BOXTED PARISH COUNCIL – ANNUAL PARISH MEETING – MAY 2012



BOXTED PARISH COUNCIL – ANNUAL PARISH MEETING – MAY 2016 The Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Wednesday 11th May 2016 commencing at 7.00pm at Boxted Village Hall, Cage Lane, Boxted, Colchester, Essex.Present:Chairman: Councillor H LargeVice Chairman:Councillor Mrs A McLauchlan Councillors:Councillor G Pugh, Councillor Mrs R Cryer,Councillor Mrs C Damen, Councillor M Parratt and Councillor Mrs L Carpenter.The Clerk to the Council: Mrs D HumphrisColchester Borough Councillor Nigel Chapman, 4 members of the public and prospective councillor Keith Daniels1.APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Councillor S Lawrence2.THE MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON 13th May 2015 RESOLVED: (unanimously) to approve the Minutes (previously circulated) as a true record for signature by the Chairman.3.ANNUAL WRITTEN REPORTS OF CLUBS AND SOCIETIESThe Chairman detailed written reports received as per attached Appendix ‘B’.Boxted Cricket ClubBoxted Methodist ChurchBoxted Airfield Historical GroupRainbow Rangers – After School ClubColchester Town Ladies and Girls Football ClubBoxted EvergreensBoxted Village HallColchester Borough Councillor Nigel ChapmanEssex County Councillor Anne Brown4.ANNUAL VERBAL REPORTS OF CLUBS AND SOCIETIESBoxted LodgersGeoff Thomas Chairman of Boxted Lodgers gave a report as follows:This has been a good season with a successful youth team, with players from Boxted and with Boxted roots. The U13’s Saturday team last year moved from division 3 to 2 and have been successful again this year in achieving promotion to division one. There are two junior teams which will ‘feed through’ players to the mens teams.The adult teams are doing well and on the administrative and coaching side efforts have been made to make things leaner and more efficient. The team are FA Chartered standard. The First team are doing OK and continue to develop, although the Reserves have had a tough season as sometimes they can’t get a full team. The management of the team feel that they have been wrongly accused of things that have happened in respect of maintenance of the Sports Club building and that over the past few months they have proved themselves to be responsible. They have a committee consisting of professional people such as a retired credit controller, Chair of the Scottish Pipe Band Association; former Justice of the Peace and a detective sergeant in the Suffolk police. Boxted Lodgers feel that they do not get respect despite the fact that they always pay their fees on time. They were upset that they have not yet received their invoice for the fees for the financial year April 2016 – April 2017.The football team feel they have been part of the community for a long time and some local people come to watch their games. They feel that the current situation with regards a caretaker opening and closing the building for them is unsatisfactory as there have been a couple of occasions when the caretaker has been late – the footballers think they have proved themselves and should be issued with their own keys. The Parish Council Chairman Hugh Large Council advised that the Council want to keep discussions open and that further developments and refurbishments at the club over the coming year may resolve some of the current problems. He advised that the Council were being cautious and that there was no intention from this Council to make life difficult for any of the sports clubs using the building and, in fact, the opposite was true.Walter McGregor Treasurere of Boxted Lodgers asked if the accounts relating to the Sports Club for the financial year ended 31st March 2016 were ready and he was advised that they were not yet finalised. Mr McGregor complained that he felt that this was unacceptable and asked if he would need to submit a Freedom of Information request to obtain these figures. He was advised that there was no need for this as there are no secrets and all information would be shared but that the simple fact was the figures were not yet ready. Mr McGreogr said he felt that they should be ready by now and he was advised that the Council was within statutory timescales for producing the accounts and that as soon as they were ready they would be shared as they have been in previous years. Mr McGregor asked how much money had been spent in total on recent refurbishments and the Chairman advised that he did not have exact figures to hand but that it was a substantial sum in excess of ?20,000. Mr McGregor advised that he felt that the facilities were not fit for purpose and that full consultation should have been undertaken with Sports England before any work was done. He was advised that the Council were happy that the facilities were fit for purpose and that the sports teams now had much improved facilities including their own kitchen facilities. This was in contrast to this time last year when the Sports Clubs had control of the building such that the facilities were now clean tidy and fit for use by the general public. It was explained that as the building belongs to the Council there was no obligation to consult with Sports England. It was explained to Mr McGregor that the Council had been forced to take control of the building as it was in a poor state and not being run in accordance with Health and Safety Regulations. Having been made aware that this was actually the Council’s responsibility and that individual councillors could be held personally responsible, emergency action using Council funds was taken to bring the building up to an acceptable standard to allow the Sports teams to continue to use it. The Council made the point that if the footballers were unhappy with the facilities or the price that they pay for those facilities, whilst the Council had no wish to see them leave they were, of course, free to find alternative facilities that suited them better if they so wished.Boxted Community HubDonna Hamblion the proposed proprietor for the Lounge/Bar area addressed the Council with her plans for the future of the Sports Pavilion.She will be running the bar/lounge area and is keen to make this into a Community Hub which will be used by all villagers. The plans include a small Village Shop, a Café and a bar, providing Broadband and BT Sport on the tv as well as photocopying facilities as well as plans for computer sessions for older residents which could include helping them to do weekly shopping on the internet. The Councillors applauded the plans and looked forward to seeing this building brought back into full Community use.4.CHAIRMAN’S REPORTThe Chairman gave a brief report as follows:The year was primarily dominated by two things: the Sports and Social club and the Boxted Neighborhood Plan.?Starting with The Sports and Social Club?The Parish Council was confirmed as the owner of the building and therefore responsible for running it and of ensuring that the law surrounding public spaces, health and safety, fire protection and all licenses are up to date and adhered to, by all the users of the building.Primarily this involved deep discussions with the cricketers and the footballers to find a way to manage and mend the building which was by now in a dangerous state of repair.?Thanks to persistent and tireless work by our Clerk, Denise Humphris, and despite brickbats from the clubs, we have completed the first phase of the refurbishment - namely that the changing rooms and showers, including kitchen facilities are now fit for purpose.?The bar and seating area is the next phase and being worked on - we are looking for a way of maintaining the sale of alcohol for the sports clubs, but also to create a facility that will be valued and used by the whole community both young and old. A place where villagers will want to gather to enjoy each others’ company and to feel good about the village in which we live.?Feeling good about the village is what the Boxted Neighbourhood Plan is about. We face a threat from the expansion of Colchester as it continues to grow and spread towards us so it is important that we have a say in the management of that growth where it affects us.?During the year we have held public consultations to gauge villagers’ reactions to new development in the village including the site at Hill Farm. Again despite one or two problems the Boxted Neighborhood Plan Group has now created a document which has been approved by an independent examiner and is due to go forward to referendum within the village soon.I’d like to formally thank both the Boxted Neighborhood Plan Group and especially Denise for all their hard work during the year which, I hope has put our biggest projects/problems behind us so that we can look forward to less interesting times.5.QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC – NoneThere being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at 7.30pmCHAIRMAN DATEAPPENDIX ‘A’ BOXTED PARISH MEETING MAY 2016BOXTED PARISH COUNCIL – ANNUAL PARISH MEETING MAY 2016REPORTS FROM LOCAL CLUBS AND SOCIETIESBoxted Cricket ClubI have very recently taken over as Chairman of Boxted Cricket Club.It has been a difficult time for us , but we have a strong core of long term supporters who continue to put in sterling work?on tasks such as maintaining a high quality playing surface?. Also ,we have a?number of promising junior teams who we hope will provide the long term future of the club. The partial opening of the clubhouse has been a boost to us and we look forward to all facilities being available as soon as possible. Whilst I appreciate there may have been some fractious moments in relationships with the Parish Council in?the last 12 months, I do believe that the new arrangements will , in the long run,benefit the sports clubs that utilise the ground and its facilities .?Steve Philpott -Chairman Boxted Cricket ClubBoxted Methodist ChurchIt has been a busy time for Boxted Methodist Church during the last year:Ruth, our previous minister, left us for pastures new and we now have twoministers whoshare the leadership at Boxted. They are Supt Minister Alan Jenkins andRev Ken Chalmers.During the year we were approached by the St Peter’s Church Youth Groupwho were seeking larger premises for their gatherings on a Fridayevening. The result is that they now meet in the schoolroom/church halleach Friday during term time and this has proved very successful.Our church interior has been re-decorated, including a new ceiling.Estimates have also been agreed to enable the church hall to be redecorated.Boxted Methodist Silver Band continue with their monthly band service at3pm on the first Sunday of each month (except during August) as well asChristmas carol services in the church and village hall. They also have anopen air service which is held outside the village hall during September.Their concerts which have been at St Peter’s have also been verysuccessful.Our church events this year have included a ‘Christmas Fayre’,‘Strawberries and Music’, ‘Book Sale’ and ‘Plant Sale’, amongst others,together with annual church calendar events ie: Church Anniversary, GoodFriday, Easter Sunday, Harvest Festival, Remembrance Sunday andChristmas Carol Services - all of which have been well attended.The Colchester Methodist Circuit meets for worship, Bible Study Days,Women’s World Day of Prayer and Special Worship Days, some of whichare led by guest speakers – Archbishop Rowan Williams is visiting inDecember at Castle Methodist Church.Our church meets weekly at 11am in fellowship and praise and monthlyfor Prayer Group and Bible Study at 7.30pm, and we invite and welcomeanyone who wants to share our services and praise with us.For and on behalf of Boxted Methodist ChurchMAY 2016Boxted Airfield Historical GroupThe membership of BAHG continues at 125 worldwide.The museum continues to attract a steady stream of visitors.We have been very pleased to welcome Veterans, their children and grandchildren over the year.A particular pleasure was the visit of two pilots of the 56th fighter group in December 2015, one aged 92 and one 99.“The story of Boxted Airfield” DVD has sold very well since its launch in July 2015 and we have now recuperated all the production and manufacturing costs, it is now adding to the profits needed to run the museum.We are hoping to expand the museum in the next couple of years. Richard Turner?Rainbow Rangers – After school ClubDear Councillors?I am looking forward to running the After School Club from the Sports and Social building.? I believe this is located in the perfect position for the such a venture.? We are located near the school and will be operating a walking bus from Boxted after school.? The bus will consist of three adults one at the front one in the middle and one at the end of the train, this will ensure all safety measures are kept.? I am in close liaison with the head of Boxted School on this project so we are planning to send out letters to ALL parents of the children that attend the school to make them aware of when the walking bus will be crossing.? All children and staff will be wearing high visibility jackets.? I think this will benefit the traffic situation that we have with the cars coming into school for two reasons:1 ?The traffic must slow down for the walking bus (stopping some parents from entering as though it were brands hatch}2 There will be less children to collect as they will be at the clubDenise and I have been working together now for nearly a year on this project and so far we have meet with Alan Haylock Head of Business for Early Years and my two development workers who have ?gone over any safety risks and helped to ?develop risk assessments for the Sports and Social.? Both parties agree the building lends its self well to this project.In January I ran a survey to check the interest in the project I have attached its findings to this report so that you can see the large amount of interest shown.I am allowed a maximum of 24 children.? The After school club has shown to be much more popular and the numbers are often in excess of this as you can see from the report. If I have 24 children attend this club I will increase my staff ratio to four.If the Club shows that it would be popular then I hope to run for two weeks in the summer holidays full time from The Sports and Social.I will of course check that this does not run into the time that The Cricketers or any other clubs need to use the space. I hope that I can work with the other clubs which use the building and we can be in close communication with one another. I would like to look into running a cricket session and football session during my two weeks during the holidays.? I think this would benefit all.? This of course would dependent on the correct DBS checks and safeguarding procedures.My present situation with the Club is awaiting to register it on the Ofsted EY0 application form, and work closely with Denise and my development workers to ensure the project is ready for opening in September. If the date is later due to circumstances or Ofsted take longer to inspect this is fine as I intend to carry on running the Breakfast Club from the school.To end on a pleasant note.? We ran a competition at the school to name the club and a ?child in reception won. we will be called Rainbow Rangers of Boxted .Finally a big thank you to Denise whose dog eared determination has allowed the project to be viable.I hope to attend the meeting but I am at home with throat infection at the moment.Tracey DoolinColchester Town Ladies and Girls FCThis year we have had teams from U9s-Ladies.We have had a good year with Ladies and U10s in the League Cup Finals.U18s League Winners U10s Cup League Winnersand now look to next season?Kim Farmer ChairmanBoxted EvergreensOur members enjoyed a good year, adding four new members to our club. enjoying many interesting and sometimes amusing talks. Fish and chips at A.G.M. and coach outings. Christmas meal at Newtimes Tiptree. Toasted The Queen with Champus and cakes on her birthday. Party planned for her official birthday in June. Kindest Regards Linda TralauBoxted Village Hall Review of Minutes AGM 2015 to Summer 2016AGM 22nd October 2015Minutes from the 2014 AGM were read and signed as a true account.Matter Arising- all hirers would be told to bring their own tea towels. The Chair person thanked everyone for their continued hard work and the next Quiz Night was set for 30th January 2016.Forthcoming events- a Queen’s birthday tea party was proposed and support for organisation would be sought from the clubs.The Treasurer explained his audited accounts which showed a healthy financial position with funds totalling ?30,000. Some areas of income showed a decline but new ventures were bringing in regular income. ?500 had been sent to the PC as a contribution towards installing a new water meter.Michael Newman is still willing to act as caretaker for the hall.The Lettings Officer reported 13 regular clubs and 16 parties or meetings plus an increase in teenage parties which had caused some damage.The whole Committee were re-elected to serve for a further year.Two members of the committee had stood down which left the Vice Chair post vacant but this was allowable under our constitution rules. Lisa Pugh was welcomed as the new Lettings Officer. Christina Lawrence would now represent the Bowls Club. There were still vacancies for some club representatives. 7th January 2016The Committee signed the acceptance sheet agreeing to stand. The electricity boards had been boxed in and painted and a full electricity inspection was planned. Action was underway with the water meter installation.All hall regular clubs had been sent a copy of the hiring agreement showing terms and conditions. These would be signed and returned to the secretary.Help had been sought from some clubs for support in organising the Queen’s birthday tea but this help was not forthcoming so the idea was reluctantly cancelled.28th April 2016 Mandy Sadler was welcomed as our new Lettings Officer who took on the role after Lisa Pugh left the village. She had set up a dedicated email address for hall bookings and was offered a vote of thanks by the Committee for the work she had done since taking on her role at short notice. Mandy reported that some regular events were struggling for support but new ventures such as the Friday drop in cafe were proving popular.A full electrical inspection had taken place including the emergency lighting at a cost of ?278 and all defects remedied. Cost ?700.Boiler maintenance was carried out and the windows and plastic fascias were cleaned and ivy removed from walls at the rear of the building.Status of the water meter awaited from BPC. Lease of the Hall remains to be signed, expected at the June quarter day?The current account stood at ?7,160 and the investment account held ?24,000. The January quiz was again well supported and the enjoyable evening raised ?300 for hall funds.28th April 2016 Jenny Tadman Secretary Boxted Village Hall Report by Colchester Borough Councillor Nigel Chapman2015-16 was, for me as a Borough Councillor, rather a similar year to the previous year! Villagers will, no doubt, recall that Colchester Borough Council (CBC) nominates me to two very interesting and diverse roles; the Board of Colchester Borough Homes (CBH) and the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty & Stour Valley Project (DV&SV).At CBH I continue as vice chair of the Board itself and as chair of the Finance & Audit Committee. I also continue as chair of the Joint Advisory Committee of the DV&SV, which represents the seven local authorities that help finance the project area. We are delighted to have received a generous grant allocation from Defra, a 1.72% per annum increase for each of the next four years. We are able to continue to provide a raft of support activities across the valley and to offer ?30k in grants this year to organisations in the Dedham Vale.As Ward Councillor I have done my best to support local residents across the five villages that comprise the ward on a variety of issues. Many, of course, relate to planning applications; planning policies these days leave less room for manoeuvre than was the case a few years ago but I do my best to ensure villagers views are heard, whether they are for or against an application.Traffic and roads continue to be the one of the main topics of conversation when I talk with residents! This is a function of Essex County Council (ECC) so I lobby Anne Brown, our county councillor, very actively and regularly. Both of us are very frustrated by the delay in publishing the traffic figures resulting from the traffic survey across the local roads following the opening of the A12 junction. It seems to have stuck in the system for some reason.I continue to maintain a very active interest in the Borough’s new Local Plan as it is discussed at Committee. I addressed the CBC Cabinet on your concerns regarding the Council’s northern development in December. I do not sense an appetite for development encroaching any further northwards but I am never complacent and will continue regular conversations with CBC’s planning policy team and Local Plan Committee members to do what I can to ensure this view prevails.Finally I must report that Boxted is now part of the Rural North ward for CBC and you are now represented by three councillors –me and Christopher Arnold continue, and we are joined by Peter Chillingworth. You share us with ten other villages in an area that stretches from Colchester’s boundary with the District Council of Tendring in the east to that of Braintree in the west. This is a vast area and sadly an intimate knowledge of its communities will be difficult for us to sustain.So please get in contact if you need the help of any of the three of us.Report by Anne Brown Essex County CouncillorAt Full council on 9th February ECC passed the budget for 2016/17. The impact of the cuts from Central Government does mean that we will have to save more than ?1million every week for the next four years. The budget saw council tax rise for the first time in five years by 1.99% and together with the introduction of the governments social care levy of 2% it will mean an increase of 84p per week for a bad D property.Despite the pressures the budget outlined ?1.8 billion of spending on public services for residents and a ?1 billion capital investment plan for the next three years. These expenditures covered:Innovation Centre in Colchester and HarlowInvesting ?43million in a housing programme boosting growth, which will support people to live independently.?144 million to be spent on highway maintenance, congestion, local roads, foot paths and bridges?418million will be spent on elderly careInvesting ?365 million, over three years, in new schools. This will provide 10,000 new places?57 million on new special schoolsThere is to be a greater emphasis on who is best placed to provide a service – whether it is the district, town, or parish council or even communities themselves. We want to move to a model where ECC facilitates people helping themselves and each other. Building on the success of the Community Agents and locally designed Community Hubs (mainly in libraries)We have heard a lot about devolution recently. The Chancellor announced more deals across the country in his budget, including an East Anglian, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire deal with an elected Mayor. Devolution means a greater say for the local areas. A greater say to decide on things that matter to local people. It means faster local growth, more jobs and more local services. In Essex, ECC is continuing discussions with district councils to agree on a proposal to put to government for devolution of powers from Westminster to Essex.Superfast Broadband has reached a further 10,000 homes since the last update in November. We are in the process of Updating the SUPERFAST ESSEX INTERACTIVE MAP to show the latest rollout progress and this will be available later this month. Superfast Essex and UK Government have launched a SATELLITE Broadband SCHEME to help those with no or slow broad connectivity access to a basic broadband service. Full details Of the scheme along with FAQs are available at .uk/satellite ECC has announced that it will convert 19,000 all night streetlights to LED. This will save ?900k a year in energy and maintenance costs. This will be completed by 2018Options for a new Lower Thames Crossing are being consulted on. ECC believes Highways England’s proposed dual carriageway, bored tunnel crossing with entrances and exits east of Gravesend and Tilbury connecting junction 1 of the M2 to the M25 between junction 29 and 30 will deliver the best benefits to Essex.We want to work proactively and successfully to support school improvements.82% of Essex primary schools are now rated good or outstanding up from 65% in 201081% of Essex secondary schools are rated good or outstanding up from 63% in 2010We want to see continued improvement and next year we are spending ?365 million on 10,000 extra places. The government have put out a white paper setting out reforms that aim to ensure that by 2022 no school will be maintained by the local authority and every school will be an academy. This presents problems for smaller village schools and Church of England schools. I am finding out more from Ray Gooding on these issues which affect our villages. There will be a new funding formula which we think may be helpful but there is no silver bullet.An exciting new Demand Responsive Transport DaRT is being introduced in the parishes in the north of Essex This service will allow residents to travel between 0600 and 2000 Monday to Saturday. It increases the opportunity to travel and improve access to shopping, health appointments, work, school or college. It can be used to visit friends and family. Passengers can travel alone or in groups. Concessionary bus pas holders can use the service for free after 0900.am. To book the DaRT service contact Arrow Taxis on 01621 874411. To find out more visit I am attending a meeting at County Hall on development along the A120 this Friday, when I hope to hear more about the development of the garden villages across Colchester and Tendring. It should give us a guide as to what is also thought of the Langham site.I am extremely sorry that I can’t be with you to deliver this report myself. Please contact me with any questions that the parish council may have. Best wishes Anne Brown ................
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