Minutes of the Meeting of the Great Burstead and South Green Village Council, held at
South Green Memorial Hall, Southend Road, Billericay
on Wednesday 4th November 2015 at 7.30 p.m.
Present:-
Councillor M. Dear
Councillor Cottle
Councillor J. Dear
Councillor Knight
Councillor Willingham
Also in attendance:-
Martin Ainscough – Clerk to the Council.
County Councillor Twitchen
3 members of the public.
15/160 Apologies for Absence.
Apologies were received from Councillor Knight who had a prior engagement.
15/161. Declarations of Interests & Register of Members Interests.
There were no declarations of interest.
15/162 Minutes.
The Minutes of the meeting held on 7th October 2015, were received and agreed as a correct record and duly signed by the Chair subject to the amendment of the word reasonably to read reasonable in Item 15/147 Village Council Summer Event – 2016 line 8.
15/163. Public Participation Session.
Bench Suggestion located at the end of the public footpath opposite Burstead Drive & the junction with Grange Road.
The meeting received an update on the above mentioned matter. County Councillor Twitchen thought that it was an excellent idea, but did point out that permission and a possible licence would be required from ECC before the project could go ahead. She very kindly undertook to find out who the Village Council should make any request to and would let the Clerk know in due course. Again it was highlighted that funding for the bench might be forthcoming from the Community Initiatives Fund over seen by ECC, but unfortunately the deadline for the receipt of bids and or expressions of interest had now been missed for this year. The earliest therefore that any bid could be considered under this funding stream would be April of next year at the earliest. With that in mind it was agreed that the information that would be required in order for ECC to make a decision on whether the location of the bench was suitable or not would be continued to be gathered.
15/164. Planning Applications.
15/01276/FULL / 30 Maple Mead, Billericay, CM12 9QS / Part extension to front ground & first floor level with single storey extensions to the side elevation / No objections15/01294/FULL / 9 Passingham Avenue Billericay / Erection of front porch. Revision to 14/01415/FULL / No objections
When making an objection the following should be considered:
1. Contrary to Green Belt Policies, 2. Over-Development of the Site, 3. Objection on Highway Safety Grounds, 4. Lack of Car Parking Facilities,
5. Damage to Residential Amenity, due to: - 6. Over-looking neighbouring properties, 7. Over-dominance, 8. Increase in noise/pollution etc., 9. Damage to Visual Amenity, due to: - 10. Excessive bulk/height, 11. Poor/awkward design, 12. Out of keeping with area or street scene, 13. Unsatisfactory Layout,
14. Contrary to Conservation Area Guidelines, 15. Infrastructure, 16. Pertinent Local Knowledge
In addition to the above mentioned applications the following applications were considered under the arrangements previously approved for dealing with consultation requests received outside the Village Council’s usual monthly meeting cycle. The following comments being emailed to the Planning Dept. at Basildon Borough Council on 30th October 2015.
15/01236/FULL - Proposed replacement dwelling. - 48 Noak Hill Road Billericay Essex CM12 9UG.
Comments: - No objections
15/01228/FULL - Conversion of residential premises above a commercial unit into 2 no. self-contained flats. Various external alterations including the creation of additional metal staircase leading from first to second floor and a new roof terrace at second floor with glass balustrade at the rear. Replacement of existing fenestration and new doors at the rear for external access. - 10A Grange Road Billericay Essex CM11 2RB.
Comments: - no objections
15/165. Lamp Columns Grange Parade.
The Clerk was pleased to report that permission had been forthcoming from ECC for the rope lights on the 3 lamp post columns at the South Green parade of shops. The approval letter had been subsequently received and a copy had been signed by the Clerk and sent back to ECC for their records. Now that permission had been granted for lights on the lamp posts arrangements could now be made for the switch on event scheduled for 5th of December. Councillor M. Dear undertook to check with the primary school and Baptist Church as to whether their respective choirs would be able to attend. The Clerk would also confirm the date with Piggott’s for an engineer to be on site from 4.00 pm on the day and whether that cost had been incorporated into the overall lighting scheme for 2015 or not.
15/166. NOTICE OF PUBLIC CONSULTATION:
Basildon Borough Draft Statement of Community Involvement Second Revision 2015
Councillor M. Dear presented a proposed response in respect of the above mentioned consultation exercise to the meeting for agreement. The suggested response was considered question by question and agreed. There was a little bit of confusion as to how some of the questions had been presented by the Planners and Councillor M. Dear undertook to revisit the consultation documents for clarification prior to forwarding the final response to the Clerk which would then be sent to Basildon B.C.
15/167. Essex Police County wide Restructuring – Consultation.
The meeting considered the proposals announced by Essex Police to restructure the county wide force and the possible implications for Gt. Burstead & South Green as a result. Concern was expressed about the proposed cuts and in particular the loss of dedicated PCSOs in and around Gt. Burstead & South Green. Councillor M. Dear therefore agreed to draft a response to the Chief Constable and Police Crime Commissioner for Essex, highlighting the concerns of the VC in the light of the proposed cuts.
15/168. Village Council Summer Event – 2016.
The meeting received an update on the arrangements for the 2016 event. It was noted that due to the fact that Fun Day Entertainments did not hold the necessary certificate required by Basildon B.C. they would now no longer be supplying the inflatables on the day. Councillor Willingham indicated that she had though obtained alternative quotes from companies that did hold the necessary certification and on that basis the one received from 1st2Bounce would seem to be the most reasonable at a cost of £750.00 for 4 bouncy castles. The meeting agreed that 1st2Bounce should supply and operate the bouncy castles on the day.
15/169. Len Turner - Plaque & Bench on the Green Update.
The meeting noted that information had now been received from Basildon B.C. Parks Dept. with regard to replacing all 5 benches on the Green at South Green. It was noted that the benches would be made of composite materials to help guard against damage and or vandalism in the future. The benches would be of a Gladstone style of design and would be in a colour in keeping with their location. A budget of £4,000 was agreed for this project exclusive of VAT. The Clerk was therefore requested to inform the Parks Dept. to go ahead with obtaining and installing the new benches.
15/170. Essex Association of Local Councils.
Nothing to report.
15/171. Association of Basildon Local Councils News.
It was noted that the training event organised for 14th of October didn’t take place due to lack of interest. The next Local Council Liaison meeting was due to be held on 12th of November and Councillor J. Dear would attend on behalf of the VC.
15/172. Finance.
approved payments:
Payee / Cheque number / Details / AmountMartin Ainscough / October salary / £ 499.89(*)
H.M.R.C. 022032 / Income tax – October / £125.00
Martin Ainscough 022033 / October expenses – / £10.11
(*) salary paid directly by bank transfer on 26th of each month.
15/173. New Village Sign.
The meeting received and noted a number of design ideas for the new village sign from Councillor Cottle. Based on these and other suggestions made at the meeting for inclusion Councillor Cottle would now speak to the blacksmith at Barleylands as well as Alpha Signs to see what it might be possible to create.
15/174. Proposal to site a bench – Junction of Grange Road & Gt. Burstead Drive.
See Minute Ref; - 15/163 above.
15/175. South Green Zeppelin Disaster – Centenary September 1916 –2016.
It was noted that next year was the centenary of this event during the First World War when a German Zeppelin airship was shot down with the loss of all those onboard. There then followed a discussion as to whether the VC should mark this occasion in some way. However, the meeting was informed that it was the Billericay Town Council’s intention to commemorate this event and with that in mind it was decided to let the Town Council mark this event on their own.
15/176. Refuse Bins – South Green Shops.
Councillor M. Dear brought to the meeting’s attention the dilapidated state of 3 of the bins outside the South Green Shops. It was noted that they had fallen into disrepair and were therefore no longer fit for purpose. Consideration was then given to whether to replace the bins or not. Following a discussion it was agreed that the 3 bins highlighted as being in need of repair should be replaced with new steel blue bins with the name of and logo of the VC on the side of them. The cost of the purchase and installation of the new bins would be funded by the VC at an estimated cost of £960.00. The Clerk was therefore requested to contact the appropriate officer at Basildon B.C. to order the new bins and oversee the installation on site.
15/177. Children’s Centre Advisory Board Meeting – Report.
It was noted that there had not been a meeting of the Advisory Board since the last meeting of the Village Council, although Councillor Willingham had attended Rosie’s leaving event to represent the Village Council. Councillor Willingham would also complete the CAAB’s consultation response on behalf of the VC.
15/178. Neighbourhood Action Panel.
It was noted that Councillors M. Dear and Cottle had attended the recent neighbourhood action meeting. Concern was expressed once again about the proposed police cuts and in particular the loss of dedicated PCSOs in and around Gt. Burstead & South Green. See action agreed at item 15/167 above.
15/179. Footpaths.
The Clerk informed the meeting that he had received a phone call from the recently appointed new ECC footpaths officer, Lenny May. He confirmed the state of Footpath 41 that Councillor Cottle had brought to the attention of the VC at previous meeting. Since that conversation Councillor Cottle had subsequently meet with Mr May on site and they had walked the footpath together. As a result of that meeting it had been confirmed that the route of the footpath had been diverted, probably by the landowner, and that directional signs had also been removed. The meeting noted that it was the responsibility of the land owner to redress these matters and ensure that the footpath was clear and able to be walked again along the entirety of its route.
However, this it was noted would not be a quick process with the ownership of the land having to be ascertained in the first instance and the legal team at ECC would probably have to be involved before a satisfactory result in this matter could be achieved for all parties concerned..
15/180. Future Meeting Dates.
2nd December, 6th January 2016
15/181. Close of Meeting.
The meeting closed at 9.05 pm