- Present
- Cllrs C. Hamilton (Chair), M. Brown, L. Fitzpatrick, J. Beady and G. Foster. Also, in attendance TDC Cllr P. Harris, Mr K. Harkin (Parish Clerk) and 14 members of public.
Part 1
09/22.01 Apologies
Were received from Cllrs K. Green, D. Botterell, P. Taylor and T. Spong.
09/22.02 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
The minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2022 were proposed by Cllr Beady, seconded by Cllr Brown and approved as an accurate record of proceedings.
09/22.03 Declarations of Interest
None were offered.
09/22.04 Clerk’s Report
The Clerk provided a summary of his previously circulated report attached as Appendix A.
09/22.05 Public Participation
- Concern was expressed about planning application 22/01458/FULHH. There is a lack of standards in the UK relating to the construction of domestic saunas.
- Concern was raised about planning application 22/1332/FUL. The proposed dwellings appear to be far too close to existing buildings. The tiny access road is not big enough to take the additional traffic and there are concerns about the ground being contaminated.
- It was noted that the recently installed QEII memorial bench looks ‘lovely’. WiB proposes to plant rose bushes in the vicinity to enhance the location.
- Concern was expressed about the large numbers of rats seen on the playing field. Action was demanded.
09/22.06 Tendring District and Essex County Councils
TDC Cllr P. Harris reported that he has been very busy with death of Queen Elizabeth. He read the proclamation for new King Charles.
He has discussed the issue of litter with TDC Cllr Talbot and he suggested that a survey of litter bins in Weeley is completed.
TDC has recently appointed a Head of Enforcement. Station Approach continues to attract fly-tipping. So, Cllr Harris has asked that a covert camera and signage is installed.
TDC’s ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ campaign has stalled. Cllr Talbot would support a local initiative organised by WPC.
Cllr Harris requested WPC’s (Speedwatch) support for his Tendring Residents Road Safety Alliance.
09/22.07 Correspondence
The following items of correspondence were discussed:
- A TDALC notice,
- A message from Pleass Thomson Solicitors,
- Confirmation from ECC Cllr Land of a ECC pothole repairs initiative,
- A request for the installation of adult play equipment,
- A report of a streetlight failure
- A request for a dog waste bin at Millers Green,
- Notice of the proposed upgrade of the telecoms. base station near the Church
09/22.08 Planning Applications
The planning applications set out in Appendix B were considered by councillors.
09/22.09 Provision of Dog Waste Bins
A survey of provision was undertaken in 2018 before the completion of the new residential developments. It was suggested that one or two additional bins may be needed in the vicinity of Mill Lane. Cllr Hamilton agreed to review and update the survey report and report back to the next meeting.
09/22.010 New Play Area Project
The Council's play equipment specification has been prepared and circulated to equipment suppliers seeking for their proposals.
09/22.011 Proposal to Dispose of TDC Owned Amenity Open Space Assets in Weeley
After some explanation of the situation, it was agreed to write to TDC objecting to the proposed sale of two areas of land in the village and indicating that WPC may be interested in acquiring this land.
09/22.012 Scout Hut Lease
It was agreed to obtain a fee from Pleass Thomson to prepare a lease and issue instructions.
09/22.013 Queen Elizabeth II
A suggestion was made to plant two commemoration trees adjacent the new play area.
09/22.014 Weeley Parish Council Reports
- Street Lighting; Eight streetlights have been reported and will be attended to this week.
- Tree Warden; Cllr Green reported that TPO’s have been issued on the cypress trees in front of the Council offices on Colchester Road.
- Playing Field; An order has been placed to repair the drainage channels on the field and the cracks have appeared due to the dry weather.
- Children’s Play Area; this item was covered earlier on the agenda.
09/22.015 Other Reports
- Highways and Footpaths: Cllr Beady’s report is attached as Appendix C. There was a discussion about painting erecting 30mph signs on the B1441 as Highways do not instal intermediate repeater signs any longer. It was agreed to ask Cllr Land to submit this to the Highways Panel for consideration.
- TDALC: All future meetings will be held via zoom.
- Rural Policing: 46 crimes were reported in July, 24 in Weeley and 22 in Little Clacton. The breakdown was 21 Violence & sexual offences, 7 public order, 6 Criminal damage & arson and 12 other crimes.
- Speedwatch: Cllr Beady’s report is attached as Appendix D.
- Weeley Residents Assn. Mrs Miles reported that there are several trips in diary including one to Romford Dog Stadium and one to London for the South Bank market and a tour of Christmas lights on November 19 with an option to get off the coach at Covent Garden. There will be Hallowe’en evening activities on 29 October. Preparations are underway for the members Christmas Party on 4 December.
- Weeley in Bloom (WiB): Mrs Hopgood reported that Weeley was awarded two Anglia in Bloom awards. A request for the village Christmas tree lights to be switched on 3rd December was agreed. Mrs Hopgood’s offered to assist with the litter bin. A proposal to commemorate the Christmas tree in memory of Nick Alexander was agreed.
- Petanque Rink; Mrs Holt’s report is attached as Appendix E.
Finance and Budget
The list of monthly payments was proposed by Cllr Hamilton, seconded by Cllr Foster and Resolved: To approve the list of payments as set out in Appendix F.
09/22.016 Public Participation
- Disappointment was expressed that the highway on Hilltop Crescent has not been repaired.
- An issue regarding emptying bins has been reported by Cllr Harris to TDC.
- Outrage was expressed at TDC’s proposal to dispose of the land at Hilltop Crescent.
- A request was made to install a ‘multi use games area’ on the playing field was made. It was advised that no consideration will be given to this request while the current play area project is ongoing.
09/22.017 Exclusion of the Public
In accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 and in view of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted, Part A of the meeting closed at this point. Cllr Hamilton thanked the public for their attendance and invited them to leave prior to Part B of the meeting.
Part 2
09/22.018 Streetlight Conversion to LED Style
The Council considered the quotations received for the conversion of those streetlights in the village that have not already been converted to LED. Proposed by Cllr Hamilton, seconded by Cllr Brown and Resolved To accept AD Mitchell Electrical Contractor Ltd’s quotation and award them the contract together with future maintenance of the streetlights work.
Close of Meeting: The Chair closed the meeting at 10.00pm
Appendix A
Clerks Report – 28 September 2022
- Action List
Topic Action/issue Who Notes Status Children’s Play Area Refurbishment Consider options for the renewal of the facility. DB and KG Awaiting a proposal from an play equipment supplier. Ongoing Defibrillator Replace pads (routine mtnce régime). KPH O/S Emergency Plan 2021 annual update. Cllr H Cllr Hamilton has agreed to conduct the review Ongoing Litter Bins Reassessment of provision. Cllr H and KPH Request for new dog bin at junction of Footpath 3 and Thorpe Rd made. Ongoing Scout Hut Prepare a new lease. KPH Discussion held with Pleass Thompson Solicitors with aim to prepare a new lease for the scout hut. Ongoing Jubilee Memorial Bench Install new bench KPH Bench has been installed \t the junction of The Street and Clacton Rd. Only remains to give it a coat of oil. Ongoing Recycling Point Identify new location. Cllrs Written to Ian Davidson at TDC asking for assistance to maintain a recycling point in Weeley Ongoing Street Lighting Convert lamps to energy efficient LED KPH 2 quotations for the work have been received Ongoing Weeley bypass Determine options for the avenue of poplars ECC has agreed to replace (2023/24) the poplars that have been felled. Meeting with ECC’s Senior Forestry Officer has been arranged. Ongoing - Other Developments
- Details of the semi natural management of the amenity green space at Spencer Way were agreed with Angela Barnes of WiB and the Council’s grass cutting contractor at a meeting on 5 August 2022.
- The EALC has advised that the Highways Devolution Pilot has closed and Highways has yet to announce how this initiative will be progressed.
- I have signed WPC up for the Wilder Towns Wilder Villages project in the hope that we can get some advice about the management of Reed Pond. A meeting has been arranged on 17 October.
- WPC’s electricity contract with Npower for street lighting expires on 1 October. We then revert onto the default price as the contract prices are too high at the moment.
- I am in discussions with Scribe regarding procuring an accountancy software package.
- I have just received the final External Auditor report after more than usual correspondence back and forth. I will circulate and report formally to the next meeting.
Appendix B
| Application No. | Details | Address | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22/01232/FUL | Proposed erection of one bungalow (in lieu of deemed Prior Approval for a dwelling, subject of application 21/02086/COUNOT). Revision of layout approved under application 22/00464/FUL. | Land at Reedlands Gutteridge Hall Lane Weeley | No objection or comment to make. |
| 22/01271/TPO | 2 No. Oak - remove lowest branched over path by 2m and over Clacton Road by 5.2m, 2 No. Lime - reduce by 40%, 1 No. Large Oak - reduce to curb line. | Hillside House Cravenwood Close Weeley | Approved. |
| 22/01303/FULHH | Proposed single storey rear extension and loft conversion. | 6 First Avenue Weeley CO16 9HL | Approved. |
| 22/01307/TPO | To fell T23 and T22 as they have broken in half. | Land adjacent Hillside House on corner of Church Lane & Clacton Road Weeley CO16 9DN | Approved. |
| 22/01253/FUL | Proposed replacement dwelling. | Tudors Wenlock Road Weeley | Approved. |
| 22/01355/LUPROP | Proposed construction of summerhouse. | 14 St Andrews Close Weeley | Decided. Lawful use certificate granted. |
| 22/01387/FULHH | Proposed garage. | 1 Barnfields Clacton Road Weeley Heath | No objection or comment. |
| 22/01458/FULHH | Proposed single storey rear extension | 47 Colchester Road Weeley | The Council has no objection. Notwithstanding the electrical regulations, concern was expressed about the apparent absence of construction standards for saunas in the UK. |
| 22/01332/FUL | Proposed 3 dwellings and associated ancillary buildings, drainage, boundary treatments, hard surfacing with vehicular access from Thorpe Road. | Land South of Verity Gardens Weeley | Proposed Cllr Hamilton, seconded Cllr Foster and Resolved: To object to this application. The access road does not appear wide enough to accommodate the additional traffic that would be generated. It would take just one visiting vehicle to block access. It's difficult to see how emergency vehicles would access the end dwelling. It was suggested that the scheme could be redesigned to provide vehicular access from the roundabout. The proposed dwellings would be far too close to the existing houses allowing residents to peer into each other's homes. Councillors felt that this is an example of over development. |
| 22/01439/FULHH | Proposed erection of detached building to form guest annex. | 76 The Street Weeley | |
| 22/01410/FUL | Proposed new stables following demolition of existing stables, up to 10 touring caravan spaces and storage of touring caravans. | Elton Grange Rectory Road Weeley Heath | |
| 22/01526/TPO | 1 No. Oak - remove and replace with new tree. | Reedlands Gutteridge Hall Lane Weeley |
Appendix C
Highways Report
The lines in Mill Lane have now been repainted so that infrequent drivers of Mill Lane can see there is actually a crossroads and it is not just a straight road as mistakenly believed by myself when driving it for the first time. The large pot hole stretching across two house fronts in Mill Lane has been repaired and a farther pot hole that developed beside it has been temporarily filled. The lines in Bentley Road have also been repainted, so again infrequent drivers now know where to stop instead of heading towards the first white line they saw which was in the middle of Clacton Road as noticed by speed-watchers. There were not so many white vans parked in Bentley Road and so a second pothole has been noticed there, however a resident of Bentley Road told of how sometimes the vans are parked up to just before the junction causing it to be very dangerous when turning into Bentley Road. Also still in Bentley Road the 30mph sign remains down. The Weeley Heath ‘Gate’ sign has been cleared of the foliage that was hiding it. The path and kerb stones in Hilltop Crescent by the noticeboard was repaired, however one kerbstone is already jutting out. The pothole on Colchester Road just before the Weeley roundabout was repaired on the 20th September. Next year in January or February there will be road works on the Clacton Road from Oakview to just after Hillview garage when Affinity water will be laying in water pipes.
-Cllr J Beady
Appendix D
Speed Watch Report
In July and August we held 15 sessions, including 2 in one day that Fraser and I did for Vision Zero day, which is a day held nationwide and for Essex was held on the 24th August. Vision Zero day is held to highlight the need and goal for zero fatalities and serious injuries caused on the road. At the end of our second session, Liam Collins who I send completed forms to and one of the organisers of the Vision Zero day arrived and told us ‘our little group was holding up our end of the County’ information we of course passed straight on to our volunteers. In those 15 sessions we logged 269 speeding vehicles, 38 of them logged in a 1 hour session. The fastest was doing 48mph in a 30mph zone, 12 were repeat offenders, 5 untaxed, all reported to the DVLA and 4 without MOT’s which are now impossible to report to anyone anywhere. The reason for this is the Police online reporting form now only accepts a specific address rather than the road the vehicle was seen on and we will not enter the address of a house we may be standing outside of when logging the vehicle. The Police at Clacton Police Station said that I must report it to the DVLA or online as they can do nothing. I told the person on duty at the Police Station that I had already tried both options and that the DVLA’s advice was to report it to the local police and the Police form now required a specific address but was again advised to report it online to the DVLA, thinking I may have missed something somewhere online, I again checked the online options, needless to say I had missed nothing and all advice was to report it to the local Police including from our overall co-ordinator Janet Willey. I went back to Clacton Police Station to make sure that there had been no mix up or confusion on either of our parts but once again was told to report it to the DVLA as the Police could do nothing. I finally admitted defeat and gave up. Also brought to our attention during one of the Speedwatch sessions was the lack of Speed signs on the Clacton Road. Being of an enquiring nature I decided to drive the road myself and for simplicity's sake as the road is called different names along the way will call it the B1441 starting at Centenary way in Little Clacton at the first 30mph sign on this road, I drove through little Clacton where there is a Vas sign. As you just enter Weeley Heath there is another Vas sign, there used to be a 40mph sign but when the speed limit was lowered this was removed with nothing replacing it. There are no street lights and no repeaters in fact the next 30mph sign is at the top of the hill on the opposite side of the road as you are leaving Weeley and entering Weeley Heath. Driving back towards little Clacton, there is the 30mph just mentioned and a Vas sign a short distance on. Again there are no repeaters and no street lights. So in short there is only one 30mph sign on each side of the B1441 for a distance of about 2 and a half miles. Little Clacton/Centenary Way is mentioned only as the reference point for the 30mph sign.
-Cllr J Beady
Appendix E
Petanque Report
Our sessions are going really well, everybody enjoying their games, especially as the weather has been exceptional. Despite the weather getting colder, we still expect high numbers as in previous years.
We are currently running a competition, playing partners picked at random, and we are now down to the semi-finals, with the final being played within the next few weeks. We usually give out trophies to the winners and runners-up at our Christmas dinner held sometime in December.
-Mrs B Holt
Appendix F
Cheques/Payments for Authorisation: August and September 2022
| Invoice Date | Invoice No. | Cheque No. | Payee | Service | NET £ | VAT £ | GROSS £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03-08-22 | IN04282208 | Direct Debit | Npower | Streetlight electricity 1-31 July 22 | 409.63 | 20.48 | 430.11 |
| 12-09-22 | IN04755708 | Direct Debit | Npower | Streetlight electricity 1-31 August 22 | 409.24 | 20.46 | 429.70 |
| 24-08-22 | 7732973 | 103232 | Castle Water | Water Charges (1 Jul – 31 Dec) | 37.13 | 0 | 37.13 |
| 01-08-22 | 36408 | 103233 | A&J Lighting | Mthly Mtnce | 99.98 | 20.00 | 119.98 |
| 01-09-22 | 36495 | 103233 | A&J Lighting | Mthly Mtnce | 99.98 | 20.00 | 119.98 |
| 08-08-22 | INV-0114 | 103234 | Goldacre Contracting | Contractual Hedge Mtnce | 700.00 | 140.00 | 840.00 |
| 05-09-22 | INV-0128 | 103236 | Goldacre Contracting | Playing Field and Reed Pond (7th cut) | 414.00 | 83.00 | 498.00 |
| 10-08-22 | 103235 | Cllr C Hamilton | Misc. Expenses | 32.48 | 0 | 32.48 | |
| 27-07-22 | 7130902 | 103237 | TDC | Play Area Inspection Report | 47.33 | 9.47 | 56.80 |
| 22-08-22 | 2352 | 103238 | DM Payroll Services | Admin of payroll (Apr 22 – Mar 23) | 60.00 | 0 | 60.00 |
| 23-08-22 | 103239 | TDALC | Annual Subs | 20.00 | 0 | 20.00 | |
| 31-08-22 | 103240 | Mr K Harkin | July Salary and backpay | 902.06 | 0 | 902.06 | |
| 30-09-22 | 103240 | Mr K Harkin | August Salary | 620.24 | 0 | 620.24 | |
| 28-09-22 | 103240 | Mr K Harkin | August and Sept Expenses | 75.74 | 0 | 75.74 | |
| 27-09-22 | SB20223033 | 103241 | PKF Littlejohn LLP | External Audit | 300.00 | 60.00 | 360.00 |
| TOTALS | 4,227.81 | 373.41 | 4,602.22 | ||||
Bank balances as at 2 September 2022; current account £26,555.54; deposit account £82,304.97.