Rawreth Parish Council

Minutes of the last Meeting of Rawreth Parish Council 

 

 

 

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF RAWRETH PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON 7th of July 2010 AT 7.30pm AT THE VILLAGE HALL RAWRETH

                                          Present: Cllr. Mrs L Hopkins  

                                                                   Cllr. Mrs M Beckers

                                                                   Cllr. P Beckers

                                                                   Cllr. Mrs R Coombs

                                                                   Cllr.  S Coombs

                                                                   Cllr. Mrs S Wiltshire

 

In Attendance:  The Clerk and 5 members of the public.  

 

67. TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr Alistir Matthews.

 

68.  TO RECEIVE DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. - Cllr Rita Coombs declared a personal interest in item 95.a

by virtue of knowing the applicants.

 

69. TO APPROVE MINUTES OF LAST MEETING. - . - Minutes of the meeting held on the 2nd of June 2010 were approved by the Members and accordingly the Chairman signed them as a true copy

 

70. MATTERS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. 12. l the advert at Michelins Farm, Cllr Hopkins advised members that this had been discussed at the West Area Committee Meeting and that RDC are powerless to do anything at present as adverts placed on trailers or lorries fall outside the normal advertising laws.  48 The matter of the new car park at Rawreth Playing Fields was raised at the West Area Committee Meeting and will be looked into.

 

71. VILLAGE REPORT- Several areas and matters were mentioned around the Parish which are detailed below, where necessary the Clerk will investigate.

a. Large lorry seen using Watery Lane, the lorry turned into the Mousery and had obviously used Watery Lane because of the weight restriction in Beeches Road, however because of the size of the lorry, Watery Lane was not a suitable route to take.

b. Three advertising trailers parked in the lay-by on the north bound carriage way of the A1245, opposite the diner. The trailers took up most of the lay-by rendering it unusable for lorries or vehicles needing to make an emergency stops. 

c. Three potholes at Bedloes Corner, the worst being immediately just after turning left out of Rawreth Lane, proceeding south down the A1245.

d. Michelins Farm, use of the site as a dump, police were seen entering the site in the early hours.

e. Weeds around the Parish sign on the A1245.

 

72. DISTRICT COUNCILLORS REPORT- District Cllr Chris Black and District Cllr Ron Oatham both sent their apologies as they were unable to attend the meeting, as such no District Councillors report was received.

 

73. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION- The following areas and matters were mentioned by members of the public, where necessary the Clerk will investigate

a. Public Enquiry into the Core Strategy, members of the public who attended were told they would not be given the opportunity to speak even though they had made a representation stating they wished to. 

b. The hole at the entrance to St Johns Drive is still there and no work has taken place for over a month.  Residents need access to the fields to cut hay in the coming weeks and the access is not wide enough.

c. St Johns Drive residents are receiving two bin collections for the same bin, one small refuse collector comes at 7.45am, followed by another at 11.00am for the same bins.

 

 

 

 

74. FINANCE

a)  Cheques for Approval

 

CHQ- 100650 - Rural Community Council of Essex – Membership renewal - £55.00-Approved and signed.

CHQ 100651 – J A Pinkerton – Community Garden Maintenance - £622.75- Approved and signed.

CHQ 100652 – J A Pinkerton – Community Garden Maintenance - £658.00- Approved and signed.

CHQ 100653 – J A Pinkerton – Community Garden Maintenance - £658.00- Approved and signed.

CHQ 100654 - H L Bloomfield Expenses £56.09- Approved and signed.

 

b. Council to review the quarterly budget. - Members reviewed the budget for the first quarter and approved the same.

 

75 GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE (to note)

a. 2nd June 2010 – letter- Rayleigh Town Council- Invite to the Chairman’s Civic Service.-Noted.

b. 14th June 2010- letter- Rochford District Council –Invite to the Chairman’s Civic Service.-Noted.

 

76. FLOODING IN THE PARISH- No further updates regarding flooding issues in and around the Parish

 

77. RAWRETH LANE PLAYING FIELDS- No further updates have been received from RDC regarding the opening of the new extension to the car park. The matter has now been raised at the West Area Committee and it will be looked into.

 

78. LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK PROPOSALS AND THE ALLOCATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT CONSULTATION DOCUMENTS AND PLANS. -  Members discussed the recent additional representation made by the Parish Council on the 28th of June to the Planning Inspector regarding the Core Strategy.   Members also discussed the press release from RDC dated 17th June , copies of both being made available to all those present, the former being available via the Parish Council website.    

 

79. OLD LONDON ROAD FOOTBALL PITCHES – No Update to report on the recently approved RBYFC planning applications, the Clerk advised Members that a copy of the full conditions was still not available on the RDC website which still showed as pending.  

 

80. LAND TO THE WEST OF THE PUMPING STATION- Members were advised that an appeal hearing is to take place on the 21st of September 2010 and Cllr Lyn Hopkins will be attending on behalf of the Parish Council. Members were also read Council’s representation to the Planning Inspector dated 29th June 2010.

 

81 LAND DRAIN LONDON ROAD (adjacent to Claremont) – No further update or progress to report with regards to the problem with the land drain disgorging onto the pavement, the Clerk was asked to continue to push this matter with ECC.

 

82. WEST AREA COMMITTEE –Members were advised by Cllr Lyn Hopkins that the recent West Area Committee Meeting was the shortest one yet, lasting just 45 minutes. Cllr Hopkins advised that Essex Fire and Rescue Services were present and they had given details of a free fire safety check for the vulnerable, the Clerk was asked to put details of the scheme in the Parish Magazine.

 

83. TRAVELLERS SITE (A1245) –– The Clerk advised Members that there is no update or progress to report with regards to Enforcement.

 

84. OLD LONDON ROAD SPEED RESTRICTIONS- The Clerk advised Members that at long last a reply from Cllr Hume had been received, the reply stating that "I have reviewed the decision on the speed limit request, which I understood was discussed with Essex Police who are responsible for enforcing speed limits. In view of its very low score on our standard assessment, the relatively light traffic flows (350-550 vehicles a day) and the small number of properties involved, I cannot consider varying the County’s Policy.  However I have asked for the 'SLOW' markings to be refreshed."  Members agreed that having taken the matter to this level nothing further could be done other than to monitor the situation, especially given the impending increase of traffic which will be generated from the football pitches.

 

85. STREET LIGHTS AT BATTLESBRIDGE BRIDGE- The Clerk advised Members that since the last meeting no further response had been received from Rettendon Parish Council. Members asked the Clerk to contact RPC once again.

 

86. OBSOLETE MAINS ELECTRICITY SUPPLY CABLING IN THE PARISH- The Clerk advised Members that works are continuing to access and replace the obsolete mains electricity supply cabling in and around the Parish.  

 

87 COMMUNITY GARDEN- Members were advised that work had commenced on the installation of a new water supply. Members also enquired about the new gate and asked the Clerk to speak to James Pinkerton to see how things were progressing.

 

88. RIVERSIDE FOOTPATHS – The Clerk advised Members that she had still not received any response from the probation services regarding assistance with tidying the footpaths around the Parish. Councillor P Beckers stated that he would raise the issue at the next Crime Reduction Panel Meeting as the probation services attend.

 

89. RAWRETH VILLAGE SIGN- Members discussed the current state of the Village Sign and agreed that a coat of linseed oil was needed and that the weeds needed trimming from around the base.  The Clerk was asked to contact James Pinkerton to obtain a price for treating the sign.

 

90. HOUSING NEEDS SURVEY – Members were advised that following the June Meeting the Clerk contacted the Rural Community Council of Essex and that they had agreed to attend the September Meeting to give some advice on housing needs surveys and to talk about other surveys and projects they had assisted with. Members were then read a letter from Rochford Housing Association stating they would like to assist all Town Councils and Parish Councils with housing needs surveys and Members agreed it would be good to ask them to attend the October Meeting and the Clerk was requested to contact them.

 

91. MINUTES BOOK – The Clerk advised Members that she had now come to the end of another leather bound Minutes Book and that a new one would need to be ordered if the same method of retention and storage was to be followed, the Clerk advised Members that the books cost in excess of £100. The Clerk further advised Members that having attended the CILCA training course last year she had found out that Rawreth was one of the only councils still using the books and that most councils stored the minutes in pocket files, held within a ring binder, The Clerk also advised Members that because the pages are glued into the Minutes Book some of the print has smudged and some older Minutes are starting to come un-stuck.   Members discussed the matter and agreed that the leather books are extremely expensive and if not widely used, showed they were now outdated.  Cllr P Beckers proposed that the Clerk now file the Minutes in plastic pocket sleeves within a ring binder, Cllr S Coombs seconded the proposal and all those present agreed.

 

92. NUMBER 11.A BUS SERVICE- Cllr P Beckers advised Members that the number 11.A bus service had once again been under threat, however he had now learnt that it would be subsidised for another year.  Cllr Beckers stressed that the service would only continue if support was shown, and urged that residents use the service in order to keep it.

 

93. BEECHES ROAD WEIGHT RESTRICTION – Members were read a reply from Cllr Hume, which was contained within Mark Francois’s letter. The reply from Cllr Hume was advising that the weight restriction in Beeches Road had not been enforceable due to matters raised by a local business at the Mousery needing access. The letter further advised that matters should be concluded by the end of July and the weight restriction should then be fully enforceable.  Cllr P Beckers then raised the issue of the size of the lorries entering the Mousery having used Watery Lane as an alternative route due to the weight restriction. Cllr Beckers had witnessed a lorry using Watery Lane, and advised that the lorry was far too big to use the narrow road and tight bends.  Members discussed the matter and agreed that whilst it was very important to have the weight restriction in place to stop large lorries and over weigh vehicles using the road as a cut through, it was equally important to make sure that motorists using the road did not encounter such large lorries using Watery Lane as the alternative route.  Members requested that the Clerk contact Mark Francois to advise him of their concerns and suggest that access continue to be allowed to the Mousery site only via Beeches Road with the weight restriction remaining in force for all other vehicles in excess of three tonnes. 

 

94. TO RECEIVE REPRESENTATIVES WRITTEN REPORTS OF MEETINGS ATTENDED-None

 

95. PLANNING MATTERS-

a) Council discussed Planning Application 10/00411/FUL Applicant Mr and Mrs D Parmenter 1 Rawreth Gardens, Chelmsford Road Rawreth. Single storey rear extension to form kitchen and conservatory and commented as follows. , Council have no objections, comments or observations to make.

 

Council discussed and commented on two additional planning applications received prior to the meeting

 

Planning Application 10/00403/FUL Applicant Mr M Blackwell 4 Hooley Drive Rayleigh Essex SS6 9RA. Council confirm that their observations remain unchanged from application 10/00003/FUL and as such have the following comments/objections to make. Council would like to question what is Rochford District Councils policy on creating two detached properties from one semi detached property?  Council have no objection as such to the application but consistency must be upheld. It has always been the Councils concern that approved applications will set a precedent for the Rayleigh Park Estate as no overall plan exists. Without such a plan development will continue to erode into the Estate and the Greenbelt with no overall control or contribution to the housing needs of Rochford District. If agreed these applications should contribute to rather than productive agricultural land being used.  

 

Planning Application 10/00363/TIME Applicant Mr Martin Collins View Gardens, Chelmsford Road Rawreth.  Council have no objections to an extension of planning approval 05/00500/FUL being granted, the Council believe the work will enhance a business that is within the heart of the local community.

 

b) Council noted the comments made on planning applications handled via the delegation procedure:

Planning Application 10/00345/FUL Mr and Mrs Parker Bychurch Church Road Rawreth. Demolish existing rear extension, replace roof and provide rooms in roof space, incorporating flat roofed rear dormer. Council confirm that they have no observations or comments to make. 

 

c) Council to note the appeal made by Mr and Mrs R Parker, Goldsmith Paddocks, Goldsmith Drive, Rayleigh Essex made under appeal reference number 09/00672/FUL  APP/B550/A/10/2129069/NWF, construct one, three bedroom bungalow for the manager of a stud farm- Noted and Cllr Hopkins asked the Clerk for copies of all the Councils representations to date.

 

96 SAFETY BARRIER BEECHES ROAD – Members were advised that the Chevrons have been approved and ordered.

 

97. TRAINING-. The Clerk advised Members that new training courses were available should they wish to attend.

Cllr Lyn Hopkins advised Members that she had attended a training course held by Shaun Scrutton at RDC on the Planning Portal part of their website, Cllr Hopkins said she had found the course very useful.

 

98. ITEMS FOR NEXT AGENDA. a) Flooding in the Parish. b) Rawreth Playing Fields. c) LDF d) Old London Road Football Pitches. e) Land to the west of the Pumping Station Watery Lane. f) London Road land drain. g) Travellers Site. h) West Area Committee i) Community Garden. j) Traffic lights at Battlesbridge Bridge k) Village Sign l) Housing needs survey

 

99. Council confirmed the date and time of the next meeting as Wednesday 1st September 2010 at 7.30pm in the Rawreth Village Hall.  Cllr S Wiltshire, and Cllr’s P & M Beckers confirmed they would be unable to attend the September Meeting.

 

 

The Meeting closed at  9.35pm      DATED……………………………CHAIRMAN