WINSTRED HUNDRED PARISH COUNCIL

Peldon   Great Wigborough   Little Wigborough   Salcott   Virley

Draft minutes of the meeting of Winstred Hundred Parish Council held at Abbotts Hall Farm, Great Wigborough at 7.30pm on Tuesday 12th July 2016

Present: Bob Holmes (acting chair), Jinny Gale, Nicky Ellis, Netty Knill-Jones, John Walker, Lynne Simmons, Andrew Ellis, Zone Warden, Kevin Bentley

Robert Kean was welcomed and invited to join us having been selected following our interview process. He was duly co-opted on to the parish councillor for the ward of Peldon and completed the statuary Declaration of Acceptance of Office form (the book for our own records) and Register of Member’s Interest form.

Apologies for absence: Phil Gladwin, Liz Davidson, Robert Davidson

Minutes of the last meeting were agreed by all and signed by the chairman

Zone Warden Report: Resulting from Colchester warding changes the Zone Warden areas have also been rearranged and we have a new group of contacts. Fly tipping on Pete Tye Common is being addressed; a speed check in Peldon has been carried out; an abandoned car in Rose Lane, Salcott has been removed.

Borough Councillor Report: Resurfacing of Mill Lane has been requested again. CBC Drainage Officer has made a site visit to the area where a large puddle forms on the road in wet weather in Great Wigborough and subsequently work on an adjacent ditch will be carried out. The CBC Local Plan consultation period has been extended and the parish council will put in their comments during the summer. The Settlement Boundary Revue will be circulated.

County Councillor Report: A flooding matter at a house in Virley is being looked into. The shoddy workmanship of the resurfacing of The Street and pothole repairs in Copt Lane will be investigated. Concerns about the cutting of certain bus services are being dealt with and impact surveys are being carried out.

Public-Have Your Say: None

Declarations of Interest: Lynne for items 1 and 2.

1. Playgrounds and Playing Fields – the Community Group continues to carry out excellent work for us both in Peldon and Salcott. The fencing materials for Salcott play area have been delivered; installation will follow in due course. There is some work outstanding at Peldon play area.
2. Salcott Grass Cutting issues, about which we had received several complaints, were discussed fully. Owing to several factors including machine failure, ill health and very wet weather the grass has not always been maintained to the expected standard this year but the Council has adjusted the wording of its policy to remove any ambiguity and the meadow will receive adequate attention in the future.
3. Speed Survey, ECC Engineers, Leaflets – the ECC Engineer is awaiting receipt of the definitive highways map of the village before this matter can be taken further.
   Speeding at the top end of The Street was discussed and although the Parish Council does sympathize with the residents it is powerless to take any action on the matter.
4. Bus Stop Bench and Noticeboard at Peldon – following inquiries only one quotation for painting the bench has been received for which John proposed, Nicky seconded and all agreed to accept. The Peldon recent noticeboard repairs will suffice for some time to come.
5. Neighbourhood Watch – very little interest has been expressed in starting up and managing a formal Neighbourhood Watch group. The point was well made that in certain patches at least good neighbourliness already provides a measure of security.   A very helpful newcomer to Little Wigborough has offered to set up and operate a closed group on Facebook for the whole parish to improve the immediacy of communications and add an extra layer to existing community communications without taking on the overheads of the formal Neighbourhood Watch structure.  The parish council is extremely grateful for this offer and will give its full support to the initiative.
6. Natural England’s Coast Path Scheme – a site meeting took place and the proposed path was discussed with our representative.
7. Actions and Reminder List – updated and to include passing of recent correspondence including engineers’ report on New Barn pond to Essex County Council for its consideration and possible action.

Planning Applications:

Planning Decisions:

Finances:

The next meeting will be on Tues 13th September 2016 at 7.30pm at Peldon Village Hall

The Parish Council wishes to make clear that any clearance work of any kind of vegetation on Pete Tye Common would need expressed approval from the landowner.  Furthermore, any such work at this time of year would almost certainly be breaking the law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.