LANGFORD & ULTING PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF LANGFORD & ULTING PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON TUESDAY 3rd DECEMBER 2013 AT LANGFORD & ULTING VILLAGE HALL.
Present: Councillors: Irene Allen, Vicky Anfilogoff, Kathy Palmer and Richard Perry
In the Chair: Councillor Irene Allen
Clerk: Jenny Clemo
Also present: 11 members of the public. District Councillor Henry Bass arrived during Item 13/144 and left after Item 13/148.
13/139. Apologies for absence
Apologies received from Cllr. Tween and District Cllr. Durham.
13/140. Minutes of previous meetings
The minutes of 15th October 2013 having been previously circulated were taken as read, agreed and signed by the Chairman.
13/141. Declarations of Interest
No interests declared.
13/142. Matters for information from previous meetings
13/86. Trees obscuring Vehicle Activated Sign – Trees have been cut back and vehicle activated sign is now working.
13/106a) Essex BDUK Broadband project – An update had been received for Langford. The network is due to be built from 2014 through to 2016, part of this by a commercial network provider.
13/121. Ditch along front of Essex Water Company land – Clerk to contact Priti Patel for an update.
13/136. Solar Farm – Councillors had not been able to take up the invitation to visit a solar farm at Wilburton, Cambridgeshire.
The following item was deferred:
13/143. District Councillor’s report (See below)
13/144. Public Question Time
- OUT/MAL/13/01020 – Proposed single dwelling. Land Rear of Willow Barn, Witham Road, Langford – Members of the public objected to this planning application:
- Too close to neighbouring listed building
- Backland development
- Harm to amenity of occupants of Willow Barn
- Harm to veteran oak tree and other trees
- Harm to wildlife (ecological survey not carried out)
Members of the public were advised to write to Maldon District Council, speak to the Ward District Councillors and attend the NW Planning Committee meeting.
- Streetlight – It was noted that the streetlights beside the bus shelter and outside Mill Cottage were out. Clerk to contact A&J Lighting.
It was agreed that Items 13/143) and 13/148 would be considered at this point in the meeting.
13/143. District Councillor’s report
- Maldon District Local Development Plan – Planning and Licensing Committee and Full Council meetings to be held next week to approve the final draft plan. There will probably be one more public consultation early 2014 before submission to the minister.
- Budget – Work continues on 2014/15 figures.
13/148. Langford Parish Boundary
Further to the previous minutes it was noted that Cllrs. Lewis and Cheshire were not in agreement with the proposed change to the parish boundary. Heybridge Parish Council had discussed the proposal to convene an informal meeting at a meeting on 2nd December 2013. Their response is awaited.
13/145. Planning Matters
a) Planning applications received.
HOUSE/MAL/13/00916 – 2 x brick pillars to the height of 180cm each, either side of the current entrance and the inclusion of a hardwood gate to compliment the property and improve security. Gate to be operated electronically and will be on a sliding set up. Mill Cottage, Maldon Road, Langford. The Parish Council had objected because the proposed gate would have a negative impact on Langford Conservation Area and did not complement the existing boundary treatments in the Conservation Area. In addition, the gate would be set too close to the highway so that vehicles would impede the flow of traffic while the gates opened.
OUT/MAL/13/01020 – Proposed single dwelling. Land Rear of Willow Barn, Witham Road, Langford. Parish Council to object.
TCA/MAL/13/01066 – T1 Sycamore – Crown lift to 6m from ground, a general 4m crown reduction and removal of broken, damaged and diseased limbs. The Croft, Maldon Road, Langford. The Parish Council had no objections.
b) Planning decisions received.
TCA/MAL/13/00775 – T1 Willow – Reduce weight and cut back to 50% of current length. T2 Ash – Fell. T3 Oak in lane to church – Reduce overhang to garden by pruning the outreaching areas back into line with the main crown: selectively remove 1-1.5m from extended limbs. Crown lift to 4m over garden. Thin outer crown by up to 15%. Work was allowed to proceed. Church Cottages, Crouchmans Farm Road, Ulting.
c) Notification that work to make safe, trees damaged by the St Jude storm, 28th October 2013 at Ulting Wick, was exempt from the requirement to give 6 weeks prior notification had been received.
13/146. Correspondence
General correspondence to note:
 It was agreed that Cllrs. Allen and Anfilogoff would attend the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service annual Christmas Carol Service.
 War Memorial Trust – Information passed to Cllr. Allen as Langford war memorial requires some repairs.
13/147. Finance
a) The following payments were authorised:
SLCC £64.00 Annual subscription
Mrs. J. Clemo £439.46 Clerk’s expenses
b) The following cheques raised at the previous meeting were ratified:
Alphaprint £338.00 Autumn newsletter
Mr. J. Clemo £227.00 Langford churchyard
Mr. A. Marks £22.81 Ulting Lane green
c) It was agreed that the following items would be included in the draft 2014/15 precept calculation which will be considered at the next Parish Council meeting:
- Langford churchyard fence repairs
- Neighbourhood Plan
d) It was noted that a cheque for £175.00 had been received from the Langford & Ulting Action Committee. It was agreed that this would be used for the Neighbourhood Plan.
13/148. Langford Parish Boundary (See above)
13/149. 30mph Speed Limit. Langford
Traffic count figures had been received from Highways. The clerk had prepared a summary of total number of vehicles using Hatfield Road and Witham Road over a fortnight in June 2013. It was agreed that the clerk would send the figures to Priti Patel.
13/150. Salt Heap Lay By
It was noted that work is now scheduled to be completed by 1st February 2014.
13/151. Grass cutting
The clerk had received a letter of resignation from Mr. Robinson who had cut the grass at Ulting churchyard for many years. Clerk to send letter of thanks to Mr. Robinson and arrange to retrieve the mower. It was agreed that three quotations should be sought to include both closed churchyards.
13/152. Trees at Ulting Lane
The Tree Officer had confirmed that the email report sent had been taken as the required five days written notice for exempt works to remove the dead branches from the eight mature trees in Ulting Lane. Mr. Ashby and Mr. Clemo to carry out work as necessary.
13/153. Replacement trees at Village Hall
Cllr. Anfilogoff reported that the Village Hall Management Committee was going to plant a silver birch tree to replace the fire damaged sycamore trees next spring. The Tree Officer had agreed that two further trees could be planted in the hedge adjacent to the Mill, the variety is still to be decided. Clerk to contact the Tree Officer about replacing the two lime trees that had been felled as it was agreed that as one stump was re-growing, only one tree should be planted.
13/154. Ulting Closed Churchyard
It was agreed that in the first instance, the clerk would write to Father Stephen to complain about people misusing Ulting churchyard. Clerk to contact wild swimming website regarding damage to riverbank and misuse of the churchyard.
13/155. Neighbourhood Plan
Cllr. Anfilogoff and the clerk had met Stella Scrivener, Planning Aid, to discuss the next steps, the project plan and a grant application to cover planning consultancy and survey costs. Current completion date is approximately 18 months.
13/156. Provisional Meeting Dates
The following meeting dates for 2014 were agreed:-
|
7th January |
1st July |
|
4th March |
2nd September |
|
1st April + Langford Parish Meeting |
21st October |
|
20th May (Annual) + Ulting Parish Meeting |
2nd December |
13/157. Items from the councillors (NEXT AGENDA ITEMS ONLY)
12/158. Date of next meeting
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 7th January 2014at Langford & Ulting Village Hall at 7.30pm.
The meeting closed at 9.25pm.
Signed: (Chairman) Date: