Members present: Mr. S. Potter (Chairman), Mr. L. Cooper, Mr. M. Perriman and Mrs. M. Stock.

Also in attendance: Mrs. J. Potter (Clerk).

Mr. J. Archer (District Council Ward Member) attended the public session prior to the commencement of the meeting.

The meeting was not attended by any members of the public.

Apologies were received from Mr. K. Ascott, Mr. K. Gower, Mr. B. Oliver, Mrs. S. Owen and Mr G. Strathern who were unable to attend the meeting due to prior personal and professional commitments. Apologies were also received from Mr. J. Sears (District Council Ward Member) who was also unable to attend the meeting.

2/08/08 THE MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 11^TH JULY 2008, having been circulated to all Members, were approved, and signed by the Chairman.

3/08/08. TO DISCUSS ANY MATTERS OF INFORMATION ARISING FROM THOSE MINUTES:

3.1/08/08 Clerk: The Clerk did not have any matters arising from the July 2008 meeting to report to Members.

3.2/08/08 Members’: Members did not have any matters arising from the July 2008 meeting to discuss.

4.1/08/08 Decisions taken between meetings: Members noted that the Parish Council had not made any recommendations to Maldon District Council between meetings.

4.2/08/08 Current applications: FUL/MAL/08/00807 Replacement garage. Fourways, Howe Green Road, Purleigh. Mr. B. Hinchcliffe.

The Parish Council RECOMMENDED APPROVAL.

FUL/MAL/08/00907 Two storey side extension. Grebe, Chelmsford Road, Purleigh. Mr. S. Grace.

The Parish Council RECOMMENDED APPROVAL.

4.3/08/08 Notification of Appeals:

Appeal by: Mr. D. Carter

Site address: Palepit Farm, Latchingdon Road, Cold Norton

Enforcement reference No: ENF/1288/20/08

Appeal reference No: APP/X1545/C/08/2076926

Description of development: Breach of planning control under section 171A(1)(a) of the above Act.

Members noted that an appeal had been received by the Planning Inspectorate in respect of the above enforcement notice.

4.4/08/08 Maldon District Council planning decisions: It was noted that Maldon District Council had APPROVED the following applications:

and had REFUSED to grant planning permission for the following development:

4.5/08/08 Erection of a building at Palepit Farm: Members noted that the District Council had explained that planning permission had been granted for the building of the stable block currently under construction at Palepit Farm, under planning reference FUL/MAL/03/00337, on 4^th June 2003. Work had commenced in May 2008 within the 5 years allowed, so there was therefore no breach of planning control.

4.6/08/08 Other planning matters: Members did not have any other planning matters to discuss.

5.1/08/08 To agree a location for a Vehicle Activated Sign (VAS) – Chelmsford Road: Members noted that Jackie Roerig (Essex County Council) had advised that the Parish Council could only have the possibility of installing one VAS in Chelmsford Road investigated. Members were reminded that the Parish Council had asked for one to be installed within the 40mph limit somewhere near the junction with Spar Lane, and for one to be installed at a suitable location within the 30mph limit.

It was agreed to ask Mrs. Roerig to investigate the possibility of installing a VAS to face towards Chelmsford within the 40mph speed limit in Chelmsford Road near its junction with Spar Lane.

5.2/08/08 Other highway matters: Members did not have any other highway matters to report.

6.1/08/08 Children’s Play Area: monthly report: Mr. Perriman reported that he had carried out his usual weekly inspections of the Children’s Play Area and that all items of play equipment therein appeared to be in a satisfactory condition. The winding up of the swing seats remained a recurring problem however.

It was noted that debris was again accumulating in the bottom of the ditch near the children’s play area. It was agreed to remove and dispose of the rubbish in the autumn.

Members also noted that the mound of earth upon which the embankment slide was to be installed was becoming misshapen. It was agreed to monitor the situation.

6.2/08/08 New play equipment: Progress report: Application to the National Lottery Awards for All programme: Members noted that the Parish Council had not been awarded a grant from this programme. The application had been unsuccessful because, on this occasion, there had been more applications than money available, and funding had been given to projects which closer matched the programme’s aims and priorities.

6.3/08/08 Dog Fouling – District wide Dog Control Order: Members noted that Maldon District Council would be introducing a District wide Dog Control Order for dog fouling, under sections 55 to 67 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2008. This would replace the current legislation, Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996, and any byelaws which related to dog fouling.

The proposed Order would mean that a maximum fine of £1,000 could be enforced by breeching the Order, however the offence could be discharged by the payment of a fixed penalty notice of £80 (currently £50).

Additionally the Order would apply to all land which was publicly accessible with or without payment, whereas the current legislation had omissions including land adjacent to a highway with a speed limit of 40 mph or greater.

It was also noted that as a secondary authority it was possible for Parish Councils to create their own Dog Control Orders for land that they were responsible for.

It was agreed not to make any representation on the Order.

6.4/08/08 Other playing field and open space matters: Members did not have any other playing field or open space matters to discuss.

It was noted that Mr. Ascott had put an article in the August edition of the Parish Magazine inviting anyone interested in getting involved in preparing a Village Design Statement for Purleigh to come forward.

To date the Parish Council had not received any responses.

It was agreed to defer discussion of this item to the September Parish Council meeting, when more parishioners would have had the opportunity to read Mr. Ascott’s article.

Members noted that a number of recent cases involving death or injury caused by dangerous memorials had brought the issue of memorial safety to the fore for local councils responsible for maintaining closed churchyards. A recent interpretation in the courts of s215 (1) Local Government Act 1972, had found that a Parish Council who had accepted responsibility for the maintenance of a closed churchyard had been responsible for the death of a child who was climbing on a memorial which subsequently fell on him. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) was therefore keen to highlight the issue of memorial safety to councils.

Members noted that as a result of advice from the HSE, Maldon District Council was instigating a programme of inspection and repair of all the memorials in its cemeteries starting with those memorials of over 1m high, which were deemed to be the greatest risk. The District Council had employed Zurich Municipal to train Officers in inspection techniques, including carrying out the ‘topple test’. It was noted that it might be possible for Parish Councils to purchase this service from the District Council once its officers had been trained.

Members agreed that the law was complicated on this issue, and much would depend on future case law and precedent. As the Parochial Church Council had issued a final certificate in 1928 (i.e. before 1^st April 1974), in respect of the previously closed churchyard, it appeared that the responsibility for maintenance lay with the Parish Council who had accepted it at that time. Members noted that according to the Act, the Parish Council, as the responsible body, must therefore maintain the churchyard in ‘decent order’, that is, it must not offend the susceptibilities of a reasonable Christian bearing in mind that ground levels would always rise. It must also keep the walls and fences in good repair and effective for their purpose. Members noted that Memorials were not specifically mentioned in the Act and that if a council wanted to make improvements beyond the standard of decency it may have to use its open space powers.

It was agreed that Mr. Perriman and Mrs. Stock would carry out a visual inspection of all the memorials in the closed churchyard and report their findings back to the Parish Council. It was also agreed that henceforth an annual inspection of the memorials should be carried out.

Members noted that information about the Essex Tree Initiative had been placed in the July circulation folder for Members’ information. The project, which was being administered by the RCCE, aimed to replace some of the lost wooded areas of Essex. The trees, once planted should, provide new habitats and create recreation opportunities and should be planted in areas where there was public access. All kinds of native trees were available through the scheme, although it was hoped that most trees would be eco-typical of the area in which they were to be planted. In all there were 250,000 free trees available for distribution. It was noted that all trees awarded under the scheme had to be planted by March 2009.

After a comprehensive discussion of potential sites which might benefit from this initiative it was agreed not to apply for any free trees under the scheme. If, at a later date, any Parish Councillors identified a suitable location for one or two trees to be planted, a small sum could be set aside in future precepts to purchase them.

It was agreed to ask Mrs. Owen if she was still growing on a Yew tree, which could replace one that formerly grew in the churchyard.

10.1/08/08 Internal audit of the Parish Council’s accounts for the period 1^st April 2008 to 30^th June 2008: Members noted that this item would have to be deferred to the September meeting, due to Mr. Strathern’s extremely heavy workload.

10.2/08/08 To receive a report of receipts: It was noted that no monies had been received between meetings.

10.3/08/08 To approve payment of accounts between meetings: Members noted and approved that the following accounts had been paid between meetings, adhering strictly to the procedures outlined in the Parish Council’s Financial Regulations 5.3 - 5.7.

10.4/08/08 To approve payment of accounts to hand: It was unanimously agreed to approve payment of the following accounts to hand:

Cultural Strategy: Members noted that the District Council wanted to know:

1. What were the three new developments the Parish Council would like to see in community in the next three years?

2. What were the three areas of improvement the Parish Council would like to see in community in the next three years?

It was agreed to suggest that a new Hospital was required to replace St Peters and that the community would benefit from the creation of small affordable homes for young people. It was also agreed that the prompt repair and replacement of damaged or missing road name signs in the district was called for. The current maintenance regime was hopelessly inadequate and created a very bad impression, contrary to the District Council’s aim to make Maldon a District to be proud of.

Annual General Meeting: Members noted that the AGM would be held at 6.15 p.m. on Wednesday, 24^th September 2008, preceded by a ‘Making the Links’ event at 3.00 p.m. hosted by Essex County Council and the EALC. The AGM would take place in Coggleshall Village Hall, Stoneham Street, Coggleshall and light refreshments would be served at 5.15.p.m.

Future meetings of the parish and town councils in the Maldon District: Members noted that the Annual meeting would be held on 13^th November 2008 with a further meeting on 10^th June 2009.

‘Consulting your Community’: The RCCE invited representatives of the Parish Council to its information evening, ‘Consulting your community’ on Tuesday, August 19^th between 7.00 p.m. and 9.00 p.m. at the RCCE Offices, Feering. Members noted that the session cost £25 per delegate and would focus on different methodologies and techniques that could be used to engage with local communities.

Members received advance notice that the Information Commissioners Office would be publishing a new ‘Model Publication Scheme’ for Parish Councils in the autumn, which had to be adopted, with or without amendment, by 1^st January 2009.

Consideration was given to the crime and disorder implications of all decisions made at this meeting.

There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 8.08 p.m on 08/08/08.

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