Minutes of the Meeting of Doddinghurst Parish Council held on Thursday 9th June 2022 at 19.30 in the Village Hall, Church Lane, Doddinghurst, Essex, CM15 0NJ.
Present: Cllrs. Mrs D. Dicker, Mrs D Rogers-Harrison, Mr G Smith, Mr M Capon, Mrs K. Pond,
Mr A. Smith and Mr D. Potter
Also Present: County Cllr. L Wagland
Also Present: Mrs C Fuller – Clerk/RFO
Mrs C Tremain – Deputy Clerk
Mr R Blake – Project Officer
1. Apologies for Absence: Apologies received from Cllrs. Arnell, LePage and McCheyne.
2. Declaration of interests in items arising on the agenda. None.
3. Minutes of Annual Council Meeting held on 12th May 2022 Approved with amendment of wording in Item 13e to read ‘Cllr. Capon reported that Essex County Council has stated that Brook Lane is a non-maintained highway, ie a private street with full public access.’
4. Resolved to move Item 14 to this part of the meeting.
5. Parish Office Refurbishment
The Project Officer’s report was circulated and noted.
Situation as at 8th June
Specification for disability access/shower & changing room works was sent to 4 local
companies and was published on the Government’s Contract Finder website.
Rubbish has been cleared from showers, changing room loft and undercroft.
Two new external doors will be fitted at the end of July.
Carpets and blinds to be fitted in the Parish Room in mid-August.
Electrical refurbishment is 85% completed with new LED lighting, smart control system
(programmable by app), new power system in office, new main consumer unit with power
metering, new heating controls and provision for projector equipment in the Parish Room.
Future Actions
The Contract Finder advert had 256 visits that yielded 6 enquiries and 4 site visits.
Of the local companies invited one did not respond, one visited the site and then withdrew
as being unable to meet the timescales. Two bids are awaited.
Tenders closed at noon on 9th June and are to be opened by the Clerk in the presence of a
Councillor.
A Refurbishment Working Party meeting is due to be held on 13th June but one member
cannot attend.
A key decision will be whether to proceed down the current path or to change tack on the
aspect of disability access.
It was noted that there is no obligation to accept any bids.
Insulation has not been included in the specification – it may be considered later as a
separate project.
Office furniture has not been included either, but may be considered if funds allow.
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Resolved that the Refurbishment Working Party selects one or two of the bids and recommends them to the full Council. The Council to hold an Extraordinary Meeting on 15th June to consider those bids and to consider inviting those contractors to make a presentation.
The Chairman thanked the Project Officer for his work on this and the latter left the meeting.
6. Clerk’s Report for May 2022
a) Funds held at end of May 2022
Barclays Bank
£155,301.92
Petty Cash
£289.81
Santander
£18,190.47
Total
£173,782.20
b) Santander – the application to add Cllrs. Capon and LePage has been sent. Reply awaited. c) No burial ground interments in May. d) Allotment Committee meeting was held w/c 23rd May. e) Prince Arboriculture Ltd will carry out agreed tree works on 22nd June. f) Revised quotes for the resurfacing of the small car park are awaited. g) The Internal Auditor visited on 16th May to check processes and transactions. No items of concern were noted and he signed the relevant section of the Annual Return for the year ended 31st March 2022
7. Financial Reports
Noted and approved
a) Financial Reports for May 2022.
b) Schedule of Payments for May 2022.
8. Planning Applications (Decided & Pending) to 31st May 2022 were tabled and noted.
9. Feedback from Committees
a) Finance & Resources Committee – 18th May. Noted.
b) Allotment Committee – 24th May. Noted.
c) Feedback from members relating to other meetings attended
i) The Chairman and the Clerk visited the Junior School Council on 20th May to answer
questions and raise the profile of the Parish Council. Leaflets were left for the pupils.
Further visits are hoped for.
ii) BBPCA – 26th May. The Chairman and the Clerk attended the remote meeting. The
Highways Panel is inviting applications for non-maintenance works (via Cllr. Gorton
Kelvedon Hatch PC). Cllr. Wagland has funding available for Parishes to apply for.
iii) Cllr. G Smith and the Clerk met with the Chairman of the Village Hall Committee
earlier in the day and will bring recommendations to the next Council meeting.
10. Annual Governance Statement 2021-22
Resolved to approve and sign the Annual Governance Statement for the year ended 31st
March 2022 as recommended by the Finance & Resources Committee. The resolution was
proposed by Cllr. G.Smith and seconded by Cllr. Capon
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11. Accounting Statements 2021-22
Resolved to approve and sign the Accounting Statements for the year ended 31st March
2022. The resolution was proposed by Cllr. A Smith and seconded by Cllr. G Smith.
12. Public Participation
None.
13. Financial Regulations
Members agreed to make the following amendments to enable the Council’s use of a credit card.
Clause 6.1 (Payment of Accounts) to read:
Payments may be effected by either cash, cheque, bank transfer or direct debit drawn on the Council’s bankers. Any corporate credit card opened by the council will be specifically restricted to use by the Clerk and Deputy Clerk and shall be subject to automatic payment in full at each month end. Staff will not be required by the Council to use their own personal cards but if they need to they will be reimbursed.
Clause 5.3 (Banking Arrangements and Cheques) to read:
Cheques, bank payment orders (BACS transfers) and credit card transactions drawn on a council bank account shall be signed by at least two cheque signatories as approved by the full council.
A full review of the Financial Regulations to be carried out by the Finance & Resources Committee.
14. Credit Card
Resolved that the Council applies for a Select Cashback Barclaycard, setting a limit of £1,000 per transaction, setting up a direct debit to repay in full each month. The resolution was proposed by Cllr. G Smith and seconded by Cllr. Capon.
15. Standing Orders
Resolved that the Finance & Resources Committee will review. Cllr. Capon suggested that the meeting times be changed to 7.30pm and that the whole document is amended to become gender-neutral.
16. Correspondence
a) Next meeting of the Highways Panel is on 30th June. Any proposed schemes to be
submitted by that date.
b) This year’s Community Initiatives Fund has been launched. Rules have changed and
Cllr. Wagland will forward details to the Clerk.
17. Electoral Review
It was noted that individuals can respond, as well as Parish Councils. Consultation closes on 18th July. This item to be referred to the next meeting of the Planning Committee.
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18. Platinum Jubilee Event
It was agreed that the event on 5th June had been a great success and there had been good feedback on social media. The Chairman suggested holding a meeting in September to consider a way forward for future Council events, including ways of encouraging new volunteers to help with organising. Cllr. Pond offered to look at the current groundswell of volunteers willing to help.
19. Other Urgent Information not requiring actions
a) Extraordinary meeting of the Council to be held on 15th June.
b) General Purposes meeting to be held on 15th June.
c) Next Parish Council meeting to be held on 7th July.
d) Cllr. G Smith is liaising with Gigaclear on locations of their boxes in the parish.
e) Cllr. Wagland reported that there is a Police Fund available for safety schemes, and she will
give further details to the Clerk. She also has a £5,000 fund that can be applied for. Cllr. G
Smith will report potholes and carriageway defects directly to Cllr. Wagland.
The meeting closed at 21.30
Minutes signed: Date: 7th July 2022
