Little Totham Parish Council
Minutes of Meeting, Tuesday, 4th July 2023
The Parish Council met on Tuesday, 4th July in the Evangelical Hall, at 7.30 pm.
PRESENT
Vice Chairman N. Lawrence
Councillors: V. Hare, A. Philpott, T. Gritton, J. Hughes, S Venton Parishioners: 2
23.35 Apologies for Absence: Chairman Siddall sent apologies
23.36 To invite Councillors to declare an interest in matters on the Agenda. None were declared
23.37 Minutes 06/06/2023
RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 6th June 2023 be approved and
confirmed.
23.38 Resignation and election of Chairman
Chairman Siddall had informed councillors that he was resigning from his role as Chairman of the Parish Council due to the commitments of his new role as Leader of Maldon District Council. He will remain as a Parish Councillor. There were no volunteers to take on the role of Parish Council Chairman. The possibility of sharing the role on a temporary basis was discussed. It was proposed by Councillor Hare and seconded by Councillor Philpott that Councillors Lawrence and Hughes share the role as joint Chairmen of the Parish Council.
RESOLVED The Clerk to discuss if this approach is permitted with EALC.
23.39 HR issues
Councillor Siddall had put forward the motion that the Parish Clerk takes responsibility for the maintenance of the parish website and updates to the Facebook page and due to the extra workload, the hours of the clerk are increased by half an hour a week, to 4 hours. Vice-Chairman Lawrence seconded the proposal and all councillors were in favour.
RESOLVED The Clerk to take on the extra responsibilities with immediate effect.
23.40 Update for parish newsletter
Councillor Siddall has been writing a Parish Council update paragraph each month for the parish newsletter. This will now need to be written by another parish councillor. It was agreed that councillors would trial rotating this task and send to the Clerk to pass on to the newsletter editor. Councillor Venton would write for July, Councillor Gritton for August, Councillor Hughes for September and Councillor Lawrence for October.
RESOLVED Paragraph for July to be with the newsletter editor by 14th July.
23.41 a) Planning applications
There were no new applications.
b) Planning decisions
FUL/MAL/22/00959 Erection of detached dwelling Land North of White Gates, School Road
MDC refused this application because it is outside of the village development envelope.
23.42 Common land
Councillor Venton reported that Essex Wildlife Trust have undertaken a survey of the pond to determine the presence of newts and the results are awaited. Councillors were in agreement that the thorny vegetation mentioned by a parishioner at the last meeting can be removed. It was noted that the area around the play equipment is looking nice and tidy. There was no update from the church about the proposed noticeboard.
RESOLVED ongoing
23.43 TCWG & Speed watch
There was no update from MDC on the Tru Cam patrols. Councillor Lawrence has requested the speedwatch team carry out more sessions
RESOLVED Councillors Lawrence and Venton to move the signs.
23.44 Invoices presented for payment
LT Evangelical Church hire of hall £20.00
Skippers grass cutting £60.00
23.45 Correspondence
The Clerk had forwarded relevant emails to councillors. The Clerk had written to Essex County Council to confirm Parish Council agreement for the tree planting under the Local Authority Treescape Fund.
RESOLVED The Clerk to find out timing for the tree planting.
23.46 Update from District Councillor
Councillor Hughes reported that the full Council meeting had been held on 8th June and Councillor Siddall had been elected as Leader of Maldon District Council. Councillor Hughes will be sitting on the Overview and Scrutiny committee.
There being no further business the meeting was closed at 8.06pm.
After the meeting, Councillor Lawrence presented the outgoing clerk, Rowena Collins with flowers and vouchers from all of the councillors in recognition of her service to the Parish Council. All councillors expressed their gratitude to Rowena and wished her well for the future.
Signed by the Vice Chairman ……………………………………
ITEMS FOR NEXT MONTH’S AGENDA
Chairman review
Tree planting