Minutes of the Meeting of Doddinghurst Parish Council held on Thursday 3rd November 2022 at 19.30 in the Village Hall, Church Lane, Doddinghurst, Essex, CM15 0NJ.
Present: Cllrs. Mrs D. Dicker (Chairman), Mrs J. LePage, Mr M. Capon, Mr P Arnell, Mr G. Smith,
Mrs K. Pond, Mrs D. Rogers Harrison, Mrs T. Brooks, Mr D. Potter and
Mr R. McCheyne.
Also Present: Mrs C Fuller – Clerk/RFO
Mrs C Tremain – Deputy Clerk
Also Present: Borough Councillor C. Gelderbloem
One member of the public
1. Apologies for Absence: Apologies received from Cllr. A. Smith and County Cllr. L.Wagland.
2. Declaration of interests in items arising on the agenda. None.
3. Minutes of Council Meeting held on 6th October 2022 Approved and signed by the Chairman
4. Clerk’s Report for November 2022
a) Funds held at end of October 2022
Barclays Bank
£153,563.70
Petty Cash
£79.13
Santander
£18,190.47
Barclaycard
£0.00
Sub-total
£171,833.30
Less unpresented payments
£575.00
Total
£171,258.30
b) Santander – the application to add Cllrs. Capon and LePage is still ongoing and has been chased up. d) Burial Ground Update – nothing since last meeting. e) Allotments Update – nothing since last meeting. f) Christmas Lights- The Manager at Budgens is happy for the Parish Council to run the lights from the shop to one of the trees in front, but the cable would be too long. An approach to the Kirvan Kitchen will be made for a power supply. g) Office BT & Broadband – both went down on 14th October and neither have been reinstated yet. Traffic management is required as access to a manhole cover is needed. A dongle to be purchased as there is no wi-fi hotspot in the area.
5. Financial Reports
Noted and approved
a) Financial Reports for October 2022.
b) Schedule of Payments for October 2022.
6. Feedback from Committees
a) General Purposes Committee – 12th October. Minutes were noted.
Page 14b-2022
• The Clerk was asked to check the insurer’s requirements for tree safety inspections. The current system is working well but consideration needs to be given to ensuring best value.
8. Public Participation
Cllr Gelderbloem:
• Asked whether the Parish Council is offering Warm Places to residents. The Chairman reported that the church and hub are involved in this.
• Kelvedon Hatch PC want to improve community cohesion and asked whether the Parish Council wanted to be involved also.
• Requested a list of any pavement defects and issues. Members reported that two highway defects previously reported (Rectory Chase and Thoby Lane) have been fixed, and a further pothole in Mountnessing Lane has been reported to Cllr. Wagland.
Member of the Public:
• Spoke on the issue of horses and carriages racing around Budgens Field. She asked them to leave, but received verbal abuse, and called the police on 999. She felt threatened but the police would not act. She suggested getting together with neighbouring parishes for a dedicated police service.
• Cllr. Smith reported that trespass is a civil offence, not a criminal one, but any criminal damage or other activity should be reported to 999 and a Storm Report requested. Calls made to CrimeStoppers must also be investigated but it was important to call straight away and keep a note of times and facts.
8. Planning Application (received since the last Planning Meeting)
Application No: 22/01419/FUL
Development: Change of use from Agricultural to mixed use Agricultural and
Equestrian, and construction of stables.
Address: Land to the West of Days Lane to the South of Baskevyns, Days Lane.
It was noted that BBC had given a one week extension for responses as the website was
down. Any comments to be given to the Clerk to be passed on.
9. Consultation
BBC Community Infrastructure Levy Draft Charging Schedule October 2022. The Clerk was
asked to find out how the Parish Council receives any benefits from the Levy.
10. Communications
The Deputy Clerk reported that currently two website are being run concurrently and the aim is to go over to the new one as soon as possible. She requested a short biography from each Councillor and she will send round a template. Councillor photographs to be taken for the website at a later date.
11. Correspondence
a) Launch of Brentwood CVS Winter Projects.
14. Other Urgent Information not requiring actions
a) In order to tackle the horse and carriage issue the Chairman suggested a joint effort
between the Parish Council and the Village Hall. A meeting will be set up with the Village Hall Chairman to discuss potential solutions and an Extraordinary Parish Council meeting will be held on 8th December to receive recommendations. Cllr. Gelderbloem
suggested reporting the issue to Brentwood Council’s Enforcement Team and obtaining advice from them.
c) Cllr. Le Page reported that a Christmas Lunch for local elderly people will be held on 19th December and there was general support for the suggestion that a financial donation is made towards this from the Parish Council.
d) It was noted that the defibrillator adjacent to Budgens was still out of order, due to a battery being on order.
e) The Chairman presented Cllr. Le Page with a bouquet of flowers and a letter to thank her for all the years she has provided plants for, and planted out, the village flower tubs.
The meeting closed at 20.55
Minutes signed: Date: 8th December 202