Minutes of a meeting of Weeley Parish Council Meeting, held at Weeley Village Hall,
7.30pm Monday 17 January 2022
- Present
- Cllrs C. Hamilton (Chair), D. Botterell, L. Fitzpatrick, G. Foster, J Beady, K Green and T. Spong.
- Also in attendance
- Clerk; K. Harkin, ECC Cllr D. Land, TDC Cllr P Harris and 6 members of the public.
1. Apologies
Apologies were received from Cllr P Taylor.
2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting
The minutes of the meeting held on 20 December 2022 circulated in advance of the meeting were proposed by Cllr Green, seconded by Cllr Spong and approved as an accurate record.
3. Declarations of Interest
The Chair asked members for any declarations of interest. None were offered.
4. Actions Taken Since the Previous Meeting
The Clerk provided a brief summary of developments since the last meeting. His report is attached as Appendix A.
5. Public Participation
- A request was made to use the defibrillator at the Village Hall.
- The Clerk confirmed that written reports received are appended to the minutes of meetings.
- A deflective streetlight was reported.
- An offer of assistance with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee preparations was received.
- A complaint was made that there appears to be no progress repairing pavements and potholes around the Village.
- A complaint was made about the Council’s website, in particular, not being able to access agenda’s and minutes. The Clerk agreed to make improvements.
6. Tendring District and Essex County Councils
TDC Cllr Harris confirmed that the Local Plan now just needs final approval at Full Council on 25th and he expects unanimous approval. He was asked to use his best endeavours to save the recycling point when Weeley offices close.
Cllr Harris explained that Weeley Crematorium has been forced to close temporarily for technical reasons.
ECC Cllr Land notified the meeting about the availability of some funding to commemorate the Queens Platinum Jubilee. He acknowledged residents frustrations about the time it takes to get any highway repairs completed. He said that it may now be necessary to schedule a meeting/surgery with the responsible ECC Cabinet Member.
7. Correspondence
- TDC’s corporate priority’s consultation questionnaire was noted.
- A request to repair a path on a highway verge was considered. The Clerk agreed to respond.
- The parking issue on Thorpe Road has again been raised. It was agreed to respond accordingly.
8. Queens Platinum Jubilee
Cllr Fitzpatrick has prepared a written report for inclusion in the minutes and it is attached as Appendix B. It was agreed to consult and liaise with representatives of Weeley Residents Ass and Weeley in Bloom in formulating a proposal.
9. Planning Applications
The applications set out in Appendix C were considered by the Council. The Clerk agreed to notify TDC of the comments made.
10. Weeley Parish Council Reports
- Street Lighting; Streetlight 9083 is still out this month. The Clerk agreed to report again.
- Tree Warden; Cllr Brown reported that TDC contacted him about reducing certain trees.
- Playing Field; The Clerk reported that repair work to the French drains has been completed.
- Children’s Play Area; Nothing to report at this time.
- Grass Cutting and Maintenance; The Council’s preferred contractor has agreed to take the contract on a one year rolling contract.
- Christmas Tree; The Chair wished to place on record the Council’s gratitude to Cllr Green for his sponsorship and to him and Cllr Botterell for their work in installing what is a fabulous looking Christmas tree.
11. Other Reports
- Highways and Footpaths; Cllr Beady’s written report is attached as Appendix D.
- TDALC; Nothing to report
- Rural Policing; 15 crimes reported in Nov. down from previous meeting.
- Speedwatch; Cllr Beady’s written report is attached as Appendix E.
- Weeley Residents Ass; Report attached as Appendix G
- Weeley in Bloom (WiB); no report
- Petanque Court; Mrs Holt submitted a written report, which is attached as Appendix XX
12. Finance and Budget
At this point Cllr Botterell declared a personal interest in one of the invoices for consideration.
The payments for November as set out in the table in Appendix F were proposed by Cllr Hamilton, seconded by Cllr Spong. Resolved: Approved.
13. Public Participation
At the start of the meeting the Chair announced that she was going to defer this standard agenda item to help to minimise the length of the meeting for covid-19 reasons.
Appendix A
Action List to be reported on 17 January 2022
| Date | Topic | Action/issue | Who | Notes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Benches | Process two requests | KPH | Order placed | Ongoing | |
| 19-07-21 | Expansion of Children’s Play Area | Consider options for the renewal/expansion of the facility. | KPH | Working Party formed | Ongoing |
| 20-09-21 | Defibrillator | Replace pads (routine mtnce régime). | KPH | Yet to identify a supplier. | O/S |
| 19-07-21 | Emergency Plan | 2021 annual update. | Cllr H | Cllr Hamilton has agreed to conduct the review | Ongoing |
| 20-09-21 | Litter Bins | Reassessment of provision. | Cllr H & KPH | Ongoing | |
| Petanque Court | Install access path | KPH | Order placed. Early Feb installation. | Ongoing | |
| 15-11-21 | Children’s Play Area | Introduce written inspection reports | KPH | Template to be prepared. | O/S |
Further Developments since last meeting
- The Council’s streetlight contractor has written advising that prices will increase on 1st February 2022.
- The Council’s new contractor has been asked to repair the French drains on the Recreation Ground where they have collapsed.
- The Council’s electricity supplier has changed to Npower (part of the E.ON group) and notice has been given that the electricity prices will increase imminently.
- Mr Burgoyne from At Andrews Church wrote to thank the Council for its funding grant for the upkeep of the Churchyard.
- I circulated a consultation questionnaire from TDC regarding its Corporate Plan. Unfortunately, with just six days to the 21 January 2022 response deadline.
Appendix B
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – Working Party Report
After Christmas I began looking into ideas, funding and planning for the Jubilee celebrations. Whilst we are being encouraged by the Queen’s Pageantmaster to celebrate the Jubilee over the long bank holiday weekend, we are being asked to consider other events too. We need to be clear what we want the size of the event(s) to be and some other questions we shall need to address are:
- Do we just want to celebrate over the four days in June or extend over the summer months?
- Decide on a realistic budget to cover venue hire, publicity, decorations, equipment hire etc.
- Need to plan and share out the workload.
- Carry out risk assessments for fire hazards, public safety and that of any volunteers.
- Need a plan for both good and bad weather.
This list is only a few examples and a more comprehensive list will be prepared for the next meeting.
With regards to funding I have emailed both Cllr Peter Harris at TDC and Cllr Daniel Land at ECC to ask if either authority is providing funding for parish councils and or local community organisations to help pay for the celebrations. Funding may be also be available via the National Lottery.
Other than Weeley Parish Council organising events, it would be nice to include both Weeley Residents Association and Weeley in Bloom and expand with other local communities and businesses at a later date.
Cllr Hamilton has expressed her ideas and we welcome ideas from other Councillors who are welcome to email any member of the working party.
Appendix C
Planning Applications
| App No. | Details | Address | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21/02109/FULHH | Proposed single storey side and rear extension. | 34 Bentley Road, Weeley, CO16 9DN | No objection and no comment |
| 21/0210/FULHH | Proposed three Bay Cartlodge | Malmore, Clacton Road, Weeley, CO16 9DN | No objection and no comment |
Highways Report Appendix D
Little to report this month. Two drains on Colchester Road are beginning to break up around the edges. One of them was repaired last year. The other one is near “the bus stop pothole” that is still awaiting repair. So, I reported that one (Ref. 2757870) to Essex Highways in the hope that when one gets repaired the other will at the same time.
-Cllr Beady
Weeley Speedwatch Appendix E
As you are aware, the temperature plummeted in the seconded week of January making it unsafe for not only volunteers but also road users as drivers tend to brake when they see the Speedwatch team and ice and brakes do not mix well. We also, do get the odd driver who accelerates when they see us, we are not sure which is more dangerous but definitely do not want to find out.
In the meantime, we have two new volunteers and I was notified that they were contacted this morning with regards to the first part of the training course. So, hopefully, they will be ready for the second part when the temperature picks up.
-Cllr Beady
Monthly Payments Appendix F
| Invoice No | Cheque No. | Payee | Service | NET £ | VAT £ | GROSS £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IN02384446 | DD | NPower | Street Lights electricity consumption | 194.95 | 9.75 | 204.70 |
| 14910 | 103182 | Newtech Installations | Connect Xmas lights/Cherry Pick Hire | 498.54 | 99.71 | 598.25 |
| INV-0018 | 103183 | Goldacre Contracting | Cut-Back Hedge on Old Clacton Road | 165.00 | 33.00 | 198.00 |
| WVH-2937 | 103184 | Weeley Village Hall | Hall Hire (Oct-Dec) + electricity. | 84.39 | 0 | 84.39 |
| 35837 | 103185 | A & J Lighting | Monthly Mtnce | 99.98 | 20.00 | 119.98 |
| 103186 | K Harkin | December salary | 332.75 | 0 | 332.95 | |
| 134127229158 | 103186 | K Harkin | Telephone and Mileage | 47.76 | 0 | 47.76 |
| 103187 | HMRC | Income Tax (Dec ‘21 + Jan ’22) | 161.40 | 0 | 161.40 | |
| TOTALS | 1,584.77 | 162.46 | 1,747.43 |
Monthly Report for The Parish Council from WRA Appendix G
The start of a New Year has seen some new ideas coming from our committee. We welcome Angela Whittaker to our team and she will be taking a new activity for us, Walking Football being played with a soft ball in the village hall. We are trialling this for three months and the teams will be able to meet every week. The teams are for anyone who is interested and is over the age of 50. The teams are for men and women mixed teams.
We shall be having more events at weekends this year, to include Bingo, Hoy, and quizzes. We have a professional Website manager, Derek Ward, who is one of our committee members. We shall be moving from the present ‘host’ to a more suitable one and so the address will be changing in the near future.
We have our first theatre trip in March when we are going to the Regent theatre in Ipswich to see Chicago. Our first outing of the year will be to Horning Broad on a Paddle Steamer followed by lunch at Wroxham Broads. This is proving so popular that we have had to book a 53 seater coach. All seats are sold.
The second trip will be to Dunwich for lunch and will include a coffee stop in Aldeburgh and finishing the day in Southwold. The third trip will be to The Royal Dockyard at Chatham. I am pleased to say that seats for both of these trips are selling well.
Diane Miles
Chairman