MINUTES
Minutes of a meeting of the OPEN SPACES COMMITTEE held at 7.30pm on Wednesday 12th October 2022 in The Mountfitchet Exchange, Crafton Green, 72 Chapel Hill, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex
PRESENT Cllrs A Barnes (Chair), M Caton, J Kavanagh, J Hudson, L Prior, F Richards
ATTENDING Cllr G Braeckman (on Zoom)
Mrs Emma Philbrick – Deputy Clerk
Mrs Laila Azure-Marxen – Committee & Project Support Officer
1 member of the public
166 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies received from Cllr Braeckman – away at Uni but attending via Zoom – Cllr Guney – personal family reason – and Cllr Khan – working. Proposed by Cllr Richards, and seconded by Cllr Hudson, it was unanimously agreed:
RESOLVED to accept apologies from Cllrs Braeckman, Guney and Khan.
Ruth Clifford, the Clerk, sent her apologies. Trevor Lloyd, who was presenting item 9 on the agenda, was not able to attend due to feeling ill. The item was deferred to the next OS meeting.
167 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
None
168 TO RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 7th SEPTEMBER 2022
RESOLVED to accept the minutes of the meeting held on 7th September 2022 as a true and accurate account.
Item 150-151: Cllr Kavanagh is part of the rewilding/grass cutting working group. Needs to be corrected. The rewilding group’s purpose should be added to the actions points so the project won’t be forgotten.
169 TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON ACTION POINTS FROM PREVIOUS MEETING
109 It was agreed to ask the Clerk to update the Committee after the meeting
149 The pendulum swing has been reinstalled and is in working order.
152 The Project Officer got an estimate for £200 on temporarily moving the concreted in goals posts from Mortimer. Mr. Mortimer doubts the old goals can be reused as it’s hard to source ground sockets in that size. The office will ask for an official quote for re-matting and goals. The grass contractor has also been approached for a quote for the refurbishment of the pitch area. It was stated that as the refurbishment of the matting was the primary complaint, this needs to be prioritised as it can be costly with moving and replacing the goals. Cllr Richards commented that the grass seems to have recovered and the matting looked okay at the moment. It was agreed that the issue is less of a problem right now, but the Committee will need the costing of re-matting and then decide how to move forward.
153 The amendments to the planning comments as raised at the Full Council meeting on the 5th October.
On FP23: It was agreed to ask the Clerk to update the Committee after the meeting
170 TO RECEIVE A REPORT FROM THE CHAIR – see attached
Cllr Barnes read out his Chair’s Report.
Walpole Meadows: The newly installed fence is not the correct fence for a playground
but the Parish Council was not consulted on the matter. Cllr Barnes has raised the issue with Emma Blazeby and has asked to have it added to the meeting with Dean Hermitage. Despite asking for an invite Cllr Barnes will not invited to the meeting. The office will ask Cllr Sell to insist on Cllr Barnes being present.
Due to the resignation of most officers of the EFAA the office will approach other plot holders as potential replacement. The office will also research the benefits of continuing an allotment association in case no replacement officers come forward. It was suggested to research how other Allotment Associations function. If the Association does not continue many responsibilities will revert to the Parish Council including various insurances i.e. that for the toilet block, and a better understanding of the implications of not having an allotment association is needed.
Rewilding: Cllr Jones suggested to cancel the suggested dates for site visits and will contact the working group members with a new date.
171 TO RECEIVE A REPORT FROM THE PROJECT OFFICER – see attached
The Project Officer asked for volunteers from the committee to hand deliver public consultation letters for the Urban Tree Planting project. Councillors Prior, Barnes, Richards, Kavanagh and Hudson volunteered.
172 TO RECEIVE THE INTERMENTS AND MEMORIALS REPORT FROM THE CLERK
Interments:
Dorothy McHale – 14th September 2022
Jennifer Williams – 29th September 2022
Bartram Robinson – 11th October 2022
Memorials:
Carole Wardell
Neville Hart
Bartram Robinson
Rosamund Chackley
173 TO CONSIDER THE REPORT ON PLAY EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE AND TO CONSIDER MAKING A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL TO INCREASE THE BUDGET AVAILABLE
The report was tabled. The deputy Clerk explained to members that it was based on the recent RoSPA report and Lucy’s weekly reports. There is only one critical item in red that needs to be dealt with right away i.e. items e.g. ramps at the skate park not installed by the Parish Council will be removed as they are not covered by liability insurance. A notice has been put up at the skatepark.
The amber and yellow items can wait until next year However, the total cost for the identified repair and maintenance work exceeds the current maintenance budget available. The Committee was asked to consider delegating authority to the Clerk,
Deputy Clerk, Cllrs Barnes and O’Brien to come up with a plan to fund the repair and maintenance highlighted in the report. Proposed by Cllr Caton and seconded by Cllr Kavanagh, it was unanimously agreed:
RESOLVED to delegate authority to the Clerk, Deputy Clerk, Cllrs Barnes and O’Brien to draft a proposal on how the Council can meet the budget shortfall for repairs and maintenance.
The office to check if any of the items on the list might be covered by insurance, specifically the play panel on Mountfitchet Green which was vandalised.
The Committee thanked Lucy for her hard work on the reports.
175 TO CONSIDER THE COUNCIL’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE FOLLOWING
a) STANSTED IN BLOOM
b) ANGLIA IN BLOOM
Item deferred to next OS meeting on the 23rd November 2023. Cllr Prior requested that more background information is sent out prior to the meeting.
176 TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON FOOTPATHS
The Chair thanks Mr. Stiles for his recent footpath report.
Members discussed putting up more waymarkers, as highlighted in the footpath report. Elms Farm was also highlighted as signage on the permissive paths doesn’t show the routes clearly. This will need to be raised with the landowner.
Cllr Kavanagh raised that motor vehicle riders have been scaring/harassing walkers of the path on May Walk. It was suggested she report this, along with photographic evidence, to the Police using the contact info in the Link.
178 MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE NEXT AGENDA
None
Meeting closed 8.38pm
ACTION POINTS
152 The office to prioritise quotes for re-matting of the goal areas on the Rec
168 Rewilding working group to find 2-3 test sites for rewilding/wildflowers and areas for less frequent grass cutting
170 The office will ask Cllr Sell to insist on Cllr Barnes being present at the meeting with Dean Hermitage
The office to research the set-up of other allotment associations and investigate the insurance issue with the toilet block.
176 The office to raise waymarkers with landowners on Elm’s Farms.
REPORTS
Chair Report: Alan Barnes
I only have a few points to report on that are not on the agenda or covered in Laila’s project update;
- We still continue with our efforts to resolve the issues around the Public Open Spaces at Elms Farm and Walpole Meadows. On Walpole Meadows. It was both rewarding and disappointing to see that although the requested exclusion fence around the playground is now in place, it is disappointing that a ranch fence design was installed and not the usual metal palisade style that we have used on all other playgrounds across the village. It is unclear if the fence is finished as it lacks the required netting that keeps kids in and dogs out. Other promised improvements are yet to be delivered and there is no obvious signs of handover any time soon. I await a response by the S-106 officer to my latest communication pointing out the ongoing deficiencies.
- I have been informed that the majority of EFAA committee members have resigned their positions and, consequently, new committee members are needed if the association is to continue. The association provides both social and practical support to plot holders as well as running and maintaining the toilet block facility and seed/tool shed. Everyone agrees that these shared benefits enhance the Elms Farm allotments for the benefit of all. However, the lack of a committee will negatively impact these facilities and I urge all plot holders to consider running for office if they want these is benefits to continue.
- I would like to thank Peter Jones for his leadership of the re-wilding project we are rolling out. The group formed at the last O/S meeting will be assessing rewilding opportunities across the village over the next few weeks. Report Ends
Project Report: Committee & Project Report Officer’s Report: Laila Azure-Marxen
Play equipment
Mountfitchet Green Phase 1 The football fence has been partially installed. We will be holding off installing one section, as this will be dependent on the outcome of Phase Two. Cllr Barnes and I will meet with Contractor Chris Mortimer to decide which goals are best for purpose and then order them as soon as possible. The goals and the tree planting are the last items to go in before Phase One is completed. The trees will likely be planted before Christmas. Essex Forest Initiative has scheduled to plant the Hawthorn hedges on the 25th November.
Mountfitchet Green Phase two The national Lottery funding application: The next step is to request quote from designers/landscape architects for drawing up the design and then write up a tender document based on the final design.
Urban tree planting We have been successful with securing the funding for the trees on the following sites: Upper and Lower Bentfield Green, The Recreation Ground, Windmill Fields, Mountfitchet Green, Walson Way Green, Urban Square and Wilkin’s Crescent. Thank you to Essex Forest Initiative for making sure the applications were successful. The funding covers 9-14 trees on each site, planting by contractors and watering for the next 3 years while the young trees establish.
I have drafted consultations letters for each site and will be distributing them as soon as possible. The aim is to have the consultation done end of October, so we can submit the final tree planting layouts to EFI. We will also consult our grass cutting contractor on the layout.
We will send out the final layout to the Committee members to consider via emails, as we need to submit it to EFI before the next O/S meeting in November.
Climate Change The introduction meeting for the Climate Change Community Group was held on the 3rd October with great success. Cllr Kavanagh attended the meeting as a representative from the Open Spaces committee. Cllr Jones and I did a presentation on the Parish Council’s role and expectations for the group. Andrew Urquhart from Bishop’s Stortford Group also did a very informative presentation on the climate issue and the successes of the BS group.
We have around 10 residents joining so far, and they have agreed to meet again on the 20th October at 7.30pm. We will update the Committee if/when projects overlap with the Committee’s responsibilities. Report Ends
AGENDA
NOTICE OF MEETING You are summoned to attend a meeting of the OPEN SPACES COMMITTEE which will be held on Wednesday 12th October 2022 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
2 To receive declarations of interest
3 To approve the minutes of the Open Spaces meeting held on 7th September 2022
4 To receive an update on action points from the last meeting
5 To receive a report from the Chair
6 To receive a report from the Project Officer – report circulated to members
7 To receive Interments report from the Clerk
8 To consider the report on play equipment maintenance and to consider making a recommendation to the Council to increase the budget available – report to be tabled.
9 To consider the Council’s involvement in the following
a) Stansted In Bloom
b) Anglia In Bloom
10 To receive an update on footpaths – circulated to members
11 Matters to be considered for next agenda
Ruth Clifford, Parish Clerk – 6 October 2022