DANBURY PARISH
COUNCIL
Minutes
of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Wednesday 10 May 2006
at 8.00pm in the Sports &
Social Centre, Main Road, Danbury
Present: Parish Councillors: S Berlyn
(Chairman), M Wood (Vice-Chairman), A Allen, J Brooks, Mrs C Creak, D Hawkins, A
Keeler, Mrs C Lambert, R Matthews, J Thomson, Mrs J Wells, D Whiteing.
Approaching 100 members of the
public, including representatives of many local clubs and organisations
In attendance: Mrs M Saunders (Parish
Clerk), Mrs M Moss (Assistant Clerk), Mrs E Blyth (Assistant Clerk); Mr R Stannard, Crime Prevention Officer,
Essex Police
Apologies for
absence: Apologies were received from Mr J Alexander, Mr R Dickens,
Mrs J Gilligan, Mrs J Hansen, Cllr M Telling, Borough Cllrs C Kingsley, R
Shepherd and I Wright, East Hanningfield Parish Council, the Landisdale
Charity.
1. Welcome
The Chairman welcomed all present to the meeting, and
introduced the guest speaker, Mr Ray Stannard, Crime Prevention Officer with
Essex Police. Unfortunately the other speaker, Superintendent Tim Stokes, was
unable to attend due to operational duties. Mr Stannard would briefly cover the
information Superintendent Stokes would have given.
2. Policing and security
2.1 Mr Stannard
began his talk by referring to the changes taking place within the police
service as a result of Government policy on tackling major crime and national
security issues. A reduction in the
overall number of police authorities was seen as necessary to enable the best
use of resources over wider areas, and it was likely that Essex Police would
merge with the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire police authorities.
2.2 Locally, Neighbourhood Policing was to be implemented in Essex
within the next few weeks. This should
result in neighbourhood beat officers taking a more visible role, and it was
hoped that personnel changes would stabilise so that communities could get to
know their local officers.
2.3 Turning to crime prevention and security at home, Mr Stannard urged
people not to make life easy for the criminal! Many thefts from homes did not involve forced entry. Simple measures
would help reduce crime, such as checking that all external doors were locked
at night and avoiding leaving car keys downstairs in obvious places. Away from home, small changes in behaviour
could prevent crimes such as the theft of handbags from supermarket trolleys
and the misuse of bank cards where pin numbers had been written down.
2.4 At the end of his talk Mr Stannard took questions from the
audience. Topics covered included the
importance of fitting smoke alarms at home and the need to have a planned
escape route from the house in case of fire. The Chairman thanked Mr Stannard for addressing the meeting and for his information
and advice.
3. Minutes of the 2005
Annual Parish Meeting
Copies of the minutes of the meeting held on 11th May 2005 had been circulated at the meeting. The minutes were approved and signed as a correct record.
4.1 The Chairman began by thanking his fellow councillors
and the staff for their support over the past year. Cllr Colin Budgey had retired as a parish
councillor after many year’s service, and two new members, Dave Powell and
Jackie Wells, had been co-opted to the Council.
4.2 In the last 12 months the major renovations to
the A414 through the village had been completed. Although the project had been a difficult
period for Danbury’s businesses, the result was a better and safer road with
better footpaths. The Parish Council had
been represented on the A414 Project Board and had achieved new bus shelters,
litter bins and seats for the village. The Parish Council was now responsible for maintaining these assets. Other highlights of the year included the
public meeting on Chelmsford Borough Council’s Local Development Framework
proposals in December 2005; the publishing of a tourist information leaflet for
Danbury; new fencing for the children’s play area to comply with health and
safety legislation; new seats for the play area; and work to the bowling green
to bring it up to County standard. Danbury Times had won an award in the
annual Newsletter Competition run by the Essex Association of Local
Councils. There had also been an awards
to the Groundsman for the standard of the playing fields, and to Cllr Lambert
for her contribution to the environment through her annual ‘litter pick’
involving the local schools.
4.3 Turning to plans for the future, the Chairman reported
that the Council would be obtaining a specification for improving the drainage
to the playing fields and car parks and the resurfacing of the car parks. This would be a major project. Funds had been allocated for the first stage,
but the full costs were not yet known. The
Danbury Planning Framework, the final stage of the Parish Plan project, would
be completed and the document published in the village. It was hoped that the Framework would be adopted
by Chelmsford Borough Council as supplementary planning guidance. The Parish Council proposed to enter the Best
kept Village Competition, and to arrange summer play days for children in conjunction
with the Borough Council. A new piece of
play equipment had been ordered to replace one which was no longer usable, and
the staff would continue to work to obtain grants for this and other items for
the benefit of the village.
Finally, Cllr Berlyn stressed that the Council’s
meetings were open to the public, and visitors would be welcome at the Parish
Office during the morning opening hours.
5. Report by the
Chairman of the Resources Committee
5.1 Cllr Whiteing presented the audited accounts for the
financial year 2004/05. He drew
attention to the summary printed in the recent edition of Danbury Times, and to
the full copies of the accounts available at the meeting. Also available were the draft accounts for the
financial year 2005/06.
5.2 Cllr Whiteing explained the process by which the
Council’s annual budgets were drawn up and the reasons for the increase in the
Precept for 2006/07. These included
increases in fuel, insurance and staff costs, repayments for the loan for the
building of the Sports & Social Centre, and the requirement of the Auditors
to maintain a £25,000 contingency fund. In addition, £29,000 had been earmarked for the drainage project
referred to by the Chairman. After his
report Cllr Whiteing received questions and comments from the floor. No objections to the accounts were raised.
6. Public questions and
discussion
After the completion of formal business, questions were
invited from members of the public. Issues
raised and discussed included the following:
·
Volume of
traffic on the A414 and the likely effect of proposed improvements to the
Maldon-Hatfield Peverel link. The proposal
had the backing of Maldon District Council. Traffic through the village helped to support local businesses. Traffic
on the A414 had not yet returned to pre-roadworks levels;
·
The uncompleted
traffic lights at Mayes Lane/Eves Corner. Essex County Council had not yet decided how
to proceed;
·
The possibility
of housing development at Runsell Green. The Borough’s draft Local Development
Framework did not propose any enlargement of the village envelope or
significant additional housing;
·
Danger to
pedestrians in the Co-op car park. The Council had
been in contact with the organisation regarding safety improvements;
·
Closure of the lay-by
opposite the Co-op which had been a useful stopping place for coaches. The lay-by had been closed for a number of
reasons including the safety of users of the car park. Coach drivers appeared to have no problem
using the regular bus stop at Eves Corner;
·
The proposal to
close the Council’s playing fields to formal games for the summer months in
2006. The Council had a
responsibility to preserve the fields for the future and based its decisions on
professional advice;
·
Public toilets. The toilets
were owned and maintained by the Borough Council and the police were monitoring
the area. The Parish Council would be
reluctant to ask for the toilets to be closed during the summer months;
·
Proposal for a
betting shop in Maldon Road. The Council
was opposed to this and would respond accordingly to any application made to
the Borough Council for change of use;
·
The parking of
cars for sale on grass verges in the village. Cases were raised with the Borough and County
Councils as they arose but they had limited powers to act;
·
The placing of
the new pedestrian crossing on Main Road rather than in Well Lane. The authorities had looked into locating the
crossing in Well Lane but the safety requirements there could not be met.
7. Conclusion
At the conclusion
of questions and discussion, the Chairman thanked everyone for attending and
for their participation. He drew the
meeting to a close at 10.15pm.
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