MINUTES
Minutes of a meeting of the FULL COUNCIL held at 7.30pm on Wednesday 15th June 2022 in The Mountfitchet Exchange, Crafton Green, 72 Chapel Hill, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex
PRESENT
Cllr M Caton (Chair), Cllrs A Barnes, G Braeckman, A Guney, J Hudson,
P Jones, J Kavanagh, J O’Brien, L Prior, F Richards and T Smith
ATTENDING
Mrs Ruth Clifford – Parish Clerk
Mrs Emma Philbrick – Trainee Deputy Clerk
Cllr J Hogg – Via Zoom
1 member of the press
8 members of the public
80 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from the following:
Cllr Jessup – Family Occasion
Cllr Khan & Cllr Sell – Extraordinary District Council meeting
Apologies were also received from District Cllr M Caton and Cty Cllr Gooding
It was unanimously:
RESOLVED to accept the apologies from Cllrs Jessup, Khan and Sell
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
One member of the public spoke regarding a planning application in Brewery Lane
Two members of the public spoke regarding the current parking consultation on the Mountfitchet Estate
One member of the public spoke regarding an issue from the last Highways Sub-Committee meeting and the consultation on the review of the Essex Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment.
The Chair advised she would be reading a District Councillors report which addressed the Mountfitchet Estate consultation. She also wanted to reiterate that the Parish Council will gain no financial benefit from the Residents Parking Permit Scheme if it were to go ahead.
81 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – None
82 TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE FULL COUNCI MEETING HELD ON 25TH MAY 2022
RESOLVED to accept the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 25th May 2022 as a true and accurate account.
83 TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON ACTION POINTS SINCE THE LAST MEETING None
84 TO RECEIVE A REPORT FROM THE CHAIR – Attached
Cllr Guney asked what would happen regarding the PCSO now that Elsenham will not be paying their 25%. The Chair advised that she had raised this with UDC and their response is awaited.
85 TO RECEIVE THE DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORT – Attached
86 TO RECEIVE THE COUNTY COUNCILLOR REPORT – None
87 FINANCE – TO APPROVE THE LIST OF PAYMENTS
The Clerk advised that the payments and invoices had been checked by Cllr Kavanagh and signed before the start of the meeting.
The list of payments were approved
88 PLANNING APPLICATIONS
1 UTT/22/1476/HHF – MERRY HILL, 28 BREWERY LANE
Removal of existing ground floor bedroom, utility room and car port. Erection of 2 storey side extension. Rendering of existing front and rear elevations.
The Parish Council supports this application as it considers it an improvement to the street scene.
89 TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE FROM THE EVENTS WORKING GROUP
The Chair advised that both the Beacon Lighting and Community Picnic events were a huge success. Thanks to all Councillors who helped with both events and especially Cllr Braeckman who did a lot of running around. A debrief meeting will be taking place to talk through everything including things that went particularly well and other aspects which didn’t go quite to plan such as the generator not turning up and the large queues for the face painting. Lessons can be learnt for any future events which take place. The surplus for the event is projected to be in excess of £2,500 however not all invoices have yet been received. As promised there will be a donation to charities and which ones will be discussed at the debrief.
Cllr Guney also thanked all of the office staff who went above and beyond their paid roles to help at the events.
90 OPEN SPACES COMMITTEE – TO RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 1ST JUNE 2022
The minutes of the meeting held on 1st June 2022 were received
91 UTTLESFORD CAR PARKING REVIEW – TO CONSIDER THE DRAFT PARISH COUNCIL RESPONSE
This was sent to members ahead of the meeting.
Cllr Jones talked through various aspects of the report and most members made comments on particular points. Cllr O’ Brien had prepared diagrams showing various options for increasing the capacity of the Lower Street Car Park.
After discussion it was agreed that Cllr Jones should make some minor amendments and the office would submit the Council’s comments to UDC. It was further agreed that the Parish Council would consider what steps could be taken to improve the situation for on-street parking and may submit additional comments in due course.
Meeting closed at 8.56pm
ACTION POINTS
91 Submit the Council’s comments to UDC
CHAIR REPORT
Our trainee Deputy Clerk has successfully completed her Certificate in Local Council Administration, ahead of time and with a number of very positive comments – Congratulations and well – deserved Emma- you have worked extremely hard on this.
We have also heard the Department for Work and Pensions will be setting up a service point in the Parish Council office and hope to be operational by September this year – Peter Holt the UDC Chief Executive supported our progress on this initiative.
Elsenham Parish Council have informed us that they will not be joint funding the PCSO post with us from August 2022. We have asked UDC what the options for ongoing funding are. We are waiting for confirmation from Henham Parish Council that they will be continuing.
The Parish Council in partnership with the ward District Councillors, have completed a consultation exercise for a suggested Residents Parking Scheme (RPS) on the Mountfitchet Estate together with some new red line waiting restrictions to prevent parking on junctions. The results will be analysed and the Highways Committee will decide if the red line proposals are to be submitted to NEPP or not. If the RPS does not achieve 75% support, it cannot proceed.
Our French visitors from our twin town of Rungis visited over the weekend of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. They enjoyed their stay tremendously and were very complimentary in respect of the warmth and sense of community they experienced whilst here – attending the Community Picnic and Street parties as part of their itinerary.
The Parish Council is to revisit the question of signage for the Mountfitchet Exchange, including commissioning a road sign indicating the Parish Office and community Hub.
I would urge all members to read the Uttlesford Housing Market Report – which gives a snapshot of house price data at ward level as at March 22. Unsurprisingly, property prices in Uttlesford are higher than figures for the Eastern region due to the proximity to London and Cambridge. The average price for the district is £594,422 – which equates to Stansted North, with Stansted south slightly lower and Stort Valley at just over a £1m . Affordability remains an issue and probably needs more emphasis in our Neighbourhood Development Plan.
As you are aware, I have campaigned long and hard, alongside others to promote our community need for a second dispensing pharmacy in the south ward of Stansted. The Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment has now been published for consultation. You can read the document via Essex HWB draft PNA Consultation on the ECC website – the consultation is open from May 30th to August 5th. I urge councillors and residents to respond to the consultation – which appears to be a reiteration of the previous findings – suggesting that we have access to transport to reach pharmacies within 20 minutes- not taking into consideration climate change issues; completely ignoring all the issues raised by campaigners and stating that we have access to a pharmacy at Endeavour House at the airport! I intend to continue the campaign and request our MP scrutinise the process of this assessment which does not take into account public opinion and moreover their needs. REPORT ENDS.
DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS
Statement from District Councillors Caton and Khan
Unfortunately, we are unable to attend the meeting tonight as it clashes with an Uttlesford District Council meeting.
Airport parking has been a problem that has blighted Stansted Roads for several years.
We received many comments about it during our discussions with residents in 2019 across Stansted South. The pandemic temporarily eradicated the problem bringing some relief. However, since the ease of Covid restrictions the problem has returned.
Residents from the Mountfitchet Estate attended the Stansted South District Cllr surgery earlier this year to discuss the issue and request parking restrictions, including permit parking. We made it clear at the meeting, that any restriction involving permits would incur a cost to residents and that there could be an unintended consequence of pushing the problem to other roads in Stansted.
We also took the matter up with Stansted Airport who agreed to fund and install the “No Airport Parking signs.” We know that this will not immediately solve the issue, but over time with residents continuing to report airport parking to the hotline, it will help lessen the problem. Other roads in Stansted North where these signs are installed are not reporting any incidents of airport parking.
At the same time we asked the Parish Council to arrange a meeting with the North Essex Parking Partnership (the body responsible for designing and enforcing restrictions) to explore the possibility of restrictions across the Estate. Having explained the problem, the Parking Partnership produced the Parking Permit Scheme that is currently out for consultation. This scheme, on their advice, is the best way to eradicate the problem of airport parking with effective enforcement. The rules of the scheme are laid down by the Partnership. It is important to note that this scheme does not guarantee a resident a parking space outside their home.
Since the consultation has started, some residents have suggested a different approach. There are no alternative schemes on offer by the Partnership. We explored at length what else could be done to solve the problem. The current scheme is, on their advice the only option available.
We and the Parish Council are very sympathetic to residents’ concerns about the cost of permits given the current economic climate where household budgets are being squeezed. We will therefore ask the Parking Partnership if there is any way the cost can be reduced.
If there is no clear majority in favour of the scheme it will not be implemented. So far, the feedback we have received indicates that the scheme is not supported by residents. We will publish the results and feedback once the consultation ends on the 17th of June 2022.
On the question of red lines. The Parking Partnership has made this recommendation to ensure that roads are accessible for emergency vehicles to operate on the estate without obstruction. We will work with the Parking Partnership to ensure the red lines are placed on the most appropriate part of the estate to ensure traffic can flow and is not a hazard for motorists, pedestrians and emergency vehicles. We will take into consideration any comments that we have received with regard to the red lines.
Finally, we would like to thank residents who have provided input into this matter as well as constructive feedback on the process. It’s very much appreciated. REPORT ENDS.
AGENDA
NOTICE OF MEETING You are summoned to attend a meeting of the FULL COUNCIL which will be held on Wednesday 15th June 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
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Adjourn for public participation
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2 To receive declarations of interest
3 To approve the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 25th May 2022
4 To receive an update on action points from the last meeting
5 To receive a report from the Chair
6 To receive the District Councillors’ Report
7 To receive the County Councillor’s Report
8 Finance – To approve the list of payments – to be tabled at the meeting
9 To consider the list of planning applications received– see below
10 To receive an update from the Events Working Group
11 Open Spaces Cttee – To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 1st June 2022 – To follow
12 Uttlesford Car Parking Review – To consider the Draft Parish Council response – Attached
Ruth Clifford, Parish Clerk – 9 June 2022