MINUTES
Minutes of a meeting of the FULL COUNCIL held at 7.30pm on Wednesday 23rd February 2022 in the Day Centre, Crafton Green, 72 Chapel Hill, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex
PRESENT
Cllr M Caton (Chair), Cllrs A Barnes, G Braeckman, A Guney, J Hogg, J Hudson,
M Jessup, P Jones, J O’Brien, L Prior, G Sell and T Smith
ATTENDING
Mrs Ruth Clifford – Parish Clerk
Mrs Emma Philbrick – Trainee Deputy Clerk
Cllr F Richards (via Zoom)
2 members of the public
337 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Khan due to work commitments and Cllr Richards due to family illness.
RESOLVED to accept the apologies from Cllr Khan and Cllr Richards
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PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – None
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338 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllr Braeckman declared an interest in agenda item 6 as his family owns some of the land in the plan.
339 TO RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE FULL COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 16TH FEBRUARY 2022
RESOLVED to accept the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 16th February 2022 as a true and accurate account.
The Clerk gave an update on action point 229 – This is on the agenda for the next Parish Forum. The Clerk believes this is open to the Chairs and Clerks only but will find out if other members are able to attend.
340 TO CONSIDER THE APPOINTMENT OF A SPECIAL CONSTABLE AT THE COST OF APPROX. £1,000 PER ANNUM
The Chair advised that she had held a meeting with Les Hawkins who is responsible for the Special Constables in the District. One of the Special Constables lives in Stansted and would like to offer their services. The cost to the Parish Council would be a maximum of £1,000 but is unlikely to be that high. They are paid between £3 and £10 per shift depending on the length of the shift and 45p per mile. The benefits to the Council would be that they have full police powers so could support the PCSO if they needed full enforcement. Cllr Caton advised that at a meeting with the Inspector of the Uttlesford Policing Team and PCSO early today, they knew of the Special Constable in question, and he is highly competent and would be a very good asset to the village.
Cllr Smith asked if there were any special tasks that the Parish Council had in mind for him and also would he cover Stansted only? The Chair confirmed that yes, he would be covering Stansted only and any tasks were open for negotiations and could be subject to any information received from the PCSO also.
Cllr Braeckman asked if any equipment required already existed or would have to be purchased? Cllr Caton confirmed that the equipment already existed and that the upkeep would be paid for by the police as well as any training.
Having been proposed by Cllr Kavanagh and seconded by Cllr Sell it was unanimously:
RESOLVED to appoint a Special Constable at the cost of approx. £1,000 per annum.
341 TO AGREE HOW THE COUNCIL WILL COMMEMORATE THE PLATINUM JUBILEE OF HM QUEEN ELIZABETH II
The Clerk advised that the Council had previously discussed a beacon and time capsule but that no decision had been made.
Cllr Sell advised that he had been researching what other Parishes were doing and that some were playing music from all decades so could we get a band/singer/DJ and organise an event such as an outdoor picnic? Maybe the possibility of a bouncy castle for the children? Cllr Jones strongly supported that the council should arrange a community social event. This didn’t necessarily have to be arranged by the Council, but they should offer some financial support towards it. The Clerk asked if this is something the Events Committee could look at setting up?
Cllr Braeckman advised that he had heard a lot of local individuals had already started organising their street parties and felt that the Parish Council organising something at this stage would be too late. Could there be a way to fund events already being organised by the public instead? Cllr Guney also expressed her views that the Parish Council had left it too late as others had been organising theirs since last year. Cllr Caton confirmed that the Council had been following up on leads but unfortunately none of them have proved viable. The Clerk commented that if we could find an available band or singer that arranging an outdoor picnic event shouldn’t prove too difficult.
Cllr Hudson joined the meeting.
Cllr Jones agreed that it was a four-day event so there should be no reason why the Parish Council couldn’t arrange something for one of those days. Cllr Caton recommended that the Events Working Group meet to look at options. Cllr Guney asked if the Council were still going ahead with the beacon and the Chair confirmed they were but that a location needed to be agreed. Cllr O’Brien suggested that Stansted Park would be the best location but the Clerk advised that they would need to speak to the landowner and also enquire about the insurance for the event. It was agreed that the Events Working Group consisting of Cllrs Caton, Guney, Kavanagh, Richards, Hogg and Braeckman would meet to look at the possibilities for a community event and also locations for the beacon. Cllr Braeckman also agreed to be on the Events Working Group.
Cllr Braeckman left the meeting due to the pecuniary interest he declared at the start of the meeting.
342 TO CONSIDER THE DRAFT OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Cllr Jones went through the Neighbourhood Development Plan chapter by chapter and highlighted certain areas that he thought members needed to consider and feedback their views/comments (see paper attached)
Meeting closed at 9.07pm
ACTION POINTS
341 Events Working Group to meet and look at options for the Jubilee celebrations
AGENDA
NOTICE OF MEETING You are summoned to attend a meeting of the FULL COUNCIL which will be held on Wednesday 23rd February 2022 at 7.30pm in The Day Centre, Crafton Green, 72 Chapel Hill, Stansted, Essex where the following business will be transacted:
AGENDA
1 To approve apologies for absence
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Adjourn for public participation
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2 To receive declarations of interest
3 To receive the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 16th February 2022 – to follow
4 To consider the appointment of a Special Constable at a cost of approx. £1,000 per annum
5 To agree how the Council will commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II
6 To consider the draft of the Neighbourhood Development Plan – to follow
Ruth Clifford, Parish Clerk – 17 February 2022