Members present: Mr. G. Strathern (Chairman), Mr. K. Ascott, Mr. L. Cooper, Mr. K. Gower, Mr. B. Oliver, Mr. S. Potter, Mrs. M. Stock.

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

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

Two members of the public attended part of the meeting.

Apologies were received from Mr. M. Perriman and Mrs. S. Owen, who were unable to attend the meeting due to prior personal commitments.

Apologies were also received from Mr. John Sears (District Council Ward Member) who was unable to attend the meeting due to a prior personal commitment.

2/09/10 THE MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 13^TH AUGUST 2010, having been circulated to all Members, were approved, and signed by the Chairman.

3/09/10. TO DISCUSS ANY MATTERS OF INFORMATION ARISING FROM THOSE MINUTES:

3.1/09/10 Clerk: 9/08/10 RCCE Village Agents project: Members noted that Christine McDonald (Village Agent) had thanked the Parish Council for sending a representative to the Village Agent pilot project stakeholders meeting. Mrs. Stock’s contribution had been greatly appreciated.

3.2/09/10 Members’: Members did not have any matters arising from the August 2010 Minutes to discuss.

4.1/09/10 Decisions taken between meetings: FUL/MAL/10/00688 To extend the domestic curtilage over existing stable yard and garage. The Thatched Cottage, Birchwood Road, Purleigh. Mr. Gavin Holmes.

The Parish Council RECOMMENDED REFUSAL on the following grounds:

1. Stables could not be regarded as falling within domestic curtilage or as buildings designed for domestic use
2. Expanding the domestic curtilage to the extent proposed was excessive and would make it disproportionately large compared to the size of the dwelling.

4.2/09/10 Current applications: LBC/MAL/10/00713 Repairs and renovations to walls roof and windows. The Old Bakery, The Street, Purleigh. Mr. Robert Wilson.

The Parish Council RECOMMENDED APPROVAL.

FUL/MAL/10/00731 Construction of new detached single storey nursery school and ancillary works (including ramped access, retaining walls and landscaping), to replace the existing nursery building (relocatable) to be demolished on completion of new building. Purleigh County Primary School, Pump Lane, Purleigh. Mr. J. Figg.

The Parish Council RECOMMENDED APPROVAL.

4.3/09/10 Notification of Appeals: Members noted that the Parish Council had not been informed of any Appeals between meetings.

4.4/09/10 Maldon District Council planning decisions: Members noted that Maldon District Council had APPROVED the following applications:

4.5/09/10 Roof tiles (porte cochere) and railings – Coachmans, Church Hill: It was noted that further to the Parish Council’s complaint regarding the District Council’s response to its concerns regarding the roof tiles on the porte cochere and the roadside railings at Coachmans, Church Hill (See Minute 4.5/08/10), Jennifer Candler (Head of Planning) had written to the Parish Council apologising for forwarding its letter onto the applicant’s agent for a response rather than formally assessing it as an enforcement case.　

Given that the Parish Council’s letter referred to a potential breach of the planning permission this should not have occurred and Mrs. Candler apologised for the error.　

Members noted that Hazel Berrett (Strategic Director, Maldon District Council) had also written to the Parish Council following Jennifer Candler’s apology informing Members that the case had been investigated and that there had been discussions with the officers concerned. There had also been discussion with all the development control officers to restate the Council’s enforcement policy to prevent such a mistake occurring in the future.

Members noted that Paul Bignall (Enforcement officer) had subsequently investigated this case and assessed the issues raised by the Parish Council which he had identified as follows:

1. The materials used to roof the rebuilt porte cochere
2. The roadside railings have not been ‘stepped’
3. The curtilage of the listed building

Members noted that Mr. Bignall had advised the Parish Council that part of the land of The Old Rectory had been severed to form a new building plot on which the new detached dwelling Coachmans had been built (FUL/MAL/08/00533). The porte cochere had originally been part of The Old Rectory but was now within the new curtilage of Coachmans.

Condition 3 of granted planning permission FUL/MAL/08/00533 stated:

"Notwithstanding the details as shown upon the submitted plans, the roof shall comprise natural slates."

According to Mr. Bignall this related to the roof of the dwelling alone. The original porte-cochere had clay tiles and the clay tile samples submitted to discharge condition 3 had been acceptable to the Council’s conservation officer.

Regarding issue 2. According to Mr. Bignall, the panel railings were not "stepped" down as shown on the drawing. The District Council’s enforcement officer had attended the location and found that the gradient of the road where the railings had been reinstalled were not as severe as the drawings showed.

Part of the railings were covered by established plants. The railings and gate were no more than 2 metres in height and were more then 2 metres from the highway which constituted permitted development. Photographs taken by the enforcement officer on his visit had been shown to the District Council’s conservation officer who considered that they were acceptable.

Finally, Mr. Bignall explained that the original land of The Old Rectory had been severed in 2008 to form Coachmans. The Old Rectory and its now reduced land had been listed on 26^th February 2010. The porte-cochere and railings were now within Coachmans’ curtilage, which was not listed.

Members noted that Mr. R.V. Wilson, (Arcady Architects) who had been present at the August 2010 Parish Council meeting, had written to the Parish Council regarding its complaint to Maldon District Council re: Coachmans. Copies of Mr. Wilson’s letter had been circulated to Parish Councillors prior to the meeting.

4.6/09/10 Unauthorised works to The Old Rectory, Church Hill: Mr. Potter reported that the work recently carried out at The Old Rectory was being investigated by the Planning Authority and that further building work was prohibited until further notice.

4.7/09/10 Other planning matters: Members did not have any other planning matters to discuss.

5.1/09/10 30 mph speed limit – Hackmans Lane: Members noted that Jackie Roerig (Traffic and Road Safety Engineer, Essex County Council) has confirmed that she was discussing the Parish Council’s request for an extension to the speed limit in Hackmans Lane with her colleague at County Hall to check whether the request met the criteria set down in the new Speed Management Strategy.

Mrs. Roerig went on to explain however, that as the Parish Council was aware, the funding for improvement schemes had been drastically reduced this year and even should the go ahead be given to extend the 30 mph speed limit, Mrs. Roerig was only in a position to add it to the list of jobs seeking funding through localism.

She also confirmed that the County Council had decided not to install any new Vehicle Activated Signs or Speed Indicator Devices due to the on-going cost of maintaining and rotating the signs, she regretted therefore that this was not an option for the Cold Norton end of Hackmans Lane.

5.2/09/10 Other Highway matters: Localism Rangers: Members noted that the Parish Council had requested that the following work be undertaken as part of this scheme:

It was agreed to ask the Localism Rangers to remove the litter which had been accumulating in the playing field ditch and in the vicinity of the Children’s Play Area.

6.1/09/10 Children’s Play Area: Monthly report: In the absence of Mr. Perriman, no report was given.

6.2/09/10 To consider the provision of a games wall on the playing field: Members noted that Mr. Perriman had reported that there was an on-going problem in The Glebe with young people kicking a football in the road. The problem was escalating, as cars were being damaged and the ball was increasingly being kicked against houses causing alarm and upset to the occupants. Mr. Perriman had reported this to PC Tony England and had asked him to attend the area and prevent matters from becoming any worse.

It was noted that pending PC England’s response, Mr. Perriman had been asked by residents of The Glebe to ask the Parish Council to consider erecting a games wall on the playing field.

Members noted that the Parish Council had last considered this matter in July 2003 after a spate of ball kicking against the pavilion which had caused a lot of the tiles in the showers to come off (a problem eventually rectified by Gary Lynch replacing the tiles with Perspex sheeting). After dialogue with the PPFA however it had been decided not to pursue the matter on the grounds of cost and insurance implications.

It was agreed to write to Purleigh Cricket Club asking whether the club would object to the Parish Council putting a harder skin on one of the outside walls of their shed which was situated on the playing field, so that a ball could be kicked against it, to try to deter ball games from being played in The Glebe.

Whilst writing, the Clerk would also ask the Cricket Club to ensure that any old chairs taken from the shed were returned there if they were used during matches, and not left in the Pavilion.

6.3/09/10 Pavilion chairs: Members noted that between meetings, six of the new chairs had been found to be faulty and had subsequently been replaced.

6.4/09/10 Replacement memorial tree on The Common: Members noted that Mrs. Youngs had thanked the Parish Council very much indeed for its kind offer to plant a new tree on The Common in memory of her late husband (See Minute 6.5/08/10). She fully supported the idea and would purchase a new fruit tree to be planted on the far side of The Common in the autumn and then send the Parish Council an invoice for the new tree up to the value of £25.

6.5/09/10 Other playing field matters: Members did not have any other playing field or open space matters to discuss.

Members noted that since the retirement of Mrs. Clarke, the Village Hall Committee appeared to be reviewing its arrangements for access to keys for the Village Hall.

It was agreed to write to the Village Hall Management Committee asking to be reassured that the Purleigh Emergency Group would continue to have immediate and ready access to the key to the Village Hall.

8.1/09/10 Internal audit of the Parish Council’s accounts for the period 1^st April 2010 to 30^th June 2010: Members noted that Mr. Strathern conducted an internal audit of the Parish Council’s accounts for the period 1^st April 2010 to 30^th June 2010 on 8^th September 2010.

Members noted that during the audit, Mr. Strathern checked statements of balances submitted to the Council against its bank statements and transaction books. He had also inspected the petty cash book, VAT and PAYE records and other subsidiary accounting records as he had seen fit, in accordance with the Parish Council’s internal audit procedure. There were no matters arising from the internal audit to report to the Parish Council.

8.2/09/10To receive a report of receipts: Members received a report of the following receipts:

8.3/09/10 To approve payment of accounts between meetings: Members noted that no accounts had been paid between meetings.

8.4/09/10 To approve payment of accounts to hand: It was unanimously agreed to approve payment of the following accounts to hand:

SLCC – Proposed Council tax increase referendums: Members noted that this consultation paper had been circulated between meetings and a response made:

1. Complaining about the short consultation period
2. Complaining about the misleading statistics contained within the report
3. Objecting to any further government initiatives which placed increased financial and administrative burdens on Parish Councils
4. Pointing out that such measures if introduced were not likely to increase local democracy or encourage increased participation in local government (the mechanism for calling a parish poll on any issue of local interest had after all been available to parishioners since 1972)

Statement of Licensing Policy: