Minutes of the Meeting of Doddinghurst Parish Council Planning Committee held at 19.30 on 14th July 2022 in the Parish Room, Adjacent Village Hall, Church Lane, Doddinghurst.
Present: Cllrs: D. Dicker (Chairman), M. Capon and R. McCheyne
1. Apologies for absence: Cllr. A. Smith
2. Declaration of Interests relating to items on the agenda: None
3. Resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 30th June 2022
4. Public Participation: None present
5. New Planning Applications
a) Application No. 22/00795/FUL
Development: Retention of dwellings and driveway as constructed
Address: Timberland Farm, Solid Lane, Doddinghurst
Resolved to support the application as the properties had been sold and were now occupied. Members were very concerned that the four properties had not been constructed in accordance with the planning approval of application 19/00584/FUL. Each property was approximately 12% larger than approved. The Clerk was asked to write to the head of BBC Planning Department asking how this could have happened.
b) Application No. 22/00926/S192
Development: Application for a Lawful Development Certificate for a proposed use or development for the construction of detached carport/garage.
Address: Chivers Farm, Swallows Cross, Wyatts Green Road
Resolved to make no comment.
6. Neighbourhood Plan
It was agreed to investigate re-starting the Doddinghurst Neighbourhood Plan now that the BBC Local Development Plan has been adopted. Work would need to start again from the beginning. It was noted that Ingatestone & Fryerning PC was holding a referendum on its NP in August and the Clerk reported that they had used a planning consultant to assist in the process. The Clerk was asked to report back with more details on what is involved in producing a NP, along with likely costs if a planning consultant was appointed. The Chairman reported that BBC holds £16,000 which is allocated to the Doddinghurst NP.
7. Footpaths
Cllr. Capon reported that the owner of Dagwood Lane woods had previously intimated that he would be willing to consider giving the footpath around it (currently fenced off from the rest of the land) to the Parish Council. The Parish Council could apply to make it a Public Right of Way, where we would maintain it, or a Permissive Path. The criteria for the maintenance of a Permissive Path is not as high as that for a PROW. It was noted, however, that this path would not connect up with Dagwood Lane, and a second land
owner would need to be approached for his agreement. It was agreed that this would link the village to the new residents of the Waterworks Springs development and would be a useful addition to the footpath network. It was further agreed that Cllr. Capon and the Clerk would explore the matter further with the land owners.
The Clerk reported that the footpath from the Burial Ground to The Gardens had been cleared by the BBC NATS team.
It was noted that there is no public footpath sign at the back of the Recreation Ground, leading through into Budgens Field. Cllr. McCheyne may have a sign that he could put up to direct walkers along the footpath.
8. Bus Routes & Timetables
The Chairman reported that the same contractor had retained the contract for the No. 61 service and there are plans to improve it. One of the changes is to provide more buses to Brentwood Station, which the Chairman had requested. It would be useful to have a bus to Shenfield Station, however this not at all likely to happen.
Cllr. Capon circulated a list of stops and journey times for the No. 61 and suggested that, if it were to be combined with the No. 71 service (travelling in opposite directions) this would provide a more regular service for Doddinghurst and Kelvedon Hatch. He has been discussing this with Essex County Cllr. Wagland but it was agreed that this should go onto the next Council agenda so that representations may be made by the whole Council.
9. Land in Trust
The Clerk had previously circulated a link to the website of Fields in Trust for further research. The Clerk was asked to investigate the process of setting up a Charitable Trust for the Parish Council’s land.
10. Complaint to Brentwood Borough Council
The Clerk reported that the letter of complaint agreed at the last meeting had been sent
to the Leader of BBC and a response had been received. The matter of the referral
process and DPC not receiving Weekly Lists was being investigated (Weekly Lists are now
being received), and he recommended a face-to-face meeting with the Borough
Councillors to ‘sort it out amongst yourselves’ in order to ‘understand what the
expectations are going forward, on both sides, and ensure that there is a workable
partnership approach between the PC and BC representatives in Doddinghurst.’
11. Any other urgent business for information only
None.
The meeting closed at 20.50