both for the safety of the operatives and the residents. The would similarly leave UDC as the employer liable for costs associated with any accident.
We were advised that the work on the current block is now nearing completion and that this will be the last project that will be completed by the NORSE arrangement. The works to the further blocks will be completed by incoming contractor (The details of which I will share separately). The program for the remaining works will by for completion of these works by September of this year and I obtained agreement that the residents will be properly and adequately advised, that we as local members will be properly involved in this process so that we are not reliant on residents complaints to identify problems.
There was agreement that in reality these blocks are beyond their economic life but there is a continued reluctance by UDC to do anything other than superficial repairs that will delay the inevitable need to replace theses buildings in their entirety.
I was asked to confirm my reasons for voting against the UDC Budget at the recent Full Council Meeting and I would confirm that my substantive reason was due to my dissatisfaction with the borrowing and investment section of the accounts. It should be remembered that UDC entered the process of borrowing to invest in commercial properties in order to generate a level of rental income that would support the revenue account for the provision of services. However, the significant rise in interest rates and the reliance on short term borrowing that is subject to fluctuations in the markets have significantly eroded the benefits of this policy. This, coupled with the investment property valuations do give cause for concern and this was exacerbated by the presentation of a paper amendment to this section of the accounts when members entered the meeting.
I would not normally vote against a budget when the item of contention represented only a small area of the budget but I do consider this to be an area of significant risk to the Council.
349 TO RECEIVE A WRITTEN COUNTY COUNCILLOR REPORT
A written report from County Councillor Ray Gooding:
County Council Report
Work continues on the Devolution and Local Government Reform Programme ant the timeline is generally set out as follows: –
21st March 2025: Submission of Interim Proposals Plan to the Government
26th September 2025: Submission of the developed Unitary Authorities and implementation Plans to Government
February 2026: Delivery of implementation plan and key stages/milestones
May 2026: Mayoral Elections
May 2027: Shadow Authority Elections
April 2028: Vesting Day
350 FINANCE – TO APPROVE THE LIST OF PAYMENTS
The list of payments was tabled at the meeting and approved.
351 PLANNING APPLICATIONS
1 UTT/25/0398/LB – PEAR TREE COTTAGE, CAMBRIDGE ROAD
Conversion of the existing dwelling and stable building into 2 no. dwellings
No Comment
2 UTT/25/0397/FUL – PEAR TREE COTTAGE, CAMBRIDGE ROAD
Conversion of the existing dwelling and stable building into 2 no. dwellings
No Comment
3 UTT/25/0395/HHF – WALPOLE HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE ROAD
Proposed internal repairs, opening up of selection partitions at ground floor and external refurbishment works.
No Comment
4 UTT/25/0396/LB – WALPOLE HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE ROAD
Proposed internal repairs, opening up of selection partitions at ground floor and external refurbishment works.
No Comment
5 UTT/25/0394/FUL – LAND AT WALPOLE FARM, CAMBRIDGE ROAD
Proposed erection of 5 no. dwellings and new internal access road. Proposed improvements to entrance, new hard standing car parking and associated landscaping and development.
The Parish Council objects to this application on grounds of highways safety for road users and pedestrians on the Public Right of Way.
6 UTT/25/0534/OP – NORTH OF WALPOLE MEADOWS WEST OF CAMBRIDGE ROAD
Outline application with all matters reserved except for access for up to 270 dwellings (including affordable housing), as well as land for a community use, parkland, public open spaces, children’s play area and all other associated infrastructure.
The Parish Council has no objections to this application in principle, but it objects to the access as consider there will be issues. Can the developers consider an alternative access – perhaps using the existing field entrance? It is noted that the exit from Hornbeam Way onto the B1383 is already very congested at times – has a second access into the site from the B1383, further north, been considered? We look forward to receiving further details of the Cambridge Road footway improvements in due course.
7 UTT/25/0498/FUL – 82 CAMBRIDGE ROAD
Proposed 2 no. new jet wash bays to be installed and associated forecourt works
The Parish Council does not object to this application but would ask that there are restrictions on hours of use as jet washers can be extremely noisy, and the applicant must supply specific details of what they will be using for the washing as we would encourage an environmentally friendly operation. What are the drainage arrangements? We would request a condition that the equipment needs to be covered/enclosed to prevent water spray and to minimise noise to nearby residents.
8 UTT/25/0511/FUL – THE MANOR HOUSE, CHURCH ROAD
S73 application to remove condition 90a attached to UTT/0810/96/FUL (Change of use and conversion of coach house to ancillary living accommodation)
No Comment
9 UTT/25/0530/FUL – THE MANOR HOUSE, CHURCH ROAD
Two storey rear extension, alterations and change of use of annexe to 1 no. dwelling
No Comment
352 TO CONSIDER THE COUNCIL’S POSITION ON DEVOLUTION AND TO RECEIVE A REPORT FROM THE WORKING GROUP ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION AND POTENTIAL FOR DEVOLUTION OF SERVICES
Discussions took place and it was agreed that all councillors should read the documents and feed back comments to the Clerk by 31st March 2025. These will then be reviewed by Cllr Khan who will submit the Council’s response online.
The Chair advised that along with the office, she is looking at possible services we could take on under the Local Government Reorganisation, but it is unlikely we would get sufficient funding.
Cllr Caton has also held discussions with neighbouring villages, but they have no appetite to join. We are now considering consulting with residents on what their priorities might be. She is also looking to invite Kemi Badenoch MP to attend a Full Council meeting to talk about Devolution.
353 OPEN SPACES COMMITTEE – TO RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 5TH MARCH 2025
The minutes of the meeting were received
Meeting closed at 8.30pm
ACTION POINTS
346 Cllr Sell to look into the issues of the Garden Waste Service in Mill Hill/Brook Road
346 Cllr Gooding to send further information received regarding the yellow box on Grove Hill
347 Cllr Caton to look into Annual Parish meetings in other places
352 All councillors to send feedback re Devolution to the Clerk by 31st March 2025
352 Cllr Khan to submit the Parish Council’s comments on the Devolution consultation
352 Cllr Caton to invite Kemi Badenoch to a Full Council meeting to talk about Devolution
Agenda
Members of the Council you are hereby summoned, and members of the public and press are hereby invited, to attend a meeting of the FULL COUNCIL which will be held on Wednesday 19th March 2025 at 7.30pm in The Mountfitchet Exchange, Crafton Green, 72 Chapel Hill, Stansted, Essex, where the following business will be transacted:
1 To receive and approve apologies for absence
Adjourn for public participation
2 To receive declarations of interest
3 To approve the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 26th February 2025
4 To receive an update on action points from the last meeting
5 To receive a report from the Chair, Cllr Maureen Caton
6 To receive written District Councillor Reports
7 To receive a written County Councillor Report
8 Finance: To approve the list of payments – to be tabled
9 To consider the list of planning applications received – see attached
10 To consider to Council’s position on Devolution and to receive a report from the working group on Local Government Reorganisation and potential for devolution of services.
11 Open Spaces Committee – To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 5th March 2025
Parish Clerk 13th March 2025
Any intention to record, film or take photographs during a meeting must be notified to the Clerk prior to the start of the meeting.